Hey, thank you guys for liking this story. I honestly didn't expect this story to become this popular within a week so I appreciate everyone who followed and favorited this entire story. As promised, here is your new chapter and more Jaune! Before we begin this chapter, I would like to tell everyone that there will be a poll for Jaune's new weapon. The choices are as follows:

A vibrosword!

A kama/scythe like Maria Calavera's. A sort of Master passing her weapon to her student sort of deal.

An Aurasaber. It's basically a lightsaber. I'm planning to have a special dust type that works like a Kaiburr Crystal from Star Wars that can store aura and release it as a blade that is contained in an energy field.

The Classic sword and shield

An O-Katana like Yamato

Anyway, remember to vote. The poll will end when the new chapter goes up so get in as many votes for your favorite weapon as you possibly can!

Let's get on with the chapter.

I do not own RWBY. If I did, Pyrrha would still be alive and standing over Cinder's corpse.

Maria Cavalera's Cabin

Jaune sat on the porch of the cabin, watching Mae run around with the Beowolf. It had been three weeks since he woke up and the old lady, Maria, had told him that he needed rest. Some internal injuries would take Aura longer to heal depending on the severity and there was no one in the nearby town with enough medical know-how than she did. Apparently, she was a huntress who retired after she lost her eyes when she was ambushed by a group of rogue hunters. She was eccentric, to say the least. Maria did the chores until Jaune started to walk and then made him do them. In exchange, the old bat had said that after he healed up, she would be teaching him a few tricks to make sure he wouldn't end up in a situation like that ever again. His eyes turned to Nyx.

Nyx, Jaune's new furry friend, was the weirdest beowolf he had ever seen or had the pleasure of not getting ripped apart by. For one, she acted like a puppy. Nyx followed him around, whined whenever Jaune wouldn't pet her, and slept at the foot of his bed. It took a while for her to warm up to Maria and Mae, though she warmed up to the old woman much faster due to her easy-going attitude.

Mae was someone Jaune could sympathize with. The young faunus was bullied by both humans and faunus alike for her extra features, mainly her fluffy tail. To the faunus, she was more animal than she was faunus and to the humans, she was nothing more than a flea-infested fox. He remembered going into town to grab some groceries and brought Mae with him. When she went off to go buy some cookies for herself, Jaune heard a cry of pain from her. He found her in pain as one kid, who was rather plump, stepping on her tail. The kid twisted his foot and she cried out in pain which made something in Jaune snap. He marched over to the kid and started yelling, causing them all to run off in fear after he said that he was a hunter. After that incident, Mae stuck to Jaune like glue. However, it took a bit longer for her and Nyx to get along but the Grimm came to an understanding that she was of no danger to Jaune and let her go. It still surprised him though to see a Grimm like her. She could understand him and followed orders. Nyx also had emotions such as affection where it was previously thought impossible for the grimm to have any semblance of feeling. He learned more and more that she was more than just a mindless, soulless amoral beast.

"You know in all my years, I never thought I'd see the day when a domesticated beowolf existed," Maria said, taking a seat next to him.

"Me neither," Jaune said, sipping some coffee. Coffee. His family loved coffee especially his sister, Saphron. His eyes widened and he spat some coffee out from his mouth.

"Shit! I need to tell my family I'm alright!" Jaune said. "OW!" he covered his head and turned to Maria, who had hit him with her cane.

"Watch your fucking mouth! We have a young, impressionable lady out there with a beast of darkness that can hear us," she hissed.

Jaune deadpanned.

"So, you need to call a member of your family is that it?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, do you have a scroll or anything I can use?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah sure. It's on the table inside," Maria told him. Jaune got up to go call but stopped when he heard Maria speak.

"If I were you, I'd keep quiet about your grimm friend or people will think of you as something dark," she said, her mechanical eyes staring straight into his azure ones.

Jaune nodded and opened the door. He went inside and saw Maria's scroll lying on the table. The morning paper lay next to it alongside an empty cup of coffee and a half-eaten bagel.

"What's your password?" Jaune called out.

