Alright, more shenanigans!

There were supposed to be smiles.

"Hyaaaa!"

There was supposed to be silly banter.

"Watch your head!"

This was supposed to be his long awaited, joyous reunion with his partner.

"Wait!" He was pulled behind her for the sixth time. The Beowolf lunged only to be skewered on the spear and thrown against the ground, snapping its neck on impact.

Jaune's grip on Excalibur tightened till his knuckles turned white and it took more than a few seconds and several calming breaths for him to release the hilt. Again. He wanted to fight, he TRIED to fight, but each and every time...

A Boarbatusk charged from the thickets, releasing a squeal of intimidation as it charged the duo. Jaune only took the first step to try and meet it but was shoved aside a second later as Pyrrha took his place.

The Grimm bore its tusks, ready to gore her, but the warrior was ready. She transformed Miló into its short sword form and parried the first pass, throwing the boar-like creature off.

It circled around and began a new charge. This time, however, the Boarbatusk leapt into the air before curling into a ball and spinning at rapid speeds.

"Its underbelly is its weak spot," Jaune called out.

She gave no verbal response but he watched as she waited till the attack just about hit her. His words were probably pointless but he still found himself shouting, ready to help her if need be. The Myrmidon moved out of the way, leaving only a thick tree in the Grimm's path, which it struck with great force that rocked the trunk and knocked several leaves loose. It fell back, stunned for a moment but that was all she would need. Pyrrha was on it within the same second, forcing it onto its back before driving her, now shifted, spear through its belly, the creature dying seconds later.

It had been flawless on her part. Not a hair out of place and beautifully fought as she had always been able to do. Jaune couldn't help but miss watching her fight as it was always a spectacle to behold. However, the fact that she didn't want him helping her or saw him as some kind of burden did not sit right with him.

The young woman jogged over to him and before he could say anything, she grabbed his face with both of her hands.

"Are you hurt? Did it get too close?" She asked with great amounts of concern, patting him down for injuries. "It didn't get too close, right?"

His eye twitched but it went unnoticed by both parties. "Pyrrha, I'm fine."

She didn't release her hold, only holding him tighter when he tried to pull away. "You can not expect me to believe that," she replied, shaking her head. "You're putting yourself at great risk out here! You could be killed!" Her gaze ghosted over his scar every few seconds. "We need to get you out of here, immediately! How you ended up down here, I will never know."

Jaune looked the least bit worried and rolled his eyes instead. The Grimm of Emerald Forest were child's play and he was more than confident in his capabilities to handle them. The problem was she wouldn't allow him to do that if she kept getting in his way.

He wasn't angry at her, hell he wouldn't really call himself upset. He was more annoyed at the lack of action after being blue balled for so long. It's not like he had been able to properly fight anything since his run in with Lil' Miss. And that was child's play as most of them were simple goons and the "Huntresses" were former academy dropouts.

Not to mention, his first time during initiation, he was pinned to a tree, scratched up by a branch, tossed by a Deathstalker, screamed several times like a girl, failed to catch his crush, and almost got himself killed several times by the most basic of Grimm. He had been made to look like a clumsy fool and had become the laughing stock of Beacon within a week.

This was supposed to be his chance for a better start. This was supposed to be his chance to impress Pyrrha and all of their friends. This was an opportunity to BE the awesome leader he wanted to be for his team. A true fearless leader. Oh, and get back to killing Grimm with his friends.

But how could he do that when he was being treated like this porcelain doll!?

Jaune reached up and grabbed Pyrrha by both her wrists. He looked into her eyes, those emerald greens staring back.

"Um... Is there something on my face..?" There was a bit of color to her cheek and her gaze wavered for just a second.

Then he removed her hands from himself and walked past her. He began walking towards the temple again and a few seconds passed before he heard rapid footsteps from behind him. They almost seemed panicked.

"Wait! You can't go off by yourself! The Grimm will kill you, they'll-."

He kept walking. "The Grimm aren't going to do anything. I have you and I'm more than capable of handling myself." He said firmly.

"But you can't!"

"Oh yes I can. It's my responsibility!"

"You're a man! I can't let you die!"

