AN: Thank you everyone, who followed and favorited my story. As someone who is new to writing fanfiction, it was really great to see my writing get such a positive response. I would also like to address someone of the questions left in the reviews from last chapter
Will this fic contain characters from Fairy Tail? No. This is not a crossover, so there wont be any of that.
Will Weiss be an Ice-Maker wizard? And Pyrrha a Requip mage? Also no. For the same reason I'm not using dragon-slayer magic, I don't want this to be too close to Fairy Tail, that it just seems like a rip off.
Editor/Beta-reader: Wyncrer the Sage (if you like Yu-gi-oh or OCs, check him out)
The sun was just starting to set by the time Yang and Jaune stepped off the bullhead and onto Beacon. Yang had been expecting to see Jaune display the usual jaw dropping awe that most people showed when they first saw Beacon's grounds up close and in person.
Instead she was greeted by the sight of Jaune throwing up in the bushes. Was this really the same person who destroyed a house full of criminals? When Jaune finished unloading the contents of his stomach into the bushes he finally looked around at the main avenue, the guild buildings and the surrounding area.
"Wow," Jaune exclaimed in awe as his eyes soaked in the sight. "I knew Beacon was big but this is incredible!"
"Just one of the perks of being one of the four biggest guilds in the world," Yang gloated. "Beacon has everything an aspiring wizard could want. Including, but not limited to, one of the largest libraries in the world, training rooms to polish your fighting style, or lots of open space if you feel like letting loose with magic. There's even dorms for those who wish to stay close to the action."
Jaune felt himself suddenly feeling a lot more daunted by the idea of joining such an incredible guild. "Do you really think they'll let me join?" he asked, his doubt and uncertainty clear in his voice.
"Don't worry," Yang said as she placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to be supportive. "You'll have me there to give you a glowing recommendation, and I don't do that for just anyone."
This seemed to give Jaune the confidence boost he needed as he smiled back at her. "I guess you're right."
Yang beamed. "Of course I am."
To Jaune's surprise, the building Yang led them to was the dining hall. Yang told him this was where the majority of the guild would spend their time between jobs, as it also contained the noticeboard for new jobs. Upon entering Jaune found himself surprised again, an instance that seemed to be happening far more times than it had any right to today.
Instead of neat ordered rows he would expect of such an esteemed guild, he was met with the sight of almost half the tables hastily stacked on the far side of the hall with a small ginger girl standing at the top of the stack. As Jaune recovered from his shock he realised the ginger girl was laughing and chanting "I'm queen of the castle" repeatedly.
Before he could ask Yang for an explanation, the fire wizard declared "Oh hell no!" and stormed off towards the 'castle', leaving Jaune alone and utterly confused.
As Yang approached the stack, the ginger caught sight of her and stopped her chanting. "So you've returned Xiao Long," declared the small girl as though she were a monarch addressing one of her subjects. "You had taken so long, I was starting to think you had realised you were no match for me and run off."
Yang stopped in her tracks and roared up at the other girl. "How about you get down here and say that to my face, Valkyrie!"
The ginger, Valkyrie if Jaune had heard correctly, smiled as though that was exactly what she had been hoping to hear, an idea further cemented as she smiled and proclaimed, "Gladly!"
Jaune watched on speechless as the small girl leaped from her perch, landing in front of a table loaded with watermelons, which was promptly hurled at her opponent. Yang, never one to be outdone, snatched a pair of whole turkeys from a nearby table and put them on as though they were gloves. Appropriately equipped she faced the barrage of watermelons head on.
"It's a food fight from hell," Jaune muttered to himself as he watched the ensuing carnage.
"You must be new here," a clipped voice spoke up from next to him.
Jaune looked at towards the source and was met with the sight of a girl dressed in a combination of white and pale blue, with her white hair in an off-centre ponytail."If you had been here for even a day you would be use to such antics. In fact, this is actually pretty tame for those two." The girl continued without looking at him, before giving out an exasperated sigh. "I wish Pyrrha would hurry up and get back so there will finally be someone capable of keeping those two in line."
