So I actually got another chapter out within the same week. I have a test this week so the next chapter is going to for sure take longer to get out but I'm going to try and keep up with this story. I cycle between three different stories all of which I have the next chapter started. When I get stuck on one a move to the other ones but I try to prioritize the ones that haven't had an update for the longest time. Also, I didn't realize when I posted the last chapter but it's really been over a year since I started this fic. Kind of sad that I've only done like 20k words in that time. It's really crazy how some people can keep updates like Coeur Al'Aran or A Stereotypical Gamer. If I get one update a month I'm happy

Chapter 7: An Old Acquaintance

Qrow sighed as they walked through the rain-soaked streets of Mistral. His idea to go to a bar had been shot down by both the kid and Ozpin. The kid had been adamant about helping in whatever work the rest of his team was doing and Ozpin insisted they go with him.

They had already crossed off a dozen names on their list without any luck and Qrow had decided it was about time to call it a night. He even thought it would be a good idea to try and take the kid with him to the bar. Anything to prevent him from putting himself through one of those torture sessions again. "Hey, kid how about we call it a night. It gonna get dark soon."

"Fine, let's just try one more place. I know a guy around here who is highly regarded for forging documents."

Qrow gave him a weird look. "What you?" Qrow said, having a hard time believing that this kid would associate with anyone like the people who inhabited this part of the city.

"Is this the guy you got your transcripts from?" Oscar asked sheepishly.

Jaune instinctively gave the boy a dirty look until he realized it was no longer Ozpin who was asking the questions. He realized that this kid was merely a victim of this centuries-long conflict and didn't need Jaune's hatred added on top of that.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"Don't worry about it. Oscar right?" Jaune asked, trying to sound friendly.

"Yea, Oscar Pine."

"Jaune Arc," Jaune said as he offered his hand to shake. "Did Ozpin tell you how long he knew."

"From the start, I believe. He didn't seem real eager to tell me about it but I've started looking through some of his memories. I remember him telling some lady named Glynda not to worry about the… inconsistency with your skills and your transcripts." Oscar said nervously

Jaune remained silent. It didn't make sense to Jaune why Ozpin would allow him to stay even if he knew he was fraud, not to mention make him the leader of team JNPR. And while he was happy to acknowledge he wasn't nearly as pathetic as he was when he first started at Beacon, it was clear that he was by far the weakest member of his team. Jaune was taken out of his thought as they reached their destination.

"Kid this is a restaurant," Qrow said before taking a drink from his flask.

"What? Did you expect them to have a sign that said get your fake transcript here?"

"Smart ass," Qrow replied as he followed the two kids in.

"Jaune, how did you learn about this place," Oscar asked.

"My sister got involved with some…less reputable people when he moved out on her own. She told me about it and I snuck off here last time my dad brought me and the family to Mistral."

They moved through the main part of the restaurant and towards a hallway in the back. They were stopped by a large Bull faunus in a suit. "What's your business?" The faunus asked as he blocked their path.

"We just need some information from Felix," Jaune replied.

"Fine, but you have to check your weapons in with me."

Jaune took Corcea Mors out of its scabbard and placed it on a table. The faunus than patted him down before letting him pass. He did the same with Oscar and Qrow before the three men were allowed to enter the room.

Inside the office was a large wooden desk where a skinny man in a suit sat flanked by two far larger bodyguards.

"I don't know if you remember me but-

"Jaune!' The man said in recognition. "Don't look so surprised. I never forget a face. I'm glad to see that managed to make it out alive from Beacon."

"Really? I wouldn't think someone in your line of work would care all that much what happens to a Huntsmen academy." Qrow interjected.

The man gave a short laugh in reply. "Most people think that but my business requires a certain amount of stability which the academies provided. Now it seems like everyday theirs some report about a Grimm hoard breaking through our defensive perimeter. The Mistral guard is already stretched thin and it seems like half the registered huntsmen just up and vanished. But enough about my Kingdom's problems. I assume the three of you came here for something."

"The people who were responsible for the Fall of Beacon all came from Heaven. We're trying to find out where they got their credentials" Qrow said as he pulled up a picture of Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, and Neo.

"Well, I don't mind telling you, free of charge, that I didn't sell any fake credentials to these four."

"Well is there anything valuable you can tell us?" Jaune asked.

"That depends," Felix said as he rubbed his fingers together.

Both Oscar and Jaune looked at Qrow. Qrow merely sighed before pulling out some Lien from his pocket and throwing it on the desk. "I've got 1000 Lein if your information is good."

Felix smiled before taking the money off his desk. "Rumor has it that the fake credentials weren't in fact fake."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

"That the credentials these four got came from Heaven Academy officially."

"So that means they have someone working for them within Heaven," Jaune replied.

"I suppose that does give us a new lead," Qrows said merely thinking out loud.

"Anything else you can tell us?" Jaune asked.

"I can tell you that there has been some infighting among these four."

"How do you know that?" Oscar asked.

