Fires of Vengeance

by Scrumblenut

Eh, I can't figure out a way to word Betrayal and Flames into something catchy... I'll figure something out eventually. This is a Basis for a Betrayal Story.

2. Volume 1

So, uh... Hi?
This was stuck in my head for about a week before i said fuck it and began writing shit down. I'm adding this and publishing it to say I've started working on it, but I'll admit it's slowing down a bit. I got a base outline done for Vol. 2, and got to starting the Vytal Tournament and Fall section (Vol. 3), where I've begun drawing blanks. Part of that is because of how little I had planned for the later stages of the story, so it'll take longer for me to figure out.
This single upload covers the entirety of Vol. 1 in a basic format, while Vol. 2 will be less story more plan and idea... still need to actually get it fleshed out and everything yet. Anyway, if you're up to going through this mess and seeing where I plan on taking things, go on ahead.

Ruby found herself fascinated, flipping through the pages of the newest weapons magazine. All the new modifications, all the new weapon styles. It was her world. Weapons spoke for her, and to her. She could see who a person was by the weapon they used, the weapon they created. It made things easier, with how shy and socially awkward she was. Atop her head, but covered by her cloak, she wore her headphones, listening and bobbing lightly to the music playing for her and her alone, ideas for her own weapon running through her mind, even though most if not all would be found inadequate for her weapon and fighting style.

A sudden tap on her shoulder has her turn her head, the hood of her cloak falling off. The first things she notices about the man who tapped her shoulder is the red sword he had drawn. She then takes notice of his suit, all black with a red tie. He wears red sunglasses, and a black fedora. He gestures for her to take her headphones off.

"Yes?" She asks, taking them off and looking him in the eyes… er… sunglasses.

"I said, put your hands in the air, now!" He demands. His words remind Ruby of some of the movies Yang would watch involving criminals, gangs and mafia performing whatever they do… Ruby only really focused on the weapons, thinking they looked cool.

"Are you… robbing me?" She asks hesitantly, not even sure if this was one of the situations she was thinking, having never experienced one.

"Yes!" The man exclaims in exasperation.

"Oh." Ruby notes, smirking before kicking the aura-less man into the shelf on the other side of the shop, likely causing severe bruising and fracturing some bones. 'He chose to rob the place. He can't complain about the consequences.' She thinks to herself. Another man, dressed exactly the same but holding a pistol appears in her vision.

Ruby activates her semblance, propelling her body towards the robber in a flurry of rose petals, grabbing him and bringing him outside the store, smashing through the window. As they land on the ground, Ruby quickly knocks him out with a punch to the temple. While she may not be great at hand to hand, she at least could defend herself against an untrained person. Deciding to speed this fight up, rather than to slog it out, she unfurls Crescent Rose, her beautiful scythe, twirling it in an intimidating fashion to try and deter the criminals.

One of them stands out among the others, not just with the fact he was wearing a white coat compared to their black ones, but the way he held himself. The lit cigar in his mouth easily being rolled around as he shifts lightly on his cane. No, Ruby notes, not just an ordinary cane. It's a weapon.

"Oh…kay." The man in white drawls. "Get her." He orders. Three more henchmen, as Ruby now calls them, charge at her. The first comes swinging wildly, and Ruby uses her weapon, embedding the blade in the ground, before swinging along the staff and kicking the henchman in his head, knocking him out cold, though his body flies into a wall as a result of the power of her kick.

'Suppose I should tone down how hard I hit.' Ruby notes to herself internally. The second henchman, using her distraction of the first assaulter to his advantage, moves to flank her, slashing his sword towards her, only for it to meet the dull edge of Crescent Rose, before being batted away and causing him to stumble before Ruby knocks him out with a quick punch to the temple. The third henchman begins opening fire, having a sub-machine gun at hand. Ruby activates her semblance again and dashes out of the way, zigzagging toward the last henchman before kneecapping him with the edge of Crescent Rose moments after deactivating her semblance, then once again knocking the henchman out with a single punch to the temple.

The man in white walks out now, looking to the henchman who had impacted the wall and was now slumped against it.

"You were worth every cent, truly you were." He mutters in distaste, but acceptance, eyeing Ruby and seemingly analyzing her ability as he removes the cigar from his mouth. "Should have ordered you to run with what you had." He continues to mutter, before his gaze finally zeroes in on Ruby's eyes, dropping the cigar to the floor. "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening." He then flattens the used cigar with his 'cane'. "And as much as I'd love to stick around," He then points the cane at Ruby, the end flipping up a sight. "This, is where we part ways." Without anymore warning, the man in white fires a shot, the flare-like projectile heading straight for where Ruby stands.

She dashes back a few meters with her semblance, simultaneously ejecting the magazine in her scythe and pulling the bolt, the unused shell popping out. She grabs both and slips them into one of her many pouches, grabbing a new mag that has a single gravity dust round on top and fitting it into its slot, pulling the bolt again to place the first round into the chamber. She notes that the man in white was climbing the ladder of a nearby building, and she looks to the shop owner quickly.

"You okay if I go after him?" She asks. If the shopkeeper felt unsafe, she would stay with him, her next course of action depending entirely on his response. He gives a nod of assurance, and Ruby dashes towards the building, aiming the barrel of her Scythe/Sniper to the ground below her, firing the Gravity Dust round to propel her up to the roof, mere meters behind the white clothed criminal. "Hey." She calls to him, his jog slowing to a halt.

"Persistent." He grumbles, the sudden sound of turbine engines catching Ruby's attention as a Bullhead hovers into sight, side lights flaring into her eyes, blinding her for a split second. It's enough time for the criminal to board the Bullhead "End of the line, Red!" He calls, brandishing a Fire Dust Crystal. He tosses it at her, and Ruby backs up slightly, before gasping a the realization of the criminal's plan. She dashes back, just as the criminal fires, the flare hitting the dust crystal and causing a small explosion. She can faintly hear the criminal whooping at the sight, as someone drops down beside her. Once the dust and smoke clears, she can finally see who had joined her.

It was easy for Ruby to recognize Glynda Goodwitch. She was one of Ruby's idols. Internally, she was already squealing at the chance to even be in her presence. While yes, she likely would have gotten to meet her two years later in Beacon, that was different to seeing her in action. With a scoff, she unleashes a barrage of purple arcs towards the bullhead, the impacts denting the structure slightly, a testament to their durability, but easily knock it around in the air. The Bullhead and it's pilot, deciding to cut their losses, begin to fly away, trying to escape. Goodwitch sends an Ice Dust shard into the air, holding it in place with her semblance, Telekinesis, before activating it with a surge of Aura, the Ice Spikes launching and piercing several places in the hull, with one piercing its way into the cockpit.

Ruby hears a faint clink of glass, as does Goodwitch, and in the crew compartment of the Bullhead, a shadowed figure emerges, sparks dancing along her dress, the faint light showing it to be a deep crimson in colour, and the curves of her body. With a quick movement of her hand, she fires a burst of flame, Goodwitch bringing forth a shield to protect both herself and Ruby. The ground begins to screech, as the molten fragments of the fire blast impact the ground, before beginning to erupt beneath Goodwitch. She barely dodges, with Ruby dashing back and out of harms way, but still watching the duel in awe.

Goodwitch then uses the broken fragments of the roof they stood upon, forming a lance of stone, metal and wood, launching it at the Bullhead. The lady in the dress fires a number of concentrated bolts of heat, dispersing the fragments, only for Goodwitch to reform them again. It was aimed for the cockpit, but the pilot maneuvers to let the lance rebound off the hull just behind the cockpit. The lance fragments again, and three smaller ones begin encircling the Bullhead. The lady in the dress sends out a pulse of intense heat, the fragments are incinerated to ash at this display. Thankfully, it was a short range burst, and both Ruby and Goodwitch were unaffected.

Ruby, seeing things to be going downhill, retracts her scythe into it's more compact rifle form, firing round after round at the lady in the dress. Each shot, however, is blocked by a shield of heat that instantly vaporizes the round. In response the lady forces the ground beneath them both to erupt, with Goodwitch using her telekinesis to toss Ruby out of harms way before elegantly avoiding her own demise. In this time, however, the Bullhead had moved out of their range, flying off into the distance. With the threat now gone, Ruby turns to Goodwitch, her eyes sparkling.

"You're Glynda Goodwitch! Can I get your autograph?" She asks excitedly.

---

Within the interrogation room, Ruby sat downtrodden, and frustrated, as Goodwitch berates her, pacing around the room. The only thing she'd learned so far was that the criminal dressed in white was called Roman Torchwick.

"I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady." She lectures. "You put yourself and others in great danger."

"Who did I put in danger?!" Ruby asks, finally snapping. "I ensured all their attention was on me, drawing them away from the Shop Keeper, neutralizing them without serious injury. When I followed Torchwick, I ensured the Shop Keeper was safe before pursuing. Where we fought, no one was inside and we were on the roof!"

"If it were up to me, you would be sent home with a pat on the back…" See trails off, ignoring Ruby's outburst. "And a slap on the wrist." She finishes, slapping her riding crop on the table for emphasis. "But…" She sighs. "There's someone here who would like to meet you." Behind her, from the door to the room, a single man emerges, a plate of chocolate chip cookies in one hand, and a mug of what seemed to be coffee in the other. Ruby knew who he was immediately.

"Ruby Rose." He begins. "You… have silver eyes, just like your mother." He notes, smiling faintly at the memories of Summer and her team's antics. Ruby stutters slightly, as behind him, Goodwitch began to play a recording of her fight with the henchmen. "So, where did you learn to do this?" He asks.

"Um, Signal Academy." She answers hesitantly, not fully seeing where he was going.

"They taught you how to wield one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" He asks with a raised brow.

"Well, one teacher in particular." Ruby admits.

"I see." He smirks lightly, knowingly. He places the plate of cookies before Ruby, who begins devouring them. "It's just that I've seen only one other scythe user with such skill before; A dusty old Crow."

"Mhm." Ruby hums, mouth filled with a cookie. She takes a moment to chew and swallow before elaborating. "That would by my Uncle Qrow. He's a teacher at Signal. He took me under his wing, taught me most of what I know." She smiles fondly, one of the few things about her family she still smiles about these days.

"So I've noticed." He admits. "And what is an adorable, young girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?" He then questions.

"I want to be a Huntress." Ruby explains, looking down at her lap. "Mum used to tell me stories, both about Hunters and Heroes. I want to help people like the Heroes and Hunters in those stories, not for glory or fame, but because if I don't help them, then who will?" She looks up, her eyes shining. There's a moment of silence, before he speaks up.

"Do you know who I am?" He asks.

"You're Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy." Ruby answers knowingly with a smile.

"Hello." He greets.

"Hi." She returns somewhat sheepishly.

"You want to come to my school?" He asks her seriously.

"More than anything." Ruby answers honestly. Ozpin looks to Glynda with a smile, and she rolls her head and eyes with a sigh. He then looks back to Ruby.

"Well alright." He states. "Come to Beacon with the next batch of initiates. We'll be looking forward to seeing you."

---

The airship ride was quiet, Ruby feeling somewhat out of place as she sat next to her sister. Over the last two years, her relationship with Yang had deteriorated, with the two barely talking and acknowledging each other. She doesn't know what she did wrong, but she tried to give her sister space, but found she always seemed to watch her, as if she was required to make sure she didn't drop dead.

Even though time in the airship felt slow, the travel passed by decently quickly, another initiate rushing past to get to the bathroom to relieve his stomach of its contents, Ruby sending a silent prayer to the boy, as Yang simply scoffed and rolled her eyes at his behaviour, uncaring of his situation. As the airship lands, Yang is the first to get off, rushing over to her friends, leaving Ruby alone. The younger sister sighs, wishing for the days of the past… even to when Taiyang was still alive… She'd lost both her parents… at least she'd had Yang.

She doesn't realize she'd gotten up and left the airship, her head down and deep in thought, only coming back to the moment when she bumps into someone's luggage.

"What are you doing?" A haughty, but young voice asks in annoyance. Ruby looks up, coming face to face with a young woman with pale skin, long, soft snow-white hair and a lithe figure clothed in an expensive white dress. At her hip, a Rapier with a Dust Cycling Canister at its guard sits comfortably.

"Sorry." Ruby apologizes sheepishly, not used to conversation with new people.

"Sorry? Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?" The young woman asks.

"Uh…" Ruby trails off, picking up one of the cases, the young woman quickly snatching it from her grasp.

"Give me that." She scowls. "This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry."

"Uh…" Ruby notes once again, confused and uncertain of what to say.