Jaune was about to say something until he realised the fight seemed to be coming to a climax.
The two girls seemed to have exhausted all food supplies nearby but had clearly not lost any of their will to fight. If anything they looked more excited than ever. Maybe excited is the wrong word, Jaune thought as he looked at the vicious grins they both sported. Without another word being uttered, fire ignited around Yang's fist and she charged. Her opponent answered in kind, with an explosion released from her hands rocketing her forwards.
As the two were about to collide a third figure dropped down between them and held out his palms, which seemed to glow with a weird energy, towards each of the combatants. Instead of the interloper being utterly annihilated by the pair, Yang's fire and Valkyrie's explosions died out as soon as their fists came in contact with the open palms. Jaune was awe struck by the impressive display of power.
"Is that the Pyrrha person you mentioned?" Jaune asked the white haired girl next to him.
"What? No!" the girl declared as though he were some kind of idiot. "That's Ren. And while his ability to negate the magic of others is useful, he can't really be counted on to keep them in line, as Nora practically has him wrapped around her little finger."
"And Nora would be?" Jaune queried.
"Nora Valkyrie. The one your fellow blonde was just trading blows with."
"Oh, right."
With the fight brought to abrupt conclusion, Yang, much to Jaune's relief, was coming back to where she had left her new friend.
"Sorry about that, I had to take care of some business," Yang said nonchalantly as she approached. "Good to see you're already getting to know some of the people around here. How you doing Weiss?"
The girl in white, Weiss as he now knew, spoke with an icy tone when she addressed Yang. "You were expected back before midday Xiao Long. It's almost night time now. What took you so long?"
"Nice to see you too, ice queen," Yang said bitterly. "What's wrong with me being a little late anyway? Did you miss me?"
Weiss let out a small mocking laugh. "Don't flatter yourself. I was just counting the seconds until there was someone else for your sister to bother. I tried to send her Blake's way except she got herself kicked out of the infirmary for being disruptive."
"Oh hey that reminds me, I've actually got something for Blake. Hey Weiss, would you mind taking Jaune to see Master Ozpin? Thanks." Without waiting for a reply Yang ran out the door as Weiss reached after her trying to voice a complaint about being volunteered as a guide.
With the departure of Yang, the two were left in an awkward silence. "So, uh. I'm Jaune by the way. Jaune Arc." Jaune said as he extended a hand for Weiss to shake.
"Weiss Schnee."
She said her name as if it were meant to mean something as she reluctantly took Jaune's hand and gave it a brief shake. The two stood in silence once again as Weiss looked at Jaune as though she were expecting something.
"So where do we go to find this Ozpin guy?" Jaune asked.
Weiss blinked in what Jaune could only guess was surprise, over what he had no idea, before her eyes focused. "It's Master Ozpin. And he's this way."
Weiss and Jaune walked through the guild grounds side by side, with Jaune constantly turning his head as he tried to take in all the sights the guild grounds provided.
"This place is amazing!" Jaune exclaimed, breaking the silence between the two. "I still can't get over how big this place is."
"Did you honestly expect any less from one of the four biggest guilds in Remnant?" Weiss asked with a slightly smug tone to her voice.
"Honestly I didn't know what to expect." Jaune replied honestly before a thought occurred to him "You, and Yang, mentioned it was one of the four biggest guilds in the world. Who are the other three?"
Weiss gave him a look that suggested she was trying to figure just how big the rock he had been living under was. "There's Atlas, in the kingdom with the same name, Haven in Mistral and Shade in Vacuo. Each of these guilds were founded around the same time the Great War ended about eighty years ago."
"Huh. I kinda expected a place like this to be a little older," Jaune commented
"This guilds history, relatively brief as it may be, is still a proud one. If you seriously intend to join this guild, do so knowing your actions affect a reputation eighty years in the making." With that Weiss increased her pace clearly indicating that there was to be no more conversation.
