A/N: Here's chapter two. Jaune finally gets some experience leading and his own team. Answers to some questions at the bottom.


Learning to Lead


Fingers ran through a blonde mane as a young man sighed, his eyes flicking back and forth between the piece of paper in his hand and the locker in front of him.

He had read in the introductory package that students would be placed into teams and yesterday, during the announcement he slept through, the students were told to follow the instructors in the morning.

They were given lockers yesterday to put their weapons in and he was absolutely sure locker 636 was not the right locker. But, lo and behold, written right on a piece of paper were those same incriminating numbers. He had been pacing around the locker room searching in vain for the elusive locker but, still no luck.

"Oh man...I can't believe this is happening right now." His voice came out in a high pitched whine.

Suddenly he found his face attempting to meld with one of the lockers when he tripped over a bench.

"Ow..." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the locker number, 636...It was practically taunting him into assaulting the damn thing. He grumbled a bit as he rubbed his sore cheek with one hand and opened the locker with the other.

On the other end of the locker room, Weiss Schnee was engaged in a titillating conversation with resident champion fighter, Pyrrha Nikos.

"So Pyrrha, I was thinking about the teams today." Weiss couldn't believe her luck. To have met the Mistral Regional Champion here at Beacon academy was perfect for her! Together the two of them would be absolutely unstoppable! She had to get her as her partner for the next four years. She refused to settle for any less. "I think it would be perfect if the two of us were to team up together. What do you say?"

"I think that sounds wonderful." Pyrrha nodded congenially at the offer but her heart twanged slightly at the offer. She wasn't opposed to being teammates with the girl but...she had heard that your partner would become your friend and Weiss seemed more interested in her reputation than her actual person. Not that she didn't think she and Weiss couldn't be friends…she had just been hoping for someone a bit more...genuine.

"Well then it's settled! We should go find a prof-" Suddenly a blonde figure came between Weiss and her ultimate goal for the next four years.

"Well hello there snow angel. The name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue and the ladies love it. Now I hear we need partners and I was thinking you and I would make the perfect couple." He had this one in the bag. No girl could bear witness to his suave lines and not-

"Absolutely not! And do not call me snow angel ever again!" She knew she had recognized him from somewhere, he was mister tall, blonde, and scraggly from the other night. "Besides me and Pyrrha here have already decided on being a team."

Said girl smiled warmly at Jaune and waved politely. "Hello!"

"Urgh..." Jaune recoiled a bit at the swift rejection but quickly found his bearings again. "Well hot stuff, if you want we still have two open spaces on the best team ever over here."

"I already said no!"

"Er...three open spaces?"

"Do you even know who she is? That's Pyrrha Nikos you're talking to!" Pyrrha internally sighed as Weiss brought up her name. Was that where her entire worth as a person lay...in a name?

"Ah yes! Pyrrha Nikos! Of course I know who that is!" The red haired champion sighed. She knew it was too good to be-

"But just in case anyone here doesn't know who she is, you should definitely describe her in full detail." In his defense, it had worked before with Ruby so technically this line had a perfect record thus far.

"You absolute simpleton! She's graduated at the top of her class at Sanctum!"

"That's probably super impressive to people who know what Sanctum is!"

"Ugh! She's been the Mistral Regional Champion for fours years in a row! A new record!"

"Wow! Being a Champion is a good thing! Right?"

"...She's on the cover of every Pumpkin Petes-"

"Oh my gosh! I have seen you before! But they only reserve things like that for really incredible people!"

-He's the one.- Pyrrha was genuinely surprised that there was someone who didn't know her accomplishments and accolades. It made her feel...normal.

He was going to be her partner.

She had pretty much settled that in her heart.

Across from the calm girl, Jaune was sufficiently flummoxed. How could he have not noticed right off the bat who this girl was. He ate that cereal for years, chowing down every morning of every day until one day his mom told him that he was eating it too often and stopped buying it. He had wept at the loss for days.

"Well, I...I guess you're looking for something more in a teammate huh..." Jaune flashed a pained smile and looked dejectedly at the ground.

"No!" She said with a rush as she grabbed his shoulder. Jaune's neck nearly snapped as Pyrrha shook him with a bit too much force than absolutely necessary. "...I mean, I think you would make a great leader for a team Jaune."