"The White Fang, who we know was working with these four to attack Beacon, put out a bounty on this one." He said pointing to the girl with black pigtails.

"Well, it's not like we can just ask them where she is."

"You have anything else for us to go on," Jaunes asked once more.

"Other than telling you where to get in contact with some members of the White Fang, I'm afraid not," Felix replied.

Qrow and Jaune both sighed before turning to leave.

"Ozpin says he's lying," Oscar said defiantly.

Qrow immediately stopped. "You wouldn't be holding out on us?"

The bodyguards immediately stepped forward to oppose any aggression. Felix sighed. "Look, I can appreciate what the three of you are trying to do. And while I wish you luck in it I still run a business. A business that depends on the confidentiality of its clients."

"You do realize that if we don't stop them Heaven might share the same fate as Beacon."

"I'm aware, however, that doesn't change my position."

"Well, that's not good enough in this situation," Qrow replied.

"I'm going to have to ask you three to leave now."

"Ahhhh!" Jaune yelled as he transformed his scabbard into its shield form and rammed it into the guard right in front of him.

Both Qrow and Oscar were shocked to see that it was Jaune that made the first move of aggression but neither of them wasted the opportunity. Qrow quickly subdued the other bodyguard while Ozpin again took control of Oscar's body and prevented Felix from grabbing the weapon under his desk.

Qrow made short work of his adversary and then moved to help Jaune with his. They then turned to the door to stop two more of Felix's guards. For bodyguards, these people might have been decent muscle but they were nowhere near a challenge for even a moderate Huntsman.

"Felix I really don't want to hurt you but we need to know where these people are," Jaune said as he held Corcea Mors to the man's throat.

"Hahaha. Look kid A for effort but you're not fooling anyone. You're the same goody-goody idealist who came to me a year ago trying to prove himself to his father. You have been fed a steady stream of bullshit your whole life about how Huntsmen are a force against evil made to protect the weak and innocent. Your practically a character from a comic. You don't have it in you to hurt an unarmed man let alone torture me. So why don't you-AWWWWWW" Felix's lecture was cut short by a blood curtailing scream.

Jaune twisted his sword into Felix's thigh. He was about to yank the blade out and try and stick it in the other thigh but was pulled away by the collar.

"What the hell was that kid," Qrow yelled as he slammed Jaune into the wall.

"We need answers and I'm not going to let another one of my teammates die because of honor or morals."

"Its that kind of thinking that puts you on the same path as Cinder. Is that what your partner would have wanted, for you to turn into someone like that?"

The simple mention of his partner washed away his anger and replaced it with shame. His sword fell from his hand as he was forced to look away from Qrow.

"I must agree with Qrow, especially since it's completely unnecessary," Ozpin said as he approached Felix and looked him straight in the eye. "While I'm sure I do not look as intimidating as ether Mister Arc or Mister Branwen, I assure you I'm far more dangerous than either.

Felix's first instinct was to laugh at the kid but there was something wrong with his eyes. They were the eyes of a much older man and the longer he stared at them the more pain and suffering he saw behind them. He was wrong, this wasn't a boy or a man this was some sort of monster. His attention was finally brought away from the monster's eyes by the green aura that emanated from its body. It filled the room and threaded to suffocate him.

"Alright! I'll tell you what you want to know!"

Neo whined as she took the wrapping off her leg to change the bandaging. After three days she was finally able to walk on her leg but it caused an extreme amount of pain. Even with her aura speeding up the healing process she was nowhere near ready for another fight. Her agility and acrobatics, which made her as dangerous as she was, where now gone. On top of that because of the painkillers she was taking she could hardly stand straight up. She figured it would be another two weeks before she would be well enough to go back out and look for any leads on Cinder. The only good news she had was that word had gotten out that an 'assassin' had killed Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus had taken over in her stead. Ironically Adam had claimed it was Neo herself that had slain Sienna Khan. Neo supposed it made a certain amount of sense. The White Fang knew she was in the city and they knew she had already attacked several White Fang bases. Surprisingly a small number of members of the White Fang had been smart enough to see through the lie and taken up arms against Adam. Even as militant as the White Fang had become, there where a few who realized that Adam's direction would take their organization down a path that would lead to oblivion. Neo knew this faction would be dealt with quickly and quite brutally by Adam but until it was the infighting would keep her safe.

The waiting around is what really drove her mad. She knew the more she rested the faster her recovery would go but her personality did not go well with doing nothing. She did some light stretching with her upper body, to keep flexible, as she watched tv. It was on the news but she quickly lost interest thinking of the events that had to lead her here.

