Vesta had no idea what had driven so many Grimm to attack the city, but she didn't have time to speculate while getting dressed, nor did she have time to think about it as she grabbed her weapon and raced out to join the others. Jaune, similarly, had a ton of questions, but all of them were drowned out by the one thing repeating in his mind. Protect the family.

The city was in full lockdown, with civilians cowering wherever they could. Many were in their homes, but just as many were in stores and other public spaces. When Team ORNJ made it to the top of the walls of the city, they found that the heavy wooden gates were closed and the militiamen lining the walls were firing rifle rounds at the Grimm below. When Jaune saw just how many there were, his heart sunk. A veritable sea of Grimm, Beowolves, Ursa, Borbatusks, and, worryingly, a few Goliaths. Those Grimm were rare, but their prodigal size made them worth a hundred Ursa and a thousand Beowolfs.

Vesta, in the meantime, had no idea where these Grimm had come from or how they had appeared so quickly, but ultimately that wasn't what was important. What was important was that they were there, and that they needed to be taken care of. Vesta was strong, she knew she was, but this many Grimm? There was no way she'd be able to do it alone.

Luckily, she didn't have to.

Nora was many things, but contrary to popular belief, she was not an idiot. This was dire, this was horrifying, this was something that was only seen once in a generation maybe. Yet, she knew that fretting would do nothing. Instead, she broke into a grin and produced her grenade launcher before shouting, "Looks like meat's back on the menu boys!"

Ren drew his pistols and sighed, of course this was dangerous, of course this was bad, but it seemed that they were the only huntsmen in the entire city. A small frown tugged at his lips, "Well. Let's try to keep our cool."

The screeching of Nevermore overhead alerted them to the fact that just because they were on the walls didn't mean they couldn't be reached. Jaune drew Crocea Mors and quickly shouted, "We need to keep them off the militia!" He looked around and swore, "Weren't there turrets?!" He distinctly remembered the city had installed several turrets the year before he left, Sarcelle had even helped them!

One of the militiamen responded, "I think something's wrong with the central whatever! They weren't coming on!" He looked up just in time to see a Nevermore diving towards him. Jaune raced towards him and pushed him out of the way while raising his shield, the beast's claws scraping against the metal. He swiped upward with his sword and managed to cut one of the Grimm's feet clean off, causing it to screech in pain as it flew back into the air, only to be shot out of the sky by Ren and a volley of fire from the militia.

Vesta growled as she looked out to the sea of Grimm, there were a number of spells she could use here. The strongest one would do the most damage to the horde, but it would also probably damage the walls, which was not what she wanted to see. She took hold of her staff and extended it out before spinning it in her hands and pointing the gem towards the sky.

The result was the sky opening up in a spell she had used twice before. Several meteorites fell into the army of Grimm, exploding and sending dozens, possibly a hundred of them flying in every direction. Some of the militia gawked, one of them said, "Damn!" out loud, before everyone resumed firing upon the horde.

Jaune was still trying to figure out what to do about those turrets, given that there wasn't much he could do with all of the Grimm outside of the walls. He was about to make for one of the battlements when he saw a familiar cylindrical robot fly in front of him, whirring and clicking. He gasped, "Pod?! What are you-"

The tired voice of Sarcelle responded from behind him, "Scouting." Jaune's eyes widened in abject horror as he whirled around and saw his sister climbing the stairs slowly, stopping to catch her breath at the top, "The turrets… there has to be… a malfunction. I need to… I need to get to the control panel."

Jaune gaped at her for a moment before sighing, he knew he couldn't tell her to go back now. She was their best hope for fixing the control panel, "Alright, fine! But I'm escorting you there. There's Nevermore everywhere." To highlight his point a screech from above caused him to look to the sky and face towards the source while raising his shield. Another Nevermore was barreling towards them, its claws ready to hit whatever it could…

…Then Pod snapped to it and out of its head popped what looked like a small turret. It shot, and with surprising force, a green laser cut into the Nevermore and turned it into nothing but mist. Jaune gawked at it while Sarcelle just chuckled, "From Atlas with love. Well… After I-" She coughed into her hand before clearing her throat, "After I borrowed it. It was just a prototype design, not something they were going to mass produce just yet, but I figured it'd serve its purpose in emergencies, like… well, this"

Jaune didn't have time to contemplate how Sarcelle was able to steal military secrets from Atlas, nor did he particularly care at that moment. Instead he just nodded, "Well, come on!" He began to lead her towards the battlement where the control panel was supposed to be, keeping his shield raised to intercept any flying Grimm.

Meanwhile, Vesta watched while Nora and Ren fired down at the hordes, grenades exploding and bullets taking down the weaker Grimm. Then, she took off into the air, ignoring the gasps of surprise from the militia as she gritted her teeth and the partisan sword on the end of her staff left its holding inside the weapon. Nevermore flew everywhere, and upon seeing her she could have sworn some of them were confused, but not very long.

Instead, they screeched and began to change at her, five of them in total. The first one closed in and she stabbed outward with her sword-staff, straight into the bird's skull. She allowed the Nevermore to fall off her blade and towards the ground while the others came towards her. One managed to scratch her side, but her aura protected her and allowed her to whack the bird with the blunt end of her staff hard enough that it was sent downward, allowing it to get filled with holes from her comrades.

Three left, Vesta slashed outward with her staff as one drew close before flying over another that tried to claw at her, only to speed down towards it. The Nevermore was speared straight through its torso just in time for her to lift her blade up towards another while the bird was still stuck to it. The final bird rammed right into her staff and joined the other on the shishkebab before she pushed them off with her hand.

Vesta noticed something when she looked out at the Grimm on the ground. Sure, there were a good number of them clawing at the walls or swooping down from the skies, but… there were just as many who were doing nothing. Nothing! They were just standing there and growling, they looked ready to attack but they… weren't. She'd never known Grimm to pause an attack, or to refrain from doing so, except when…

No, it couldn't be.

