A Flame in the Dark

It looked to be shaping up to be an average day in Beacon Academy. The semester would be coming to a close in a couple of weeks and their two week break would soon begin. Most students were either starting to plan out what they would be doing in their down time, both away and at Beacon. While others were studying like crazy to make certain they would pass their final exams. But still, others were focusing more on the physical side of being a Huntsman and Huntress. Specifically their teamwork. Which brings us to one of Beacon's many training rooms where one of the shining stars of the first years, Team JNPR, were doing just that.

In the center of the room was almost a battalion of training bots, each equipped for battle. They stood awaiting for their targets to begin and they did not have to wait for long. Pyrrha charged forward, Akouo in front of herself to protect from the onslaught of bullets that came her way. When she was close enough, she lashed out at the front most bots with Milo in its xiphos form. She took out several more before the remaining bots started to surround her.

She didn't have to worry about that since her backup had just made themselves known. Jaune charged from behind her and to the right, cleaving through several bots with Stalwart before forcing more back with a salvo of bullets from his left Glacies Tempest. Ren mirrored his leaders movements but went to Pyrrha's left. Slashing through many bots with the blades of StormFlower before firing upon the rest with the guns.

The training bots couldn't recover from the assault before the literal hammer was dropped on them. With a mighty battle cry, Nora jumped over her teammates and high into the air before bringing her trusted Magnhild down upon them. Any that were under the weight of it were crushed while the ground underneath shattered and sent more tumbling through the air. It also separated the remaining group down the middle; perfect for what they wanted to test out.

"Bronze Lotus." Jaune gave a command as he stepped further to the right with Nora quickly following him. Ren meanwhile stepped behind Pyrrha, pulling his weapons into his sleeves while charging aura into his palms. Pyrrha used her Semblance to detach her trusted shield from her bracer. It floated horizontally with the help of her Semblance before it was rocketed forward by Ren's aura empowered strike.

The shield flew with the fury of a buzzsaw towards the training bots. She kept using her Polarity to slightly shift her projectile so that it could take out as many as possible. She couldn't maneuver it too much or else it would weaken the forward momentum. Once the shield had taken out as many bots as it could, Pyrrha pulled on it with her Semblance, taking out a few more as it returned to its owner.

With their half taken care of, Jaune gave out the second command as he looked at his hammer wielding teammate. "Ice Storm." He grinned as she smile that usual megawatt smile of hers. Jaune fired the rest of the ammo in his left bracer as he flipped his sword into a reverse grip. As the bots were now slightly frozen, he stabbed his blade into the ground before slashing upwards, releasing a wave of ice at an upward angle.

With this large structure of ice now formed, he pivoted out of the way as Nora smashed her hammer into it before releasing an explosion on impact. The force of her hit shattering the ice and the ensuing blast sent the massive pieces of ice towards the still immobilized bots. The ice completely ruined the bots and with that, their group training session was over. They all sighed and looked at each other in satisfaction before Nora jumped into the air, "That was awesome!"

Jaune chuckled as his bracers shifted to their compact form, "I would agree. I think we can say, we've got those combos down now." He sighed to himself as he allowed himself to sit on the ground, his left leg extended out while his right was bent at the knee so he could rest his arm on it. "Now we just gotta work on my combo with Ren and your combo, girls, and I think we'll be set. For the tournament coming up."

Pyrrha nodded as she sat down next to her partner. They still had the training room reserved for a bit more time, so why shouldn't they use it to cool off. She tucked her legs partial underneath herself and leant her body slightly to the right. Subconsciously trying to be a bit closer to Jaune, not that he noticed at all. "These maneuvers are good ideas, Jaune. They are simple but effective."

He grinned as his other two teammates sat across from them. Ren cross-legged and Nora with her legs fully extended as she leant back on her arms. "Less can go wrong with simple. Despite what my sisters say."

