Hiya. Now that we've got ourselves a fight, it seems like this chapter took some time. I could have cut it in half, which I did consider, but there's no real good breaking point. So you're looking at approx 4.5k words.

Should still read pretty quick.

Enjoy.

Of all the times for his scroll to buzz and blare out a cheery tone, now wasn't the greatest. Jaune ripped the device out of his pocket, clenching his fingers around the thin rectangle so it wouldn't drop and barreled through another set of brush. Only once his path was clear for a time did he glance down at the screen. Howls and growls drowned out the sound of the buzz(but not that damn ringtone she set and wouldn't tell him how to change) as Yang's cheery face stared up at him. He tapped the answer button with a finger.

"Where. The hell. Are you two!?" Her voice was nearly a screech, matched only by the look of undivided anger in the video. Anger directed at him. Jaune averted his eyes and ignored the question, choosing instead to dodge around a tree. Blake pulled him from his run to duck behind a rather large fallen log, jostling the device in his hands. Yang didn't seem to mind repeating her question at both a higher volume and pitch. She even added a threat to the end, how nice of her!

Jaune, after catching his breath, swallowed a pit from his throat. "Emerald Forest. We came to check out the Blight and uh-" Another howl, "It uh… I... well, you hear that, yeah?"

"Yeah." Yang, in the video call, grumbled something that her scroll didn't pick up and set it aside. She gave the object another annoyed glance, which was likely meant for him, but the anger had faded as quick as it had come. Then, she pulled open her locker. "I see you didn't invite me to the party."

"Honestly?" Jaune reached up to wipe sweat off of his face, "It would have been a good idea to."

"Nah, that's alright." Yang clipped Ember Celica onto her wrists and extended the weapon out, cracking her knuckles. "I'll just crash it."

"Please." Blake leaned over to his side, so he pointed the camera towards her. "Quickly. They're closing in."

"What about Pyrrha?" Jaune tilted the scroll back his way, stopping for a moment to glance to the side as the sound of splintering wood echoed. Close. Too close. "Is she-?"

"How do you think I found out about this little date of yours?" Yang's interruption was strengthened when her arm reached out of frame, as did most of her upper body, and came back with his partner in tow. Pyrrha gave a little wave, looking down and away from the scroll. "We're on our way."

"Jaune, they've found us." Blake loaded her weapon and rolled her shoulders. She wasn't wrong, unfortunately. Throughout the clearing, Beowulves stalked out of brushes and shadows, tilting their heads at their prey and thrashing their claws along the ground. At first glance, Jaune almost felt relieved.

That changed when he took a closer look. Their fur was shiny and matted down in places, a yellow sheen that belonged, with no doubt, to the Blight. Their faces were cracked, their fangs and claws longer. They looked unnatural. Jaune felt his stomach drop. "Need you two here, now."

"Give us twenty seconds," Pyrrha, this time. "Then call your locker."

"Call my locker?"

"They're rock- Nevermind. Blake?"

"Counting already." The girl beside him responded, standing to her full height. The call cut out, so Jaune stood too. He hefted Crocea Mors and extended his shield, knowing full well that he was not prepared for the coming fight. But he had to at least try.

"Just fight to your front and I'll cover your back." Blake let Gambol Shroud fall down until she held it by the ribbon, spinning it in circles at her side. She took a position at his back, at the ready. "Sound good?"

"Uh huh… Wait, do you feel that?"

"What?"

"Soul crushing regret?" He looked back at her.

"Don't be so dramatic." Blake smiled and rolled her eyes anyway, "Good luck."

"Yeah." Jaune stepped towards the prowling Grimm against his better judgement. His heart pounded. "You too."

