WOOOOOOO FRIGGIN HOOOOOOOO! WE DID IT! WE BROKE 100 FOLLOWERS!

Ahem. Well I am sorry for my outburst (I'm so not sorry) I am seriously overjoyed that this story has, in just five chapters, gotten over 100 follows. That means a lot to me, and I can only hope that that number continues to grow as the story continues. Thank you to everyone who posted a review on the last chapter, especially gdvp111 (hope I got that right) who gave me some good ideas for the story going forward.

In this chapter we shall be beginning the events of volume 2. By this point Jaune has been training under Nathaniel for a couple weeks now, so this is where we're going to see some real change in Jaune's character, fighting prowess, and skills with da ladies (kidding... or am I? :3).

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


The spearhead of Brillant Mors drove through the open mouth of the Beowulf, killing it. Jaune wrenched his weapon free and spun to face his new foe, an Ursa. The titanic Grimm roared at him and slammed its fore paws on the forest floor with enough force to shake the ground. Jaune pushed his sweaty blonde hair back and sighed irritably. "Come on then," he said, "you're the last thing standing between me and going back to Beacon, so lets hurry this up." As though in answer the beast roared at him and charged forward on all fours. Jaune planted his feet firmly and leveled his halberd at the beast, knowing from experience that a juvenile Ursa would simply impale itself on his weapon. This one was no exception. The spearhead pierced its chest just a couple inches to the left of its heart. Despite the undeniably fatal blow the Grimm still attempted to drive itself forward, succeeding only in driving the spearhead deeper into its chest. It swung its fore paws at his face with savage intensity, the murderous claws cutting the air inches before his face. Jaune shoved his halberd forward and sent the Grimm stumbling backwards. He wrenched Brillant Mors back, pulling the weapon free of the Grimm's chest. The beast roared in pain as the blade left its flesh, and stumbled forward with its paws outstretched towards the young knight in training. Jaune simply stepped to the side as the beast finally expired and fell flat on its face where he had stood. He slung Brillant Mors over his back by the leather strap he'd gotten attached to it a week ago and turned to look at Nathaniel, who was leaning against his halberd contentedly. "So how did I do?" he asked his mentor.

Nathaniel scratched his chin under his beard. "Better," said the older man simply, "two weeks ago three Ursa and a pack of Beowulves would have been far beyond you. Now you were able to handle them with little difficulty. However your situational awareness still needs work." Jaune winced at that. One of the Beowulves had jumped him from the side while he had been distracted by two others. The Grimm tried to bite through his arm, but had broken its teeth on Jaune's new vambrace. Not for the first time Jaune had been grateful for the additional pieces of armor Nathaniel had forged for him. It wasn't much, just vambraces, greaves, and tassets that were attached to his belt, but as Jaune had come to learn Beowulves liked to target arms and legs. Even had he not been wearing his vambraces the Beowulf's teeth would have still been stopped by his aura, but it would have hurt a lot more, and been much more of a distraction, which would have allowed the other two Beowulves to attack him while he was attempting to free his arm.

"But as I said it's a definite improvement," commented Nathaniel as he stood straight and walked towards Jaune. "As I suspected your skills have improved dramatically these past two weeks. You've become stronger, faster, you can process a situation better, and your mounted combat has improved too." He slapped his hand down on Jaune's significantly broader shoulder appreciatively. "I told you these weekend excursions to the Emerald Forest were worth it. Learning from me in the safety of Beacon is all well and good for your academic lessons and sparring with me, but there's no better teacher than roughing it for a couple days in enemy territory with nothing but your gear and whatever food you brought and manage to forage up." He glanced up at the sky as a winged shadow passed overhead. "Though I will admit that having a Gryphon around does make it easier to find fresh meat."

Jaune looked up as Talon swooped down into the clearing, sparing a contemptuous glance for the rapidly fading Grimm bodies. "I assume its time for us to head back to Beacon then?" questioned the war beast. "I enjoy killing Grimm, but I won't deny that I'm ready to begin enjoying my one day off."

Immediately after the meeting with Ozpin where Jaune had learned of Amber's presence under the school Ozpin had pulled Jaune out of all his normal classes, barring combat class. The other members of team JNPR had been furious with Nathaniel, as Jaune had known they would be. He'd had to physically restrain Nora from taking up Magnhild and marching out of JNPR's dorm to attempt to break Nathaniel's legs. At first they had thought that pulling Jaune from his classes was something that Ozpin and Nathaniel had done without asking him, but Jaune had been quick to explain that they had asked him, and had only gone through with it when he had said he had wanted to go through with it.

