Chapter 4: The Wimpy, The Irritating and The Clumsy


-Beacon Academy Dining Hall-

"There we were in the middle of the night…" Nora said in a suspenseful voice.

"It was day," Ren corrected.

"We were surrounded by Ursai," she continued.

"They were Beowolves," Ren corrected again in a bored tone.

"Dozens of them!"

"There were two of them."

"In the end, they were no match and Ren and I made a fortune selling Ursa skin pelts." She finished

Ren heaved a sigh, "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." Ren explained to team RWBY and ASHN who were eating around two tables put together. ASHN sat next to RWBY and opposite to JNPR, the myriad of trays lined across the table, apparently, Nitro and Yang were now pigging out in a contest of stomach endurance while the rest of the friends carried on as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

Jaune was spacing out playing with his food, Pyrrh was quite concerned and most of the members of RWBY were to. It was justified considering what happened earlier.

"Jaune are you okay?" Pyrrha asked the spaced-out blonde.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine, why?" he said halfheartedly trying to put on a cheery facade... to no avail. Everyone around their table could clearly tell something was eating away at the JNPR leader.

"Well it seems, you're not…" Ruby voiced, mimicking the concerns running through everyone's mind.

"I'd have to agree with red, what's up my guy?" Nitro said with a half mouthful of cheeseburger. Jaune's mood had created an unspoken halt to his competition with Yang and the two settled for a silent ceasefire.

"Guys I'm fine, seriously look!" he smiled and faked a laugh that sounded more painful than a dying puppy. His ears honed into the sound of obnoxious laughter, the owner of it being one Cardin Winchester. Everyone saw this and eyed each other suspiciously.

"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first day of school," Pyrrha brought attention to the elephant in the room, with no hesitation.

"Who? Winchester? He makes fun of everyone, practical jokes." He said trying to dodge the topic and failing miserably.

"He's a bully," Ruby stated flatly.

"And a dick." Hex input scooping some spaghetti into her mouth, everyone just looked at her with quirked eyebrows she just shot back, "What? Someone had to say it."

"Oh come on guys name one time he's 'bullied' me," Jaune said using air quotes.

Weiss looked at him with slitted eyes.

"The time he pushed over your books?" Nora piped.

"Or the time he opened your shield as you walked through that door," Ren said, "It took a lot of effort just to un-wedge it..."

"Or on the first day of school when he stuffed you in the rocket locker and launched you." Ruby input with her finger pointing skyward for emphasis.

'Wait that was Jaune in there? I heard screaming on my way to Beacon, I look up and a locker is flying past in the sky. I thought I was crazy." Alexandrite said incredulously.

"Oh, come on I didn't land that far from the school…" Jaune still trying to waive the subject.

"Jaune if you don't do something about it, I will…" Pyrrha threatened darkly.

Jaune shrugged her off, "It's no big deal." With that, he stormed off leaving the group bewildered.

"He's clearly being bullied and he is most definitely aware of it. I guess he just wants to handle things himself. I can't deny a guy his pride I guess." Alexandrite shrugged.

Bullies were an enigmatic case for Alex, he couldn't figure out how their brains worked or why they did what they did, the reason being they would never give you a proper answer. He assumed it was because they had fragile self-esteem and were harassing others just to feel better about themselves. Some people had family issues and catered a mindset as to how they should act publicly. Some were just plain assholes.

Pyrrha sulked feeling she overstepped her bounds. Ruby placed a hand on her shoulder, "Relax Pyrrha, you can't protect him forever. He needs to grow." Their moment was interrupted by even more of the obnoxious voice polluting their ears.

"HA! I Told you they were real, " Cardin's voice could be heard accompanied by the laughter of his team. Alexandrite instantly turned around hearing a feminine voice go "OW! That hurts! Let go of me!".

Cardin just laughed and pulled harder, "Freak."

He spotted a Faunus girl with rabbit ears, they were being pulled rather harshly, by Cardin while his team laughed and jeered. Bullying was one thing but laying hands on another out of racist prejudice was another...Alexandrite's fury had gone from negligible irritation to unbridled rage, instantly he got up from the table and was about to march over there when a hand was placed on his. Turning back, he saw Sapphire holding his sleeve, nodding as if to say, Don't blow your cover but Kick. His. Ass.

"I've had it up to here with this miserable..." He pulled away from her and marched up to the bully, "... half-baked..." he muttered growing closer, "...PISS POOR EXCUSE FOR A PERSON! Hey Winchester, you gonna leave her alone?" he said darkly, fury building up inside him.