Master Ozpin's office, Jaune realised, was in Beacon Tower. Either that or Weiss was planning on calling him using the Cross Continental Transmit System.
The first option was proved correct as Weiss pressed the button for the top floor the moment they were in the elevator. When the doors open on the top floor Weiss gestured for him to exit first. Jaune stepped out expecting Weiss to be coming out behind him, and was instead surprised by the sound of the doors closing behind him as the elevator went back down. With what he assumed was the only way out gone, Jaune looked around the room he had been deposited in.
The first thing he noticed was the noise, the sound of clockwork as the massive gears just above the office went around and round. That and the view out the window on the far side that made him realise just how far up they were.
The office itself was surprisingly bare when it came to furnishings, with the only pieces being a curved desk with a chair behind it. And in this chair was the man himself. Guild Master Ozpin, leader of Beacon. Jaune had heard of the man before, of course the same could be said for just about every person on Remnant, but seeing him in person felt more incredible than anything else he had done that day.
"Hello there." Ozpin said, looking completely unfazed by some stranger walking into his office. "I don't believe we've met mister…?"
"Jaune. Jaune Arc." The nervous teen quickly offered as he moved forward with his hand out stretched. As he arrived at the desk the Guild Master stood and shook his hand with a gentle smile
"So what brings you to my office so late in the day Mr Arc?"
"I, uh, I met one of your guild members, Yang, in the city and she seemed to think I would fit in well here."
"Does this meeting with Ms Xiao Long, by any chance, have anything to do with the reports I've been hearing of a burnt down bookstore or a blown up house?"
"Uh, both actually. B-but we aren't responsible for what happened. Well I guess I am kinda responsible for what happened to the house but that was a total accident."
"I see."
Silence descended on the room. Just before Jaune's nerves hit critical level the elevator re-opened and out walked Yang. "Hey Master. Seems you two have gotten the introductions out of the way," Yang said with the same careless confidence he was quickly learning to expect from her.
"Indeed we have. In fact, Mr Arc here was just informing me of your involvement in a couple of incidents in Vale today." Ozpin answered. Jaune didn't miss the slight accusatory tone in his voice.
"Believe it or not, neither of those two were my fault. Heck the house explosion was his handy work," Yang replied as she pointed at Jaune.
"Yes I do recall him mentioning something of the sort. Now would you be so kind as to fill me in on the whole story here?"
Jaune just stood silently as Yang gave the Guild Master her report. Throughout the tale he couldn't help but notice how she was wording the story. While nothing she was saying was wrong, she was focusing on certain aspects, leaving out a couple details and slightly exaggerating others. And all these changes worked towards the same goal.
She was trying to make him look good. Or at least better than he actually was. When she had finished Ozpin turned his head to look directly at Jaune. The man's eyes seemed to pick apart every piece of him at the same time it stared into his very soul. In short it was a very uncomfortable experience for Jaune.
"Why do you want to join Beacon, Mr. Arc?" the Guild Master finally asked.
"I want to help people," Jaune's answer was immediate. "I see magic as my best chance to make good on that. To do that I need to be better than I am right now and, from what Yang's told me, Beacon is the best place for me to do that."
"A very noble goal. In this situation I agree with Ms Xiao Long's assessment. I believe you will fit right in at Beacon," Ozpin decreed.
"Can you please say that again?" Yang cut in, shattering the reverence of the moment for Jaune. "I want to set you saying you agree with me as my ringtone."
"Ignoring Ms Xiao Long," Ozpin continued. "Please step forward and receive your guild emblem." Jaune stepped forward towards the desk as Ozpin revealed an item that looked like a stamp. "Now where would you like your emblem?" The Master asked him.