Their reaction to that had been... less than pleasant. Ren, ever the stoic one, had taken the information with a nod, but Jaune had seen the disappointment in his eyes. Nora had looked like she had been about to burst into tears, which had nearly broken Jaune's heart, but the one that had hit him the hardest had been Pyrrha's reaction. She had simply stared at him and replied with, "I see." Pyrrha had never been one to burst out in anger, but that silent acceptance had been ten times worse than her shouting at him ever could have been. He had told them that it hadn't been an easy choice, nor had it been one he'd made quickly. He had wanted to stay in their normal classes with them, but this was something he needed to do. He had told them it was his duty to be trained as a knight so he could one day resurrect the Order of Light. That had seemed to help somewhat. They were hunstmen in training after all. Duty was not a foreign concept to them.

Nathaniel had also understood that while Jaune was no longer training to be a huntsman, he was still JNPR's leader. He had arranged Jaune's schedule to ensure that Jaune was able to sit with his teammates at every mealtime, and he still slept in JNPR's dorm when he was at Beacon. During the first year combat classes he sat with his teammates and cheered them on when they fought. Whatever underlying tension that had remained after his explanation had slowly dissipated as he spent all of his free time with his teammates.

Jaune stretched and scratched Talon's neck. "I'm ready to go back too." He turned to Nathaniel, "so we can all head back to Beacon now?"

Nathaniel smiled and nodded. "Yes Jaune. We can go back, and you can go see your friends today. Just remember that our schedule starts over again tomorrow."

Jaune rolled his eyes at the reminder, but nodded. "I remember. On Monday I clean and maintain both of our weapons and armor, and check the straps on Talon's saddle, then we go to the forge so I can practice my metal working. Then Tuesday through Thursday consists of morning workout, breakfast, history lessons, strategic simulations, combat classes, lunch, sparring, afternoon workout, more history lessons, dinner, then flying with Talon to end the day. Friday and Saturday we come here to the Emerald forest with nothing but whatever we're wearing, our weapons, a small bag of supplies, and our wits."

"And your Gryphon."

Jaune shook his head, but was smiling. "And my Gryphon. Then on Sunday we go back to Beacon and I get to spend the entire day with my team. This is the second time we've been through the whole routine you know. I've memorized the list."

"Watch your mouth boy," said Nathaniel seriously, but with that glint in his eye that Jaune knew meant he was joking. Mostly. "Just because you've remembered it doesn't mean it's become habit yet. You'll have to go through a couple more weeks before its the normal routine for you."

"Yes sir," Jaune said as he strapped the saddle onto Talon. "You know I've always meant to ask, but why can't women be knights of the Order?"

Nathaniel shrugged as he did a last minute check of their campgrounds to ensure they weren't leaving anything behind. "It's a bit of a long story. You sure you want to hear it now?"

Jaune glanced at the sky. It was still early morning, so it was reasonable to assume that RWBY and the other members of JNPR weren't even up yet. He had time. "Sure, why not?" He undid the few straps he had fastened on the saddle and sat it on the ground next to the Gryphon. Nathaniel sat down, and Jaune sat across from him, leaning against Talon as the war beast preened itself.

"Well you know the story of your ancestor Cailan, and how he formed the Order. While even back then female warriors were a common sight Vaya instructed that only men could be knights of the Order. Her reasons for this however go even further back. Do you remember what I told you about the genesis of humanity?"

Jaune nodded. "Salem created Remnant and used to rule over it. The entire world was shrouded in darkness, and the only living things on the planet were the Grimm. However Vaya saw Remnant as somewhere life could thrive if it was given light and a chance to do so. So she created the sun, and its light burned away the darkness. Vaya poured life into the barren soil of the world and planted the first trees and plants. She then put animals on the land, in the water, and in the sky. She then made humans in her image: the first women. Back then women were faster and more agile than any other creature, but their physical strength was lacking. Salem of course was angered at Vaya for bringing life and light to Remnant, and sent her Grimm after Vaya's favored creation: women. Vaya taught women how to create weapons to defend themselves and women battled against the Grimm. Though women were faster and more agile than the Grimm the creatures of Salem were too numerous, and speed alone wasn't enough for women to prevail. Seeing that her favored creations were losing badly against the Grimm Vaya decided that a new creation had to be made, and she created the first men. Men were not as fast or agile as women, but they were larger, stronger, and braver than any of her previous creations. Men marched against the Grimm and battled them in open combat while women struck the Grimm in lightning quick but devastating ambushes and flanking attacks. Eventually the Grimm were pushed back, and men and women knew peace. The two genders mingled and had children, and the Grimm were nearly forgotten as a threat until they returned in force."

