Jaune Arc

Jaune stood in awe at the window of his lab, staring outside. Dozens of ships of all sizes were slowly flying across the sky, aiming towards Vale, forming a perimeter. The Atlas symbol glowed brightly in the sunlight.

It was a truly majestic sight, all this firepower, the might of Atlas, coming to Vale for the Vytal Festival. Jaune had enjoyed talking with the General, he seemed to be intelligent and Jaune could tell he was changing his long term plans with each piece of new information Jaune gave him.

In a way, he was just like Jaune and Ozpin, and Jaune respected that.

Jaune turned away from the window, back to the projects he was working on at Ironwood's behest. Upgrades to engines, more aerodynamic designs, all sorts of good stuff. Jaune knew that Remnant still hadn't designed anything like fighter jets, the closest thing to air superiority fighters being versions of the bullheads.

There really was no reason to traverse between the kingdoms except for very specific purposes, like the Vytal Festival, so it made sense of larger air vehicles to be focused on, carrying large quantities of people to their destination.

Jaune had worked on basic conversions of jet engines designs from liquid fuel to Dust fuel, not an easy task because every engine design Jaune had learned about had the limitations posed by fuel alter the design greatly.

Dust, being the practically magical substance it was (Jaune still had no idea what it was made of and how it worked; he had bigger fish to fry), could overcome the limitations of pumping systems, countless fail safes, and the weight of the fuel.

Along with everything going on in his head about his current and future projects, he also had plenty on his mind from events in the past year.

First of all, the vision during his recovery after initiation still came to him sometimes, causing irrational despair. The voice had said they would meet again soon, but it had been many months, and no contact had been established yet.

Next on his list of worries was Cinder. She had all but told him that she planned to infiltrate Beacon to try and get to him, Jaune. He had no idea how she would show up or when, and had been on edge in anticipation of her arrival.

He still had no idea how she would force him to bend to her will, but it wouldn't be pleasant for him that was for sure.

The third thing that had been worrying him had to do with team RWBY. The two teams had gotten quite close over the course of school year, close enough for Jaune to notice something was wrong with them.

The four of them had been acting slightly off ever since the incident at the docks, with Blake being the most off.

She had always spent lots of time in the library, but now she was spending every moment outside of classes and meals in there. Everyone had tried to get her to talk about it, knowing that whatever it was, it had to do with the revelation the White Fang were working with a human on some large scheme.

Jaune had tried to talk to her about it, but she had dismissed him, saying that he 'did not know what he was talking about.'

It was quite rude, but Jaune could see the stress in her eyes and had not been offended. He knew she had some personal issues after her time in the White Fang and didn't want to push her too much.

He had suggested to team RWBY that they could plan an outing to go out and collect information on Torchwick and the White Fang, to help Blake out.

The others had agreed almost immediately, and Jaune volunteered JNPR's help, saying there was no way he was going to let RWBY have all the fun.

That day was today, two days after the expo had finished. He had shown off many upgrades to existing technologies, many different weapon systems to add onto existing airships, etc. People were chattering about how he had managed to make so much at such a young age.

His classmates in Beacon didn't treat him any differently, they knew that he was smart, the expo simply proved that point.

He cleaned up his lab, putting everything back in its place and went to his room to get ready for tonight's adventure.

Pyrrha Nikos

"We are gathered here today to go out on a hunt to find the truth. A truth which will resonate through the ages, and we shall be the ones to hunt it." Ruby declared, hands on her hips, standing proud.

Both teams RWBY and JNPR were in RWBY's room, finalizing the preparations for the day.

"Ruby, please just let's get to the plan. We don't have all day." Jaune spoke up, trying to shepherd the conversation along.

"Alright, alright, fine. We have decided to go to four different places, the CCT, Yang's contact, the White Fang recruitment center, as well as the docks, where we last saw the White Fang."

