Author's note: Based on the reactions in the reviews in the last chapter, I had apparently based it off of themes from Terminator…

THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNINTENTIONAL!

The humanity! The flak! The bittersweet hilarity in hindsight!

Maybe enjoying the Terminator series while growing up had left some sort of plot imprints in my creative process. I would just like to point out that I was not watching any of the Terminator movies while making the last chapter…I was watching RWBY Chibi and playing Star Wars Battlefront 2.

Now that that's out of the way, back to the story.

Chapter III

In dining hall at one of the many long tables sat Ruby Rose with her breakfast of milk and cookies. The sole occupant of the entire dining hall. Gentle sunlight had begun to pierce through the hall's windows and bathe everything with its morning glow. With drooping eyelids, Ruby swallowed the cookies she had been munching on and reached for her milk. As soon as she finished gulping it down her forehead pitched forward and landed beside her empty plate. Not even the sugary goodness of cookies nor the nutritional contents of milk could arouse her from her drowsy state. An unconscious groan voiced itself from her throat.

'Why did there have to be a thunderstorm last night?' Ruby's groggy mind murmured.

After running back to their dorm through the rain they set about sorting out their baggage with Team JNPR and went about unpacking. By the time they were finished it was already night time and the thunderstorm outside was in full force. They had all agreed that they would head out to Vale first thing in the morning if the storm eased up. As it turned out, the thunderstorm completely vanished by morning, but rising at the brink of dawn wasn't what made Ruby so painstakingly tired; it was the storm itself!

She already had a hard time falling asleep with all the little bursts of thunder waking her up every once in a while, but then the storm went ahead and seemingly concentrated all of its thunder directly above their dorm.

All. Night. Long.

Ruby begrudgingly reached into her pocket and pulled out her scroll. Lifting her head up and puffing the stray strands of her hair aside, she glanced at her scroll and checked the time. She had exactly five minutes to get to the docking pier before the morning airship to Vale took off. More than enough time even if she activated her semblance along the way. Getting up from the table, Ruby made her way towards the exit to regroup with the rest of her team most definitely already waiting on the airship for her.

'Too bad Team JNPR couldn't come with us.' Ruby thought to herself as she exited the dining hall.

When her and her teammates knocked on their door early in the morning, they were greeted by a fully dressed and groomed Ren. Yang had extended an invitation for their outing, but Ren politely declined and rationalized that his team was incapable at the moment. Jaune and Pyrrha had been in the gymnasium over training to make up for the summer while Nora had been out playing in the storm the entire night. To emphasize his point, Ren angled his body in the doorway so they could peer inside and see for themselves. Pyrrha was sleeping soundly in her bed, Jaune was dressed in his footie pajamas and sprawled out and fast asleep on his, and Nora was curled up on hers and snoring.

Oh how she was so jealous of them.

Light mist lingered in the air outside. Dew clung to the courtyard's muddy grass and shimmered in the eerie sunlight that tried to filter through the thin haze. A scent of natural freshness from the environment reached her nose, spurning Ruby awake ever so slightly. She continued to walk through the puddle dotted courtyard and turned in the direction of the sky pier. Her thoughts slowly began to churn in her sleepy head. Why did they have to get up so early? What were they going to do once they get to Vale? Could they go to the From Dust Till Dawn store? How many hours would they have to spend in fashion stores all because someone saw a cute outfit on display?

Ruby forced back a groan. Whatever they decided to do in Vale they were going to do it as a team. That meant whatever they decided on, no matter how boring it sounded, she would have to go along with it, too. Reaching the main avenue spanning from the courtyard to the cliff side, Ruby began to hasten her steps and prepared to activate her semblance to sprint the last stretch. Thankfully, there was nobody along the avenue blocking her speed. Nobody except a lone figure up ahead dressed in white.

With a leap, Ruby flashed forward, leaving her signature trail of rose pedals fluttering behind her. Everything pitched past her as she sprinted forward. Her well adapted eyes took in all of the surroundings with crystal clear vision. She had to reach the airship before it took off. Despite the mist acting as natural camouflage for the figure in luminescent white, Ruby could still see their outline as she closed in on them. She angled herself so that she would dart directly pass the person and not crash right into them. Now that she had closed in her eyes could see that the person wasn't wearing any white clothes; they wore armor. Awesome armor.