"Are you brain-dead or something?" The young woman asks, grabbing a container and shaking it in front of Ruby, particulates escaping from the incorrectly sealed container. "Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy! Are you even listening to me?" Suddenly, Ruby sneezes, an explosion covering both Huntress' in Training. Both Ruby and the young woman are somewhat covered in soot from the explosion, but otherwise unharmed. "Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

"I'm really sorry!" Ruby squeaks. In the background, both a hidden Cat Faunus and the boy who had vomited on the airship were watching.

"You complete Dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" The young woman asks.

"Well, I-" Ruby tries to explain but is cut off.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice you know. We're here to fight monsters, so, watch where you're going!" She prattles on.

"Hey, I said I was sorry, Princess." Ruby retorts.

"It's heiress, actually." Another initiate adds in, her form garbed in black and white, a bow atop her head, a slight twitch here and there making Ruby curious. "Weiss Schnee, Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

"Finally, some recognition." Weiss preens.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners." The bow wearing young woman adds in.

"Wha- How dare- The nerve of-" Weiss stammers, before huffing, grabbing the wayward dust vial the young woman had brought with her, and stormed off.

"Guess I'm not the only one having a rough day." Ruby notes, turning to look for the young woman who basically came to rescue her, only to find no one. Feeling lonely and somewhat defeated, Ruby slumps to the ground with a sigh. "Welcome to Beacon." She closes her eyes for a moment, before footsteps catch her attention. She opens her eyes to find a hand held out for her.

"Hey." The person who had come to her greets. "I'm Jaune." She grabs his hand and pulls herself up.

"Ruby." She introduces herself. "You feeling any better?" She then asks, as the two walk across the academy grounds.

"Yeah. I just get airsick. Worst kind of motion sickness to get when we use air travel primarily." Jaune answers, explaining his illness. "Just wish I hadn't run out of motion sickness medication. I don't exactly have the money to get more at the moment." He sighs. "Anyway, my full name is Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue and the ladies love it."

"Do they?" Ruby asks, chuckling softly.

"Eh, you're the first one I've said it to." Jaune admits with a shrug and a smile. "Think it'll work?" He gives a cheeky smirk.

"I'm sure you'll catch someone with it." Ruby assures. She then turns and looks at Jaune. "What weapons do you use?" She asks. Jaune brings out his sword and sheathe, holding it out for Ruby to take. She grabs them, and unsheathes the blade, inspecting its condition.

"Sword with a Shield/Sheathe combo. Pass me down from my Great Grandfather who fought in the last War. It earned the name Crocea Mors." Jaune explains. "What about you?" Ruby hands him his gear back at his question, before unfurling Crescent Rose. Jaune jumps slightly as it occurs. "Whoa."

"This is Crescent Rose." Ruby explains. "She's a collapsible scythe Sniper Rifle."

"She's certainly impressive. You build her yourself?" Jaune asks.

"Yeah. My pride and joy. Built her in my first year at Signal." Ruby admits. "So, why did you help me back there?" She finally asks, the question being on her mind since he held out his hand.

"You looked… lonely… lost. I though that maybe I could help you find your way, or give you some company to brighten you up." Jaune admits.

"Well, that's sweet of you." She admits with a blush. "And thank you. You've certainly helped my day shine a little more." The two of them make idle chatter, Jaune mostly telling stories about his seven sisters while they make their way to the auditorium, slotting in and standing side by side. Ozpin makes his way to the stage.

"I'll make this brief." He begins. "You've travelled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." He then scans the crowd, his eyes seeming to zone in on Ruby and Jaune, making them both shiver lightly at his gaze. "But I look among you…" He then continues to look among the students. "And all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove to you that knowledge will only carry you so far. It is up to you, to take the first step." And with that, he steps away, with Goodwitch taking his place.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You're dismissed." With that, the students begin to disperse around the room, leaving or lingering to chat with friends. Ruby spots Yang with her friends, and hesitates to join her, before glancing at Jaune, noticing he hasn't moved away. She chuckles, feeling just as awkward as Jaune looked.

"Come on, let's get away from here for now." She leads him away, far from prying eyes, when she feels something off with his body, as she gets him to sit next to her. "Hey Jaune, do you have any Aura?" She asks. Jaune stills, before sighing.

"Let's just say I wasn't able to get the same kind of schooling as everyone else." He states. "No one ever unlocked my Aura, no. And the people I asked would refuse my request."

"Would you like me to unlock it?" She asks softly. He looks to her in shock, awe, and hope.

"Would you really?" He questions, eyes full of hope.

"Of course." She assures. "And I won't ask about your schooling, or how things might not have gone well for you." She adds. "I know what it's like, to be shunned in some way, shape or form. Now, close your eyes and relax." She orders. Jaune's posture softens, and Ruby closes her own eyes, holding his hand in her own. "For it is in solitude that we become guardians. Though at first alone, together we gain our strength. Infinite in potential, unbound by reality. I release your soul, and by my hand, set thee free." I want it to be something involving the solitude the two experience, but their souls being freed by the fact they have each other, and are no longer alone. This is both for the start, as Yang distances herself, and later, when everyone close to them seems to turn on them.

With a soft shimmer of gold, Jaune's aura covers his body, Ruby awed by his reserves and the beauty his Aura seems to hold. She slumps slightly, her energy spent, but she knows she still has more to teach.

"Hey, you alright?" Jaune asks, noticing her exhaustion.

"Yeah, just give me a sec." She assures, taking a few breaths. "Unlocking someone's Aura is exhausting, as you push your own Aura into their body to jump-start their own." She looks to him with a serious expression. "But for the rest of the day, we need to practice you Aura control. You need to be able to hold your own for initiation, at least until someone can find you, myself or otherwise, and help you pass…" She trails off. "I don't want to lose my only friend here."

"Don't worry." Jaune assures. "I'll survive. I've got you teaching me, after all."

---

Jaune awakens to the sound of an eccentric young woman, one with far more energy than most in the ballroom. She was paired with a young man with long black hair, a small strip of pink hair embedded on the left side of his style. Jaune notices that the young man seems used to the young woman's antics. He manages to hear them all throughout his early morning routine, chuckling somewhat at the dynamics of the duo, while also learning that the young man was named Ren, and the young woman was Nora.

As he makes his way to the cafeteria, he meets up with Ruby, who was once again left alone by her sister. He grabs his food and sits beside her, giving her a soft smile. After a quick exchange of greetings. Both of them then move into an easy silence as they devour their meals, before both heading to the locker.

"How do you think they'll form partners and teams?" Ruby asks.

"Honestly? I have no idea." Jaune admits, before both turn to look at Nora and Ren, with Nora still chattering on, until Ren finally speaks, likely for the first time since Jaune has seen him.

"Nora." He says. "I don't think sloth's make a lot of noise." Nora is contemplative for a moment, before speaking again.

"That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!" The idea of no-one suspecting them goes out the window as Jaune and Ruby hear them from across the locker room, the two of them glancing between each other and the duo. Jaune shrugs simply and moves to find his own locker, as Yang moves to her sisters side for the first time since arriving at Beacon. Jaune wanders his way along, finding two young women, one of them familiar, standing in front of it.

"So, Pyrrha. Have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on?" Weiss asks the red haired woman beside her. "I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well known individual such as yourself."

"I'm not quite sure." Pyrrha admits. "I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." Jaune chooses this moment to interrupt.

"Excuse me, I need to get to my locker." Jaune informs.

"Oh, of course. Sorry." Pyrrha apologises. Jaune nods in acceptance, moving to the locker and grabbing his things.

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Weiss asks.

"Other than hearing that her name is Pyrrha, not a clue, Ice Queen." Jaune retorts.

"This is Pyrrha Nikos!" She introduces.

"Hello again." Pyrrha waves.

"She graduated top of her class at Sanctum." Weiss boasts.

"Never heard of it." Jaune admits, strapping his armour plates onto his body, not even fully paying attention.

"She won the Mistral Regional Tournament 4 years in a row!" Weiss tries boasting again.

"The what now?" Jaune asks, poking his head out with a raised brow. He then looks at Pyrrha closely. "Yeah, only thing I know her from is the Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes Cereal box. My sisters love it, I hate it. Too much sugar and it tastes like dirt."

"It took a lot of takes before I could keep a smile while taking a bite for the advert." Pyrrha affirms ruefully, smiling lightly.

"You're insufferable." Weiss scoffs, storming away. Jaune then looks to Pyrrha.

"What's up with Ice Queen?" He asks.

"Not sure." Pyrrha chuckles. "Good luck with initiation, Jaune." She then takes her own leave.

"Yeah, I'm probably gonna need it." He admits softly, though Pyrrha hears his depressed voice, and strikes a plan in her mind as she walks off, the intercom calling for all first years to make their way to the cliff that separates Beacon from the Emerald Forest. Jaune gathers Crocea Mors, running his hand along the sheathe fondly.

"I know we've barely had the chance to work together, and I'm not exactly competent wielding you, but I'm glad I've got you with me. Maybe one day, I can make Gramps proud." He admits to himself and the blade he now holds, before making his way to the cliff. A group of the first years are called up, Jaune being one of them, and they all line up on the pads a couple hundred meters away from the main group, along the edge of the cliff. Standing before them, are Ozpin and Goodwitch.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin begins.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates, today." Goodwitch then reveals.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interests to be paired with someone with whom you can work well…" Ozpin trails of lightly before continuing. "That said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be you partner for the next four years." At his words, Ruby deflates, her world seemingly coming to an end, with Jaune feeling sympathetic, considering not everyone would be okay with his past, his secrets. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." His words have Jaune sigh, his fears about his competency coming to the forefront of his mind.

"Damn. I'm not liking my odds." He admits softly, but still stays where he is, unwilling to give up after he's come so far. He didn't escape his family for nothing, he won't let that be the case.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene." Ozpin admits. "You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item as well as well as your standing and grade you appropriately. Any questions?" Jaune move sot raise his hand, but remembers the platform beneath him, and lowers his hand. He realizes how they will be sent in, his stomach dropping a the fact.

"Let's just get this over with." Jaune mutters, Ozpin seeming to hear him as his pad activates, launching him first into the forest, his scream of expletives echoing back to the other initiates as he soars. As he begins to descend, he unsheathes his blade, unfurling the shield to use as a battering ram to clear a path through the branches, braced and ready for the inevitable pain, only to feel something snag onto his clothing and pin him to a tree. The impact, while not breaking through his newly unlocked aura, knocked the wind from his lungs. The wind still manages to carry the faint echo of an apology, and a familiar voice being the one to call it out has Jaune chuckle once his breath is returned.

Now, while unable to properly wield any kind of weapon, that didn't mean Jaune was weak, or unfit. He still trained each days for as long as he could without tipping his family off about his escape from their influence. He yanks the spear from his clothing, the rather large hole causing him to internally complain about the shirt needing to be thrown out after the initiation is complete, and tumbles to the ground.

'I should at least stay in this area, to let Pyrrha find me easily.' He notes internally, sheathing his sword and shield/sheathe on his hip, and using the borrowed spear, knowing that whatever he used would make no difference to his capabilities in combat. He scans the surroundings, the rustling of a nearby bush and the sound of voices catching his attention. He points the spear towards the bush awkwardly, and what emerges is simply Weiss, who takes a single glance at him, scoffs, and leaves again, the faint cry of 'You came back!' echoing just beyond, causing him to sigh, praying for poor Ruby who seemed to be teamed up with such a person.

Shortly after, Pyrrha emerges near silently, making Jaune jump when she clears her throat. He chuckles, rubbing the back of his head as he hands her spear back to her.

"Thanks for the save." He thanks her. "My own strategy was going to be… less than pleasant." He admits, to which Pyrrha chuckles softly.

"Seems I saved the damsel in distress." She smirks cheekily, before covering her moth in shock, not used to saying such things out loud. Jaune laughs aloud at her words.

"Guess all I'm missing is a dress." He notes, smiling at some of the thoughts and memories of when he was younger and was dressed up by his sisters. Pyrrha chuckles again behind her hand, and Jaune wonders if he hit the jackpot in partners. Maybe one day… he could open up to her. As they trek north, the distant sounds of combat echo through the forest. Even though he knows she can hold her own easily, Jaune still worries about Ruby, forcing that worry out of his mind is difficult, but he manages. The duo soon find a cave, ancient markings adorning the entrance of the cave.

"I don't think this has anything to do with the relics." Pyrrha notes.

"Probably not." Jaune agrees, inspecting the drawings. "It looks like a battle took place here with the Grimm. A Deathstalker perhaps." While looking a the markings, he fails to note as the cave becomes partially illuminated by a glowing appendage. Pyrrha, however, notices.