"Ruby and Weiss will be heading to the CCT tower to research about the White Fang and connect the dots between their robberies. Blake will go to the White Fang recruitment meeting today, along with Ren who will stand at the ready to assist if things get ugly. Nora and Pyrrha, head to the docks and try to talk to anyone who has experienced any Dust robberies by them recently. Yang and I will go to her contact's club to try and get him to spill the beans. Any questions?"

No one did. They got their weapons ready and headed out into Vale. Pyrrha hadn't taken Jaune to be one comfortable with going to clubs, heck he wasn't very sociable either, compared to Yang.

He had always stayed within their little group, something not helped by the fact he never had any classes without them, which rather limited the potential pool.

Trusting Jaune's decision, after all he was their leader, Pyrrha just smiled and nodded. She looked at Yang, who looked excited to go out, and felt that strange feeling again.

Why? Why do I feel this way? Jaune is just a really good friend, we've gotten close these past months, that's all. Pyrrha knew that this train of thought, which had been plaguing her since before the exposition, wouldn't go away until she was true to herself.

Making up her mind to talk to Jaune about it later, (maybe in a week or so), Pyrrha and Nora followed everyone else out of the room to the airpads.

Yang Xiao Long

Jaune and Yang were on Yang's bike, driving through the city, the sky reddening as the sun for lower.

Yang had a mixed reaction about the plan. On one hand, she would be doing what she enjoyed doing: going to a club and scaring people.

On the other hand, the particular location that they had decided on going to was Junior's club. The last time she had gone there, a mysterious stranger had fought her, eventually ending the match in a draw. He had also given her worldview quite a shake which had made her associate the club with bad feelings.

She took a deep breath, clearing her thoughts. Unlike last time, she was here with someone else, and the thought comforted her. Jaune was a good friend to Ruby, and by extension, to Yang. She knew he cared deeply about everyone around him and that he would have her back.

Enjoying the drive, the two made small talk as they approached Junior's club. Turning the corner, they paused, startled. The street still hadn't been repaired after the fight, the warehouse still had no front, the pile of rubble still lying there.

They looked at each other and winced.

"What the hell happened here? That warehouse is absolutely wrecked!" Jaune exclaimed.

Yang tried to look as innocent as possible. "Yeah, I don't know. Let's get to Junior's club."

Damn it Yang, you need to work on your lying!

She parked the bike outside the club, pocketing the keys.

Jaune said nothing, following her to the club. They registered their scrolls, the bouncer mumbling something into his mic when he scanned Yang's.

"They know you?" Jaune asked curiously, walking into the heat and noise of the club.

"I guess you could say that. Got in a little fight last time. Nothing big." Yang strode confidently to the bar and sat down, Jaune doing the same to her left.

"Aren't we just a wee bit young to be drinking?"

Oh Jaune, you're so innocent.

"This is Junior's club, no one cares here. Just relax and enjoy. And bartender, a Strawberry Sunrise, no ice. And for him…" She turned to Jaune.

"Just water, thanks. Oh! And if you could call Junior, that would be lovely."

The bartender was startled at the sudden request for Junior, but complied, nodding at a guard as he made Yang's drink.

"That was quite sudden, you didn't want to have some fun?" Yang questioned in a playful tone, motioning towards the floor.

"I'd love to, but I think people would get jealous of you," Jaune said, a cheeky grin on his face.

Wait hold the goddamn phone, back up your horses, stop killing Grimm, what did he just say? That was almost what that stranger had said, before our fight!

Jaune saw the look on her face and must have misunderstood it. "Sorry! I didn't mean to insult you! Please don't be mad!"

No, there's no way this guy can be the guy I fought. The only similarities are that phrase and that they both use a sword.

"None taken. Now, you wanna dance or what?" Yang moved to get off her stool, drink in hand, but Jaune stopped her.

"Junior's here, mission first, dance later."

"Fine." Yang grumbled.

Junior looked much the same as before.

"What do you want blondie? Last time you got beat pretty hard, why'd you come back?" The message in the gruff voice was clear: she was not welcome.

"Oh Junior, I just wanted to get some information." Yang took a sip of her drink, still looking at the tall man.

"Well, I'm gonna say no. Do you even have one reason why I should tell you?" Junior sneered.