"I mean they have a point." Nora spoke up, "Our move is cool and all but it could use a little pizzazz."

Jaune looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Oh? And what do you have in mind?"

"Lightning!" she said excitedly. "If we charge the ice with lighting, it will make it more amazing and the electricity could have a wider range." She said with a grin.

Ren sighed slightly, "Ice isn't the best conductor, Nora. Besides, you may use electricity for your Semblance but you can release it. Where would the lightning come from?"

Nora crossed her arms with a pout. She knew Ren wasn't being mean, he was just pointed out the flaws her idea had. "Spoiled sport."

That made Jaune and Pyrrha chuckle slightly. Jaune then thought for a bit. 'She does have a point. Adding electricity to the ice would be a powerful combo. If the ice could be melted slightly, just enough to get a bit of moisture on it, it could work.' He then subconsciously clenched his fist at the thought of heat and how he could do so now. 'I'm not comfortable with relying on that. I don't think I can trust it."

He quickly moved to the other part of that equation, "Nora could use a way that she could have electricity more readily. Then she could use her Semblance when we needed it. Dust could easily fix that but crystals and powdered can go very wrong in the field if she was hit too hard.' He then spoke mostly to himself but loud enough for everyone to hear him easily enough, "Maybe I can help with that…"

That earned him his team's attention. "Help with what?" Pyrrha asked.

"Helping Nora use her Semblance more freely." He explained.

That earned a wide eyed look from the bomber, "Really?"

He nodded, "I can talk to Ruby and see if she would have any ideas. Maybe upgrade Magnhild in a way to let you do that." He scratched the side of his head slightly, "Not entirely sure if it's possible but if it were, Ruby would have some kinda idea on how to do- oof!"

He was stopped when a body slammed into him, throwing him to the ground. He looked to the side to see that Nora had tackled him into a hug and was staring at him with wide eyes, "You would really do that for me?"

He raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Of course I would. Not only are you my friend but you're my teammate, that practically makes us family." He grinned.

She just looked at him before she gave him a smaller smile than he was used to but it was much more tender. She hugged him just a bit tighter and rested her forehead on his shoulder, "You're the best leader."

He just grinned at her and managed to pull one arm free to give her a hug in return. Ren and Pyrrha just watch the display with happy smiles. Eventually, she allowed him to sit up properly before letting him go to sit next to Ren again. "By the way, that reminds me. Do you all have any plans for the upcoming break?" Jaune asked them.

Ren shook his head as Nora spoke, "Nope. We're just going to hang out here at Beacon."

He turned to Pyrrha as she shrugged, "I was hoping to head home to Argus to see my mother." She looked down sadly, "Although that would mean dealing with all my hometown fans…"

Jaune saw her downcast look and grinned, "Well maybe I can help with that." She looked at him in confusion. "Well me and my sisters are going to head back to Patch. You know, spend some time back home and see our dad. He also made it a point to say he wanted to meet our teams and if you liked, you would be more than welcome to stay with us for the break."

They all looked at him in shock, "Are you serious?" Nora asked, floored.

He nodded with a slight chuckle, "Absolutely." He then turned to Pyrrha, "And if I explain to my dad what is going on, I doubt he would mind if you mother came to stay with us as well."

Pyrrha's jaw dropped at that and just stared at her partner. She tried to speak but it seemed she had forgotten how to do that for a few seconds. When she eventually remembered how to speak, she couldn't stop from asking, "Are you sure about this, Jaune?"

He just smiled at her, "Like I said, you're my teammate. You're family."

Pyrrha just stared at him as her eyes just started to get misty, "Jaune… I…" Before she knew what she was doing, she leant forward and kissed him on the cheek. She quickly wrapped him in a hug and buried her face into his shoulder. Mostly to hide the blush that took ahold of her cheeks when she realized what she had done. "Thank you, Jaune." she told him simply and heartfeltly as she held him.

