Edits as suggested by GeraltRex.
/==/
Jaune was now alone on the dorm roof. Cardin having left after coming to terms that he needed to talk with Velvet. Sitting on the edge, with her ankles crossed, and her hands clasped in her lap, she gazed out at the scenery. Being up here was always comforting to him, even more so when her sense of self-worth and assumed iron willed determination was shaken. Ever since her changes, she hadn't had any real time to herself. Of course, she was alone when she slept, and aside from last night when she tried her experiment, she was often so wiped that all she could do was sleep. So right here, right now, it felt good to just be able to think.
"He is right, you know." Jaune sighed as she talked to herself an image of her former self materializing in the air before her. Giving a body to the sound of her own voice helping her put her feelings and thoughts into perspective. "You are weak, even more so now. Pathetically so."
"That," she unclasped her hands, and grabbed handfuls of her sundress in her hands, "doesn't mean I can't get stronger. I've done it before, and can do it again. I can get stronger."
"You can, but at what cost? You already were struggling with the basics, before this happened. You can't even use your weapon anymore. How can you be a huntsman without a weapon?"
"I can get strong enough to use it again. I can train with practice weapons, fix my form, learn the basics like Pyrrha was teaching me. I can grow into my weapon."
"You can, but how long do you think that will take? Months, maybe even years. Can you expect them to wait years for you to catch up?"
"I… I could always get changed back."
"Yes, you could, but do you want to?" Jaune's hands twisted into the fabric of her dress. "You have to admit, people are treating you much better as this Jaune over old Jaune."
"It's because I'm weak."
"You were weak before, but now you're pathetic… but that's not the point. People want to protect what they see as pure and good. Protect what they put value to… old Jaune had no value to most, a few yes, but not most."
"I had friends! Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ren, Nora, P… Pyrrha, and W…w… Weiss."
"Yes you did, and of course they would have and did help you, for the most part, but still you saw things change when you became this Jaune."
"That's not…"
"Think about it, Jaune. Really think about it. When did Pyrrha confess to you? Before or after you change?"
"After."
"When has Weiss shown any interest in you, now or before when you were attempting to court her?"
"Now… but she's only acting like that since…"
"I agree, since her change, but do you really think that just magically made her want you? Or did it bring something up that had always been there?"
"I don't…"
"Face it, Jaune. You're getting the attention you wanted, the friends you crave, all because you became weak and pathetic. Ever since you became the damsel in distress."
"That's not right. I have dreams, I can get strong!"
"I agree, but is that what you really want? Weiss and Pyrrha, both think it would be better…"
"No, that was a mistake! They wouldn't stop me from…"
"Are you positive? Truly certain that in some fit of fear or possessiveness they wouldn't? Do you imagine that if you attempted to push, that they BOTH wouldn't pull you back and find a way to distract you?"
"Pyrrha loves me, she wouldn't!"
"Does she? Or does she just want a possession to put on a pedestal like she was?"
"I…" Jaune felt wetness on her cheeks.
"Why do you love them? Weiss and Pyrrha? What is so special about them that makes you want to be entrapped in their embrace?"
"They're strong, smart, intelligent, driven, they both care deeply…"
"Weiss cares?"
"She does, it's hidden deep, buried under the bullshit her father piled upon her. But it's there, and you can see it, with how she strives to improve and help others improve around her."
"Sounds more like a control freak."
"Pyrrha's the same. She wants the best for those around her… for me… why else would she lower herself to train me?"
"You just said it. She LOWERS herself to train you."
"No…"
"Jaune admit it. Everyone around you sees something to be protected, which isn't a bad thing, but you'll never their equal, it's just in this form that desire is greater. They would do anything to keep you safe… even destroy your dream. You heard them BOTH. You needed to protected, hidden away."
"That was a mistake."
'Was it?" Jaune's first twisted the fabric of her dress up even more. 'What about the rest of RWBY and your own team?"