"Uh, Jaune, we need to run." She warns. He turns to her, and notices that she's staring towards the cave entrance. He looks to it, and also notes the light, slowly getting closer, and several beady red eyes appearing, the faint silhouette of the Deathstalker the ancient humans had fought becoming more and more visible as it emerges.

"Yeah, we do." Jaune notes, running past Pyrrha and tapping her shoulder along the way. "Think you can take pot shots as we run?" He asks.

"I can try." She answers.

"Do your best to focus on the legs and tail. Try to damage it's mobility and offensive capability." He orders. As they make their way onward, Pyrrha continues firing periodically at the Deathstalker, managing to eventually shoot one of its many legs off. Jaune noticed as they try to run, that his body wasn't as tired after the length of time he has run, and files it away for later as something to do with his aura. They eventually break through the the clearing where the ruins lay, finding Yang, Blake, Ruby, Ren and Nora already there. They're all looking skyward, however, and don't notice them immediately. "We've got incoming!" Jaune calls out, before looking skyward and noticing that Weiss was falling from a massive Nevermore. "Oh for fucks sake." He groans, rushing forward, catching her in his arms, his legs buckling lightly as she lands, the force of impact driving small lances of pain into his legs.

Weiss quickly jumps out of his arms, her face showing her disgust as the Deathstalker breaks through the clearing. The others look to the Deathstalker in surprise. The Deathstalker halts its charge, assessing the added humans/faunus now in its path. Jaune takes that time to quickly grab a chess piece, a Golden Rook, to be precise.

"Oh great. The gang's all here. Now we can all die together." Yang states without care.

"My time to shine!" Ruby smirks evilly, rushing after the Deathstalker. Jaune tries to stop her, but misses catching her hood by a centimeter. As she swings her scythe at the Deathstalker, it bats her back effortlessly, knocking her off her feet. "Okay, maybe not my time to shine." She notes to herself. She makes a retreat, using her semblance in a burst of speed to make her retreat before returning to normal to save her aura from further depletion. As she runs back to the others, the Nevermore fires numerous barbed feathers, impacting the ground as though it had performed a gun run, with one feather catching Ruby's cloak and pinning her.

"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang calls out.

"I'm trying!" Ruby retorts, pulling at her cape to no avail. Jaune begins to make his way over, but is overtaken by Weiss, who arrives near Ruby just as the Deathstalker swings its tail. Weiss freezes it in ice moments before it would have pierced through Ruby and her remaining aura. Jaune continues to make his way over, intent on freeing Ruby, where he manages to hear Weiss.

"You are so childish." She admonishes.

"Weiss?" Ruby questions softly.

"And dimwitted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style. And I suppose, I can be a bit…" She trails off, trying to find the right words as Jaune arrives, using his sword to slice through the feather, letting Ruby free her cloak, though it was now damaged. "Difficult. But if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this, together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll try to be nicer."

"So the Ice Queen does have a heart." Jaune chuckles, helping Ruby up.

"Don't ruin the moment." She retorts bitterly.

"I'm not trying to showoff, I'm just trying to show you that I can do this… that I'm not a burden." Ruby admits.

"You're… fine." Weiss answers.

"Hate to break the moment again." Jaune notes, as they return to the others, the Deathstalker still trapped by its stinger in the ice from Weiss. "But that Nevermore is circling around. We can't evade those feather airstrikes in this open an area forever."

"There's no point in dilly-dallying." Weiss admits. "Our objective is right in front of us."

"She's right." Ruby agrees. "Our objective is to grab a relic and return to the top of the cliff. There's not point in fighting these things."

"Run and live. An age old tactic." Jaune notes. "I'm game to live another day." Ruby then grabs her own relic, being the only team of two to have yet grabbed one.

"It's time we left." Ren informs.

"Right." Ruby nods. "Let's go. Both her and Jaune lead the others away, guiding them back to the cliffs together. Along the way, the Nevermore does it's best to fire feathers at them as often as possible, but has little chance as they move through the foliage of the forest, and using the ruins leading back tot the cliffs for cover. Eventually, the come across a ravine that bars their path, a single, ancient stone bridge the only nearby way to cross. As they take cover just beyond the bridge, the forest behind them erupts as the Deathstalker from before, now free of the ice, emerges with a vengeance.

"Ah shit, run!" Jaune orders, the eight of them moving towards the bridge as quickly as they can, the Nevermore circling around to take a passing shot at them. Jaune glances to Nora, seeing the Grenade Launcher she holds, her compacted hammer if he assumes correctly. "Nora, distract that overgrown bird!" He orders.

"Aye, aye, Fearless Leader!" Nora responds, giving him a new nickname, and firing at the Nevermore, her explosive rounds managing to drive it off momentarily. The Deathstalker attempts to use Nora's focus on the Nevermore to come in and take her out, but Blake and Ren quickly distract it, peppering it with small arms fire as Weiss grabs Nora and brings her out of harms way. As they reach the bridge, Pyrrha drops into a crouch, her weapon in its rifle mode and opens fire on the Deathstalker, letting the others pass by, as Ren soon joins her, holding the Deathstalker at bay at the edge, Blake staying back to help. As the other five continue their course, the Nevermore appears once more, and smashes its way through the bridge, separating the group of eight into two groups.

"Fuck. They need some help over there." Jaune notes, Nora by his side as the other three focus on the Nevermore. "You got us a way over there?"

"Fuck yeah I do." Nora affirms with a crazed smile, her Grenade Launcher returning to its larger hammer form. "But you're not gonna like it~" She sings, pushing him back a few steps before smashing her hammer, and firing it simultaneously as it hits the edge of the bridge. The platform breaks away, and catapults Jaune toward the group fighting the Deathstalker, while Nora rides her hammer as though she's a sailor. Both manage to make it to the other side, and Nora immediately slams the hammers head onto the head of the Deathstalker with glee. As it rears its stinger to attack, Nora fires the hammer again, launching herself back and away.

Unfortunately, she slams into Blake, who moved at the wrong time to the wrong place. She's knocked off and Jaune attempts to catch her but fails. Thankfully, her weapon manages to save her, as she uses its chain scythe form to swing around and land on the Nevermore, slashing at its back and causing some shallow wounds, but otherwise ineffective attacks over all as she uses it to land back near Ruby and the others. Jaune sighs in relief, before focusing on his own fight. They were still on the bridge, and the Deathstalker noticed as such, as it dislodges their part of the bridge, forcing it to begin toppling.

"We need to move." Jaune notes aloud, his voice causing everyone to move into action. They move closer to the edge of the bridge, where the Deathstalker was luring them to the open area just beyond. Jaune and Pyrrha work in tandem, with Jaune managing to use his shield rather effectively, luckily for his team, managing to create an opening for Ren to leap into action, firing a barrage of rounds at the Deathstalker, before grabbing onto its tail and firing at its stinger tip, weakening it... but leaving himself open. "Wait, Ren, don't-" Jaune tries to warn, but Ren is already flung away as he loosens his grip, thankfully in the open area before the bridge and near the edge of the forest, rather than off the side of the ravine. Jaune winces at his impact into the ruins stone structures but notices the severe damage his high fire-rate did to the stinger. "Pyrrha, cut that stinger free!" He orders quickly.

"On it." She assures, tossing her shield at the stinger, its sharp edges cutting right through, aided by her semblance. It falls onto the Deathstalkers back, the sharp tip lightly piercing its chitin armour. "Nora, nail that fucker!" He then points to the stinger, and Nora cackles.

"Nora smash!" She exclaims as she brings the hammer forth and smashes the stinger head, piercing into the Grimm, poisoning it with its own venom. The force of impact from Nora shatters the last bridge support, and both Jaune and Pyrrha leap to safety, Nora joining them soon after, with Ren hobbling his way over to them before collapsing. The four then get front row seats to watch as Ruby's group eliminates the Nevermore, with Ruby severing its head in style.

"Now that, that was impressive." Jaune notes with a chuckle.

---

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the Black Bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester." At Ozpins declaration, the room bursts into applause for the newly christened team. Jaune and the group he fought with against the Deathstalker make their way up the stage, as Ozpin calls their names. "Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the White/Gold Rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc. Congratulations young man." His words surprise Jaune, as he felt like he was under-qualified to be leader, but Pyrrha gives him a friendly nudge to the shoulder and an assuring smile. "And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao-Long. The four of you retrieved the White/Gold Knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose." The shock and horror on Weiss' face was visible to all, though no one seemed to care about it, as internally she stewed.

'Why does that Dolt get to be leader? I'm far more deserving. I've had the training, have a commanding presence… just because Ruby took charge from a simple idea when no one else had one doesn't make her leadership quality… is Ozpin blind, or just a fool?'

"This is turning out to be an interesting year." Ozpin notes, his voice only heard by team RWBY who were still on stage, as Ozpin hut cut the feed to the microphone. As the ceremony ends, and everyone disperses, Jaune and Ruby lag behind, letting their teams go on ahead, both feeling the pressure of leaders already, both wondering what they should do.

"It's so… Daunting." Ruby notes. "I already feel the pressure, feel the weight, that my choices and orders will be what is followed by my team."

"I know what you mean." Jaune agrees. "Just because I saw how to defeat that Deathstalker doesn't mean I'm going to be good at leading us through other battles. I get that this is a school and we're going to learn more about our roles… but it's just so…" Jaune trails off.

"Heavy." Ruby finishes for him, and he nods his head. "Like an invisible burden we have to carry wherever we go." They find themselves out in the courtyard, at the same chair where Ruby unlocked his aura, the two of them sitting together for several minutes in silence, unsure of what to say, or even how to bring something up, until Ruby finally speaks. "Do you want to… continue to meet up now and again, to discuss leader things? To bounce ideas and strategies?"

"I'd like that." Jaune affirms. "Perhaps, even as leaders, we don't have to be alone with our burdens." He then stands, holding a hand out to Ruby. "We should head to our dorms. Classes start tomorrow, even after everything we've been through today." Jaune chuckles.

"We should, yeah." Ruby smiles lightly, taking his hand and standing up. The two of them head to their dorms and turn in for the night, though neither of them sleeps well, all the worst-case scenarios running through their minds about poor choices they could make as leaders.

Ruby awoke at 6am sharp, her internal body clock waking her from her fretful sleep. At the sight of the new day, she huffed, hiding away all her insecurities, putting on her 'brave leader' face. She showers, brushes her teeth and gets dressed into her uniform, with Yang and Blake not far behind her, though Yang would take an hour doing her hair as always. The trio are all ready by 7:30 and Ruby gabs her whistle, noticing Weiss to still be asleep and blows it, the noise causing Weiss to fall out of bed, now wide awake.

"Good morning Team RWBY!" She shouts with the energy she inherently seems to have stored away at all times.

"What in the world is wrong with you?!" Weiss exclaims in irritation.

"Now that you're finally awake, we can finally begin our first order of business for the day!" Ruby states, ignoring the rhetorical question from Weiss with practiced ease.

"Excuse me?" Weiss questions.

"Decorating!" Yang exclaims in false joy, the smile on her face not reaching her eyes, which have a faint red hue to their normal lilac colour.

"What?!" Weiss asks in confusion.

"We still need to unpack." Blake explains, her suitcase springing open at her words. "And clean." Weiss simply looks at everyone in annoyance, before Ruby blows the whistle again, making Weiss jump in fright. Ruby, Yang and Blake then get to unpacking and setting their stuff up, while Weiss grumbles and goes to get ready, before joining them. Once everything is unpacked and the room sorted, they notice there is little room left for their beds.

"This… isn't going to work." Weiss notes, looking at the beds practically in shambles atop each other.

"It is a bit… cramped." Blake agrees.

"Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff…" Yang trails off, and no one wants to agree, wanting all their things to be kept.

"Or we could ditch the beds and replace them with bunk beds." Ruby offers, her eyes shining in glee.

"That sounds incredibly dangerous." Weiss notes, not agreeing with the idea.

"And awesome." Yang agrees with Ruby without much emotion, simply agreeing so she doesn't have to get rid of any of her things.

"It does seem efficient." Blake agrees.

"Well… we should put it to a vote." Weiss complains.

"I think we just did." Ruby notes. Weiss, though reluctant, still lends a hand with making the bunk beds. Once they were finished, Ruby sags in both relief and dread. "And now… we have classes." She sighs. "We have a few classes together today. At 9 we've got-"

"What?!" Weiss interrupts. "Did you say 9 O'clock?"

"Uh, yeah?" Ruby affirms.