Jaune panicked momentarily as he realised that other than his head, neck and finger tips, he was showing no skin, leaving little space for an emblem. He quickly scrambled to pull his right glove off, as though if he took too long Ozpin would change his mind. With his hand uncovered and held out, Ozpin pressed the 'stamp' down on the back of his palm and when it came away Jaune bore a white symbol of two crossed axes inside a laurel wreath. The guild emblem of Beacon. A sign to all the world that he was a true wizard.
"Now, if that's all you two came here for, I believe your sister has been looking for you Ms Xiao Long. And while you're at it, would you mind showing Mr Arc the ropes?"
Seeing the dismissal for what it was the two got back into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. As the elevator descended Jaune could do nothing but stare in awe at the emblem on his hand.
"It's a pretty cool feeling isn't?" Yang asked
"I-it's incredible," Jaune murmured not taking his eyes away from the emblem. "You've got one these too right?"
"Yep," replied Yang. "I got mine right here."
As she said the last part she pointed towards her exposed midriff where a yellow Beacon emblem could be seen. Jaune broke his vision away from his own emblem in favour of looking at Yang's.
"It better be my emblem you're looking at," Yang warned after Jaune didn't look away.
"Yeah, sure, emblem," Jaune replied half-heartedly as he continued to stare, only to start apologizing profusely when his companion burst into flames.
It was only a minute later the two returned to the dining hall, now not just friends, but fellow guild members. They had only taken a few steps before a red torpedo came hurtling through the air towards Yang. As the missile impacted Yang, it materialized into a small girl with a red cape that wrapped her arms Yang, who staggered back from the impact.
"Yang I'm so glad your back!" the small girl cried out.
"Hey Ruby. Good to see you too," Yang replied once she had regained her balance. "Now would you mind explaining, why you felt the urge to crash into me the moment I came inside?"
"That's cause I have something really important, that I need to tell you." Ruby responded instantly, before taking a deep breath.
"Oobleckwentonaquestafewdaysagoandhehasn'tcomebacksincewhichhasmereallyworriedcausehesaiditwouldtakelessthanaday."
"Ah, what?" Jaune asked, bringing the attention of the two female wizards to him.
Ruby leaned up and whispered into Yang's ear, "Who's he?"
"Ruby, this is Jaune. He's our guild's newest member. Jaune, this is my sister Ruby," Yang supplied before turning back to Ruby. "Now what was that you were saying bout Oobleck? And try to keep it at a pace that I can understand this time."
"Oobleck went on a quest to Mount Glenn a few days ago and he hasn't come back since, which has me really worried, cause he said it would take less than a day. I want to go look for him, but everyone keeps telling me to just wait. Can you please come with me to go look for him? Please, please, please?"
"I don't know," Yang said, before pausing as a smile slowly spread across her face. "Actually, yeah let's do it. Master Ozpin told me to show Jaune the ropes, and what better way than on the job experience?"
Jaune quickly discovered that his second flight in a bullhead was every bit as bad as his first, only a whole lot longer. Honestly, Jaune impressed himself with the fact that he was able to wait the entire flight before throwing up. When he finished emptying out his stomach contents, he made his way back over to the sisters who were studying a map on Ruby's scroll.
"So any idea where to look?" Jaune asked as he arrived in front of them.
"Where just checking that now," Yang replied. "All guild members have a function on their scrolls, that allows fellow guild members to locate them. The bullhead put us down not far from Oobleck's last known location, as his scroll is no longer sending out a signal."
Jaune didn't even need to ask about the implications of what that meant. Ruby's nervous fidgeting was enough of an indication. It wasn't long before they reached their destination as, true to Yang's words, they had been dropped off close by. What they found only raised more questions. An empty campsite, Oobleck's, according to both Yang and Ruby, hidden away inside a ruined building.
"No dust has settled on any of the stuff, looks like he was here recently," Ruby said as she examined the site.
"But the signal went out the night he left," Yang added "I guess we can rule out an attack being the reason for the signal dropping out."
