So I've been getting people who still think this is gonna be a harem. At this point I'm tempted to change the title just to remove even that argument. I got a few suggestions and I'm partial to 'Seasonal Knight'.
On better news, polls are currently in flux. Yesterday the Crown was at the lead, then the Branwen clan. Now both Branwen and White Fang are tied. I should again clairfy that just because a faction is focused on first doesn't mean they're one and done. They stick around for a while and aren't beaten immediately. I'm also considering inter-faction conflict. I can easily imagine Ozpin's side fighting against the Crown and Cinder in a three-way melee, for example.
I've also gotten suggestions to do different omakes for different pairings, which feels...pointless? The whole Maiden thing wouldn't really factor in for that so I might as well make a separate romance anthology fic.
It did give me a new omake idea: different teams/individuals with the Maiden powers but with the same premise of Jaune being their babysitter. I could easily imagine equally funny shenanigans on a Maiden team consisting of, say, Pyrrha, Nora, Penny, and Cinder. Imagine Penny trying so hard to be normal while being a robotic magical girl or Cinder trying and failing to sneakily kill her teammates RWBY Chibi style while trying to tempt Jaune to evil.
If we wanna be really cracky we can include other characters/team compositions like Neopolitan, Bleiss Schnee (just look her up), Velvet, or Coco. Those first two plus Nora would be chaos incarnate. Technically any female character under 30 is viable to be a Maiden.
Ruby, Weiss, and Yang didn't say a word as he told them the truth. Or at least as much as Ozpin told him. It was only now that he realized just how limited his information was. Four women with amazing magical powers that existed for Millenia. Where did these powers come from? How did they get transferred? What were the true limitations of such godlike abilities? He didn't know and Ozpin wouldn't tell him now.
Blake's presence felt like a blessing from above. Whenever he paused or hesitated she was at his side, speaking for him so the silence never lingered for more than a few seconds. She told them her story too. Being with Amber, watching her die, the powers transferring over when she took her last breath. All of it. Her shoulders shuddered at the memories but she continued on to help them understand.
He wondered if the looks on their faces matched his when Ozpin shattered his worldview. Even in a world of dust and Aura, magic was the realm of fairy tales. It almost made him laugh how much more absurd it really was. They were quick to accept secondary Semblances that didn't require Aura but the thought of honest to god magic was as fantastical as aliens or traveling through space.
The silence that settled over everyone when everything was said and done was stifling. Jaune felt like he was waiting for the pin to drop, that any second now they'd understand that he lied to them for months because he was so desperate to be a hero.
Weiss was the one who spoke first.
"Magic," she said, voice flat. She said the words again and again as if she was tasting each leter, "From what you're telling us we've got honest to Brothers magical powers."
"Yes."
"But you don't know where they came from, why we inherited them, and what the headmaster wanted for us aside from 'saving the world'."
"Yeah."
Weiss let out a long, tired breath and stood, walking over to the side where they kept their coffees supplies. For the next couple of minutes the only sound was her preparing multiple cups of coffee, one for each of them. Yang still looked like her head was spinning while Ruby was trying and failing to understand that she was now a Magical Girl from a Mistralian cartoon. Except hopefully it wouldn't end with her dying of despair cause of some Grimm cat.
Weiss handed each of them a cup of coffee before sitting back down again, "I have a feeling we'll need this. We have a long night ahead for all of us." She took a sip of her light brown drink and closed her eyes, "I'm trying to understand how this all works. Technically speaking we didn't understand our 'secondary Semblances' any more than before you told us the truth, but it was at least tied to some sort of logic. Magic is a whole new field altogether."
"How do you think I felt?" Jaune smiled wryly, "I barely had time to even understand before Ozpin told me about the 'job'."
"The job keeping an eye on us." Yang said, arms crossed. She didn't look mad, but the narrowed eyes didn't give him much hope.
"He's not a spy," Blake said for him, "From what he said, the headmaster wanted someone to play peacekeeper. I'd say it was probably a good idea given how you all acted for that first week," she continued, completely ignoring the irony.
He really needed to visit Tuskon again.
"Says the one who ran away and trashed the docks?" Yang asked with a raise brow.
"Says the one who was constantly arguing with Weiss," Blaake deflected quickly, "I also wasn't the one trying to undermine Ruby's leadership or talking badly about all Faunus, was I?"
"Hey!" Weiss shouted.
"Please tell me we're not fighting again." Ruby groaned.
"If you are then you'll have to deal with it yourselves. Something tells me none of you are going to trust me anymore to play mediator." Jaune tried to make his voice sound light despite the heaviness in his chest. No matter how much he justified it to himself, it was true that he did lie to them.
"I still trust you!" Ruby said quickly.
"So do I," Blake said after.
"You probably shouldn't..." He didn't mean to say it out loud. Ruby winced at the reply while Blake just looked at him, "Look, I just wanted to tell you all of this before anything else. Ozpin said that he wasn't gonna expel me, but I'm not sure he won't change his mind. And..." He paused, trying to find the words,"...and if you guys want me to leave the team then I'll do it. I understand if you don't want me around after everything."