"Um, probably because you most likely don't have the guy who beat Yang hanging about right now?" Jaune entered the conversation.

Junior's eyebrows rose. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess. And I see I was right, eh?" Jaune smiled.

"I…um…fine. What do you want? No touching me though."

"If you say so Junior, not many people would say that to someone like Yang." Jaune commented off-handedly, taking a sip of water.

Not bad, Jauney boy, not bad indeed.

"Real funny kid, you wouldn't be joking if you knew what she did last time."

"Yang, that's a story that you need to tell me later."

"Sure, it's pretty funny." Yang turned back to Junior. "Now Junior, we want to know your connection to Roman Torchwick."

Junior blinked in surprise. "Why does everyone want Torchwick?" He muttered,

Speaking louder, he said, "I don't know anything about Torchwick's anything. He comes in here a couple times, hires men, and leaves. Half the time they come back injured, but that's what they get paid for. I don't know what he does with them, and I'm not going to ask. He also hasn't come in here for 3 months, so I don't even have the remotest clue about his plans."

Yang leaned over to Jaune and whispered, "You think he's lying?"

"Nope" came the equally quiet reply. "He really has no idea."

Jaune got up. "Thank you Junior, I think we had a civilized conversation. Yang?" He started towards the dance floor.

Yang got up, finishing her drink. She was about to turn around and follow when her scroll rang.

Blake Belladonna, the scroll displayed.

"Hey there Blakey. Aren't you supposed to be getting recruited right now?"

"Yang, there's no time to chat. I'm currently running along the Highway 3, Torchwick is in giant mech behind me, Ren got knocked out a bit ago, you need to get here fast!" Blake's voice was almost drowned out by the sounds of crashes and horns behind her.

"Alright, we'll get there ASAP. See you soon." Yang pocketed her scroll and grabbed Jaune's arm, dragging him towards the door.

"Hey, easy there Yang, people might talk." Jaune's grin faded as he saw the serious and worried expression on her face. "Sorry, what happened?"

"Ren got knocked out by a large mech controlled by Torchwick which is now chasing Blake down Highway 3." Yang explained, Jaune settling in behind her.

"Yikes. Alright, let's get going, they shouldn't be too hard to find."

Yang didn't say anything, the sudden acceleration of her bike showing her intent to 'get going'.

Jaune Arc

Jaune knew dangerous Torchwick was at what he did, taking down Blake, one of the best Huntresses in her year, along with the monkey faunus, Sun. Blake had explained that he was selected to represent Shade, the Vacuan Hunter academy.

To make matters worse, Torchwick was now in a mech, and they were down one member. Ren was not an easy guy to take on, but Jaune was sure the mech's armor and hard punches were quite effective.

Yang pulled onto the freeway, Juane barely managing to stay on the bike as she swerved between cars.

"There! I see Blake!" Jaune saw her sprinting her way in their direction, hopping from car to car.

"Where's the me- Oh never mind, found it." Yang's voice was almost impossible to hear over the wind.

As they got closer to Blake, a giant bipedal mech with the White Fang's red and white clawed wolf symbol visible on the side.

Where does that man get this stuff? I mean that thing is one of Atlas' prototypes, going by the targeting modules on the body. I need to ask him sometime.

Yang pulled over to the shoulder, between two street lights. Jaune checked his scroll, seeing the missing members of their little squad moving their way towards their location. They would be arriving her after the mech reached them. Great.

Blake ran up, panting. "Torchwick…recognized me…ran out of there…"

"Blake, tell us all this later," Jaune interrupted. "Tell us all this later, Torchwick's almost here.

It was lucky this was a less used road, as Jaune had no doubts Torchwick wouldn't abstain from stomping on civilian cars as they drove by.

He pulled his sword out, loading the railgun and taking careful aim. The mech was moving fast, but in a straight line towards them. He would only have time for one shot before the mech got too close to have any semblance of aim.