"Grimm Reaper!" she yelled back.

Really, your own title? Jaune thought as he typed in the password. He scrolled over to contacts and typed in his sister's scroll number.

*Ring ring* *ring ring*

C'mon Alice, pick up! Jaune thought as he heard the scroll ring.

"Hello?" a voice said.

"Saph? Why do you have Alice's scro- Nevermind, it's me Jau- Hello?" Jaune said when the line went dead.

Did she just hang up on me? Jaune thought as he looked at the scroll. He dialed the number again.

"Saph!" Jaune said when she picked up.

"Okay. Whoever the fuck this is, this isn't funny. Stop this right n-"

"Saph, it's me! Jaune Arc! Your little brother. I can prove it too! One time when you and Terra were still dating I walked in on you about to use a strap-on o-

"OKAY! OKAY! FOR THE SAKE OF ISRAFIL, STOP!" Saphron said. Jaune could hear the embarrassment in her voice.

"So…," he said after a few minutes.

"Yeah, where the hell have you been!? We got a call from Beacon! Everyone thought you were dead! We're having a damn funeral!" Saphron screamed over the scroll.

"Yeah, wait? Everyone thinks I'm dead?" he asked.

"Yeah. Miss Glynn went back with three hunters to find you and all they found was your scroll and Crocea Mors. After they got back, Glynda went back with a group of soldiers to comb the surrounding areas but… they gave up," Saphron said.

"So when's the funeral?" Jaune asked.

"Why? Planning to show up to your own wake?" she joked.

Jaune went silent. That sounded like fun. It would let him see what Beacon would be like when they all thought that he died.

"Jaune?" he heard over the scroll.

"Huh, yeah. I might go. When is it?" he asked.

"In a few days, why?" she asked.

"Sis, who are you talking to?" he heard Alice's voice.

"Alice, you won't believe who it is! Here!" Jaune heard the sounds of shuffling before he heard a different voice on the scroll. His heart broke and ached in pain. She sounded so lost and weak. The very feeling of raw pain could be heard in her voice along with the sound of longing.

"J- Jaune?" Alice asked, hope welling in her voice.

"Yeah, Ally-cat. It's me," he said.

"J- Jaune! *sob* Is it really…?" Alice asked.

"C' mon twinny, I'm too awesome to die. Besides, you would have felt it," Jaune said.

"*sniffle* Y- yeah... What happened?" Alice asked.

"I got sucker-punched by an Alpha and knocked on my ass. After that, I tried calling for help but they all left. So I tried fighting my way through. After a few minutes, I saw the Dreadnaught take off," Jaune said. "That's a summarized version. Also, I'm healing up at the moment. Just a few more days. The woman and girl who found me are from a village about several miles south of the gorge. I guess they didn't find me because of either the waterfall or by the time they got there, the woman and the kid took me away to get healed."

"Oh. Do you want me to tell them? Especially you know her?" Alice asked.

"No, don't," Jaune said as bitter memories came to the surface.

"But what about your partner? Jaune, she needs to know that you're alive. She's not doing so well," Alice said.

"What happened to her? Is she alright?" Jaune asked, worry lacing his voice.

"She's not eating. She doesn't talk. Everyone tries to help her but she either pins them to a wall or yell at them. On top of that, all she does is stare at your weapon," Alice said.

Jaune went silent. Ever since he woke up, all he could think about was whether or not Pyrrha was okay. After hearing of what his supposed death had done to her, he began to contemplate whether or not staying dead was actually a good idea. But he needed to. To get better. Only when he was a better fighter would he go back to Beacon and only then. That way, he could stand at her side and at everyone else's side rather than being dragged along or using them all as meatshields. On top of that, Jaune had decided that trying to gain everyone's approval was no longer worth his time. Why did he need it anyway? It's not like they were friends. Not really. If they were, they would have defended him against the student body and Cardin. Jaune guessed that he could count Blake as a friend then. And maybe Ren and Nora. Before he fell, the two had begun to accept him back in exchange for explaining why he did what he did in the first place. Perhaps he would give them a chance. His thoughts were interrupted by Alice.