Nathaniel smiled and nodded. "Exactly. As time passed and men and women had children together both genders slowly began to 'blend together' in a sense. While for the most part women were faster than men, and men were stronger than women, some men were born faster, like women, and some women were born stronger, like men. Take your friends Nora and Ren for example. Despite the fact she's a woman Nora is very much a strength fighter, and a very effective one at that. Ren meanwhile is a speed fighter, and relies on agility and quick reflexes to dodge around his enemy's attacks and strike them where they're weak. However in the modern world the differences in strength and speed between the genders are far less prevalent. Both men and women are a mere shadow of what they once were, and technology has improved to make up for this."

Jaune frowned, "but that doesn't explain why only men can be knights."

Nathaniel's eyebrow raised. "Doesn't it? Think about how we fight Jaune, how we're trained to take on our enemies."

Jaune nodded in understanding as he started to put the pieces together. "The Gryphon Knights take their enemies head on, charging into them with full force and staying in the fight until their opponents have fallen before them."

"Exactly! And that's how Vaya has always meant for men to fight. It's a return to our roots, to the core of who men originally were. That's not to say your friend Ren is any less a man for the way he fights, or that Nora is any less a woman for the way she fights. It's simply how men fought originally, and when you think about it its how most men fight today. Look at the four kingdom's militaries. For the most part they consist of men who fight in formation against the Grimm, using strength and brute force to crush their enemies." Nathaniel shrugged, "so that's why. Vaya mandated that only men could be knights of the order as it has traditionally been the man's duty to engage his foes in open combat. Would that be considered sexist in the modern world? Maybe, but as I said, it's not because women can't fight. It's simply because Vaya has demanded that only men be Gryphon Knights."

Jaune nodded in understanding. That made sense to him, and he knew all too well that women were just as capable fighters as men. When he thought about it some of the most terrifying people he knew were women, including his mother, and she wasn't even a huntress. "Do you think there was ever a female version of the order?" asked Jaune. "I mean it would make sense that after the fall of the order Vaya would form an order of women who would fight the way women were originally meant to."

Nathaniel shrugged. "Honestly I would be surprised if there wasn't, especially since women were the first humans." the knight looked up the sky, checking the position of the sun. "If we leave now your friends should be at breakfast by the time we get back to Beacon. Are you ready, or do you have anything else you'd like to know?"

Jaune shook his head and stood up. "Nothing right now. I'm ready to get back to Beacon."


Pyrrha picked at the food on her plate, not feeling hungry. Today was Sunday, which meant Jaune should be back from the Emerald forest soon, but Nathaniel had forbidden Jaune from taking his scroll with him into the forest. Until he got back Pyrrha had no way of knowing if he was okay. What if he had gotten hurt? What if they had all gotten hurt and they were stranded in the middle of the Emerald forest, with Grimm all around them? What if-

The champion's morbid train of thought was interrupted by a finger poking her nose. She blinked in surprise and looked to her side. Nora was staring at her knowingly. She poked the red head's nose again. "He's fine Pyrrha. He's got Nathaniel with him, and while none of us like the old man we know he wouldn't let a Grimm take a chunk out of our fearless leader. On top of that Jaune has Mr. Fluffykins with him, and you know he won't let anything bad happen to Jaune."

"Who?" asked a bewildered Pyrrha.

Nora leaned in close to her teammate and whispered, "that's my secret name for Talon, but don't tell him." The ginger sat back and took a bite out of the massive stack of pancakes in front of her. "On top of that Jaune's gotten a lot better these past couple of weeks. We haven't seen him fight in combat class yet, but I bet he could beat a lot of the other first years."

Nora was right. Jaune had changed over the past two weeks. His skills had improved more than seemed possible for just two weeks of training. He had put on muscle too, and while he wasn't as built as many of the other male students he was getting there. Though he hadn't just changed physically. He had become more serious and confident in himself. Gone was the bumbling klutz that was prone to smiling at the slightest provocation. Now he laughed far less than he used too, and was more prone to silently listen in on the conversations between JNPR and RWBY at mealtimes, only adding to the conversation every now and then, or telling Nora to stop trying to hit Cardin with a pie. Pyrrha didn't know what to think of it. While this new Jaune attracted her in a way that was different to how she had been attracted to the old Jaune, she didn't like seeing him so serious all the time. She missed the smile that she could goad out of him with a few kind words.

"I know," sighed Pyrrha as she took a bite out of her fruit salad, "but I don't feel good knowing he's out there without us. Besides he is our leader. He needs to be training with us if we're going to be competing in the Vytal festival."