He charged, the sword vibrating slightly as the magnets turned inside the length. Feeling the click, he let go of the trigger, the signature yellow flame billowing out from around the projectile as the air superheated.

The projectile struck the mech's extended right arm, partially severing half the length. It still was usable as a club, but the 40mm launcher installed on it wouldn't work.

Better than nothing, I guess.

He turned to Blake and Yang. "Blake, run distractions, use your clones. Yang, dance around it, try to get it to react to your punches, go at it from every direction. I'll try to slip it up using Dust. On my mark, 3, 2, 1, GO!"

Jaune dodged out of the way as machine gun fire ripped up the concrete they had been standing on, along with one of Blake's clones. Yang had launched herself forwards, dodging the deadly hail of fire as best as she could. Jaune took out a smoke grenade, something he hoped would addle the sensors for a few seconds while the computer adjusted.

He threw the sphere, smoke already billowing out. It bonked off the top of the mech, coming to rest in one of the crannies on top of the mech. Smoke billowed down around where the cockpit was, making it look like it was having a bad, smoky hair day.

Yang ran up to the mech, gauntlets firing, the flashes illuminating the smoke from the inside silhouetting the mech in an eerie fashion.

The mech flailed around madly for a few seconds, trying to ward off the attacker before its sensors adjusted to the darkened surroundings.

"Yang, move!" Yang didn't need to be told twice, flipping backwards over and over again trying to dodge the advancing machine gun fire.

"Blake, the arm!" Blake seemingly dropped out of the sky, cleaver portion of her weapon snapping forwards on a ribbon, attaching to the hole in the arm. She pulled it towards her, the shriek of metal echoing.

The mech turned its bulk towards the new threat, and Jaune launched himself forward. He had been messaging his advancing friends, explaining their roles. Now it was time to put the plan into action.

He landed on the mech's back, the jump easy thanks to aura. He leaned forwards, smashing one of the mech's targeting laser modules. There were 6 more scattered around the body, 2 on the arms and 4 on the torso.

He held on as the mech twisted and turned, trying to throw him off. It leaned back and then swung its bulk forwards, surprising Jaune and loosening his grip. A metal armed moved up and grabbed the desperately scrabbling boy, bringing it to face the cockpit.

"Are you that Jaune boy everyone's been going on about? You don't seem that smart in combat! I mean, come on, jumping on a mech during a battle, all to get to the module? There are easier ways of destroying it you know."

And I thought he seemed arrogant and condescending before.

"Torchwick right? Pleased to meet you. As for your question, well, I don't know man. You seem awfully confident in my inability to plan. What makes you think I didn't want to be taken off your back? It's not the best place to be, no offense." He pulled out a small detonator from his sleeve, holding it up.

"Surprise!"

The mech's body rocked forwards as a small explosion rippled across the mech's back. The grip loosened and dropped Jaune as the mech stumbled away from the force on center mass, what Torchwick thought was an explosive.

In reality, he had told Ruby to use one of her explosive rounds to hit the mech as soon as she saw the signal, which was him holding up a detonator. She had immediately sent back question marks but Jaune knew she would carry the plan out.

The round hadn't done more than dent the armor and stumble the mech, but it was enough.

Jaune ran back up to the mech. This time on the ruined arm, bracing himself on the hole his railgun had created. He looked at the wires trailing from the hole, and touched his sword to them, completing a loop to something vital.

The arm swung and he before he let go, he activated a Shock crystal, pouring aura into it to produce as much current as he could. He went flying through the air the next instance, landing near the edge of the road.

He watched as several things popped inside the arm in quick succession, leaving the arm hanging as deadweight. The engineers had been smart enough to add in fail safes and fuses in between the arm and the body's main circuit, which as unfortunate. Disabling the entire mech in one move would've been cool.

The mech shot its machine gun at him, and Jaune put up a Barrier as he sprinted towards where Ruby had shot from. He dived off the road and rolled down the small slope, out of sight of the mech. He knew Yang and Blake would keep it distracted.

Ruby ran up to him, Crescent Rose unfurled. "Jaune! You okay?! It looked like you got hit with all those bullets! How bad is your aura?"

