HEEEELLOOOOOO! I am so glad that the prologue for this story got such good reception. It means a lot to me that y'all are enjoying reading this at least as much as I'm enjoying writing it. I don't have much to say before we get into the story except I do want to address two questions that two reviewers had in case some other readers had the same questions.

First, ArmantusCumPinnae (heh) asked how old the legend of the Gryphon Knights are and how Cailan Arc already knew what Jaune looked like. To that I say wait and see! All of that will be explained within this and the next chapter, I promise.

Second, HK987GFR asked if Jaune was going to be a more competent fighter in this fic than in the show. To that I say no. Jaune is still the same Jaune. The only thing I've changed is his weapon. Jaune is still a bad fighter. At least for now (*winks*). The beautiful thing about character development is that characters develop. Jaune won't be helpless forever, I promise.

With all of that out of the way, ON WITH THE STORY!


Jaune Arc...

What a curious boy.

Professor Ozpin sat at his desk in his office, sipping coffee out of his mug as he went over Jaune's results in his classes. They were disappointing, which was unsurprising considering that Jaune had absolutely no formal training as a huntsman if his falsified transcripts were anything to go by.

Ozpin had known Jaune transcripts had been forged from the moment they had been entered into the database. For all intents and purposes the headmaster should have denied him entry to Beacon, and had every right to do so. He was untrained, untested, and unprepared for a Huntsman's life. There had been only one reason Ozpin had not done so. The headmaster of Beacon opened a desk drawer and very carefully pulled out an ancient roll of parchment. Very gently he laid the parchment on the table and unrolled it. Upon the ancient artifact was a faded but still discernible drawing. A young man wearing a breastplate and spaulders clutching a halberd in both hands. Beneath the man was a name, but it was so faded that Ozpin could not make it out.

Ozpin had studied the image on the parchment more times than he could count, trying to figure out who this young man was. Besides his armor the young man's apparel was modern, not what would have been worn ten thousand years ago. When he had seen Jaune Arc's face on his transcripts he had immediately compared the young man on the parchment to Jaune.

It was an exact match.

Every detail was exactly the same. The clothes, the armor, the halberd, even the way his messy hair was arrayed, everything about him was exactly like how it was in the drawing.

It should have been impossible. The drawing was over ten thousand years old, but there could be no denying what was right in front of him. Somehow the Order of Light had known about Jaune. To top it all off Jaune's ancestor, Cailan Arc, had been Knight-Lord of the Order. Ozpin did not believe in coincidence or chance. This was fated. This uncertain, untrained, untested boy had a role to play in the fate of Remnant, and it was Ozpin's duty to ensure that he was ready to take on that role when the time came. He pulled out his scroll and dialed in Glydna's number. "Glynda, I want you to send team Juniper to me. I have a task for them."


Jaune groaned as he hit the ground for what must have been the hundredth time in the past thirty minutes, his halberd flying out of his hands again. He pushed himself to his feet and grabbed Brillant Mors from where it lay on the ground. He leaned against his weapon, trying to catch his breath and wiping the sweat from out of his eyes.

"Why don't we take a break Jaune? We've got the rest of the weekend to train." Pyrrha Nikos walked over to him and placed a hand on the sweaty blonde's shoulder. Without saying a word he sat down. She sat next to him and handed him a water bottle, which he accepted gratefully and guzzled the contents. "You're getting better," said Pyrrha as she sat next to him, resisting the urge to lean against him and rest her head in the crook of his neck, "at the rate you're going you'll be up to par with the other first years in no time."

Jaune smiled and pushed the hair out of his face with a blush that the red head found adorable. "Thanks Pyrrha, though I don't think I'm doing that good. I can't even touch you."

'You could if you just asked.' "You don't give yourself enough credit. Compared to a week ago you've improved in leaps and bounds, and even back then you were able to kill an Ursa Major."

Jaune gave her a knowing look. "Yes, but that was with your help."