"Maybe," Jaune said uncertainly. "Is it possible that someone could have blocked the signal?"
"It's not unheard of," Yang answered, as her brow creased in concern. "But that would suggest that someone lured him here."
"Not to mention that with the signal blocked, he would have no way to call for help or extraction," Ruby added. "We need to get out there and look for him now. Even if they haven't gotten him yet, that doesn't mean he isn't in trouble."
Just as they were about to set off, they heard voices coming from outside. "The scouts said they saw movement over this way. Let's look around and see if we can find anything." The trio quickly took cover behind the damaged walls. Ruby cautiously took a peak around her cover, only to gasp and quickly duck back behind cover.
"Who is it?" Yang asked in a whisper.
"The White Fang," came Ruby's whispered response.
Before Yang could say any more, she heard the sound of bricks collapsing on each other, as years of exposure finally took their toll, and a startled Jaune was deposited at the feat of a White Fang wizard.
In what was quickly becoming a far too regular occurrence, Jaune desperately summoned a shield to protect himself, at the same time his opponent launched an attack of his own.
"Light make: shield!"
"Air magic: blast!"
Luckily, Jaune was able to get his shield up first, and the White Fang wizard got blasted by his own spell, launching him clear into the air. For a moment everything was silent, as the five other members of the White Fang, stared at their airborne comrade.
The momentary peace was shattered as Yang emerged from behind her own cover, and released a torrent of fire. The attack took out one enemy and scattered the others, with one coming at Jaune, who was still on his back, with a sword. As the sounds of magic and gunfire filled the air, Jaune desperately scrambled back, trying to put distance between him and his new opponent.
Unfortunately crawling was a lot slower than running, and Jaune quickly found himself rolling to the side to avoid a strike. Jaune stood up only to duck down again to avoid a second attack, and in doing so put himself in the perfect position to be struck by a quickly rising knee.
The hit had Jaune staggering sideways as his head swam. Jaune tried to summon a construct put he found himself unable to string two thoughts together as the White Fang wizard moved towards him with sword raised.
"L-li-light," Jaune tried.
Just as the sword was about to come down, the wizard was grabbed from behind and spun into a fire coated right hook. Having dealt with the threat, Yang helped Jaune steady himself. As Jaune's vision cleared, he noticed all other members of the White Fang had already been taken out. And in the middle of them stood Ruby, holding a red and black scythe that seemed about twice her size.
"You ok there?" Yang asked with obvious concern. "Looks like you took a pretty hard knock."
"I'm fine now, thanks. Though I think I'm going to have a headache for the rest of the week," Jaune replied. Before anymore could be said, Ruby approached the two and started talking urgently.
"We need to get moving. During the fight, one of those guys said something about how there was only meant to be one wizard. That proves that they are looking for Oobleck. If we hurry, we might be able to find him before they do."
Instead of answering her sister, Yang turned to Jaune. "You able to keep moving?"
"Yeah I'm good," Jaune said as he tried to give an encouraging smile. "Let's get going."
The next hour was spent searching the ruined city, and fighting any groups of White Fang they came across. The fighting was done almost entirely by Yang and Ruby, as Jaune struggled to keep pace with them as they ran.
It was just as Jaune was feeling that he was getting too exhausted to run anymore, they found him. A tall man in a long brown great coat, khaki buttoned safari shirt, and a pith helmet, who casually strolled out of a ruined building.
"Dr Oobleck!" Ruby called out, as she used her magic to cross the distance in a blink of an eye. "We've been looking everywhere for you," she said, her voice filled with excitement and relief. "I was so worried when you didn't come back. And then I found out your signal disappeared. And then we get here and find out the White Fang are after you. Are you okay?"
The tall man looked down at her with surprise for a few moments before he composed himself. "I assure you, I am quite alright. Now what was this you said about the White Fang?"
"The White Fang are here in Mount Glenn. Not just that, but they were trying to catch you," Ruby answered.