"Jaune..." Ruby looked hurt.
"Damn it." Yang groaned and leaned back from her place on the bed, "Look, I don't like being lied to, but I don't think you're a bad guy. I've got a pretty good read on people and you don't strike me as some kind of superspy or master manipulator."
"I share the sentiment, but we can't ignore his actions," Weiss said, "If you want us to trust you, Jaune, we want you to be honest with us from now on. No more secrets, at least when it concerns the team."
"...Is now a bad time to tell you all that I actually failed Initiation? And that I forged my transcripts to get in here?"
Blake facepalmed while Yang and Ruby just gaped at him. Weiss' face puckered and she pinched the bridge of her nose, "Jaune, you are making it really difficult to not be mad at you right now. If you tell me you don't actually have seven sisters I'm going to be very cross."
"No, that's true. I didn't lie about anything else except how scared I was of all of you."
"Scared? Of us? Why?" Ruby looked at him with utter confusion. And hurt.
"Ruby, Jaune faked his way into Beacon and was assigned to a team filled with people who had magical abilities never seen before. I'd be more surprised if he wasn't scared or at least wary," Weiss replied.
"But we would never hurt him!" Ruby shot back.
"Yeah, we-" Yang stopped and looked at his raised brow, "-we would never intentionally hurt him!"
"Pants on fire, Yang."
"That was an accident!"
"You made a joke about it! And those were my favorite jeans too!"
"Enough." Blake sighed, "Regardless of our intentions, you can understand why he'd be scared. I've had these powers for much longer so I know how to keep myself under control-" Jaune almost laughed at that. This girl could win a Vytal Gold Medal on ignoring the truth, "-but back then you three could barely even use your abilities. We only started getting a better grasp a few days ago."
"Blake, you were not better than us at using these magic spells," Yang scoffed.
"Of course I was. Tell them, Jaune." He didn't say anything, "Jaune? Back me up here."
"We need to think about what to do next," Jaune said instead, ignoring Blake's look of incensed betrayal. Hey, Weiss said she didn't want him to lie anymore, "Ozpin seemed to think that the Breach was some kind of plan to lure you four out."
"Still can't believe he didn't want us going out there." Yang scoffed. Ruby and Weiss hummed in agreement while Blake stayed quiet. Like she told him before, she never trusted Ozpin. There was no feeling of betrayal there.
"I don't like it either, but he had to have a reason to think that." Jaune sighed, "He said that you guys were caught on the news using your magic and that there people who know who you really are. I'm guessing not all of them are going to play nice."
"We're training to be Huntreses, Jaune. We can take care of ourselves," Weiss said.
"I don't doubt it, but we can't ignore it either, much as none of us like it. Ozpin was pretty clear that only four Maidens can exist at one time, and we know from Blake that Amber transferred her powers over when she passed away. That means-"
"-someone might try to kill us for these powers," Ruby finished, her expression grim. A heavy silence settled over the group at the implications, "But we don't even know how we got them!"
"Indeed." Weiss crossed her arms, "I received these powers in the middle of a fight, hardly the right time to be giving last rites to a previous 'Maiden'."
"Me either. I was down by the freaking beach when everything got set on fire," Yang added, "I didn't know anyone with magic powers and neither did Weiss cream. Rubes?"
"Nope." Ruby shook her head, "I got these during Initiation, remember? And I think I'd remember if I knew somebody with magical powers."
"Maybe it's something more one-sided then." Jaune hummed, "You didn't know anyone with the Maiden powers, but what if they knew you?"
"That still doesn't explain how they would transfer over," Blake said, "I knew Amber for a month, she could've done something to ensure that I got her abilities. From what you three have told me, you didn't know or interact with anyone differently prior to receiving your new powers, right?" She waited for anyone to contradict her. None of them did, "We have more questions than answers at this point."
"We could ask the headmaster. Even if he tried to make us stay he still knows more about this stuff than the rest of us," Ruby said.
"Would he even tell us considering how he wanted Jaune to keep it a secret?" Weiss asked. Ruby didn't reply, "And that's also assuming he knows all the information we need. If he's so knowledgable about these Maidens then why did their powers end up falling into the hands of four random Huntresses? Given the importance he's placed in them I would've thought he'd keep those four more tightly controlled."
"Controlled like us, you mean?" Blake asked, "We disobeyed his orders, who's to say that the previous Maidens didn't do the same? Amber was wandering around without an escort or guide when she saved me."
"Can't hurt to talk to him anyway. If he lies to us then we wouldn't lose anything, but if he tells the truth we'll know more than before," Yang said.
"Whatever he knows he's keeping it close to his chest. Pete- uh, Professor Port knew about you four but he didn't have anything I didn't know. Neither did Professor Goodwitch or Professor Oobleck, as far as I know."