Cardin turned his head to Alexandrite, "Huh? And who're you? Some kinda Faunus freak sympathizer?", upon realizing who he was talking to he just laughed harder, "Oh! This is great! The masked freak is here to defend the animal freak!"

"Sympathizer? Didn't think someone like you was capable of using any words longer than two syllables." Alexandrite taunted, earning a round of laughter from the group of friends at the table.

Cardin's anger flared, "Say that again... I don't think I heard you right!"

"Of course you didn't hear me, I mean I'm surprised you hear anything with your head stuck so far up your own ass!" Alex roared, the air around them heating up and Cardin could feel himself sweat, both out of slight fear and also heat.

"Faunus are people just like everyone else, they don't deserve to be treated any differently." Alexandrite seethed, the intensity of his eyes almost shutting up Cardin causing him to almost lose his nerve, but Winchester recovered.

"PFFT AHAHA! Right next you're gonna tell me Beowolves can fly!" he laughed hard. "The only thing these freaks are good for is providing our entertainment."

Alex felt the vein in his forehead throb, if this wasn't a school, Winchester would be six feet under... alive..."I don't know about Beowolves…but if you don't let go of her, I'll send my fist flying into your face." Alexandrite walked up, sizing to him. Cardin let go of the girl who backed off quietly.

Come on Nova don't lose control, if you explode now that's it, it's over. Sapphire looked on worriedly at her older brother. She was glad he was sticking it to that lump of pig manure but if it blew their disguises then it'd be done for them, how were they to explain how the entire room and a few students spontaneously combusted?

"Huh? Tough words from someone afraid of showing his face." Cardin stood up to face Alexandrite, he stood a little taller than the masked boy. Cardin shoved him back.

Alexandrite was about to knock him into the next city but he was stopped when a female voice came through the noise, "Mr. Lucius, Mr. Winchester, I would expect you to be civilized in a public environment, especially a school." Professor Goodwitch said arriving onto the scene with a glare that would turn Medusa to stone.

Cardin backed off snarling, "You're not worth my time," he spat and attempted walked off.

"Hold it, Mr. Winchester," Goodwitch said raising her riding crop forcing the boy to stay still. "I'll have a word with you later." She said darkly.

"Mr. Lucius please refrain from such behavior in the future," With that, she walked off manhandling Cardin.

Alexandrite relaxed and turned to find the girl with rabbit ears standing close by, she was nervously fidgeting as if unsure whether to run or stay and thank the person that just helped her.

"Are you alright? That guy is a dick." He smiled through his eyes, his voice soothing and calm trying to make her feel at ease.

The girl smiled back nervously, "Ah thanks for that, what you said back there was really nice." She blushed slightly; her voice was thick with an accent he couldn't discern.

"You shouldn't thank me, guys like him don't deserve the time of day. You're a huntress in training, next time he pulls something don't be afraid to feed him a knuckle sandwich or two." fist-pumped the air for emphasis.

"My leader tells me that all the time it's just…" she pointed to her ears. Alex nodded, "I understand that you feel you might just bring on more discrimination by acting out but, from the way I see it, at least words are easier to deal with than physical bullying."

Velvet pondered for a moment then shot him a smile that could give a dentist a cavity, "I'll take your words to heart, My name's Velvet, Velvet Scarlatina and...thank you again…" she trailed off looking for a name.

"Oh right... Alexandrite, you can call me Alex. And ah, it's no problem, take care of yourself," he said before leaving her to walk to his team. She stopped him with an outstretched hand. He gave her a raised eyebrow. "C-Call me some time?" She asked hopefully as she gave him her contact info. Alex was quite taken aback by the shy girl's sudden boldness, "Umm… sure?" he offered an awkward smile, he had no idea how to react to this situation. The moment shared between the two was not missed by his friends, they all looked on in quiet amusement, except Ruby who was biting onto her hood and grinding down.

Ruby had been watching the interaction with a hint of annoyance a slight scowl on her features. Yang noticed this and smiled smugly, her sister was not the best at hiding emotion "Ooh someone is jealous~" she sang.

Ruby turned red, "AH! No, it's just you know… Cardin, yeah he was pissing me off." She tried to cover up.

"Mhm~ Don't worry little sis, I won't tell." Yang laughed at her sister's expense.

Pyrrha was watching Alexandrite's interaction with Cardin closely, just before he got up, she felt an intense level of murderous aura coming from him, she was sure he would have killed Cardin on the spot given the chance. Noble as his actions were, that level of fury wasn't good, his... emotions were explosive, one could only assume his calm and collected persona was a facade, she had to wonder what other lies he was telling.

