Hello all! Here with another chapter, and earlier this time! It's a miracle!
So. Who else is excited for RWBY Chibi? I know I am. I didn't know just how much I wanted something like it until it made an appearance. Hopefully it will add a little more detail into what school life at Beacon was like until… yeah. Either that or it'll be a series of cute funny shorts featuring the characters, I am fine with anything. Even if it's just mindless hilarity I will enjoy it all the same.

Reviews!

garoorar: Considering Jaune is trying his damnedest to keep it a secret, that may take a while.

Slenderbrine: Knowing him he would take all three to be safe.

Cloy552: Nora may be... Nora, but when it comes to finding the truth no one can beat the sloth detective!

Benthino: If anything, the rope could have been a rope flavoured liquorice?

Nik41: Jay may not be the nurse Jaune needed nor wanted, but he was the one he got. (With terrible repercussions.)

duskrider: Thank you.

Dark Durian: It takes a lot of skill to use a scythe cross sniper rifle to fly, I'd say Jaune was close.

RPGPersona: Too embarrassing? He did admit he threw up on his crush, and there was a warning sign in front of the spring.

hirshja: Surprisingly, no it wasn't. But that is an interesting coincidence.

Solusipse Tsukiyomi: ...Eventually?

RyoTheSaiyan: As Jaune would put it, "It was a good idea at the time... at least until Crescent Rose went berserk."

HeadHunter (Guest): Who said Weiss would end up with Neptune? I have plans.

Eogos (Guest): Thank you.

Mister Tea Time: I would but that was actually a shout out to LaughingLefou's Immortal. It was mainly used as a joke in mine, so if you're asking for permission to turn the idea into an actual story you should go ask them.

Apex85: Thank you, I'm glad you gave it a chance. Though you are correct, I should've executed it better.

VoidHart: Nice catch, those were indeed some shout outs I put in.

CharMaster (Guest): Good to have you on board!

dracohalo117: Thank you.

SensualRequiem: I don't believe I've put one in yet, where did you see it?

Guest (Guest): It's harem-esque, but there will be a final girl for Jaune to end up with eventually.

I'd like to shout out the references people managed to catch. Go check them out if you're interested!
-Pokemon Nurse Jay (Joy)
-Juan Arc from zelkova48's Hypnotherapy
-Pi (Pie)= 3.14
-Spectrum by Super Saiyan Cyndaquil

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or any franchises I may reference or allude to within any of my chapters, they all belong to their respective owners. 'The ABC Murders' is a work of fiction by Agatha Christie, as such I do not own the idea. It is a great detective book, so have a read of it if you are interested.


Chapter 22- A Book, A Breadstick and A Fake Cat

It was a surprisingly average day, fairly cloudless. Vale was still making its preparations for the Vytal festival that would be happening within the coming months. From Dust Till Dawn. A small business that had just finally recovered from a dust robbery several months back, opening once more for the large crowds and demand for dust that would come with the beginning of the festival. From the size of the tourists this festival would definitely be one to remember, not that she knew for sure of course.

A loud impact got the attention of a handful of people but they disregarded it quickly. The shopkeeper of the newly reopened establishment was putting up the finishing touches when a tourist had accidentally knocked into him, nothing exciting. "I'm sorry sir, I'm new around here." Apologised the woman as she helped him up with a kind smile. The old man waved it off, he'd had worse happened to him. At this point he was just glad she hadn't robbed him. The green haired woman looked up at the sign he had pinned up, her smile still present on her face. "A strange time to be reopening isn't it? I heard there's a serial thief about." The shopkeep laughed, waving it off once more.

The tourist kept the smile up. "Um, if you don't mind, could you point me in the direction of this shop?" She asked. After receiving the 'help' she needed the woman walked off, waving goodbye to the older man with a smile. He waved back, what a nice girl.

After rounding a corner her smile immediately turned upon seeing her partner in crime. "If you would've just admitted we were lost I would've asked for directions for you." He taunted. She glared at him, seemingly loathing his very existence.

"Mercury I swear, I will pay you to shut up." Growled the woman, pulling out a leather wallet from... somewhere. "I wasn't lost. I was just... making sure no one is suspicious of us." It wasn't her fault that all of Vale's streets looked the same. Who's bright idea was it to not have some sort of indication of the street name?

'Mercury' scoffed, "Sure. And that wallet is yours." The red eyes woman frowned and continued walking.

"Hey, the wallet just found its own way into my pocket. It's not my fault that someone doesn't keep proper track of their belongings." She took out the lien within and tossed the wallet aside. For all that shop keep knew, they had accidentally dropped it over there on the way to work. "Let's just get this 'serial theft' over and done with." Grumbled the woman.

Mercury grinned, "You're just annoyed that I killed that Faunus guy even after 'your precious boss' told us not to harm any of the White Fang." She stopped in place and glared daggers at him but he just leaned against the wall unfazed. "He looked at me funny. It's not my fault that Cinder's holding out on you because of it." The green haired girl's eyes narrowed even further.

"You're dead to me." She spat before turning around to walk off. Mercury grinned as he got up off the wall and dusted his pants.

"She didn't deny it."


Despite the rapid coming of the Vytal Festival and the swaths of people that it brings, Tukson's book shop was still as empty as it always was even after having pretty much every book. Maybe he needed to remodel sometime? Tukson's book trade, home to every book under the sun. He sighed, hopefully someone didn't take the catchphrase seriously. It was practically impossible to have every book under the sun, especially since a lot of classics were lost in a delivery from Mountain Glenn. The poor sap didn't make the return trip with the books. He perked up when the door bells jingled.

