Jaune and his team waited for team RWBY to make their way across the gap in the bridge; Weiss made use of her glyphs, Ruby propelled herself with Crescent Rose, and Yang used the length of Gambol Shroud's ribbon to give Blake enough speed to make the crossing before following with blasts from Ember Celica.
"That was an incredible display you guys put on." Jaune congratulated the group as they approached.
"Well of course. What else would you expect from us?" replied Weiss, as Ruby settled for just smiling.
Yang nodded, confirming that "Yeah, that was a thing." Blake remained quiet, and since Jaune didn't know her that well, he couldn't guess at her mind set – but he chose to believe she was probably in a good mood like her team mates.
"Yeah, it was great. However, we should probably return to the cliffs; we have four artefacts much less daylight than I'm comfortable with." Ren's voice of reason made itself known, and the rest of the team took note that the light was most definitely fading.
"Ren's right. Let's run back to the cliffs. They should be directly south of here?" Jaune looked for confirmation; he got a nod from Ren and Pyrrha, as well as Blake, so he oriented himself according to the sun. "All right then people, let's go get our hero's welcome!"
Jaune took off at a light jog, wanting to balance his remaining stamina with making it back to the school before night time. The group had made it back to the cliffs by early evening in his memory, and he wanted to make it at least that quickly. Seven pairs of padding feet joined the sound of his own, and moments later a figure drew level with Jaune at the head of the pack.
"You know, I can understand your knowing Nora's name. You were nearby when she rode the Ursa into the clearing, so you could have heard me calling her. But Nora doesn't really use of my name much - she just assumes I know she's talking to me. I'm also sure that none of the others here know my name either. So...how do you know it?".
Jaune kept quiet for a moment as Ren posed the question. He'd messed up; he could rationalise it as being a calculated risk, using Ren's name in the fight and hoping he wouldn't notice...but Jaune had learned much of his situational analysis and observational technique from the dark haired young man, so he should have known that the martial artist would notice. He turned to look at him; Ren's eyes were steady and searching, meeting Jaune's own unflinchingly. Jaune sighed, before moving over so that he could speak without being overheard.
"Yeah, I guess you got me there. I actually did some research on most of the students who were going to be at Beacon this year. I got the names from an information broker, and I just looked into the ones who I could find information on. That's where I got your name and Nora's, as well as Blake's." Ren's eyes narrowed.
"You know, that information is meant to be kept confidential." Jaune nodded in agreement, his eyes facing forward now so he could watch the route.
"Yeah. But I'm...shall we say underdeveloped, in comparison to all of you. So I tried using information to give myself a more even playing field." Jaune knew that this would resonate with Ren, who was a great believer in the power of information. That made it more believable and more forgiveable. Thus, Jaune could preserve a future relationship with Ren while at the same time covering for his own mistake.
He hoped.
There was silence for almost a minute, but Jaune didn't dare turn to check on the runner beside him. If he did, his future team mate could infer that he wasn't confident in his story, and disbelieve it. That would cause all kinds of trouble, so Jaune wanted to avoid it if at all possible.
"I suppose I can understand your reasoning. It's the kind of thing I would do...Jaune, wasn't it?" The blonde warrior nodded as he ran, still trying to get his breathing rhythm back from the conversation. "Well, I'll let slide. However, if you want to know more about Nora and I, I'd prefer if you simply asked next time." Jaune nodded vigorously to signify his assent, then settled back into his rhythm while Ren fell back to run with Nora. That was one disaster averted at least.
Moments later, however, another figure moved up beside Jaune. Red hair flowing as she ate up ground despite her fatigue, Pyrrha fell into step with him. The look on her face told Jaune that she was ordering her thoughts, so he let her think, waiting to hear what he had to say. "I believe I owe you an apology, Jaune." were her first words, and they certainly weren't what Jaune had been expecting.
"An apology?" he panted, "what for?"
"Well, when we first met in the locker room...I didn't think you were much of a warrior. You were funny, and even somewhat...charming...in your own way," Pyrrha continued, coughing to the side as she muttered 'charming' so lowly that Jaune barely caught it, "but nothing about you made me think that you were going to be like you are. You've shown me that you're knowledgeable, skillful and quick-thinking. So, I wanted to apologise for thinking less of you than I should have." Jaune tried to cut in, but Pyrrha apparently wasn't finished. "And so, I just wanted to apologise.". Here she finally petered out, apparently waiting for Jaune to respond.