"It's 8:55 you Dunce!" Weiss exclaims in concern, rushing out of the room to head to class. The rest of RWBY poke their heads out the door to watch a moment, and the room across from them, JNPR does the same. Jaune had been getting to know his team while they got ready.

"Uh… TO CLASS!" Ruby orders, her team rushing off, with JNPR following after them, hot on their heels. They make it to the classroom moments before the bell rings and take their seats. Their teacher is a portly, older man, aptly named Professor Port.

As he drones on, Ruby quickly loses interest, as he devolves into stories that have no relevance to their coursework. While she could be reading through her coursework, the droning voice of Port just saps all her energy, and it seems to be sapping the energy of everyone else, as several of the students had already fallen asleep. Ruby does her best to stay awake, doing small, childish and menial things, but eventually succumbs to unconsciousness. She awakes to Weiss shouting.

"I do, sir!" She exclaims, accepting Port's challenge.

"Well then." Port smirks, or at least, it seems like he smirked, Ruby couldn't tell beneath his bushy moustache. "Let's find out. Step forward and face your opponent." He gestures to the cage beside him, towering at his height, glowing red eyes showing that a Grimm of some kind was within.

"Was that cage always there?" Blake asks, as Weiss makes her way down.

"Yeah, it was." Ruby affirms. "The creature was just really quiet. Something must have set it off, someone's emotions I suppose." Once down onto the stage, Weiss brandishes her Rapier. The team all give supporting comments, but when Ruby speaks, Weiss turns to her.

"Ruby, I'm trying to focus." She scolds, with Ruby deflating a little.

"Alright." Port interrupts, hefting his Blunderbuss/Axe. "Let the match, begin." He swings it down, cutting through the locks with ease, the cage door falling open to reveal Boarbatusk. It immediately charges Weiss, who dodges and manages to swipe at the Grimm, but deals no damage, the blow being deflected off the massive tusks. It turns around to face her once more. "Haha, weren't expecting such difficulty, were you?"

"Hang in their Weiss." Ruby calls. Weiss charges the Boarbatusk head on, and it maneuvers its head to lock Weiss' weapon between its tusks, pinning her before it as she continues to hold onto the Rapier. "Come on Weiss, show it who's boss!" Weiss glances towards Ruby with a scowl, and that moment of distraction is enough for the Boarbatusk to gain the upper hand and fling her weapon away, before knocking her back.

"Oho, now what will you do without your weapon?" Port asks rhetorically. The Boarbatusk charges once more, and Weiss rolls out of the way, the Grimm creature impacting one of the desks, reinforced with Earth Dust, and knocking itself onto its back. While this happens, Weiss manages to rush to her weapon and pick it up.

"Weiss, go for its belly, there's no armour there!" Ruby offers, noting such when the creature had flipped.

"STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" Weiss shouts in irritation, Ruby shrinking back in sadness and hurt. Jaune, sitting further back, watches with disappointment. After the initiation, he had hoped Weiss would be friendlier, especially after the moment she had with Ruby. He notices Port frowning as well, before its quickly hidden behind a masked smile of joviality. Seems there's far more to Peter Port than it seems. He returns his focus to the battle, where the Boarbatusk begins to spin at immense speed, as it rolls its way to Weiss. This time, she uses a glyph to stop the Boarbatusk in its tracks, the force of impact knowing the creature on its back. Weiss then quickly pierces through its stomach into its heart, killing it, the body dissipating into smoke.

"Bravo, bravo. It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training." He congratulates. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings. And stay vigilant. Class dismissed." At his words, the class disperses, with Ruby following after Weiss, and Jaune following behind Ruby at a distance, concerned for his friend.

"Weiss!" She calls to her partner.

"What?!" Weiss snaps back.

"What's wrong with you?" Ruby asks softly. "Why are you be-"

"What's wrong with me?" Weiss scoffs, cutting Ruby off. "What's wrong with you?! You're supposed to be a leader. But all I see is a child out of her depth, grasping at things she has no right to. You have done nothing for your position. You got in early, you have no skill in leading, yet you were chosen instead of me. I trained for years, I was groomed to be a leader, both as a Huntress and as the next head of the Schnee Dust Company." Weiss turns around, ignoring Ruby completely. "I may have agreed to work as a team with you, but I will not work as a team with you leading us. Ozpin made a huge mistake, making you leader. You don't deserve it, and you never will." She storms off. Once out of sight, Jaune comes to Ruby, hearing her faint sobs as she drops to her knees, covering her face. He isn't alone, as Ozpin himself also appears.

"Oh dear. That…" He trails off, sighing. "That was rather harsh and unnecessary." As he says this, Jaune goes to Ruby's side and brings her into a comforting hug. Ozpin looks at the two of them with sorrow.

"Is she right?" Ruby asks, her sobs slowing enough for her to talk. "Was it a mistake for me to be made leader?" Ozpin sighs solemnly at this.

"I've made more mistakes than any man, woman and child on Remnant." He states, his words alarming Jaune slightly, considering the way he worded it, and with such honesty, something he files away for another time, more focused on his emotional friend. "But making you a leader? No, that is not one of them." He then kneels down to the two of them. "After seeing that happen, I need you to know this: If you ever feel like you can't work with a member of your team, or even your own partner, we can swap things around, partner you with someone else, or replace someone in your team."

"G-Give me a f-few weeks." Ruby says between shaky breaths, still nestled with Jaune. "I want to at least try and work things out. I-If it's still the same as now… or w-worse, I'll take you up on your offer."

"Very well, Ruby." Ozpin sighs softly, standing up. "And if you ever need to talk, either of you, my door is always open." He leaves the two, glancing back at them one last time. before turning a corner and disappearing from sight. Jaune guides Ruby back to her dorm, and he sends Goodwitch a message, saying that Ruby was ill and wouldn't be able to make her remaining classes for the day. Jaune asks if she can send the coursework through to Ruby and promises to help her with it over the next day in between classes. Goodwitch replies with thanks for the heads up and promises to send the coursework through. Jaune sighs in relief, as he guides her up to her bunk.

"Just rest as best you can for the remainder of the day. I'll make sure to get and help you with what you miss, okay?" He rubs her hand soothingly.

"Thank you, Jaune." She smiles lightly, before curling up in her bed. Jaune sighs as he makes to leave.

"If you need some company, give me a scroll message. I'll come over if you need me." He offers, as he leaves for the day.

On his way to combat class, however, he finds himself tripped up, Cardin Winchester having decided to extend his leg as Jaune reached an intersection of hallways. With a quiet sigh, he ignores the snickers coming from the other students, though Cardin's the loudest, and continues on, arriving at the Combat Class shortly after the incident.

He only half pays attention to the start of the class, his main focus on his concern for Ruby, and it has him called up against Cardin for the first match, Goodwitch using combat in a disciplinary measure. He grabs his gear and makes his way on stage, finding Cardin already prepared. The resulting fight is sloppy, Jaune's inexperience shining against someone who had trained since childhood. While his aura reserves were large, Cardin's sheer strength and Jaune being unable to properly deflect his strikes has him whittled into the red within minutes.

"As you can see, students, Mr. Arc's aura has reached the red. In a tournament style setting, that would call his defeat." Goodwitch explains, as Cardin scoffs at Jaune, who gets to his feet. As he makes his way off stage, Goodwitch calls to him. "Mr. Arc? Next time, keep an eye on your scroll for your aura readings. It will help you choose the best times to attack or to become defensive." He nods his head in thanks, before walking to the lockers. Once his gear is stowed away, he closes the door with a heavy sigh, the bell ringing in the background.

'Maybe I should ask Pyrrha if she could teach me anything about how to fight with a sword and shield.' He ponders internally. He walks off toward the next class, his body somewhat dragging itself as if he had no energy left… no drive.

The rest of the day goes slowly, and when the final bell rings, Jaune lets out a sigh of relief. He doesn't head back to his dorm, however, instead finding his way to one of the many balconies adorning the Academy, watching as the sun slowly sets.

The rest of the week follows this pattern, with Cardin continuing to bully him. The only good thing he notes, is that the situation with Ruby and Weiss doesn't get worse… just that it doesn't get better. Leaning on the balcony rail, Jaune ponders where everything just… started to fall apart.

"So, this is where you've been running off to each afternoon." Pyrrha notes, coming up behind him.

"Yeah. I just needed some air and a decent view to stew in my thoughts." Jaune admits, leaning on the railing, unknowing that Cardin was in the room directly below, listening in. "Hey, Pyrrha?"

"Yes?" She asks.

"Do you have any recordings for the basics of fighting with a sword and shield?" He asks. The question confuses Pyrrha, though she quickly brings out her scroll.

"I do, would you like me to send them to you?" She offers.

"I'd appreciate it." He thanks her. Once the recordings are sent, Pyrrha asks her own question.

"Why do you have little to no skill with a sword and shield? Did you originally use a different weapon?" Pyrrha questions. Jaune sighs, turning to face her with a defeated look on his face.

"No." He answers. "To be honest, Pyrrha, I've had no combat training at all." He then turns to face the horizon again. "I shouldn't even be here… at Beacon. I lied my way in."

"What do you mean?" She asks, her voice gaining a steel edge to it.

"I falsified my transcripts, Pyrrha. I didn't even have my aura unlocked until the day prior to initiation." He admits, still not looking at her, thus he doesn't notice as she freezes, as her hands ball up, or how she seems to shut everything else out. "I never got the chance to go to a combat school, never had the chance to even prove my will to become a Hunter…" He's cut off from explaining further, as he's spun around and slapped, his aura having not been raised when Pyrrha assaults him with her restrained fury.

"You took the place of someone far more worthy of your position, Arc." Pyrrha seethes. "Your selfish actions have just cost Vale a competent Hunter, because you were accepted, and they weren't. You lied to the staff, lied to your team!" She begins to pace. "And now, you could tear an entire team apart just with the possibility of your falsified transcripts being brought to light." She turns to glare at Jaune, who had taken a shaky seat on the ground. "The only reason I'm not going to tell Ozpin about this is so that Ren and Nora get the chance to become Hunters… rather than be thrown out because they don't have a full team." She begins to storm away, before halting momentarily. "You don't belong here, Jaune." With those words given, she departs, leaving Jaune alone on the balcony.

Its really hard to write how Pyrrha would snap at him. Not because it's hard to write Pyrrha, but because it's hard to get out everything I want to convey in this small, short fight. Pyrrha is furious over how he lied to get in, yes, but also because he could have been seriously hurt, the emotional trauma that would have caused the team, and the fact that he got in without any training... without putting in any effort like every other student had... everything piles on and it just sets her off. She never finds a way to apologize, but also feels she is fully in the right, and not misunderstanding his situation, not listening to his explanation of why, just what he did. It's all psychological and trauma based, not concrete fact that has her acting the way she does.

"Well, well. That was a juicy bit of info there Jauney Boy." Cardin's voice grabs Jaune's attention, as the stocky young man climbs onto the balcony. Jaune simply sighs, not bothering to get up.

"The fuck you want, Cardin?" He asks without care.

"Now, now, Jauney boy, is that how you treat your friends? Especially a friend who knows your dark secret… your falsified transcripts." Cardin grins. Jaune grits his teeth and stands up.

"No point in threatening me, Cardin." Jaune retorts darkly, making his way back into the hallways. "I'm going to tell Ozpin myself."

"Tell me what, Mr. Arc?" Ozpin asks, seemingly appearing from nowhere.

"Huh, you have an uncanny sense for knowing when and where you're needed." Jaune notes softly, before shaking his head. "I wanted to talk with you about my transcripts."

"You mean how they're fake?" Ozpin asks easily, taking a sip of his coffee. Jaune stammers for a moment, his eyes wide.

"Did you… know all along or…?" Jaune trails off, Cardin poking his head in, his own features showing his shock at the revelation.

"While rather well done, it didn't fool me, Mr. Arc." Ozpin chuckles.

"Then why did you let me in? I have no qualifications to be a Hunter. I don't have a semblance, I don't have any idea on how to fight… I don't deserve to be, nor belong here." Jaune notes in defeat.

"I let you participate, because everyone deserves a chance, Mr. Arc." Ozpin admits softly. "You passed initiation. You found a partner, obtained a relic, you even coordinated a way to kill an ancient Deathstalker, before returning to the cliffs alive with your relic." Ozpin then pulls out the white/gold Rook, holding it out for Jaune to take. "The moment you passed initiation, your transcripts stopped mattering. You earned your way in." Cardin, who had been watching and listening to the conversation, scoffs in frustration, before leaving and returning to his dorm to stew in fury. Jaune notices this, and sighs.

"It doesn't feel like it." He notes, grabbing the chess piece he was told to keep after initiation. "It feels like I cheated."