"Hello, welcome to Tukson's book trade. Home to every book under the sun. How may I help you?" He greeted mechanically, putting on his business smile. Business tended to be slow what with most students having access to a library and the citizens of Vale not having time to sit and read with the Festival coming, so he was just happy to get any business at all. The older man looked over the counter towards the two seemingly young customers. Must be students looking for texts for the new semester. He thought to himself. The man's thoughts wandered to the pair of teens that visited his shop a while back. I wonder how Blake is holding up. Upon closer inspection of the olive skinned girl his smile faltered briefly.

The girl smiled back at him, "Hello." She greeted. "I was just wondering. Do you have any copies of 'The Thief and The Butcher?'" Tukson nodded with a smile mirroring her own.

"Yes we do." He confirmed, motioning to grab a book to his left. "Would you like a copy?" He was stopped in his tracks when the girl shook her head negative.

"No thanks. I was just wondering." The smile on her face didn't fade as the grey haired boy behind her closed a book with excessive force. The girl took a step back, "How about 'Violet's Garden'. In paperback?" The boy behind her shut another book with the same amount of force, catching their attention for a second time.

"He's got it." He answered. "In hardback too." The emerald haired girl's smiled eerily, tapping her chin in thought. Tukson narrowed his eyes at the two, his suspicions growing slowly. "There aren't any pictures." Complained the boy at the front.

The girl glared at him, apparently he'd annoyed her at some point. "Mercury, if you want pictures then go look at the comic section." She chided, her smile dropping for a brief moment. Tukson pointed the boy to the front of the shop, suggesting that the comic books were there. The girl held up a hand, "What about... 'Third Crusade'?" She asked slowly, a smirk on her face. Tukson's frowned,

"I... Don't believe we carry that one." He stated hesitantly. The boy, Mercury, closed another hard copy book unnecessarily hard. The bookshop owner gave him a look, if he wrecked one of his books he'd better be ready to pay for it. The green haired girl's smirk widened as she began to lean on the counter,

"What was the name of this little establishment again?" She queried curiously, her tone suggesting she already knew the answer. Tukson sighed after realising where they were going with this,

"Tukson's book trade." He answered.

The young woman tilted her head innocently, "And I take it you're Tukson?" He nodded affirmatively. "So you're the one who came up with the catchphrase?" He nodded once more. Technically a certain someone had helped him come up with the slogan when he first began this business. He could still remember their childlike innocence, 'Mr Tukson, there are so many books here!' They exclaimed, 'It's like, every book under the sun comes to hang out here!'

"Sorry, I'm a little forgetful. What was that little slogan again?" Asked Mercury as he took a step back from the book stand. "'Home to every book under the sun'?" He scoffed, crossing his arms. "Apparently every book except 'Third Crusade'-"

"Wait!" Cried a voice from behind the shop owner. The sound of the back door opening cut the conversation. The three turned around in surprise to see a young man wearing a student's uniform stumbling out of the back room.

Tukson raised a brow, "I... forgot you were back there Jaune." He couldn't remember when the boy had entered the shop, let alone when he got into the storage. "What are you doing?" The boy panted, he obviously had been in a hurry for some reason.

"We, just got-" he took a deep breath, "a shipment of Jane Caur's latest novel ahead of time." He stated between breaths. "I'm honestly surprised though Miss. How did you know it would be a Faunus based novel called 'Third Crusade'?" The girl narrowed her eyes at the boy. This 'Jaune' clearly knew that wasn't the book she had been talking about. "Unfortunately, it doesn't come with the pictures your friend seems to enjoy so much." He turned to Mercury, "I can recommend some comic books or manga if you'd like. X-ray and Vav is particularly good." He suggested in hopes of disarming a confrontation. The blond knight walked forwards to the pile of books he had hidden Crocea Mors under whilst the metal themed man pondered the decision. Blue met steely grey. The two analysed each other for some form of tell until the seemingly older boy sighed, the smile that had previously been on Emerald's face migrated to his as hers formed into a frown.

"I can do without it." He waved it off as he turned around, surprising his partner. "I'll see you around... Cinder's Toy Knight." Jaune narrowed his eyes at the boy's words, those two possibly worked for her. The metal-haired boy waved at him in a cocky manner before exiting the building while his partner just stood in place adorning a confused look,

"He is the one?" She turned back to the boy to see him take out a sword hidden under a pile of books. Before she could try to disarm him however, he sheathed it and exhaled in relief. Emerald moved to leave, apparently their little 'theft' had failed. Fortunately Cinder wouldn't learn of their little failure, and at least they got the first one before he left. She was halfway through the door when her arm was caught.

"You left this at your last crime scene." The girl's eyes widened upon being handed a green dust crystal. She scowled at him dangerously, motioning to her weapons in case he started a fight despite having already sheathed his. The knight shook his head. "You seem to enjoy reading miss. I just wanted to talk to you about a book I thought you'd be familiar with." He gave her a grin, "The A.B.C. Murders." Emerald gave him a wary look as she slowly circled him. Her guard fell slightly when she saw that he let her move behind him without a single care.

