Today, I shall be...indecisive. Because this is the first chapter I'm a little unsure about. No doubt, this is one of the funner ones but I'm still a bit skeptical at points, some I'm sure will be brought up in reviews.

So, this time around, i will be replying to them as a way to flesh out concerns or answer questions some may have for certain directions.

So, if you'd please, do read with a critical eye and I'll look forward to actually having a talk with some of you.

The elevator to Salem's office dinged, and the Headmistress led Jaune into the clockwork room. Everything seemed to be the same within the room, from the gears that sat around the room to the lone desk that sat before the large window and clock that looked out over Vale.

"Please, take a seat," Salem said, motioning to the comfortable-looking chair facing the desk. Wordlessly, Jaune did as he was told, while the older woman went about brewing something at a table to one side of the room. After a moment, the Headmistress returned, setting a steaming cup in front of Jaune before taking a seat behind her desk. She sipped from her own, then sighed happily, placing a delicate hand to her cheek. Then she noticed the young knight had yet to touch his drink.

"Please, Mister Arc, feel free to partake."

He looked to the cup then back up to the Headmistress. He leaned forward and peered into the cup to see a green liquid. "It's tea."

"Only the best of leaves that Mistral has to offer," Salem replied with a smile.

Jaune cautiously picked up the mug and sniffed it curiously. It definitely was Mistral. It reminded him of all the times Ren had made this same tea during their time in Mistral when they were recovering the Relic of Knowledge. Jaune took a sip and he could feel the immediate effects of his body warming and muscles relaxing. He took a smooth exhale, the cool air giving a nice feeling to the warmth the liquid provided.

'I'm sorry Ren. But she's got you beat here.'

"It's actually pretty good," Jaune said, keeping the cup in his palms.

"I shall ignore your surprise and take the compliment," Salem tittered before setting her own cup down. "Now, do you know why I've brought you in today?"

Jaune took another sip. "Well, today is the opening ceremony. The students should be boarding the last air carrier to Beacon and should be finished arriving within the next hour. I should assume it has something to do with that."

Salem smirked. "That would be the easiest answer to gather." She leaned onto the table, swirling a lone finger around the rim of her cup. "Can you tell me why I'd bring you here instead of allowing you to travel with the other potential students?"

Jaune pondered for a second before replying.

"I'd say it would be for one of two reasons." He held up two fingers. "One, you don't want an uproar of confusion upon seeing me on the airship with the others..."

"Mhmm..."

"Or you're messing with everyone, myself especially, and planning to make a show of my situation once you have control of everyone."

Salem laughed, truly laughed out loud. She leaned back into her seat, arms crossed over her stomach, as she continued. Jaune's lips thinned with a deadpan expression. It was probably both but he realized it was more the latter than the former.

"You're horrible, you know that?" He muttered.

"Oh relax, dear," the Headmistress said, wiping a lone tear from her eye. "There is actually more to the reasoning behind bringing you here."

"And that reason is..?"

"Your name."

Jaune folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "I figured this would be one of those reasons."

"Yet you fail to mention it."

"Knowing you, anything is possible. The list would truly be endless if I actually tried naming everything."

"My, my, just what kind of impression did I leave upon you."

"A bad one. A very bad one."

"Never you mind. You understand then? About your name?"

"Unfortunately," he sighed. "Albeit, I wished you would put a little more faith in me. In my time, I quickly realized the need for an alias or simply keeping my mouth shut."

The Headmistress steepled her fingers and rested her elbows on her desk. "While I do have faith in you, I must take precautions in the scenario that you run into your old friends. I'm sure you understand."

"I suppose you'd be right in that regard," Jaune admitted with a resigned nod. "Even I don't know what I'll do once I see them. Especially..."

"Miss Nikos?" He could only nod. "While she must mean a great deal, I'm sure you had more pressing matters prior to your first encounter with her."

"'Pressing matters'?"

"Why yes. A matter involving Miss Rose, I believe." Salem tapped a lone finger against her chin. Jaune caught on quickly and his eyes widened in horror as her face lit up in remembrance. "Ah yes, when you two had first met. I distinctly remember a certain catchphrase. 'Name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it'. Is that right?"

Jaune's forehead met the desk. "If you could kill me, that would be greatly appreciated."

Salem giggled. "Keep your head up, dear. You're a handsome young man and I'm sure the girls would go gaga for you. They might even laugh at the joke this time. Especially since you aim to be the first Huntsman in history."

The knight rolled his head to the side. "Right. I'm currently the only choice at this school. I'm the first, last, and only option. Girls would be throwing themselves at me, huh?"