"Oh, yeah, by the way, Mom and Dad are letting me go to Beacon. Professor Ozpin says that I'm going to join your team," Alice said.

Jaune sighed in relief. At least there would be someone to look after Pyrrha.

"Look after her for me," he said.

"Are you going to show up to your funeral? It's in a few days," Alice said.

"Of course I am. Once in a lifetime opportunity," Jaune joked. "Tell Mom and Dad and the others that I'm okay but don't tell anyone else. I'll tell Pyrrha myself when I get there for my funeral."

"Fine. But, be ready for Mom when you get here. She nearly burned down all of Beacon when she arrived," Alice said.

Jaune winced at the thought of his angry mother.

"Y- yeah…," Jaune said.

"Yeah," Alice parroted.

"Alice. Your mother wanted me to come and get you," Pyrrha's voice could be heard in the background.

"Listen I have to go. I'm going to give you an alias!" Alice whispered out the last part.

"Yeah, just hold on a second! I need to finish talking to Bleu!" Alice said.

"See ya!" and with that Alice severed the link.

Jaune sighed and went over and grabbed an apple.

"Hey, old lady! I might start training now!" Jaune yelled from the kitchen.

"Are you sure about that?" Maria replied back.

"Yeah," Jaune said, walking out.

"Alright then. Just remember, this will be the beginning of Hell," Maria said, standing from her chair. An air of power began to surround her.

Mae, who had stopped running, stood next to Nyx as the two looked on in confusion at the two. Nyx looked at Mae and let out a confused bark while tilting her head at the same time.

"Yeah, me too girl," she said, scratching the grimm behind the ears. "Me too."

Beacon

Pyrrha walked down the halls listlessly, shuffling her feet across the laminated floors of Beacon Academy. Behind her, the rest of team JNPR alongside team RWBY looked at her worried. Pyrrha was no longer the Pyrrha they all knew. Her hair had lost that red luster that the boys had swooned over. It was now a dull red color, resembling dried blood. Her green eyes no longer glittered like the purest of emeralds and were instead, pits of despair as the green faded slowly. She became paler as she barely left the room on the weekends. Her eyes were constantly rimmed red from crying and she barely ate or looked after herself only taking care of her personal hygiene and eating enough to function but never to satisfy her hunger.

Nora and Ren looked at their temporary leader in worry. Ever since Jaune had been listed as KIA, she stopped living. It was like a part of her died back in Aurbis that day. Died alongside Jaune.

"Pyrrha?" Nora asked.

"Yes," she said, her voice devoid of any emotions what so ever.

"Um, where are you-"

"I'm going to visit the Arcs," she said.

"O- Oh! Okay, um, Ren, Team RWBY, and I will head over to the library if you want to meet up with us later," Nora said.

"Wait, why can't we go with her?" Weiss asked.

"Are you seriously asking that question?" Ruby said.

"W- What?" Weiss said, looking at her partner.

"Weiss, Jaune's entire family wants to kill us and the entire student population of Beacon. Don't you remember what happened a week ago?" she said.

Everyone's minds flew back to what happened.

Pyrrha and the others sat in Ozpin's office as they were called there alongside team CRDL to receive whatever punishment the Headmaster had seen fit to give them. When they arrived back from Aurbis, the entire student body was made privy to the information that Jaune had died. Needless to say, the entire student body did a 180 and started to talk about all the fun times they had with Jaune. It pissed Pyrrha off to no end.

"I have called you all here because, after further investigation of the gorge and the nearby towns, I am sorry to say that I will have to mark Mr. Arc down as KIA. I have told his family of the situation and they are… coming here to Beacon as we speak. P- Please I beg of all of you with the exception of Ms. Nikos. Don't go near them. It's enough of a hassle to prepare for one funeral as it is. I don't need more," Ozpin said.

"Now to move onto the punishments. Team CRDL along with Team RWBY, I am… sorry to say that I have to give you all an In School Suspensio-"

"WHAT!?" Pyrrha stood up and slammed her palms down on Ozpin's desk. "WHY!? THEY LEFT HIM!" she screamed.