"It's a detective story with a fairly simple way for the criminal to get what they wanted. I'll give you a bit of an abridged version, considering you seem to be in a hurry." The exotic woman frowned, "so say I go on a bit of a murder spree and at each place I kill someone and leave a calling card, making people believe it was just a serial killing. In the end I kill persons A, B and C, and if I'm skilful enough, get off scot free with killing the person whom I wanted to murder all along, that being person C." Emerald frowned, that sounded a lot like-

"If you're thinking that it sounded a lot like the recent string of 'serial robberies' then you would be absolutely correct. Think about it. The culprit robbed from places in a circle that spelled out 'REMNANT' when you took out the first letters of the establishments." Cinders lackey took a step back, "At each place they left that calling card to make it appear as if it was a serial robbery." He gave her a smirk, "When in reality, this was all so they could kill certain people at the letters N and T."

The young woman scoffed, "Why did you think it would be at Tukson's of all places?" She asked curiously, a bead of sweat trickled down her spine. "Surely there were plenty of other places that fit the bill?" Jaune laughed monotonously, letting his hair shadow his eyes.

"How could I not? This was the one place I was hoping wouldn't be affected." He stated simply. It was always easiest to connect the dots to something you don't want.

Emerald laughed, "And what sort of bull is that Mr Detective?"

Jaune smiled as he mad his way to the exit, "When you have eliminated the impossible whatever's left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." He quoted cooly while casually exiting the building. "Oh, and nice try." He quipped as he held out his wallet. The green haired girl's eyes widened considerably once more, since when did he-? She could've sworn she swiped that from his pockets using her semblance. How had he seen through it?

Tukson watched the entire exchange between the two in confusion. "So... are you two an item? And are you going to buy the new book, 'cause I'm going to have to close up soon." Emerald shot him a look, "Hey, we're getting it earlier than most. You might as well buy it before it goes."

"Quiet you." She growled before stomping outside after her partner. Tukson sighed in relief as the girl ran off. Jaune had helped him out once again. He smiled, sorting out the books the boy had used to hide his weapon. The blond had grown since the day they first met, the day where Tukson became 100% convinced that his decision to leave the White Fang was for the better. The man stared out the window. If only Roman would let him tell the boy the truth before he left. He stared at the latest book by 'Jane Caur' with an interested look, Jaune did know that it was possible the book would be a cause of controversy right?


Jaune sneezed outside of Neo's little building. He gazed at it curiously, I could've sworn I heard someone in there sneeze along with me. He shook his head. I'm probably just hearing things. Upon opening the door he was treated with silence. The only noise seemed to come from his footsteps and the sound of his breath. "Anyone home?" He called, his voice carrying through the halls. His call was met with silence. "Roman? Neo?" The young knight opened the door to his publisher's room but found no one residing behind it. He frowned, where were they? Roman had told him they would be here when he got back. As he approached Roman's room he heard shuffling from behind the door. "Roman?" He hesitantly began to push it backwards,

Now, if you asked Jaune what happened in the moments following him opening the door, he would tell you he didn't fall over and scream like a little girl, nor did he wet himself. If you asked Neo however, she would 'tell' you it was the funniest moment of her life.

As the young author pushed open the door the woman jumped out at him with a grin. Luckily she hadn't said anything as she jumped out or Jaune would've fainted on the spot. "Neo, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" He chided the colourful girl sitting on his stomach and bopped her gently on the head. She just smiled at him, her mouth twisted into the same confident grin she usually wore. The ice cream lover knew he couldn't do anything.

From behind the woman Roman cackled endlessly. "She got you good Yellow." He teased. "Don't worry, this video will be more than enough payment for your gun." He reassured, gesturing to the video camera in his dominant hand. Jaune glared at the two, especially the girl trying to play off an innocent expression. The orange haired man smirked, "Now that isn't the way you treat the person that got you this, is it?"

The student's eyes widened upon gazing upon the weapon in the editor's hand. It was exactly how he had pictured it would be. A white and yellow colour scheme reminiscent of Crocea Mors slapped onto a plain gun that used similar rounds to the ones he'd seen Blake and Ren use. There was something special about Ren's dust rounds but he paid no mind to it. The secrets of the silent boy's weapons was his to keep until he wanted to share. Jaune was perfectly fine with waiting.

His eyes shimmered in awe at the handgun. "Now while the gun is paid for, I'll need another payment for this." Jaune's eyes turned away from the ranged weapon of his dreams to the holster he had asked Roman to get. Like his shield, the two crescent arcs that made up his emblem was present. The man tapped a finger on his leg for a few moments, "I'm thinking maybe a couple thousand lien. How about you Yellow?" Jaune rolled his eyes,

"How about I try and get another novel done in two weeks?" Roman raised a brow, not a novella but a full blown novel? Even with his semblance the research that normally went into each novel took him more than a month, less than that was unheard of for him. It took patience and careful plotting to craft a book, giving anything less than your all would make for a bad story. The knight smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, this book will be more than enough payment for the holster." He jabbed, reusing Roman's own words.