She was torn out of her thoughts when everyone present saw turrets appear from the battlements, they appeared Atlesian in design but instead of the mark of Atlas on their bodies, there was the mark of the Arc family. The turrets seemed to have a means of targeting Grimm, as with a loud BEEP from each of them in a chorus, they snapped to the Nevermore in the sky and began shooting out round after round of powerful rounds at them. Some of the Grimm avoided it, others were turned into dust, and Vesta knew that she could move to help somewhere else.

Meanwhile, within one of the many towers lining the walls, Sarcy finished closing up the control panel, "Idiots crossing the wires…" Then she coughed, wretched more like, into her hand.

Jaune watched worriedly, and though she tried to hide it, Jaune saw the splatters of her blood on the ground, "Sarcy! You're not well. You've helped enough, please, let me take you back home."

Sarcy growled, "When am I ever well?!" Her voice broke up as she looked at him with tears in her eyes, "When have I ever been healthy? The Brothers, if they exist, must be laughing at me!" Jaune could only watch wide eyed as she continued, "Every. Day. I wish I could be like you! I wish I could be a huntress, fighting for good! I was so, so happy when I got you into Beacon, and yet…"

Her breathing was shaky as she inhaled and exhaled, casting her gaze downward, "And yet… I can't. I will never be able to be like you, Jaune!" Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at her brother, "Do you understand what that feels like?! I can't… I can't do anything!"

Jaune felt stupid for not realizing how much this weighed on her in the past. Yet, at the same time, he was shocked that anyone would want to be like him. What was he? Nothing special, just a squire with a sword. Still, he wasn't going to go deprecating himself when his sister needed his support. Instead, he reached up and placed his hand atop her head. He didn't see Sarcey's eyes widen, instead he spoke gently, "Sarcy… Y-You don't know that you won't ever be able to join me. You're so smart, smarter than me! Smarter than Dad! Smarter than anyone on Remnant! Because of that, I think you will. One day, you'll be fighting alongside me, and hey… In the meantime, I'm sure there are other ways you can help."

Sarcelle seemed to be calming down, although eventually she sniffled, looked up at him, and asked, "Other ways?" Then, her eyes widened, "Oh! I have an idea! Pod!" She looked at Pod, who obediently lowered so she could inspect him, "If I change this wire, and that wire, and… Jaune! Do you have any fire dust?"

Jaune blinked a few times, "Uhhh… I think Nora does!" He hurried outside and looked around, Nora was there, cackling as she shot her grenade launcher, "Nora!" He called out as he hurried over to her, "I need fire dust! A vial, I think!"

Nora blinked in confusion before grinning and nodding, "Alrighty Jaune-Jaune!" She reached to grab it while saying, "What, are ya comin' up with some sort of master plan? That's gonna save all of us?"

Jaune grinned, "No, my sister is." Then he turned around and hurried back to the tower where Sarcelle was working. Once he got there, he handed the fire dust to her. She told him she was going to need time, and so, at her urging, he left to see if there was anything he could do to help the others. As soon as he stepped outside, however, his heart dropped. Vesta had been distracted looking elsewhere when the charge happened, and once the noise of the gates crashing open hit her ears, she turned to look in shock and horror.

She disengaged from fighting Nevermore and allowed the turrets to do their work, instead flying down the road from the gate, just far enough to not get trampled immediately. Before she could do anything, several militiamen scrambled from where they had been, guarding civilians in buildings, and began to fire on the two Goliaths. A small horde of civilians were left panicking either trying to get away or simply frozen in place, looking terrified as they were stuck on trying to figure out where else to go.

Vesta saw Nora from atop the wall shifting Magnhild into its hammer form before jumping down and spinning in the air while cackling like a madwoman. She brought her hammer down atop the head of the closest Goliath while detonating some explosions from the top of her hammer in the process. It damaged the beast, but didn't take it down, instead seeming to make it angry as it began to toss its head, forcing Nora to jump off and begin dodging as it stomped its feet.

Ren and Jaune were close behind, jumping off the walls. Ren landed atop the other Goliath and began to fill its back with rounds, although his small caliber pistols didn't seem to be doing much. Jaune landed on the ground with a roll and ran right in front of the thing and slashed at it with his sword, rolling out of the way as it tried to hit him with its tusks.

This wasn't including the other Grimm that started to pour in, many of them being gunned down in seconds while others engaged with Vesta's team. The girl herself grimaced, especially as this caused more panic amongst the civilians. This was chaos, pandemonium, insanity…

And it needed to stop.

Vesta raised her staff before slamming it back down while with her voice laced with authority and strength nurtured by her years preparing to rule Everday, she yelled, "People of Domremy! Be strong, for we will defeat these beasts!" Her words drew attention from civilians and those in the militia who were taking a moment to catch their breath, she continued, pointing to the militia who weren't already engaged, "Brave members of the militia! Lend my team your aid, let not a single Grimm escape!" Then, she shifted her attention to the civilians, "Citizens, retreat! Make your way indoors or underground! Carry the wounded if thou must! I will let not a single beast harry your retreat! This is my promise to you, as a Princess, a Witch, and… a Huntress!"

No doubt the people had no clue what she meant by the first two titles, but they understood the third one. They understood what it meant, what she was promising, and in that moment, they believed her. So, the group of civilians that was left began retreating down the road, and to Vesta's surprise, a familiar face emerged, wearing full plate armor minus a helmet and carrying a broadsword. Mr. Arc directed the civilians, "Move people! Follow the ladies orders! The Arc House will shelter all of you!"

Vesta turned her attention forward to the Grimm, a Beowolf raced at her before leaping into the air. She met it with a flourish, extending out her blade yet again and piercing its head with an upward thrust, closing the beast's once open mouth. Before it could fall atop her, she used the wind to push it back, allowing it to fall to the ground. She spotted Jaune and the others, still fighting the two Goliaths, and pointed the gem of her staff at the beasts. It glowed bright blue before several large icicle-like projectiles formed in a semi-circle above her head and shot out at the Goliaths along with several other Grimm near to them.