"Ms. Nikos I understand that you're upset and trust me, I would love nothing more than to expel them but Mr. Winchester's father argued that it would be a waste to let them go, especially for one casualty. I'm sorry to say that I was outvoted on the matter," Ozpin said.

"Tch, you're the Headmaster! Since when did you take orders from Vale's council!" Pyrrha demanded.

"Ms. Nikos, that's enough," Glynda said.

"Bu-"

"Enough," Glynda said, her voice tired. "Please…"

Pyrrha nodded and sat down, refusing to look at any of the other occupants except for Ozpin and Glynda.

"Right. Anyway, Teams RWBY and CRDL. You are not allowed to attend any classes for the next three weeks as well as leave campus. If you are to leave, it must be an emergency that has to be verified by either Glynda or me. In addition, Mr. Arc's funeral will be in a week or so. Only Miss Belladonna is allowed to attend from eit-," Ozpin was interrupted once more.

"Professor, I would like to attend," Ruby said.

"Um," Ozpin was about to refuse when Glynd spoke on her behalf.

"Let them attend Ozpin. I want them to know what they've done," Glynda said.

"Right, so, I guess you and your team can attend Miss Rose. Your father and uncle are coming here to pay their respects as well as your mother, Miss Schnee. Just thought I gave you all a heads-up," Ozpin said.

Weiss blinked when Ozpin mentioned her mother.

"Why would Mom come to Arc's funeral?" she asked.

"On top of the fact that your mother and Jaune's mother were sisters in all but blood, she is his godmother," Glynda said. "I believe that she has every right to attend."

Weiss's mouth snapped shut.

"Right, so you are a-!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

The entire school shook as everyone fell to the ground.

"I think they're here," Glynda said, standing and walking over to the window.

Ozpin sighed and walked over next to her. Below them, tornadoes of crimson flames ravaged the Beacon Courtyard while a massive beam of blue energy flew to Ozpin's office. Ozpin's eyes glowed green as he tapped his cane on the floor, creating a massive barrier that deflected the beam. The beam landed in the Emerald Forest creating a large explosion.

"Let's go greet our guests. RWBY, CRDL, JNPR. You are to come with us," Ozpin said, walking past them.

"W- Wait! Who was that just now?" Yang asked.

"Why that would be Mr. Arc's parents," Ozpin said, looking back at her.

Coco Adel was currently having a shitty day. First, all her clothes were ruined due to a displacement of the school's laundry so she had to wear her uniform the entire day. Second, her favorite writer said that she was going on hiatus due to family problems so she won't be getting her new dose of Ninjas of Love. A book that she found out she shared a love for with Team RWBY's resident faunus.

And now, here she was fighting with the other students against a living tornado of fire.

"OZPIN!" the tornado yelled.

Coco looked to her partner, Velvet Scarlatina, whose ears twitched upon meeting her partner's gaze. Taking a snapshot of Coco's minigun, Velvet unleashed a hail of bullets towards the being. The tornado dispersed and morphed into bullets of pure flame. In the middle were two people. The first was a man with ash brown hair and red eyes. He had a long sword that crackled with blue energy. The second was a woman with blonde hair and violet eyes. In her left hand was a sword that was wreathed in flames.

"DO NOT INTERFERE!" the woman said as she pointed her sword at them. The fireballs split into smaller ones and were fired in rapid succession at them. Every student was forced to dodge as the torrid spheres scorched whatever they hit.

"Sieg! Jeanne!" they all turned to see Doctor Oobleck standing at the door. He was standing at the door, his thermos morphed into a torch. Flames were building up at its apex as he leveled his weapon at them.

"Stand down!" he ordered.

"Get out of the way, Doctor Oobleck," Sieg said as he pointed his sword, Divine Dragon Downfall, at him.

"I cannot allow you to destroy the school," he said.

"We're not. Much. We just want to talk to Ozpin," Jeanne said, flames surrounding her entire form.

"I'm here then," Ozpin's voice rang out through the courtyard. The students were filled with hope when they saw their esteemed headmaster walk out onto the battlefield.