"This was all a mistake, I should…"
"You need to make a choice. Stay as is, or change back. Right now, as you are… people just want to possess you? You're a possession… Coco, Pyrrha, Weiss… they're all the same. They want you as a thing, something to put up above themselves to make their lives better, because they have you when no one else does."
"It can't be…"
"I'm you Jaune, you know I wouldn't lie to you. There is no point to it."
"So everything is a lie?"
"No, I don't think it is, but you need to decide some things… set some boundaries. Make them all know you are not some doll to possess, and the first decision is who are you?"
"I like who I am now. I feel free, feel safe, feel whole."
"If the chance to change back is presented to you?"
"I won't accept it. This is who I am." Jaune gave the horizon a weak smile, tear tracks dotting her cheeks.
"Even if it means everyone around you will just try and smother you… thinking it's for your best interests to be kept safe?"
"They can try." Jaune's smile flattened out into a grimace. "I'm who I am, and if they can't accept that, they'll need to come to term with it. I WILL not be kept back to watch them get hurt. I WILL not be coddled, and babied like some fragile doll… I am Jaune Arc, I WILL be a huntsman."
"So now what?"
"What do you mean?"
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"I need to get stronger. I need to start training again, harder than before. I will prove that I deserve the chance to see my dreams come true." Jaune released the grip on her dress, and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand before standing. The mirage of her old self smiled and faded into motes of dancing light, before her. Turning from the edge of the roof, she made her way to the access door, and vanished through it.
/=/
Mercury was just returning to Beacon, after spending the last couple of days out in Vale. It had been a very productive time for him. Not only did he now have an official bank account and Social Insurance Number, he had lucked in on attending a business seminar. So armed with a grab bag full of books, on starting up, running and marketing a business along with several business cards in his pocket from people actually interested in his idea, he was on cloud nine. Though he was a little worried, not having heard from or received a response from Coco, so once again he was worried if he had been fired, before even getting started.
"What is she?" Mercury asked himself in a low whisper, as he saw his main priority one Jaune Arc, Coco's golden goose, marching her way across Beacon's grounds towards the launch pads for the Emerald Forest. "Is that a training weapon?"
Now Merc was worried, and he didn't ever get worried. Worry was not a beneficial emotion when one was meant to be an assassin, however as a bodyguard, it fit, and that was what Mercury had decided he was going to be. It was what he was hired for, and it looked like he'd be invoicing Coco for an impromptu field trip. Rushing into the main entranceway of Beacon, he grabbed one of the visitor lockers, and stashed his swag haul from the seminar. Locking it and pocketing the key, he then dashed off, reaching the launch pads just in time to see the golden haired innocent sex symbol flung into the air.
"Shit." Merc swore as he traced her flight path, before jumping on a pad himself, and using his aura to boost his leg strength to thrust downward to disengage the safety latch and activate the mechanism. "Crap!"
He tumbled through the air for a minute or two before managing to right himself, and then angle his body so that he was aimed in a picture-perfect flying sidekick. His lead foot sheared off the tree tops as he closed on the ground, bleeding off his speed, until it was low enough for him to jump back and forth between several tree trunks, to the ground, unharmed. He took a minute to gain his bearings and after pulling out his scroll and sending a message to Coco about what was happening, he took off in a sprint. He had no clue what was going on in Jaune's head, but for her to voluntarily choose to enter a grimm infested area with just training weapons, told him she was upset and dead set in proving something.
Begrudgingly putting his father's lesson's to practice, Mercury tracked down his target. It had taken him more than a few minutes, and when he had found her, he instantly went into action. Whatever was going on with her, had drawn a small pack of Beowulf, and she was barely keeping them at bay with her training gear. Mercury felt his scroll buzz, as he struck the side of the pack of seven like a buzz saw. He caved in one's head, and a follow-up kick to a second snapped its neck. Mercury would normally hold back, but this was not that type of situation. He needed to go all out, and get things under control.