Jaune blushed hard from the kiss, not expecting anything like that. He then grinned at Pyrrha's words before he gave his partner a hug in return, "You're welcome, Pyrrha."

That was when something he didn't expect happened. As he held his partner, an image of Ruby and Yang flashed through his mind for all of a second and that's when a wave of guilty rushed over him. His body tensed with that and Pyrrha pulled away slightly when she felt him do that, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head and gave her a smile, "Nothing." He told her. He then turned to his teammates who were just watching them with grins. Jaune blushed again before he rolled his eyes, "Alright, our time is almost up. Let's go get cleaned up then we can go down to Vale for dinner. How's that sound?"

"Yes!" Nora shouted instantly. She then shot up to her feet, picked up Magnhild before pulling Ren to his feet and started to drag him out of the training room. It was now Jaune and Pyrrha's turn to grin at their teammates.

Jaune turned back to Pyrrha who realized how close their proximity still was and blushed as deep as her hair. She let go of him, regrettably, before she stood up and offered him her hand. He grinned back and let her pull him to his feet.

As they walked to the exit, Pyrrha had a happy and content smile on her face. Behind her, Jaune followed as he looked to the side in confusion. Contemplating the feeling that overtook him and the images of his sisters that had come to mind. 'What was that?' He asked himself. But he got no answer in return.


An hour later, Jaune was in the elevator within the CCT tower. He was the first one to finish getting cleaned up so he decided to call his dad to let him know what was going on. He was sure his dad wouldn't be opposed to the idea of Pyrrha's mom potentially coming over for their break but he still wanted to ask him just to cover all his bases. While the others were still taking there time to get ready for going to Vale. He did tell Ren that they could meet up at the airfield when he was done; That way Nora wouldn't freak out and think he ditched her.

He chuckled to himself as the doors opened and he was presented with one of the many levels that was just filled with stations to use for video chats. He took a quick moment to look around before finding a vacant one and made his way over to it. As he sat down, he pulled out his scroll and quickly sifted through his scroll until he found his dad's number. With that, he hooked his scroll up to the terminal and hit send.

Jaune waited for a few seconds as the ringing continued. Eventually, the screen came to life and he saw the visage of his father, Taiyang. The older blond smiled at him, "Hey, son! How's it going?"

Jaune smiled back, "Everything is going fine, Dad. I'm not interrupting you, am I?"

Tai shook his head, "Not at all. I just got home a bit ago and have just been lounging since work. Besides, I always have time for my kids. I'm just glad at least one of you calls me." He joked.

Jaune rolled his eyes with a slight grin, "I'll talk to them. Maybe remind them again." He shook his head slightly, "Anyways, I called to tell you I told my team about your offer. They were very opened to staying with us."

Tai's smile grew with that, "That's great to hear. I'll make sure the guest room is prepared. And fair warning, you three may have to share your room with your partners so we have enough space."

Jaune blushed at that, "Uh, Dad, my partner is Pyrrha. Remember?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Nice, polite, great fighter. You've told me about her, I don't know what you're getting at."

He just stared incredulously at his dad with his blush didn't lessen in the slightest. "You want me to share a room with her for two weeks."

"So?" His dad titled his head in questioning with a slight smirk on his lips, "You've shared a room with her all semester, you should be used to it by now."

He just stared at his father in shock for a full minute until he saw him trying to hold back laughter. Jaune groaned before he buried his face into his hands. "Dad, come on." He whined.

That's when he finally heard his father laugh, "I'm sorry but that was too good to pass up." He laughed for a couple of minutes before he eventually sighed, "But still, I was only partially joking. You will have to share your room with Ren… Unless you two are together…" He insinuated as he wiggled his eyebrows a bit.

Jaune once again blushed at that insinuated and that brought up the memories of the kiss and hug he had received from her about an hour ago. But just like before, that wave of guilt flowed over him. He stared off to the side as he thought, 'There it is again. What is going on with me?'