This time it was Pyrrha's turn to blush. "I-I don't know what you mean."

"Come on Pyrrha. I'm a bad fighter, not an idiot. I know you used your semblance to pull Brillant Mors into position at the last minute to block that Ursa's paw."

Pyrrha gulped. "Jaune I-"

He patted her shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay Pyrrha. I'm not mad, promise. Without your help I wouldn't have been able to kill it in the first place. I'm really grateful for everything you're doing for me. If there's anything I can do, anything, you just have to ask."

Anything?

An idea formed in Pyrrha's head. It was crazy, probably wouldn't work, and it might have just been the adrenaline pumping in her system making her even consider going through with it, but Pyrrha Nikos doubted she'd get a better chance to ask Jaune out on a date.

"Well Jaune," she said slowly as she looked away from the blonde, "if you're not busy tomorrow maybe we could-"

The door to the roof slammed open. "JAUUUUUUNE! PYRRHAAAAAA!"

The two jumped in surprise as Nora skipped across the roof to them. "Guess what you guys?!"

Pyrrha tried not be upset at Nora for interrupting her first attempt to get Jaune to go on a date with her, but she couldn't completely forgive the ginger.

"What's up Nora?" asked Jaune as he pushed himself to his feet with his halberd.

"Headmaster Ozpin wants to see us!"

Jaune blanched. "H-he does? Do you know why?"

"Nope!" chirped Nora.

"And he wants to see all of us? Not Just me?"

"Of course silly! Why would he want to see just you?"

Jaune laughed nervously. "Yeah, yeah you're right."

Pyrrha placed her hand on Jaune's shoulder reassuringly. She knew he must have been thinking about his forged transcripts. They hadn't told Ren and Nora about the transcripts yet. It had taken Jaune a lot of courage to just tell her about them, and even then it had backfired in the form of Cardin Winchester finding out. Of course Cardin had sworn to never tell anyone after Jaune had saved his life. Interestingly enough Jaune had believed Cardin's vow of silence. "He's a lot of things, " Jaune had said, "but I don't think he's a liar."

"Come on!" said Nora, "Ren's already waiting for us at the headmaster's office."


As the three of them walked down the hallway Jaune kept a calm appearance on his face, seemingly unconcerned about the summons to the headmaster's office. On the inside however he was having a minor heart attack.

Why would Ozpin want to see his team? It couldn't be about the transcripts. If it was then he would have called for just Jaune. Or would he? Would Ozpin give him away in front of his entire team? He might, but how could he have found out? The man who had supplied the transcripts had assured him that they would look legitimate. Would Cardin have talked? Told Ozpin out of spite despite giving his word?

No, Jaune didn't think so. Cardin had done a lot of things to Jaune and others, but he had never lied. If Cardin had said he wouldn't talk then he wouldn't talk. Could someone else have found out? Or could Ozpin just know? He seemed like the kind of guy who could just know things.

Jaune leaped a foot in the air when he felt a hand on his arm. He calmed down when he realized that it was only Pyrrha. "Jaune, we're here."

Jaune realized that he had been completely out of it the entire walk across the campus. The three of them stood outside the elevator to the headmaster's office. Next to the elevator stood Ren. The four of them got into the the elevator. Jaune hit the button for Ozpin's office and they began their ascent, all the while listening to show tunes.

"Never took Ozpin for a show tunes kind of guy," mused Jaune.

"I always thought he would be more into something more relaxing. Meditative music perhaps," said Ren.

"I always thought he'd be into pop!" said Nora.

"You think everyone is into pop," said Pyrrha.

"Well they should be," replied an indignant Nora, "it's just so... poppy!"

"Poppy is a seed Nora, not an adjective."

"Aw don't be such a downer Ren! You need to listen to more pop! You'd be so much more-"

"Please don't say poppy."

"Fiiiiiine," groaned Nora, just as the elevator doors opened to Ozpin's office.