"Sieg. Jeanne," he greeted. Behind him, Teams RWBY, NPR, and CRDL had their weapons drawn and looked ready to fight but they were shaking. The killing intent emitted by Sieg and Jeanne had begun to weigh down on the entire area.

"Ozpin. What happened to our son?" Jeanne said through clenched teeth.

"I am sorry to say that he's dead, Jeanne," Ozpin said.

"Jaune's dead…," a voice said from behind them. Sieg and Jeanne blinked and lowered their pressure. They turned and saw their daughter and Jaune's twin sister, Alice, standing there. She had come with her parents to see Jaune and wanted to enroll in Beacon to be with her brother. Her blue eyes glistened as tears began to well up.

"You're lying," she said, shaking her head.

"I am sorry, Ms. Arc. Y- your twin has fallen in combat," Ozpin said.

"NO! YOU'RE LYING I CAN STILL FEEL HIM!" Alice yelled. Her aura flared and a golden shroud of light began to surround her.

"Alice," Jeanne put a hand on her daughter's shoulder calming her down.

"Ozpin, what happened?" Sieg asked, sheathing his sword.

"I believe it would be better if we talked inside my office," he said.

"Very well," Jeanne replied.

"Miss Nikos. Please escort Miss Arc to your dorm room," Ozpin said.

"Y- yeah sure," Pyrrha said, staring at Jaune's twin.

She walked over to her and held her hand out.

"Hey, we met over a call. I'm…" she was interrupted.

"Pyrrha Nikos. Jaune wouldn't shut up about you," Alice said, trying to smile.

"Ally!" the two turned to see a small girl wearing a black jacket and skirt. Her hair was ash brown but her eyes were violet just like Jeanne's. Her eyes were filled with so much innocence. An innocence that would be stripped when the news of her brother's death would hit her and reveal that the world was cruel.

"Where's Jaune?" she asked.

"Mom and Dad are looking for him. But right now, we need to go to his room. Petra, this is Pyrrha, our brother's partner," Alice said, giving the small girl a light push.

"H- Hi, my name is Petra Arc. I'm seven years old. Are you Jaune's girlfriend?" she asked, her violet eyes wide in curiosity.

"Um, n- no. Sadly. I'm Pyrrha Nikos and I'm seventeen," Pyrrha said, squatting down and poking Petra in the nose.

"Ally. I like her," Petra said. "Can we ask Jaune to marry her?"

"Petra. That's not how it works. Jaune has to ask her himself," Alice scolded lightly.

"Come on. Let's go up to your brother and I's dorm room. I have some stories to tell you about him," Pyrrha said. Her smile was forced and she was trying to be happy around the young girl. Alice sighed. It seemed that her family wasn't the only people that were hit hard by her twin's death.

Pyrrha guided them to NPR's dorm and the three began to talk about a certain lanky blonde.

Pyrrha snapped out of the memories as the group found themselves outside the large dorm that Ozpin had provided for the Arcs. She went inside without saying a word to the rest of them and closed the door behind her. Pyrrha saw Saphron sitting on a bed, playing with her son and Alice was sitting on one of the chairs talking to someone. She seemed to have noticed her arrival because she quieted down significantly when she entered.

"Alice?" the blonde jolted and turned to face Pyrrha.

"Y- yeah?" she said.

"Your mother was looking for you. She and Ozpin want to finalize the team roster with you in it. In a few hours, you'll be my new partner in team PRAN," Pyrrha said.

"Right, hey Bleu, I have to go," she said, hanging up.

"So who was that?" Pyrrha asked her.

"Oh, that? That was Bleu. She had a major crush on Jaune before he left for Beacon," Alice said, lying through her teeth.

Pyrrha felt jealousy well up inside her. There was another girl that knew Jaune for much longer and liked him. If he was still alive, would she even have had a chance with the revelation of this new information?

"Hey, so are we going or not?" Alice said, grabbing her sword.