"I'm sure Jaune can talk to Nathaniel," said Ren from the other side of Nora. "The festival would be a good opportunity to help spread the word about the Gryphon Knights. Jaune could use that argument to convince Nathaniel to release him to train with us."

Yang, who had just caught a grape that Nora had launched at her, grinned at Pyrrha mischievously, "and maybe you can convince him to let Jaune go free for the dance."

Pyrrha blushed, "I don't want to ask him and have him say no. That would just make things awkward in the team if he knew how I felt. I'd rather wait and let him ask who he wants to. Who knows? Maybe he will ask me."

Yang caught another grape and popped it in her mouth, swallowing the fruit whole. "I think we all know who he's going to ask," said the blonde as she pointed a thumb at Weiss, who scowled and crossed her arms.

"Please ask him," said the heiress to Pyrrha, "you can have him if you want him."

The grin on Yang's face grew as she tossed a sidelong glance at her little sister, who was listening to their conversation intently. "Though who knows Weiss cream? Maybe he won't ask you. Maybe he'd rather take a Rose to the- ACK!"

Yang's sentence came to an abrupt halt as Ruby wrapped her arms around Yang's neck, cutting off her sister's words and air supply. "Nothing!" squealed the little leader of RWBY as she held on for dear life as Yang tried to pry her off. "Nothing at all!"

Despite her worry for Jaune Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh at the antics of the sisters. The little leader of RWBY wasn't as subtle as she thought she was. Pyrrha was aware of Ruby's feelings for Jaune, but she was also aware that Ruby had never acted on those feelings, or tried to come between her and Jaune. Honestly if Jaune did ask Ruby to the dance Pyrrha wouldn't mind as much as she would if he asked someone else, such as Weiss, or one of the many fan girls he had recently accrued. At least the younger girl actually understood what it was that Pyrrha saw in him, and liked the blonde boy for who he was rather than his newfound fame.

Ruby finally released her sister's throat and the blonde girl rubbed her throat. "Geez, a bit much don't you think sis? All I was going to say was-" she was cut off yet again as a grape bounced off her nose, courtesy of Nora. The blonde bombshell growled and rubbed her nose.

Pyrrha laughed as Yang and Nora got into a small food fight, flicking grapes at one another. The others members of both teams watched the fight with amusement until Ruby gasped and leaped up from her seat. She waved her arms frantically, jumping up and down. "Jaune! Over here!"

Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock and happiness as she turned towards the doorway. Sure enough there stood the object of her affections. During the past two weeks his clothes had grown too tight due to his additional muscle, and he and Nathaniel had gone out and bought him some new clothes to wear. It wasn't a large change in attire, but combined with his increased bulk it was a noticeable one. He had switched the hoodie for a black sleeveless shirt that showed off his arms under the spaulders and vambraces, and his sneakers had been swapped out for a pair of brown combat boots. Pyrrha could say with complete honesty that she appreciated the change, especially with his choice of shirts. Nora leapt up and ran over to their team leader, Ren calmly following her. Pyrrha stood up to follow them, but an arm reached out and grabbed hers. She turned to see that Yang had been the one to grab her. In her other arm she had Ruby firmly trapped in a headlock. "Remember what I said when we first met Talon you two," Yang said while grinning maliciously. "Give him little hints, and see how he reacts."

"Don't like him," grunted Ruby as she attempted in vain to free herself.

"Suuuuure," Yang said as she winked at Pyrrha and mouthed, "you know, don't you?"

Pyrrha nodded and smiled, indicating that she did, and that she didn't mind Ruby's feelings for Jaune. Yang nodded back and finally released Ruby's neck, who fell to the ground, and Pyrrha's arm. "Now go get him you two love birds."

"Don't like him," groaned Ruby from her position on the floor.

Pyrrha smiled and walked towards her teammates. Nora was currently clinging to Jaune's arm, which for Nora meant wrapping both her arms and legs around his arm in an impressive display of flexibility as Jaune and Ren frantically tried to pry her off before the blonde tipped over and fell. They managed to pry her off just as Pyrrha reached the three of them, and wrapped her arms around Jaune's torso. Normally Pyrrha wasn't the one for hugs, as that was more Nora's field of expertise, but Yang had said to give him little hints... who's to say she couldn't just give him a friendly hug that lasted a bit too long? To her surprise and complete elation Jaune wrapped both muscular arms around her waist, returning the hug. She leaned back a bit and smiled up at him, her face red. "How was the forest this weekend?"

He smiled back, which was enough to make her already rapidly beating heart hammer in her chest. "It was good, though I'm glad to be back here with you guys." He frowned at her and cocked his head to one side as his arms left her waist. "You okay Pyrrha? You look really red. You aren't coming down with something are you?"