The four of them entered and stood in front of Ozpin's desk, waiting for him to speak. He eyed them in turn, starting at Ren on one end and working his way to the other. It did not escape Jaune's notice that the headmaster's gaze lingered on him the longest, making the blonde even more nervous about why they had been called to his office.

"I'm sure you're all anxious to know why I've called you here, so I'll cut to the chase. Team Juniper; I have a mission for you."

Jaune had to suppress a sigh of relief. This wasn't about his transcripts then. Thank the gods.

"A mission?" asked Pyrrha. "With all due respect Headmaster, wouldn't a more senior team be better suited to take on a mission?"

"Normally yes," said Ozpin, "but this is a special case. The mission in question is a very simple one, far too simple for a second or third year team. A small village in the northern end of Vale has reported a number of their livestock going missing. No humans have died or been attacked, but there has been a sighting of a small pack of ten Beowolves in the area. Normally a fully fledged Huntsman would respond to this call for help, but strangely enough this call came directly to me, and requested a team of students to handle the situation."

Jaune frowned, his curiosity taking the fore now that he wasn't worried about his transcripts being brought up. "Who placed the request? Did they ask for us specifically?"

"A man named Nathaniel placed the request, and no he did not request your team. I considered sending a Huntsman with your team, but considering that the threat is only ten Beowolves I decided that sending a huntsman would be excessive. However, the fact that this pack has attacked only isolated livestock and not the people of the village does suggest that these Grimm or their leader are of the more intelligent variety. I have faith in your ability to handle even the more intelligent Grimm, but keep on your guard. It only takes one wrong move to bring an abrupt end to your blossoming careers as Huntsmen."

"Will that be all headmaster?" asked Ren.

"For the three of you yes. However I would like to speak with Mr. Arc in private. Go and collect your gear and report to the Bullhead pads. Your team leader will join you shortly."

Jaune stiffened as the others nodded and walked to the elevator, Pyrhha looking over her shoulder anxiously at Jaune.

The elevator door shut as the elevator began its descent. Ozpin turned his attention back to Jaune, who shuffled nervously and stared at the floor.

"Mr. Arc," said Ozpin as he gazed unwaveringly at Jaune, "do you know this Nathaniel?"

Jaune frowned and looked up to meet the headmaster's eyes. Why would the headmaster ask him something like that? "No sir. I don't know anyone named Nathaniel."

"Are you sure Mr. Arc? Think carefully. A family friend? Someone your mother or father merely mentioned in passing?"

Jaune's face scrunched up in concentration as he wracked his brain in an attempt to remember the name Nathaniel, and came up blank. His parents had never mentioned anyone with a name even similar to Nathaniel. "No sir, nothing. Why are you asking?"

"Mr. Arc; I said that this Nathaniel did not ask for your team specifically, which is true. He did not ask for your team." Ozpin looked at Jaune over the rim of his glasses. Jaune felt like the headmaster was staring into his very soul.

"He asked for you Mr. Arc."

"W-what?" stuttered Jaune. Why would this Nathaniel guy ask for him when Jaune didn't even know who he was? Jaune's own village was in the southern end of Vale, about as far away from this Nathaniel's home in the north as it could be while still being in Vale, so there was almost no way he could know Jaune.

"If you're sure you do not know this man then you have every reason to refuse this mission. I can send another team, or a full fledged huntsman to handle the mission. Juniper would never have to leave the school."

Jaune thought about it. He didn't know why this Nathaniel had asked for him, but if Ozpin thought he was dangerous then he would have never even brought up the mission to JNPR, would he?

"What... what do you think we should do sir?"

"You want my opinion Mr. Arc?"

"You are the headmaster. Aren't we supposed to listen to what you say?"

Ozpin's gaze grew in intensity, and Jaune found himself staring at the floor, unable to meet the headmaster's eyes.