"Y- yeah, let's go," Pyrrha said, leading her out the door. The two navigated Beacon's hallways towards the elevator that led to the Headmaster's office. Upon reaching it, the two entered and Pyrrha pressed the button with a clock symbol and the two began their ascent up the Tower of Beacon.

"So, why do I keep hearing people call Jaune a fake?" Alice asked.

It was the one thing that had been bothering her. The student body here gave her mixed signals. When they thought that she couldn't hear them, Alice overhead them calling her brother a cheat and a fake while others seemed regretful for not at least standing up for him faker or not.

Pyrrha looked down at the elevator floor. Should she tell her? Alice obviously had a very high opinion about her twin brother, considering that the other day, she nearly killed a student over calling her brother a whiny loser.

Steeling herself, Pyrrha began to explain.

"Your brother. He snuck into Beacon with false transcripts. He told me a few weeks after initiation and after he saved the man who blackmailed him after finding out the information. However, the man couldn't handle the fact that he was saved by your brother so he exposed him in front of the entire school. Everyone turned against him," she said.

"Except for you of course and the cat faunus from what I heard," Alice said, glancing at her.

Pyrrha nodded.

"Why?" she asked.

Pyrrha blinked and looked at her.

"Why didn't you?" Alice asked her.

"I don't know. It's probably that I couldn't… I can't find it in myself to do it. Even if he did sneak in and never told me, I could never do it. Sure I'd be hurt that he didn't tell me but in the end, I'd never treat him like how the others did," Pyrrha said.

"You're a good person Pyrrha," Alice said. "Kinda makes me regret helping Jaune get those transcripts."

Pyrrha blinked in both shock and confusion.

"I'm sorry. But what?" she whirled around ot meet Alice's stoic face.

"I helped Jaune get the transcripts, rather I had Saphron get me a transcript and Jaune and I forged it together," Alice said.

"Wh- what? You knew. You all knew?" Pyrrha looked at her in shock.

"I don't know about Mom and Dad but yeah, me, Saph, and Vert all knew," she said.

"So Jaune got those transcripts because…"

"We helped him. I would've gone with but we all agreed that would have been too suspicious to have both of us enroll at the same time. I should have gone, but it was Jaune's idea for me to stay behind," Alice said.

The elevator door dinged and the two walked out.

"Ah, you two are here," Ozpin said. Sieg and Jeanne sat on two chairs in front of his desk.

"Let's get on with this shall we?" he asked.

Jeanne looked and Pyrrha and shot her a warm smile. She could see now why she felt normal around her. The woman was exactly like Jaune, looks and all while his twin was more like their father, Sieg.

"Ms. Nikos, Ms. Arc here shall replace Mr. Arc as a member of your team and partner," Ozpin said. "Please make her feel welcome here at this school, more so than your fellow students did his brother."

Pyrrha stiffened at the mention of Jaune but nodded nonetheless.

"I will," Pyrrha assured them.

"Miss Nikos," Pyrrha turned to Jeanne.

"Yes, Mrs. Arc?" she said.

"We would like to invite you to our hometown of Domremy for the Festival of Israfil. I know that our son invited you but we as a family would formally like to extend an invitation to you," Jeanne said.

"O- Of course Mrs. Arc, I'd be honored to," Pyrrha said, wide-eyed that the woman who was the mother of the boy she loved and whose death she felt partially responsible was being kind to her.

"I believe that will be all Miss Nikos, Miss Arc, you may return to your dorms. I need to discuss some things with Miss Arc's parents," Ozpin said. The two nodded and left the office.

Maria's Cabin

Jaune fell to the ground, breathing like he had just ran the entirety of the Atlas Marathon without slowing down to catch his breath. His muscles screamed in pain as he felt his entire body burning. On his back was Maria Cavalera who was sipping a cup of tea. When the old lady said that they would begin training, Jauen never thought it would be this intense. It was worse than anything Pyrrha had ever put him through.

"Alright then, that's two sets out of ten. Get up and give me another 100 push-ups kid," she said.

"C'mon old lady, let me catch my breath here," Jaune said.

"Nope, you never get breaks in the field," she said.