"The teachers are aware of us as well? Brilliant." Weiss rolled her eyes, "I suppose that cat's out of the bag anyway. Valean news has been circulating the footage of our actions during the Grimm incursion. With any luck the headmaster is correct and the public will think they're just powerful Semblances. At the very least it means we won't have to keep it hidden anymore."
"Speaking of powerful, you said that this stuff's only gonna get stronger, right?" Yang asked, perhaps just a bit too eagerly.
"Yeah. From what Ozpin told me you guys should be just as strong as each other." He put a hand on his chin, "He said something about how you were using the elements that you felt the most connected to. Weiss uses ice, you use fire, and Ruby has wind. Your Semblances use all those so I guess the magic stuck to it?" he shrugged, "Doesn't explain Blake and lightning, though."
"My Semblance is built on creating images that last only seconds to take hits for me. Lightning comes and goes just as quick," Blake said.
"Sounds like a stretch, but I can't really argue." Jaune shrugged again. He was impressed by how calm he was being about all of this. The things they did just a few hours ago, as impressive as they were, still had nothing compared to what they could do at the end of it all. Ozpin once told him that they had the power to save kingdoms. That meant they could destroy it just as easily.
"Do you know exactly how strong?" Ruby asked hesitantly.
"No clue, but I do know that you four should be able to use every element under the sun, and since it doesn't run on Aura there shouldn't be a limit on how much you can throw around." Again, a scary thought even without all of them having Huntress level training, "I know Blake can change the weather, Ruby can use hers without being in danger, Yang already started combing elements with that fire tornado, and Weiss can use her dust with it. Since you're all Maidens you should be able to do everything the others can."
"These powers seem versatile indeed." Weiss hummed, already brimming with ideas on how to experiment with her magic. Knowing his luck she'd ask him to be there.
"That's about as far as I know, though. Ozpin just told me it was crucial that you all kept calm and worked together as a team."
"He must've been really insistent on that second part," Blake said, "Given Weiss and I's background most people would've cut their losses and separated us into different teams. There must be a reason he's so insistent on keeping us all together."
"Apparently it wasn't to kick Grimm ass considering what he tried to pull." Yang frowned.
"But we're still attending a school to train us to be Huntresses. He must want us to fight something," Ruby said.
"At this point we're just speculating and talking in circles." Weiss sighed, "Classes have been suspended tomorrow given today's events and I expect the headmaster will be unavailable as well. The Council is likely baying for blood given that there were White Fang corpses and he's going to have to explain why exactly team PRMN and Doctor Oobleck were present in the crash site."
Blake flinched at the reminder of her past group's involvement. He didn't know the full story, but from what Weiss told them there were dead and wounded White Fang recovered at the parts of the train she hadn't sealed off with her makeshift avalanche. He couldn't imagine that the citizens who nearly died were gonna be happy about that. The White Fang were already controversial, but for groups of Faunus and even some humans they could at least be considered a group of freedom fighters of a sort. Whatever goodwill they had evaporated with this. Grimm attacked everyone.
"This doesn't make sense." Blake's cat ears twitched angrily, "I know the White Fang. No matter how extreme they could get it was always for a reason. How could they justify trying to destroy an entire kingdom, Faunus included?"
"Maybe you don't know them as well as you think. Isn't that why you left?" Yang asked grimly. Blake didn't reply, "Either way it's out of our hands. We can't exactly go to the police station and question them." Blake's continued silence was damning, "Right, Blake?"
"Sure, of course." Blake gave Jaune a look that promised trouble for him in the future. Goodie.
Yang sighed and turned on her scroll. They all agreed to turn everything off so no one would interrupt them, "Woah." The other blonde's eyes widened and she tapped her screen, "That's new."
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.
"Nothing's wrong. My socials just blew up." She held the scroll out so they could all see. On her Facetome was hundreds of comments and friend requests, "Not just that. My Poster account's getting flooded too. What about you guys?"
Weiss and Ruby opened their own scrolls to check. The former just raised a brow in dull surprise while the latter squeaked and nearly dropped her scroll altogether. He had a good guess on what that mean, "Wow, that's..." Ruby coughed and squirmed in her seat, "Lot of comments. People saying I saved their lives, saying they didn't lose their parents or siblings or friends cause of me." She paused, her cheeks flushed, "...Also a lot of comments on my legs. For some reason."
Jaune leaned over to look at the screen.
"Dunno who she is, but look at dem legs!"
"Thicc thighs save lives. Literally."
"I want her to stop on me."
"THUNDER THIGHS!"
"Same for me, though they're focused on my rear end more than anything else." Weiss tone was equally annoyed and resigned. This time he didn't bother to look over. She'd probably slap him upside the head if he tried.
"Boobs and hair over here." Yang said with a light shrug. She was taking it well, "Guess we shouldn't be surprised. This is the DustNet, after all." She looked to Blake, "Come on, partner, open yours up. Share the misery."
"I don't have any accounts." All of them just looked at her, "What? I'm a former terrorist who's trying to keep a low profile. What part of that makes you think I'm going to make social media accounts?"