Of course, Jaune knew that his response could very well define the course of their relationship in the future. So, he took a moment to compose himself, before deciding that he could deal with oxygen deprivation in exchange for answering Pyrrha properly. "Pyrrha...thank you. It means a lot that you think so highly of me, it truly does. Since you do...I was hoping that you might be willing to spend some time with me. I'm nothing special in combat - I need to be stronger. So...would you consider teaching me?"
The red-head blinked as she processed Jaune's request, and he waited with (figuratively) baited breath. Then she smiled. "Of course I'll train you, Jaune; you're my partner, after all."
With all the acts he'd been putting on lately, Jaune felt good at being able to genuinely smile again. "Thank you, Pyrrha. Thank you."
Pyrrha ran alongside Jaune for the remainder of the way back to the cliff, a companionable silence moving with them as they travelled. Once faced with the massive edifice, the group put their heads together and came up with a strategy for scaling the rock face. First, Yang found the tallest nearby tree and used Ember Celica to launch herself to a point about two thirds up the cliff.
Next, as proof of concept, Jaune balanced himself on his shield, which Ren and Pyrrha launched upwards as the blonde struggled to maintain his balance. With him in the air, Nora had no problem swinging Magnhild in a massive upward arc, detonating on impact with the metal. Jaune was sent hurtling up the cliff face and, as he passed Yang, she grabbed his wrist and sped him up again, as he had begun to slow. The combined velocity was enough for Jaune to reach the top of the cliff, and with his shield dangling from his foot by its strap, he pulled himself onto the peak.
He poked his head over the side and waved to his teammates below, who waved back in confirmation. Next up was Pyrrha, who got the same treatment as Jaune except with Ruby and Blake lifting alongside Ren. Another detonation and Pyrrha was just below Jaune in seconds, who caught her outstretched hand and helped pull her up beside him. Next up were Ren and Blake. Ren balanced on the back of Magnhild's head, and when Nora fired, he used the upward thrust to reach a bit below Yang on the cliff face, digging in with Stormflower.
He started using his weapon as a climbing tool as he made his way upward. Blake used the same launching strategy, but she also used her semblance as a spring board to gain some extra height, bringing Gambol Shroud's range close enough for Yang to catch the thrown weapon about half way along the ribbon.
Grunting with effort, Yang moved swung Blake back and forth on the end of her weapon until with one almighty swing the sombre girl was catapulted further up, where the now-freed ribbon from her weapon was swung toward Jaune and Pyrrha. They caught it together, providing a stable anchor for Blake to use in climbing up to them. Ren reached the top a few moments later, walking to stand with the other three as they waited for Nora. Delighted laughter and an explosion echoed from the cliff's base and grew louder as Nora sailed upward on the force of her weapon's detonation, aided by one of Weiss' acceleration glyphs.
Once Jaune, Pyrrha, Blake, Ren and Nora were secured at the cliff top, Gambol Shroud was extended down to Yang while the five students who had already made it held onto the other end. With a heave, Yang threw herself far enough up the cliff to grab hold of the ribbon, and she was hauled up to join the others. Second to last was Ruby. Weiss created a road of glyphs up the cliff-side, and the group's youngest member simply ran to join her sister. After that, it was only moments before the Schnee heiress used her glyphs as platforms, leaping from circle to circle, moving ever higher until she finally reached the top and set down lightly.
The eight turned as one when they heard a gentle clapping from behind them. Ozpin stood there with Professor Goodwitch, clapping gently. Jaune realised they must have been standing there all along...but he hadn't even noticed. Either the headmaster's really sneaky, or I'm way too tired for this.
"That was very nicely done. I see that we have four partnerships here - I am glad to see that the spirit of camaraderie that Huntsmen and Huntresses have relied on for so long making itself known so early on in the year." The silver haired headmaster stopped his clapping, his hands returning to rest on his cane.
"Since you are the last groups to arrive, head straight back to the hall where I first greeted you. I will be revealing the teams there. But first, your artefacts, if you please." Ruby, Yang, Jaune and Nora stepped toward the beckoning Ozpin, who nodded to Professor Goodwitch. The Huntress logged which partners had chosen which pieces, as those apart from Jaune finally realised that the artefacts they had collected were matching sets. Ozpin then collected the pieces, returning them to foam impressions in a black case by his feet, and then gestured in the direction of the school.
