Phantom of Beacon
Ruby and Jaune sat at a table in the ballroom, looking slightly more bummed than usual when their solitude was interrupted by Weiss slapping down two pieces of fabric on the tabletop. She looked at the pair excitedly, only earning a deer in the headlights look from Ruby and a raised eyebrow from Jaune. "I need you to pick a tablecloth! The color! Which one do you like better?"
Jaune blinked a few times before scratching his head. "Weiss…aren't they both the same shade of white?" He asked. Ruby nodded in agreement as Weiss let out a groan.
"You dolt! This one is Glacier and this one is Frost! Ugh, why did I even ask you, you're hopeless, Arc." She walked off in a huff, Ruby and Jaune laughing behind her.
Yang and Nora entered, each carrying a speaker, setting one at either end of the stage with a loud 'THUD'. Jaune and Ruby bounced slightly when the speakers hit the ground, shaking the two from their laughing.
Yang grinned as she walked over to the two, crossing her arms over her chest. "So Ruby, have you picked out a dress yes? And what about you loverboy? Got a suit ready to charm all of us eager young ladies?" She teased, winking at him.
"Yang…what's the point of the dance if we can't even get Blake to go?" Ruby groaned into the table.
Jaune patted her on the shoulder. "Ruby, don't worry, maybe I can ta-"
"Weiss! I thought we agreed: no doilies!" Yang shouted over him, running towards the heiress.
Weiss held her hand flat out to the brawler. "And we ALSO agreed that if I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines! They're comple-"
The door to the ballroom creaked open, Sun and Neptune entering. "The dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune said as he walked over to Weiss.
The heiress blushed, twirling her finger in her ponytail. "We were thinking about it…"
"That's pretty cool, maybe I'll see you there?" He half asked, Weiss nodding in agreement as her eyes lit up.
Sun walked over to Jaune, bumping fists with his fellow blonde. "So Jaune, what's the dress code for this thing?" Neptune's palm met his face at his partner's lack of class.
"At least wear a tie, Sun. I figure if the girls are dressing up, we may as well look the part too." Jaune answered honestly, earning a nod from Yang.
"That's right monkey boy! I'm gonna be turning heads tomorrow, so you all better match!" She grinned, crossing her arms once more.
Sun rolled his eyes. "Fine. Totally different from Vacuo, but fine. What about Blake? Is she being all…Blake-y?"
"Yeah, I was gonna go talk to her in a bi-" Jaune started.
Yang placed her hand on his shoulder. "Actually, Jaune, why don't we both go talk to her? I need to talk to you about something anyway." Jaune blinked at her with his mouth open. "Just…hear me out, Jauney."
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Jaune and Yang walked through the halls toward the library, Yang trailing a bit behind her leader. "Yang, you said you needed to talk to me about something?"
"Yep! Though I'm not exactly sure how to put this gently…" The brawler trailed off.
Jaune stopped, looking her in the eyes. "Yang, whatever it is, you can tell me! We're teammates, friends, I've go-" He was silenced by a soft feeling on his lips. "Is she…" Jaune blinked a few times, just to make sure what he was seeing was real.
Yang had him pressed against the wall, her lips pressed against his. After a few moments, she pulled back, seeing a shocked and awed Jaune in front of her. "Jaune…I know about you and Blake."
Jaune's eyes widened as he stared at her. "You do? But how? We were so careful!"
Yang rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. "So the other night when I woke up to get water and saw Blake climb into your bed and kiss you, that was just a dream then, right?" She said sarcastically.
"I…you…no that happened…" Jaune looked at the floor sheepishly, secret exposed.
"Jaune, I'm not judging either of you, though I noticed there was no public label on it. So I was hoping that you'd give me a fair shot as well." She half asked, twirling her finger in her hair.
Jaune was at a loss, staring at the floor in shock. "Yang wants a shot with…me? I mean I know Blake and I haven't become official yet…but…"
"You don't have to answer right now, Jaune. Just think about it, okay?" She asked.
He looked back at her, azure meeting lilac. "I think I can do that, Yang."
She grinned, taking his hand and pulling him towards the library. "Come on, Jauney. I have an idea!"