"Seriously? Nothing at all?"
"No."
"It's probably for the best. At least then people won't make comments on your rear end." Weiss sniffed.
"It hasn't even been a day and people are already making jokes." Blake sighed.
"They're not all from inside the kingdom, I assume. People living outside in villages or those who were in parts of Vale that weren't affected wouldn't know the real horrors of what we experienced." Weiss snapped her scroll shut, "I suppose our presence only exacerberated this behavior. We turned what would have been a national level tragedy into something far more managable. Even with the death count so far, the casualties are far less in number compared to a village falling outside the walls. For a kingdom as deeply populated as Vale, it's nothing short of a miracle."
Ruby looked down with a frown, "...How many people died so far?"
"Ruby, that's not-"
"How many?" Ruby asked again, cutting Weiss off.
The heiress sighed and tapped her scroll, "...Eleven so far, but dozens more wounded. The hospitals are scrambling to accomodate them all." Ruby closed her eyes and frowned, "Ruby, we did our best."
"I know that, it's just..."
"We can't save everyone, sis." Yang's tone made it clear she wasn't any more happy about it than she was.
"If you four weren't there it would've been way worse." Jaune gently squeezed Ruby's shoulder, "Even with these powers you're still human. And Faunus." Blake laughed under her breath, "You would've needed an army to do what you four did."
"I know. Thanks, Jaune." Ruby smiled up at him and brought a hand through her windswept hair. It looked like that ever since their impromptu flight, "Hey, why don't you check your scroll too? I bet you've got a ton of new fans now."
It was a blatant change in topic but he didn't say anything. Jaune followed their leads and winced when he saw the worried messages from his family. He sent a quick message telling them he was fine and promised to call them later.
"So how many fangirls do you have now, Grimm Slayer?" Yang asked with a grin.
"None."
"...What?"
"No difference." He held out the scroll and they all peeked at the screen, "See? No new friend requests or followers."
"Wait, what? Why? You were out there with us!" Ruby protested.
"I wasn't the one flying around leading a team full of magical girls," Jaune answered lightly. He really didn't care, to be honest. After a semester with team RWBY and what Ozpin tried to do today, fame was the absolute last thing on his mind. If he saved even one person today then it was all worth it. At least then it wouldn't feel like he was dragging the rest of them down.
"A lack of attention's a good thing." Blake's ears twitched again.
"But it still doesn't seem fair." Ruby frowned, "You risk your life out there and you even gave me your Aura."
"Oh! Shit, we almost forgot about that." Yang clapped her hands together, "Congrats on getting your Semblance! Normally you'd have a party for that, but well..."
Jaune laughed, "It's cool. I'm just glad I got it now. It really helped us out."
"Indeed. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could've sworn Ruby's Semblance was stronger than usual. Perhaps your Semblance amplifies not just our Aura but also our own Semblances? If so that could be extremely useful," Weiss said.
"We can practice with it when we have some free time."
"Thank you, Jaune."
Both Ruby and Yang's scrolls pinged. The sisters opened their new message and grimaced, "Oh man," Yang sucked in a breath through her teeth and rubbed the back of her head while Ruby squeaked.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked.
"Its dad." Yang sighed, "He just caught the news and he's freaking out that we hid the whole Maiden thing from him." She paused, "Wait, that means he knows about the Maidens! What the hell?"
"Again, does everyone except us know about this Maiden debacle? Will Winter call me next and say she knew all along?" Weiss brought a hand through her hair.
"He said he's coming to visit as soon as he can." Ruby groaned, "Man, he's gonna be so mad!"
"You can tell that from a text message?" Jaune asked.
"Yes, Jaune! He's a dad! They can make you feel guilty with an emoji!" He'd take her word on it. Mom and dad never liked using scrolls much, "Ugh, he's gonna be talking about how we didn't trust him and hid that we had magical powers. Its gonna be the worst."
"Well...you did hide it from him," Blake said.
"Whose side are you on?!" Ruby gripped her hair with both hands and rocked back and forth, "You don't undetstand, Blake. He doesn't get mad or yell, but that just makes it worse. He's not mad, he's disappointed." They all shuddered at that, "We didn't say anything for three whole months. He's gonna hold it over us."
"We can get through this, Rubes. Together." Yang held her hand and squeezed.
"...Is this a joke or are you two actually worried?" Jaune asked.
They didn't answer.
They decided to go to bed after that. At this point there was nothing else they could do and everything that happened today made them way too tired to continue. Or at least it should have. Despite how tired he felt, he couldn't sleep and spent the next hour just tossing and turning in his bed. Ozpin's words rang in his head. What was going to happen now that everyone knew?
Yang's snoring didn't help at all.
Shuffling noises came from behind and a soft voice whispered, "Jaune? You awake?" Ruby asked.
"...Yeah." He sighed and sat up. Ruby shifted from one leg to another then sat down next to him, close enough for their legs to touch, "Trouble sleeping too?"