"One day, Mr. Arc, you will discover that there is no cheating, just making the most of what you have." Ozpin states, beginning to walk off. "If I were you, I'd ponder on whether to tell the rest of your team." Jaune nods in understanding, pocketing the Rook and walking back to his dorm, opening the door and being tackled by Nora.

"JAUNE!" She exclaims, snuggling into him as if he was a massive teddy bear. Jaune chuckles, walking into the dorm with Nora still attached. "Where have you been this past week? We've barely seen you outside of class!"

"I've been… going through some stuff, Nora." Jaune answers, looking to Ren, and searching for Pyrrha, finding no trace of her.

"She's not here. She stormed in and left again not too long ago. Seemed pretty pissed off." Ren explains calmly.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised there." Jaune admits, Nora still clinging to him. "You gonna let go, or do you want me to carry you around the dorm, Nora?"

"I'm not letting go!" She declares. "You're not running away from us again, Fearless Leader."

"You don't have to worry about that, Nora." Jaune assures softly. "I'm done running. Mind hopping off so that I can take a seat comfortably? You can jump back onto me afterward."

"Okay!" Nora immediately jumps off, but runs to block the door, just in case Jaune tried to make an escape. He chuckles at her antics, before taking a seat on his bed. Once comfortable, Nora immediately attaches herself to him again, making him laugh and ruffle her hair as if she was one of his younger sisters. He then turns serious, and begins to explain about his transcripts… his family. Once he's explained everything, he feels a lot lighter, the burden that he carried now lessened.

"You know, Nora doesn't bond like this with just anyone." Ren admits, changing the subject to something more light-hearted.

"Reminds me of how my sisters would act when I was around." Jaune notes with a happy smile, though it twitches for a moment.

"Bad memories?" Ren asks knowingly.

"Just... Family drama." Jaune sighs softly. "The thing I love about you guys is that you still encourage me to push on..." Jaune smiles softly once more. "No matter my past."

"Transcripts and training aren't everything, Jaune." Ren states. "Half of what matters is who you are and how you act. You have most Huntsman beat in that aspect already." Jaune smiles, before standing up and moving to Nora's bed, Ren coming over to help pry Nora from Jaune, before the two tuck her in, before going to bed themselves.

It feels like there should be more… But how do I do that without making it go for too long or just drag rather than flow? I am keeping out the deeper explanation about Jaune's family for when he explains it to Ruby later on…

---

Another week and a half progress, with no change between Ruby and Weiss' partnership, and Pyrrha has even begun to distance herself from Jaune and her team, instead hanging out with Weiss and Yang, who were staying away from Ruby and Blake, leaving the five of them to their own devices during lunches.

Today, however, was a field trip. Whatever grudges they held for their teammates, would be stifled and held until the trip was over and they were back in Beacons halls. The Bullheads had all landed in the Forever Fall Forest, and the students were being led around by Glynda Goodwitch.

"Yes, students the Forever Fall Forest is indeed beautiful, but unfortunately for you all, we are not here to sight see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples of the trees deep inside the Forests. I'm here to ensure none of you die while doing so." She turns to face all her students, including RWBY, JNPR and CRDL. "Each of you is to gather a single jar of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm. Be sure to stay on guard and stick with your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4pm sharp." At this, the teams are dismissed, with CRDL going East, while RWBY and JNPR both head North, staying in a larger group, but still keeping spread out.

They quietly go bout collecting the sap, with Nora eating several jars before being dragged away by Ren, with Jaune taking his job and filling three jars for them, though sneezing every other moment due to allergies.

"You sure you want to keep staying around this stuff, Jaune? You're really not looking too great." Ruby notes with concern.

"The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get away from it all." Jaune sniffles. "As long as Nora doesn't keep eating out bounty, we should be fine." He sends a halfhearted, allergy ridden glare to Nora, who looks at him with sorrow.

"I can't help it!" She wails. "It's so tasty and sugary. It calls to me!" Jaune shakes his head, before sneezing, his head ducking out of the way as a jar of sap flies past, barely missing him. At the sound of the shattering glass, he stiffens and glances around, looking for where the jar had come from. While he can't see where it came from, the distant, yet somewhat close scream of terror gives a good enough idea. Jaune grabs Crocea Mors and rushes off, the others calling out for him, though he ignored them.

At first, he followed the periodic screams, but then he follows the sound of trees crashing, soon coming upon a newly leveled clearing, where an Ursa Major was staring down Cardin, his mace knocked away and out of reach. Before the Ursa can crush the young man under its paw, Jaune rushes in and unfurls the shield, blocking the paw strike from killing his classmate, even if he despised him.

The claws impact the shield with a heavy rattle, but Jaune pushes through, enhancing his strength with his aura momentarily to push away the paw, before slashing the offending arm, cutting it off. The Ursa Major kicks out, catching Jaune and sending him tumbling, but getting its attention off of Cardin and onto himself. Ruby and the others arrive to watch the rest of the fight.

With a bestial roar, the Ursa Major lumbers to Jaune, intent on trying to simply body smash him, but Jaune rolls to the side, and swings his sword to cut the back of the knee of the Ursa Major, causing it to roar out in pain. Jaune uses that extra moment to swiftly decapitate it, the body dissolving into black smoke. He then stalks over to Cardin, glaring at him.

"Now, Cardin." He begins. "I don't exactly give a fuck about what happens to me, but if your schemes involve the possibility of hurting one of my friends, don't expect me to simply lie down and let it all take place." He then begins walking away. "Just thought you should know for when you inevitably try again in the future."

"Just what is going on here?" The stern voice of Goodwitch asks, as she arrives, having heard the commotion.

"Cardin decided to try and pull a prank on me. It backfired, he was targeted by an Ursa Major and I killed it." Jaune explains simply, gesturing to the still dissolving corpse. Goodwitch pinches the bridge of her nose in exasperation, before speaking up again.

"Do you have your jars of sap?" She questions.

"Unless Nora ate them all again, yes." Jaune answers. "Also, apparently I'm allergic to the sap…" He adds sheepishly. Goodwitch then releases an audible, irritated sigh.

"Fine. All of you, back on the Bullheads. We're going back to Beacon." She orders, the students all following her rather quick pace back to their transports. As they all take their seats, Jaune notices that Nora had gone pale.

"Nora, are you alright?" He asks in concern.

"I don't think I should have eaten so much sap." She groans, her stomach grumbling in agreement. "Never again."

The trip back wasn't exactly… pleasant, but it was at least a decently short trip, so it didn't last forever. Ren took Nora to the Beacon Medical facility, to make sure she hadn't given herself some kind of serious illness from eating unprocessed sap. Pyrrha and Jaune made their way back to their dorm, but Pyrrha immediately grabbed her workout equipment and left, leaving Jaune alone until Ren and Nora returned around sunset.

Ren and Jaune went and got dinner in the cafeteria together, and brought something small back for Nora, who was still feeling the effects of eating so much sap. Upon return, the two find Pyrrha had gone to bed sometime after they left. As the night rolls along, Jaune finds himself wide awake, his mind running around about Pyrrha and how she was distancing herself from the whole team, not just him.

While trying to quieten his mind, he hears the creak of RWBY's door. The footfalls that follow are soft, immediately ruling out Blake, who would be completely silent. It also rules out Yang, as she seems to create an earthquake whenever she walks, stealth not seeming possible for the brawler. Taking a chance between who it might be, he rolls out of bed and cracks the door of his own team room open, catching sight of the figure. The familiar short cut hair of Ruby has Jaune opening his door fully, before following her to one of the many balconies in Beacon, a place familiar as he would spend quite some time on them himself.

"Trouble sleeping?" Jaune asks softly, yet still managing to startle Ruby. She turns and looks to him with a soft, apologetic smile.

"Yeah. Sorry If I woke you." She answers.

"I wasn't asleep to begin with." Jaune admits with a sigh. "Figured I could try to help you with whatever is going through your mind." They both lean on the balcony rail together in silence for a few minutes, before Ruby speaks up.

"It's my team." She finally admits. "Weiss… while she was able to tolerate my presence before, has become far more… cold towards me. She's been sending me these glares, belittling me every so often when no one else is around… it really hurts." She brings her arms around herself, stepping back from the railing. "Since coming to Beacon, Yang has been, distant… she avoids me as much as possible. And Blake… she's becoming more withdrawn. She won't participate in anything other than class, and even then, she's got her head in a book. It just feels like the whole team is falling apart."

"I can imagine how much it hurts... to be shunned like that by your team… by your family." Jaune notes softly. "Pyrrha… I told her a secret about myself and… she took it poorly. While I could understand her avoiding me, I'm concerned because she's also avoiding Ren an Nora." He adds solemnly.

"I guess both of us are losing those close to us." Ruby notes solemnly.

"Not all of them." Jaune assures, looking at Ruby with a smile. "Even if the whole world turned against you, I'd stand by your side." Ruby barks out a short laugh.

"That's really cheesy." She states. Jaune chuckles as well.

"Maybe. But it's the truth." Jaune admits. "Friends till the end?" He holds out his hand for her. She grasps it.

"Friends till the end." She smiles, and in that moment, Jaune feels his world light up, as though he had just found everything he needed for life. He smiles back to her, and the two stay up there until the sun begins to rise.

---

'That dolt doesn't deserve her spot. She's young, childish and has no experience.' Weiss thinks to herself as she leaves the others in the team. It was Saturday, and everyone was free to do as they pleased. Weiss stalks through the halls of Beacon, a single destination in mind. 'The others think the same, I can see it in their stance, the way their mouths twitch at her orders.' She stops before a specific dorm room, and knocks on their door. 'It's time to make sure she's removed from the situation entirely, so that I can come in and take control. It's what I deserve, what I've worked so hard for.'

"What do you want?" Cardin's gruff, sleepy voice calls out from within.

"It's Weiss. I have a… proposition for you. One that would be better explained away from prying eyes." She answers cryptically.

"Give me a moment." Cardin responds. Weiss waits outside, tapping her foot impatiently, not wanting to be away from her team too long. A few minutes later, Cardin opens the door and steps out, closing the door behind him before gesturing for Weiss to follow him. He leads her down the halls and out to an area she didn't even know existed, a small garden area with a fountain in the center. "So, what did you want to talk about?" He asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I want Ruby Rose gone." Weiss states simply. "I don't want her to be able to be in Beacon. She doesn't deserve her place. If it means I have to kill her with my own two hands to ensure she is removed from the equation, then so be it."

"I'm in." Cardin states quickly, not even hesitating.

"I'll admit, I thought it would take more to get you to help me." Weiss admits, but smiles in glee that she had someone who would work with her.

"I have two reasons." Cardin smirks darkly. "The first, is Jauney boy. He's rather close with the current leader of your team. He humiliated me in Forever Fall… I can't let that stand."

'You weren't humiliated, you broad. Your life was saved. But this can still be used to my benefit' Weiss notes internally.

"I want him to suffer. What better way than to make him deal with the loss of his best friend?" Cardin asks rhetorically. "The second reason, is because I agree with you." He snarls quietly. "Ruby holds no place here. A child who gets in early, when the rest of us work our asses off to get in. She's just as bad as Jauney boy, who lied his way in."

"You, working your ass off?" Weiss questions with a raised brow, while filing the bit of information about Jaune to look into later.

"It may not seem like it, but I did put in a substantial effort to get here." Cardin admits gruffly. "There's a reason I'm ranked in the top ten of the first years."

"Point taken." Weiss concedes. She then hands him her scroll. "My contact details. I can give you a message when we move against Ruby." Cardin quickly transfers the contact info, then returns Weiss' scroll. "Would your team be willing to help?"

"No." Cardin answers. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with them in my team, but Dove… he wouldn't go along. And if I tell the others, Dove will find out and rat on us."

"Which would ruin everything." Weiss notes with a sigh. "I'll see who I can get to help us… I might even be able to turn some of our team against Ruby. There's already animosity between them, I just need to use that to our advantage."

Sunday rolls by, and Weiss manages to grab Yang for a chat, taking her out to a small cafe in Vale and paying for their meals and drinks.

"What's the deal with you and Ruby?" Weiss asks suddenly, Yang raising an eyebrow at the sudden question. "You've been avoiding her. You're fine with hanging out with others in school, but the moment Ruby appears, you just… shut down, stop participating."