"They would. But you'd have some leisure. I hear that some of the girls have faun over Peter ever since he joined the staff."

"The idea that I'm in competition with Professor Port does not provide me with any comfort. In fact, now I feel worse. So about that whole killing me thing..."

"I'm not killing you, Mister Arc." She paused before turning back to him once more. "Getting back to the task at hand, do you have any ideas of what you shall be changing your name to?"

Jaune took a deep inhale and long exhale before sitting straight up. "I do. And you promise to keep the tabloids back as long as you can?"

"I can only promise to do my best," she replied. "I can keep the official media off while you are at Beacon but that does not stop students from taking pictures of you. And, if you are to leave Beacon to head into Vale, you are out of my jurisdiction and left to fend for yourself."

"I see. I'm used to that but I wouldn't want to leave any chances of something getting back to my mom." Jaune pulled at his hair, finally noticing just how long it had actually become, several strands reaching past his chin. "I wonder if I should cut my hair and get colored contacts..."

"I might have a better solution."

The knight turned to her with a quizzical look. Salem held up a hand and Jaune watched as colors began to dance between her fingers. There was no real shape or form, almost seeming like a trick of the light.

Jaune's eyes widened at the realization. "Ohh no! This blondie is natural and I intend to keep it that way!"

Salem stood. "Come now, Mister Arc, this isn't that big of a deal. Besides, you've said it yourself. No chances."

Jaune shot up so fast that the chair fell over. "I didn't mean going that far!"

"You just said you would cut it and I can always change it back."

"Cut and dye are two different things!"

Jaune moved back into the open spaces of the room. Salem had followed, her hand still held up with the dancing colors. The magic looked like a curse in the eyes of the knight as it loomed closer.

"Stay away!"

"Honestly, Jaune, you were a Huntsman. Have some dignity."

"I lost that with my pride years ago."

Jaune took another step back before several tendrils of gold shot from the ground. They wrapped around his body and tightened around him, completely immobilizing him. He tried and tried but no matter how much he struggled, the tendrils gave no way. He called upon his aura, even trying to boost himself with his Semblance. Nothing.

"Now, hold still. It will only take a few seconds."

"Stay back! I said back! No!"

-XOXOX-

"You!"

A short, white-haired girl with a supremely annoyed expression stormed up to them. Ruby Rose felt like the world was against her. Her sister had left her to the wolves the moment they landed, she had been forced to try and make friends, she had exploded, oh, and somehow she had made someone hate her on her first day.

That someone was the one screaming at her.

"Ah, it's happening again!" Ruby leapt into her sister's arms for protection.

"Are you going around blowing up other students' Dust now?" the newcomer snapped.

"I said I was sorry!" Ruby wailed in return.

Yang looked both confused and awed. "You really did blow up?"

The white haired girl huffed. "Indeed she did. Here, you obviously need this." The girl shoved a thick pamphlet in Ruby's face, one titled "Dust for Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals". "The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy-to-follow guide to Dust application in the field."

Ruby looked miserable staring at the pamphlet and shuffling her feet. "Is there no way that I can make it up to you?"

"You want to make it up to me? Read this and don't ever speak to me again," Weiss Schnee replied with folded arms.

Yang's eyes turned red as she set down her sister and turned to the other girl. "Hey, what's your problem?"

"She's a hazard to my health!"

The blonde forced herself to take a deep breath and her eyes returned to their original lilac. "Look, you two obviously got off on the wrong foot, but if you just gave Ruby a chance, I'm sure you could be friends!"

"Yeah!" Ruby chimed, confidence surging forth. "Hi, I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose. Wanna grab school supplies together?"

The girl huffed. "Oh, sure. Maybe we can even hang out together, train, and talk about the man meat..." She turned and took note of the two male professors on stage. "Ehh... nevermind..."

"...And your name?"

The girl stared at her for a moment then harumphed. "Weiss Schnee. Can't you remember what that other girl told you?"

"Wait, who's that?" Yang asked aloud. The trio turned back to see a man, a young looking man, walk on stage just behind the Deputy Headmistress and Headmistress.

The Schnee's brow furrowed. "Uhh, Professor Goodwitch and Headmistress Selina?"

"No, not them. Him." She pointed at the male who had moved next to Professor Goodwitch opposite of the other teachers.

"Hold on, I've never seen him before. I've studied and learned about all of the professors of Beacon and I don't believe I read about him."

"That sounds pretty sad," Yang muttered before looking over to her sister. "Any idea, Sis?"

"Hmmm, nope."

"Weird. He looks our age. What would he even teach?"

"Whatever it is, it probably is an elective. He's good for nothing more than serotonin through observation."