"Ha, I won't die from this."

She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "Yes you will! You're not strong, dad!"

His eyes widened and a second later, hers as well.

"What?"

"I-I..." She stumbled back several steps, her eyes bulging and haunted. He could see fear in them, regret, guilt. A far off look that wasn't at him. It was through.

He knew it well.

'I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress!'

Wait, she said dad.

'I'm tired of being the lovable idiot stuck in a tree while my friends fight for their lives.'

His eyes widened as the pieces started to put themselves together.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." She lifted a hand out to him, seeming almost desperate. Her eyes still held a far off look. "I... I... I'm sorry."

She took another step back from him, pulling her hand back into herself. Jaune closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. A long inhale and exhale followed before he looked back up to her and moved forward.

"No, I'm sorry," he said softly.

'I'm sorry!'

"Don't apologize for trying to look out for others." He took her hands in his.

'Sorry...'

"Don't say sorry if you've done nothing wrong."

'I'm...sorry...'

"Never say sorry for things that were out of your control."

"But-."

"You were only trying to protect me. I was insensitive of you trying to do what you believed was right. I can't be mad at someone trying to do good," he replied, smiling at her. It was weak and apologetic but he hoped it was enough.

Pyrrha hesitated a response and that was when she noticed it. The feeling of something flowing into her. It was small, it was subtle, but her eyes shot down to where he was holding her and she saw the second of light before it faded. And then it clicked.

"You... You have aura!"

"I'd tell you not to act so surprised but that would be a pointless endeavor," he replied, with a helpless shrug, letting her go.

"You-... Buh... Bwuh!?"

"I know it's a little shocking-."

"A little!?"

"Heh, yeah, not so little... Look, I'll tell you later but, for now, can we pass this test? Can you trust me to look after myself? And you?" He stuck a hand out.

She looked at him before down at the hand. She was slow to agree but she shook it before looking up, back into his eyes.

"I... It will be challenging but I shall try. But please..." Her grip tightened. "Don't die."

The knight chuckled. "Deal. Though I'll extend that same rule to you, Pyrrha Nikos." He moved his hand forward, gripping her arm, and pulled her close to him till there wasn't but a few inches between them. "Don't die on me either."

The Myrmidon couldn't help the excitement she felt. Whether it was the energy or how close she was to him, she couldn't tell. But the toothy grin that pulled showed her own response. Though she thought to verbalize it as well.

"Wouldn't dream of it..." She paused. "Wait, I don't think I ever got your name."

The boy had released her and turned to finally make his way to the temple. But, at that, he looked back over his shoulder as he opened the brush to push through.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Name's Juan. Juan White." He chuckled.

"Isn't that-" Pyrrha trailed off, while he could only grimace slightly. Her realization was much more than he expected. "I'm so sorry!" The fellow redhead bowed her head. "That was very insensitive of me."

"It's fine." He replied, scratching the back of his head. A tick he thought he had rid himself of. He did not want her to feel terrible about something that wasn't true. "I've had a long time to get used to it."

"That does not excuse me," Pyrrha shook her head. "I'm so-."

"Please," he spoke up. His tone was firm. "We just talked about you apologizing."

"R-Right... Please be patient with me."

He smiled again and motioned his head towards the path, still holding the brush back. She hesitated but eventually found her steps and moved past him deeper into the forest. He was right behind her, watching her back as they moved towards the relics.

-XOXOX-

Yang and her partner, Blake Belladonna, looked at the large cave opening. There was a crude painting of several stick people fighting a giant scorpion with spears and swords. A painting the blonde brawler ignored as she turned to her partner.

"Think this is the place?" Yang asked. Blake gave her a silent look.

One glance at the place should have been a clear and distinct no. The cave looked to have not been touched for years. If there was a relic, it certainly wouldn't have been put in there.

"Hey look, a torch!" Yang shouted out. Blake turned back to her partner to see her holding a lit torch and waving an excited hand. "This has got to be the place! No one just leaves a torch lying around!"

Blake blinked twice. This had to be some kind of joke or elaborate trap. There was no way the Headmistress had placed the relics in such a place. Right?

