DISCLAIMER: I own nothing related to RWBY

Semblance. It is widely accepted that the nature of one's Semblance is often tied to a distinctive aspect of their character. A useful analogy is that Semblance is power, while Aura is fuel. In addition, the unlocking of one's Aura does not guarantee that one's Semblance will be found. The greater one understands oneself, the greater the chance of discovering their Semblance.

Jaune snaps the book shut.

'Having Aura means that there must be a Semblance waiting to be unlocked. A representation of one's innermost character? Hmm, Blake tends to run away from her problems, which connects to her shadow clone Semblance. Pyrrha does not enjoy her fame and the attention that comes along with it. I wonder if her Semblance ties with that in any way. Nora's is... quite the match for her explosive character. I suppose the same could apply to Yang. As for Ruby... though she claims it is speed, I am not so sure about that. There is more to her Semblance than simply speed.'

'For now, I'll assume that Semblance is linked to one's character. Then that begs the question... what best describes me? What makes matter more complicated is that I am both Rong Shan and Jaune Arc.'

Jaune puts a hand up to his chin.

'Jaune Arc... I would describe him as resolved, and perhaps even honor bound. As for myself, Rong Shan, would it be strength? If strength was my ultimate goal, then I would have never willingly chosen to forego breaking through and reincarnate. Wisdom? No. True wisdom is exceedingly rare. I am not so arrogant or naive as to believe my experience equates to true wisdom. Rage? No... I've made peace within myself long ago. Regret? Perhaps. Compassion? I am all for helping those I care for, but I am not a blind charity.'

'What is the common factor that binds Jaune Arc and I? Based on my memories, Jaune Arc has always dreamed of being a selfless hero for the people of Remnant, humans and Faunus alike. I am not as generous as Jaune Arc's sentiments. My protection is limited to myself, those who I care for, and my whim. Simply put, my desire is freedom. Freedom to do as I please. Is this not the core reason for why practitioners cultivate? To defy the Heavens and whatever unfavorable fate, destiny, and karma it throws upon us? Therefore, I will continue to do as I wish and not be bound by any chains.'

Jaune peacefully smiles to himself.

'Protect and freedom.'

A foreign sensation suddenly permeates through his body and settles into the back of his mind, causing him to pause in his steps.

'That was...'

A small figure suddenly comes around the corner and crashes into Jaune. His arm quickly comes up and catches Ruby before she falls to the ground.

"Oof! Sorry about tha-" Ruby begins to apologize, then looks up. "Jaune?"

She awkwardly brings up an arm and waves.

Jaune tilts his head with an amused smile, and Ruby realizes that she is in close contact in Jaune's arm. She scrambles out from Jaune's arm and straightens her skirt.

"Hello to you as well, Ruby. Why are you in such a rush?"

She puffs out her chest and proudly thumps it.

"As team leader, I have responsibilities to uphold. Therefore, I'm on my way to a debriefing for our upcoming trip to Forever Fall tomorrow. As a matter of fact... shouldn't you be headed there as well? Since you're the team leader for JNPR. Why are you headed in the opposite direction?"

'Was such a meeting announced? I must have not been paying attention.'

"I was just taking a bit of a walk and was just about to head over there. It's a good thing we'd met up. We can go together. It would be a shame to be late for such an important meeting," Jaune says.

Ruby snorts and laughs at the obvious lie, then leads the way.

*** After the meeting ***

As the two walk back to the dorms, Ruby excitedly asks Jaune a rapid series of questions.

"So, about your shield. What kind of modifications do you have in mind? Do you know what kind of materials you'll be using? What about Dust and different metal alloys? Oh! Do you have a sketch of the design for reference? Is it going to shoot lasers?!"

Jaune lightly pats her head.

"One question at a time. I do have a generic sketch in my team room. As for the materials, I have a basic idea, but I'll be leaving the fine tuning to you."

Ruby's eyes sparkle with excitement as they enter JNPR's dorm room.

*** Forever Fall ***

"As discussed in the debriefing meeting, each team is required to collect four jars of sap by the end of the afternoon. If you finish early, you may spend the remaining time as you wish, but proceed with caution. Any extra jars of sap may be exchanged for Lien, or kept for your own personal use. Once again, I will stress that you must not drop your guard," Glynda announces. "You are dismissed."

Jaune picks a random direction and leads his team to collect the jars of sap. Of course, such a simple assignment does not take long. This entire mission is obviously just a way for the Academy to initiate the first year students with mission work. Much to Jaune's annoyance, he quickly discovers that his skin has a mild allergic reaction to the red sap. Thankfully, Pyrrha quickly volunteers to collect Jaune's share, while he stands by on guard. His divine sense passively surrounds their area, ensuring that nothing can sneak up on them. He glances down at Pyrrha, who is capping his share of the sap.

"Thank you Pyrrha for the help. I would not have guessed that my greatest weakness is syrup."

"I'll keep that in mind for if we ever face off," Pyrrha jokes. "Should we collect more jars? I have a feeling that Nora will deplete our entire supply if we only collect the minimum."

She glances over at Ren, who is pulling Nora away from the multiple jars he'd already collected.

"Perhaps you're right," Jaune chuckles. "We should collect about half a dozen more, then we can think about what we can do next."