"Mr. Arc, if you had listened to everything I said then you would not even be here, as we both know you should not be."

Jaune's hands clamped down on Brillant Mors so hard that they went completely white under his gloves. He felt the color drain from his face as his whole body shook. He felt his stomach churning, and somehow managed to resist the urge to throw up. He couldn't make his eyes look up from the floor.

He knows. Ozpin knows everything.

This was it. Ozpin was going to tell him to pack up and get out of his school, unless he was arrested on the spot and thrown in jail.

"But if you want my opinion in this situation then I think you and your team should go. This man could have entirely legitimate reasons for requesting you, and I have an instinctual feeling that you should go. Over the years I've learned to trust my instincts when it comes to judging people's worth Mr. Arc, which is very fortunate for you. Do you understand?"

Jaune couldn't speak. He feared that if he opened his mouth bile would come spewing out. He nodded instead.

"Very good," said the headmaster as he sat back in his chair and started reading something on his scroll. "Go and meet up with your team Mr. Arc. I don't expect this mission to take longer than a day or two at the most, so if your team does not return by tomorrow night I will send a Huntsman to assist."

Jaune nodded again and all but ran out of the headmaster's office, slamming his finger into the ground floor button.

When the elevator opened he stumbled out and ran to the nearest bathroom, throwing the door open and stumbling into the first open stall to puke his guts into the toilet bowl. When he was finished emptying his stomach he went to the sink and washed the taste out of his mouth.

He knows about my transcripts. He's always known about them.

But that didn't make sense. Why would Ozpin let him into Beacon if he knew that his transcripts were fakes? Why would he make him a team leader? Especially on a team with Pyrrha freaking Nikos?!

"Focus Jaune, focus." He splashed his face with water, forcing himself to think.

Okay, so Ozpin knew about the transcripts. That was obvious now, but he hadn't done anything with that knowledge. He hadn't kicked him out or punished him in anyway. Why not? What reason would he have for letting him remain in Beacon? What did he gain?

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," he muttered to himself. If Ozpin had decided not to kick him out, then he wasn't going to question it. He grabbed his halberd from where he had lent it against the bathroom wall and headed to the Bullhead pads in front of the school.

When he arrived the rest of JNPR was waiting for him with their his pack alongside their own. When Pyrrha saw him she jogged over to him waving. Her smile turned into a frown of concern as she drew closer to him. "Jaune? Is something wrong?"

Apparently he wasn't as good as hiding his emotions as he thought. That was hardly surprising. He checked to be sure Ren and Nora were out of earshot before he leaned in close to her and whispered, "Ozpin knows about my fake transcripts."

Pyrrha stumbled back as if struck. "W-what? But how? He's not going to make you leave, is he? Jaune, tell me he's not going to make you leave."

"He's not," Jaune assured her. "For whatever reason he's letting me stay at Beacon, though I think I should keep my nose clean for awhile and fly under the radar."

Pyrrha laughed, but it was more from nerves than actual humor. "Yes, that might be a good idea."

The two of them returned to Ren and Nora, who were eyeing them with interest. "Everything okay?" asked Nora.

"Yeah," said Jaune, "just some stuff about the guy that placed the request. Turns out he requested me personally for this mission."

The three of them stared at him in shock. "You know that Negan guy?" asked Nora in amazement.

"Nathaniel," corrected Jaune, "and no, I don't, but he clearly knows who I am."

That look of concern returned to Pyrrha's eyes, "Jaune, if this man you don't know requested you personally then don't you think it might be better if a full fledged huntsman went?"

Jaune thought about Ozpin's words back in his office. "Ozpin thinks we should go, and if Ozpin thinks its a good idea to do something then we should probably do it." His three teammates nodded and the four of them headed to the waiting Bullhead. When they boarded the Bullhead took off, the pilot having already been informed of their destination. Jaune braced himself for the inevitable air sickness, and prayed that he would be able to keep from throwing up until they were off the ship. He did not want to be trapped in a Bullhead with a smell like that. Surprisingly enough as the Bullhead gained altitude Jaune's airsickness did not get as intense as it normally did. His stomach still churned, and he still felt lightheaded, but he didn't feel the urge to throw up.

