Chapter 4

Jaune's hand was raised, though the headmaster didn't seem to take notice of this. "Uh, sir, I've got a question. So this landing strategy thing…."

He isn't ready for this at all.

As Jaune tried to wrest answers from the headmaster, Julian used what little time he had to survey his surroundings and to figure out a way to keep Jaune from breaking his spine. Julian had never seen the exam in person, but he still should have prepared the boy for what was to come. Already he was failing his mission.

One by one, the automated springboards launched each prospective student up into the air. It would only be seconds before it was Julian's turn.

The Emerald Forest below used to be filled with an abundance of trees, but most of it had been cleared out by Reinhard's forces to make room for drill tanks, armored vehicles, and mechanized infantry. While part of the forest remained intact toward the north, most of it was filled with stumps and new saplings, with tread marks, footprints, and bits of machinery crossing over them. Grimm stood within plain sight. In fact, Julian had seen a pack of Beowolves struggling to scale the cliff while walking to the test site.

Julian hated to admit it, but his semblance was probably the most suited for this sort of situation. While everyone else would need to find an indirect use of their abilities to soften their landing, all Julian needed to do was direct the air around him to slow his descent. The way it worked was a bit counter-intuitive - directing the air in one direction would pull Julian the opposite way, for instance - but over the course of the years he had gotten used to his powers, with Captain Schönkopf's help of course. He was grateful for having the man as his instructor.

Only a few more before me. He needed to think fast. As soon as he launched, he would slow himself down until he was completely stationary. Then, just before it was Jaune's turn, Julian would speed back up until the two of them were roughly in line with each other. Then, he'd push himself back, grab onto the boy, and then slow them both down to safety. The timing's got to be perfect on this, though. Let's just hope this works.

-WHAM!-

And just like that, Julian was spinning through the air. He threw both his arms out, and redirected the airflow around him until he was completely upright. He didn't need to bring out his tomahawk yet, as it was too easy to lose from this height. He held both palms in front, and then channeled the air in front of him to slow his speed. While he could feel traces of the wind breezing around him, he mostly felt the counteractive forces of his semblance pressing against his palms, feet, and chest, like an invisible hand pushing him back. While his semblance didn't wear him out as quickly as some of the other ones did, he still couldn't afford to use it liberally, especially since overuse could lead to painful cramps.

-CRACK!-

"AAAAGH!" Julian screamed as the next student slammed into his back at full force.

"Hey, watch where you're going! Geez, I'm going to have bruises for weeks!" Julian was too busy trying to cope with the pain to bother with trying to see who this person was. His aura had shielded him from the full brunt of the blow, but it didn't do much to stop the pain. Not to mention, it could give way any minute now. Although Julian couldn't turn around to face the cliff, the boy could imagine Ozpin chuckling to himself, taking a sip from his favorite coffee mug.

Only a few seconds later, Julian heard Jaune screaming through the air.

Crap!

Julian sprung to attention, and he pushed his palms out to guide his landing through the oncoming trees. The girl on his back clung on tightly to him, unwilling to use her own abilities for whatever reason. In the sky above, Julian saw a red and gold spear soaring towards Jaune. Wait, that's Pyrrha's spear, right?

The former soldier stopped in place, planting his feet firmly on the ground as the girl on his back stepped off. Pyrrha didn't seem like the type of girl who would back-stab another prospective student at the first chance she got. Most likely, she was trying to shield the boy from the fall, though Julian wasn't exactly sure how the spear was supposed to do that. On the other hand, the weapon seemed to be curving in its trajectory as it soared through the air, though Julian's low ground perspective may have altered his view. I better go on ahead just to make sure. Even if that thing somehow stopped his fall, Jaune's still in a vulnerable position.

Then again, there was still the matter of his new partner. After dusting off his pants, Julian turned around to face the girl behind him. He held out his hand, trying to ignore the surging pain. Hard to believe that I'll have to work with this person for the rest of my time here. "Julian. Julian Mintz. Agh!"

Though reluctant at first, the green-haired girl accepted the gesture. "Emerald Sustrai. Well, it looks like I'm stuck with you." Her dark complexion marked her as a Southerner, like his old squad-mate, Mashengo. If only he was still here.

"Alright, we've got no time to lose! This way!"

"Wait, hold on!" shouted Emerald. Julian hobbled through the forest, passing by numerous Grimm minding their own business. No screaming yet. Let's hope he's still safe when we get there.

The former Knight of the Rose unstrapped the tomahawk from his back and brought it out in front. It was probably his best weapon against the black fiends. His pistol could bring down some of the Beowolves, but they could easily jump out of the way whenever Julian pulled the trigger.

-POW! POW! POW! SHING! SHING!-

Julian couldn't quite see what was going on behind him, but his new partner seemed to be doing a good job of keeping the packs of Grimm away from him. He would have liked to help, but now was not the time. Plus, he hadn't fought any of the beasts before, so he wasn't sure how effective his ax would be against them. He could have used his semblance to cleave through the fiends with an arc of pressurized air, but that had its own problems. It was an inefficient use of his powers, and it was easy to dodge. In Julian's current state, he probably couldn't afford to use it anyway.

"You!"

Somewhere far up ahead, Julian could hear the scream of a certain Schnee heiress. In a momentary lapse of judgment, Julian stopped in place, trying to figure out what could have caused the girl to scream like that. But, soon enough, the answer came to him.

Poor Ruby.

Remembering his task, Julian continued running through the forest with Emerald trailing close behind him. For some reason, she looked a bit older than the rest of the girls, but he couldn't quite explain why that was. It was nothing to worry about anyway. And besides, he had more important matters to worry about. Just where did he land?