"Mm-hm." She nodded and looked down at the floor, "I'm still trying to make sense of everyting. Magic, the headmaster, and now apparently dad knows too? I just...I don't know why I got these powers and its bothering me."
"At this point I don't think it matters." She looked up at him, silver eyes almost glowing in the dark, "Does it really change anything how you got it? The people you saved back there don't care about it. What's important is how you used those powers." It was cheesy and straight out of a comic book, but it wasn't wrong. Right now it wasn't important how they got them. The end result didn't change and they had to live with them regardless.
"...Are you still scared of me, Jaune?"
"Ruby-"
"Please tell me the truth."
Jaune let out a soft breath and nodded, "A part of me still is, yes." Ruby flinched, "But I also trust you. It's not because of you, Ruby. Just...think about how strong you are now. Now remember that you're only going to get stronger. My family felt the same way for Huntsmen. As much as they respected them for keeping us safe, you can't really ignore that they could snap your arm if they pulled too hard."
"I get it." She bit her lower lip and scooted even closer to him. Before he could say anything she held his right hand with her left and intertwined their fingers togetrher, "But I want you to not be scared of me, Jaune. You're one of my best friends."
"You are too," he replied.
"Promise you won't leave no matter what happens, okay?"
"I promise."
They woke up sleeping on the same bed. Yang teased them about it all morning.
The atmosphere in the school the next day felt different. Most of the students were out on missions when the incident - tentatively dubbed 'The Breach' - happened. The transfer students and teachers were still in the middle of the trip when team RWBY mopped up the majority of the horde. By the time they arrived all that was left was clean-up and securing the civilians.
Team RWBY-J were sat at the cafeteria for breakfast as per usual. Without their sister team it felt weirdly lonely, which wasn't helped by the looks and comments thrown their way. Well, thrown team RWBY's way. Most of them ignored him.
"I hate this..." Blake scowled down at her plate of tuna (cause of course she ordered that). Her bow twitched and Jaune resisted the urge to pull it off her head, "I can hear them whispering about us."
"Good or bad things?" Weiss asked.
"Does it matter?" Blake continued to scowl, "I hate people talking behind my back period."
Ruby self-consciously covered her legs with a longer than usual skirt, "Another team from Vacuo asked if I wanted to hang out with them this weekend. Team NDGO, I think? They said it'd be cool if we went shopping together."
"You should get used to it." Weiss said, the very picture of calm, "The Breach is very recent news and we were in the spotlight. Eventually they'll taper off and their attention will be drawn to other things, but until then just keep a cool head."
"Heh, cool head. Nice one, Weiss queen." Yang grinned.
"That wasn't what I meant and you know it," Weiss shot back without any heat. Heh, temperature jokes. Oh Gods, he was spending too much time with Yang.
"I had a couple of guys and gals ask me to the dance, but I like to think that's just my natural charisma and the Xiao Long genes at work," Yang grinned.
"How very humble." Weiss rolled her eyes playfully.
"We should visit team PRMN in the clinic," Jaune said suddenly.
"Yeah! They got really hurt in that train crash." Ruby frowned, "What were they even doing there anyway?"
"We can ask them when we visit." Blake's bow twitched again, "Ugh, if I hear someone say something about my 'bellabooty' one more time I'm going to-"
"Not cause a scene cause you're so in control of your emotions, right?" Blake actually pouted at that. He almost grabbed for his scroll to take a picture for posterity, "And hey, no matter the comments people know you're a bunch of badasses. That's cool, right?"
Most people were content to ignore him, but the those that didn't looked at him with either pity or jealousy. His lack of combat prowess wasn't exactly a secret and he already got comments even before people realized just how strong the rest of the team was. Now people insinuated that he didn't 'deserve' to be on a team of such up-and-coming Huntresses, especially as a fifth member. The 'better' ones just felt bad for him being on a team that'd always be so much stronger than he was.
Except team CRDL, that was. Cardin realized that Yang really did go easy on them back in the Forever Fall and offered to talk if he wanted...in exchange for telling Yang that they shaped up and she totally didn't need to check in on them anymore. To their credit they really did get their act together, though it probably helped that Yang shared all their classes and still gave them the side-eye.
"How are you so calm about this, Weiss?" Ruby asked.
"I'm the heiress to the largest and most profitable company in all of Remnant, and I've sang at more than a few concerts that filled stadiums." Weiss said. Blake made a crack about how humble she was, which Weiss promptly ignored, "I've had to deal with prying eyes and sycophants my whole life, so this is hardly new. It's actually somewhat pleasing to be recognized for my efforts to be a Huntress rather than my family name."
"When's your dad visiting?" Jaune asked Yang and Ruby.
"Tomorrow." Yang's shoulders sagged, "Man, we're so gonna get it for not telling him before we left for Beacon."
"But I only got these powers during Initiation!" Ruby protested.
"You still didn't say anything for the whole semester," Yang countered. Ruby sunk in her seat, "Hey, if anyone asks we both got these during Initiation."