"You guys put a lot of faith into your leader," Weiss noted disdainfully glancing at her own, who had gone from seething jealousy to currently trying to stack french-fries into a tower of processed potato... and succeeding.

"Faith is putting it mildly; I've seen him single-handedly tangle with a Nevermore on three days of no sleep. He's strong and dependable and his instincts are never wrong. We would lay down our lives for him if he told us." Nitro said confidently, not a hint of hesitation in his voice. Hex was a little proud of him.

"Come on bro, you sound like you're still crushing on him," Hex smirked, sending suggestive glances at her brother.

Nitro blushed hard, "Seriously? You're gonna tell that to everyone? And no, it is purely respect and admiration." Nitro huffed.

"Wait, Nitro's into guys? Can I get him together with Ren?" Nora said drooling over the mental image.

Nitro glanced over at Ren who until this moment was clueless of the conversation. Their gazes met and Ren just looked bewildered, like a deer in headlights while Nitro blushed before averting his gaze, "He's… not my type."

"Sooo…. Hex what's your deal? What's your story?" Yang turned to the purplette, from day one this girl had interested her, she commanded a level of authority similar to her own, they were both older sister types and furious fighters, she'd been looking for an excuse to just deepen their friendship, foreseeing a future of besties.

"Not much to say grew up in a back-end town in the slums, worked for a drug cartel as their mechanic for a few years before a huntsman picked me up and helped me into Haven." She said nonchalantly as if it was no big deal.

"I'm sorry to hear that…." Weiss started but Hex just held up her hand, "It's cool, it's in the past," she said.

Yang felt her respect for the girl rising. To survive out there alone she must know how to hold her own, something that made her feel, interested.

"Nitro, you know roughly our deal... are you and Hex like step-siblings?" Ruby asked the red-haired boy.

He just shrugged, "Not exactly but yeah, Hex's 'family' at the time, the mob, they picked me up a bit later on when we were like twelve. I was hired help and she was my mechanic. The real kicker is that I was sent as an undercover agent by my family, we were helping the local sheriff's department and they needed someone on the inside. I just happened to fit the bill. When I met Hex and we broke out of that place, my family took her in and we became adopted siblings." Nitro reclined on his chair.

"That explains why you two don't look alike..." Nora said wistfully. Hex just snorted, "Please, I'm a hundred times better looking than this doofus, I'm glad we don't look alike."

"Hey!" The red-head in question yelled in protest before getting up and flicking Hex in the forehead to which she just shoved him back into his seat playfully.

"That's so nice of them," Ruby said with happy eyes. "Yeah, not many people are willing to go that far for someone they barely knew," Blake input.

"Yeah well, it kinda helped that she saved my life in that escapade." Nitro rubbed the back of his head.

"Really?! Damn you guys must have seen some shit then?" Yang said intrigued by the potential story.

"Yeah, we have…. It's a lot to tell and we're not really comfortable with it yet…" Hex said shooting her down.


Alexandrite was reviewing some of the notes from today's earlier lecture with Professor Oobleck.

His first impressions of the man were: deranged, caffeinated and in need to a chill pill. The green-haired, bespectacled man was clearly a genius but definitely needed sleep. The class did go on without any incidents minus Jaune completely botching one of the easiest questions in history. I mean who doesn't know the Faunus' night vision capabilities were the turning point in the third year of the war.

That being said he did feel a little bad for Jaune, getting roped into after class detention due to Cardin.

Winchester angered Alexandrite to no end, whether it was the hatred for Faunus or the genuine jerky attitude, Alexandrite wanted nothing more than to take off his own mask and blow some fire in his face, see how that turns out for Cardin. One would assume that, after being humiliated twice, the bully would back off but nope, the man was determined to be a villain if nothing else.

Breathing deeply, he left his room for a walk, no sense getting worked up over a person who wasn't even there. Finding himself on the roof, he was about to stroll around when he heard Jaune's voice.

"I didn't really make it into Beacon," Jaune said. Alexandrite ducked behind a large ventilation pipe listening in. "What do you mean?" a feminine voice said, Pyrrha from the sound though he could not see her.

"I…I didn't earn my spot in this academy, I…I lied, I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied…" Jaune said his head hung low.

"What?" came Pyrrha. "I…wanted to be a hero, my family, my parents were all warriors, heroes. I wanted to be just like them. This was everything I always wanted but I was never good enough so I lied to get in here." He said preparing himself for immediate rejection and scorn.