Confused and curious, Ruby tilted her head to catch a full glimpse of the person next to her.

Everything felt as if it transitioned into slow-motion. Ruby's eyes passed over the figure's armored frame. Solid white armor cladded the figure from collarbone to toe. If the tiny blue lights emanating from little patches told her anything, it was that the armor was powered. Open slots in the armor revealed constricted solid masses of black wires weaved beneath the white. Trailing the wires through their body, her eyes glanced past where the wires surged out of the head slot of the armor and attached to a robotic jaw frame and head. Her sight had locked onto the man's single eye showing through a robotic eyepiece, which in return bore straight into hers, even at the high speeds she was running. Her silver eyes widened with recognition.

'Jaune?'

Ruby immediately threw her legs out to break her run, and she would have too had there not been a puddle where she tried braking. Physics took hold and she slipped.

"Whuagh!" Ruby cried as she fell and skidded over the wet avenue. By the time she had stopped bouncing over the ground her leggings were soaked, bits of her cape were drenched, her legs ached, and her butt was sore. None of this mattered to her though and she quickly twisted herself around. Facing her stood the tall armored being, looking upon her with slight concern. She now had a clear view of the stranger's face.

His right half of his face was covered by some sort of helmet, or what was left of one, with its visor lines glowing blue.

Familiar long, blond, scruffy hair sticking out atop his head…

A similar matching cheekbone despite its scar…

The paralleling nose…

His identical blue eye that widened in alarm the same way Jaune's did…

Before she could say anything, the being turned and took off towards Beacon running. Fast.

"Wait!" Ruby cried out and pushed herself up, her legs already moving forward and chasing after him. "Stop!"

Her formerly clouded mind was triggered with all out shock and bewilderment. Questions began rolling through her head as fast as her legs were running. Was that really Jaune?! She just saw him asleep in his footie pajamas this morning! When did he get so tall?! Was this a Jaune-imposter?! That armor looked awesome! Where did he get that armor from?! How did he get that armor?! His body was made of wires! Is he a robot?! Does Penny know him?! Does he know Penny?! Do I know him?! I know he somehow knows me because he's avoiding me! He's getting further away! How is he so fast?!

Ruby activated her semblance and bolted after him. If her curiosity wasn't driving her to chase after this stranger, it was the tugging thought in the back of her head this stranger was about to bring change. Major change.

Riiiing! Riiiing!

Ruby fumbled for her scroll as she ran and nearly dropped it before grasping it firmly. Stealing a quick glance away from her pursuit, she checked to see who was calling.

Blake Belladonna.

Blake sighed as she waited for Ruby to pick up. It was already enough that Ruby went off to have breakfast instead of eating once they got to Vale. Now the airship was on the verge of taking off and their team leader was nowhere on the transport. Blake stood anxiously waiting on the scroll, Weiss stood across from her with her arms folded, and Yang was off buying them time. Finally after a few moments of listening to the scroll ring, Ruby picked up. Blake's acute hearing could detect the rushing of wind coming from the other side of the line.

"HELLO?!" Ruby's voice practically shouted through the speakers, causing Blake to wince and quickly pull the scroll away from her ear. Weiss looked on expectantly while Blake set the call to loudspeaker mode.

"Ruby where are you?" Blake questioned, "The airship is about to take off and Yang can only stall them for so long."

The two huntresses could hear Yang's voice coming from the cockpit they stood beside as she was doing all that she could to prevent the pilots from taking off.

"Ooo, what does this button do? What does that do?" Yang asked the pilots before resorting to delaying them with jokes, "Have you ever heard the one about the pilot whew flew through a rainbow? I heard he passed with flying colors. Oh, what about the kid who studied on a plane for a higher education?"

Weiss groaned and squeezed the bridge of her nose while Blake did her best to ignore her partner's attempts at humor.

"I'M RUNNING THROUGH THE COURTYARD!" Ruby cried out over the call.

"Gee guys," Yang remarked from the cockpit, "don't tell me my flight jokes are flying over your heads..."

Blake cringed at the pun and Weiss moved in closer so her voice could be heard.

"How long until you can get here?" Weiss asked. The only response they received were the distorted shots being fired from Crescent Rose. The two of them exchanged looks of concern before hardening their gaze on the scroll in Blake's hand.