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Blake sat at one of the library tables with a holographic screen in front of her. Her eyes looked more sleep-deprived than ever, barely focusing on what she's saw... until a small, bright red light appeared on her screen. It moved up and down, Blake's eyes following it down to her hand, then it disappeared entirely. She looked behind herself, irritated, but saw no one walking around her. Shrugging, she went back to researching Torchwick and the Fang on the computer, but the red light reappeared on the screen, moving around in circles. Blake slammed her fist on the table, earning a 'SHHH' as always. She stood up to leave and saw the light on the floor, following it blindly through shelves of books, trying to stomp on it until the dot disappeared around the corner. Blake followed, only for her to bump, shocked and shaken out of her more cat instincts right into Yang.
"Helloooooo! We need to talk." She grabbed Blake's arm and dragged her to an empty classroom where Jaune was waiting.
Jaune sat on the desk at the front of the room, arms crossed over his coat. "Have a seat, Blake." She moved her hand to protest until Jaune's eyes flashed green. "I said sit down, Blake…please."
She sat at a desk, attention elsewhere. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes continued to look more and more exhausted. "Look you two, I'm fine, so if you're going to tell me to stop, th-"
Yang hopped up on the desk with Jaune, sunlight shining on her through the window. "Blake, we don't want you to stop. We want you to slow down."
"I don't have the time or luxury to slow down!"
Jaune jumped to his feet, glaring at her. "It isn't a luxury! It's a necessity! Blake, when was the last time you ate? The last time you slept, took a shower?"
"Jaune, that doesn't matter! The necessity is stopping Torchwick!" Blake shouted back, amber eyes scowling at her leader.
Yang slammed her palm down on the desk, startling both her teammates. "And we're GOING to, but first, you're going to listen to what I have to say."
Blake rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, looking out the window. "Fine."
Yang ushered for Jaune to relax, the blonde boy taking a leaning stance against the wall. "Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island off the coast of Vale. Our parents were Huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal, and our mom took on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was, like... Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then... one day she left for a mission and never came back." She paused, looking down at the floor. "It was tough. Ruby was really torn up, but... I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, y'know? And my dad just kind of... shut down. It wasn't long before I learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he lost; she was the second. The first... was my mom." Blake and Jaune both bolted to attention, eyes wide in shock. "He wouldn't tell me everything, but I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and that she'd left me with him right after I was born. No one had seen her since."
Blake glanced at Jaune before looking back at Yang. "Yang…why did she leave you?"
"That's the million lien question actually. Why?" She hopped up and walked over to the blackboard. "I didn't know, and for so long I just sat wondering. But one day, I found a clue. It was so stupid, thinking back on it, but I thought I could find her. So one day, I loaded Ruby into a wagon and set off after Dad left that day. We wandered for hours…I had cuts and bruises…I was exhausted, but I just couldn't stop. After what felt like forever, we finally found the barn that I thought had an answer or two, but all I saw were piercing red eyes. There we were, a sleeping toddler and a little girl too tired to even call for help…but just our luck, our uncle showed up just in time. My stubbornness should have gotten us killed that night…" Yang turned and looked towards Jaune, signaling him over.
Blake looked up at the blondes, eyes weary. "Yang…I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this is different. I'm not a child, and this isn't just a search for answers! I can't just-"
Yang's fist hit the blackboard, chalk dust shooting out like a cloud into the air. "I told you: I'm not telling you to stop! I haven't! To this day, I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me, but I'll never let that search control me. We're going to find the answers we're looking for, Blake. But if we destroy ourselves in the process, what good are we?" Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder, facing away from Blake.
"You two don't understan-"
Jaune and Yang turned towards their teammate simultaneously, green and red eyes flashing. "No YOU don't understand!" They both shouted.
"Blake, if Torchwick walked through that door right now, what would you do?" Jaune asked, eyes glowing their ghostly green.
Blake stood from her desk, walking over to the blondes. "I'd fight him!"
"You'd lose!" Yang shoved Blake backwards, the latter stumbling slightly.
"I can stop him!" Blake shouted as she got her footing back.
Yang shoved Blake again, knocking her back into the desk. "You can't even stop me!"
"And what if the Omega showed back up! That thing tossed us around like we were flies! What would you do if my powers failed me again, or you were alone?!"
Blake moved to protest, but found herself wrapped in a hug by Yang. "We aren't asking you to stop, but please…get some rest?" She pulled back and motioned for Jaune to join the hug. "Not just for you, but for the people you care about. And hey, if you feel like coming tomorrow, maybe I could step away from Jaune and give you a dance or two." Yang winked at the two before sauntering off.
"Jaune…what did she mean by that?" Blake raised her eyebrow at her partner.