They pierced straight through the two giant Grimm's bone masks, causing them to roar in pain before they were covered with the rest of the projectiles. Both Goliaths stumbled before Nora took her opportunity, bringing around her hammer and slamming it into the side of the one she was fighting, causing it to finally lose its balance. It collapsed against the other one, making it join the domino effect as it slammed down on its side and crushed several smaller Grimm beneath its weight. Vesta then called out, "Jaune! I need you to cover me, I must prepare a spell! Nora, Ren," she turned her attention to the other two, "keep fighting! They must not reach deeper into the city!"

Her team agreed and moved to act, Nora and Ren engaging Grimm as they came while Jaune hurried back to Vesta and stood a few feet in front of her, shield raised, "I hope whatever you're planning works! If you do something too big, it'll take the city with the Grimm!" He had no idea what the largest spell she was capable of doing was, but he didn't want it unleashed on the city unless absolutely necessary.

Vesta was in agreement, "Worry not, that will not come to pass. What we need is more bodies, more fighters, an army!" Jaune's eyes widened, he was at a loss as to what she meant to do, but all he could do was wait to see. Particularly as a Beowolf lunged at him and his shield took the brunt of the attack, he grunted in pain before stabbing the Beowolf through the head with his sword, causing it to fall at his feet. Vesta closed her eyes before opening them again and beginning to chant.

"Woe to thee, ye warriors fallen and faded."

Nora jumped out of the way of a charging Borbatusk, just in time for Ren to stab it in the head with Stormflower. An Ursa charged at Nora and swiped at her, managing to catch her side. She grunted in pain before bringing around her hammer and connecting it to the beast's head while setting off an explosion, sending it flying away from her.

"Though ye hast met your fated end…"

Jaune came face to face with an Ursa on his own. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he rolled out of the way of the beast's attempt to swipe at him, slashing it in the side once he popped back up. With a roar, the monster moved to bite at him with its powerful jaws, only to have its face smashed with Jaune's shield, disorienting it. It reared back and prepared to try again, only for Jaune to swing his sword and dismember the beast.

"May your rest suspend and the veil between worlds bend! I beseech thee, one and all…"

The ground began to glow gold, the spell wasn't finished being prepared yet but Jaune felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Whatever it was, it seemed to give the Grimm themselves pause as they looked confused for a few moments before returning to their attacks. Jaune intercepted a Boarbatusk as it tried to charge at Vesta by running in front of her as it charged, bringing up his shield and digging in. The beast collided with it and Jaune felt the strength of its tusks in the force of its charge, yet, he didn't give ground, instead he pushed back and forced it onto its back with a mighty heave of his shield, giving him room to stab it in the stomach and kill it.

"Champions of eras past, heed my call!"

The golden light grew almost blinding as large pillars of light shot from the ground around the street. Jaune could only watch with wide eyes as, from these pillars, began to pour out spectral warriors wearing an assortment of different outfits from different periods in history. From before the Great War all the way up to modern-looking huntsmen, the fighters charged. One of them, a man wearing full plate armor with only the lower half of his face visible, yelled, "For the rightful queen!" As he met with an Ursa and stabbed into it with his halberd.

Another wearing heavy, ornate armor with a red fur-trimmed cloak wielding a large mace joined the one with the halberd. He slammed his mace down on the Ursa's head and crushed it before running forward while laughing joyously, "Oh, if only my grandkids could see me now!"

A third fighter, a tall man at 6'5'' with medium-length blonde hair and a matching beard wearing armor that looked strikingly similar to Jaune's and wielding what the boy recognized as Crocea Mors raced forward to meet a Beowolf, slashing its head off, "Do not waver men! For one last time, we ride again! Do not waste the opportunity!"

From behind him, Jaune heard his dad's voice, breaking up slightly he whispered, "Grandpa?" Jaune's own eyes widened as he looked back at his dad, who clearly returned ready to fight, yet now his weapons were held at his sides as he stared, face filled with a mixture of emotions.

The wave of spectral soldiers pushed back the Grimm, inch by inch. Once the Grimm were outside of the gate again, Jaune saw Pod flying to the gate. Then, even as most of the specters began to dissipate and the remaining Grimm prepared to try to enter the city again, it emitted a wall of red energy over the gates. Any Grimm that ran at it would soon find themselves set alight.

Jaune heard Vesta laugh tiredly and turned to face her just in time to see her starting to fall forward. He hurried over and caught her, helping her stand as she smiled tiredly, looking at the ground, "...I don't think I'll be able to do that one again… The barriers between our world and the next are fickle, should I reach again I might find them reaching for me instead."

Jaune smiled worriedly at her, clearly whatever it was took every ounce of energy she had left, "Don't worry about it, Vesta. I doubt we're gonna need something like that again. Besides… You were amazing. Did! You did amazing!" He stammered, luckily Vesta didn't seem to notice as she was too busy trying to not fall.

His fluster was cut short as, even with the streets now cleared, a single specter walked towards them. He recognized the specter from portraits now, his great grandfather Jean Arc. He stood in front of them with a smile on his face, "A glorious fight, was it not?"

Jaune swallowed a lump in his throat, he felt like he didn't deserve to be in the presence of one of the heroes of his family, "G-Great-grandpa, I-"

The man cut him off by walking forward and placing a hand on his shoulder, "Now, Jaune. Listen." He smiled, "You've got the spirit, will, and strength of a hero. I've watched you closely, and I believe that one day, songs will be sung of your adventures." He chuckled, "If they still do that sort of thing." Then, he looked up at Jaune's dad, "You have lived a life of glory as well, but I feel that your son will surpass us both, given time." He began to fade, "Well… that's my cue."

Mr. Arc reached his hand out, "W-Wait, Grandpa!" The elder Arc just smiled at him as he vanished, causing Jaune's dad to clench his fist and look down as he took a deep breath. Then he sighed, sheathed his sword, and put his shield on his back, "Jaune, I… Think I may have been being unfair to you."