"Ruby what's going on?" Blake demanded in alarm.

"I'm chasing after a Jaune-imposter!" Ruby replied as she ran, "He looks like Jaune but he has a robot body and he's, like, super-fast!"

"A Jaune what?" Weiss repeated with bafflement.

"Hold it right there!" they heard Ruby bark at the person she was chasing after, "I said hold it! No don't-!"

The call suddenly ended. Both Blake and Weiss's eyes widened before they sprang into action. Their leader needed them. Blake bolted towards the exit while Weiss relayed the situation to their fourth team member.

"Yang! Something's happening to Ruby! Let's go!"

A serious expression flashed across her face before she turned to the two pilots and activated her Ember Celica around her wrists.

"I'm here all semester, boys." Yang finished and bolted out of the cockpit. The two pilots turned around in their seats and watched the blonde and the heiress booking it towards the exit behind the girl with the black bow. They exchanged looks between each other.

"I thought the rainbow one was clever…"

"Shut up."

Jaune quickly closed the giant doors behind him. Thankfully the dining hall was now empty at this time in the morning so he wouldn't attract any more unneeded attention. He positioned himself facing the entrance and backed away slowly. Whenever Ruby came through those doors he would immediate dash out of them before she could even react. A numbing silence filled the atmosphere as he took his final step back and waited.

'Wonderful.' he mentally groaned and berated himself.

He shouldn't have taken the main avenue because he wanted to relive his memory of Beacon. He shouldn't have been caught up in so much nostalgia that he failed to react when his systems detected a person approaching at rocketing speeds, much less make eye contact with the past-version of his best friend. He shouldn't have looked back to see if Ruby was okay when she slipped on that puddle and stood there long enough for her to recognize him. He knew she would recognize his facial features, and his theory became fact when she chased after him.

His speed still outclassed the past version of Ruby by a long shot, but he forgot about her habitual tendency of using Crescent Rose as a booster when she needed; the Ruby he knew had no need for her weapon's recoil boost and could easily outrun him by miles.

The past-version of Ruby had made use of Crescent Rose and propelled herself forward and managed to block off his escape route. His eyes had immediately darted to her scroll in her hand and his auditory sensors detected Weiss's voice on the line. She was probably calling in the rest of Team RWBY to help her pursue him. That would definitely get rid of his secrecy and throw everything out of proportion. So he acted. He shot forward faster than she could react, snatched her scroll out of her fingers, crunched the device in his grasp, and sprinted off as she reeled from what transpired.

Jaune's mind disputed his choice of action as he continued to focus his stare on the dining hall doors. He had broken her scroll out of reluctance; the fewer that knew of his presence the better. Knowing Ruby, however, she wouldn't relent in her pursuit just because of a broken scroll. The realization of his action dawned upon him: he broke her scroll.

His systems detected movement.

Jaune snapped to his left just in time to see Ruby crash through one of the dining hall's giant paned windows wielding Crescent Rose in its scythe form. He leapt backwards to avoid the hail of glass shards as Ruby landed on one of the tables and broke it from impact. Undeterred, Ruby glared at him with unbridled irritation.

"You broke my scroll!" Ruby growled loud enough for him to hear angled her scythe at him, "You. Will. Pay."

He knew she meant that she would make him pay in lien, but he had no time to humor her, he had a mission to do. He pivoted and ran out the doors in seconds. Half a second later through the doorframe came the red cyclone blur that was Ruby. The speed vacuum left in her wake caused half of the dining hall tables that she ran by to be sucked into the vacuum and fly crashing into the dining hall doors.

Jaune ran faster in attempt to lose Ruby behind him. He had to lose her before he could continue his mission. In fact, his systems identified three other beings nearby, one standing directly in front of his path. Up ahead he could see Yang Xiao Long standing directly in his way with her Ember Celica loaded and ready.

Yang narrowed her brow and smiled, rearing her head back and preparing to heat-butt the stranger Ruby was chasing after. Bracing herself for the incoming figure, she thrusted her head forward to stop him in his tracks. Except he didn't stop; the stranger did a running flip over her and took off in his original direction once he landed. Yang quickly spun around and gave chase. Behind her ran Weiss and Blake and catching up beside her rushed Ruby with Crescent Rose.

"Ruby, who is this guy?" Yang questioned as they gave chase.