"Blake, ya coming?" Yang asked. "If you're a little scared, I could always hold your hand."

The faunus girl gave her a flat look. She folded her arms and shifted her weight to one side. She glanced over to the paintings that clearly depicted a Deathstalker fighting people. A lot of people.

The brawler noticed this but, through some curse, took the hesitation as her frozen in place. Blake watched as the grin slipped from her face. "Wait, seriously?" Then the grinned returned. "Don't tell me you're a scaredy cat!"

Blake's eyes narrowed immediately. "What?"

"If it's the dark, we got the torch," she answered, holding up the now lit stick. "Or if it's some Grimm, you got me." And she flexed her free arm to show off her muscles. "I can protect you if it gets too scary."

Blake didn't know what came over her but that particular comment made one of her eyes twitch and before she knew it, she was in front of Yang, walking deeper into the cave. Yang looked at her with surprise before her initial grin returned and she followed behind her partner.

-XOXOX-

Jaune didn't realize just how close he had truly been with his team. He loved them, more than life, but it wasn't until something was gone that one truly realizes how important that something is. And, even if it was actually only for a short time, it somehow still felt like a lifetime since he had seen them. Because, technically, it kinda had.

"FORE!"

The young knight and his partner arrived just in time to watch as one of his friends extended her weapon to its warhammer form and proceeded to gleefully golf-swing an Ursa into the lower atmosphere. She even went as far as to giggle once it was out of sight.

If the impact hadn't killed it, the sheer velocity and whatever was in its way upon reentry definitely would.

And it was feats like this that reminded Jaune just how lucky he was to not be on the bad end of Nora Valkyrie. She was a chaotic ball of lightning and sugar but she was his lightning and sugar. She was a clear danger to those around her but a worse nightmare for those who stood against her. She was one of his best friends and his honorary sister.

Her partner in crime, Lie Ren, was close by, watching with slight amusement at his partner's antics. He was her symbolic leash and one could almost never be found without the other. Ren moved over to boop Nora on the nose, receiving a giggle, before the duo noticed they had new arrivals.

"Huh? Wait, aren't you the guy who was on stage!" Nora noted. She moved over to him, looking him over in a Nora-esque fashion, eventually settling to piggyback on him.

No one could see Pyrrha's momentary panicked expression as she took a step to pull her off before controlling herself. No one except Jaune as he noticed her pull her hand back and cradle it with the other.

"Yup, that's me," Jaune replied easily, focusing back. "Juan White, at your service."

He made the mistake of sticking out his hand as a blur of pink and orange shot over his shoulder and immediately grasped the appendage. The regret came within the same second as his hand was taken into both of hers and proceeded to be crushed under the great force of Nora. If he hadn't activated his aura within the very second he felt the pressure, he was sure his hand would have been broken.

It wasn't but two seconds between the group that Ren took note of the fact he wasn't supposed to have aura and his friend's nature of not holding back.

"Nora!" Ren shouted, voice sounding several octaves higher than Jaune knew.

It was weird coming from his brother from another mother but looking at him closely, there were some minor differences within the new world that could attest to the fairer voice. The first to note was his smoother, cuter face and, actually, all of his skin looked smoother, feminine, and softer. The second thing was his body being much slimmer with a thin waist and wider hips. Maybe he did more leg day or was trying to compete with the Arc booty? And then his eyes, they were big, round, and shimmered. Hell, he dared say they were enchanting.

Jaune wasn't attracted to men but he dared say that his brother looked damn good. Ren had already had traits that made him pretty but this, this made him gorgeous. Ah well, at least he still had that broad chest, right?

"No harm done. See?" The knight said, holding up his hand to show no injuries. Pyrrha had quickly taken it into hers to do her own checks to be sure.

"Is this gonna be a constant thing?" He asked her.

"I'm sorry but I have to be sure!"

He rolled his eyes playfully and smiled. "Yeah, yeah."

There was silence from the other two. Seconds passed before the two redheads looked back up at their friends. The first second was the duo's registration of the lack of a broken hand. The second was the realization that the hand actually wasn't broken. And then the third was the shock and confusion of how and why said hand was not broken.