Jaune paled, rubbing the back of his head. "What? Oh! Well she…oh look at the time! I have to go help Sun with that…thing!" He turned intangible and disappeared into the ground.
"...Dork…" Blake muttered before yawning and heading back to the JBRY dorm.
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The next night, Ruby stumbled into the ballroom in her dress and heels, grabbing onto the podium at the entrance before she fell.
Pyrrha rushed forward and helped her back to a standing position, albeit her legs wobbling. "You look beautiful!"
Ruby groaned and looked down at her forced heels. "We need to have a serious talk about how you and Weiss fight in these things!"
Pyrrha grinned sheepishly. "Well, it's just something to practice. Have you seen Jaune yet?"
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The aforementioned blonde was straightening his tie as he walked towards the ballroom. "I hope I got this knot right. After Yang telling us to look the part…"
"Knew you'd look good in a tie."
Jaune looked up to see Blake and Yang in dresses of black and white, both looking at him happily. "I…you both look…wow…"
Yang winked at her leader. "Thanks Jauney, you don't look too bad yourself."
"So what exactly is going on here…" He asked, glancing back and forth between the two.
Blake grinned slyly. "Well, Yang and I talked it over a few hours ago, and we decided that we'd try sharing you, see how that goes, if you're okay with that."
Jaune's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. "S-share?! Me?! Are you sure that you don't want Sun or so-"
Yang's fingers met his lips. "Jaune, we both want to be with you. Not Sun, not Neptune, not Ren. Y-O-U."
Blake took one of Jaune's arms in hers, and Yang took the other, the pair leading him towards the ballroom.
"Well, this is gonna be a night to remember…" Jaune stammered earning a laugh from his dates.
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Ironwood stepped into his office on his ship, reviewing footage of the battle at the docks as it went to static for about two minutes, coming back just as the Omega fled. "Something's missing here…" He typed in a few codes, rewinding and clearing up the footage. "P.E.N.N.Y., please run playback sequence."
"Beginning playback!" A robotic voice said from the computer.
The footage began again, showing White Fang members slowly unloading a series of crates. "Play at two times speed." The video began to play faster, showing nothing different until a girl in black held Roman Torchwick at swordpoint, and then a white haired boy flew down and joined the fight, firing blasts of green energy at the White Fang. "What the…" He dialed an unknown number on his scroll, his eyes growing dark. "You need to get to Beacon A.S.A.P.. Yes, we have another one here at the school. This could be just what Atlas needs."
The A.I. voice spoke again as Ironwood ended his call. "Sir...are you sure this is the proper course of action? Perhaps if you placed me in a body again I coul-"
"Absolutely not!" Ironwood shouted, slamming his scroll down on the desk. "P.E.N.N.Y., the last time you were in a body, you tore up an entire Atlas military ship because you couldn't control yourself. The last thing I need is you ripping that Ghost to molecules! You will stay in this system where I can keep an eye on you, and that's final. Now arrange for our guests to be brought to Beacon." He looked at the screen again, watching the Ghost fly around, firing off energy blasts and even sending out a wail that seemed to destroy everything in its path. "Also, P.E.N.N.Y., get me everything you can on Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, and Ruby Rose..."
A/N: Hey guys! Shorter chapter this time, I know! It was a bit of filler as we trail into the latter half of volume 2 canon. But hey, we got the canon Yang speech done, btw I own nothing of that speech minus the Jaune bits. As for the now BlakexJaunexYang, well, I decided to make it a trio and nothing more than that. No harem! Just Black, White, and Yellow! It makes sense in my head, so…roll with it. Let's see what happens! As for Ironwood…dun dun dunnnnnn…. REVIEWS!
desdelor97: Thank you! I'm really enjoying writing it!
AnimeA55Kicker: Right? Haha
NoxXelor: I mean, that's true and all, BUT Jaune's powers are developing differently than Danny's.
Guest: What?
Nexus Bladeguard: Board game bit was fun, as was the shutting down of Sun. Don't get me wrong, Sun is one of my favorite characters, and he's obviously playing SOME part in this fic, just not as Blake's man friend! As you could tell with the end, Ironwood is CLEARLY involved with SOMETHING ghostly. Originally last chapter I had an A/N at the beginning of the chapter ranting about people telling me to slow down and telling me that Jaune's powers should just be his semblance, but decided to just nix that and write it into the chapter. Glynda and the Schnee family are the only two exceptions, but still, limits! Thanks again for the review my friend! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too! THE THEME SONG THOUGH