"I'm holding you to that." Laughed the criminal. "Now, onto the features of the gun you wanted." He held up the ranged weapon, the metal reflecting light beautifully around the room. "This gun should be useful in both ranged fights and when you want to get up close." He pointed to the barrel, "The bullets pack a punch so please do not test it on your hand. Aura or not, it will hurt." He tapped the holster. "Now like you asked, this should be able to sit on Crocea Mors, while still giving it the function to collapse into a sheath." He gestured at the other side of the barrel, "Lastly, even though you didn't ask for it, I added a cup holder to here. So if you just press this button-" A small compartment burst open as a cup holder extended out, a simple white metal ring just large enough to keep a cup wedged there. Jaune blinked, why would he need a cup holder? Roman smirked, "Nowadays everything has a cup holder." Taking out Melodic Cudgel, surely enough there was a cup holder that appeared after a simple press of a button. Even Neo's umbrella had one.

The blond rolled his eyes, "Surely not everything has a cup holder." He stated disbelievingly. The fancy crook gestured towards the armrest of the seat he was on, showcasing the cup holder. He then pointed at a myriad of things in the room that sure enough had something to hold a cup. The desk, the lamp, the bed, the door- heck, one of the cup holders had its own cup holder. Upon risking a look outside he saw that tables, walls, even cars had cup holders.

Roman smirked at his look of utter disbelief, "Jaune. Everything, has a cup holder." He repeated. The knight sighed in reluctant acceptance. The things people come up with as 'advancements' in technology. Next thing you'll know there'll be a circle you put on your head to help you sleep. Roman's eyes widened upon taking a glance at his non-existent watch, "Oh would you look at the time, you'd better be getting home Yellow. Don't want to be late for your bedtime after all." Excused the man as he started to 'subtly' shove the blond out the building. Not so gently pushing the knight out the door the man gave him a smile, "Now we won't be here for a while, some things to do, people to see. If you need anything just uh, message Neo? She'll get back to you... eventually."

Jaune winced as the Orange haired criminal slammed the door shut. Either he had said something, or Roman was acting off. After all, it was still morning. He shrugged, Neo probably had him at umbrella point again. He stared at his new gun, it was unnecessarily shiny and he loved it. Holstering the handgun he attached it to his hip for now. He'd have to get help from the school blacksmith so he could attach the holster to Crocea Mors. With a skip in his step, the knight made his way back to Beacon. I can't wait to try it out.


Eyes. Black, red, pink, purple, blue, green… silver. They come in all assortments of colours. Some say that the eyes are the gateway to one's soul. If that were true, because aura and semblance is the manifestation of ones soul, it would mean that they were directly connected. If one were to ask, 'why is Jaune Arc of all people getting philosophical about eyes?' the answer would be simple.

A pair of sharp green eyes were boring through his eyes, right into his soul. He could practically feel his aura draining from the intensity of the glare. "Mr Arc, could you explain to me- slowly and with less curses this time- why Mr Wukong hit you over the head with cheddar biscuits?"

Neptune nodded in agreement. It was starting to become a bit hard to hold his blond leader back any longer. What argument could've possibly sprung on the way to sparring class? Jaune gave Sun a look, "Because he thinks cheddar biscuits are better than breadsti-" The knight was prevented from finishing his statement as his face found itself lodged into the ground, sporting a red glow in the shape of a fist. Jaune looked up to see it was now both Neptune and Sun being held back by Glynda and her witchery.

"Students! I will not tolerate such rough behaviour. You are adults, and must act so!" Scolded the deputy as she pushed up her glasses. Reluctantly, the two members of Team SSSN and cheddar biscuit fanatics stopped struggling. "Good. Now get to class." Snapped the woman, cracking her crop and dropping the two. "Thanks to your antics, we are late."

Once again, teams would be split. Leaders would fight each other and team mates would be paired up with others for practice matches. The spars however, were much more entertaining than usual. It was by choice of the 'random' selection of fighters that lead to some curious match ups. The 'randomness' of the system was questionable however considering it was Ozpin who implemented it, but unfortunately for the blond deputy none of the students knew that tidbit of information. She sighed tiredly and triggered the 'randomization' process on the screen. "The next match between leaders will be-" Goodwitch stopped mid-sentence and pulled out her scroll, typing the headmaster's name angrily. She glared at the screen, "Ozpin, what happened to random?" She frowned. "I am absolutely certain this is not some strange trick of fate." She stated, pointing towards the display.

Ozpin smirked, pretending he hadn't seen the fight between the two blonds on the multiple security cameras he had placed around the school. He took a sip of his coffee nonchalantly, "I have no idea what you're talking about Glynda." He waved his mug lazily, "Now if you excuse me, I have to make some… priorities, concerning our budget. Have fun~" If one looked closely at the blond teacher's scroll, you could almost see it shatter into thousands of pieces.

"Ozpin, one day. You will have your comeuppance." She muttered eerily under her breath. "Now. Will leaders Jaune Arc and Sun Wukong, come onto the stage for a practice spar where deliberate injury will be punished." She sighed. Clarifying the consequences would just lead to wasted time with these two.

Sun grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "You ready to settle this once and for all?" Jaune nodded as he brought out Crocea Mors and took a stance. His smirk mirroring Sun's as the other boy too got into a stance.

"I was born ready." He shot back, "Those cheddar biscuits are nothing against the breadsticks." Glynda pinched the bridge of her nose. How these two were chosen for team leader, she didn't know. All she knew was that Ozpin was more than likely to blame as per usual. It was always Ozpin's fault. Even if not directly.