"Er...Really? You think so?"

"No she doesn't really think that!" Weiss stepped in between the two of them, intent on stopping the nonsense before it got any further. Clearly Pyrrha was also far too nice and encouraging for her own good. Weiss would save her from being roped with the utter buffoon.

Suddenly the speakers blared with the commanding voice of Glynda Goodwitch.

"All first year students report to Beacon Cliffs for the next stage of initiation. I repeat, all first year students report to Beacon Cliffs immediately."

"Oh look at the time! Pyrrha we should really go!" Weiss snatched the crimson champion's hand and sped off through the door, leaving Jaune spinning in place and eventually stumbling over another bench.

"Ow…"

"Hey there lady killer! You need a hand?" Jaune looked up to see Yang and her sister Ruby standing before him.

"Thanks." He grabbed the offered support and was yanked to his feet. He almost fell over again, forward this time. It was looking like every girl here was super strong.

Perfect…

"So Jaune, how did it go with the ice princess over there?"

"Not good. I just don't get it. My parents told me confidence was all girls looked for. Between yesterday and today, I'm just not feeling it."

"I thought you did great yesterday..." Ruby mumbled out, barely audible to herself let alone anyone else.

"What was that Rubes?"

"Nothing! Just saying that it's not all that bad. Weiss seems to be mean to everyone Jaune. Don't worry too much about it!"

"Yeah, Ruby is right Jaune! Snow angel may not have been the best girl to go after first."

"Thanks you guys." Jaune sighed as he accepted Ruby's shoulder and walked towards Beacon Cliffs. He wouldn't mind being on a team with either of the two. They were nice. Pyrrha wouldn't be half bad either. She seemed to at least believe in him.


A smiling mother and father. Helping his youngest sister ride her first bike. Getting his first set of armor. The excitement of watching his family members spar.

All these memories flashed through Jaune Arc's mind...

Because he was flying through the air...well...falling was probably the better word for it now that he thought about it.

At least he would have thought that had his mind not been busy with such philosophic thoughts like: "AUGHHHHHHH!"

Jaune cartwheeled through the air, his body displaying true gymnastics skill as it spun in perfect circles. If a judge were to evaluate his performance, he would no doubt land a solid nine out of ten. A point would have to be taken off for the screaming however.

A distance away from the free style faller, a crow happily flew through the air. It had finally landed its first mate which meant it could finally have offspring of its own! Excitedly, it had gathered together materials for its future nest and was flying back to-

*poof*

"Birdy no!" Black feathers spread over the area as a high speed Ruby Rose shot through the bird like a cannonball.

Even further away, Pyrrha Nikos smashed through tree limbs before eventually coming to a stop on a thick branch. She spied the area around her and saw Jaune tumbling through the air.

-Does he have a…?-

As Jaune continued to tumble, Pyrrha realized Jaune truly didn't have a landing strategy. Quickly morphing Milo into its javelin form, she took aim, focused her aura, and let Milo fly through the sky.

*Twang*

She paused for a moment as she waited for a response.

"...Thank You!" Pyrrha smiled, relieved, as she heard Jaune's voice ring through the treeline. She slid Akouo into her hands and jumped from the tip of the tree.

Slamming into the ground shield first, Pyrrha oriented herself and took off towards Jaune. It was imperative she got to him soon before anyone else could claim…Milo...yes, she thought to herself...before anyone could steal Milo away from her...


Jaune stared at the spear holding him 15 feet above the ground in incredulity. He assumed the spear had to be Pyrrha's, his mother and sisters all had a natural love of matching colors and so far all the girls at beacon he had met so far followed in line. Hell, most of the guys even seemed to take careful consideration to match the color of their weapons, clothes, and hair.

Maybe it was a hunter thing he thought to himself.

Shaking his head, he grabbed the spear with two hands, preparing himself for the fall that would come once he tore it out of tree. He had seen several videos and TV shows that detailed how to fall from various heights so he was pretty confident...that rolling was involved somewhere.

His arms bulged as he pulled on the steel handle. "Hrghhh!"

"…"

"Arghh!"

"..."

He glared at the unmoving metal.

Okay, maybe he just needed a slightly new angle. Twisting his body against the trunk, Jaune turned himself to be facing the aged wood.