"Jaune, are you okay?" Jaune shook his head as he heard his dad speak. He looked back at the screen to see him looking at him with concern.

He quickly smiled back, "Yeah, I'm fine, Dad. Just a bit tired from my training session with my team. But no. Pyrrha is… amazing. But we aren't together."

Tai just looked him over, "If you say so, Jaune." he thought for a bit, "Now that you mention it, I don't remembering you having a girlfriend before. I barely remember you having a crush on anyone."

Jaune wasn't about to argue that since it was more or less the truth. He shrugged, "Just never had the interest. I mean, don't get me wrong, I have been attracted to a few girls in Signal and same for being here at Beacon. But I don't know. I just… never tried, I guess."

Not expecting that, Tai just nodded slightly as he absorbed all that. "That's fair. But let me give you some advice, don't be afraid to take a chance, son. You may miss out on something truly amazing if you do." He grinned.

Jaune smiled back and nodded, "I will." He then shook his head. "Anyways, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about. It does involve my team staying for the break." Tai just raised an eyebrow as if asking what it was. "Well, you know how Pyrrha is like a celebrity back in Mistral?"

His dad nodded, "Yeah. She won a lot of tournaments and was a prominent student from Sanctum, right?"

He nodded, "More or less. Well, she wanted to head home to see her mother but she really doesn't want to deal with her crazy, hometown fans. So, I kinda told her that you may not mind if she reaches out to her mother so she can come to Patch to?"

Tai just looked at him, "Huh. Wasn't expecting that." He then looked up to the ceiling in thought, "We are running low on space but we should be able to do it." He looked back to his son, "If she isn't opposed to staying with us, I have no reason to say no. Besides, you two will be partners for the next four years, I met as well get to know her."

Jaune chuckled, "Please don't hit on Pyrrha's mom, Dad."

Tai placed a hand on his chest, "Jaune, you wound me. I am not your uncle." He smirked.

Jaune snorted, "Good point. I don't mean to cut this short but I'm supposed to go into Vale with my team soon."

Tai waved it off, "No big deal. You all will be here in a couple of weeks anyway. We can catch up then." He smiled ta him once again. "Enjoy your night, son. I love you."

Jaune smiled back, " I will. Love you too, Dad." And with one last wave, Tai ended the call. Jaune just sat there and still smiled at the now blank screen. He then eventually sighed before he stood from the seat. He reclaimed his scroll before walking back towards the exit. He got back into the elevator and sent a quick message to his team, telling them he was on his way.

He was so involved with his scroll that he didn't notice someone walking in as he was coming out. So naturally he collided with them. Jaune took a step back and let a yelp out in shock, "Oh, I'm sorry about that. Are you al…" Jaune stopped what he was saying when he saw who he was talking to.

Standing in front of him was a young woman about his age. She was a few inches shorter than himself with fair skin. She wore grey fitted pants that were tucked into tan boots that went up to her knees. Two belts went around her wait: one to keep her pants up while the other seemed to attach a sword in a sheathe at her hip. A light blue shirt covered her the waist up, covering her modest but built frame. Over that was an open white jacket with yellow accents. Over her heart was what seemed to be two golden arcs.

Finally, her long blonde hair was tied into a French braid that went down to her midback with two locks framing her face. She looked at him with her green eyes, mirroring the look of shock that was on his own face. She was the first to recover and gave him a warm smile came to her lips, "It's quite alright. I wasn't exactly paying attention either. " She looked him up and down with an analytical look, "Are you okay?"

Jaune pulled himself from his shock, "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I guess you shocked me. Never seen you around Beacon and all."

She nodded with a more resigned smile, "Well that makes sense. I've actually just came in from Mistral. Was planning on using the CCT tower. I guess you did the same?"

He nodded with an awkward smile on her face, "Yup. Had to call my Dad." He then held his hand out to her, "I'm Jaune by the way. Jaune Xiao Long."