Huh. So throwing up before getting on an airship helps with airsickness. Who knew?

Not that Jaune would want to throw up every time he needed to get on an airship. If he was going to throw up either way then what was the point? The only thing he could do now was try to take his mind off of his airsickness. He had many ways of doing this, listening to music, playing a game, or reading, but by now both he and his teammates knew better than to try to talk to him on an airship as it only made him more sick. His favorite pastime however was studying Brillant Mors, his family heirloom, until he fell asleep.

It was a weapon that was as beautiful as it was ancient. No one knew how long it had been in the family, or who had forged it, but whoever had created it had been a master blacksmith who had poured their heart and soul into the weapon. The entire halberd, haft, hammer head, axe blade, and spear head, was forged from a single piece of the highest quality dust treated steel, making it nigh indestructible. A long leather strip was wound around the haft of the weapon, ensuring a solid grip no matter where you held the weapon. Where the spear head, hammer head, and axe blade met the image of an eagle's head was engraved into the weapon. The eagle's beak was open in a shriek of rage, as though it were battling some unseen enemy. The hammer head was heavy enough to crack open the skull of a Boarbatusk if swung with enough force. The axe blade was a straight blade that tore through flesh and bit into bone with ease. The spearhead was a foot long leaf shape, perfect for stabbing through gaps and weaknesses in armor. Jaune smiled as he felt sleep descend on him. It always relaxed him to inspect his weapon. When he had been a little boy Jaune's grandfather had told him stories of great warriors of the Arc line who had used Brillant Mors to battle the Grimm to put him to sleep. This weapon had been in his family since before the written history of the four kingdoms. It was as much a part of the Arc family as Jaune was himself. He closed his eyes as sleep finally claimed him.


"Jaune? Jaune wake up. We're here"

Jaune's eyes fluttered open as he sat up in his seat. The airship had stopped moving and was now hovering just above the ground. The four of them jumped off the ship and found that they were outside of a small village with wooden walls and a small gate. In front of that gate stood a man. He wore full body plate armor that was masterfully attached to an underlying layer of chainmail. A full helm hid his face from view. A halberd was gripped in one hand and balanced on his shoulder. He walked towards JNPR until he stood in front of them. He was a tall man, almost a foot taller than Jaune, who was the tallest member of JNPR.

The man didn't even look at the other member's of JNPR. His helmet was aimed directly at Jaune. "Jaune Arc?"

"Y-yes. We came to kill the Beowolves threatening your village's live stock."

"There are no Beowolves. That was a story I concocted to bring you out here."

Jaune could feel his teammates closing around him protectively, their hands on their weapons.

"Then you must be Nathaniel," said Pyrrha politely, but with an edge of steel in her voice "I'm Pyrrha Nikos. Four time Mistral Tournament champion, and Jaune's partner."

Nathaniel's gaze never turned from Jaune. "I hope that's not supposed to impress me girly. I know who you are. I know who you all are." He pointed at Jaune with a gauntleted fist. "He is the only one who matters."

Jaune pushed himself free of his friends as they closed tighter around him and shrugged off Pyrrha's arm as she tried to pull him back in. "Who are you? How do you know who I am? Why did you request me specifically?"

The man raised his free hand to his head and removed his helmet, holding it in the crook of his arm. His head was crowned by short brown hair streaked with silver. A strong jaw was covered by a thick beard. His intense eyes were the same color as his hair.

"My name is Nathaniel, descendant of Knight-Captain Marusus and the last living Knight of the Order of Light. Jaune Arc, scion of House Arc and descendant of Knight-Lord Cailan Arc, we have much to talk about."