For a time there was silence and stalking, broken only by a stray growl or a distant howl. He turned a slow circle, watching the beasts and trusting Blake to protect his flank. Jaune's patience broke, so he hit his blade against the edge of his shield twice. A taunt that made all hell broke loose. Blake's weapon cracked in rhythm, the Beowulves falling to her shots yet closing the distance faster than he'd ever prefer, each one falling replaced by two. He met the first one with his shield, pushing it back and slicing through its midsection with his blade - it went clean through. Black blood with a yellow sheen splattered over his blade and armor, stinking of rot and earth. The next beast landed a hit on his side, a brash heat against his aura from the force of his armor taking the blow, a blow that he replied to with another strong slice through the Grimm. Right, that's why I wear armor.

The Grimm came and fell for what felt like an age, each one as mindless and easy as the last. They were weaker than normal, not by strike but by durability. That much he knew by now; these Blighted Beowulves were brittle… maybe they were unfinished, or just cannon fodder? But for what?

Some uncountable amount of Grimm later, he felt a cold bite in his leg. On reflex, Jaune swung Crocea Mors in a circle and severed the offending claws. Jumping back from the threats, he reached down and pried the claw that was still stuck fast in his thigh out with a grunt, tossing it aside and returning his sight up in time to see another body charging at him. Jaune yelped and ducked below it, coming up to engage even more Grimm that were closing in. Hopefully Blake could take care of the straggler behind him.

A new sound joined in the growls and howls, a rumble of an engine that was soon replaced with a dull thud.

It distracted the coming horde, who stopped to swipe and make any amount of noise at the coming threat.

The Rocket-Locker crushed an unfortunate Grimm as it landed, something that brought a smile to his face despite the growing fatigue in his body. He fell to a knee and braced himself on his blade, brushing sweat off onto the sleeve covering his shoulder while he had the respite. The door of the locker exploded outwards in a shower of sparks and screeching metal, and out came his last two teammates. Yang was first into the fray, whooping as she crossed the distance with a jump and landed a particularly nasty looking blow on one of the bigger Beowulves. The blonde cried in triumph, "Taste my fist!"

Pyrrha came out swinging as well, though she was much more reserved. Milo and Akouo twisted and spun, severing and crushing the opposition alongside the other newcomer to the battle. While those two held the attention of the Grimm, Jaune turned to look for Blake. She herself was handling things quite well, Gambol Shroud weaving circles of steel as the girl flipped and pirouetted over and around errant bites and claw swipes.

They were surviving, but they couldn't last forever… The leader looked between the two fronts. Yang and Blake each held a side, while Pyrrha dipped between the two to provide help wherever it was needed.

They were holding things off without him.

Instead of just standing there like an idiot, Jaune pushed away the feeling of being useless then dipped back out of sight, pulled his scroll back out, and called out to nobody in particular. "Cover me!"

It took the headmaster two ring cycles to answer, but when he did Jaune was surprised to see no look of surprise or even anger. Just amusement. "Mr Arc." The headmaster tilted his head, "Am I safe to assume that your team is the reason that one of the lockers have been deployed?"

"Uh, yeah. I don't suppose-"

"Boom, baby!" Yang's voice interrupted him, punctuated by laughter.

"Like father…" Ozpin sighed and rolled his eyes and let a ghost of a smile show. "I've already woken a team for search and rescue. They should be arriving by bullhead within a few minutes."

"How did you know…" Jaune stopped himself short, the headmaster waiting. The answer was as obvious as a smack to the face. "I'm guessing you get alerts for when lockers launch, huh?"

"Yes."

"I'm also guessing you have cameras set up out here?"

"Also correct."

"S-So you can get us out of here?"

"With some luck."

"I'm also guessing you'll want to see us when we get back?" Jaune winced as the airship came into sight, lights blinding him as they came on and the sound of wind and the whine of engines filling his ears. Howls echoed through the trees.

"Full marks, Mr. Arc." The headmaster swiped something on a screen below him and took a sip from his mug. "Ah, good, it seems the team has arrived ahead of schedule. Tomorrow, before class. I'll be waiting in my office."

The call cut out with a beep.