"What? How!?"

Leave it to Nora to be the more vocal of the two.

"I mean, I have aura," he answered before calling forth his aura to make his hand shine white. The awe on their faces made it seem like they had seen one of the Brothers descend before them. Not that they knew of them but they were gods nonetheless. Still, he had honestly expected them to take the reveal better than Pyrrha had.

With Ren there it should have been obvious that a probability of another man possessing aura was possible. And it was with that thought that Jaune realized that if Ren had aura then even more men could possibly possess aura in this world. But that also left the question that if Ren was here, and he had aura, why were Professor Goodwitch and Salem so surprised to discover he had it and worry him so much as if he was the only guy to have it?

"You have aura? But that's unheard of!" It was Ren who said that. But how was it unheard of when he was standing right next to him. Was it possible that Ren had also believed himself to be the only man with aura? He could at least be a bit more receptive to the idea like himself.

"I wouldn't think of it as that unheard of. We are prime examples, right?"

"'We'?"

"Well sure, I mean... it's pretty obvious," Jaune replied, looking towards the other two. Pyrrha was still holding his hand and Nora had gotten distracted by a butterfly.

"Is it?" Ren asked. The butterfly was gone and Nora had returned to his side. She shrugged.

Jaune shook his head. It was a discussion for another time then. Preferably in a better setting. "Nevermind. Were you two headed for the ruins as well?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Eeyup! Gonna get us a relic and ace this thing," Nora cheered. "Ren said she'd make us pancakes once we passed! Oh, we should give our names. I'm Nora Valkyrie by the way! She's Lie Ren but just call her Ren!"

She? Her? Jaune looked at her chest.

Nah, Jaune must have misheard.

"Cool, me and Pyrrha were also heading that way. It's actually pretty close just past the treeline. Wanna head over there together?"

"Well, we could do that, but we've barely fought any Grimm yet!" Nora complained. "Maybe we could make a detour or two and rustle up something fun to fight? Maybe find some more Ursai?"

Jaune would have loved to finally be able to fight something but he wouldn't want to push his luck as they already deviated from the past. "That would be awesome but we can't. We still have to actually get the relics for our team, and if we go out to fight, we might fail the test if others beat us to it. Let's at least get the relics first and worry about fighting Grimm later. Sound good?"

"That sounds grand," Pyrrha agreed.

Ren gave a silent nod.

"Okie dokie, artichokie!" Nora cheered.

While they walked, the newly formed (reunited?) team discussed their weapons, Semblances, and talents. Ren was still his close range, hit and run fighter. Nora, of course, was still her hard hitting self except she somehow was even stronger than her other self, if sending an Ursa to space wasn't its own proof. And Pyrrha, she seemed as versatile as she always was but seemed to favor the frontline more than anything else.

Truly, they all hadn't changed that much with only minor differences. Pyrrha had been open to him from the start and extremely protective of him against just about every little thing. She also tried to lean way more into his territory of being the tank which was definitely something to discuss later-... wait, were those abs?

Nora was still as energetic and extroverted as before, practically bouncing on her toes as she skipped along, humming a tune. The only difference seemed to be the bigger muscle mass and thicker thighs that looked like they could crush ten watermelons. At once.

He definitely wanted to avoid a bear hug from the girl lest he lose aura.

Ren seemed to be the one with the most change and even those were still a small fraction of the whole. Really, the only problem was how Pyrrha and Nora kept referring to him as her. Pyrrha he could understand because his brother definitely looked more feminine than before. But that could be simply because of how Mistral was to men. However Nora had known him since they were kids so it was weird seeing her make the mistake. Was it possibly some new inside joke that they had in this new world? Or was it some other kind of trauma from their childhood?

As the four teens approached the clearing in front of the ruins, Jaune held up his hand to call for a halt. As his teammates looked on curiously, he used hand signals that none of them could recognize.

"What's he doing?" Pyrrha asked curiously.

"Is this charades? I love charades!" Nora bounced up and down.

Jaune turned around to stare at them and it took a moment to register what he had been doing. Those were the hand signals he developed after his time in Atlas to help better coordinate his team and their attacks.