Luckily his hoodie didn't rip in the process.

Placing his feet onto the trunk and hands firmly grasping the spear, Jaune tugged while straightening his legs.

Next thing he knew, aliens had definitely abducted him for study as bright lights spun in his vision and the back of his head pounded like a drunk man on his ex-girlfriend's door.

"-aune! Are you okay!"

"Huh? Wa-waddya want! You wanna piece of me bastards!" Jaune swung his arms wildly, he wouldn't go down without a fight and if these alien bastards wanted to dissect him, they would have to do it…

-Oh my...He doesn't seem alright at all...-

"Ughh..." Jaune stumbled as his vision cleared, he wasn't in some interstellar laboratory, no he was still very much in the forest.

"Um...Jaune are you okay?" His neck nearly snapped with how fast he spun around. Blue eyes locked with green as he stared at his savior. Pyrrha had somehow found her way to him. No doubt to retrieve her weapon but by the way she came into the clearing alone…

"Yeah! Sorry bout that." He rubbed the back of his sore head in embarrassment with one hand as he passed the girl her weapon back with the other. He doubted he could have actually hurt her, but he probably looked foolish as hell swinging her weapon around like a drunkard.

Pyrrha sighed in relief as Jaune came back to Remnant. Smiling she held out a hand.

"Well I guess this makes us partners Jaune."

Taking her hand into his own, Jaune was amazed at his continued luck. He just paired up with arguably the most accomplished student in the school. More over, she actually seemed happy to be paired up with him.

He was probably about to get fucked hard by lady luck soon...

"Um...I didn't see any Grimm on the way here so I think we're fine." Pyrrha watched with slight amusement as Jaune scoped out the area around them in panic.

"No it's not that!" He put up his hands in defense. "It's just that every time something incredible happens to me, something bad happens to even it out. Karma or whatever it's called you know?"

"Oh...I don't think karma works backwards though." Pyrrha blushed slightly at his words. She was relatively certain most of the students would have considered it great luck to be paired with her but she still appreciated his forwardness.

They both froze as a slight growl came from the foliage behind Jaune.

An Ursa lumbered out of the bushes and locked its crimson eyes on the two.

Jaune drew his sword and shield and let out an audible gulp. Grimm were...large. That thing was so much larger than he had ever expected. How the hell would he fight something like that. It was too big, too strong, too dangerous…

Pyrrha took place by his side and threw him a worried glance.

"Jaune, take a deep breath and relax. It's just one grimm." Why in the world was he so afraid? It was just one grimm. Jaune probably went to Signal Academy so he should have had combat experience against minor grimm like Ursa and Beowolves.

Nevertheless, Jaune shook as he inhaled deep and shaky breaths.

"Sorry, I just...I've never seen something so large."

"I see, don't worry too much Jaune." Maybe he got in through studies and lacked more practical skills. It wasn't entirely unheard of for a student to coast through on theoretical knowledge. Those students didn't last long however…She would have to rectify this immediately if it were the case." Raise your shield further up and part your legs to shoulder width. Just watch me for the moment."

As the Ursa lunged, Jaune inhaled sharply. In one red and gold swing, Milo detached the Ursa's head from it's shoulders. Pyrrha turned around and looked past the decaying grimm to see Jaune with his jaw dropping nearly to the floor.

"Pyrrha..." Said girl raised an eyebrow at him and continued to smile calmly as if she hadn't just disappeared into thin air and reappeared with a dead grimm at her feet. "That was amazing..."

Jaune was awestruck...Was that the strength hunters and huntresses in training held? How could he be expected to catch up let alone keep up…Though now that he thought about it…maybe...Roman had helped him get in...maybe he could help him after...no. Absolutely not. He already owned him one favor. No way he could come to owe him two full favors.

"Thank you." After another reddening of the cheeks later the duo found themselves stalking through the forest for their goal.

*Whap*

Jaune recoiled as a stray branch slashed at his face. Grumbling, he rubbed the small wound and gave the branch a single, desolating glare.

Pyrrha, on the other hand, was wide eyed and looking completely bewildered.

-...His aura didn't protect him...either he has a strange form of conscious control over it or...- She left the thought unfinished in favor of simply asking Jaune out loud.