Jaune shoved the scroll into his pouch and stood, looking up at the door of the bullhead. It slid open with a clang and revealed a team of three, one large male, one shorter one, and a female in the center with a hand on her hip and a handbag hanging from her fingers. She surveyed the field with a turn of her head, eyes hidden by dark looking sunglasses. Then, after seemingly deciding something, she leaned towards the larger male to her side and said something, before laughing and switching her bag from one hand to the other.

"Heads down, loves!" The woman called from the bullhead, stepping forwards in her heels and lifting the dark colored bag to her side. Or maybe it was a purse. He wasn't quite sure.

For a moment, and only a moment, Jaune wondered what the handbag would do to the Grimm.

He figured out in that moment that he'd forgotten the first rule of Beacon; Everything is a weapon. Everything.

The handbag opened and expanded in a way that made him wonder if the physics he'd learned in school had some… "minor" inconsistencies. From brown leather came gold and black metal, twisting and turning until she held what looked like an extra large mini-gun with extra gun and a side of pain. The barrels whirled in circles and Jaune had the strangest thought then; Ruby would die of happiness if she saw this.

With delay, a realization hit. His eyes widened and he turned to his team and shouted, "Shields!"

The mini-gun roared as he lifted his shield and braced it with his sword arm, dropping into a half crouch to cover as much of his body as he could. Pyrrha fell to his side and did the same, overlaying her shield with his, while he felt a warm body press against his back not even five seconds later. From where she was pressed against his back, Yang cackled at the rain of chaos that tore apart the forest around them. This crazy girl!

When the oversized weapon fell silent, Jaune dropped his shield and took a slow look at the devastation around. He checked his shield and found it unmarked by the mini-gun, as was his body and armor. Clean… ish. "Uh…"

"Remember this, next time you wanna go fighting without me." Yang slugged him in the shoulder, moving away from him to Blake, who sat down on the dirt and brushing hair and sweat out of her eyes. She hadn't taken a hit, but the girl did look tired. Blake gave him a tight smile that was changed by her eyebrows raising at the center, while her partner shot him a wink as she retreated. "You jerk."

He'd have to ensure his teammates got to sleep in as long as they wanted.

Until then, he was left with Pyrrha. Which, all things considered, was better company than he could ask for.

"Hey…" He greeted, sheathing his blade. She blinked and averted her eyes. He frowned. "Listen-"

"I'm sorry." She blurted, cutting him to silence before clearing her throat. She stepped forward and wrung her hands in front of her chest, smearing black blood across her nice leather gloves. "I… I'm sorry that I didn't support your decision. And I'm sorry that I didn't come along."

"You think I'd be mad about that?" Jaune couldn't help it, he scoffed and turned to watch the Bullhead land. He didn't much care to look her way at the moment, doing his best to tame down the anger that he did feel. The emotion at the forefront of him was disbelief. She either didn't see the real problem or she didn't believe it was a problem. He was silent for a time, instead, letting her stew in her own emotions while he decided the best way to word his. Maybe he was being a little unfair with his silent treatment, but after weeks of their partnership… he'd take the small satisfaction before he tried to fix it. Only when the woman who wielded the mini-gun beckoned them forward did he turn his head to her and speak as they walked. "I'm fine with you disagreeing with my plans. Just because I make them, doesn't make them good. But we need to talk. Later, after we're back."

"Okay." His partner nodded, looking chagrined enough that he felt guiltier than before. Jaune pushed that away as well, brushing sweat off of his forehead and boarding the airship. He collapsed in one of the seats and rested his elbows on his knees so that he could hang his head between his arms and fold his hands over the back of his neck. His skin was equal parts searing, chilled, and clammy.

He breathed. In, out.

The tension and adrenaline bled out of him, more than a small current of fear he hadn't realized he'd felt released the hold on his heart. It was like someone had lifted a car off of him. Those were replaced by fatigue and relief, and a small bit of triumph - they won the night. A pair of finely crafted black heels, designers by the look, stepped into his sight, twisting to the side and one travelling up and over as the woman they belonged to sat down and crossed her legs. Jaune closed his eyes and let out another long breath. The loud engine sound muffled as the doors clanged shut, reducing to nothing more than a low hum. The ship lurched and his stomach did a little flip.