"I don't know, but he looks like Jaune and he broke my scroll!" Ruby exclaimed before firing off a sniper round and recoiling forward.

Jaune slowed down his spend enough to not break down the Amphitheater's doors and ran into the enormous convex room. He only had seconds before the rest of Team RWBY followed in and had to come up with a route to shake them off. Despite his general knowledge of Beacon's layout being vaguely recollected in his mind, his cybernetic enhancements sharped what little knowledge he remembered and transmitted them into conscientious thoughts. Beacon's entire layout retained to him like an idle thought. When the Amphitheater's main doors flew open, he was already running towards the nearest exit.

Suddenly a white glyph appeared between him and the exit. He slid to a halt before running straight into the rebounding glyph and snapped his sights on the caster.

Weiss stood stoically with Myrtenaster outstretched and pointed at him, it's Dust chambers revolving at the ready. Ruby, Blake, and Yang were running right for him with their weapons drawn. Jaune immediately bounded up to the upper seats and ran along the edge of the stands to the next exit.

"Oh no you don't!" Yang called out, pumping her gauntlets out. Blake simultaneously drew her Gambol Shroud and the two started firing at him. Jaune easily dodged and weaved through the hail fire of blasts and Dust rounds that tore up the stands. One of the blasts from Ember Celica punctured a sizable hole into the wall, letting in the outside air and sunlight. Seeing that Ruby had already positioned herself blocking off his other exit, he shifted direction and shot towards the makeshift exit, avoiding the gunfire from Blake and Yang. A second later and he dove through the breakage and escaped.

"Split up! We'll cover more ground and corner him from all angles!" Ruby ordered as they ran out of the torn up Amphitheater.

"Dibs!" Yang declared as she gave chase while Blake, Ruby and Weiss split off into two different directions across the campus.

Yang barged into the Library and scanned the massive hall. Just had managed to tail behind the mysterious Jaune-looking stranger by a good few seconds at her full speed. Running into Beacon's campus buildings, she quickly weaved through the hallways of Beacon, eventually chasing him down into the Library. Now she cased the empty library hall with her gauntlets ready. The disturbed atmosphere that muffled the massive chamber and the lacking sound of distant footfalls told her that he had to be in here. She could feel it.

"Awe, what's the matter handsome?" Yang goaded coyly, "Don't be shy."

Her voice echoed all over the Library and rebounded off the far corners of the chamber. She tightened her knuckles with anticipation and casted her glance about the place. A devilish grin spread across her face as she walked down the center.

"I promise not to bite." Yang cooed mischievously and cocked her gauntlets.

From a nearby shadow peering around the corner of one of the massive bookshelves monitored a pair of enhanced blue eyes. He had little time before she would spot his position. He could try to dash out the closest exit without her even hearing his movement, but the library's naturally amplifying vibe and the total silence of the room would give away any sound that he made. He watched as Yang's eyes obliviously passed over his hiding spot and she rotated until he could see her complete backside.

Energy output increased through his body; he had been spotted.

Yang flashed around and fired a blast directly at him. Her target evaded the shot by quickly dashing way. The blast exploded in the spot where he was a moment before and its impact sent the nearby books placed on the shelves flying everywhere. Yang wasn't paying attention to the collateral damage and instead was trying to track the vague white shadow that was her objective. She ran down the Library punching out blasts from her gauntlets through the shelf aisles, angling her shots so that they would hit in the front of the target's anticipated path. Said target, however, moved faster and the kinetic blasts only blew more scorched holes in the walls and scattered dozens of more books. A quick glance aside as she fired told Yang that he was running for the exit. Reeling her fists back, Yang let out a fierce cry and lugged her two gauntlets forward and sent a fiery lob of energy blazing towards the exit. Her target saw the projectile and slowed his pace. The too-soon two-punch combo shot blew open the Library's exit doors and charred them.

Yang watched the figure in white dash forward, kick off one of the opened singed doors, and take off into the hallway. Already ahead, Yang pulled out her scroll as she rushed after him through the hallways.

"Weiss, Ruby, he's heading your way." Yang reported on the group call, throwing her other fist back to launch herself from her gauntlet's recoil.