Off to the side, Nyx and Mae watched as Jaune was put through a torturous training regimen. A few hours passed and Jaune collapsed on his back.

"Good, your warm-up is done," Maria said. "Now, show me what you can do," she said.

"R- Really? Now?" Jaune said.

"Fine, I'll let you catch your breath. In 15 minutes, we will spar," Maria said.

Jaune grunted gratefully and crawled over to Nyx and Mae and laid down on the ground. The Beowolf got up from her spot and curled up next to her master.

"Hey, Nyxie…," Jaune said, stroking her fur with his hands. Nyx let out a happy growl and wagged her tail furiously.

"Hey Jaune," he looked over and saw Mae looking at him nervously.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Can you pat my head?" she asked. Jaune chuckled and beckoned her over to him. The little girl lit up and walked over. Jaune stretched out his hand and began patting her head, scratching her behind the ears. Mae began to purr and her tail began to swish around happily.

"You're a hit with kids I see," Maria said, sitting on the steps of her cabin.

"I have four younger sisters. What can I say other than the fact that I know what little kids like," Jaune said as he continued to scratch Mae's ears with his left hand while stroking Nyx's fur with his right hand.

"Okay, break time's over," Maria said.

"I don't have a weapon," Jaune said.

"You don't need a weapon. Not yet. These days, you hunters are over-reliant on your weapons to fight and then run around like headless Nevermore when you lose your weapon. So today's spar will focus on you trying to disarm me. You have five minutes," Maria said as the two walked over to the field.

"Okay. I know basic hand to hand thanks to my parent, this should be fairly straight forward," Jaune said, dropping into a basic stance.

"Good. You may begin whenever you feel ready. Your goal is to try and take my cane from me," Maria said, twirling said object in her hand.

Without warning, Jaune rushed towards her to grab the walking stick but Maria simply side-stepped and swung her cane, tripping the boy. Jaune fell on to the snow but quickly rose to his feet and rushed her again, this time, feinting to the left.

She dodged to the right, just how Jaune wanted and went to grab her cane. Then Maria did te unexpected. She tossed her cane into the air and jumped on Jaune's back, causing him to fall face-first into the sand. She landed behind him and caught her cane in her left hand.

"Not so easy now is it?" Mari said, standing behind him with a smirk on her elderly face.

"I'm not done yet," Jaune said, his hand shooting out to grab her cane. Maria hopped backward, avoiding his arm.

Jaune shot towards the lady, sending a flurry of strikes towards her. Maria deftly evaded every attempt to grab her or her cane.

Jaune was becoming increasingly frustrated. She was toying with him and not taking him seriously. Violet aura began to cover his hand and his hand shot forward to grab the cane. Maria moved to the side, dodging his swipe. Her mechanical eyes widened when an aura arm shot from his hand and followed her. She ducked underneath the arm and smacked it with her cane, causing it to disperse.

She looked at Jaune, who was as dumbfounded as she was, with a violet aura surrounding him.

His semblance perhaps? Maria thought as she analyzed him.

Jaune looked down at his hands that were covered with a violet aura.

Is this my semblance? If it is, what else can I do? Jaune thought. He tried to focus on making an arm again. His aura responded to his will as several arms with clawed hands were formed from Jaune's aura shroud.

"I can work with this," he said. Jaune grinned as he shot forward to Maria. He willed one of his arms to intercept her. Maria dodged the arm but quickly had to evade the other arm the tried to grab her cane.

So, he has the basics of his semblance down, she thought as she dodged another one. Let's see how far he can take this, Maria thought. She clicked a button on her cane and she grabbed the lower portion and a blade shot out of the top. She swung the cane, slashing one of the arms, cutting the hand off.

Jaune narrowed his eyes as he felt his aura decrease after the hand was severed.

So my aura goes down if one of my aura hands are severed or damaged. And is that a fucking scythe? Jaune thought.

Jaune willed his arms to return to him in the event that Maria would sever more of them. As he did, the timer on Maria's scroll went off, signifying that five minutes had passed. Jaune dispersed the arms and his aura shroud disappeared.

