This was the best news Emerald could ever hope for.

She almost didn't believe it. She almost had to pinch herself. But Jaune Arc, the meddler who'd nearly ruined everything for them, had gone and gotten his dumbass self kidnapped right under the watchful eyes of Miss Perfect, Miss Psycho, and Mr. Terrifying. And now it was time for Cinder Fall to step in and save the day.

If… if Cinder would just listen to her...

"Emerald, you do not understand how big of a combo I have going right now, and it's a holiday double points event, and I have a good feeling that I am one prize box away from unlocking Alarielle's beach outfit, so this had better be important!" Cinder said, eyes glued to her screen.

"Jaune's been kidnapped! Right out from under Pyrrha's nose!"

Cinder froze, her finger no longer swiping at her scroll.

And then her lips slowly curled into a grin.

"By who?" she asked eagerly, her amber eyes shooting up to meet Emerald's.

"Raven Branwen, a Mistralian bandit who-"

"Who has the Spring Maiden," Cinder interrupted. "Yes, yes, we can… I see our options now!" she nearly shouted, her eyes alight with the devious fire that Emerald had fallen in love- so respected in her leader! "Summon Mercury, and get started on our travel arrangements to Mistral. Fortunately, we should still have intel on Branwen—it shouldn't be hard to find where she's hiding him!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Emerald saluted, her heart soaring. Cinder… Cinder was back! And Emerald was going to rub it in everybody's faces that she was serving under Salem's best agent! Take that Not-So-Invincible Girl!

"Oh, and one more thing," Cinder said, a wicked smirk coming to her face, "I'm going to make a phone call to a certain scorpion… he should hear about how well his dear little ones have been doing at Beacon..."

Velvet heard everything.

So when bandits kidnapped a Beacon student on a field exercise, she knew. That the student was Jaune Arc, a font of unbelievable sacred power, she knew. That said font had already attracted to him and assembled around him the exact team Velvet would need to bring him back?

Velvet knew.

A gang of Mistralian bandits didn't seem like the type to realize what they had, but them traveling this far, just to seize Jaune, seemed like too much to be coincidence. They had a plan, surely, and she wasn't going to pretend that she didn't see the obvious here. But she also wasn't going to pretend that she was powerless in this—even as much as she knew this wasn't going to be easy. Stepping to the front of the room, Velvet felt her heart quail as she felt the eyes of so many upon her.

They were extraordinary people, as befitted a living locus of spiritual power. Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl, his two enforcers, Nora and Ren, and then there was the heiress to the SDC, Weiss Schnee, the daughter of the Chieftain of Menagerie, Blake Belladonna, the young prodigy, Ruby Rose, and Yang Xiao Long—the daughter of the woman who'd taken Jaune. These were the cream of the crop, the best shot of getting Jaune back... but just the way they looked at her made Velvet's ears wilt.

Pyrrha was looking incredibly cool as Velvet could practically see the halo of wrath around her, rising like steam on a cold day. Ren and Nora had an equally vengeful aura to them, but one tinged with worry and… and shame. Velvet could see that they were ashamed of their failure to protect their leader, and she felt an incredible pang of sympathy for them.

But the room had more—Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Fox were there to support her, something she was endlessly grateful for, and Velvet could see that Ruby, while worried, was giving Velvet an encouraging—if weak—smile. She could do this. She knew she could do this, and...

And Jaune was counting on her! Possibly also the universe, but Velvet was just going to focus on Jaune!

"I've summoned you all here today," Velvet began, trying to keep her hands from shaking too much, but that just made her toes start tapping, "because, as you know, Jaune Arc has been kidnapped by Mistralian bandits, and it is paramount that we get him back. I-" her voice was hoarse, she struggled to get the words together—it was so much easier when she practiced this in her mirror!—as she faced her friends with their nerve-rattling eyes on her!

But, possibly fortunately, she was cut off by Weiss.

"As heiress of the SDC, a title," she glanced at Ren for some reason, "I anticipate becoming highly relevant sooner than many expect, I take this kidnapping as an attack and personal insult against my character. We will be retrieving my boyfriend, and we will make this 'Raven Branwen' pay for-"

"What?"

Everyone turned to look at Yang, who seemed utterly stunned

Velvet cocked her head. "Um… the bandits who kidnapped Jaune were led by Raven Branwen from Mistral… didn't you read the dossier I put-"

"Obviously I didn't!" Yang spat, "Because then I would've known that we're going to war against my mother!"

"I, um, also didn't read the notes," Ruby timidly chimed in, "Sorry… sorry… but, um…. Raven's like, really mean and scary and says mean things a lot and maybe-"

"And maybe a decade of therapists telling me I should move on from wanting to punch my mom's face in are about to learn how dumb and wrong they were!" Yang cheered, her mood taking an immediate 180. "Team RWBY is hella in!"

Blake raised her hand. "Do I get a say in-"

"There's way too many people here for everyone to get a say," Coco interrupted, "So no. Bun-Bun? Mark Team RWBY as in."

"There's more!" Velvet blurted out.

