A week has gone by. Jaune and company are currently in Forever Fall, collecting sap for one of the professors in Beacon. Why? Apparently, it's for some sort of research. Jaune, however, believes that the professor is just too lazy and cheap to buy the syrup on their own. Though, Jaune wasn't bothered by this in the least bit. He was using his magic to get the sap from the tree in a quick and clean process. Currently, Jaune has over fifteen full jars of sap. He gave two jars to Goodwitch to show that he was done with the objective.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha called. "Why are you keeping so many jars of sap?".
"I want to make a dessert with it," Jaune replied. "It's quite sweet and can be a replacement for sugar".
"You can cook?" Pyrrha was surprised. "With how much you trained the past week, I thought you were one of those types of people who dedicate their selves to training".
"If you like, I can make something for lunch when we return to Beacon," Jaune said. "You can give me a list of your favourite food, and I'll make it".
"Really?!" Pyrrha said with excitement. But then she decided to dial down her excitement down. "Ahem. Sorry. If you don't mind, could you make some Mistralian dishes?".
"No problem," Jaune said. "Do you want anything in particular?".
"No," Pyrrha said while shaking her head. "Any Mistralian dishes would do. I just miss my mom's cooking".
"Hey, Pyrrha," Jaune said. "Now that we finished collecting sap for our team. What do you say about inviting Ren and Nora and exploring Forever Fall?".
"I don't know, Jaune," Pyrrha said. "The last time we did your exploration, we had to fight a horde of Grimm. I didn't even think there was a horde of Grimm in a forest controlled by Beacon".
"Oh, come on," Jaune said. "Admit it, you enjoyed the challenge".
"I…did, but that's not the point!" Pyrrha said. "Besides, Miss Goodwitch said that we shouldn't veer off too far from her".
"Fine! It's kind of boring doing nothing," Jaune said. "I wonder where team CRDL is? I thought for sure they would do something since I kicked their asses in the cafeteria and combat class".
Meanwhile, team CRDL was ready to toss a jar of sap towards Jaune and release a rapier wasp that one of them caught. However, the moment they were ready to enact their plan, the rapier wasp they caught got loose, and they dropped the jar of sap, making them the target of the rapier wasp.
Ren and Nora were collecting sap. Well, Ren was collecting it while Nora was eating it. Jaune wanted to tell them that enough sap was collected for their team, but watching the funny scene before him, Jaune decided to hold off telling them.
At the end of the field trip, Jaune did as he said to Pyrrha. He cooked a whole lot of Mistralian food. Most of which was eaten by him. Pyrrha and Ren had two plates worth of food, while Nora had seven. When the group was done, team JNPR headed back to their room.
As usual, Ruby would knock on team JNPR's dorm and ask Jaune to tell her stories about Summer Rose. To Jaune, Ruby was now like an adopted sister, which is why he's treating her like one.
A month later, Jaune was in Vale buying ingredients. He heard team RWBY making a ruckus in the street not far from him. Weiss and Blake were arguing about the White Fang. And how the terrorist has harmed the SDC or how the SDC has used Faunus for slave labour.
Jaune ignored Blake and Weiss as he wasn't that close to them. However, later that evening, when Jaune saw the expression on Ruby's face, he decided to ask her what was going on.
"I'm not sure," Ruby said. "I think that Blake was part of the terrorist group known as the White Fang".
"Huh? Is that it?" Jaune asked, confused. "I thought you were going to say that Blake was trying to bring about the fall of Beacon or something. If Blake was really part of the White Fang and is here at Beacon but hasn't done anything to bring harm to anyone, it's safe to say that she is probably trying to get a new lease in life, I think".
"T-That's possible," Ruby said. "But how would I know for sure? She left before explaining anything".
"Then look for her," Jaune said. "She couldn't have gone that far. Or maybe wait until tomorrow. It is already quite dark out there. Searching now wouldn't do you much. Plus, with me, I can easily help you locate her".