Except there wasn't any, "Jaune, let me help you, I can train you…" Pyrrha reached out her voice soft and caring. This surprised the golden-haired boy, but he pushed away her hand, "I don't want to be some damsel in distress, I want to be the hero." He said angrily.

Pyrrha looked hurt, "Jaune, everyone needs help from time to time…".

"NO!" he said a little too harshly, "just leave me alone…"

Pyrrha felt tears forming in her eyes, "If that's what you want." she walked off, slowly and with little vigour, such was the extent of her emotion.

So that's why he sucks at combat and doesn't know basic history... well we aren't exactly any better than him, we got in on fake transcripts to, though our credits weren't fraud, just our personal information. If Ozpin picked up on ours then he surely picked up on Jaune's, the headmaster must have chosen not to act on it.

As Alexandrite was about to leave his hearing picked up the subtle shift of feet, a smell permeated his nostrils, one of sweat and bad attitudes, which he detested. Whipping his head around he saw Cardin step out from another hiding spot, climbing onto the roof from the fire escape, and approached Jaune. "I couldn't help but overhear you from my dorm," he waltzed onto the roof.

"Cardin?! Please don't tell anyone!" Jaune said panicked, realizing he was caught.

"Oh, come on…I wouldn't rat out a friend like that," Cardin said a hint of ulterior motives in his voice.

"Friend…?" Jaune was hesitant.

"Yeah friends, we're friends now Jauney boy, and as long as you're there when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time. That being said, I don't have time to do those extra readings Oobleck gave us today, mind taking care of that for me? That's what I thought." Cardin said slowly climbing down from the roof, leaving Jaune on the floor.

This isn't good. If Cardin has control of Jaune like that who knows what he'll do, it's not really my business but I hate bullies, I'll keep quiet for now, coming out to Jaune might cause more harm than good. Alexandrite quietly left the rooftop.


On his way down he met a sulking Pyrrha who happened to stop by on a bench just outside the dorms, her head in her hands.

Approaching carefully, he greeted her, "Pyrrha, you okay?" he asked trying not to raise awareness that he had witnessed their interaction earlier.

She sniffed slightly, wiping her eyes she looked up, seeing Alexandrite she seemed to tense. "Oh hey, I'm fine why do you ask?" she was trying to pretend it was fine.

"Just that you seem pretty depressed, you good? Did something happen with Jaune?" he asked careful not to hint anything, this felt like deja vu to him, didn't he end up in a similar position with Weiss earlier this week?

She froze up a bit, she didn't fully trust him, and his level of observance was terrifying, and the fact that he was a liar didn't help. "You saw that on the roof huh," she said testing her waters.

Alexandrite relented, "Good guess, yeah I did, don't worry I won't tell anyone about Jaune. Listen Pyrrha, I might not be the best person to give advice on this but, you need to let him sort himself out, if you pressure him or try to force the help onto him it's just going to get worse. He's going to have to learn to deal with this himself, if he wants help, he needs to come to you."

Pyrrha nodded, though she felt slightly apprehensive about sharing, the fact that her guess was right, and she couldn't detect his aura on the roof was quite alarming. "Yeah, it's just that, I'm so worried about him…" she trailed off.

"You care a lot for him don't you," he said folding his arms.

Instantly she turned the color of her hair, "How did you…"

"Pyrrha anyone with decent eyes and a brain could tell the way you feel about him. You two keep dancing around each other." He said a little smugly, though most of his intuition was from his dragon sense of being keen to emotion.

"Oh yeah, what about you and Ruby hm? You're always staring at her when she isn't looking. Who's dancing around who?" she retorted.

Alexandrite began sputtering, "T-That's beside the point…. Just give Jaune some space and he'll bounce back I'm sure." He said giving her a thumbs up, though leaving out the fact that Jaune may be in trouble. He couldn't tell her, that would just complicate things for Jaune.

"Thanks for the pep talk, good night!" she smiled and got up to go inside leaving Alexandrite to stand in the moonlight. He heaved a sigh; it's going to be a looong week.


The next few days team ASHN, RWBY, and JNPR saw less and less of Jaune. He comes home late, disappears for the entire day and began hanging out with Cardin, at the expense of his team.

"Since when did Jaune start hanging out with Winchester? I thought they hated each other or something." Nitro said as he and the rest of team ASHN were chilling in their dorm.

"It's not up to Jaune right now… Give him some time," Nova said while reading a book, it was quite an interesting one he borrowed from Blake, one about two souls fighting for control of one body.

"What's that supposed to mean," Hex said turning around in her chair that was at the desk where she was working on her laptop.

"Just wait and see," he returned letting the book fall covering his face.