"I'm probably not the right person to say this, but is lying really a good idea?" Jaune asked.
"You haven't seen his narrowed frown of parental disappointment," Yang said, voice completely serious, "Besides, what's a couple of weeks difference anyway?"
"Its your fault for keeping secrets from your dad," Blake teased. Yang gave her the stink eye while Jaune refrained from commenting that she hadn't mentioned her parents at all. Even after months living together, Blake Belladonna was as mysterious as those books she loved to read. The actual mystery novels, not the poorly disguised porn.
They waited for visiting hours before making their way to the clinic. It was thankfully empty except for the school doctor, one Tom Wood, who looked way too tired to be trusted with the lives of four injured students and a teacher. Apparently Doctor Oobleck had just left, leaving the doctor to try and wrangle him while leaving team RWBY-J to watch over the rest of his patients. It was really unprofessional, but this was the school that tossed students into a forest from a cliff. They were lucky he didn't make them perform surgery.
He sat at Mercury's bedside while the others scattered around the room. Ren was still unconscious, apparently he took a really nasty blow to the head, which left just Mercury, Nora and Pyrrha awake, "Hey, how's it going?" he asked his best guy friend. And yes, he was aware how crazy it was that the assassin was considered that, but at this point he didn't even care.
"Head's ringing and I'm really pissed off." Mercury groaned. Pyrrha giggled on the next bed over as she talked to Ruby and Blake, "By the way, you don't have to worry about me pretending to be nice. Cat's out of the bag on that."
"How'd that happen?"
"They kinda figured it out once I started talking about shoving a parasol down that ice cream midget's throat."
"Indeed. It was a surprise, though not an unpleasant one." Pyrrha laughed again.
"Yeah, cause my partner's a weirdo." Mercury shot back with a small smile. Huh, that was new, "Besides, I'm not the scary one here. She's the only reason we survived."
"Really?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah. She used that Semblance of hers to cover us in a metal shield. Still got knocked around, that's why Ren's out like a light, but at least we're still breathing." He looked up at the ceiling in frustration, "Swear to god, though, if I find that midget again I'm gonna shove my foot up her ass. Then I'm gonna shoot every single bullet I have till she actually explodes."
Well, that was an image.
"Hey, it doesn't matter if you lost, alright? You're alive, that's what-"
"I didn't lose." Mercury glared at him, "The train was about to crash and she ran off before we could finish the fight. Trust me, she won't get so lucky next time."
"Speaking of that, we were hoping to ask why your team was even there," Blake said, "And why the White Fang were there too..."
"Who knows?" Mercury snorted, "We were checking things out and we ran into those chumps. There was this guy there, probably their leader, making a speech about how Vale was gonna learn to fear them after this and bla bla bla. Nora got caught cause of her thunder thighs and we got into a fight."
"We tried to disable the train," Pyrrha continued, "Unfortunately we were too late and the crash happened. Even with my Polarity all I could do was ensure that the crash didn't kill us." She frowned, "We were too injured to help fight the Grimm that poured in, but thankfully you were all there. Vale owes you all so much."
"We were just lucky," Ruby said with a pleased smile. Unlike the previous comments, Pyrrha's honest praise made the reaper flush with joy.
"This leader making the speech, what can you tell me about him?" Blake asked, her voice suddenly tense.
"Not a lot. It was pretty dark there and the guy wore all black so he kinda blended in." Mercury shrugged.
"I fought him at the head of the train. He was the reason I couldn't stop the collision in time." Pyrrha's lips pursed into a thin line, "I didn't get a chance to do anything before he attacked me. He was a fierce combatant. Even after I took his blade from him he was ferocious. "
"Yeah, he was a real ass," Nora suddenly cut in, "He was going on and on about how humans ruin everything and how he was gonna make us all pay. If I see him again I'm gonna break both his arms and legs for what he did to Ren."
"She seems scarier than usual," Jaune leaned back slightly.
"We kinda thought we were gonna die there so Ren told Nora he loved her like that." Mercury waved a hand lazily, "Now she's pissed that she didn't get a chance to say anything back before we got knocked around."
"He's going to pay for that!" Nora howled. Yang and Weiss had to hold her down on the bed so she wouldn't stand up and pace.
"This blade..." Blake gulped, "Could you tell me about it? Or anything else about his features?"
"The blade was a Mistralian design, I could tell that much. A chokutÅ " Pyrrha replied, "The sheath was unique too. He used it to fire the blade out before I pulled the sword away. His fighting style reminded me of a few Iaijutsu practicioners I fought against before." She paused, "His hair was red as well, a similar shade to my own. Besides that I couldn't tell anything else, sorry. The mask covered his entire face."
Blake's eyes widened. She suddenly stood and turned away. Jaune and Yang made to stand as well before she shook her head, "I need some time to think, please. Alone." She took a deep breath, "We can all talk about it when we're back at our dorm."