"I guess nothing gets past you, Ice Queen." Yang sighs. "Ruby and I grew up with our father, Taiyang Xiao-Long, and Summer Rose, my stepmother, and Ruby's biological mother. I never knew my own biological mother, but Summer… she took up the role with ease. She was the best mother anyone could ask for… until she went on a mission and never returned." Yang sighs. "Dad went into depression, started drinking heavily. I started trying to find my biological mother, hoping that if I found her I could bring her back and things would be normal again. Nearly got myself and Ruby killed. Uncle Qrow saved us and beat some sense into dad. Things began to go back to normal, until one day, dad just… didn't wake up…" She trails off. "Qrow did his best to take care of us, but he was barely home, always on missions or whatever excuse he could make up to keep us at a distance, even though he would help us train on occasion. I basically took over with bringing up Ruby. I was her mother. I gave up my time, my friends, everything, to make sure she would grow up into who she has become… But she clung to me." Yang curls her hands into fists. "I couldn't be a normal person, because I had to look after her, all because Summer died… all because dad died. I didn't ask for any of it, and to be honest? Beacon was going to be my chance to get away from it all…"

"And then she got in early." Weiss adds.

"Exactly! She pulled some shit with Ozpin just to stay close to me. And then, we manage to end up on the same team!" Yang exclaims in frustration. "I just wanted to have a chance at living life for myself for once, and she just had to stamp my dreams to dust." Yang sighs. "Honestly? I wish she had never been born. Maybe then, I would have gotten the chance to have a normal life."

"What if you still could?" Weiss asks. Yang looks to her in curiosity.

"What do you mean?" Yang questions.

"You want Ruby out of your life, right? Well maybe we can make that happen." Weiss states.

"And how would we do that?" Yang wonders aloud.

"Kick her out of Beacon by force." Weiss answers. "Injure her enough to make sure she can't be a Huntress…" Weiss offers. 'Or kill her, but she doesn't need to know that part.'

"Killing her would be more effective." Yang notes darkly, surprising Weiss for a moment, but she smirks after a moment.

"That would certainly be more efficient." Weiss admits. "So, you're in?"

"I'm in." Yang affirms.

Sunday afternoon, Weiss was feeling rather chuffed. She'd managed to get Ruby's own sister to join her in taking Ruby down. She'd played it by ear, simply questioning Yang about why she avoided Ruby but what she got as an answer was far more than she thought… and far more useful too. As she made her way back to her dorm, she passed the training rooms, and paused as she heard a commotion from within. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she enters and finds Pyrrha Nikos slashing away at the training dummies.

"Stupid! Useless! Deceitful! Fraud!" She screams at the dummy, hacking away at it, before feeling the metal of Myrtenaster in the room. She turns to see Weiss, who is walking over, her features looking concerned.

"Are you alright?" Weiss asks, though internally, she couldn't care less, but figures this might be an opportunity.

"Yes…" She begins to lie, before sighing. "No. To be honest, I'm not."

"What's wrong?" Weiss questions.

"It's Jaune." Pyrrha admits. "He told me something… and its bad… bad enough that if it gets out, our whole team could be disbanded because Jaune would be expelled. While I couldn't care what happens to Jaune… I don't want to ruin Ren and Nora's chances. I could always go back to Tournament fighting if all else fails, but they have nothing."

'Oh, this is perfect.' Weiss cackles internally.

"What if… you could get back at Jaune?" Weiss questions. Pyrrha looks to Weiss in curiosity, to which she continues. "Ruby Rose. He's rather close with her. She's been a thorn in my side for quite some time. If we could make her disappear, he'd feel devastated."

"But… what if we are caught?" Pyrrha asks.

"Pyrrha." Weiss begins, smiling somewhat evilly. "Our social status makes it impossible for Ozpin to do anything about it. But even then, I don't plan on being caught. We just have to wait for the right moment."

"Alright." Pyrrha sighs. "I'm in."

I'll admit this one was… rough. I'm not sure how to really convey Pyrrha joining Weiss to get back at Jaune… But I know at first, she would be hesitant to reveal what the secret Jaune told her is. She may hate Jaune, but she doesn't hate Ren and Nora. She doesn't know what Ozpin said to Jaune about his transcripts being irrelevant, so she would still be wary of him being expelled, and her team being dropped, not realizing the fact that replacements can be brought in. She's feeling petty and wants to make him hurt the same way she felt hurt for him lying about his transcripts, which means he lied to her by omission of truth.

Monday comes and Weiss drags Blake into Vale, intent on taking her out to try and get her to help eliminate Ruby. Along the way, they stumble upon a Dust shop that is covered in crime tape, with a number of officers milling about as forensics did their job inside.

"What happened here?" Weiss asks.

"Robbery. Second dust shop to have been hit in the last few days." The officer states with a sigh. "Place is basically turning into a jungle." A single forensics person steps out to meet with the officer.

"They left the money again." He informs.

"Just doesn't make any sense. Who needs that much dust?" The officer asks.

"An army?" The forensics person retorts.

"You uh… thinking the White Fang?" The officer asks.

"I'm thinking we don't get paid enough." The forensics notes with a sigh of his own. Weiss and Blake walk away after the answer, intent to leave the VPD to do its thing, Weiss speaking up once out of earshot.

"Ugh, the White Fang." She huffs. "Such a group of degenerates."

"What's your problem?" Blake asks, speaking with someone from the team for the first time since initiation.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss states haughtily.

"The White Fang is hardly a batch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus." Blake retorts.

"Misguided?" Weiss asks incredulously. "They want to wipe humanity out!"

"So, then they're very misguided." Blake amends. "Either way, it doesn't explain why they'd rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

"That doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat and steal." Weiss states.

"And is that going to apply to all Faunus? Are they all scum? Do they lie, cheat and steal?" Blake asks heatedly.

"Yes!" Weiss exclaims. "They would just as easily come to my home and murder my distant family, people a part of the company, my friends… people who have nothing to do with their treatment! Just because they have the Schnee name or associate with us!" She turns to Blake. "You want to know why I hate the White Fang? Why I'm distrustful of Faunus? Because they are liars! Thieves! Murderers!"

"Well maybe we were tired of being pushed around, forced to work in mines where we would die of starvation, poor equipment, our families being starved because we couldn't get enough pay to buy necessities!" Blake exclaims, before realizing what she said and running off. Weiss scoffs, before reluctantly sending a message to Ruby, informing her of what happened and telling her to expect no help from her end if she wished to find Blake. With a scoff, she walks back to Beacon.

The moment Ruby got the message from Weiss, she rushed into JNPR's dorm, startling Jaune.

"Jaune!" She rushes to him, tears in her eyes and he brings her into a hug.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asks, concern written on his features.

"It's Blake. She had a fight with Weiss and ran off!" She sobs.

"Shit." Jaune curses softly. "Hey, we can go look for her together, alright? We'll find her." He tries to assure her. Ruby nods, but the two stay together for a moment, until Ruby collects herself again, before they grab a Bullhead into Vale. They search for the entire day, and well into the night when an explosion at the docks catches their attention.

"Oh no." Ruby sighs.

"Think that's her?" Jaune asks softly.

"I hope it isn't." Ruby admits, and the two of them rush off to the docks, arriving to see a Monkey Faunus and Blake, the Monkey Faunus being held at cane point by Roman Torchwick.

"Hey!" Ruby shouts, catching the Thief's attention, as she unfurls Crescent Rose.

"Oh, Hello Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?" Roman taunts. Behind Ruby, a ginger haired girl walks over.

"What's happening?" She asks.

"Hey, stay back!" Ruby warns, taking her attention away from Roman. He fires a flare at her, but Jaune moves in front of her and unfurls his shield, blocking the shot while sliding back into Ruby.

"Oh. I see." The ginger notes, her pack opening to reveal several blades, all floating in formation. She leaps down and begins tearing through the White Fang. Jaune and Ruby jump down as well, and start making their way to Blake and the Monkey Faunus. The two split up, with Ruby going to help Blake while Jaune helps the Monkey Faunus.

"Hey, you alright?" Jaune asks.

"Just a wound to my ego and pride." The Faunus states with a dry chuckle, leaning on Jaune slightly. "Name's Sun. Student of Haven. I snuck aboard a boat and made my way over as a dare from my team."

"Pretty fucked up dare if this is where it got you." Jaune notes. He looks over to Ruby, who is helping Blake up, as three Bullheads strafe towards the ginger, opening fire. She blocks the shots, before using her blades to propel backwards. She then spins them in an array, which fires a beam of plasma at the Bullheads, cutting them apart like butter. There was no chance the passengers or pilots would have survived. Jaune then notices Roman making his escape and sighs, knowing they wouldn't be able to stop him. Things die down after that, and the Police soon arrived on scene to take any White Fang survivors in for questioning. Ruby goes to thank Penny, only to find her gone. Jaune, Sun, Ruby and Blake then head back to Beacon, with Sun going to talk with Ozpin about a place to stay until the Tournament when he will be reunited with his team. Jaune, Ruby and Blake would split up again at their respective dorms, where another argument would begin.

"We need to find out what the White Fang are doing." Blake declares, pacing around their room.

"No." Ruby declares sternly to Blake, shutting her down. "We are not going after the White Fang again."

"Why?" Blake asks in shock and anger, immediately halting in her pacing and bearing down on Ruby. "You saw what they had! They have been collecting Dust since the beginning of the year! And working with Torchwick means they have far more than we can imagine!" She shouts her argument.

"And we were lucky to survive the fight against Roman last time!" Ruby shouts in return. "If it wasn't for that unknown ginger haired girl, myself and Jaune arriving when we did, you and Sun would be dead!" Ruby breathes deeply, her eyes hardening on Blake. "I'm sorry, Blake, but my decision is final." She then turns to the team. "And that goes for all of us. We are not going to hunt down the White Fang. I'll be going to Ozpin in the morning to give him my information and then it's on his hands."

"He won't do anything Ruby! No one ever does, and then it's too late!" Blake exclaims.

"And how do you know this for certain, Blake?" Ruby asks. "I know and understand that you were with the White Fang, but have you ever been in Ozpin's shoes? In the shoes of the military? You have no idea what they do. Have some faith in them to do what needs to be done, rather than some inexperienced, bratty children like ourselves." At that, she storms out of the room, slamming the door and making her way out to the balcony. A few minutes later, Jaune joins her. "Did you hear?" She asks softly.

"It was hard not to." Jaune admits sheepishly. "You weren't exactly quiet, though I can understand why."

"Do you think I made the right call?" She then asks, unsure of herself.

"You made a call you believed to be best after assessing the situation." Jaune explains. "You're trying to protect your team… I would have chosen the same thing. I don't think my team should bear the weight of killing another being until after graduation, nor should yours."

"You sound like you've killed before." Ruby notes.

"Because I did… once." Jaune admits. "One of my sisters was attacked by a grown man. None of us had aura, but I was so desperate to save her… to protect her…" He trails off, shivering. "I grabbed the closest object, a discarded, half broken brick. I snapped and just smashed it against his head, time and time again." He looks out to the stars solemnly. "The police had to drag me away as I screamed that he was still going to get up and hurt my little sister, long after he was dead, half his skull caved in."

"Oh." Ruby says, unsure how to respond. "I… I don't know what to say, other than I'm sorry you had to go through such a thing."

"Thanks." Jaune replies softly. Ruby moves to sit beside him, and leans against him. The two watching the stars, as a more sinister conversation goes on in RWBY's dorm.

"How could she? Doesn't she see, or understand the gravity of the situation?" Blake wonders aloud, fretting as she slumps on her bed.

"She's a child. Of course, she doesn't understand." Weiss scoffs.

"Like you have room to say anything." Blake retorts sharply.

"Maybe not, but I wouldn't have barred us from investigating if I was the leader." Weiss admits, softening her voice to appeal to the recently uncovered Faunus. "That much dust being stolen is bad news. We don't know what they'll use it for or where." Yang notices where Weiss is going, and adds her own piece.

"Ruby would tell Ozpin or Goodwitch if we snuck out." She states.

"Then we need to take her out of the equation." Blake declares softly. "I don't like the idea of it, but to find out what the White Fang are up to, we need to get Ruby out of the way. It's a sacrifice we need to make… for the greater good." Blake truly believes what she's saying, Weiss notices it and smiles, her plans coming together.

"I've got some people who will help with that. We just need to wait for the right moment."

---

"Hey, Jaune?" Ruby asks. A week had passed since they intervened at the docks with the unknown girl, and the two had been spending more time together, during breakfasts, lunches and after classes when their teams were AWOL. Currently, the two of them were in the cafeteria, Ruby having just finished her breakfast while Jaune was still eating.

"Yeah?"

"I'm taking my team out to the Emerald Forest for training later today. You want to bring JNPR?" She offers.

"I'll have to pass on today, sorry." Jaune admits sheepishly. "Ren and Nora are heading out and Pyrrha is still avoiding me. I'm… not really sure me alone would be good enough."