All eyes swiveled back on her. Velvet trembled, knowing that this would be the first time she ever spoke of this to a large group. Even if only ten, several of which had already heard her belief, this felt like a big step.

"You need to know that Jaune was taken for a reason. That this wasn't an accident—Jaune is… Jaune is not..." her voice dropped low, remembering that feeling of power and possibility coursing through her. With that… she could be strong. She could do this. "Jaune is not an ordinary human being," she said, feeling the confidence seep into her voice, "I… suspect he isn't human at all. My ancestors, we've long tended to the sacred places of Remnant, where spiritual energy is concentrated, and sometimes..." she hoped they didn't think she was crazy, she hoped she didn't sound crazy as she said this, "Sometimes this power incarnates in the form of a being. Usually, in the form of an animal, but in Jaune's case… Jaune is in the form of a man because he is the incarnate presence of all the world's aura!"

She had squeezed her eyes shut as she declared that last bit, knowing she couldn't force it out with all those judgy eyes on her, but with her enhanced hearing… it didn't make that much of a difference. But… they didn't sound shocked. Well, her team knew, and so did Pyrrha, who might have told Ren and Nora, but Velvet opened her eyes to see Weiss seemed less… shocked than Velvet would have expected of learning that her boyfriend was a demigod instead of a mob boss's son.

...which, maybe they'd just adapted to roll with the fact that everything involving Jaune was… unusual.

But Velvet's attention was drawn to Pyrrha, who dramatically stood up, a weighty expression on her face. "If you're going to be joining us," she said, glancing to Ren, "there's… there's more you need to know."

Ren nodded back and stood up. "Velvet's insights are only partially correct."

Velvet tensed at that, partly put out to have her revelation cut off at the knees, but more so… Ren would know. He was one of Jaune's retainers, and that meant- that meant- it wasn't just in Velvet's head. All her doubts and uncertainties… they were wrong.

"Jaune is… Jaune is the son of the world's one true Goddess."

That set off a shock across the room. Even Velvet, who had felt Jaune's holy power and deduced his supernatural heritage, was shocked to discover that he was so much more than she suspected.

"We are not ordinary students," Ren continued, "but agents of Her Divine Will, chosen to accompany Jaune at-"

"I KNEW IT!" Yang thundered, leaping up from her set, "I knew there was something up with-"

"We all did, Yang," Weiss cut in, "I think we have more important-"

BANG!

Yang slammed both hands down hard on the desk. "Bullshit you knew!" she scowled at Weiss, "You had no idea they were in a cult! Nobody here had any idea that they-"

"I did," Ruby quietly cut in, eeping as the attention of the room turned on her. "Pyrrha was telling me about it," she explained, "and… I think it sounded pretty neat! I just… I wanna belong in something, and Jaune's really nice and friendly for a god!"

"And Ruby told me," Blake added, "Because she needed to ask someone what words like 'apotheosis' meant in their literature, so I took a look through the pamphlets Pyrrha gave her. Kinda bland in my mind," she glanced over to JNPR, already high tempers inflamed by her sacrilege, "No offense, just… kinda expect, y'know, more blood rituals and mass marriages and the like in underground cults. Less... church socials and youth groups."

Nora nodded. "It's a fair criticism. I'll pass your feedback along to the higher ups."

A furious, red-faced Yang looked from teammate to teammate, then glared at CFVY and JNPR. "Traitors," she finally muttered, sitting back down in her seat, "I'm surrounded by traitors."

"Anyways..." Ren continued, "We are Believers in the faith, the three of us were tasked with protecting Jaune at all costs-"

"And we were asked to get him laid," Nora solemnly added, making Velvet's ears burn. They… were they still looking for- now was not the time to be thinking that!

"-a task we have clearly failed at," Ren continued.

Pyrrha stood up, the very words murder seeming to swirl around her. "We haven't failed yet," she growled, and Velvet felt the entire room tremble, "Jaune's final command to me… I still feel it in my soul… I'm going to make that bitch eat her words and I am going to break her-"

"For the good of the world," Velvet cut in, before Pyrrha got… too scary for them. "He… I don't know what Jaune is, not as surely as I used to know, but I do know that he is powerful, and his power cannot be taken for evil intent. He must be protected and-"

"-and Velvet wants to get laid, so we're in too," Coco finished, ignoring Velvet's shrieks of objection, "And I speak for Fox and Yatsuhashi on this, Fox," she turned to their teammate, "I don't care how many air horns you telepathically blast at me, we're doing this for Velvet, so shut up and help out." She turned back to the room and muttered, "Pfff, getting on a chance to go on a globe trotting adventure to save the fate of the world and you don't want to go? Ridiculous."

"And I'm in too!"

Everyone turned to see a blond Faunus, his shirt open (and for good reason—those abs sent a tingle to the tips of Velvet's ears) and leaning casually against an open window. His tail casually flicked behind him, not a care in the world, as he interrupted their secret meeting to rescue their demigod friend and save the world.

"Oh, yeah, forgot to introduce myself," the monkey Faunus said before jabbing two thumbs at himself, "Sun Wukong, from Haven. And, hey, I think I'm in that cult, too?"