The two stood still as they waited for the timer to tick down. As the clock winded down Jaune couldn't help but be reminded of the tapping that had accompanied his awakening after being burned alive. "Miss Belladonna seemed to be fretting over you quite a bit. Seeing the normally flat young woman actually worry over something was surprising." The rhythmic tapping had actually been her pacing about the room. But that didn't necessarily mean she was worried, she could've just been impatient or bored. The suddenness of his accident probably didn't leave them much time to get changed let alone bring a book. Jaune frowned at the thought, Wait. My clothes should have gotten wet after falling into the hot spring, or at least charred by the fire. So why was I dry in the bed? Did someone-

He then remembered something mildly important. He was in the middle of a spar. The crowd of leaders winced as he received the end of a bo staff to the head. And chest. And legs. And pretty much every other part of his body. The knight grimaced in pain as he rolled away from the other boy. Aura may protect them from wounds, but you can still feel pain. Just, dulled down pain. He held up his shield, ready for the blond Faunus' barrage. Sun smirked as he disconnected Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang into their gunchuck forms, spinning them around his body in preparation.

"Cheddar biscuits are better than your breadsticks will ever be." He stated with a cocky grin. Jaune glared at him and went for a horizontal cut, followed up by a shield bash. Sun back flipped out of range of the two attacks and shot one round to whittle the blond's aura. The knight hid behind his shield, stopping the Faunus from getting a head shot but also obscuring his vision in the process. "Cheddar biscuits are both light and flaky!" The Faunus used Jaune's shield to vault behind him, letting loose a few rounds to his back as he flipped.

The young author growled and spun around, swinging horizontally again as he turned. "So you want a treat that crumbles all around you and is difficult to eat?" He retaliated, nailing Sun in the stomach. Sun knocked back the sword and flipped his gunchucks, scoring a few more rounds into Jaune's chest.

"No, cheddar biscuits just dissolve in your mouth. Breadsticks, that stuff tears your neck- it's like bread beef jerky!" Sun swiftly kicked the knight's sword hand and stomach, sending him sprawling backwards. Jaune winced at the impact, but managed to recover quickly. Bringing Crocea around once more for another swing, he internally cheered as it managed to hit home and stagger his fellow blond backwards. Sun shifted his gunchucks back into its staff form and twirled it behind his back for a second. "They're better than breadsticks." He swung his weapon in a wide arc, managing to barely catch Jaune's right hand and knock his sword off to the side. I need a hand strap or something for the amount of times I drop that thing. "I'd go to a place just for the cheddar biscuits-" Jaune blocked a thrust with his shield. He felt the ground under him shift from the force of the attack. "And since I'd go there, you'd go too because they're amazing!" He began to sweat as Sun started to rapidly beat at his shield, he could feel himself slowly get pushed backwards by the force behind the blows. You'd better not break on me now, he pleaded to the heirloom. "You'd never go just for the breadsticks. You will be over with me, shoving that cheddar down your hole and you know it!" Sun took a few steps back, panting heavily, his voice going hoarse, Jaune laughed nervously from behind Crocea Mors.

"So… you done?" The Faunus took a few deep breaths before nodding calmly. "Alright, now let's actually spar lest Goodwitch slaughters us both." He got into stance once more, but reached his free hand behind his shield. Sun stood perplexed at the new stance,

"Aren't you going to go get your sword?" Jaune shook his head, a smirk forming on his face. The leader of Team SSSN shrugged, "Your funeral." He took a step forwards, testing the blond's reflexes with a fake out. Unfortunately, he had a pretty quick trigger finger… and a gun too. Sun's eyes widened, not expecting to suddenly be assaulted by dust rounds. He ducked and rolled to the side and separated Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang before retaliating with his own rounds. "You have a gun?" He stared at the handgun bearing Jaune's emblem incredulously. Suddenly a ranged fight against the blond seemed less favourable. Not only was Jaune adept at shooting- a painful lesson he had learnt as a child when he challenged him to a shooting gallery game- but he also had a shield. Attaching his weapons together once again, the blond moved for a more direct approach. Jaune rolled to his right and began unloading his clip from behind the shield at his opponent. Sun swore mentally and back-pedalled away from the bullets. He would have to wait until the writer ran out of bullets before he could go in. Taking a quick glance at their aura levels he was relieved to see he was in the middle with Jaune's being slightly lower. Screw you and your large stores of aura. He grumbled mentally.

The two blonds stared each other down, neither one willing to initiate the combat. Jaune glanced briefly at his handgun, realising a fairly big flaw he hadn't thought of yet. How is he going to reload? He sighed, turning back to Sun. "And this is why we test things before we try them." He mumbled sarcastically under his breath. Sun took another step to get the knight to waste bullets but was surprised to see the boy hesitate to fire. With a grin he broke out into a run. Stunned for a second by the sudden sprint, Sun was easily able to close the distance before Jaune could fire. He tried to use the end of his staff to jab at the knight, but Jaune managed to recover enough to get the staff to graze by his shield. With a shout he shield bashed the grounded weapon in an attempt to disarm his opponent. Sun's eyes widened upon catching his intent. Thinking quickly, the blond Faunus disconnected his weapon just in time for the other half to get bashed to the other side of the arena. He clicked his tongue in annoyance before smacking Jaune in the head with the remainder of his weapon. The knight tumbled to the side, dropping his shield as he recoiled backwards. Not giving him any quarter, Sun landed a few more direct hits and fired a round at him. He winced upon receiving it head on, tumbling backwards once more. The Faunus grinned and moved in to finish the blond, but upon swinging Jingu Bang at him he was intercepted by a sword.