"Ever so mysterious, our leader is a strange one. We should probably get some rest we got that field trip to Forever Fall tomorrow," Luna joked from the top bunk. In reality, Nova was listening carefully, while his team couldn't hear it, his ultra-sensitive ears picked up on two voices just outside their dorm room.

Picking himself up and becoming Alexandrite, he walked out to investigate, his team just glancing at each other confused, "I think someone's outside," Luna said.

Jaune stood outside his dorm room which was just down the hall from team ASHN and RWBY. Hesitating to go inside, he sulked.

"Hey Jaune, long time no see," Ruby said approaching from behind. "Did you lock yourself out again?" she asked curiously.

"Ah no, got it right here!" he pulled out his scroll and rubbed the back of his head.

"So uh, where you been?" Ruby asked. She was wearing light pink pajama pants with polka dots and a black shirt with a cat face on it, the outfit was oddly fitting if Alex had to say.

Jaune wanted to answer but he held back, after scratching his head and groaning for a minute he answered, "Ugh I screwed up. I did something I shouldn't have and now Cardin has me on a leash and Pyrrha won't even talk to me. I'm starting to think coming to Beacon was a bad idea…" he sulked.

Ruby just raised an eyebrow. "Ugh, I feel like a failure," Jaune said dropping to the floor his head between his knees.

"Nope!" Ruby piped.

"Huh?" Jaune turned his head to her.

"Nope!" Ruby repeated joining him.

"Nope that I'm a failure or…" Jaune continued but Ruby just repeated, "Nope!"

"You know you're not the easiest person to talk to about this." He said.

"Nope!" she just said again. "Jaune you can't be a failure. You're a leader now Jaune you can't afford to be a failure." She said.

"But what if I'm a failure at being a leader." Jaune countered.

"Is that what you think?" Alexandrite chose then to come into the conversation.

"Alex! Oh hey, how long have you…" Jaune said leaving the sentence hanging.

"Long enough, listen, dude, I know what it feels like to feel like a failure of a leader." Alexandrite sighed, sitting with Jaune, Ruby still standing next to him.

She was quite surprised to see him out of his room, usually team ASHN never leaves their room unless it's for class. Looking down she realized she was in her pajamas, feeling a bit more self-conscious now that Alexandrite was here.

"You? You seem like, the ultimate leader, calm and collected, fearless, the way you stood up to Cardin was amazing. I would kill to be like you." Jaune quipped.

Alexandrite sighed once more. "Jaune, no great leader starts off that way. There will be a lot of failures, and you'll never feel like you're good enough, but that's just how it is. Give yourself time, no matter how long it takes, Ozpin chose you as a team leader for a reason." He leaned back against the wall. Alex toyed with the idea of telling Jaune that Ozpin most likely already knew Jaune faked his transcripts and that he was probably fine since no action was taken against him but, playing out the situation, Jaune would probably still freak out.

Alexandrite didn't know why he was bothering to involve himself even though he swore not to. Jaune simply reminded him of himself during his early years, plus it didn't help that Jaune was cute... in a hopeless dorky way... if he wasn't so confused about Ruby or that Pyrrha was already after Jaune, he might've been the object of his interests.

"It's not just you anymore Jaune, you have a team now, we both do. You can't afford to fail because if you fail, you're bringing them down with you." Ruby said.

Alex couldn't help but stare at her, suddenly realizing she was wearing her pajamas, seeing her outside her usual outfit or school uniform had him slightly flustered.

"You gotta think of your team first and yourself second. Your team deserves a great leader Jaune, and I think that can be you." Ruby said getting up and going into her dorm, just before she went in she turned back to Alexandrite shooting him a look like Thanks for helping him. She smiled at Alexandrite and waved.

The boy in question returned the sentiment with a slight blush, Jaune watched the interaction wishing he had someone that did the same for him.

Alexandrite couldn't help but think, at that moment that Ruby was a lot more mature than she let on, that past her child-like innocence there was a level of maturity that was just enough to help her carry out her role as a leader. Managing to hang on to herself while fitting the role of a team leader was admirable.

"Anyway Jaune, you got a lot going on for you here, whether it was an accident, a fluke or a lie. Your place is here now and you have no room for quitting. Man up, or your team will take the fall with you." Alexandrite patted Jaune on his shoulder before getting up to go back to his room.

Jaune was at a loss for a moment, sitting there in silence, just before Alexandrite could go into his room Jaune called out.

"Alexandrite wait!" he said from across the hall.

Alex turned around tilting his head.

"Thanks!" he smiled brightly.