"Alright. If you change your mind, just send me a message, yeah?" She puts a comforting, assuring hand on his shoulder.

"If I do feel like coming, I'll let you know." Jaune assures. Ruby nods, before getting up to get Ozpin's permission. As she leaves, Jaune's gut twists, a bad feeling running through him. He ignores it and finishes off his breakfast, before grabbing Ren and Nora, and heading to class, Pyrrha having already taken her seat. Classes go by quickly, but that gut feeling doesn't fade.

Ren and Nora soon depart to Vale for the afternoon, intent on getting a few things for themselves and maybe watch a movie while they're at it. The pit in his stomach grows, and, worried for his teammates, opens his scroll and starts tracking them, watching their positions. Ren and Nora were at the Bullhead pad, while Pyrrha…

"Hang on." He mutters to himself, noticing that Pyrrha was heading to the Emerald Forest. A knock on his door catches his attention, and he opens it, finding Dove Bronzewing on the other side.

"Hey, Jaune. I know… you probably don't want anything to do with us, but I think something's up with Cardin." His words put Jaune on edge, a wave of nausea passing over Jaune.

"Bring up the tracking app on your scroll." Jaune orders quickly, Dove, realizing the tension in Jaune does as asked, and brings it up.

"Huh… I didn't know this app existed." Dove mutters. "Seems he's in the Emerald Forest."

"Show me." Jaune holds out his hand, Dove passing his scroll over in concern. Jaune overlaps the two scrolls, showing that Pyrrha and Cardin where both in the same place. "Fuck." Jaune curses, looking to Dove. "Find Ren and Nora. Take them to the cliff. Hopefully we'll still be alive." He mutters the last part as he rushes out of the room, his mind running a million miles an hour. 'Things can't be that bad, right?' He tries to assure himself, but something in the back of his mind is telling him it really has gotten as bad as he thinks. 'They wouldn't be so stupid to think that murder would solve all their problems, let alone that they wouldn't suffer from it.' He notes that he passes Goodwitch on the way out, and thanks whatever gods are out there that she doesn't stop him. It doesn't occur to him that he should have grabbed his gear, as he leaves without it.

Ruby brings her team to the edge of the cliff, where she stares out into the forest, not bothering to face her team as she begins to speak.

"The plan today is-" She cuts herself off, feeling killing intent and rolling out of the way, an ice spike passing through where she had just stood. She turns to face where it came from, finding Weiss with Myrtenaster drawn, pointed towards her. "Weiss?" She asks, uncertain at what was happening. Blake then draws Gambol Shroud, and Yang cocks Ember Celica. "Blake? Yang?"

"You just love to cling to me, don't you, Ruby." Yang spits her name out like a curse, as she decides to vent. "I finally had a chance to be away from you, coming here to Beacon... Then you just had to go and make it so you can come with me. Too clingy to leave me the fuck alone for once, to let me live my own life rather than fuss over you."

"Yang..." Ruby has tears falling from her eyes as her own blood sister brandishes her weapon against her, weapons that she helped to forge and build.

"No. I'm tired of dealing with you, Ruby." Yang snarls. "I wish you had never been born. Though unfortunately, I can't exactly reverse time. So I'll just have to compensate by getting rid of you now. I'll finally be free." She smiles evilly. Behind her team, Pyrrha and Cardin step out of the bushes, their own weapons drawn.

Ruby unfurls Crescent Rose, hesitant to fight against her team… the people she thought were her friends… her family. She doesn't get any time to ponder, as Pyrrha rushes after her with a snarl. Ruby is pressed to defend against her constant flurry of attacks. Blake stays back and fires upon Ruby, preferring to stay out of range of her scythe. With Pyrrha constantly pressing her attack, Ruby is unable to properly dodge or fire back at Blake, and her aura whittles down.

Deciding she needed to stop hesitating, Ruby activates her semblance. Her form shatters into a cluster of petals, weaving their way to Blake, before reforming and slashing at her. Blake's semblance gets her out of the way, but Ruby fires, having anticipated where she would reappear. The .50 calibre Fire Dust round impacts with her in a small explosion, knocking her back. A .30-06 round impacts Ruby's back, Pyrrha having transformed her weapon into its rifle form and firing while Ruby was focused on someone else. Yang then leaps in, trying to fight Ruby at close range, only for Ruby to disperse again, gaining distance. Yang fires an explosive shell once Ruby reforms, but it misses as Ruby rolls away and slices at Pyrrha, who had attempted to intercept her.

The fight goes on for several minutes, with each of them trying to attack Ruby in coordinated assaults. Pyrrha would take her main focus, sending strike after strike at Ruby, who would block, but be unable to perform a proper counterattack with the size of her weapon. Cardin would charge in on occasion, swinging his mace with incredible force, intending to manage a single, decisive heavy blow against Ruby, but he continuously missed as Ruby would manage to slip away with her semblance. Blake would continue to try and take shots at Ruby from a distance, but with Yang and Cardin often going in to perform a heavy blow, she had less chances to fire without friendly fire.

"This is getting ridiculous." Weiss scoffs, giving her allies and teammates supporting glyphs to boost their speed and strength. Ruby may be losing her aura piece by piece, but it was taking far too long for her liking.

"That's it!" Pyrrha screams, jumping back and sheathing her blade, reaching out towards Ruby with the now free hand. Crescent Rose trembles within her grasp for a moment, before being torn from her grasp. As it floats before her, it begins to bend and twist, slowly crumbling inward, until it's nothing more than a ball of scrap.

Ruby, frozen in shock, is unable to make herself move as the remains of her weapon are tossed at her, the impact shearing away her remaining aura and knocking her down, the adrenaline in her system barely helping to keep her conscious, her vision darkening around the edges.

"It's time to end this." Weiss notes, gesturing for Pyrrha to move forth. She readies Milo, already in xiphos form and points it towards Ruby. "You took everything I deserved, right from under my nose. But now, I'll take what's rightfully mine." Pyrrha then moves, dashing forward, her blade poised to pierce through Ruby.

"NO!" A panicked shout echoes through the forest, as Jaune arrives. He rushes in front of Ruby, turning his back to the students who had attacked her. Pyrrha's blade pierces through her partners chest, his Aura shimmering at just the right moment, as if fate wanted her to have this victory, and a surprised satisfaction bubbles from within. She then laughs, her emotions spilling forth.

"J-Jaune…" Ruby stammers, tears welling in her eyes, her best, and possibly only friend in Beacon had just taken a blade that was meant for her.

"Well, this was unexpected. But certainly not unwelcome." Pyrrha cackles. "At first, it was just going to be taking this cheating, incompetent brat out of the equation... but now... Now I can kill two birds with one stone." She jams the sword harder, forcing the end that had already come through, to hit Ruby, who was shocked frozen, now being stabbed as well, through the man who had tried to protect her from said fate. "You should never have come to Beacon, Jaune. You took a spot that someone far more worthy could have taken. But now your lies have finally come to bite you in the ass."

"I-" Jaune gurgles, his words unable to come through as his pierced lung brings blood into his mouth. His hands, still protectively wrapped around Ruby, begin to glow a faint white. His aura begins to push into her body, filling her reserves just a sliver, ignoring his own damaged body to help his friend, before Pyrrha speaks again.

"You never belonged here. Neither of you did." Pyrrha declares, pulling her sword free. Jaune's transfer stops, the pain addling his mind too much for his newly discovered Semblance to continue working. Weiss then uses the chamber of wind dust and launches them into the forest.

"Good riddance." Weiss states with relief and distaste.

"W-What did we j-just do?" Blake asks, her voice shaking as she stares a the blood on the ground, and staining Pyrrha's weapon, shocked and appalled at what she had just witnessed… what she had just helped cause. I want to find a way for Blake to try and atone for what she did, her mind having been clouded by emotions, but as for right now, until I can figure a way for her to try and fix things, she stays on the hit list.

"We removed an obstacle." Weiss answers coldly, turning to Pyrrha and Cardin. "You two should make yourselves scarce. What happened here was a surprise Grimm assault. Ruby was taken… and killed trying to protect us." She then looks to Blake. "Even if you say anything about what happened here, there's no proof. It doesn't matter if you're having second thoughts now. It's already been done."

"And what will we say about Jaune?" Yang asks easily.

"We never saw him." Weiss answers. "Let them find their own answers for Jaune's disappearance. Easier than making up another aspect of our story."

As Weiss launched them into the air, Ruby began gathering what little aura she had left… her mind going to how Jaune had tried to protect her, his semblance emerging to give her his own aura, only for it to leave him vulnerable, and for Pyrrha to stab him, cutting the connection, before returning to her plan to keep them both alive. She figures she has enough aura to use her semblance once, and if timed right… she could keep the both of them from hitting the ground and shattering every bone in their bodies.

She feels her aura try to move to her wound, but she forces it away. If it heals her… she won't have enough to use her semblance, and then they really would both die. Jaune suddenly twist them both mid air, making it so that his body would hit the ground first, intent on using himself to shield Ruby from the worst of things. Even as he was dying, he did his best to protect her, to keep her alive.

She turns her head, and sees the ground closing in. At the last possible second, she uses her semblance. Both her body and Jaune's dissipate into petals, impacting the ground harmlessly, before they both reform. Ruby slips out of Jaune's hold, a scream of pain tearing through her lips as the adrenaline and shock begins to fade, the wound given to her finally bringing her pain. Unable to bear it, she falls unconscious.

Jaune, however, is still awake, as his blood continues to fill his pierced lung. He turns his head, looking to Ruby's form, and noticing a small house standing within the forest, a lone man exiting and rushing towards them. He checks on Ruby first, his hand glowing as he places it over her wound, the sound of sizzling flesh making Jaune grimace from the faint smell he can detect. The man, once finished, moves over to Jaune.

"Fuck, you're still conscious." He states, looking to Jaune apologetically. "This is gonna hurt like hell, kid. At least until you are rendered unconscious from the shock." He places his hand over Jaune's wound, and the searing pain of a wound being cauterized soon takes all his thoughts, and shortly after, his consciousness.

---

As Ruby opens her eyes, she finds herself in an unfamiliar room. It's style reminded her of her home back on Patch, but less refined. As she begins to notice the details, the memories return. Weiss, turning Myrtenaster upon her, firing an Ice Spike intending to impale her while she wasn't on guard. Of Yang and Blake, joining Weiss, Pyrrha and Cardin emerging from the bushes. She can see Pyrrha crushing her weapon into scrap without care or difficulty… then…

"Jaune!" She exclaims, sitting up in a rush, resulting in a stabbing pain in her chest.

"Easy, kid, easy." A man states, rushing to her side and gently lying her back down. "You were in bad shape when I found you… no aura and a stab wound that barely missed your lung, scraping the sternum and chipping it." He then sighs, running a hand through his auburn hair. "Your friend… Jaune, I presume… was worse off."

"Is he…?" Ruby trails off.

"He's alive." The man assures softly, grabbing her hand, and sending a pulse of… something through Ruby, before humming in relief. "Seems you're healing well."

"Do you have a healing semblance?" Ruby asks.

"No." The man answers quickly. "My semblance is just… unique and versatile. I'll explain it more over time, but for now… I'd rather not talk too much about it."

"Okay." Ruby states, somewhat dejectedly. "Can I see Jaune?"

"Not today." The man states. "Your body isn't ready to get up and move about just yet, but either tomorrow or the day after you should be able to." He then stands up, and moves to leave, but stops for a moment, and turns back to Ruby. "Your name… would it happen to be Ruby Rose?"

"How…?" Ruby trails off in curiosity.

"I knew your mother, Summer." He answers with a small smile. "I knew she had a kid and named her Ruby, but I never got the chance to meet you before…" He trails off sadly, before shaking his head. "Anyway, my name's Kai. If you need me for something… just holler." He then walks out of the room, and Ruby is left to rest.

The next day comes quickly for Ruby, who slept most of the time away, letting her body heal, her aura replenishing at a slower rate than normal, a part of her feeling sluggish as though she had a head cold. Kai enters and helps her stand up, bringing her to the room next door, where Jaune lies, his chest covered in bandages.

"How bad is it?" Ruby asks, taking a seat by Jaune's bed.

"Not as bad as it was when I first found you." He admits. "His right lung had been flooded with blood after being pierced. I've drained it and cauterized the main wound." He then sighs. "But you should also know that I did have to restart his heart."

"Then he…" Ruby stammers.

"For a few moments, yes." Kai affirms, looking to her. "He'll wake up again, but it may take a couple of weeks. His body needs to readjust itself after being revived." His scroll pings, and Kai quickly glances to it, before looking back to Ruby. "We'll have a guest coming by tomorrow, just a heads up."