Jaune gave him a smirk and lifted his handgun, thankfully he had managed to manipulate his falls in the direction of his sword. After a brief moment the monkey Faunus returned the smirk and pivoted on the spot, wincing briefly after receiving a few rounds to the side. In one fluid motion Sun spun and used the momentum to nail the blond knight in the head once more, sending him to the floor. Jaune grimaced upon hitting the floor as the sound of a buzzer rang through the arena. "Winner Sun Wukong as his opponent's aura has depleted." Called Goodwitch from the sidelines. She looked at the writer with a pointed expression, "Mr Arc, since this is the second time I hope you will learn from this. Watch your aura levels and try to lower the amount of bullets you get hit by. As for you Mr Wukong, not only did you start wailing at your friend's shield- wasting a considerable amount of ammo and aura- you were too overconfident, which led to you being taken by surprise by Mr Arc's new weapon." She turned back to Jaune upon mentioning his handgun, "-Which brings up my next point Mr Arc. I take it you didn't think about needing the ability to reload when you got this? I did notice, after all, your distress after nearly wasting your clip." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he and Sun exited the arena. She did have a point. He spared a look at his new gun. Maybe he would need to put a little more thought into how he used it too.


Pyrrha sighed as she watched Jaune tinker with his new gun. Although she said tinker, really he was just staring at it and mumbling to himself. Occasionally he would go starry eyed as if finding an answer to an age old question, only for him to suddenly drop back into that same disappointed slump. She wanted so badly to help him, maybe put his chirpy grin back on his face, but he had said it would just be a waste of her time. Although she knew he didn't mean anything by it, it still hurt to hear it. And now she was instead wasting her time watching the blond stare at his new gun whilst waiting for Ren to finish with their pancakes. Only he, Jaune and surprisingly Yang knew how to cook in their group- at least properly. Weiss was… trying and Blake couldn't cook anything without fish in it. Ruby knew how to bake cookies? She herself only knew the basics and no one was brave- or daft- enough to try Nora's cooking, so it was a mystery whether or not she could actually cook.

The reasons why only the green ninja of their group was cooking was because Jaune was busy figuring out his weapon and after the April Fool's dinner Yang had cooked up, no one trusted her to make food. Or fly a plane. Neither did they trust green bookshelves with purple spots. The red haired spartan shivered as the memories tickled at the back of her brain. They never spoke about that anymore.
The main reason for why teams RWBY and JNPR were currently residing in the extension of the RWBY dorm room having pancakes- among other more suitable dishes- for dinner, was their successful training at Pharos. Unfortunately something came up for Neptune and Sun was missing so they couldn't come, and Team CFVY headed out on a mission soon after Velvet and Coco returned from Pharos with them. Pyrrha turned to look at what the others were doing, Team RWBY seemed to have really taken to a new game Ruby had bought, and Nora was being Nora. She turned back to her partner, if only he would reach out and ask for help more often. Even if it wasn't from her, Ruby was a weapon geek after all. It honestly surprised her that she wasn't all over Jaune's new handgun by no-

"So what's it made of?" Asked the red and black haired girl curiously, surprising both her and her partner. Jaune hesitated in answering, he wasn't exactly sure either. "What calibre are your rounds- oh, how far can you shoot it? How were you planning to reload when you ran out of ammo, 'cause in your fight with Sun you used it with your shield-" Ruby's eyes widened, "Wait, can you do those one handed reloads? I see hunters do it all the time!" Pyrrha giggled at the younger girl's sudden interest. Knowing the young leader of RWBY, she more than likely had only just remembered about it. Jaune raised a brow,

"One handed reload? Can you… tell me more about it?" Ruby nodded vehemently, going into the details and physics under the 'fabled one handed reload'. To be honest, it wasn't anything new. In their line of work, one has to come up with more efficient ways to use their weapons. In fact, Sun uses the momentum of his swings to re-chamber his gunchucks and Yang can reload her shotgun gauntlets by throwing the ammo belts in the air and swinging her arms so that Ember Celica catches it. Even if it wasn't a new concept, seeing the two talk so animatedly about it was rather soothing. Pyrrha frowned, although she may say that, she couldn't help but feel a little-

Jaune groaned as his scroll rang, gathering the attention of the room with his rather… upbeat? ringtone. "Who is it?" Asked Ren curiously as he flipped pancakes whilst wearing the apron that was no doubt to used keep Nora at bay. The knight turned to answer his male teammate with a smile, making no motions to answer the call.

"It's no one important-" In a flash everyone but the silent cook crowded around the blond writer to see who had called him. The word 'Mom' flashed on the screen, possibly indicating that it may be his mother on the other side of the call. Nora danced in the background to the ringtone whilst everyone gave him a look.

"No one important?" Frowned Yang as she stood behind him. Pyrrha nodded along with everyone else, how could he say that was no one? Jaune laughed nervously as everyone began to gesture towards the answer call button on the scroll. I wonder what his mother is like. She mused. The group gravitated behind the boy so they could see the screen properly.