Alexandrite couldn't help but blush a little, from embarrassment and the cute smile that Jaune shot him. "A-Ah yeah no problem."


The next morning the teams assembled at Forever Fall Forest. The trees as far as the eye could see were a beautiful shade of autumn red. The falling leaves coated the forest floor in a blanket of crimson, combined with the gorgeous clear skies and flowing wind, it made for a peaceful and eye-catching setting. Alexandrite couldn't have felt more alive, red was his favorite colour, and seeing so much of it around him had him giddy. Of course, the main red he wanted to see was strolling cheerily in front of him.

Ruby strolled alongside Professor Goodwitch as she gave them a rundown of what they were doing on this field trip.

"It's breathtaking…" Hex said in awe, being from Mistral, none of them had ever seen the forest before.

"Yes, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful, but we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has instructed all of you to gather samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." Goodwitch started walking ahead of the group.

"Each of you is required to gather one jar of red sap. This forest is filled with the creatures of Grimm so make sure you stay with your team. We will rendezvous back here at four o' clock." She instructed.

The teams dispersed, all except for Jaune who followed with Cardin unwillingly, being forced to carry an unscrupulous amount of jars.

Team ASHN dispersed into the forest following after RWBY, each team taking a side of the forest separated by a clearing.

While waiting for the sap to collect Alexandrite sat on the forest floor, closing his eyes and listening to the silent rustling of leaves in the wind. The fresh air and peaceful environment were somethings he never truly had a chance to enjoy.

It's been a few months since I left Mistral, and I don't regret the decision one bit. He thought to himself.

If he hadn't left, he would probably be strung up in some White Fang prison being tortured or worse. His sister would be suffering the same fate and his friends would be dead. He could have chosen to hide himself in Mistral under a different guise but both he and his team decided it best to simply leave altogether.

Asura propped up against his shoulder as he leaned against the tree trunk, humming nothing in particular. His peace was rudely interrupted by a sharp kick to his side.

"OW! Who the…" he opened his eyes to see Nitro looking down at him.

"Oh, it's you what do you want?" he groaned.

Nitro tilted his head as if to point toward a direction, "Dude, this is your chance."

Alexandrite raised an eyebrow, "Chance to what?".

"Duhh, a chance to talk to Ruby, come on I know you've been dying to hang with her but you haven't had a real excuse so go," he pointed to Ruby who was sitting alone under a tree gathering sap. Yang and the rest were nowhere to be seen.

"Dude, I do not have a crush on her would you chill out?" Alexandrite said trying to skirt his emotions.

"Mhm, I'm not the one who said it~ just go talk to the girl," Nitro pulled Alexandrite up forcefully and shoved him toward Ruby.

It was a direct open field in the forest, a clearing where no trees grew. Forming a sort of open circle, Ruby sat at the outer rim filling up a few jars of Sap, quite oblivious to the world.

Alexandrite swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat and walked up to her.

"Yo, Ruby," He waved. Good start, good start.

She turned her head around looking for the source of the noise, "OH hey Alexandrite what's up? You done collecting samples yet?" she asked gesturing to his semi-empty jar, he had grabbed it mid collection out of impulse.

"OH uh, tree um..ran out of sap?" he lied awkwardly.

She smiled, "Right, you totally didn't spill any," she speculated.

"It hurts to know that even you are aware of my clumsiness." He stated in mock pain.

She laughed, "You literally bump into every desk on the way into the classrooms and then spend three minutes looking for your notebook. I'd say your clumsiness is earned."

"Yeah well, it's not like you're any better, Ms. I can dance around a pack of beowolves but can't get out of the lecture room desks without tripping." He retorted.

"Hey that was one time!" she half yelled, the two just burst out in a fit of laughter before a comfortable silence fell over them.

"Alex… I've been curious," she started turning to him.

Alexandrite raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Umm I don't know if this is touchy so you don't have to answer but…what's up with your eyes?" Ruby asked gesturing to her own two eyes.

At first, Alexandrite was a little confused but then he realized what she meant, why he had two different coloured eyes.

"Well my natural eye colour is red, but this one," he tapped his left eye which was black, " This, I lost it in a Grimm attack when I was fifteen, I'm not sure what type of Grimm it was exactly, it happened really fast. It looked like a dark shadow, shrouded in mist, really long claws like a rake and it was wispy but could grow legs if it needed. Peeps back at Mistral called it the Phantom, rare Grimm that lurks the deep wilderness. Supposed to be a legend but I guess I'm living proof it exists. Anyway, Hex made this eye for me, it's not real, I can't see out of it, we wanted a red one but we couldn't find the right colour." He said popping the eye out of its socket.