As Pyrrha unpacks several empty jars from her bad, Jaune suddenly brings his hand up and signals. Dropping the jars, Pyrrha grabs her weapon. Ren and Nora quickly notice their leader's actions, and immediately draw their own weapons in full alert.

Russel, Sky, and Dove burst through the brushes with panic and fear etched on their faces. When they attempt to sprint past JNPR, Jaune commands.

"Grab them!"

Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha each subjugate a member of CRDL and pin them onto the ground. They kick and scream.

"Run! Ursa! A whole pack of them!"

Jaune's eyes narrow dangerously.

"Where is your leader? Where is Cardin?"

They stiffen at how cold his voice is.

Russel stutters, "H-he said that he would hold them off... as we escaped."

Jaune swiftly draws Crocea Mora from his back and sprints towards the direction these three had come from.

"Pyrrha, with me! Ren and Nora, take these three to base camp and inform Goodwitch of the situation!"

'Pathetic. Those boys had no intention of seeking help and were in complete panic mode looking only to ensure their survival.'

Jaune condenses his divine sense and extends it far in front of him.

"Pyrrha, prepare to engage in about 100 meters."

Though she raises an eyebrow at how Jaune would know such a thing, she nods and prepares herself for battle.

Cardin falls to his knees, breath heavy and uneven. He hisses through his teeth due to his left arm hanging uselessly by his side. A large gaping wound had been torn open by one of the Ursa. Multiple lacerations stain his armor red. He barely keeps himself upright with the support of his mace.

Half a dozen Ursa slowly surround him, growling in anticipation, then they all charge in for the kill.

'This is how I die?'

Cardin tightly closes his eyes.

The sound of sharp metal fills the air, and the foremost Ursa is knocked through the air. The remaining five skid to a stop and snarl at the brushes behind Cardin.

'W-what just happened?' Cardin wonders as his vision blurs from blood loss.

A spear shoots past Cardin's face and into the skull of the Ursa that was knocked through the air. Jaune and Pyrrha dash out and assume defensive positions in front of Cardin.

"How are his injuries?" Jaune asks without looking back.

"There's a deep shoulder wound, as well as multiple others along his body. He needs to get medical attention as soon as possible."

The leader of CRDL is stunned. Of all the people who came, it was Jaune.

'Why?'

"Then we'll need to take care of this quickly. Pyrrha, I'll entrust you with the rear. I'll take the front."

Jaune charges directly at the Ursa pack.

As he passes by Pyrrha's weapon, he flips it into the air with the heel of his foot, then accurately flicks it towards Pyrrha without looking back, who catches it with her Semblance. Jaune circulates Aura into Crocea Mors, and executes various stances of Breeze Sword, sending blades of invisible qi.

The two Ursa closest to him fail to react, and their legs get severed. As he runs past them, a quick stab to their heads quickly dispatches them. In the meantime, two of the Ursa run around to flank Cardin, the weakest link.

Jaune ducks to dodge a paw swipe from the final Ursa in the back. He twists his body in midair, and severs the Ursa's arm, then kicks the Ursa's chest. Crocea Mors hums as Jaune channels his Aura into it, then casually swings down on the Ursa's head, bisecting its body into two clean halves.

Patting the dust from his clothes, he walks back towards Cardin and Pyrrha, who'd quickly killed the two Ursa attempting to flank Jaune flips his Scroll open and signals their location to the rest of his team.

Soon, Glynda arrives with medical personnel, who quickly stem the majority of Cardin'a bleeding. An air-lift is called to bring Cardin out from the forest and into a proper medical facility. Glynda strolls up to Jaune with a stern expression.

"Report."

"A pack of six Ursa were converging upon Cardin when Pyrrha and I arrived at the scene. I decided it best to engage and eliminate the threats. While I took the offensive, Pyrrha remained in the rear to defend Cardin."

"Was retrieving Cardin and retreating not an option?" Glynda questions.

"As you've seen, he was deeply wounded. Considering the skill levels of myself and Pyrrha, I did not see a problem with dealing with six Ursa."

Glynda finishes typing into her Scroll.

"Very well. That is acceptable. Mr Arc, Miss Nikos, please join the rest of the teams at base camp as we prepare to return to Beacon."

*** Ozpin's office ***

"Hmm... this is concerning. The trip was on the mere outskirts of Forever Fall. Though encountering Grimm is a definite possibility... an entire pack of Ursa?" Ozpin muses to himself. His Scroll buzzes with a message, and his grip around his chair's armrest tightens at the message.

"The Queen has pawns."

*** Unknown location ***

Roman Torchwick sits on a crate of Dust inside of a warehouse, silently sucking on a cigar and waiting.

"How very disappointing Roman," a sultry voice says from the darkness.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Roman flicks the ash off his cigar. "Look, those kids are crazy, and more of them keep showing up. What am I supposed to do about that? Besides..." He taps the side of the crate he's sitting on with his cane, and gestures all around him at the other countless crates in the warehouse. "I think I'm still doing pretty damn well."

The mysterious voice chuckles, "Those kids will no longer be a problem for us to worry about. Our plans will soon transition into phase two."

Glowing amber eyes emerge from the darkness, revealing a seductive young woman with long ash black hair. Cinder. Following close behind are Mercury and Emerald.

Cinder maliciously smirks. "Soon, it will be the end for Beacon."