Jaune so desperately wanted to say 'no, really?' but he held himself back. Instead he listened as his father walked in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder like his great-grandpa had, "I was angry. Not… so much because you ran away, I actually did something similar when I was your age. Instead it was because I was worried, afraid. I saw a lot of people die in my time as a huntsman, and all I could think about was you following them. The world's not a fairy tale, and… I suppose that I underestimated you by thinking you didn't know that."

Jaune felt a swelling feeling deep within him, and it wasn't from the bruises he had received during the fight. Instead, he felt like he could cry tears of joy, "Dad… All I ever wanted to do was be a hero and live up to our name… I wanted to make you proud." He felt Vesta leaning on him more as she clearly was fighting unconsciousness, he shifted his own weight to support her more.

Mr. Arc nodded, his eyes held a softer gaze than Jaune had seen in years, "I…I am proud of you, Jaune." He smiled, "You've still got a long way to go. Your form needs work, your swordsmanship needs refining, but… I am proud of you." His smile turned to a grin, "How long are you going to be here? I think… It might be time I teach you what I know."

Yep, that did it. Jaune sniffled as tears streamed down his face,"A few more weeks…" He thought he'd never actually learn anything from his dad, this was massive to him, "Thank you so much. I love you Dad." That was when Vesta finally passed out, leaning on Jaune completely as he shifted and scooped her into his arms, "She's… a bit tired." He smiled awkwardly.

His dad chuckled, "I don't know what she did, but… She's something else. Calling on the dead? Flying around like that? It's all so unbelievable that I've come around to believing it again." He grinned, "I think you two will make each other very happy, one day. I expect grandkids before I die."

Jaune's face ignited as he whined, "Dad!" His dad started laughing a good naturedly laugh as he stepped back and turned to assess the damage, which was thankfully mostly to the walls and the gates. Some of the buildings had sustained damage, but ultimately it seemed Domremy would recover.

Nora was jumping around celebrating, "Woohoo! We did it! We kicked their asses!" While Ren just smiled and tried to get her to calm down. Mr. Arc's eyes widened as he saw Sarcelle slowly making her way towards them, he had no idea why she was out and about like that, but she had a smile on her face.

Sarcy smiled even as she coughed into her hand, "Did my part…" She stopped in front of her dad, "I'm… probably going to be out for a few days." Her smile turned into a grin, a rare sight on the girl, "It was worth it."

Mr. Arc smiled back at her, "I'd ground you if you didn't just find a way to keep those Grimm out…" Strangely, from what he could see, the Grimm that remained had mostly departed. He had never known Grimm to retreat like that, there were rare instances when they did, but in the manner that they had? It didn't make sense.

Yet, he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Neither was Jaune, as the others converged on him and, together, everyone began making their way towards the Arc house.


Evernight Castle

Salem hummed as she watched the Grimm she had sent retreat, as she had ordered. Tyrian was there, subserviently at her side as she sat on her throne. He chuckled one of his maniacal chuckles, "I see that your progeny has inherited your strength, my queen. She is still no match for you, of course, but I see the divinity in her blood, the divinity that comes from you!"

Salem smiled, she had always found Tyrian's subservient behavior amusing, and exactly what she looked for in a subject, "She has passed my test. Had she failed, then she would have not been worth anyone's time." The orb she was looking into cut off as the Grimm finished their retreat, "This is… pleasing."

Tyrian nodded eagerly in agreement while Salem instead willed the orb to show her Cinder, who had found a secluded place to meet with the Seer Salem had sent, "Young Cinder, that girl you informed me of is no maiden. She is much more, and much more important to me. You will not harm a hair on her head, am I understood?" She had plans, plans that would be disrupted if Cinder let her lust for power get the better of her.

Cinder's eyes widened, "Master, her power would be much better served under my command! If she decided to-"

Salem cut her off, her voice no less neutral than it was before, "I will hear none of that, Young Cinder. You will have your power. The power of the maidens. That is what you seek, is it not? To quell the burning in your heart?" Cinder nodded and Salem smiled, "Of course you do. Now, I will hear nothing more about pursuing Vesta. You are better than a pawn, but you are not a player." There were words unsaid there, that Salem considered Vesta more important than Cinder, that Vesta herself might well be something more than a mere piece on the chess board.

Cinder didn't allow those thoughts to get to her, instead she nodded obediently, "Yes, Master. Your will be done." After that, the Seers cut contact.


The Middle Class District in Vale

The Seer vanished, dissipated by Salem's will. Cinder growled and clenched her fists, never before had she been lower in Salem's gaze than someone else. Never before had Salem told her to not pursue something that could so clearly benefit her, that would give her the power that she was promised!

She left the bedroom and headed downstairs, knowing that if she wanted to avoid turning Torchwick and Adam to ashes at the meeting she had in a few hours, she was going to need to relax. So, she did what she always did when she was stressed and found her husband, who had been preparing to leave for work in the living room. When he saw her, he smiled, "So how'd it go?"

Instead of responding, Cinder wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his. It was a heated, fiery, and possessive kiss, done with such force that, were it not for their auras, they would no doubt bruise their lips. She guided Neve onto the couch and made him sit while she straddled him, only then did she break the kiss, "Salem seems to think that the girl is no maiden and that she's worth more to her than I am." That was the implication, in her mind, at least.

Neve frowned, "Clearly, she's forgotten how important you are to her." He placed his hands on her back and pulled her into a hug, one which she accepted, "It's okay, sweetie, we can't win them all. Maybe she'll let you have that power later?"

Cinder sighed and closed her eyes while resting her head on his shoulder, "From the way she was talking, it seems that girl will be off-limits for the foreseeable future." At least, she was supposed to be, "That doesn't make any sense! Her power could be mine, then it would be under her control! When have I ever given her a reason to doubt my loyalty?"

Neve hummed as he rubbed her back, "Never, dear, never. You're the most loyal member of her court… Well, save for that one man you told me about." From what Cinder had said, that man worshiped Salem as a god, and kissed the very ground she walked on. Literally, in some cases.