"...What?" The sisters replied simultaneously.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Eye candy, you imbeciles."

"Hey!"

"Students one and all! Welcome to Beacon Academy!"

-XOXOX-

"I see you survived the night." The Headmistress welcomed him on the edge of the cliff that looked over the Emerald Forest. The launch pads were the same as they were since his initiation and he couldn't help the nostalgia filling him from the time he had almost become a stain on the forest floor.

"You didn't make it easy, leaving me in a room full of women." Jaune admitted with a sharp glare pointed at her. "Luckily they've assumed I'm a teacher's assistant after I was seen on stage with you and have kept their distance. I've neither confirmed nor denied until you decide to throw me into the inevitable pit."

"I did offer you a position as a teacher's assistant. You would have even been able to keep your hair." His hair moved with the wind, a deep red that seemed to have been painted with blood. One of his eyes was still its original blue but the other, it was faded. Two large claw-like scars stretched from his brow down to his cheek, signs of a scuffle with a Grimm. However, he could still see perfectly fine as the mere image was a magical illusion Salem gave him that would make him unrecognizable even to his own family. Unless they took a good long look at him, of course.

"I know but I'd much rather rejoin my team and my friends. If I took on a teacher's role, they wouldn't approach me as easily, thinking of me as someone above their equal."

"But from your claims, you are, Mister Arc. You're a Huntsman far beyond their capabilities," Glynda noted.

"Yes, but they don't know that. And I'd rather keep it that way." The knight replied, surveying the forest.

"You would have to participate in class. The difference in level would become apparent." It was Salem this time.

"I understand that. But I've had plenty of time to practice avoiding a professor's attention. As long as I seem attentive, I'm less likely to get called on. As for combat class, just specifically ignore calling on me to fight, Miss Goodwitch."

"What if someone is to challenge you in class?" The Deputy Headmistress posed the question.

He looked back and grinned. "Well, it'll be a good chance for someone to learn some humility."

Salem folded her arms with a smirk. "You sound like a bully."

Jaune deflated immediately at that. "And there goes the wind in my sails. I was having a cool guy moment."

"I'm sure, but watching you squirm provides me with better satisfaction." She admitted with a giggle. Glynda was his sole grace as she gave him an apologetic look for a nanosecond before the stern expression returned. "Besides, I can not show favoritism to any of my students. No matter what several in the past have said, everyone loses and I win."

"I'm quite sure." Sarcasm dripped from his tone before he focused his attention back to the cliff. More specifically, the direction where a certain cave lies. "I will say, you and Ozpin share a lot of things in common for how you run Beacon."

"Is that right? Well, most of his ideas had to be from me. I was his greatest inspiration when we were younger, after all."

"Ah, so you claim to be the mastermind," he replied, looking over his shoulder at her. "Did a good portion of the budget go to tea as it had for coffee too?"

There was a pause until he heard a snort he was positive came from Glynda. However, when he turned she was as proper as she always was. And when his eyes landed on her, she lifted a single delicate brow, daring him to challenge her. He stared at her a second longer, pointlessly hoping that the mask would drop and she admitted defeat.

...

"Yes, you were quite the inspiration." He spoke as he flicked back to the Headmistress.

One way to an early grave was challenging the woman with a crop at her hip.

"Focusing back on the task... You are aware that you are participating in the initiation as well? Should anyone dig, they will find you attended no Primary Combat School and question why I allowed you to skip without prior paperwork."

He shrugged. "Of course. It wouldn't be fair if I was somehow exempt simply because I'm from the future and claimed to have been a licensed Huntsman. Besides, what better way to prove I'm capable than killing a few Grimm and rejoining my team. It's why I got Excalibur and Pridwen right here." He answered, pointing at the large blade and shield on his back.

"Are you concerned how the students will react to your inclusion?" Glynda asked.

"This is the most controlled of situations to reveal it." He answered with a nonchalant shrug. "The auditorium was too crowded with too many potential leaks. Here, as long as I'm the last to launch, it'll be a more controlled setting to introduce the first man who possesses aura. Besides, if I remember correctly, the few I met down there were my friends."

"But this is still a different timeline and reality. Variables change," Glynda argued.

"And you believe a Grimm infested forest to be a 'controlled setting'?" Salem added.

"True and yes," he answered with a grin. "For the first note, things won't be the same but I have an idea of what might happen and can adapt from there. The forest is vast and wide and by the end of it, those who learn of the reveal should be students who should pass. Which leads into my second answer that because of its vast and chaotic nature, I can prove to those who I run into that a man can fight."