"Looks like you discovered your semblance," Maria said, transforming her scythe back into a cane.

"And apparently, your cane is a scythe," Jaune said.

"Yes, I'm quite fond of it. This used to be my weapon before I retired from being a huntress," Maria said. "You're quite good. Nimble even. Your style reminds me of the one used by the Crimson Saint in battle."

"Yeah, I know. She's my mom," Jaune said.

"Hoh? That makes sense. Your name even sounds like hers," Maria said. She looked and saw the sun begin to dip over the horizon.

"Let's call it a day," Maria said.

"Yeah," Jaune said.

"You're cooking tonight," she said.

"What? I believe that it's your turn to cook," Jaune said.

"I'm retired and a senior citizen," Maria argued.

"Doesn't mean you can't cook," Jaune said.

"So, you want my cooking tonight. Okay, I'll make one of my more original meals," the old woman cackled.

Jaune blanched when he heard the words "original meals".

"Okay, okay," he conceded. "I guess cooking tonight, again."

"Good good. You can make that Shepherd's pie that we all love," Maria said.

"Crazy old lady," Jaune muttered as the two walked back to the cabin.

Dinner went off without a hitch as Jaune prepared a shepherd's pie that even a five-star chef would be jealous of. The golden mash potato crust made everyone's mouth water as it let off a pleasant aroma. Green onions decorated the crust making it even look more delectable. Jaune sliced a piece for himself and Nyx. The Beowolf dug into her meal immediately.

Across from the table, Mae used her fork to slice into the pie, sending all the juices flowing out before popping some in her mouth. She hummed happily as a chorus of meat, carrots, and peas reached a flavorful crescendo inside her mouth.

"Kid! You have outdone yourself this time," Maria said, shoving a spoonful into her mouth.

"Hmph! What did you expect? The son of the Crimson Saint and the Dragon Knight knows how to cook!" he said in fake arrogance.

The three engaged in idle small talk with Maria telling Jaune how he could further improve his close combat skills and promising to teach him some of the moves that she learned over the course of her time as a huntress. She also told him to practice his semblance on his own time and discover what else he could do beyond that of forming appendages. She also recommended that he do this in an area far from the cabin as she didn't want to have to hire someone from the village to repair any damages that would be done to the cabin if he practiced anywhere near her house.

"What about my weapon?" Jaune said between mouthfuls.

"Hmm, we will need to address that. Looks like we have to go to Aurbis for your weapon. I know a blacksmith there that owes me a few favors," Maria said.

"Knowing you, everyone probably owes you at least a favor or two," Jaune said.

"Oh you wound me, kid," she said, waving him off.

"What about Mae? We can't just leave her here," Jaune said, eyeing the young fox faunus.

"Of course, we're not leaving her here. She's coming with us," Maria said.

"I am?" Mae asked, hope present within her voice.

"Of course. It'll be like a family road trip. And besides, it's not like the town will notice," Maria said.

"Okay, then. When do we leave?" Jaune asked.

"Tomorrow. We leave tomorrow so pack your bags. We're going on a road trip!" Maria said.

Alright, so what do you all think about Jaune showing up to his own funeral. Of course, only two of his sisters know that he is alive. Should he tell Pyrrha at least because Alice and Saphron will tell their parents. To everyone else, Jaune Arc is dead and he's planning to let it stay that way for now. Anyway, let me know what you think about letting Pyrrha know that he's alive because the poor girl looks so lost without him. Especially now that his twin sister is joining the team. Also, for those of you who are curious, Jaune's aura color changed from white to violet and Alice's aura was originally white like his but changed to gold. I know that aura colors don't change in canon but Jaune's and Alice's did. Also, Jaune and Nyx will have a Hiccup and Toothless type of relationship and I do plan on having Jaune discover more on his grimm control powers, specifically being able to alter Nyx's appearance to look like a small black dog that can fit in his hoodie. Anyway, review! Review and then review some more! Also, fav and follow if you enjoyed this fic! Have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours!

PS: Check out my profile for the posting schedule.