Cinder was in agreement, "You're right, my love… You're right." She lifted her head and looked down at her husband, "Clearly, I will need to bide my time. I can get ahold of that girl's powers, should my plan succeed, and then Salem will see she was foolish to restrict me."

Neve smiled, "The Festival?" She nodded and he hummed, "I hope we'll at least have time to enjoy ourselves prior to that. It's supposed to be an unforgettable experience."

Cinder couldn't help but feel her heart flutter at the thought, spending time at the festival with Neve was the second most anticipated thing in her mind. She smiled, "Of course we will, Neve, we might as well enjoy ourselves before the big day. Now…" Her smile grew lustful.

"How about you help me… destress?"


Domremy

To say the citizens of Domremy were grateful would be an understatement.

Word had quickly spread about the heroics done that day, most of the praise was heaped onto Team ORNJ, although plenty of praise went to the militia who held their ground as well. It was agreed upon that as soon as the walls and gates were repaired, there would be a festival in honor of everyone who fought and in honor of those who had died (of which there were a handful).

It seemed that news of the attack had already reached Vale, as now news teams descended on the city to get the scoop. Luckily, they weren't alone. Construction crews and some huntsmen arrived, with the huntsmen assigned to protect the crews while everything got repaired.

Vesta was still unconscious, and Jaune had asked everyone who saw what she had done to try and avoid talking about it. He stressed that if word got out about it, she might be in danger. The citizens of Domremy were more than willing to keep a secret, and it became something of a running joke that, whenever a reporter would ask how the horde was defeated so quickly, the citizen would just respond, "Dunno." That wasn't entirely a lie, a vast majority of them really didn't know. The ones that did still didn't say anything.

Sarcelle had expressed a desire to upgrade the team's weapons, although she claimed there was only so much she could do with the supplies she had on hand. Luckily, the mayor of Domremy overheard her voicing this desire and offered what dust the city could spare to the effort, as another way of showing gratitude to the team.

Jaune decided that, once Vesta was awake, he would ask her if there was anything she could do to help Sarcelle. He knew that there was a decent chance she couldn't, but if it was possible, then he had to at least try. It was his duty as her brother!

…Unfortunately for him, Vesta was out for almost the entire day. While they did have the hotel, Jaune ultimately decided to leave her in his old room, since he doubted any of them were going to be leaving the Arc House for a while that day. However, minutes ticked into hours, day turned to night, and she still wasn't awake. Jaune was getting worried, so he opted to sit in his old computer chair and wait until she woke up, just to make sure she was okay.

When Vesta finally stirred, it was two AM and Jaune had fallen asleep in his chair. She blinked her eyes open, moderately confused for a moment before she sat up and looked around. The room was unfamiliar to her, she slept on a twin-sized bed, atop the covers, the floor was carpeted blue, her hat sat on a nightstand at her side, and…

She saw Jaune sitting in his chair facing her, snoozing away. A smile crossed her face, larger than she would normally allow. She moved, sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment. Then, she stood up and quietly made her way towards him, looking him over to make sure he was out cold, and he was. Then, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek before leaning back up, still smiling and with red dusting up her face. It was not uncommon for a princess to show gratitude with a kiss on the cheek, she hadn't done that in a long, long time.

Then again, she hadn't met someone like Jaune in a long time. Though the kiss was totally platonic in her mind, she couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy inside because of it. She sat back on the bed and reached into her satchel, producing her mirror and looking herself over. She looked tired, but otherwise found nothing amiss.

Jaune, meanwhile, was having the most wonderful dream. He found himself standing in the streets of Vale, Vesta was at his side. She was dressed in what used to be his hoodie and a knee-length skirt, while he was wearing another one of his hoodies and the rest of his usual attire. He couldn't help but feel she looked a million times more beautiful than anyone else, and she looked so very out of place standing next to him. She was beauty and refinement mixed with fire and passion, he was… scraggly and average.

Yet, she was still holding his hand, and even dream-him couldn't quite believe that it was real. She said something, although Jaune didn't know what. Dream-Jaune responded with a blush before leaning down slightly. Then, she leaned up and kissed his cheek, even if it wasn't real Jaune felt as if it was, and it set his heart ablaze. She looked as if she was going to kiss him on the lips, but that was when the dream cut to black.

Vesta saw Jaune stir with a goofy smile on his face, although he was still asleep. Clearly, whatever his dream was was enjoyable. Maybe he was dreaming about being a knight, or a superhero, or… any number of things that others might have called childish. Yet, she knew he was no child, he was more nuanced than that. He faked his way into Beacon, he trained harder than anyone else, save for maybe herself, and in the span of months he was already approaching the level of an average huntsman-in-training.

At least, that's what Ozpin had said in regards to him once, she had no frame of reference for that. Yet, apparently, his growth was downright prodigious, which just reinforced to Vesta that while he might have his moments of shyness, uncertainty, and self-doubt, she was right to say he had the makings of a hero.

Okay, he had a lot more than his 'moments' of those things, he was a very unsteady person, not at all confident, at least, nowhere near as confident in himself as he should be.

Vesta realized she was staring at him almost too late, his groaning and stretching were what pulled her out of the clouds she was so fond of. While he stirred awake, she busied herself with looking around his room after slipping her hand mirror back into her satchel. There were posters on the wall of various superheroes and fictional characters, a game system placed in a hole in a piece of rectangular furniture which held atop it a holo-TV's projection brick.

She was looking at that when he finally roused enough to see that she was awake and sitting up, "Vesta?" He managed drowsily, "You're finally awake…" She could practically hear the smile that found its way onto his face, "I was getting a bit worried." He seemed to catch himself, "N-Not that I think you were in any real danger, I know you're strong! Like, super strong! Like-"

Vesta's giggling cut him off, what a silly boy he was. She covered her mouth to hide her smile until she got it under control, albeit it remained a small presence on her face as she moved her hand and looked at him, "Please, Jaune. You must learn to show some confidence in your words. You were concerned, that's okay." Then, she looked back at the wall with his TV and frowned, "There is something on my mind though." She started to remove her boots so she could sit against the back wall of the bed without feeling rude.