As he moved through and around the pack, causing it to fall into a disorganized mess, he stole glances at his VIP. She was holding her own, but was struggling. The base skill was there, she just didn't have the strength or conditioning to capitalize on the openings she was getting. Merc's scroll buzzed a second time, as he up shifted to a new gear. By the time it was all said and done. The ground of the small clearing where he had found Jaune was a mess of torn up ground, and he was breathing hard; but all about, the dissolving corpses of the grimm pack filled the air with ink black mist.
"What are you doing?" Merc asked with a sigh, "Do you realise how stupid this was? I mean, taking on grimm with a training weapon? I thought you were smart?"
"I…" Jaune looked like she was about to burst out balling, but held it in. "I need to get stronger, or everyone is going to leave me behind."
"There are safer ways to get stronger." Mercury offered, "Again, I thought you were smart?"
"I had to try! Pyrrha, Weiss… they all think I'm some fragile doll! I'm a huntsman-in-training too!"
"Are you listening to yourself?" Mercury countered as his scroll buzzed for a third time, "You're letting OTHERS dictate who you are, and because of that you took a stupid risk, that if I hadn't noticed you… would have ended badly."
"It's not fair!" Jaune snapped, tears actually starting to roll down her cheeks. "I have dreams too."
"And how would you have reached them if you became grimm chow just now?" Mercury asked as he pulled out his scroll and checked his notifications. Three messages from Coco. He typed out a quick reply, before returning his full attention to the young woman before him. "Listen, I'm not good at this type of stuff. I'm more of kick it enough times, and the problem goes away, type of person. So believe me when I say this was a BIG mistake, and you should be more careful."
"Why do you even…"
"Coco hired me to be your bodyguard." Mercury answered flatly.
"So she…"
"It doesn't matter what she thinks, or thought, right now." Mercury cut Jaune off. "The Fact is that if she hadn't, you wouldn't be around anymore, and what do you think that would have done to the people that cared about you?"
"I…"
"Again, I thought you were smart?" Mercury cut her off again, "And this was not a bright idea."
"I know."
"Listen," Mercury sighed, this was definitely not what he was good at. "I'll admit this to you, and only you. Before I met this… you… I had nothing. I was in a dark place with no future, and then, well, you appeared, and I saw something that made me want to be better."
"What do you mean?"
"I used to just like hurting people, then I saw you… and you sparked something inside me. Then I spoke with Coco, and she offered me a job to watch out for you, because of your popularity on OnlyFans." Mercury sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand, "It got me thinking, and I decided I didn't need to just look at things they way my shit of a dad taught me. You made me realize I had choices to make, and so I have."
"So I inspired up?"
"You did. I'm in the beginning stages of setting up my own Security Company, and you are my first client, well my only client right now, but still my first."
"Client?"
"Like I said, Coco hired me to be your bodyguard when you go out into Vale with her, or when she asks me to look out for you."
"So she's like everyone else… thinks I'm fragile."
"Have you looked at yourself, recently?" Merc titled his head, "You were not much before as a guy, pretty much a joke, but now you are fragile… and stupid if this stunt is anything to go by."
"I…"
"Listen, I don't know the whole story, nor do I want to. It's not my job or place. But I can give you some advice, before I take you back to Beacon and Coco." Jaune wilted at hearing that Coco was going to find out about this mistake. "Like I said, I heard you were smart, so start acting smart, and stop this trying to jump the cue bullshit. You want to prove everyone how stronger you really are, show it by training hard and improving. Not by throwing yourself unprepared off a cliff."
Jaune's tail and ears wilted, and she pouted, which pulled at Mercury's instincts to make her feel better, but a quick thought to what could have happened to her just a few minutes ago, allowed him to squash that reaction easily. Pointing the direction towards Beacon, he got Jaune to start walking, with him close behind. Firing off another quick message, he put his scroll away and put his attention into keep alert for any more trouble.