As Jaune hesitantly answered the video call, the group was treated to the sight of his mother, whom he hadn't seen nor called since he had left for Beacon. He smiled awkwardly, she hadn't changed one bit in the time he had spent away from her. She was still short for her age, not that he'd ever disclose her actual age. He didn't have a death wish after all.
She only came up to his shoulders in height and he was still just seventeen. Honestly, in terms of assumed age to actual age ratio only Neo seemed to match, but once again he wouldn't tell anyone Neo's real age. At least, he wouldn't if he knew what it was. According to his mom, he inherited her 'adorable' looks. From the soft blond hair to the bright blue eyes. And according to his dad he also inherited her clumsiness and love for literature, but the former was something the older Arc would never admit to his wife's face.
The woman's hair reached down to her lower back and she adorned a childish grin on her face that was extremely reminiscent of their blond friend. What really threw everyone for a loop, however, was that she looked like she could've been Jaune's younger sister. That and the fact she was wearing a cat costume. "Good af-meow-rnoon Jau-nya~" She greeted as she moved her 'paws' in a catlike gesture and waved at the group. Before any more could be said Jaune's scroll flew out the window. The room stood silent as they attempted to comprehend what had just transpired whilst Jaune sat back down from his thrower's stance. A couple of the occupants of the extension were interested about how Blake would react seeing that she was a cat Faunus, but the girl had an unsurprisingly good poker face.

Breaking the silence, Ruby spoke. "Jau... nya?" Not even a second after she finished the entire room, bar Jaune, began to laugh their heads off. Ren even took his attention off of the currently burning pancakes as he nearly fell to the floor in uncharacteristic laughter.

"That's your mother?" Snickered Yang, thanking dust for what had just happened. Even Blake and Weiss were laughing hysterically, which really meant something. Pyrrha gave him a light smile, although she wasn't expecting that it was still nice to see her partner's mother.

Jaune laughed it off, "What? No, I've never seen that woman in my life. It was a wrong number." He gave a false smile, trying to play it off. Turns out it was really hard to lie when the truth had already waved at their faces whilst wearing a cat costume. Before anyone could comment on his acting Sun came in through the window, holding a familiar scroll in his hand.

"Hey Jaune, I was on my way here when your scroll hit me in the face. You might want to keep a better eye on it." He stated helpfully. "Also, your mom hasn't changed at all since I last saw her... seriously though, she still looks exactly the same." Jaune stared at the scroll in the blond boy's hand before giving him the same annoyed look he wore when Nora stole the last pancake... from his fork. The room watched as the monkey Faunus handed the scroll to its owner, oblivious to the withering stare.

"Jau-nya! I can't believe mew threw me-owt the window!" Cried the ticked off mother from the scroll, still speaking stereotypical cat-speak... kind of. "I haven't heard from mew in months and this is how mew treat meow?" The knight sighed, feeling a little guilty. Still, a cat costume? "Besides, I have some important mews for mew." Jaune's brow twitched, the constant 'cat-talk' was starting to get on his nerves.

"Well then mom, what's the news?" He asked, trying to ignore the snickers from behind him.

The onlookers watched in interest as the air around the young looking woman shifted as she dropped her happy-go-lucky tone. "Well, your some of your sisters and I are coming to visit for that Family Open Day at Beacon and I decided to remind you." Jaune gulped audibly, well it looks like things are going to get a bit out of hand soon... and fast. Also, Beacon has a Family Open Day? The blond woman smiled knowingly at her son, her gaze turning to the students behind him as a dark aura began to emanate from her. "I can see your many… friends behind you, so I can't wait to hear all about anything they may have done to my little sweetheart." Jaune blinked in confusion as he felt the female presences behind him suddenly shrink into the furthest corners of the room. Upon seeing them retreat, his mom gave him a serious look, "I see you still need to learn how to properly trust in your friends." He winced at her piercing look. So she was still going to hound him about that?

"That's all for ne-ow, see nya later!" Spoke the woman as she waved farewell, picking up the cat-speak once more before hanging up. Blake sighed after the overwhelming woman hung up, feeling the air in the room lighten slightly. She looked around the room curiously, wondering how everyone else had responded to Jaune's mom. Ren had cleared his eyes of tears and resumed cooking, Jaune had gone off to the side to strangle Sun and all the other girls save Nora were cowering in the corner. Nora had picked up her brave leader's scroll and begun playing the full version of his ringtone so she could dance to it once more. More or less what she expected.

The black haired Faunus shook her head with a sigh, "I'm going to the library." She could always go to the cafeteria for food.


Emerald grumbled angrily as she made her way into the warehouse. Mercury's smug grin followed her. "Looks like I win our bet." He chuckled, enjoying watching her irate stomping. "Not that it was too hard to stop your 'perfect' crime spree." The green haired woman glared at him, her arms crossed. Her eyes were narrowed dangerously.

"Not in the mood Mercury." She snapped as they approached Cinder's orange haired 'partner'. The metal themed man gave her a cocky smirk,

"Hey, you don't need to be so hostile just because you were outsmarted by Cinder's Toy Knight." He 'consoled', elbowing her in a not-too-gentle manner. Roman groaned before putting on a fake smile after noticing the twos presence behind him.

"Well if it isn't my favourite two underlings." He laughed sarcastically, rubbing their heads affectionately. He walked back to where he had been standing in an exaggerated manner. "I'm so glad she brought the kids again. Because these will help me decipher just where on Remnant, you two have been!" Emerald's eyes widened upon noticing that Roman had taken the address off of her and the book she had stolen from Tukson. The criminal narrowed his eyes, "Why do you have these?" He asked, his voice taking an edge to it.

Emerald scoffed, "Wouldn't you like to know." She spat, turning away from the man.