Her arms unwound from around his torso. "I'm fine," she said sweetly. He accepted her response with a shrug and waved to Ruby, who had gotten up from the floor and had continued waving to him, and made his way over to the table where the two teams were sitting with Ren and Nora close behind him. "Nothing," sighed Pyrrha, "absolutely no reaction." Shoulders slumped she walked after her teammates, noticing just how many people were calling or waving to Jaune as he walked by their tables, especially the female students. More than a few winked at him, or even blew kisses at him as he passed, and smirked victoriously at Pyrrha as she walked past them.

Jaune for his part didn't really react to the increased female attention he was receiving, only waving or smiling in return. The old Jaune of just a few weeks ago would have turned turned beet red and tripped over his own two feet if a girl had so much as looked at him, but now he took it all in stride, hardly even reacting. "Hey Ruby, Yang, Blake," he said when he reached the table. He winked at Weiss, "hey Snow Angel. Miss me?"

Weiss crossed her arms and huffed as she turned away from him, but even Pyrrha could tell her cheeks were a bit pink. "Hmph. As if Arc."

Jaune grinned charmingly and leaned a little closer. "What's this? No dunce today? And is that a blush I see? I knew I'd get through that cold exterior eventually."

Weiss's cheeks turned even pinker as she pointed at Jaune. "I will freeze you to that spot you dunce!" she threatened.

Jaune laughed as he sat down. "That's why you're my Snow Angel. Cold on the outside, but deep down you do care."

Weiss's mouth opened and closed repeatedly as she stared uncomprehendingly at the boy. "I hate you Arc," she growled.

He smiled at her, "are you sure? Because I found something in the emerald forest this weekend that might make you change your mind."

"So! Ruby!" Pyrrha all but shouted in an attempt to derail the conversation. She did not like that pink tinge on the heiress's cheeks, "What are you doing today?"

Ruby grinned, probably just as glad as Pyrrha glad that Jaune had been interrupted. "I'm glad you asked Pyrrha!" The small girl stood up and picked up a massive binder from off of the bench next to her. She dropped it on the table with enough force to make the solid oak tremble. "Sister! Friends! Weiss."

"Hey!"

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."

"This oughta be good," muttered Yang to Blake, then caught another grape launched by Nora.

"A dream that the eight of us would come together, as teams, and have the most fun anyone has had... ever!"

"Did you steal my binder?" Accused Weiss.

"I am not a crook." Replied Ruby defensively.

"What are you talking about?" asked Blake.

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!"

"I like to kick my semesters off with a Yang!"

Everyone at the table groaned in pain at the pun. Nora tossed an apple at the blonde girl, who growled in response.

"Look guys, it's been a good two weeks, even with Jaune having to train separately, and with more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year our second semester is going to be great, but classes start back up tomorrow, and this is the last time for awhile that we're all going to be totally free to be together. Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today!"

"I don't know whether to be proud, or scared of what you have in store," replied Weiss as Yang stood up and launched another apple at Nora, which missed.

"I don't know," muttered Blake, who looked rather tired to Pyrrha, "I... I think I might sit this one out."

"Sit out or not, I think we should spend this last day as a team," said Weiss as she shot a pointed glare at Jaune.

Right as a pie hit her in the face.

Jaune groaned and unslung Brillant Mors from around his back, placing it under the table where he prayed it would be safe. "Here we go," he sighed.


Neptune laughed at Sun continued his story. "Man, that's harsh."

"And then we were fighting side by side!" exclaimed Sun as he informed his best friend about the events that had transpired before the blue haired boy's arrival in Vale, "and she's super fast and I threw a banana at a guy, which sounds gross but it was awesome!"

"Nice," said Neptune appreciatively.

"Right?! And the best part is she's a faunus!" The monkey faunus's hand flew to his mouth as he realized his mistake. "But that's a secret okay?"

"Got it."

"And not a 'I'm gonna tell Scarlet as soon as Sun turns his back secret'. I'm talking secret secret."

"Whoa chill out man, okay?" replied Neptune, "I got it."

"You better," warned Sun, "I just don't wanna screw this up, ya know?" So engrossed were the two boys in their conversation that they missed the multiple pieces of fruit that hit the windows of the cafeteria and the sight of Jaune getting knocked to the window by Yang, where he twisted and mid air and pushed off the glass with his feet, instead of flying face first into the pane like he originally would have. "The people here are the coolest. No offense to you guys."

"None taken."

"I even met that Jaune Arc guy. You know, the one with the big cat bird thing called a Gryphon?"

"No way, really? What was he like?"