"Jaune...do you have access to your aura?"

"My what?"

"..." This was going to require far more work than she originally thought.

"Aura is the manifestation of one's soul Jaune. It bears out burdens and shields our hearts." She felt slightly at a loss at this new knowledge. How did Jaune enter into a school like Beacon without even having his aura active? Not even the most studious students could accomplish that.

She left these thoughts behind for later, instead choosing to focus on the situation at hand. Jaune would need his aura if he expected to survive for long.

"Jaune." She sighed as she reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to unlock your aura now okay. Just close your eyes and listen to my words."

Jaune could only nod in affirmation and do exactly as told.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

White light shined through the area, before settling down into a small glow surrounding Jaune's form.

He marveled at the light coating his limbs. He felt so...powerful. All of a sudden he felt like he could take on the world and win. Was this how hunters always felt? Was this the power they used to combat the grimm?

It was awing.

A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead before she straightened up. Jaune looked positively ecstatic. It made the effort most definitely worth it.

"Pyrrha, are you alright?" Jaune looked at her in worry. Sure she was smiling but her body screamed exhaustion. His family members did the same thing when they returned from a particularly difficult training session.

"I'm fine Jaune." She took a single deep breath. "Your aura is quite large however." It was his turn to blush at the commentary. He wasn't used to such blatant compliments.

"Thanks. So, lets keep going?"

"I suppose so."

The duo headed back off through the forest.

Now armed with aura, Jaune felt like he could take on the world. He dared any grimm to come face him now.


"Well" Pyrrha laughed a bit as she hopped over a fallen log and looked back towards Jaune. "I guess you weren't entirely wrong about your comment from earlier huh."

Jaune huffed as he sprinted to keep up with the red haired girl. He was certain without his aura he wouldn't have been able to keep up with her at all. "Pyrrha. I just feel like now might not be the best-"

A massive claw slammed through a tree behind them, revealing an enormous death stalker.

He had played enough video games to know that deep dark caves usually led to treasure so when they came across one such cave...well...he probably should have listened to Pyrrha from the beginning instead of his own meager experiences in the virtual world.

"Jaune, do you remember what I told you when we faced that first Ursa?"

"Yes but-"

"Just breathe calmly and think. Focus and come up with a plan of attack." She was certain if the death stalker got too close for comfort she could take it down with some moderate effort so she felt this was a good time to acclimate Jaune to danger and planning on the fly.

"Ok. Ok..." His breaths slowed down as he wracked his brain for a plan. Despite how terrifying the situation was to him, he forced himself to focus on coming up with a plan. Pyrrha was actually counting on him for something so there was no way he could fail her now.

He eyed her shield and sword before looking at his own. He viewed the trees around the two of them as they ran. Finally he turned his head for just a moment to see the super sized scorpion plowing through said trees in it's determination to kill them.

"Pyrrha, can you throw your spear-sword thing hard enough to penetrate through it's armor?"

Ducking underneath a low hanging branch, Pyrrha smiled as she saw Jaune coming up with a plan. "Absolutely."

"Okay." He leaped over a log a narrowly rolled out the way of another crushing blow. "Follow up question, are the bullets any good?"

"Not unless they hit the eye." She twisted gracefully out of the way as a stinger impaled the ground she previously occupied. They needed to speed up a bit. The talking was causing them to slow down. "And if you're wondering, yes I can hit it in the eye. I just need a second to aim though."

Jaune nodded at the supplied information. "Okay, its claws can't reach too far out and most of its crushing strength comes from throwing its weight around. The stinger is probably its fastest attack so here's my plan." Speaking of, said stinger nearly impaled Jaune to the ground before Pyrrha grabbed him and spun out the way.

"Thanks." He was surprisingly calm despite having nearly died multiple times. "I'll step in, past the claws, and stab it in the left arm bendy part to stall its motion, while you line up as many shots to the eyes on one side to keep it from simply squashing me."

"It'll probably try to stab me with the stinger but hopefully with the eyes on one side of its head out of commission it'll either miss or at least give me enough leeway space to get out of the way. After the stinger miss-" Jaune ducked underneath another branch before the rest of the tree was obliterated underneath the crushing might of the death stalker.