/=/
Nora awoke about three-quarters of the way to JNPR's dorm, and Jasmine set her down, so she could walk the remainder of the way. Jasmine could easily see the crimson blush of embarrassment on the young woman's cheeks, but said nothing. It would do no good drawing attention to what had happened. So they walked a rapid clip in silence, and once in the room Nora raced about grabbing new clothes, snagging a pair of Jaune's boxers and vanishing into the bathroom. Jasmine said nothing, and just moved to sit on Jaune's bed. Things were way out of hand now. Way out of hand, so far that it was pushing the side of ridiculousness.
With the background noise of a running shower, Jasmine raised her thumb to her lips and proceeded to start sucking on the tip. It was a nervous habit, that she had never been able to get rid of. She recalled the sheer number of recent past events, and how they all bordered on inane, and for the most part were all tied back to Ozpin, and their own over reactions. She would readily admit it, she was one of the worst when it came to over reactions, and now mostly alone with time to think she could see how her and her sisters were spearheading some of these unfortunate incidents. They need to get this under control, and that was going to require her reigning in her own impulses as well as those of her sisters. Calmer heads will prevail, was the old saying… so it was time to be a calmer head.
"Ms Nikos." Jasmine gasped around her thumb. "I almost forgot she'll be here tomorrow!"
The sound of the shower stopping had her yanking her thumb free of her lips. A minute later, Nora exited the bathroom, dressed in fresh clothes and looking less embarrassed. Jasmine just nodded to her, letting the girl climb into her own bed, laying on her back with her hands clasped over her stomach. Letting Nora be, Jasmine started to consider her options. Ms Nikos was a priority, but she could have Katherine meet her, while she and Glynda worked at getting things under control at the school. As Jasmine was lost in her thoughts and plans, she didn't notice Nora roll over to face her.
"Mrs Arc?" Nora asked in a soft voice.
"Yes, dear?" Jasmine replied, her motherly instincts catching the soft words aimed at her.
"Can I… ask you something?" Nora licked her lips, "It's kind of personal, and I don't have anyone else I can ask…"
"No one?" Jasmine asked, her sharp green eyes showing a motherly warmth and softness.
"I'm an orphan… like Ren… I never knew my dad, and my mom, my mom… she…"
"It's okay." Jasmine moved off Jaune's bed and dropped to her haunches before Nora, reaching out and brushing her slim fingers through her orange hair, "You're a friend of Jaune, you don't have to justify anything in order to ask me a question. So go ahead and ask."
"Me and Ren have been together forever… like forever-forever and I…"
"Take your time."
"I want to be more?" Nora stated and asked.
"And you would like some advice on how to talk to him about that?"
"Please, anything that doesn't involve ropes."
"Er, what?"
"That was Blake's advice." Nora answered, "When she was trying to convince me to help her get Jaune-Jaune."
"She what now?"
"She said ever since this," Nora pointed towards her groin, before continuing, "Happened to us, she's had thoughts about Jaune and babies."
"Has she now." Jasmine sighed, of course girls who suddenly had dicks would also be given elevated libidos. Of course.
"But I don't think it will work, so how should I?"
"Just speak honestly with him from your heart."
"But what if?"
"I won't say there isn't a chance that he doesn't feel the same as you do, that would be me lying, but you have to ask yourself, can you continue not knowing one way or the other?"
"I really want to."
"Then just find some private time with him, and tell him. It's as simple as that."
"And if?"
"If the regrettable happens, you deal with it. Your head held high like the strong young woman you are."
"Are you sure? That's all I have to do?"
"Yes, or…" a mischievous glint appeared in Jasmine's eyes.
"Or?"
"A cast iron frying pan, works wonders as well."
"How is that supposed to work?"
"It knocks some sense into think headed boys." Jasmine gave Nora a chuckle, and brushed her fingers through her orange hair, "Bit from what I know of you and Ren, through Jaune… you won't need to go that route."
/==/
So like I mentioned (at least I think I did) these next few chapters in all three stories will be less stupidity, and more me trying to start tying up things. Still hope you're enjoying this, and I love the feedback, even if it is pointing out errors, omissions, and screw-ups.