"Well we never really talked, but he seemed really chill and in command you know? Like even when Blake showed him and his teammates that she was a faunus he didn't even seem fazed, like he knew all along. Even though I know he didn't know cause Blake didn't tell anyone at Beacon before she told me."

"He does sound pretty cool," agreed Neptune.

"Okay they're just in here." The two boys stopped outside the doors to the cafeteria. "I'm really excited for you to meet them, so be cool okay? You're gonna be cool right?"

Neptune crossed his arms and grinned at Sun, the sunlight making his teeth sparkle. "Dude."

Sun nodded. "Good point."

The two boys pushed opened the doors to the cafeteria, and beheld the horror within.


"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

Jaune couldn't help but laugh at his ginger teammate's antics as she stood atop her "castle": A bunch of tables stacked haphazardly on top of one another.

He cracked his knuckles as Ruby slammed her foot down on a table on the opposite end of the cafeteria. She pointed at the evil queen Nora. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be DELICIOUS!"

The other three girls of team RWBY cheered along with their leader as the two teams engaged one another in battle. "Off with their heads!" ordered Nora. Ren kicked three watermelons into the air, and then kicked them at RWBY. Jaune grabbed a watermelon and flung it as hard as he could, then swiftly followed it with two more. Pyrrha grabbed two watermelons and flung them into the air towards their opposing team. Nora meanwhile grabbed the lip of a table stacked with watermelons and flung both the table and the fruit upon it at their enemies.

"Yang! Turkey!" ordered Ruby. Jaune frowned in confusion. Turkey?

He got his answer when Yang sank her hands into two turkeys, and slammed them together hard enough to create a shock wave. Jaune's jaw dropped in amazement. "How?" Yang sprinted forward and began punching the watermelons to pieces, each strike sending pieces of the fruit everywhere. "How?!" shouted a bewildered Jaune. Blake leaped over her partner and grabbed two bread sticks and used them to smash apart two watermelons. Yang used Blake as a springboard and leaped over her partner, kicking another watermelon out of existence. She launched the turkeys at Jaune, who ducked under one and caught the other in both hands. He stared at the cooked fowl in utter shock and confusion. "What is our food made of?" he asked in befuddlement. His question would go unanswered, as he barely managed to duck a blow from Yang. He dropped the turkey and jumped back further, putting distance between himself and his fellow blonde. "Alright... I need a weapon," he muttered as he scanned the battleground. Pyrrha was taking on Ruby, who was doing a surprisingly good job of keeping the champion at bay. Nora was wielding a melon stuck on the end of a flag pole as she battled Weiss, who was using condiments such as ketchup and mustard, along with a swordfish off all things as a melee weapon. Blake and Ren were darting around all over the place, using leeks and bread sticks as their weapons of choice. Yang had reequipped her turkey gauntlets, and was smirking confidently at Jaune as she waited for him to choose a weapon. Finally his eyes landed on something he could use. It was a piece of french bread that was so long it was obscene. If Jaune hadn't desperately needed the unreasonably long french bread he would have spent more time wondering who on Remnant needed a piece of bread over six feet long. He scooped up his bread halberd, which he had dubbed Bread Mors, and held it up, daring Yang to step within reach of his new wheat based weapon.

Yang dared.

She flung herself towards Jaune who jumped back and thrust his weapon at her, forcing her to jump back also. Knowing that going on the defensive against Yang was the worst possible option Jaune stepped forward and thrust his weapon at Yang again, forcing her back again. Twice more he forced her back with a jab at her before the brawler leaped forward, slipping around the business end of Bread Mors and into Jaune's guard. Jaune ducked under the fist Yang sent flying at his face and spun, striking her in the back with his bread halberd.

Breadberd?

Halbread?

"Questions for later," he decided as he swung Bread Mors at Yang again, making the most of Yang's momentary surprise at his quick dodge. The blow landed, this time hitting her in the face, before Yang blocked brought up a turkey gauntlet and deflected his follow up attack. Quicker than last time she darted into Jaune's guard and slammed her other turkey gauntlet into his stomach. The knight in training doubled over with a gasp as the air was driven out of his lungs. Yang's other fist came up and slammed into his face, sending him flying backwards into the air. Jaune didn't know how long he was suspended in mid air before he hit the ground, groaning and thinking that turkey should not hurt that much. His eyes widened in shock and fear when he saw Yang leap into the air, one turkey gauntlet pulled back to finish him with one blow. As she seemed to fall towards him in slow motion she smiled and winked at Jaune.