He and Yang shared a glance and told her their agreement. None of them stopped her and Jaune sat back down. Blake's connections to the White Fang weren't known to anyone except for their team and they had no plans to change that anytime soon.
"I saw the news, by the way," Mercury said before the silence could drag on too long, "When you said you were working for Ozpin I'm guessing you meant babysitting the four demigods."
"Demigods?" Weiss raised a brow. Not offended, but surprised all the same.
"For Ozpin? Him as well?" Pyrrha asked.
"Guess so." Jaune shrugged. So apparently she knew that as well.
"...Man, how are you even still alive?" Mercury asked.
"I ask myself that every day." Yang, Weiss and Ruby looked vaguely offended at his answer. If Blake was around she would've made another claim of godly self-control, "Honestly, I'm just glad you're all alive. When I saw you all being carried out on stretchers I thought..."
Mercury seemed honestly surprised at the naked concern before he quickly scoffed and looked away, cheeks slightly red, "Don't make this weird, man."
"...Should we give you two some time alone?" Yang asked with a grin.
"Shut it, blondie. Just cause you can throw fire tornados doesn't mean I'm scared of you." Mercury shot back, sitting up and adjusting his position so he could face Yang. The blanket fell away from his chest and spilled down to the floor-
OH MY GODS!
Mercury's legs were gone! They were fucking gone! A chill ran through Jaune's body at the sight of the two (surpsingly clean) stubs that ended at about thigh level. Pyrrha had no reaction to the horrific sight and neither did Nora. They must've seen it last night. Oh Gods, he lost his legs in that crash. Or maybe that 'ice cream midget' cut them off. He didn't know.
Yang was about to say something when Jaune suddenly took Mercury in a tight embrace, "Hey, what the hell?!"
"I'm so, so sorry!" Jaune cried, fighting against his friend's struggling to pull him off.
"What the fuck are you-"
"Your legs, they're..." Jaune swallowed and tried to find the right words. What could he say here? "I-I promise I'll be there for you every step of the way through rehab! A-And if you need any help making that 'ice cream midget' pay for what she did I'm gonna be there." He shut his eyes tightly, "It's gonna be okay, Merc. We can get through this. I'll be there for you, I promise."
"...Jaune." Mercury wasn't touched. In fact he sounded like he wanted to push him out a window. Jaune understood. Grief made people angry and he'd take all of his pain if it meant-
Pyrrha laughed behind him, "You two are really close."
"Oh for-" Mercury finally pushed him off and kept his hands firmly planed on his chest to stop him from hugging again, "I didn't lose my legs in the crash, you idiot."
"...You didn't?"
"I lost them years ago. I haven't had legs since you met me." Oh... "The prosthetics I was using got knocked around and Aura can't fix that. Doc took them out and sent them for repairs."
"Wait, how did you not know that?" Yang asked.
"How did you know that?!" Jaune asked back.
"Communal lockers," Yang said. Both Ruby and Weiss hummed in agreement, "...Did you seriously not know even though he's the only friend you have outside of our team? That's kinda sad."
"Well, I wasn't looking at his legs!" Jaune blushed.
"Oh, but you were so gallant," Pyrrha teased, a gentle smile on her face, "Promising to be with him always, and with such passion. It made my heart flutter even just seeing it."
"Indeed. If Blake were here she would've been excited at such a sight. Gods knows she's fantasized about it more than once." Weiss smirked.
"I hate you guys..." Jaune groaned.
They stayed with team PRMN for another hour before the doctor came back with a restrained and gagged Doctor Oobleck. Nora was zipping around the room trying to find a uniform so she could play nurse for Ren by the time they left. That wasn't something he wanted to see.
Blake was back at their room sitting on her bed. He debated asking about what happened back there when he caught the letter in her hands, "Blake?" he put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped, almost smacking her head on the upper bed. If she had a tail it would've pointed straight up, "Are...you alright?"
"I'm fine!"
"You don't look like it." Yang snatched the letter from her hands - rude! - and managed to read a few lines before Blake took the paper back, "Your parents are coming to visit?"
"Yeah. They saw me on the news and sent a letter in advance. They said they'd be here in a day or two." She shivered.
"They must've been in a real hurry if they went for overnight delivery," Ruby said.
"Yeah..."
"What's wrong?" Weiss asked.
"Nothing, it's just..." She took a deep breath and folded the letter nervously, "I...haven't talked to my parents in a while."
"...How long are we talking about here?" Yang asked.
"Five years." There was a pregnant pause that came after. Yang crossed her arms and raised both brows while Blake forced herself to continue, "They disagreed with the direction the White Fang was heading, but I was so...young and angry. When they refused to support them further I stayed with the White Fang. I thought they were cowards who wouldn't fight for what they wanted and cut off all contact."
"You didn't contant them when you left the group?" Jaune asked.
"What could I say? I thought they hated me for what I did." She shook her head, "I spat at everything they built. I don't get credit for coming to the same realization they had half a decade late."