Jaune rubbed his eyes of the sleep that lingered and blinked them a few times. That fight had taken a lot out of all of them, he was sure Nora and Ren were both asleep in their hotel rooms. He asked softly, "What is it?" Under normal circumstances he might have been a bit embarrassed that she was looking around his dorky room, but her concerns came first.

Vesta thought it over as she recounted the fight, "That was a massive number of Grimm, but… only a handful of them were fighting." Jaune made a confused noise, then she added, "Some of the militia saw it too, I think, but they most likely believed they were seeing things. I know what I saw, Grimm of all kinds just… waiting. Some attacked, of course, but the majority just seemed to be standing at attention, as if waiting their turn."

Jaune made a noise of confusion, "Hmm? That… That doesn't sound right. Grimm don't do that!" He quickly added, "Not that I don't believe you! It's just… why would they do something like that?"

Vesta bit her lip in contemplation before shaking her head, "I have no idea. I'll need to talk to Father about it come the morrow. He might know something." Finished with her boots, she moved and sat against the wall after moving the pillow, "For now, though… We can only guess."

He nodded and wracked his brain, even though he knew he had no answer to this strange occurrence. First, a massive horde of Grimm bigger than any he'd ever seen, and then hearing that most of them weren't even attacking? It made him realize that if they had all been attacking, there was a good chance the town would have been destroyed, even with all of their efforts. He didn't want to dwell on that though, instead he looked for a different conversation topic, "Uhm, so I wanted to ask you about Sarcelle… Is there anything you could do about her?"

She hummed, she knew exactly what he was talking about, his sister had some strange affliction that made her body weak to disease. She didn't know the specifics, but she didn't need to in order to know that it made her life difficult, "I… could. If I can change people's genetic makeup and make them a Faunus, it will be child's play to create a spell that can boost her body. If she wants me too, I see no reason not to-"

Jaune couldn't help it. He practically leapt out of his chair and lunged at her, leaning on the bed as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug, "Brothers! Thank you Vesta! You have no idea how much this will mean to her! How much it means to me!" At that moment, he didn't particularly care that he hugged her out of the blue, and it wasn't like he could blame it on altered genetics anymore.

Vesta's eyes widened at the sudden contact, she felt his arms wrap around her waist as he pulled her into a sideways hug. Normally, were this to happen, she would feel his armor, admittedly not a very pleasant thing to hug. This time, however, his armor was off and he was just wearing his hoodie and jeans, so instead of cold metal she felt the soft plushness of his hoodie wrapped around his form.

She wasn't lying when she said he was a lot more muscular than his dad gave him credit for. Truly, no Adonis, but he had muscle, so did she, but not as much as the man who focused on using his strength.

She hadn't even really noticed that she began to lean into the hug at first, her eyes fluttered closed and she remained silent. Jaune said something, but she supposed she was still somewhat drowsy, because she didn't really hear him. Her mind was somewhere else, or maybe it was stuck right there and that was the issue? Lost in a moment.

Jaune was a mixture of confused and flustered, he had hugged her and had intended it to be brief. Then she started… leaning on him? He felt her head against his chest and watched as she closed her eyes. He had asked her if she was okay but she hadn't responded. Not that he was complaining, she fit so well against him he could almost believe they were made for each other, even if he knew that wasn't true.

What was he supposed to do in this situation? Let go? Keep hugging her? Move so he could be comfortable while she leaned on him? He had always imagined scenarios like this, well, not exactly like this, but similar enough, and he always dreamed up some slick and cool thing that he would do to sweep her off her feet.

Yet, here it was, a moment where she leaned on him and seemed totally at ease, and he had nothing. Especially as his mind raced through the things Sarcy had told him, that having his hoodie was something that made her feel as if she was wrapped in a hug with him, that maybe, just maybe, she was interested in him. Yet, he had no solid proof, she was his friend! Was there something odd about leaning on your friend when you were tired?

Eventually, though, she seemed to realize what she was doing and moved to sit upright again, "Apologies. I… am still rather tired." That wasn't entirely a lie, but how was she supposed to explain she also really enjoyed that hug, far more than she should have? Her face was red at the thought, even as Jaune let go and stepped back.

Jaune, meanwhile, was going to accept her excuse without looking too deeply into it because he didn't want to start asking difficult questions. She had somehow summoned the spirits of the dead to fight back a horde of Grimm, he couldn't blame her for still being tired! He rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah… yeah, that makes sense. You can go back to sleep if you want, I'll go sleep in Jeanne's room. She's a student at Haven, so… I don't expect her to exactly show up and wonder why I'm sleeping there."

Vesta smiled and was internally glad that he didn't choose to look into it. If he asked questions, she wasn't exactly sure what she would tell him. She responded gratefully, "Thank you, Jaune. I'm sure I'll feel better after I get some more sleep." After he left, she returned to trying to get some sleep, not that it was particularly difficult.


The next day, while everyone was still sleeping, a bullhead arrived over the skies of Domremy.

Inside were four students, most of whom certainly had no idea what to expect out of Domremy. However, one of them certainly did.

A girl's excited voice called out, "We're here! Come on guys!" As she bounded out of the bullhead. She had fair-skin and her blonde hair was tied back into a braid, her cerulean eyes displayed a mixture of worry and hope, "I need to make sure everyone's okay!" She wore a Pumpkin Pete's hoodie, a pair of jeans, and running shoes. Strapped to her back was a sheath holding a large white and gold claymore. The most distinct part about her was the golden retriever tail she had, although it wasn't moving, displaying her anxiety.

Out stepped three other figures. The first of them was a fair-skinned boy who stood tall at 6'2'', he was wearing plate armor that covered his torso and legs the most, along with a pair of pauldrons and plate gauntlets. His arms were covered in chainmail, and the metal was predominantly colored azure, with the trimming being gold. He also donned a white cloak with gold trimmings on his back, it had a hood, albeit it was pulled down, revealing his dark blue hair and only slightly lighter blue eyes. His weapon, a polearm-hammer, was strapped to his back.