"Do I need to greet them?" Ruby asks.

"No." Kai assures. "Just stick by Jaune. Even though he isn't conscious, I'm sure he'd appreciate you being near him. I'll even see about moving a cot into here so you can sleep near him, now that you're able to move on your own."

"Thank you." Ruby states but keeps her focus on Jaune. Kai stares at the two for a moment before leaving them alone.

The next day rolls around, and Ruby hunkers down in the room she shares with Jaune. She gently rubs his hand within her own when the door opens, and the last living member of her family steps in.

"Hey, kiddo." His voice is tired, more so than normal. Ruby turns to face him, but unlike how she would normally greet him, excitedly hanging off his arm, she stays where she is, still grasping onto Jaune's hand. She gives her uncle a small, equally tired smile.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow." She greets softly, before turning back to Jaune. Qrow then grabs a chair and sits beside her, looking at Jaune with sorrow in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, that you had to go through something like this." He apologizes.

"It should never have happened." Ruby states darkly. "The fact they're getting away with it is atrocious."

"I know." Qrow notes softly. "But there are things beyond the surface that makes things even more difficult."

"Fucking politics." Ruby scoffs.

"I'll drink to that." Qrow chuckles lightly, taking a sip from his flask. Once he brings it down, Ruby snatches it from his grasp and takes a sip, coughing lightly as a result, then handing the flask back. "Guess you would too." He notes with surprise. The two then sit in silence, unsure of what to talk about. "Do you have a plan going forward?" He finally asks.

"I want them to suffer." Ruby answers quickly, darkly. "I want their actions to be brought to light, for them to be brought down by the people… and to lose everything they have as a result."

"And what about the resulting emotional turmoil that would cause to the people of Vale and the resulting increase in Grimm?" Qrow questions.

"Once it's done, I'll gladly help fight along the walls of Vale in compensation." Ruby answers. "I know my actions will cause turmoil…" She trails off. "But what was done to me… done to Jaune, shouldn't be allowed to stand. The only way to do this without going against the families of Weiss, Cardin and Pyrrha is to force things out in the open. The resulting backlash from the populace will force their families to disown them."

"You've really thought things out." Qrow notes.

"It's something that's kept me awake the first night." Ruby admits softly. "That and Jaune."

"Sounds like you've got a crush on the guy." Qrow comments, and Ruby blushes, but doesn't deny the fact. "For what it's worth, if things work out… He'd get my blessings."

"U-Uncle Qrow!" Ruby stammers, blushing as red as her name's sake. He chuckles in response, before they both return to silence, with Ruby speaking up after a few minutes. "Can you keep quiet about our survival? At least until we reveal ourselves."

"Yeah." Qrow affirms softly. "I'll keep quiet. But if you leave traces and Oz finds them, then questions me about it, I'm not gonna lie to him."

"I know you work for him, Qrow." Ruby admits. "I overheard a phone call for one of your missions a few years back. I know you trust him…" She trails off. "If he has any suspicions, I expect you to affirm our survival. I just want you to do your best to convince him to leave us to our devices."

"Look." Qrow sighs. "If he does figure it out, I can't promise to convince him. But I'll do my best. But whether I can get him to stay out of your hair or not, he'll probably still want to talk with you."

"All I ask is that you try. If I have to talk with him when he inevitably finds out we survived, that's a small price to pay." Ruby smiles, grabbing Qrows hand with her one free one, squeezing it.

"You know you're gonna need a new weapon." Qrow notes.

"I've got a few ideas." Ruby smiles softly.

---

The rest of the week passes by quickly, and Ruby has some basic sketches done for the main parts of her new scythe design. As she works on refining the outer shell and systems, the dull thud of a forging hammer on metal echoes from another room, somewhat muffled, much to Ruby's surprise.

She wanders her way to the room where the sound originates, entering to see Kai hammering a heated blade into shape, finishing the final shape before cooling it in a bucket of water. He then places the blade on a workbench, before turning to face Ruby.

"Hello there, Ruby." He greets simply. Ruby is staring at the blade, then looks to Kai, going back and forth between the two, causing Kai to chuckle. "I suppose I should explain fully. From the very beginning…" He trails off, looking to Ruby with a soft smile. "Back when people first unlocked semblances, they were based on the elemental properties of Dust, as that was humanity's most powerful tool. Fire, Ice/Water, Wind/Lightning and Earth were the primary elements, followed soon after by offsets like Gravity or Hard-light. But, even among those… my semblance was unique."

In one hand, a small flame ignites. While the majority of it was coloured and orange/red, swirls of blue, white, green, a deep crimson and even a void of black. His other hand, became ethereal, as though made from moving flames, its colours the same as the small flame in his other hand.

"I don't need a forge…" Kai trails off.

"You are a forge." Ruby finishes, dashing around him, inspecting him, then dashing away in a flurry of petals, before reappearing moments later with her sketches in hand. "Can you help me make this?" She asks excitedly, earning a chuckle from Kai.

"Finish your sketch first, then I'll lend you a hand." He states, pausing for a moment before continuing. "What did Jaune use before all this?"

"Short Sword with a collapsible Shield/Sheathe combo." Ruby rattles off immediately. Kai hums at her response.

"While you work on that, I'll come up with a new Sword and Shield/Sheathe for Jaune." Kai states. His hand unconsciously going to the holster that contained his custom MP412 Rex, an idea coming to mind. "Does he know how to shoot?"

"Not to my knowledge." Ruby answers.

"When he wakes and is ready to move and fight, get him up to speed on shooting pistols. I'll either lend my own pistol, or I'll manage to have Jaune's ready for him." Kai instructs. "Depends on when he will wake."

"Alright." Ruby says, vibrating in place. "Imma work on this now, bye!" She disperses once again, rose petals covering the floor of where she just stood.

"Guess I should do the same." Kai chuckles.

By Friday, both Kai and Ruby had built all the parts needed for the weapons they had designed. Ruby's new scythe, which she named Shattered Rose, had several different functions. Firstly, it now chambered .338 rounds, and was semi-automatic, rather than the bolt-action Crescent Rose had been. The scythe could be set to half length as well, for medium ranged combat, not just the full length scythe that her last creation was stuck with. Alongside Shattered Rose, she had Kai help her make a tanto, which was a type of short sword. She named it Thorn, representing the thorns that a Rose would have along its stem. The blade had a rose tint to the blade, and a black and green wrapping for the hilt. Along with these weapons, Kai gifted her an automatic pistol. She would train with them the next day, to get a feel for everything before returning to Jaune's bedside.

Kai designed Jaune's new equipment. Deciding to keep it simple, but effective, Kai made gave the shield/sheathe hard-light emitters, which could either extend the shields range of protection, or, if the sheathe was slid along the blade, it could act as an extension, with the emitters creating a hard-light edge. This would give the short sword extra reach. The hilt of the sword could also extend another 10cm, giving him more room to grip if he wanted to wield it as a two handed sword. Kai also had two pistols he planned to gift to Jaune when he woke up. One for a normal ranged attack, while the other would be for when his life, or Ruby's, was in danger and he needed an edge against whoever or whatever they were facing.

Sunday rolls around before they know it, and Jaune finally awakens. Ruby, having been by his side when he woke, immediately rushing to hug him.

"I was so worried." She sobs.

"Ruby." Jaune interrupts, feeling uneasy at the unfamiliar room and location. "W-Where are we?"

"Somewhere safe." She assures softly, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck as she lies down and snuggles into him. Jaune cautiously wraps an arm around her. The two stay in each other's arms and presence for several minutes, before Kai enters.

"Good to see you've woken up, kid." Kai admits in relief. Jaune remembers him from just after they landed… then the sudden pain as his body burned. He flinches in remembrance, but Ruby grabs his hand and squeezes it in assurance. He does his best to relax, but his body stays somewhat tense, as Kai places his hand on Jaune, a pulse of energy passing through his body. "Seems your body's healed itself." Kai notes. "It was harder to fix you up, considering your aura fought me the whole time… so I'm glad there's no lasting damage from something I might have missed." He then begins walking to the door. "I know you two have quite a bit to discuss. I'll leave you to it." He shuts the door behind him, leaving Jaune and Ruby alone.

"Ruby… W-what happened out there? Why were they trying to kill you?" He asks hesitantly. Ruby snuggles closer, before going into detail at what happened. She explains how Weiss tried to impale her via ice spike in a sneak attack, how Yang explains her thoughts and feelings… How Cardin and Pyrrha emerged and joined the fight, and how Pyrrha destroyed Crescent Rose. Jaune keeps her close, as she weeps through the explanation, the two staying together as Jaune digested the information.

"Hey, Jaune?" Ruby asks, her breathing settling down to normal. "Pyrrha said something about you not being worthy to be in Beacon… about your lies coming back and haunting you… what did she mean?"

"You know…" Jaune begins. "I'd always wanted to be a hero. Not for recognition, not for glory, but because I wanted to help people. My father was a Hunter, one who protected Ansel along with a small number of other Hunters. My Grandfather and Great Grandfather fought in the wars, both trying and put an end to all the bloodshed… even if they had to bloody their own hands to do it. They did what they believed was right.

"My Grandfather would tell me stories about his time in the war… and I'll be honest, even though many were gruesome, I admired his strength to have kept fighting, to keep standing tall. He was the one who gave me the idea of being a Hunter, to make my own mark and to do some good in the world. My father, however, vehemently refused. It formed a rift between the two of them, because my father didn't let me follow my dreams.

"My mother and sisters, other than Saffron, all agreed, saying the same over and over again, but I didn't relent. I would continue to hound my father to let me train, and one day, he finally snapped and said he'd see what I could do. He took me into the yard, handed me a stick, and he basically beat me over and over before saying I had no talent and would never be able to become a Hunter. Saffron, my eldest sister, had snuck out to watch this happen. Once my father left, she helped tend to my injuries… She was the only one who believed in me… who was willing to let me follow my dreams.

"That's horrific." Ruby notes softly, pained about his explanation. "And the rest of them just… went along with it…"

"That's just the tip of the iceberg. Saffron and I worked to try and get me enrolled into a Combat School… But my father had ensured that no school would take me on. He used his prestige and clout to try and crush my dreams." He curls his right hand into a fist, remembering the pain his family had caused him.

"As much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn't just run away. I had no way to protect myself from the Grimm, so I bid my time. When Saffron turned 18, she left for Argus, having applied and been accepted for a job at the CCT. She tried to take me with her, but our father stopped it from happening. We kept in contact, and she saved enough money to give me a small amount to hold onto, ready for when I make my own escape... and on my 18th birthday, I did. I left in the middle of the night, took Crocea Mors, which both my Grandfather and Great Grandfather used, and booked a late-night transport into Vale.

"I paid a local Information Broker to make some forged transcripts, and I applied to Beacon the next day when I got them, fully expecting to be rejected and to have to find a local Hunter who would take me on as an apprentice… only to receive the acceptance letter. I learned later from Ozpin, that my transcripts didn't matter once I'd passed initiation… but I don't believe Pyrrha knew that… though she probably would have then gone to the assumption I abused her strength."

"Your family was wrong… Pyrrha was wrong." Ruby declares, surprising Jaune, who looks to her, his hand uncurling. "You're a better Huntsman than most of the students at Beacon..." She looks to him lovingly, leaning down and kissing his cheek, blushing all the while. "You're not a fraud, not a fake... not a liar. You're Jaune. A man who was denied his chance to live his dream but fought to achieve it anyway." She smiles. "A man who risked his life to save my own." She leans into him once more. "Even if the world turns against you, know I'll be by your side."

"Ruby." Jaune breathes out in awe and love. Ruby lifts her head and the two kiss, embracing each other lovingly. The two then break apart. "Does uh, does this make us a couple?" Jaune asks. Ruby blushes, but holds his gaze.

"If you'll have me." She states. Jaune smiles, bringing her in for another kiss, the two breaking apart a few moments later.

"I love you, Ruby." He answers softly, meaningfully.

"I love you too, Jaune." Ruby replies.

Something to note, is that in the last few segments of this, I want to have a moment where Ruby is feeling the depression, as everything comes crashing down. It would be before Jaune wakes, during a moment where both Ruby and Kai are in the workshop. It would be similar to the time where Ruby and the Tree talk in Volume 9, but with Kai taking the place of the Tree. He would reveal some of his past, the fact he is cursed with immortality and what he went through. It's something that I need to put a shit ton of work into making a reality, but figure that can happen when I get to publishing this all as a proper story, rather than the mash up of what I've planned and written so far.