"Hm." The woman across from him adjusted how she sat in a rustle of cloth. "You're not having some sort of attack, right Cupcake?"

Jaune glanced up, if only to make sure that it was he was the one being talked to - he was. The older student had leaned forwards to rest her elbows on either sides of her legs, effectively crossing her limbs over each other and making it look completely natural and confident. He felt like he'd just look foolish doing that. Which he probably would, considering that it was a very feminine stance. Her eyes, a striking brown, watched him over sunglasses. No, they more than watched - she was sizing him up with that little smirk on her face. At this close proximity, it was painfully obvious just how pretty she was. And even more so that she knew it.

"No, I'm fine." He lied, ignoring the muted feeling of sickness. "Happy to be alive, I guess."

"Mhmm. If you say so." She tilted her head and gave a half smile from the smirk, holding out a hand. "Coco Adel. Leader of the team that saved your sorry asses."

"Jaune Arc." He took her hand and shook. "Short, sweet, and… eh, nevermind."

"Ladies love it, right?" Coco's teeth flashed, "Cute. Never heard that before... "

"Yeah..." Heat crept up his neck as his face flushed, which just made Coco chuckle, which in turn made him more embarrassed. In an attempt to curb that feeling, he tilted his head as she did. "How do you abbreviate 'Team that saved your sorry asses' anyway?"

"Very carefully." The leader of team 'that saved your sorry asses' removed her sunglasses and stowed them away in a shirt pocket. Why was she even wearing them at this time of night? "I'll show you mine if you show me yours?"

He blinked.

Did everybody use that saying in northern Vale?

"Team Juniperberry." Jaune supplied.

"Team Coffee." Coco replied. "I thought… Isn't Juniper Berry two words?"

"Yup."

"Huh. Ozpin, you naughty man." The woman leaned back and lounged in the seat like it was her own personal throne. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, how about we get down to business. I need something from you."

Business? Need something? Uh oh. He mulled over the words in silence for a time. The more he kneaded the thought, however, the less it made sense and the more it worried him. The Headmaster had been the one to send them. Could she really ask them to do something despite being sent specifically to save them? He most definitely did not want to end up being some groupie for upperclassmen, nor did he want to-

Coco laughed and broke his concentration, making a show of wiping at her eye whenever Jaune did nothing but stare. "Oh my, you should see your face."

"Wh- What?"

"You look so scared, it's so precious! Ah, I already like you."

"Coco," The large figure two chairs down on her right leaned towards the two, face impassive. "I don't believe teasing will help move the conversation forward."

"Oh, fine, Yatsu." Coco rolled her eyes and leaned towards him, "Two things. First, I'm letting you off with a warning this time, yeah? But now that we're friends-"

"We are?"

"- if you underestimate my aim again and I will shoot you."

Yatsu smiled and shook his head.

"Noted." Jaune set his forehead into his palm, "I thought you were being serious for a moment."

"I am."

"I meant-"

"I know what you meant."

The blond sighed and brushed his hand through his hair.

"Don't worry, Cupcake, you and Cherry Bomb over there make a great shield wall anyway. You'll be fine."

"... Cherry what-now?"

"Cherry Bomb. She means me, Jaune. We-" Pyrrha leaned forwards to talk past Blake. Another boy, this one with dark skin, scars, and white eyes tilted his head in their direction, cut off Pyrrha(much to her annoyance), and explained. "Coco gives everyone nicknames. Everyone but Velvet."

"She kicked the crap out of me when I called her Bun Bun." Coco explained, resting her elbow on the armrest on her side and twisted her hand through the air as she talked. "Pretty hard, actually. Made me so proud."

"Okay." Jaune drew out the 'oh' of that word and looked around the cabin. "So you're 'Yatsu', you're Coco, you're…"

"Fox." The dark skinned boy supplied. The large boy on his left waved a hand in hello. "Yatsuhashi Daichi. It is a pleasure to meet you, Jaune Arc."