The second was similarly a fairly fair-skinned boy, albeit he seemed to have a slight tan and stood at 5'10''. He had platinum blonde hair, nearly white in color, and his brown eyes held mirth as he called out, "Jeanne! I'm sure they're fine. You can slow down a bit." He was dressed in a white shirt with a marigold over his chest, black leather gloves, a loose black button-up shirt with gold accents that was undone, a pair of black trousers with matching gold trimmings, and a pair of black combat boots. He had a large rectangular device dark purple with starry decals on his back, a keen eye might recognize it as a collapsed version of a Buzzsaw.

The third was a girl with alabaster skin, she had fluffy brown hair with a black stripe running vertically across it and went down to her neck. An even fluffier raccoon tail swished behind her, and she was wearing a red tabard with black accents that reached her knees. She wore shorts under that, and wore a pair of black stockings that covered her legs, it was all finished off with black boots. Silver eyes blinked as she looked around with an excited grin on her face, "Hey! This place looks pretty cool! Nothing like Mistral, but cool!" On her back was a black and gold slightly curved sheath that belonged to a Great Scimitar.

The team of Academy-aged students made their way through the streets of Domremy. The one leading the charge waved excitedly to people as she saw then, and they greeted her in kind, "Welcome back Jeanne!", "It's good to see you Jeanne!" and other assorted greetings.

Back at the Arc House, poor unsuspecting Jaune was snoozing away in his sister's bed. He had no idea that said sister had just returned home to check on her family, nor did he know that she was barreling right for the house. The girl in question didn't even knock before she threw open the door and declared, "Guys, I'm home! Is everyone okay?!" Jaune didn't even hear her shouting, deep into sleep as he was.

Jeanne spent time hugging and greeting her sisters and her parents before she asked where Jaune was, her team hung around and greeted her family. The blue haired boy and brown haired girl did so awkwardly, while the last member seemed completely at home with them, greeting the Arc house as if they were his own family.

The girl of the hour then figured out where Jaune was and hurried up to her bedroom, and while Jaune had slept through everything else up to this point, he didn't sleep through what came next. The dog faunus threw open her door and yelled, "Oh JAUNE! Guess who's BACK?!"

Jaune fell out of the bed in shock and gasped, "Wha- Huh?!" He shouted as he struggled to get untangled from the covers. When he finally stood up straight, his eyes were wide, "Jeanne?!" He couldn't help but grin, "I didn't think I'd see you so soon!" He opened his arms and she ran over, jumping into the hug and nearly knocking her brother over.

Jeanne giggled, "I heard what happened and I just couldn't wait! The rest of the team and I were already at Beacon, so I said, why not see if everyone's okay?" Her tail was going a mile a minute now as she grinned, "So where's your team, huh?"

Jaune swallowed a lump in his throat. He knew the teasing he was going to receive from this would be unrelenting and brutally efficient, "U-Uhm, well… Nora and Ren are back at the hotel, but our leader was really tired from the fight so she's kinda… uh… Sleeping in my room."

Jeanne gasped, "Oooh, Jaune, you dog!" The grin on her face told her the joke was not an accident, "Already got a girl sleeping in your bed and it's only been one semester? You work fast!"

Jaune waved his hands in front of him as Jeanne stepped back from him, "N-No! It's not like that! Besides, I don't wanna hear it! You've got a boyfriend already and it's only been one semester! Who's the one working fast huh?"

The girl rubbed the back of her neck and shrugged, "Weelll…" Then she turned tail and hurried out of the room, with Jaune exclaiming for her to wait up before hurrying behind her. To her credit, she was a lot gentler opening the door to Jaune's room, and her eyes widened slightly when her eyes landed on Vesta, who was already up and dressed. She was looking over one of Jaune's comics, and Jeanne was floored, "Hoollyyy shit." She muttered.

Jaune hurried to her and tripped, accidentally knocking her forward and pushing Jeanne to the floor. The door flew open, yet Vesta didn't seem surprised. Instead, she walked over to the fallen siblings and smirked down at both of them, placing her hands on her hips, "What mischief were you two up to? Mayhaps you thought you'd catch me in a state of undress?"

Both siblings rapidly shook their heads and spoke in perfect unison, "N-No! Of course not!" They scrambled to their feet and Jaune quickly introduced his sister, "Vesta! This is my twin, Jeanne! She's great! Uhm… she's a dog faunus because our mom is like… one quarter golden retriever faunus, and Jeanne's the only one out of us who inherited anything. I… don't know how that works, but it did!"

Vesta couldn't help but find it a bit hilarious that she had turned Jaune into the very same Faunus he apparently had a miniscule amount of genetic relation to. She nodded, "I'll allow you two to walk free on this day, but expect severe repercussions if it happens again. The two of them nodded rapidly, and she continued, "My name is Vesta Ozpin, it's a pleasure."

Jeanne smiled brightly, recovering much quicker than her brother, "Great to meet you! You know, you look a lot like a friend of mine, same hair color and eye color! Oh! You two should meet my team! Ah, but first I need to say hi to Sarcy!"

She quickly left, and the two could hear her opening Sarcy's door, followed by the sickly girl greeting her happily before exclaiming, "Wait, Jeanne! Careful with the hugs!" Jaune couldn't help but be grateful that Sarcelle had an aura, or else she might succumb to the sheer strength of Jeanne hugs.

Vesta was wearing a small smirk as she crossed her arms under her chest, "What was that about not expecting your sister to come by?" Jaune groaned and Vesta chuckled, "Worry not, Squire, this is a learning opportunity as well. If your sister and her team are going to be attending the Vytal Festival then it might be prudent for us to meet them and figure out what their fighting styles are like, on the off chance that we end up fighting against them."