Taking the hint, the weary but victorious group made their way back through the lightly wooded surroundings of Beacon, reaching the assembly hall together. They only had to wait a minute before Ozpin appeared on the stage, and started announcing the matching pairs who had collected sets of artefacts. As soon as Team CRDL had been announced, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora began moving forward as their names were called out.
They stood in front of the headmaster, who looked to each of them in turn. "The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as: Team Juniper." An excited Nora giggled happily at the announcement, turning to embrace Ren as she did so. "Led by..."
Here Jaune stiffened. This was the last moment where his future alongside his team could change. If he wasn't chosen to be the leader, there was a possibility that the team dynamics he was familiar with would be changed, and have unforeseen consequences.
"Jaune Arc." Jaune let out an explosive breath at the announcement, bringing a hand to his chest. Ozpin leaned slightly closer, taking his sudden expulsion of air as surprise. "Congratulations, young man." he told Jaune, who turned to see Pyrrha smiling massively at him. She gave him a decent tap on the shoulder with her fist, which thankfully didn't knock him over in front of all the first year students. Jaune led his team down from the stage, making way for the final team to be announced.
Jaune gave Ruby a thumbs up as she and the rest of the soon-to-be Team RWBY climbed onto the stage while Ozpin made his final announcement. "Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as...Team RWBY. Led by...Ruby Rose."
And with that, all the pieces fell into place. Jaune knew that the board was ready now, and the grand scheme was finally about to begin. In that moment, he and Ozpin shared the exact same sentiment.
It truly was going to be an interesting year.
With Team RWBY's formation, the first year students moved from the hall in their teams, receiving slips of paper from another teaching aide as well as devices which resembled two white handles with a yellow diamond in the centre. Nora and Pyrrha immediately opened the Scrolls; Pyrrha so she knew what its purpose was, Nora to try and find if it had any games on it. Jaune was already more than familiar with the devices, so he didn't bother, and instead examined the paper. The sheets detailed the room in which each team was situated, and where in the dorm building it was.
Jaune examined it, and almost stopped in his tracks. They'd been given the same room. The exact same room as Team JNPR had been in for the past year of Jaune's life. Something isn't right about all these coincidences...then again, it might be just that. Jaune knew exactly how to decide that though. He searched for a bit before spotting Ruby and her team, and he gestured for Pyrrha, Ren and Nora to follow him as he moved toward them.
He hailed them with a "Hey guys!" once they were closer, and the four girls stopped for a moment to let them catch up. "Congrats on becoming a team leader, Ruby." was Jaune's greeting, as he raised his right hand.
"Congrats yourself Jaune." was Ruby's reply as she high-fived the blonde. Yang grinned as she nodded to her fellow blonde.
"I guess Team Jaune became a reality, eh lady killer? Nice work." Jaune laughed with the others; it was hard to believe that everything which had happened was only one day – and this was Jaune's second time doing it.
"Thanks, Yang. Hey, where's you guys' room?" Ruby moved to stand next to Jaune so they could compare their sheets.
"Hey Jaune, you guys are right across the corridor from us! How awesome is that?" The blonde tactician was vaguely aware that he answered in the positive, but he couldn't have repeated the exact words; his mind was occupied by the unique sensation of his blood running cold.
Okay, that cinches it. I get my old locker; I run into the Deathstalker I met the first time I entered the forest, which has already been released from the cave; Pyrrha and I arrive just in time to catch Ruby, when I intercepted her completely by accident the first time around; and now we end up with the exact same rooms? There's something I'm not seeing about this situation...
Jaune felt a small hand on his right shoulder. "Hey Jaune, you all right? You looked really weird for a moment there." Ruby had apparently seen his train of thought pass across his face. Jaune would have to be more careful with that in the future.
"Oh, I'm fine. Just really tired. Shall we go and find these rooms then?" Ruby seemed to accept his plea of fatigue, and so the group set off for the dorm building. Jaune just remembered to pull one of his gloves off and open his Scroll, pressing his fingertips to its screen as it scanned them. The device compared the pattern to the school's database, searching for a match. The others noticed and copied him, and by the time they had crossed the courtyard each person's scroll had identified its owner.