Ignoring what that wink had done to his male hormones Jaune quickly pushed himself to his feet and raised Bread Mors directly at the falling Yang, who was unable to change her direction in mid air. Smirking confidently Jaune winked back at the blonde bombshell as she landed stomach first on the unreasonably long bread stick. The air was driven out of her lungs by the impact, and Jaune swung Bread Mors downwards, flinging Yang off the end of his weapon and into a pile of tables. Yang pushed herself to her feet and grinned at Jaune. "Not bad Vomit boy. You really have improved under my soon to be boyfriend."

Jaune laughed, "thanks Yang, but you may not want to let Mrs. Goodwitch hear that."

Yang frowned in confusion and opened her mouth to ask what he meant. At least that's what Jaune assumed she was going to ask, but instead her eyes widened in surprise and she shouted, "duck!"

Resisting the urge to point out that the things on Yang's fist were in fact turkeys Jaune ducked down as something sped over his head. He turned to follow the thing's trajectory, only realizing it was Weiss when it stopped by slamming into a stone pillar. "No!" shouted Ruby as she darted forward with her semblance and grabbed Weiss, pulling her out of the way of the falling stone pillar. The young leader of RWBY held her partner in both arms. "Weiss! Weiss speak to me! NNOOOOOOOOO!" The pillar collapsed behind Ruby, making for what would have been an emotionally powerful scene were it not for the food scattered about the place and the swordfish clutched in Weiss's hand.

Jaune turned back to Yang, who had been watching the scene unravel with just as much interest as Jaune. "She does know that Weiss is fine, right?" asked Jaune.

Yang shrugged. "Probably. She gets caught up in the moment a lot."

"HEADS UP GOLDILOCKS!" shouted a familiar voice. Both Jaune and Yang turned towards its source just in time to see Nora smack Yang with her melon hammer hard enough to send the blonde brawler to the roof.

And then through it.

Jaune stared, completely flabbergasted, as Yang flew off into the sky. As someone who flew regularly Jaune was getting fairly adept at judging just how high in the sky something was.

Yang had just cleared three hundred feet when a soda can went flying past his face, grabbing his attention. He watched as Pyrrha pelted Blake with soda cans, which exploded into colorful clouds as they burst open on impact. The champion launched a column of metal cans at Blake and knocked her into the wall, putting her out of the fight.

The only member of Team RWBY left standing was Ruby herself. Jaune leveled Bread Mors, grinning victoriously. She was unbelievably fast and a good fighter, but in a four on one battle team JNPR had the upper hand.

And then Ruby proved him dead wrong by running directly at them, and bringing everything with her.

The sheer speed she ran at created a vortex behind her, sucking up everything in its path as it followed the little reaper. Jaune gulped and held up his now useless halbread. "Protect me bread," he whimpered.

Ruby shot past them and JNPR uselessly tried to turn and run as they were sucked up into the vortex. Ruby skidded to a halt, the stone wall behind her shattering with the force of the shock wave. Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora were slammed into the cracked wall and the leader of JNPR had just enough time to look at the impending doom of food flying directly at them and think one thing.

"This is going to hurt so much."

Soda cans, turkeys, fruit, and other various and sundry edible goods pounded JNPR with relentless ferocity. Just when Jaune thought the barrage would never end it finally did.

Groaning in pain the four members of JNPR peeled off of the wall and collapsed on the floor.

"I was right. That hurt so much."

Jaune pushed himself to his feet and gave himself and his teammates a quick once over. Not surprisingly they were all completely covered in food, but it was beginning to slide off of them. "And I had just gotten a shower too," sighed Jaune. As he tried to brush a piece of melon off of his left vambrace Jaune noticed Brillant Mors laying on the ground before him. Assuming that it must have been caught up in the vortex and thankful that it hadn't hit anyone Jaune picked it up and slung it over his back. Blake and Weiss stood up from where they had fallen and walked over to where Ruby and JNPR were. Jaune happened to glance at the door to the cafeteria and saw the monkey faunus, Sun if he remembered correctly, and some guy who looked like he had been caught in the crossfire, if the grape soda covering him was any indicator. He heard Sun say something to his friend about "loving these guys". Judging by the look on the face of Sun's grape soda covered friend Jaune was pretty sure the monkey faunus was the only one of the two who felt that sentiment.

The doors to the cafeteria flew open, and Jaune's heart nearly stopped when Glynda friggin Goodwitch stormed in with a face full of fury. Behind her came Nathaniel, who's own face expressed only mild interest in the carnage around the room. That made Jaune go pale. Nathaniel only had that face on when he was thinking of the best way to punish you when you had messed up. With a flick of her riding crop Glynda repaired the shattered cafeteria and furniture, and made the remaining food go... somewhere. Jaune hadn't actually seen what happened to the food. He had been too busy dreading all of the laps he would have to run around the circumference of the school. In full gear. Plate armor, halberd, and all. "Children, please do not play with your food," Glynda said through gritted teeth.