Ruby just gazed in awe at the deep scarred tissue, though healed by now, still looked slightly raw and tender. "Sorry if it's kinda gross…" Alexandrite said sheepishly.

Ruby placed her hand on his arm, "It's not, I think battle scars should be worn with pride." She smiled and Alexandrite's heart swelled at it. For once he wasn't immediately rejected for his flaws and he was grateful.

Unbeknownst to the two, their conversation as being watched.

Cardin and his team accompanied by Jaune were standing a few yards away from the two. Winchester had with him a crate containing what seemed to be Lancer Wasps. "Don't break those jars now Jaunny boy," Cardin said slapping Jaune across the back causing him to stumble around with a stack of jars filled with sap. It seemed as though team CRDL was using him as a pack mule.

Cardin stopped at the edge of the forest spotting Alexandrite and Ruby.

"It's him. The masked freak." Cardin said pointing to Alexandrite.

"What do you want with Alexandrite?" Jaune asked.

"Want with him? I want him to suffer, he made a fool of me in front of Goodwitch and got me detention. See these rapier wasps? They're highly attracted to sweets….particularly the sap…" Cardin started, Jaune's eyes widened at the implications, the very wasps he was forced to collect were now about ot be used on his friends.

"Cardin! That could seriously hurt them!" Jaune said alarmed.

"That's the idea. I want you to throw these jars at them then I'll release the wasps." Cardin smirked while folding his arms.

"Cardin NO! I can't do that to them!" Jaune said apprehensively.

"Come now Jauney boy. Wouldn't want Ozpin to find out about your little secret now would we?" Cardin threatened.

"What about Ruby? She hasn't done anything to you!" Jaune yelled.

"Who? Red? She's had it coming since day one, it doesn't matter what she does it pisses me off.." Cardin growled.

Jaune looked appalled. He couldn't do it. Yet if he didn't, everything he'd ever worked for would mean nothing. He'd get expelled, his parents would find out, everyone would be disappointed, he'd be shamed for life.

He held the jar in his hands, contemplating. Was his life really worth the safety of his friends? Alexandrite stood up to Cardin, one of the only people to ever do that. It was then he remembered that night, the words said to him by both Alexandrite and Ruby. Steeling himself he locked eyes with Cardin, no matter what, he would never compromise his friends.

"No…," he said quietly.

"What was that?" Cardin asked angrily.

"I said NO! I won't allow you to hurt them. Not while I can do something about it." Jaune said standing up for himself.

Cardin walked up and pushed him. "Oh yeah, what's that? I can end you whenever I want."

Jaune looked at the jar and tossed it into the brush.

"ARGH! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Cardin roared about to draw his Mace on the blonde. Jaune dodged the swing but it came into contact with the crate of Wasps unleashing them.

"Oh shit!" One of the members of CRDL yelled as the wasps then erupted like a swarm and chased the team. Eventually lured away by the sap. During the commotion Jaune was still attempting to dodge swings from Cardin.

A monstrous roar erupted from the bushes causing Cardin to stop his assault. The members of team CRDL turned around instantly to see a massive Ursa Major tearing through the brush. It seemed the wasps weren't the only thing that was attracted to sweet sap.

Cardin stood frozen in fear as the Ursa rampaged forward, batting away the members of Team CRDL. It approached Cardin towering over him, its paw swinging downward about to impact the boy but nothing came. Cardin opened his eyes to see Jaune standing in front of him, the golden shield blocking the Ursa's strike.

As much as I hate him. I can't let him die. Jaune thought before engaging onto the Ursa.


-Back with Alexandrite and Ruby-

"You know, Ruby I…" he started trying to say something. His mind wanted to say I think you're an amazing person, but that was too embarrassing.

"I…I'm glad I met you, you're the first friend I've had outside of my team and you're really fun to be around. So, I wanted to um, thank you for putting up with me and all my secrets." He said finally, silently cursing his awkwardness.

Ruby turned red, "I-Wah, w-well, y-you know, i-it's what friends are for, and you're really cool and you know guns and you can talk shop, plus you're just really fun to hang with," she said embarrassed.

"Y-yeah, hey Ruby, we should hang more often, you know? I don't usually leave my room because I'm normally doing something but if it's you, I'm always available, so if you wanna chill just swing by my dorm," he said managing to gain some courage.

"I would like that," she turned her face to the ground.

"Oh and- *ROAR*" Alexandrite was interrupted when a loud creature noise was heard erupting from the tree line behind them.