"Are you sure? I wasn't aware the White Fang were in the area," Dr Oobleck questioned.
"Yeah, we're sure," Yang cut in. "We had to fight a whole bunch of them trying to find you. If you didn't even know they were here, why haven't you returned to the guild yet?"
"Why that's simple, Ms Xiao Long. I decided once I finished clearing out the local grimm, that I would take this rare opportunity to look around these ruins. Why, the building I just left was the former headquarters of Merlot Industries, a place that once housed some of the most advanced research facilities on the planet. Sadly, after all these years there wasn't much left."
"Wait, wait, wait. So, I can understand hanging back a few days, but why didn't you message the guild? And why did you scroll stop transmitting? We thought you had been attacked," Yang questioned, as she found herself getting increasing frustrated with the doctor.
"Well that's quite simple actually," Oobleck explained as he held up his perfectly intact scroll. "I forgot to charge it before I left." Yang and Ruby face-palmed, as Jaune stared at the three with an expression of confused disbelief.
"Let's just hurry up and get home. I think I'm ready for today to end," Yang said tiredly.
A few hours later, Yang and Jaune were sitting in the dining hall back at Beacon. "So do most jobs go like that?" Jaune asked.
"Nah," Yang replied. "There's usually a lot more action. Plus, there's usually an actual reason why we're out there, nothing like what happened today. Besides, today wasn't actually a job."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, unless it's been posted on the noticeboard, and there's someone paying you to do it, it's not a job."
"Oh. That makes sense I guess." A moment of silence passed between the two. "I don't think your sister likes me very much. She barely talked to me the whole trip."
"I wouldn't worry about that, Ruby likes everyone. It's just that, the thing with Oobleck had her really on edge. He isn't just another guild member to her. He uses a similar type of magic to her, and when we arrived at Beacon he took her under his wing," Yang explained.
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Are you sure Ruby is going to be okay reporting everything that happened to Ozpin?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah. She'll be fine, shouldn't be any problems at all," Yang answered.
She had only just finished speaking before her scroll started ringing. Yang opened up the scroll and answered with a quick "What up?" only to realise it was Ozpin that had called her. If the master was at all fazed by her unorthodox greeting, he didn't show it.
"Good afternoon Ms Xiao Long. Could you please come to my office as soon as possible? I have something I must discuss with you." With that said he ended the call.
"Maybe I spoke to soon," Yang thought out loud as she put her scroll away. "Well, no point leaving the old man waiting." With that Yang stood up and started making her way to the exit, with a "Wish me luck!" called out to Jaune as a goodbye.
Yang slumped into the seat across from the Guild Master and gave a cheery smile as she said "So what did you want to talk about?"
"I wished to talk to you about your excursion to Mount Glenn earlier today. In particular I want to talk about the performance of our guild's newest member."
The smile on Yang's face lessened but didn't disappear. "I thought Ruby already told you all about it?"
"She did. My only concern is that, what she described of Jaune's abilities, seems directly opposed to what you told me."
Yang straightened in her chair. "I didn't lie about what I told you!" she argued.
"I never accused you of such," Ozpin said as he put his hands out in a placating gesture. "But have you considered the possibility, that what he accomplished on the day you met, was a fluke?"
Yang sat in silence, not sure how to respond. "I do believe that Mr Arc has potential, but the fact remains, he is not yet ready to deal with the level of danger that wizards of Beacon are expected to handle." Ozpin paused to let his words sink in, and take a sip of his coffee
"Since it was you who decided to bring Mr Arc here, from here on, it will be your responsibility to train him. And in case you need some motivation, know that the results of your training will determine whether or not I accept your application for this year's S-class trials."
AN: Next chapter marks the start of the first story arc I have planned.
If you have any suggestions for the type of magic for Junior and the Malachite twins, I would love to hear it.
Next Chapter: PYRRHA! Other things as well, but most importantly Pyrrha.