As Jaune was trying to think of an adequate apology something occurred to him. He looked around the room, but was unable to find his fellow blonde. "Where's Yang? Is she still in the air?"

His question was answered when Yang fell through the roof and on top of a table, shattering it. "Anyone get the number of the bullhead that hit me?" she groaned.

Despite the fact that the pun was one of her worst yet, the members of RWBY and the other three members of JNPR began to laugh uproariously. Jaune smiled at his friends, deciding to take this moment of peace before he was ran to death. It was then as his friends were distracted by laughing that he heard a new but familiar voice.

"Let it go," Ozpin said calmly to Glynda and Nathaniel.

Glynda sighed. "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

"And Jaune's supposed to be the next Knight-Lord."

Ozpin smiled, "and they will be, but right now they're still children, even Jaune. So why not let them play the part?"

The headmaster turned and walked away. "After all," he said solemnly, "It won't be a role they'll have forever."


As Cinder walked away from the warehouse that Roman was set up in she pondered her next move. The next part of the plan was for her to infiltrate Beacon as a student. Originally the plan had been for her to keep her head down, try to gain information on the Fall Maiden's whereabouts, and wait for the dance so she could strike at the CCTS tower. However, a new factor had modified the plan somewhat.

The Gryphon Knights, one of them at least, still lived, and he was training young Jaune Arc to be the next Knight-Lord.

The news of the Gryphon and its rider had traveled fast over Remnant. Most everyone who wasn't living under a rock knew the names Jaune Arc and Talon by now. Even if the boy didn't realize it he was for all intents and purposes a celebrity now. Of course Cinder's mistress Salem knew, and she was furious. She had thought the Gryphon Knights slain to the last man, but one still lived, and so did a Gryphon. And it wasn't just any Gryphon. It was the Gryphon, the first Gryphon. Ridden by Cailan Arc ten thousand years ago he was now ridden by Jaune Arc, the Knight-Lord's descendant.

Salem had been clear in her wishes for the fate of the boy. He was to be killed at the first possible moment Cinder could get him alone. She smiled viciously. Getting the boy alone wouldn't be a problem, not with a body like hers. A few kind words, a touch here and there, and he would be putty in her hands. She could convince him to go off with her to some abandoned corner of the school grounds and kill him then and there. However she had to ensure that no one saw her, or that all witnesses were dealt with. If word got out that it had been Cinder who killed him then she would never be able to plant the virus in the CCTS tower, or find the Fall Maiden. Both tasks had to be completed to hasten the return of her mistress.

Salem was tired of waiting. Remnant had once been hers, and one day soon it would be again.


DUN DUN DUUUUUN! The plot thickens, and Cinder Fall prepares to infiltrate Beacon. What will happen next? Who knows? (Well I know, but that doesn't count.)

Writing out the food fight scene was legitimately the most fun I've had writing this story so far. I went back and watched the episode so I could be sure I stayed as true to the source material as possible while still making changes to allow for the direction this fanfiction is taking. Clearly the biggest change was that, unlike in the original episode, Jaune was actually a serious contributor in this fight. No he did not beat Yang, but he was able to hold her off until Nora was ready to play golf and use Yang as her golf ball.

I'm sure y'all noticed some big changes in his personality. Jaune's more confident in himself and his abilities. He's basically famous now, but he's not letting it get to his head and is for the most part just hanging out with his friends while still being polite to his "fans". The way he interacted with Weiss was different too. Because he's more confident in himself he approaches her with real confidence, which results in him getting through her cold outer shell somewhat, as opposed to the false bravado he puts on whenever he tries to flirt with her in the show. That being said the actual Jaune has had his moments (I don't care what anyone says. That scene in the emerald forest where he leaps out of the tree, catches Weiss, and asks her if shes "just dropping in" was smooth as hell) and I feel like we'll be seeing a more confident and mature Jaune in Volume 4. On the subject of Volume 4, LESS THAN ONE MONTH TILL IT'S OUT BABY! HYYYYYYYYPE! (I'm such RWBY trash)

Ass always (yes I'm aware there's a typo but I'm leaving that one cause it's funny damnit) please follow and favorite if you have not yet done that. If you have a question, suggestion, or just want to say what you think of the story so far then feel free to leave a review or PM me! If you have a friend who likes RWBY and RWBY fanfictions then please tell them about this story if you think they'd enjoy it. I love you all. BBYYYEEEEEE!