"Really?" Ruby said with a hopeful expression. Jaune then nodded at her. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You're the best friend I've ever had!".
"No problem, Ruby," Jaune said. "Now go and rest, you're going to have a big day tomorrow looking for Blake".
The following morning, Yang, Ruby and Weiss knocked on team JNPR's dorm. Jaune invited them in, and he started his computer. Not long later, Jaune hacked the CCTS and used its connection to look for Blake. The trio of Team RWBY was shocked at how easy it was for Jaune to hack into the CCTS without even going to the main building.
"Ah-ha! I found Blake," Jaune said. "She seemed to be in a café with a monkey Faunus. Give me a second, I'll see who this person is".
Jaune then used facial recognition to find a file on the person with Blake. It didn't take long before he got an answer. The man's name was Sun Wukong, and he was a student of Haven Academy, and he is in Vale for the Vytal tournament. Jaune relayed this info to team RWBY.
"That's the rapscallion for yesterday!" Weiss said with a scowl. "I knew it! All Faunus are part of the White Fang!".
"No, did you not listen to any of the info I said?" Jaune said. "I told you that he was from Haven Academy. Meaning he's a Huntsman-in-training, and I've also gotten files about him not liking the White Fang, calling them a cult".
This made Weiss shut up. On the other hand, Yang thought that with Jaune's hacking skills, this was how he knew that Ruby's mother was Summer Rose and how he had some stories about her. She was suspicious of Jaune. Yang wasn't thinking rationally. She didn't even think that Jaune talked about when he first met Ruby for the first time.
After Jaune found Blake, he secured the CCTS by upgrading it. Since the CCTS helped him, he thought upgrading its firewall and security in return was only fair.
Jaune wasn't planning to follow team Ruby to Vale, but with Ruby's puppy dog eyes, he couldn't say no. Hence, he was walking towards the café that Blake was on. Along the way, Jaune and RWBY met a friend that Ruby made the other day, her name was Penny Polendina, and she was from Atlas. Jaune then approached Penny.
"You're beautiful," Jaune said. He was inspecting Penny from head to toes. "Whoever built you must be brilliant. The level of craftsmanship is beyond anything in Remnant".
"Am, Jaune?" Ruby said. "People don't get built. Even I know that".
"Huh? I know that, but Penny isn't Human. She is an android. Though," Jaune said. He then started inspecting Penny further. "She seems to have Aura, meaning she has a soul. Which makes the person who created more brilliant than I thought".
"Pfft! Jaune, I think you're going crazy," Ruby said. "Come on, Penny. Tell Jaune that he's crazy, and you're Human".
"Jaune, Ruby's friend, I'm Human," Penny said. She then hiccupped. "I was born like any other meat person".
Jaune was quite observant. He knew that the hiccup was happening due to her lies. Jaune was about to tell team Ruby that he was wrong, but when he looked around, they were gone.
"Where did everyone go?" Jaune said. "How did I not feel their departure?".
"If you're looking for your friends," Penny said. "They left after I denied being an android. Ruby seemed to be reluctant on leaving, but she was pulled by the blonde girl".
"I see," Jaune said. "Anyway, since everyone is gone, you don't have to lie to me about being an android. Don't worry, now that I know that you're hiding that fact, I won't tell anyone".
"I can I ask?" Penny said. "How did you know that I was an android? I thought I was able to capture the essence of being a normal girl".
"Hmm…To other people, no one would suspect anything," Jaune said. "But I'm well versed in robotics. Plus, I can smell mechanical oil on you. It's very subtle, but it's there. I can smell it".
"By the way, let me introduce myself properly," Jaune said. He then brought his hand forward for a handshake. "I'm Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you".
The Master Roboticist and the Android got to know each other. Penny's interaction with Jaune made her feel like a real girl. However, Penny didn't know that Jaune saw her as one since she has Aura, which means she has a soul. For all intents and purposes, she is an ordinary girl to Jaune.