"Fox." He pointed at the smaller boy, then to the larger. "Yatsuhashi." A nod, so he looked to Coco again. "Coco. So, then where's Velvet?"

"Back at the school. Poor thing needs her beauty rest, she can't just wake up gorgeous like me. Oh, That's the second thing; I need you to look out for little Velv. Tell me if she's getting picked on and by who."

Jaune opened his mouth to say something, then closed it when it became apparent that he just had nothing to say. He couldn't rightly refuse, if not because of his conscious, but because it was a simple thing to do. That, and Coco had that giant gun of hers. Except for one problem. "I don't know what Velvet looks like."

"Well, she's the only Faunus in the school with rabbit ears." Coco shrugged, "Shouldn't be that hard."

"She's a Faunus?" Jaune blinked and something clicked. "Oh."

"That a problem?"

A sudden thought hit him with her icy tone, a sideways comment his father had made a long time ago that had gotten him smacked; She seems like fun and joy out in the world, but I bet that she's all whips and latex behind closed doors.

Now that he was a little older(and had access to the Remnet), he was fully aware of what his father had meant. Just now he understood completely.

Her glare scared him, so he backpedaled as fast as he could. Jaune raised his hands in a 'hold on' gesture. "Oh, by my blood, no no no." His explanation was hurried, punctuated by nervous laughter. A quick glance around showed him several different variations of that glare. Yatsuhashi looked quite curious, Fox's eyes were intense, and Blake just peered at him with a blank expression. She was just as interested in what he had to say as well, it seemed. "I have no problems with that at all! I was just putting two and two together. You know... 'Bun Bun' and bunny ears."

Blake furrowed her eyebrows and glanced away, pursing her lips. Did that mean she was satisfied or dissatisfied with his answer? He hoped not - he liked Blake, she was a good friend.

"She doesn't like being called that." Coco drew his attention back.

"You uh… mentioned that."

"Guess I did. Up to you to remember it, Cupcake. Not my fault if you get your own ass kicked."

The rest of the trip was comprised of small talk, mostly Jaune asking questions about Coco - a trick he'd learned from his sisters when it came to keeping the conversation going. She was, all things considered, fairly open. She knew Pyrrha by fame since before his partner had come to Beacon, even had an autographed picture of the two together. Rich family(explained meeting Pyrrha), normal home life, oldest of her cousins, and the first Huntress in her close family. He found one thing out very quickly, as if it wasn't already obvious - She loved fashion. Her parents ran a company.

In the short flight back to Beacon, he learned about the difference between a blouse and a shirt, when it was appropriate to wear a sundress, what leather goes with what cloth, what colors clash or work, so on and so forth. He did his best to pay attention, if only to make it easier to shop for gifts for his sisters and teammates, but it wouldn't be averse to say that he was happy when they split from team Coffee at the landing pad. Far too much information that wasn't relevant in the short term.

"Jaune," Blake nabbed his forearm as he made to lead his team into the school after saying his goodbyes, "Can we talk for a second? In private?"

"Uh, sure." This would be interesting. The leader turned to Yang and Pyrrha, "Go ahead of us, we'll meet you back in our room."

Yang had opened her mouth to say something, more than likely something suggestive, but Blake yanked him away before either of their teammates could respond. He stumbled and twisted, eventually finding his footing and hurrying after the dark haired girl as she half-dragged half-led him around the corner of the building and out of sight.

She broke the walk by spinning on a heel, stopping him short with a set of folded arms below her chest. "How did you get into Beacon?"

"Huh?"

"You. How did you get into Beacon?" Blake checked the surroundings with a sigh, then rubbed her eyes. "Look, I don't mean to be rude. I'm tired, I'm cold, and I'm ready to get back to my bed and my books. But how did you get into Beacon without an ounce of fighting ability?"

"I…" Jaune shrugged a shoulder, "Luck?"