"Ah, my bad, force of habit from back home."

"Ohhh!" All three responded simultaneously.

"For now, it looks clear. So let's grab our relics and get going."

There were no big birds or giant scorpions so far. It was quiet, which never fared well for him, but he wasn't going to jinx it by thought. Hopefully that meant Team RWBY were making their way to the ruins as well, without causing any problems.

Yeah, that was wishful thinking...

The team made their way into the clearing, weapons drawn at the ready. As they reached the opening of the ruins, they stopped and waited for any signs of trouble. Several seconds passed and with nothing but the silence greeting them, they relaxed as they stepped inside.

"Chess pieces?" Ren wondered.

Jaune rolled his eyes. He remembered the story Ozpin told them on why he had used chess pieces in their initiation. "I wonder if Goodwitch knows that Salem used the chess pieces from their game..." He muttered.

"What was that, Juan?"

"Nothing," he waved off before stepping over to one of the pedestals. "I believe that the teams are formed depending on the matching pairs of these chess pieces. See how there's two of each?"

"Ooh yeah, I see that! Then let's go for this one!" Nora snatched up a rook piece. "I'm queen of the castle~, I'm queen of the castle~!" She sang happily.

Jaune smiled warmly. "Sure." He grabbed his own rook piece before stowing it away. "Welp, I'd say mission accomplished team. All we have to do is get them back to the top and we'll be good."

The other three teens cheered.

"We're gonna be the best team ever!" Nora chirped. "Ren! That means we need to have a pancake party!"

"Sure, why not," he replied with a roll of the eyes and a smile.

Boom!

"Watch out!" A scream of panic filled the clearing.

The four shot around from where they had come to see a beast burst through the treeline. It was massive in size, easily matching that of a Deathstalker. It was a Grimm of hulking figures with large arms and legs and a massive chest. Bones protruded from its spine and elbows with a short tail that was only bones. Black fur covered most of its body with only the lower half of its face and nose revealing the bone mask.

It was a beast Jaune had never seen before.

"What is that thing?"

"It's a Rawhyde!" Pyrrha shouted, moving to the front of him, sword and shield ready.

"Wait, someones riding it!" Ren yelled out.

True to his word, Jaune noticed a distinct red and white riding on the back of the beast. He went to open his mouth but just before he could the trees near the clearing opposite of the temple came crashing down. The team turned once more as Blake came swinging into the clearing on a black ribbon. Just behind her, Yang was running in a full sprint, while just behind her, an Elder Deathstalker smashed its way into the open.

"I blame you for this!" Blake cried out as she landed by her partner. "Everything that's happening I'm blaming you!"

"I'm sorry!" Yang shouted. "How was I supposed to know there was actually a Deathstalker in there!?"

"Because there was a picture!"

"That proves nothing!"

Jaune could only facepalm. Of course things could never go smoothly.

Alright, first half of initiation done. And boy are there some already notable changes.

Pyrrha, as some of you have guessed, is extremely overprotective. And, hopefully, from reading the chapter get a little insight as to why. Nora is still Nora now with even bigger thunder thighs! (That can't go wrong)... And Ren, well, Ren's obviously a girl now. And Jaune...poor, blinded Jaune, still believes her to be a guy. Anime logic, as they say.

A new Grimm has also entered the fray. Which brings forth some fun for all of you. With Salem no longer at the helm, it's possible that we now can tweak some Grimm or outright create new ones. The Rawhyde is obviously an already fan created Grimm but, if you guys desire, you are free to pitch brand new ones as the story progresses. And there is a lot of opportunities to do so. Forever Fall, Mt. Glenn, sewer Grimm, the ideas are endless. Go nuts.

And I'll finish off with the pairing results so far. This are rough numbers as several people still put down two people, so bare with until I get a better grasp.

Ruby - 2

Yang - 1

Pyrrha - 12

Harem - 4

Weiss - 3

Glynda - 1

Cinder - 1

Salem - 2

So far Arkos leads the charge. But continue to vote (change votes) or hold off as I introduce more characters. Cause there are several more who will come into play.