Weiss continued to summon her glyphs beneath her heels as she ran through the hall. Beside her tagged along Ruby due to her no longer having a scroll and being able to communicate between them without it. Yang hadn't managed to catch the robotic Jaune lookalike, but she was able to force him in their direction. Rounding a corner, Weiss skidded to a halt at the sight of their pursuit barreling at them through the hall full speed. Ruby, on the other hand, activated her semblance and shot forward head on.

Right as it seemed like they were about to collide with each other, the robotic being dodged to the side, causing Ruby to offshoot completely and speed past. She quickly transformed Crescent Rose into its scythe form and dug the blade into the floor. The blade carved a deep gash into the hall's tile floor before anchoring. Holding on tight, Ruby let herself be flung around with her momentum acting as a boost. Now she tailed after him with her semblance in full effect.

Weiss only had moments before the robotic Jaune reached her. She quickly plunged Myrtenaster set to ice Dust into a glyph she summoned beneath her and a thick wall of solid ice blockaded the entire width of the hallway in front of her.

It only lasted a second.

The barricade of ice completely shattered with a sharp grating crack from force crashing through it. Gigantic ice shards rained down everywhere and imbedded themselves into the hall's surroundings. By the time the whitely dressed heiress lowered her arms from defending against the sleet and glanced around the corner, their query was already taking off. Weiss gave chase while Ruby shot ahead from her side. Running on her propulsion glyphs to keep up, she began to lash out with barrier glyphs in front of the fleeing suspect. To her frustration, he sidestepped every single one of the glyphs she placed in front of him, dodging in and out between the glyphs. Unfortunately, Ruby didn't have as fast of a reaction time as their pursuit, and it didn't help that she was running aligned to him either. One missed reflex to evade was all that it took to cause Ruby to run face first into one of Weiss's glyphs.

The red reaper grunted as the glyph's force decelerated her entirely and flung her backwards at the same speed. She soared through the air in the opposite direction.

"Weiiiss!" Ruby snapped as she flew high over her teammate. Weiss ceased to pursue and skidded to a halt to make sure Ruby was alright. She turned her head around just in time to see Ruby topple to a heap on the floor. Ruby sat up groaning in a daze.

"Why Weiss?" Ruby groaned.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"You got in the way!" Weiss defended, "It's not my fault that you ran straight into it."

"Why do you betray me so?" Ruby gurgled.

Weiss let out an irritated sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand. Ignoring her stunned teammate on the ground, Weiss pulled out her scroll and resumed talking on the group call.

"Blake, we sent him towards you," Weiss reported, "we'll get into position."

"Right." Blake's voice confirmed.

Jaune stormed into the ballroom with frustration etched in his face. Slowing down, he came to a graceful stop in the middle of the room. His attempts to outrun Team RWBY have been surprisingly successful, as evident with the lack of anyone tailing behind him, but it just didn't add up. He was sure that they were hunting him throughout Beacon but it would seem appropriate that they wouldn't cease. Yet he had seemingly shaken off three members of Team RWBY, one of renowned for her speed, and now stood in the ballroom without anyone following him. Did he accomplish his goal of losing them?

Jaune activated his long-ranged sensors and scanned the area; no movement outside of the ballroom. His mind immediately reverted back to his intended mission of reaching Professor Ozpin. Despite trying to keep his presence with the past to a bare minimum, it was necessary for him to reveal himself to Ozpin in order to allow his mission to proceed without interruption. Hopefully the Professor would be understanding. Using the layout schematics in his memory, Jaune began plotting the quickest route to Ozpin's office towering above Beacon's campus. He would have to evade the four members of Team RWBY along the way in order to avoid unnecessary collateral.

Speaking of the members of Team RWBY, where did Blake-?

Motion detected.

Jaune lurched out of the way of Gambol Shroud's ribbon trying to wrap itself around him. More flips and agile elusions followed as Gambol Shroud lashed out and swiped at him from twisting angles. A duck and a somersault later and Jaune bounded off his hands and pushed himself into the air. Landing on the second floor's railing, he peered down at Blake retracting her weapon to her hand and aiming down the barrel at him. Her yellow eyes bore straight into his blues.

"Who are you?" Blake demanded cautiously.

Jaune's response was a dash to the side heading towards the ballroom's balcony. Blake acted immediately and began firing Gambol Shroud along his path. Dust rounds whizzed behind him as he ran, shattering chunks out of the ballroom's window panes as they failed to reach him in time. Blake continued to fire as she leapt to intercept.