"Not good enough, Jaune." Her gaze fell flat. "You're not going to fool me, here. You can't fight to save your life. Literally."

"I thought I-"

"You swung that sword around like a mad man, with no technique or thought of who was around you." Blake shifted her weight and raised an eyebrow, her voice betraying her calm demeanor. "You were just as dangerous to me as the Grimm we were fighting!"

"By my blood, did I really?" Jaune shrunk back from her, pressing a hand into the back of his neck and rubbing. "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry doesn't-" The girl stopped with a sigh, checking around again before continuing with a gentle tone. "Look, if you're going to lead this team, we're going to need some honesty. We can all tell that you aren't as good as us with your weapon."

"Bu-"

"And we'll work on that, you and I. You're already getting better, so I'm going to help you with that." She continued through his attempt to respond, sounding far more than just physically tired. "But you need to understand. If you're wanting me to follow you into a fight, any fight, there has to be some transparency. I won't follow another leader who keeps these types of secrets. You're my friend, Jaune. I'd like to think you'd trust me to keep a secret."

Jaune didn't even try to respond. Maybe Blake was guilt tripping him, but she not only had a point; she'd talked him directly into a corner - with logic and reason at that. But could he really tell her? He trusted her enough, trusted them all, they were his team and his friends, but… still, if anyone were to find out, he would be done for. The more minds that knew something, the more of a chance it would get out into the world. If he were to be outed, he would be sent packing back home to tend to cattle and grow plants. Mundane and boring, even if it was necessary. It's what his father had wanted for him.

He didn't want that. Not at all.

"I'm surprised." He started, trying for levity in the face of discomfort. "This is the most I've heard you talk since we've met."

"Not the time, Jaune." Blake pressed her fingers into her temples, then sighed again. "Look, would it help if I shared my… my secret first?"

"Mine's… Blake. It's kind of a big deal… a really big deal." He tugged at his armor, unwilling to meet her eyes. It was either answer, or lose her trust. He liked having Blake around, she was nice. "Like, get sent home big deal..."

"Can't be as bad as mine, trust me. I suppose I'll go first. Might want to take a seat, this could take a bit." Her reply begot a confused look from him, so she closed her eyes and took a breath. Building courage for just a moment before reaching up and pulling the knot from her bow. It flowed down over the pale skin of her forearm. "So, when I was young…"

Let me know what you think. Jaune gets to go through the ringer with Blake, should be fun.

EDITED: Went ahead and capitalized Grimm and Beowulves. Just didn't feel right not having it. Also cleaned up some formatting and re-added something that had been lost in upload.

Uh... lets talk about the Fog of War?

-Phoenyx

Advice for the Aspiring Author; Fog of War - Character perspective.

Battles are chaotic and messy. There's really not such a thing as a clean fight, even from expert fighters.

Fog of war is a bit of a fun thing to play with because it lets you give a subconscious reminder about the skill level of your character. A character that is unfamiliar with large scale battle won't notice nearly as much as a character who sees a lot of battle. A character that is not used to fighting with teammates in such a battle likely wouldn't even consider how their movements could endanger their friends. Jaune, in this instance, can't see behind him or to his sides too well. To top it off, he's not as aware of his teammates positioning because his fights are small scale skirmishes at best, or one on one fights. So he doesn't take into account that his wide swings could prove dangerous to Blake. And he doesn't realize it through the distraction because he's focused entirely on the coming enemy, things still aren't quite practiced to him.

It's only because Blake is used to larger scale combat from her past, as well as these specific strains of Blighted being so easy to take down that she's able to keep away from the danger that is Jaune's wild swings.

The subtly comes not from what you don't mention, it comes from what the character doesn't notice. There's a difference here in that I could very easily make things obvious - mention that Jaune is unaware of how his teammates are doing. But that's a tell, not a show. Or in this case, an omission is showing. As a third person limited viewpoint, we're not going to get all of the information as if it were a Third Person Omniscient, we'll get what Jaune sees and hears.