Mercury crossed his arms confidently and turned to the criminal with his trademark cocky grin, "Em and I have been all over town doing some convoluted scheme to take out a hit you were supposed to have done for Cinder already." Roman's eyes widened for the briefest of moments. He growled and turned towards the map behind him, so these brats were the ones that did those serial thefts. "Unfortunately before we could follow through with Tukson, Cinder's Toy came and ruined the fun." His smirk widened after seeing he had managed to get a reaction.

"Listen here you little punk. As long as that boy gets me money, I'm not letting you touch him." He snapped, "If you harm a hair on his head I will take you and your street rat friend here and-!"

"And what Roman?" Echoed a sultry voice from above. The orange haired man groaned internally. Great, the big bad boss here. "Now I do hope you weren't intending to hurt them. I need all my pieces to begin this game after all." Roman smiled at the woman as her heels clacked along the ground. "Now what is this I hear about you missing a hit?"

He laughed nervously, "Well I was going to, but then I found out he was selling books. Now he's kind of a big part of our little publishing circle."

"Well, while tiny Mary Poppins and her butler were trying to make money, Emerald tried to do the hit for him." Stated Mercury.

Cinder's eyes narrowed at her lackey who had acted out of place, her irises burning brightly. "Emerald, I do not like it when my pieces act on their own and make my moves for me." The girl winced instinctively, "Do you know what we call a pawn that thinks and moves on its own?" The thief shook her head hesitantly, "Useless." She stated with finality. Roman and Mercury instinctively swallowed at her tone, Cinder was very scary when angry. "And you'll find that being useless to me very... displeasing."

"Yes, I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Apologised the girl hurriedly.

Cinder smirked, playing with a small fire between her fingers. "Of course you won't. As punishment I want you to be at the boy's beck and call as well as garner the friendship of his friends. Worm your way into their hearts, and I don't care for what he or his team say, I want you to stay by their side at all times." She began to chuckle slowly at the thought.

Emerald wailed on the inside. There was no way Cinder was making her do this, it had to be a joke. Evil criminal masterminds made jokes too right? Right? "And one more thing I forgot to mention." She leaned in and began to whisper into her lackey's ear. The girl's eyes widened at the bomb that had just been dropped on her. "Have fun with that~" she sang as she waved her off. Emerald shook her head, there was no way she was to- she couldn't be serious. It was safe to assume her day just got infinitely worse.

The black haired woman turned to Roman, enjoying seeing him stiffen slightly before playing it off as stretching. It was enjoyable watching the man try to keep up his persona, "Now I understand one of them was a part of your 'get rich' scheme, but the other was a simple dust salesman. Why was that one not done sooner? I do not like to be kept waiting Roman." He shrugged, giving her a sarcastic look. His sarcasm however, was beginning to get on her nerves. Did he really believe he would be fine openly disregarding her position over him?

"Gee I wonder." He took a few steps back, emphasising his next point with an over exaggerated gesture to the containers behind him. "Maybe all of these crates of dust that you wanted me to get flew in her magically while I sat on my ass on that recliner and waved my cane?" He replied sarcastically, "Wait- don't put that chair down there! That was sarcasm!" He sighed, good help was really hard to come by these days.

The man turned back to the unamused woman, ignoring the two Faunus' fumbling over a recliner. "Now, maybe if you told me what exactly all this dust I'm magically conjuring up is for, it might make sitting over there and waving my cane lazily a little easi- I swear to Dust, if you put the recliner back there I will grab this cane and shove it so far down your throat that pulling the trigger will give you explosive diarrhea." The two lackeys snickered at the two White Fang members' scared expression. It was funny seeing someone be scared of Roman of all people.

Cinder gave him a soft smile, "Oh Roman, Roman, Roman." She laughed lightly as her heels clicked loudly against the ground, echoing throughout the vast warehouse. "How many times do I have to say it? You will know what you need to know, when you need to know it." He winced as she brought her hand to his face. He would need to sanitise that and probably get some aloe vera later. It wouldn't hurt to apply some ice dust too. "Just know that we will be proceeding to phase two." He sighed in relief as she took her hand off of his cheek and began to saunter off, her hip swishing catching the eyes of many of the male White Fang members. Roman rolled his eyes at the poor men, she was no woman.

She was merely a devil in disguise, and he would not let her have her hands on his writer.

Neo would kill him otherwise.


Cinder's ominous words echoes a dark future for our poor knight, her plans slowly coming to fruition under his nose. Will the knight be able to take the queen? Or will it be toyed with until it is ultimately sacrificed to save the king? Roman's allegiances fall under question, his disobedience to take out Tukson, his questioning of the Queen. When the time comes, he will have to choose between his deadly employer and the blond boy he has come to know as 'almost' family.

So in this chapter we learn more about Jaune's mom (perhaps too much, sorry about the cat-speak) and Jaune realises a flaw or two within his choice of weapon. To be expected after all, as nothing is perfect from the get go. Sun and Jaune spar, showing Jaune's progress as a huntsman, and Jaune learns that Mercury and Emerald are possibly affiliated with Cinder. Fairly eventful. Take events as you may, even the smallest of details could come back in the future. See you guys and gals next chapter and please Follow and Favourite if you enjoyed, and leave a Review about what you liked/didn't like!

Those who get a specific reference get their own cat costume! (Correct size not guaranteed)