Landing directly in his path, Blake swiped at him with her blades. Jaune didn't even slow down as he ran towards the slashing blades. Instead, he arched backwards and dropped to his knees, his momentum and speed sliding him forward beneath the blades. The blades passing mere inches over his face, Jaune pitched forward and took off towards the balcony. Meanwhile, one of Blake' swipes connected with one of the pillars supporting the ceiling and cleanly sheared straight through it. She turned around just in time to see the cybernetic being bolt out to the second floor balcony.

"Guys, get ready." Blake instructed on her scroll as she followed out of the balcony and jumped off its edge in chase, completely missing the creaking of a section of the ballroom ceiling give out due to lack of support.

The morning sun had finally unraveled the fog over the campus and slowly start to warm up the cool air. Now fully illuminated, Jaune had no cover whatsoever to fade in and out of with his armor. He was, essentially, out in the open. His sensors could detect Blake chasing after him from behind. He had jumped off the ballroom balcony and began running through the campus gardens. The shadow-like faunus girl, however, was unrelenting and followed at full speed. Exiting the out of the fresh gardens, he quickened his pace as he ran down the path leading back to the courtyard.

This whole chase was becoming ridiculous. Right when it seemed that he had lost whomever was pursuing him another would show up to continue the routine. Not to mention all the damage that they were causing around the academy in their attempts to stop him. At this rate, Beacon would be reduced to rubble before he could even save it. Upcoming ahead was the courtyard. From there Jaune could work his way around Beacon once more in attempt of shaking the past versions of the Huntresses off of him.

Or at least he would have done so had his systems not identified three contacts ahead converging on his position. It suddenly clicked in Jaune's mind: he hadn't been evading them this whole time, they had been leading him into a trap. Realizing what was happening, Jaune slowed his pace and came to a halt in the middle of the courtyard, just as all four members of Team RWBY surrounded him. Showing the slightest signs of windedness, the four girls stood their ground on all sides. Jaune slowly panned his stare at the past versions of his friends. He had not taken account of Team RWBY's capabilities of adaptable tenacity and counteraction.

"We have you surrounded!" Ruby declared with Crescent Rose's sniper barrel aimed directly at him.

"Nowhere to run!" Yang jeered and kept her gauntlets facing and leveled at him.

"Who, exactly, are you?" Weiss confronted as Myrtenaster locked in its Dust chambers.

The cybernetic knight's vision displays were analyzing and calculating statistics as he slowly analyzed them. Based off the data he was receiving, they were too close together for him to escape. Unless he used his full speed, he wouldn't be able to run past them without avoiding some sort of clash, but he didn't want to unless it was absolutely necessary. He had wanted to avoid a confrontation at all costs but now had no choice. If he acted swift enough, he could quickly engage them and escape. His resolve was established.

Slowly, Jaune lifted his cybernetic hand up and his claws grasped around the handle of the sword sheathed on his back.

The girls tightened their grips on their weapons and steadied themselves.

Cold determination faced off against firm resolutions.

His sensors detected a fifth person approaching.

Suddenly, he could feel all of his limbs seize up from an unknown force and his body being compressed into immobility. A purple glow had encased his entire body. Any effort to move his body was met with futility and the pressuring force amplified more. Jaune's eyes widened as he watched his hand that had reached for his sword contort itself and felt his body lift up into the air. His couldn't move a single fiber cord in his neck to face the newcomer and was forced to look up into the clear morning sky above. After rising high enough, precisely five feet according to his systems, he felt his incapacitated body turn around and his field of vision land on the person in control.

"Professor Goodwitch!" Team RWBY exclaimed, focusing their attention on the Combat Instructor.

Professor Goodwitch jutted her two fingers at the cybernetic being, keeping him encased by her telekinetic semblance channeling through her extended riding crop. She stood stoic in her everyday attire, but her eyes were tinted with severity. Her sharpened glower behind her glasses ceased to deviate as her stern voice began to speak.

"Girls, leave us." the light-blonde professor ordered calmly.

"But Professor, we had him!" Ruby whined. One intense glare from the professor rebuked all of her arguments and left Ruby sinking her head between her shoulders with timidity. Even the three other members of Team RWBY could feel Glynda's stringent demeanor wash away their enthusiasm. To make matters worse, Glynda casted her harsh grimace over all of them.