"Sounds like a long winded scenario that could have simply been revealed at the opening ceremony and given time to die," Salem said with the flattest tone. "Isn't that exactly what that disguise was for? So no one knows its Jaune Arc? So that when your deeds do leak it doesn't make it back to your mother to where she comes to take all three of our heads?"

"Must you always kill any great hero story?"

She grinned. "Only when I'm not the hero."

Jaune stared at her. "...You're terrible."

"Bitch, I'm a queen."

""Language!""

-XOXOX-

Jaune focused as he flew through the air, eyes trained on his target. The others had already landed and disappeared within the treeline, more than likely already moving towards their goal. Good, they would need the advantage.

The world traveler had only been able to notice Ruby and Yang before the launch had begun, taking little time to scope out where his friends were. It appeared that Salem had no speech this time around and he was positive he would see all of them at one point or another.

The instructions of the initiation had been given within the locker room before the students were released to the cliff, Jaune having been the only one to miss it. It was lucky for him that the objective hadn't changed so he already knew what had to be done and where to go. Honestly, it was a comfort that little things like this had stayed the same rather than shift like the rest of the world.

As he descended, he kept his eyes on a sturdy looking tree and held Pridwen a little tighter. The first tree was ripped in half and the three or four branches that followed flung in the air. It was enough to slow him down to where the final tree trunk held. And, with activation of the gravity Dust within his shield, he bounced off harmlessly before landing on his feet.

Jaune looked back to survey the damage he had caused on his landing. The carnage he had caused the foliage would definitely attract some attention should anyone have heard an entire tree falling. But as the saying goes. He was just proud of himself for actually being able to do something rather than get pinned to a tree again.

And lucky for him, as a pack of Beowolves decided to be his greeters on his triumphant return to the Emerald Forest. It was a small pack, only ranging at about eight. However, they possessed an Alpha who stood at the front of the pack, much larger than the rest. It raised itself on its hind legs before giving a mighty roar at the redheaded boy, rallying a cry for its other pack as they joined in.

Jaune only grinned in response. He pulled Excalibur forward, allowing the blade to slide down the front of Pridwen before settling it at his side. The sound of metal on metal was his warcry in return as he stared into the eyes of the Alpha. It didn't hesitate to charge.

"Feels good to be back-."

A spear drove itself through the Alpha's head, driving it forward as the tip bit ground, the Grimm dragged down the pole till it hit the ground. The burst of black smoke, confirming the kill, filled Jaune's vision just before red came to follow as something rushed into his path. A hand was pressed against his chest and the urgent force at which he was pushed back made him stumble a step back. It all became clear as the spear was pulled from the ground by an unseen force and returned to the hand opposite of the one held against him.

"You!" The person in front of him shouted without looking back. "How did you get here!? Why are you here!?"

A Beowolf charged and Jaune was pushed further back as the person charged to meet it. He had seen this song and dance long ago and had incorporated it into his own style. He made it efficient, brutal, powerful, and downright aggressive. But this... the way they moved, the way they dodged, the way she danced... he could never forget it. She made him who he was.

The young man had been asked what he would do when he saw her again. He had answered honestly that he did not know. Several years had passed since he last saw her. Last seen her smile. Seen her laugh. Seen those gut wrenching tears. Tasted those cherry flavored lips.

It had been so many years since he had been shoved in that locker. Pushed away because he had been too weak. Left to run away as she went on to die for everyone.

As she wiped out the last of the pack, she stood from the carnage, turning back to face him. Those emerald green eyes that could light up a room focused on him. Hard. He didn't notice, simply lost in her presence as he faced what once would have been a ghost.

But she was alive. Her skin was glossed over by sweat. Her chest rose and fell with each breath. Those steps carried weight as she moved towards him. And those eyes carried life he, in his last life, never thought he'd see again.

She was still the same beautiful Myrmidon he remembered.

"Pyrrha..."

And that's done and done.

Pyrrha has finally made her appearance and just in time to save Jaune from peril. As for his new appearance, it's actually his Crimson look from Coeur Al'Aran's The Entertainer. Just with a claw mark because he doesn't get the mask.

As for Weiss and Pyrrha. They may be the some of the more exciting characters to flesh out for me. Just from the small snippets, you guys can kind of see the direction I want to go in for them. As for Ruby and Yang, they seem kind of the same. And as for Blake, Ren, and Nora, they are coming soon, don't worry.

And, oddly enough, no one's really asked of Team CRDL. Which is fair, seeing as they were background af after Jaunedice. So meh.

I think that covers most. Like I said, any questions, feel free to shoot my way. Oh, and start telling me who you guys are truly interested in for a love interest. You get one vote and I'll be trying my damnest of who said whom. You can change it through the story but it's that one and only, no picking two unfortunately.

Later.