Her eyes widened slightly at the name but she schooled her features before she tentatively took his hand to shake, "Nice to meet you. I'm Jean Arc."

Jaune paused for a second, the name almost sounding familiar but ignored it. He smiled at her, "Same to you. Again, sorry for running into you."

She shook her head slightly as he took her hand back, "It is quite alright. It's not like you meant to do it. I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude but I really should go. I did come here for a reason." She said with a grin.

He chuckled, "Good point. I have to be somewhere too. Maybe I'll see you around Beacon."

She nodded with that same resigned smile, "Maybe." She started to walk around him. "Goodbye, Jaune."

He nodded to her, "Later, Jean." With that he took off in a quick jog to get to the airfield to meet up with his teammates. Last thing he needed was to be late and make Nora impatient. But as he jogged, he couldn't get over that run in. Jean seemed so familiar but he knew he had never met her before in his life. Plus her name. Why did it seem like he had heard her last name?

'Could it possibly have something to do with my past?' he thought to himself. He debate that but he was starting to get a slight headache and decided to shelf it for now. 'It probably isn't important. Besides, there's a good chance we won't talk again. So, focus on the now, Jaune. And that means getting to the airfield quick.' He pushed those thoughts from the forefront of his mind before continuing his jog.

It wasn't long before he got to the airfield and quickly met up with his team. "Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late."

Pyrrha shook her head, "You're fine, Jaune. We actually just got here not too long ago. How did your call go?"

"All good. Told my dad you guys were coming and he said that as long as your mom is okay with it, he has no problem with her staying as well." He told her with a smile.

She was stunned before she smiled back, "That's grand!" She said excitedly. "I'll give her a call later tonight or tomorrow and let her know. I hope she'll say yes. It's been quite a while since she got away from Argus."

"With that all settled, let's go out and have some fun!" Nora said excitedly as she threw her hands into the air. They all chuckled and let the ginger lead them onto the airship.

Ren turned to leader as they got aboard the vessel, "Do you want to call your sisters and invite their team as well."

Jaune just shook his head, "Nah. They went out first thing this morning with their team. Something about the festival and competition? I don't know. But they have Weiss and Blake, those two should keep them out of trouble."

They enjoyed their trip to Vale and the excitement for their night to come, the stray thoughts and questions were pushed to the back of his mind. Expecting them to just be lost. Too bad the young man wasn't that lucky. Destiny was just around the corner.


As soon as the elevator doors closed, Jean let the smile fall from her lips. She looked down at the ground with a conflicted look on her face. She crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke to herself. "Jaune Xiao Long… Could he be..?"

She thought about it for a bit before she shook her head, "There's not enough proof. Just because he has the same first name, doesn't mean anything. And I would hate to deliver the punishment onto an innocent young man." She looked up to the still closed doors of the elevator. "I'll have to keep an eye on him for the time being. If he isn't him, he can go on none the wiser. But if he is him-"

She cut herself off as the doors opened and a few people walked in. She quickly put her smile back on as she nodded to them as she stepped into the room of terminals. She kept the smile as she walked to an empty terminal. 'It's my job to deal with him. No one else should have to do it.' She sat down at the terminal as she plugged in her scroll. She stared at the screen with one last thought, 'I will be the one to wipe out the Scourge of the Arc family. It is my Destiny.'


A/N- Here it is! Sorry about the delay, sincerely. I don't know what has been happening lately but updates are taking months now instead of a month or so. It's not even like I have Writer's Block, it's like I either have no time or time just seems to skip ahead for me. No idea. With that, my rant is over.

And finally, I get to introduce the the first of the Arcs to this story. I'm sure you were all expecting it and hopefully you'll be excited to see what she does next. A few more clues about the plot and Jaune's backstory have been dropped. But it will still be a bit before it is all revealed. I just hope you all will stick around for it. I hoped you all enjoyed and I'll see you in the next update!