"Not even a letter?" Ruby looked like she had a hard time being so estranged from family.
"No."
"...What was that about hiding things from parents again, Blakey?" Yang drawled sarcastically. Rather than take offense at the poorly timed jab, Blake scoffed and seemed happy for the distraction, "First you say you're so controlled and now this. I'm not sure we could trust you anymore. Are even really a Faunus? Tell us the truth, those are just really good animatronics, right?"
Yang moved to pinch Blake's upper ears before her hand was slapped away, "Touch my ears and I cut your hair."
"Wow. I didn't realize you wanted to die, partner. Learn something new everyday." Yang shot back with a cocky smirk, trying to reach out for her ears again.
Jaune's scroll rang before it could devolve into another fight, "A message from Ozpin." They all stopped and read the message with him, "He wants all of us to go to his office."
"So soon?" Weiss raised a brow, "I guess delaying won't solve anything. Let's go."
The walk to the office felt like they were walking to the executioner's block. They didn't even have to knock - the door was already wide open for them. Inside was headmaster Ozpin sitting on his chair. To his left was a tanned, muscled blonde man that looked like he could kill him with a single punch. On his other side was a bearded giant dressed in a pristine white military uniform. At the giant's side was a platinum haired woman who looked just a bit too familiar.
"Dad?!" Ruby and Yang shouted, looking at the older blonde.
"Winter?!" Weiss shouted, looking just as shocked as she started at the uniformed woman.
"Ah, team RWBY-J." Ozpi nodded, looking way too calm about things, "Its good to see you all. We have some visitors that asked for you all."
"Uh..." Jaune looked at the bearded man, "...I'm sorry, who are you?"
Weiss tried to reply but Blake beat her to it, "General James Ironwood, head of the Atlas military." Blake's eyes narrowed. It was clear she didn't want to be in the same room as him.
"Indeed, and you are Blake Belladonna, daughter of Ghira and Kali Belladonna, the founders of the White Fang and de-facto leaders of Menagerie." The general nodded stoically.
...Oh.
The headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ruby and Yang's dad, Weiss' older sister, and the general of the strongest (and only) army in the world all in the same room as their daughters/sister/ideological opposite.
...
This was gonna go great.
Being Jaune to continues to be suffering. Just as he's finally integrated to team RWBY-J he now has to deal with everyone and their mother wanting a piece of team RWBY. And oh look, Jaune doesn't have magic powers to defend himself and has all of the Maidens' trust. I'm sure that won't be tempting for anyone at all.
And though we lost the Mercury x Jaune romance vote, the bromance lives on. Mercury even goes tsundere for a bit cause he's not used to someone caring about him so much.
Next chapter will be plot dumps. Chapters after that will be some more lighthearted stuff like Guys Night Out and The Dance. Not sure who Jaune will go with. Ruby is the no-brainer choice to lock in Lancaster but I could have him go with other characters for more comedic events. Penny could be funny, or maybe Jaune actually manages to ask someone from outside of school like one of the Malachite Twins.
Review Answers:
Rebiele - Yang's arc would probably be the most internal next to Blake. The Branwen clan aren't really a physical threat to Yang even before she had Maiden powers. It focuses mostly on her trying to reconcile Raven's last thoughts being of her despite abandoning her all her life.
A wannabe writer - Thanks for the ideas. I'll see how close they can get to my own.
ReadYesyes - Crown is definitely in the running alongside Cinder and Adam as the most evil faction. As for Ironwood, we see in the next chapter how he tries to convince team RWBY, though something tells me the rebellious Weiss and former White Fang Blake aren't gonna be too happy with any argument he makes.
Kalbario - More importance? Jaune's not team RWBY's leader. I deliberately wrote it so that he's not the leader, Ruby is. While he supports them all he doesn't try to control them, which is why they trust him over Ozpin and Ironwood who have their own agendas.
Zappy Turtle - The Crown's leader has a Mind Control Semblance that he used to create his own personal army of enslaved Huntsmen. They're far above the White Fang and Branwen clan in terms of danger. Hell, Jax implied they enslaved the previous Summer Maiden before she commited suicide to escape, so they're extremely dangerous.
Reviewmonkey4u - Yeah...splitting Jaune into four bits feels like jumping the shark, sorry.
seanjoshmassey - As someone who wrote a Lancaster story, I feel somewhat offended :P I feel the same way for Arkos fics, actually. I really wanna like Pyrrha but 90% of Arkos fics are so vanilla and boring. Lancaster and Dragonslayer are at least usually fun.
As for Jaune, we see in the last chapter that he suffers from self-esteem issues and guilt. He also has solo chats with Mercury and Port when he's not hanging with team RWBY.
Zairaaquino - The assumption is yes.
Adro-Sama - A bodyguard? Does team RWBY look like they need one? ;)
idkthatisgay - Nothing specific. I just like the idea of one normal guy dealing with a group of reckless superpowered people. For Jaune's character it's from the works of Coeur Al'Aran, who's the premier Jaune writer.