In an instant Alexandrite's hand clutched the scabbard of Asura, his right on the hilt of the blade. Ruby drew out Crescent Rose, both of their senses trained on the environment.

"What was that?" Ruby asked scanning with her eyes.

"Sounded like an Ursa, not too far from here, I'd say less than a click ahead of us," Alexandrite said looking to her.

She nodded and both of them raced off to the source of the noise. The wind ripped through their bodies at the considerable speed they were moving. Ruby was using her semblance but Alexandrite was almost keeping up granted he was a little slower.

The two arrived at another clearing in the forest similar to where they were before, an Ursa stood towering over a fallen person.

"Is that Cardin?" Ruby asked pointing to the downed man. In truth, it was Winchester curled into a fetal position in panic.

"Where's his team?" Alexandrite asked.

Ruby pointed to the tree line, all members of team CRDL minus the leader were bolting off in panic.

"Cowards get back here!" Ruby yelled but her cries fell on deaf ears. She groaned, "Let's go rescue him…" she said but Alexandrite stopped her.

"What? We need to…" Ruby said surprised at Alexandrite's actions, she almost pegged him for a coward to when he pointed.

Looking toward the location she saw, Jaune stood his ground combatting the Ursa.

"We should help him," Ruby said determinedly.

Alexandrite smiled, "No need, he's got this. Besides, it's something he needs to do on his own."

"Wah?" she turned her head just in time to see the golden-haired boy decapitate the large Grimm.

She gaped, "Incredible…" she had no idea he possessed the skill.

"Jaune has a lot of potential, he just needed a little push," Alexandrite said knowingly.

"Save it, it looks like we might have more than one to deal with," Ruby said pointing behind Jaune. The exhausted boy was spent from just one Ursa now faced with two more he readied his shield, closing his eyes to await his imminent fate. Yet it never came.

Ruby and Alexandrite had reacted instantly, and in the blink of an eye severed the heads of the beast simultaneously, two scythes arcing in glorious elegance.

"Jaune you're safe. You can open your eyes now." Alexandrite said spinning his scythe and wresting it on his back.

Jaune peeled open his eyes to see Alexandrite and Ruby standing side by side, one had his scythe slung around his shoulders while the other had hers standing next to her. They looked like gods of death if he had ever seen one.

"T-Thanks for the assist guys. I'm sorry I've been a jerk to-" he began but Alexandrite nodded.

"Jaune it's fine, plus we're not the ones you need to apologize to." He said pointing to the rest of team JNPR that had come in after hearing the commotion.

Jaune hung his head in shame.

Alexandrite smirked, "And Jaune," he said causing the boy to look up. "Nice work on the Ursa." He walked off to team ASHN with Ruby behind. All the teams and Professor Goodwitch had arrived to see what the source of the noise was.

"Excuse me, Mr. Arc what's going on here?" Goodwitch asked the boy.

"Ursa attack ma'am. We fended them off." Ruby said sheathing Crescent Rose.

Alexandrite kept silent.

"What could have caused an Ursa to come out here?" Weiss asked looking around.

Glynda looked to see Cardin who was still on the floor surrounded by broken jars of sap, she spotted a crate of something, upon closer inspection, her eyes grew wide.

"I think I know." She said in a low tone. She turned to Cardin, "Mr. Winchester would you care to explain why a crate that had been loaded with Rapier Wasps is doing here?" she tapped her riding crop against her arm.

"Uhh, well you see…" Cardin trailed off.

Glynda sighed, "You'll have enough time to explain in my office when we get back. For now everyone else, gather what samples you have and prepare to leave." She walked off.

Cardin cursed under his breath. "I'll get you Jaune, for disobeying me and ruining everything. You made me look like a fool so now I'll make sure I ruin you." He seethed to the blonde boy.

Jaune just stared at him, "Go ahead, your rule on me is over Cardin. Whatever happens from now on is mine to handle." Jaune stood up for himself.

Alexandrite couldn't help but feel proud of him, and from the looks of it, Pyrrha as well.

"Guys, I'm sorry I've been a jerk, and ignoring you. Can you forgive me?" Jaune turned to team JNPR.

Pyrrha and Nora both walked up and smacked him over the head.

"OUCH! I deserved that." He rubbed his head.

"Good that you're aware. Now we forgive you." The red-haired girl said with a smile.


One more down, the frequency of these will decrease significantly once semester starts but I got a few weeks so hopefully I can at least get up to the events of Mt. Glenn out... which is around page 220 in the word document. To give y'all some scope this chapter stopped at around page 30.

Rate it? Review it? Suggestions or Criticisms? Just lay it on meh.