"-misses and stabs into the ground, I need you to throw your spear as hard as you can into the stinger bendy part. That should hopefully force it to stop using the stinger so liberally."

"On your call leader." Pyrrha had some doubts about the plan, especially since quite a bit of it relied on Jaune not freezing up but it wasn't the worst plan either. In theory, Jaune's weapon set and armor were far better suited to close range heavy combat than her own and while grimm were more monster than anything they did certainly feel pain. Besides, if Jaune did fumble a bit, she was certain she could use her semblance to correct those mistakes.

"Alright." Jaune took more deep breaths, steeling his resolve. He couldn't falter now, Pyrrha was seriously relying on him. Someone was relying on him of all people. He couldn't afford to fail now.

"Now!" Jaune spun around, facing the death stalker face to face. He stalled for a second as gargantuan claws closed in on him before sprinting inwards past them and lodging his sword into the left arm joint.

The claw struggled to move as steel punctured through multiple tubes causing blood pressure to drop immediately through the system. Pyrrha used to short opportunity to let loose three shots, all finding their mark on the left side of the head. Jaune yanked his sword free immediately, allowing blood to further leak from the wound.

Not expecting the immediate release, Jaune fell to the floor and saw the stinger poised right above him.

As the death stalker's stinger came crashing down, Jaune narrowly slid out of the way into safety.

Pyrrha held out one hand, following Jaune's movement across the sands as a slight black glow surrounded his armor. With the other, she launched Milo at full force into the stingers joint section.

As the death stalker reared back in obvious pain, Pyrrha yanked hard with her outstretched hand causing Milo to tear back out the joint and come to a rest in Pyrrha's grasp.

Jaune rolled up beside her as the grimm warily clicked its right claw at them.

"Great...work...Pyrrha!" Gasps of air left Jaune's lips as he tried to congratulate his partner.

"Same to you Jaune." Pyrrha, being in far better shape and knowing how to use her aura more efficiently, was looking far less tired than her companion. "You did quite well engaging the grimm in close quarters."

Sure he did nearly die but he didn't need to know that just yet.

He preened at the compliment. As tired as he was and as dangerous the situation still was, Jaune was genuinely glad that Pyrrha was seemingly impressed.

"It doesn't seem too keen on attacking us anymore." Pyrrha noted as the massive arachnid-like grimm crawled backwards through the tree line of carnage it had just created moments before while chasing them.

"Yeah, lets book it out of here now."

Pyrrha nodded in affirmation and the two headed off deeper through the forest.

"By the way Jaune" She waited until Jaune turned his head, showing he was listening.

"Yeah Pyrrha?"

"The claw and stinger joints are called the femur and the anus respectively."

"...The...anus?"

"Yes Jaune. The anus."

Jaune looked straight forwards and did his best to quiet his laughter. Pyrrha giggled silently as she saw his bright smile.

Some levity went a long way to calm people down and while her brand of humor was...unorthodox...Jaune at least seemed to find the humor in it.

And really, that's all that mattered in the end.


"..." Jaune and Pyrrha stared at the ancient temple and gathered students. Jaune, being the more vocal one, fell to his knees slammed his head into the ground. Pyrrha opted to simple sigh and put on her signature smile.

"Pyrrha..." Jaune's voice came out muffled as he spoke into the grass. "How long did run after we fought off the death stalker?"

"About twenty maybe thirty yards I think?" Pyrrha laughed lightly at her companion. Turns out their goal had been in walking distance when they turned around to fight.

Jaune pointed an accusing finger at the blonde and her sister while still facing the ground. "Did you guys not hear us fighting out their?"

"I kind of just got here and was distracted saving Weiss from falling." Said girl gave a pointed glare towards the young student.

"I wouldn't have been falling in the first place if it wasn't for your rash decisions!"

Yang rolled her eyes as the two fell into another bickering session. "Actually vomit boy, aside from me and Blake, most of the gang you're seeing just got here."

"And you?"

"We were too distracted by everyone's impressive entries! Right Blake?" Said girl rolled her eyes as Yang threw her a look.

"…Yes."

"See then vomit boy! Everyone has an alibi! And besides, you had Pyrrha with you! I'm sure she could handle anything thrown at you guys with her hands tied behind her back."