He laughed slightly. "Your concern is touching, but come on Ruby, did you forget I have these handy dandy Barrier crystals? They may sap my aura, but it's better than getting hit with those rounds."

Ruby sighed in relief, then instantly went to leader mode as she heard Blake cry out.

"We need to go help them! Weiss should be here soon; I ran as hard as I could to get here. I talked to Nora and Pyrrha, they're going to get Ren to safety and then head here. Do you have a plan?"

Jaune was impressed by this sudden change in Ruby's mentality. Ozpin had been right to appoint her as leader. "Yeah, I do. You stay back, take potshots at him. Conserve the explosive rounds, you only had three left if I remember correctly.

When Weiss gets here, tell her to throw ice at the mech's joints. If anything gets too dicey, use White Rose, as we discussed earlier, on my signal. Good? Alright, I'll go tell Blake and Yang their role."

White Rose was one of the attacks Ruby and Jaune had come up with during one of their "super special leader only meetings" as Ruby liked to call them. It consisted of Weiss using her glyphs to interact with the Dust in Ruby's rounds, empowering them with whichever element of Dust Weiss used.

Blake and Yang had drawn the mech slightly away from Ruby's location, and Jaune was happy they had the foresight to know to do that. He ran forwards, legs pounding the pavement as he ran towards the exposed back of the mech, pulling things out of his pouches.

Yang Xiao Long

The battle turned into a blur of noise to Yang as she continued to dodge the machine gun fire that exploded everything around her. The only reason she was not included in the 'Got Shot by Stupid Terrorist Driving a Mech' club were her reflexes, honed from fighting against ranged fighters.

She jumped and dodged, diving out of the way of bullets that cratered the ground. Blake kept distracting the mech in bursts, her cleaver finding small holds in the body of the torso, pulling it off balance. On one such occasion, Yang had managed to shoot a targeting module of the mech's left side, destroying it.

Jaune had run off away from the road after being thrown by the mech. Whatever he had done, the mech's left arm was completely useless, including the targeting module, which had brought the total count down to 4.

She kept punching the mech, alternating damage windows with Blake, attacking from every angle. The tactic had seemed to be working, with no idea about the location of the next attack, the mech had been forced to go on the defensive.

Jaune, where the hell did you run off to? she yelled mentally.

Jaune Arc

Jaune had been planning on something stupid. He rigged together small shaped charges that would detonate into the joints on the mech's torso.

He would have to have time to plant them all, and signaled to Ruby to begin her fire. Jaune slipped under the mech as it turned around to block the sniper fire.

He activated the Gravity Dust that he had stored in the soles of his shoes and jumped onto the mech's back, careful not to alert Torchwick of his presence. The Dust would significantly lower Jaune's weight, but Jaune could also feel the drain on his aura as he used the crystal.

Holding on tight, he set the charges haphazardly, with only some managing to go where they were supposed to. Blake and Yang had stopped the mech from moving to Ruby's position, which had worsened Jaune's position. The mech now swung every which way, reacting to the black and yellow duo's attacks.

Dammit guys, not helping!

He finally had used all his charges. They were all over the place, but they would do their job weakening the mech's joints.

He set the timer for 15 seconds and jumped off, deactivating the gravity dust once his legs were on terra firma.

"Yang, Blake, retreat far away NOW!" Jaune yelled, running away from the mech. The two followed without question. The mech watched them retreat in slight surprise before its machine gun arm raised up, no doubt to rain a river of rain of them.

But alas, it would not be so. Another explosion rocked the mech, this time much bigger. The mech was driven to its knees, hands on the ground.

Suck on that Torchwick, you orange haired little toad! Jaune crowed mentally.

Externally, he just activated Ice Dust, freezing the mech's hands to the ground in an ice block. It wouldn't be much to hold him in place, but it would be enough.

He waved his sword in the air, activating his Scorch Dust. He hoped Ruby had understood what he was trying to say.