They reached the dorm building quickly, and Jaune followed the familiar corridors to the two doors which housed teams JNPR and RWBY. "Looks like this is it." Jaune turned around. The other seven members of the group had been following his lead, since he was displaying such confidence in is directions.
"Well, I think we're all tired out now - so I guess we'll talk again in the morning?" Mumbles and nods met his words, and since Jaune echoed the sentiment, he pressed his Scroll against a panel beside the dorm room door. A moment later it beeped, and the door clicked open as it recognised Jaune's access permission. Moving inside, he found that the team's bags had already been placed in the room.
He moved forward and collected his, placing it on one of the four beds. The other three members of the team moved into the room behind him, Ren flicking the light switch on as he closed the door.
Dead on his feet, Jaune pulled a towel and some clean clothes from his bag alongside the toiletries he'd made use of the previous night and zombie-shuffled his way into one of the two bathrooms. The room was composed of five separated areas: the main room, with four beds and a matching number of desks which could be used for studying, as well as four chests of drawers. Two two-man bathrooms, making for four showers, four cubicle toilets and four sinks. Finally, there were also two walk-in wardrobes, which allowed for private changing since this was a co-ed room. Beacon was a prestigious school, and its dorms very much echoed that fact.
One hot shower, some clean clothing and a tooth-brushing later, Jaune felt almost human again. He moved out of the bathroom in a loose t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms, still drying his hair. Nora, Pyrrha and Ren were still taking their showers, so Jaune simply fell into the bed he'd placed his bag on and was passed out before his head touched the pillow.
Jaune opened his eyes.
Or at least, he thought he did. The world was as dark with them open as with them shut, and after a moment he realised that the darkness was familiar. He took stock - he was sitting in a chair, and to his right was the table which had been present when he was last here. Occupying the other seat was Monty, once again sitting with his legs folded and his hands in his lap.
"Hello again, Jaune. I've decided to take advantage of your sleeping mind to come and have a chat with you." Jaune nodded, deciding that if Monty had need to speak with him, he probably needed to hear what he had to say.
"Well, I'm here; what did you want to talk about?" he asked.
Jaune's God shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well, Jaune, I've decided that after you've done such a good job of getting situated, I figured you were owed some proper answers. So, I'm offering this: ask any one question to do with your current situation, and I'll answer it fully and truthfully." Jaune pondered that for a moment. Any question...this could be a major source of intelligence.
But, at the same time, one question burned in his mind and heart, and he made the choice to let it out. "Why me? Of all the people you could have called into service, you chose me – why was that?"
The black haired figure sighed, his posture slipping in a classic show of defeat. "Well Jaune, I promised the truth, so I won't sugar coat it. I chose you because you were convenient."
Of all the possibilities Jaune had considered, his being 'convenient' was not one of them. Monty was continuing however, even in the face of Jaune's stunned incredulity. "You see, after Beacon's fall, I was looking for anyone who I could use to try and set things right. Honestly, you weren't my first choice. You weren't even my tenth. But in one fell swoop, you put yourself right in my sights; a young man with nothing to lose and everything to gain, a skilled tactician and warrior with a decent character – and you happened to die within two days of Beacon falling. It was almost too easy to pick you."
Jaune sat and absorbed this information. Monty Oum, his God, had chosen to send him back in time to prevent the destruction of Beacon Academy...because he was in the right place at the right time. Monty sighed and leaned back. "You'll need time to process this. I understand that. I'll let you get back to sleeping now." He stood up from the table and began to walk away into the emptiness. But before he vanished entirely, he turned back.
"Oh, and Jaune - just a heads-up. Apparently, my pulling you out of the life and death cycle has twisted your soul a bit. As a result, you may find that your aura, and indeed your Semblance, are a bit...unusual. I trust you'll figure it out."
And on that bombshell, Jaune fell back into an uneasy sleep.
Author's Note
All right, and the stage is set! Have to admit that this one went on longer than I expected; I tried to write it skipping the part where they scale the cliffs, but my continuity sense wasn't having any of it. From this point on is where things should get more interesting for Jaune, so I hope you enjoyed this enough to stick around and see what happens next.
Please note that I'll probably be writing more slowly over weekends due to shifting from a desktop PC to a battered old Lenovo laptop, but then again I'll have more time, so perhaps you won't notice.
Either way, leave any criticism or comments as a review, and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!