That was sound logic, although Jaune was a bit nervous and showed that by rubbing the back of his neck, even if he didn't really notice he was doing it, "Yeah… Although she was always stronger than me. Whereas I had Sarcy forge my transcripts, Jeanne just… ran off one day. Apparently she found someone to train her to use the family claymore, Alba Mors, and even before that she would always win in our mock sparring matches. She was good enough to get into Haven, so…" He huffed, "Maybe I would have had better luck if I'd have been as willing to accept help as she was."

Vesta hummed, it was interesting to hear how starkly different the paths they took were. Jaune relied on forgery, while Jeanne just sort of… blindly charged in and asserted herself. She certainly seemed a lot more willful than her brother, not that that was a particularly hard thing to pull off. She nodded, "Well, we might as well go and meet her team."

Jaune was in agreement and so the two of them headed downstairs while Jeanne was still talking with Sarcy. When they reached the bottom, they found her team sitting together in the living room. They had been talking amongst themselves, but once they saw the new arrivals they all stood up. The first one to greet them was the platinum haired guy, "Hey." He waved with a smile, "You must be Jaune, and you… uhh…" He squinted at Vesta, who reciprocated. He tilted his head, "Have we met?"

Vesta responded by tilting her own head, he tilted to the left and she did to the right, "I… do not believe so." She couldn't shake that they shared some similarities, but ultimately decided it was probably nothing, "Anyroad, my name is Vesta Ozpin." She curtsied, "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

The boy she had been exchanging greetings with smiled, "Lunus Marigold, nice to meet you all." He seemed amicable enough to both Jaune and Vesta. He continued, "Jeanne's told us a lot about you, Jaune. She's been hoping to meet your team for ages."

Jaune grinned, "Oh I know, she hasn't let me forget." Then, he remembered something, "Wait, Lunus?" He furrowed his brow and hummed, "Do you know Ruby Rose by any chance?" It could just be a coincidence, but she had talked about a 'Lunus' before, and that was a pretty unique name.

The newly named Lunus seemed surprised for a second before smirking, "Ah, yeah, she's my best friend. Has been since we were kids going to Signal together. Haven't seen her in a little while…" He scratched his cheek, "I was gonna talk to her when we got to Beacon but we left pretty quickly since Jeanne really wanted to see her family, not that I can blame her. The news won't stop talking about that attack."

The next figure that stood up was short, the girl with the raccoon tail stood at 4'8'', one could mistake her for a child were it not for certain… assets of hers. Jaune couldn't believe it, they were as big as Yang's! Yet, he cleared his throat and instead focused on her eyes as she declared with great aplomb, "I am Umber Sha'dow XIV Esquire, Master of the Eight Blades of the Eclipse and Future Savior of Remnant!"

Lunus chuckled at the confused faces that Jaune and Vesta gave before he jerked his thumb in her direction, "That's Violet."

Violet stomped her foot and whined, "Lunus! Why do you guys keep ruining my cool intro?!" She pouted and crossed her arms. Lunus reached out and gently scratched her head, and while nothing happened at first she eventually started to lean into it, "Not fair." She huffed.

The final member of the team stood, and Jaune couldn't help but feel a bit shown up. The guy had a similar aesthetic to him, but the man in blue armor looked far more muscular and heroic than Jaune did! It was downright unfair! The man greeted with a warm voice, "Good to meet you both, name's Cobalt Lazuli. Sorry to intrude, we won't be around for super long."

Jaune waved his hand dismissively, "Nah, my family loves visitors. I think Mom and Dad are a bit too used to having a full household, so anyone that can bring a bit of noise and life is always welcome in their book."

Vesta crossed her arms and hummed, "Our other two team members are likely still sleeping, I will have to let them know about you four before you leave so you can meet them." Nora would no doubt love to meet some new people, and Ren would appreciate meeting potential competitors, "I take it you're planning to fight in the Vytal Festival?"

Cobalt was the one who answered with a nod, "Absolutely, we only get two chances at it during our whole academic career. There's no better way to meet new people, fight good fights, and eat good food than the Vytal Festival." He smiled, "We heard about your part in the defense of the city, that must have been exciting."

Jaune wouldn't call it 'exciting', more like nerve-wracking and terrifying. He got the feeling that this Cobalt guy was something like Yang in terms of how he viewed fighting, as something fun and to be enjoyed. Not that there was necessarily anything wrong with that! But it was odd.

It was then that Jeanne came bounding down the steps, "Hey! You guys met everyone without me." She huffed as she walked over to her team and then turned towards her brother and his partner so she could cross her arms and pout at them, "That's super rude."

Lunus chuckled and patted Jeanne's back, "Well, we didn't say our team name. So we could do that."

Violet gasped, "Oh! Can we do the super cool introduction I planned?!" The other three made a show of rolling their eyes but they seemed onboard with it.

Cobalt placed his hands to his side and produced his weapon, which was a polearm-hammer that Jaune was pretty sure was called a bec-de-corbin. Then, he held it in both his hands in an exaggerated pose before declaring, "Cobalt Lazuli!"

Jeanne drew her claymore off her back, albeit very carefully to avoid hitting anything in the room. Then, she held it at the ready in both her hands and declared with equal fervor, "Jeanne Arc!"

Lunus took his weapon off his back, it extended out and Jaune realized that it was a fucking buzzsaw. He held it at the ready and grinned, "Lunus Marigold!"

Finally, Violet laughed and grabbed the hilt of her blade before she broke it off. The hilt transformed into a rifle (Jaune was pretty sure it was called a Mini-14) that she held in her hands while the blade slipped out of the scabbard all on its own. Then, it curved in on itself and became a chakram, "Violet Merino! And we are…" All of them spoke in unison as part of some over dramatic chorus.

"Team CALM!"

Jaune leaned close to Vesta and whispered, "They're being a bit weeeiirrd…" Vesta nodded, and yet she couldn't help but smile brightly at the display of camaraderie.

Maybe her team needed a dramatic intro.


Author's Notes

I don't normally like introducing so many characters at once, but I figure it could be overlooked. I certainly don't intend to make a habit of it! As always, I hope you enjoyed!