"The True Faithful of the Dark Mother?" Ren asked, incredulously.

Sun just shrugged. "That sounds right. I'm in a couple cults, and, no offense, they all kind of have the same sort of names."

"You're in," Blake said, her voice pained with disbelief, "You are in multiple cults?"

Another carefree shrug. "I mean, I see the robes, see the happening, drink from the cup or whatever… then there's usually a big party! They're a good time! Anyways, you're going to Mistral to track down the Branwen Gang? I know exactly where their bunch hangs out, so… we down?"

"We are," Ruby, of all people, said with a conviction that shocked the room. Squaring her shoulders, she looked around them. "We've all got our reasons to want to save Jaune, and yeah, there have been a lot of revelations today, but… But at the end of today, we are going out to save him, because he's our friend, and that's what Huntsmen do!"

"Hell yeah we do!" Coco cheered.

Ruby kept going. "And we've gotta find a way to get to Mistral, to track down Raven and defeat her bandits and, yeah, that's gonna be tough, but if any of us were the one captured… Jaune would be the guy figuring out the plan for how we rescue our friend. So we're doing this!"

The room broke out into applause. A blushing Ruby seemed to realize what she'd just said as she sat back down, but Velvet shot her a confident smile. Yes, they were all going beyond what they thought they were capable of, for Velvet no less than Ruby, but… but they had a damn good reason to do this.

For faith, she thought, looking at Pyrrha and her teammates, for love, she looked to Weiss, for heroism, she looked to Ruby, for friendship, she looked to Coco, for… for being bored, she looked to Sun, for… no particular reason, she looked to Blake. And… the rest of them kind of were just there to go along with it because they were getting dragged along for it. And Yang was doing this for revenge on her deadbeat mom.

Okay, they weren't the greatest alliance of heroes to ever go on a rescue mission, but Velvet knew the twelve of them had everything they needed to get Jaune back. And she believed that, no matter what their reasons were, this fellowship would succeed, saving the world from those who would do it harm!

In all her years, Glynda had never faced anything like this.

Students got hurt at Beacon. Their Initiation involved hurling teenagers off a cliff into the woods with a "Try not to die!" They were professional monster hunters, some of the most elite in the world—training them involved danger. Whether from Grimm, from fighting with other students, from teenagers being teenagers and taking stupid risks to impress their crushes… injuries happened.

But this kind of targeted attack… it wasn't random and the student in question was obviously someone who mattered. But why was a mystery—even Ozpin didn't seem to have the faintest idea why their wayward former agent would target Jaune Arc. Looking into his family history turned up nothing of interest, and trying to contact them had gone only to dead numbers. Jaune Arc's transcripts, upon closer investigation, were wholly fraudulent. Who was this student, and where could she even go for answers?

Well, her best hope was really her only hope. While Mr. Arc didn't particularly impress in the classroom—adequate performance, showing marked improvement, but certainly not impressive—his social skills were exemplary. He had a strong circle of friends and, if she was going to find anything, her best shot was with his teammates. Maybe he'd mentioned something about his family's past, or perhaps they had some hidden fortune that would lure Raven Branwen's attention?

Heading to the JNPR dorm, however, Glynda was interrupted as the door opened before she could even knock. Revealing a surprised Ms. Nikos clearly packed for a rescue mission. Behind her, Mr. Ren and Ms. Valkyrie were also clearly packed, with heavy backpacks bulging with equipment, rations, and weaponry.

"And what," she asked, her voice as icy as she could possibly make it, "do you think you're doing?"

"...rescuing Jaune-Jaune?" Ms. Valkyrie said, skipping right past the section where they tried to lie to her. Half a relief, there, but also, them lying would have bought Glynda some time to get her bearings and be less bewildered.

But she wasn't the iron disciplinarian on Beacon for nothing. Rapidly gathering her wits, she glared at them with all the force of her reputation and asked, "And by whose permission were you planning on leaving the campus?"

"The… Headmaster said we could?" Mr. Ren ventured.

Glynda opened her mouth to make a scandalized protest that they thought she might fall for a lie as flimsy as that, but no sound came. Realization tingled on her mind, a realization of the horrible reality she lived in, that told her that this was not something she could stop. Huntsmen were willful, often volatile individuals that she struggled to teach discipline, and with a friend's life on the line, they were doubly so. But more so, if she asked the Headmaster about this… there was the first possibility that they were telling the truth, but if they weren't, Ozpin would surely be struck by the image of romanticized heroism with a team of students coming together to cross continents to rescue their leader. And he would, without a doubt in Glynda's mind, then give them their fraudulent permission.

Either way... she couldn't stop them.

Pick your battles, Glyn.

"Write a full report on your experiences," she barked out, desperately trying to make it seem like this wasn't them just… walking out on the school. "And..." she sighed, defeated, "just get Mr. Arc back and try not to get injured. Okay?"

Ms. Valkyrie gave her a solemn look. "We promise," she said.

That was about the best she could expect to get.

Thanks to Renarde for feedback on this chapter!