She had met back up at her and Roman's safehouse after Beacon had fallen. She had waited 3 days until it finally dawned on her that Roman wasn't coming back. She had done all the foolish things desperate people who refuse to accept reality do. She had gone back to the last place she had seen him. Or at least to the wreckage of the airship they had taken over. When she found no sign of him she snuck into the prison in Vale to see if he had been captured. When it was clear he wasn't there either she began tracking down some of his hold contacts in some foolish hope that he had gone to them first and not to her. She checked their old hangouts, safehouses but nothing. When she finally ran out of hope that he was alive her mind instantly went to revenge. Red had been her first target but she was not among the students trying to reestablish control of Beacon from the Grimm. The school itself was completely destroyed so she didn't have any hope of finding where she lived from her school records. She had momentarily redirected her hatred. After all, cinder had been the one to force Roman into this job. It was her plan that put Roman in the position that led to his death. A fortunately for her she knew right where to start with tracking her down. Adam was one of the closest links she had to Cinder so she had taken the first ship to Mistral that she could sneak aboard.

In retrospect, Adam might not have been the best person to go after. While she was hunting him he had been looking for her. No doubt as a thank you present to Cinder. One on one she was confident she could handle Adam but she couldn't deal with him and an army of White Fang grunts. She pulled her self out of the thought, realizing there was no point in thinking about what she could have done differently. She got up and headed toward the fridge. As she pulled the Ice Cream out of the freezer she heard a loud click coming from the front of her hotel room. She dropped the tub of ice cream and placed her hands over her ears.

The three men walked silently through the streets of Mistral as they headed toward the other side of town. Felix had revealed that one of the fake Haven students had come to him 3 days ago, half dead, needing medical attention. Felix had one of his doctors see to her and then one of his men had driven her to a hotel on the nicer side of town. He assumed this girl would have changed locations by now but it was the only lead they had.

The man at the front desk had not been nearly as principled as Felix. It only took 50 lien from Qrow for the guy to admit there was a young lady matching their description who purchased a suite 3 month ago, paid 6 month in advance, and he hadn't seen her since. They took the room number and headed up the stairs.

"You think we should knock?" Oscar asked.

"Why? The guy sold us the key." Jaune said as he unlocked the door and began opening it. When it passed the halfway mark the three of them heard a loud click. Before Jaune or Oscar had any idea what was going on Qrow had pulled Oscar out of the way and used his own body to protect him from the blast that came soon after. Fire engulfed his back but his aura protected him and Oscar from any harm. When the blast subsided Qrow turned to check on the kid. He was already getting back up ready to charge into the room. Qrow moved passed him and saw what looked like the person they were searching for only with a different hairstyle. Better to detain her first and see if it the right person laster. Besides anyone that places a bomb on their front door can't be all that innocent. Qrow thought as he rushed in to strike her with his sword. She shattered into a thousand pieces when his sword made contact. Before he knew what was going on he felt a bowling smash into his face. He turned and found the same girl coming at him with a knife. The stab was sloppy and weak. He easily disarmed her and kicked her against the wall. When she didn't move he walked over to her to see if she was still continuous.

"Qrow she's going for the window," Ozpin yelled.

Qrow looked towards the window and saw nothing. He looked back at the girl and touched her head. Again the illusion shattered like glass. He looked towards the window and sure enough, there was the girl trying to open it. He fired off a round from his sword that sent her flying back into the wall slamming her head into a class picture frame.

Qrow walked over to the body to make sure it was really her. He was relieved when this time she did not shatter into glass.

"Ouch," Qrow said, as he realized the shot had finished off the little aura she had and now her face was covered in glass. It was clear that she was not at full strength. She had fresh badges on her leg signifying she was still recovering from a rather serious injury.

"Really? Sympathy. You do realize I got blown up because of the grenade she placed on her door, right?" Jaune complained.

"Stop whining. With your aura levels, I think you'll be fine." Qrow laughed. Unfortunately, he was to busy giving Jaune a hard time that he didn't notice the girl grab the hilt of his sword and fire a round off into his foot. The distraction gave her the chance to move past Qrow and Ozpin. She ran for the now absent door. Neo thought she might have a chance as she passed by the boy but was knocked out cold as a flat object smashed against the side of her head knocking her into a wall yet again.

"Still feel bad for her?" Jaune asked as he retracted his shield back into its sheath form.

"Less so now," Qrow replied as he rubbed the top of his foot.

RING…RING…RING

"Hey, it's Jaune," Ruby said to the rest of the group as she answered her scroll.

"Hey, Ruby are you guys with Ren and Nora?"

"Yea, we were just about to find a place to eat. Are you and uncle Qrow going to meet up with us?"

"No, we kind of found a lead. Anyways when you're done with dinner get all of our stuff from the hotel and meet us at the Highland Estates. We thought it would be good if we rented a house since some more people are going to be staying with us."

"Jaune we don't really have enough money to afford that."

Jaune gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry about it I think we'll be fine."

So some of you might have been able to notice where my mind was going before Vol 5 came out. Based on the World of Remnant video talking about how Mistral had a significant black market I kind of thought that Jaune's forged transcripts would come into play. I also thought that Jaune's lineage would as well but It seemed like I was wrong about both.

Anyways if you have any questions leave a comment or PM me and I'll get back to you sometime next week.