"Ugh..." Jaune simply picked himself off the floor and staggered to the chessboard. "Pyrrha, what piece do you want to take?"

"I believe I'll let you choose Jaune."

"Alright then..." Jaune carefully eyed the board. It wouldn't do well to be too rash in his decision. This could be another test of some sort and he didn't want to fail somehow. It was imperative he took the perfect-

"Take the castle piece like Ren did Jaune!" A bubbly red head shoved her chess piece into Jaune's cheek. "They already took the horses..."

Jaune stumbled backwards, eyes wide at the overly excited stranger.

"Nora..." Ren grabbed the piece delicately before the bombastic girl could shove it through the boy's face. "You're the one who chose the piece. Remember?"

"Oh yeah!"

Jaune gingerly fingered his abused face, checking for bruising. Nonetheless, he picked up the matching piece and examined it. A castle...Strong, steadfast, and unmoving. He grasped it in his hand, it felt...right.

"Pyrrha, how do you feel about the castle?"

"You mean the rook?"

"Don't make up names for things Pyrrha."

The duo smiled at each other as Jaune pocketed the chess piece.

Suddenly, the group of students looked above them as a screech sounded through the clearing. High above them a massive nevermore circled their location. Their heads swung back down as a death stalker came bursting out at high speed.

"Good thing we all gathered here! We can all die together now. Isn't that awesome!"

"Yang..."

"Pyrrha...Is that-"

"Yes Jaune, I think it is..."

"Ruby you dolt! You lead it here!"

"No! You were the one hanging on to it's feet!"

"Ren! Sloth attack mode activate!"

"..."

The assorted students drew their weapons and prepared themselves for the ensuing fight.


Sitting at his desk, Ozpin lazily sipped his coffee as he watched a set of eight students battle two very large grimm.

"Ozpin. That Jaune boy." Ozpin held up a hand before the strict professor could even continue.

"Glynda, I know how you feel about him and his...lack of skill." He had heard her repeat the same thing about Jaune for several minutes now. "But he clearly has a solid grasp in leadership and planning." He gestured towards the screen as the blonde boy led his impromptu team. "Moreover, his combat skill is clearly not as bad as you say. He's keeping up to a certain extent."

Glynda sighed as she stared at the papers in her hand. Jaune Arc's transcripts were...completely valid. It spoke of how the boy had passed more through theory and classwork instead of practical combat. In summary, he coasted through on knowledge rather than skill…

But something about the transcript rubbed her the wrong way. It just felt...off. She had contacted some professors from Signal Academy and they said Jaune Arc must have flown under the radar with his average performance. They were little help at discerning much about him.

She didn't have time to conduct a full length investigation either now that the school year had begun, leaving her to voice her complaints and worries to Ozpin.

"Ozpin, I can see that clearly but I still worry." Her eyes went back to the scene unfolding across the monitors. Lie Ren had somehow climbed onto the death stalkers tail and unloaded multiple rounds into the stinger, causing it to fall off. Jaune motioned for Pyrrha to use her shield and send the eccentric girl flying high in the air, before slamming her hammer straight into the falling stinger, driving it home and sending Ren flying through the air when the tail bucked wildly.

The headmaster raised an eyebrow and raised his mug to the students.

"See, they handled that perfectly. Glynda try your best to trust me will you."

"Trust you? Ozpin last time I trusted you, you allowed Peter to bring in a live alpha beowolf for the students to fight."

Ozpin nearly gagged on his coffee at her words.

"Yes, but that certainly helped the students learn how to-"

"One student lost an arm Ozpin..."

"Just an opened avenue to change and grow I'm certain."

"He never got a replacement for it."

"Well that sounds like Atlas being quite sting-"

"He sued the school!"

"Well he lost the suit..."

"Not the point!"

He set his mug down and waved an arm in the air dismissively. Glynda was too much of a worrywart. A lost limb or two really wasn't too much of an issue.

Besides Peter promised this year to keep it far more manageable…

Though perhaps he would refrain from telling Glynda about the continued plans to bring more grimm into the classroom…

After all, what she didn't know couldn't hurt her...

He would have to make sure to schedule a vacation for her on that week.

Glynda sighed and placed a palm to her face. "I'll leave the issue for now then, but if this Jaune Arc messes up anywhere I'll be sure to have him expelled immediately."