*CRACK*

The sound of the explosive round being fired echoed off the nearby hills, followed by smaller shots. An explosion rippled across the mech's back for the third time, causing it to face plant onto the road, each successive shot crumpling the armor.

Smoke rose from the ruined back, but Jaune didn't have time to admire the view as he suddenly staggered backwards, enveloped in rose petals.

"JAUNE, IT WORKED! YOUR PLAN WORKED JAUNE! WE BEAT HIM!" Ruby was latched onto his neck, yelling into his ear in joy. He disentangled himself, breathing in deeply.

"It was all thanks to you guys! Wouldn't have been able to do it without your help. Blake, Yang, you guys were fantastic at distracting him. Ruby, terrific shooting. Weiss, you pulled off White Rose perfectly. And me, well, I always do everything right."

Yang punched him in the arm and everyone laughed, the mech momentarily forgotten in the rush of victory.

"Wow, you guys really did a number on him." Pyrrha's voice caused them all to look up. "Guess I missed all the fun."

"Would you rather I save him for you Pyrrha? Next time I'm faced with a murderous terrorist, I'll keep that in mind." Jaune quipped, drawing laughs from everyone, including Pyrrha. "By that way, where's Nora and Ren?"

"She took him to Beacon, his aura was exhausted. Nothing too major thankfully, he should be fine tomorrow." Pyrrha reassured Jaune, her trademark smile on her face.

Jaune was about to say something when an explosion caught her in the back, tossing her over them tumbling in the air.

Everyone gaped. They had never seen Pyrrha ever get hit that hard! Who had shot her?

"Oh did I interrupt something? My bad really. I would be sorry if, you know, some emo do-gooder hadn't interrupted my little speech to the White Fang, we wouldn't be having this talk."

Jaune whipped his head around to ensure Pyrrha was alright. She got up to her feet and gave him a small smile. He smiled back, his smile fading as he looked at Torchwick.

"What do you want? You could've escaped when you had the chance. Why wait?" Jaune stepped forward, Barrier dust at the ready.

"For you, Mr. Genius. My boss wants to meet you, and when she wants something, she gets it."

"And what if I say no?" Jaune already knew Torchwick wouldn't be so nonchalant if he didn't have a backup.

"Oh? Then I'll have to either incapacitate or kill every single of your friends. That wouldn't be pleasant for your though." Torchwick sneered at him, victory in every feature.

"Yeah? You and what army? We're 6 here, you're only one. At some point, numbers matter. Or are you too dumb to count to 6? That's what happened, didn't it?" Jaune grinned at Torchwick, trying to get him mad.

"Well, if I can't count to 6, then you can't count to 2. Which one is the really dummy here?" Torchwick's smug smile grew even wider, his eyes flicking behind Jaune.

Jaune turned, loath to turn away from Torchwick, but knowing he had to see what was behind him.

It was Neo. Holding Weiss at sword point, the blade pressing painfully into the pale neck.

"Don't bother doing anything rash any of you. Neo's blade is quicker than all of you, even you little Red. So know I want your decision Jaune. Your friend's lives, or your cooperation? Which will it be?"

Son of a goddamn stupid lunatic turd faced criminal scum! Jaune added in more colorful expletives about Torchwick, ranging from his parentage to places on Torchwick where Jaune wished he could personally shove the criminal's cane up.

"Fine. You got me. I'll come." Jaune spat out, contempt and hate in every fiber of his body.

"Jaune no! Don't do it!" Pyrrha yelled out.

"Come on Pyrrha, you know there is no other option." Jaune forced a smile past the anger. "And besides, I'll be fine! Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it."

He walked towards Torchwick and stood next to him, staring back at all his friends apologetically. Neo loosened her hold on Weiss's neck and walked over to the two of them. She bowed gracefully, mismatched pink and brown eyes twinkling maliciously.

With a sound like breaking glass, the world turned black as Jaune wondered what exactly he had just got himself into.


Obligatory AN: What'd you think of the chapter? Anything I can fix? Anything you especially liked? Please review and PM me with this stuff, I love to get them and it helps me write better. Thanks for reading!