"This matter now falls under the authority of Beacon's staff and security," Glynda explained, her voice harboring no signs of sympathy, "I will not jeopardize the safety of the academy because four Huntresses-in-training desire to deal with an unknown threat on their own."

"If I were a threat, none of you would be having this conversation right now." Jaune finally spoke for all of them to hear.

All of the five ladies' jaws dropped upon hearing his voice. It was laced with durability, calloused by time and had traces of synthetization seeping into it, but his vocals still held the same raspy, light pitched tone that belong to the clumsy knight they all knew. The similarities were undeniable.

"Mr. Arc?" Professor Goodwitch gasped.

"Jaune?!" Team RWBY exclaimed. Amidst the shock, only Ruby began babbling out questions in efforts to make sense of the situation.

"Wha?! But..?! H-how?! Y-your…Jaune?!"

Jaune internally grimaced at the sound of his name; now they all knew his identity. Although he wasn't quite sure what amount of distortion had occurred, it was too late to prevent it now. He could, at best, proceed with his mission with the hopes of not indulging any more risks. His vision locked with confused green eyes of Professor Goodwitch.

"Take me to Ozpin and I will explain everything." Jaune offered to the older woman.

Professor Goodwitch regarded him with scrutinizing skepticism. A few moments passed before she composed herself and waved off the purple telekinesis surrounding him. Jaune reoriented himself midair and landed upright on the ground. Everyone involuntarily held their breath as the now-free Jaune touched down and mentally braced themselves for him to either lash out or run away. He didn't. Ignoring the still flabbergasted Team RWBY, Jaune solemnly approached Professor Goodwitch. She casted him an implacable glare before turning on her heels and heading for the Beacon Tower. As the two of them walked, Jaune's systems detected that Team RWBY had begun to fall in step behind them. Professor Goodwitch had already turned to face them before he could do so himself.

"Ladies, I want all of the damage you managed to cause cleaned up by the end of the day." Goodwitch ordered. All of RWBY stopped in their steps and realized the implications in her words. All of the immense property damage they dealt while trying to catch this cybernetic Jaune...

All four girls were taken aback.

"But…" Weiss fumbled.

"Dismissed." Professor Goodwitch declared and crisply turned about and continued her path with Jaune following behind. The four of them watched the duo leave, their minds either reeling from the fact that there was now a cybernetic Jaune or dismayed by the fact that they had to clean up everything that they destroyed. It was then Ruby realized she forgot to say something.

"Wait!" Ruby called out, "Jaune!"

The cybernetic Jaune stopped and craned his head back to see her.

"You owe me a new scroll!" Ruby stated. She expected him to response with something clever or maybe even agree to her statement. Instead, his stoic face maintained its gaze on her for a few moments before turning away and resumed walking. Ruby slumped in disappointment; at least he didn't say no?

"Sooo…" Yang's voice broke the silence with flat out bluntness, "Aside from our morning being ruined with cleanup duty, I think he's attractive."

"If you even think I find him remotely attractive, you and I are clearly on the wrong page." Weiss rebutted coldly.

"I never said you did Weiss." Yang shot back knowingly. The heiress's eye twitched in response. The fact that Weiss's checks took on a slight red hue did nothing to reinforce her statement whatsoever.

"I guess Jaune finally won you over after all." Ruby teased. "I don't blame you though, that armor suits him well."

"Quiet you!"

"You're not denying it." Yang added coyly.

"Hush!"

"I will admit that he's easy on the eyes."

"You too Blake?!"

Author's note: Future Jaune x harem anyone? Eh? Eh?

…

Yeah no, not happening.

In regards to other news, I now have a day job. I'll be doing my best to keep up with my writings as best as I can though. Hopefully I can get this story done before Volume Four is released…but that would mean I would have to rush this work…and that would most certainly plunge the quality of this story. Hmm. Decisions.

Right now I'm going to get some typing done and re-watch more RWBY Chibi.

Oh, and be sure to check out dishwasher1910's latest work of Future Ruby! Its detail is precise and it is awesomely epic.

And to those who pray, please pray for the victims of the recent Orlando shooting, their families, and all suffering from terrorism. Thank you.