"Absolutely Glynda. Couldn't agree more..." He watched as Ruby lead her side to victory as well against the nevermore. They were already shaping up to be a very powerful team. He knew he had made the right choice in extending an invitation to her and miss Belladonna.

"Looks like most of the teams have been made now. Should I recall Peter and Bartholomew?"

Ozpin groaned at the thought of the oncoming difficulty. He hated making team names.

"I suppose you should..."

This was going to be a very long meeting.

He could feel it.


"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, the four of you retrieved the white rook pieces-"

"God damn it..." Jaune mumbled quietly to himself, only loud enough for Pyrrha to hear.

She elbowed him in the side but smiled nonetheless.

"-from this day forward, you will work together as team JNPR. Lead by Jaune Arc."

"Me..." Pyrrha smiled at him and punched his shoulder playfully, sending him tumbling to the floor as his brain continued to process the information.

He...He was...a leader?

"Congratulations Mister Arc. I'm sure you'll make a fine leader." Ozpin gave Glynda a pointed look when she frowned.

While deciding team leaders Glynda had been...vocal towards his decision of placing Jaune Arc as leader of his team.

"And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao-long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team RWBY. Lead by Ruby Rose."

"What..." Weiss looked to the floor...A fifteen year old child had been chosen as their leader...been chosen over her. How could this happen?

"Ruby! I'm so proud of you!"

"Yang, I get it." She struggled against the powerful arms of her sister. "I. Need. To. Breathe." Yang released her sister from the stranglehold but not before giving her one more tight squeeze.

The teams headed off to their respective rooms. Intent on getting as much rest after such an eventful day.

The leader of team JNPR found himself grinning ear to ear as the realization sunk in.

Sure the day had started off pretty bad but he landed himself an awesome partner and a seemingly incredible team.

Things were definitely looking up for Jaune Arc.


A/N: Holy hell this went on longer than I thought. Sorry about that...

Alright so that ends chapter two, a bit longer than the first one but also, in my opinion, a bit of a summary. I didn't want to go too much into detail regarding the emerald forest team creation event. It stayed the same for the most important bits; everyone got on the same team so no changes there. There were some slight dialogue changes but not much else. Though Pyrrha didn't need to throw her shield like Captain America this time to slice the stinger off.

Speaking of which, yes the bendy part connecting the stinger to the tail is most certainly called the anus.

Also, I know it may seem strange that Jaune somehow went from freezing up at the mere sight of a grimm to closing the distance with a much larger one so fast but I do have valid reasoning for it. Jaune's first meeting with a grimm was one where he was completely unprepared and ill-equipped. He had only heard stories of how grimm tear grown men and women apart easily. He may know that there are men and women in the world who can compete with such beasts but in that moment all he can think about is how ill-prepared he is.

In his meeting with the death stalker he now has his aura and the confidence that Pyrrha is more than capable of combating the creatures of grimm. Sure he was still scared but he could still think and comprehend the situation. If you've ever been in a terrifying situation before you know that the reason someone freezes up is because he or she can't properly think. Take that problem away and all of a sudden the fear isn't so paralyzing anymore.

Another thing is how strong everyone is expected to be. Pyrrha is going to be an absolute powerhouse in this fic. In the show she held up her own, even if only for a few moments, against Cinder Fall. Cinder seems to be far stronger than Adam Taurus since she pretty much strong armed him into joining her forces by incapacitating a bunch of his soldiers and Adam completely wrecked Blake and Yang with ease. So Pyrrha is at least several notches above anyone in team RWBY.

Regardless, this ends chapter two. I hope you all enjoyed!

For Zaegan: Funny enough, he's still just a literal name drop in this chapter. I promise he will be a much more important figure in the coming chapter and Neo will make her appearance with him.

For Mr. Sinclair: This fic will probably deviate from cannon heavily as the chapters go by. Starting chapter three things the changes from cannon will be a bit more explicit. Also when it comes to romance I hope to achieve warm and fuzzy but I can't promise you anything.

For everyone in general who left reviews: Thank you so much! I really appreciate the feedback and the support! I hope you enjoy this going forwards!

Next Chapter: March 7 (May come earlier if I have more time to write)