Only seconds later, Julian found the boy hanging from a tree. Pyrrha's spear had gone through his hood, pinning him to the trunk. Surprisingly, the spear hadn't ripped through the fabric during Jaune's descent. Well, that's a relief. Still, Professor Ozpin might be disappointed.

Yang's ward quickly found Pyrrha standing a few feet to his left. As soon as she spotted him, she waved with her free hand. "A pleasure seeing you again, Julian."

"Same here."

Emerald stepped forward, both hands on her hips. "So, is this your girlfriend or something?"

Julian raised his eyebrow in confusion. "What?"

"We do not have romantic feelings for each other, if that is what you are implying," said the champion of Mistral.

"Sure, sure. The name's Emerald, by the way." She held her hand out.

The red-headed girl went forth to receive the greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss…"

"Sustrai."

"Yes, Miss Emerald Sustrai."

"Introductions are fine and all, but could one of you please get me down from here?" shouted Jaune.

"Sorry, Jaune!" Pyrrha ran up to the tree and then began to climb it. As she was removing the spear, Julian saw Weiss come out from behind a series of bushes on the other side of the small clearing. She briefly looked at both Julian and Emerald before turning her attention to the Mistralian.

"So," the heiress began, "are you still up on that offer?" Julian vaguely remembered Weiss pestering Pyrrha about the prospect teaming up, shortly after last night's dinner. And before everyone left for sleep. And when everyone was getting ready in the locker room. If there was anything that Julian had learned about the heiress, it was the girl's persistence. Weiss had practically chased the scythe-user all over campus before everyone went to bed. Julian didn't know what Ruby had said to the young heiress to incur her wrath, but it couldn't have been that bad.

"What's that, snow angel?" said Jaune as he landed on the ground. It was obvious that the Arc lad had a thing for the young heiress, though it was also clear that he had absolutely no idea what he was getting himself into.

"Not you, you dolt! Ahem! So, what will it be, Pyrrha?" On the other hand, the white-haired girl's haggling was a bit pointless, to say the least. Ozpin did mention that everyone had to partner up with the first person he or she made eye contact with.

"I don't think…"

Pyrrha interrupted before Julian could complete his thought. "Sorry, but I'm partnered up with Jaune. Maybe you'll find someone else." I don't think that's going to go over well. Seeing as the heiress was now seething with rage, Julian's assessment had been fairly accurate.

Weiss twitched her head in Julian's direction. "I take it you two dolts aren't available?"

Julian remained silent. Now would be a really, really, really bad time to speak. Julian had faced other soldiers many times in combat before, but hunters and huntresses were on a completely different level. While he had fought them before, he usually had the protection and firepower of a hummingbird anti-personnel unit to give him a fighting chance. Plus, he had already seen what kind of destruction Weiss was capable of. He would rather not be encapsulated in a tomb of ice if he could help it. Just stay still and be calm. There's no need to get into unnecessary conflict.

Emerald stepped up and answered for him, "Of course we are! Isn't that right, Julian?" The green-haired girl turned and winked at him. What in the world have I gotten myself into? In all his years of fighting in the war, Julian had never been more terrified than he was now. He could take on enemy regiments, with his fellow Knights of the Rose to back him up and give him courage, but here he no longer had that luxury.

This is really, really bad.

A few seconds later, the boy saw Ruby's silver eyes peering out from the bushes where Weiss had come from, her gun-scythe barely sticking out. As she tried moving some of the branches, she tripped and fell over, prompting Weiss to turn in her direction. The heiress threw her arms up in the air and then let out a great groan as she approached her partner.

As Yang's cousin stood back up, her eyes turned to the former soldier. "Julian!" Ruby quickly dashed over to him before the Schnee girl could intercept her. Julian half-expected the scythe-wielder to embrace him in a hug, but instead she stopped a few feet in front of him. It was a good thing she didn't, because otherwise his back would break.

Julian's hand rose up to his head, but then he remembered he wasn't wearing a cap. "Ruby. It looks you made it through alright." He let out a gentle smile, trying to ignore the blue eyes glaring at him.

"Yeah," replied the weapons enthusiast. She leaned in close and whispered into Julian's ear. "Um, do we really have to follow the whole eye-contact thing? I think Weiss is going to kill me!" I'm afraid it's the same for both of us. But still, the rules are the rules.

"Just what exactly are you two dumbnuts talking about?" said Weiss as she intruded into their conversation. "Seeing as we're now partners, you really shouldn't be trying to keep secrets from me. Well?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" said Ruby as she leapt off to the side. Julian backed away as the heiress marched forward onto his ground. Even though she was a few inches shorter than the boy, the former soldier still found her presence frightening. Out of the corner of his eye, Julian could see his partner with her arms crossed, watching the situation with some sort of sick amusement. Even Jaune and Pyrrha turned to watch as they went over the basics of auras and semblances.

Julian held his hands forward, trying to appease the heiress. "Look, it's not that big a deal. Ruby was just trying to tell me that she wasn't fond of the system either…."

"What?" exclaimed Weiss as she turned to Ruby. "How dare you! You ignoble, little, peasant girl! Do you have any idea who I am? I am a Schnee! Anyone else would be begging to be my partner! Don't think you can run away just because your brother is here to protect you!"

"Weren't you trying to get someone else to be your partner just a minute ago?" said Emerald.

"Can it, you dolt!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" said Jaune. "Let's just calm down for a second. Okay, let's just take a deep breath in. And a deep breath out." The boy performed the actions as he said them. Weiss did not seem amused in the slightest.

Still, the girl complied with Jaune's request. "Fine. Shouldn't we be making our way to the temple or whatever the headmaster called it?"

"Jaune, look out!" shouted Ruby as she launched herself over everyone. A pack of Beowolves and Ursai leaped out from behind a group of bushes to the right of the tree behind Jaune.

As everyone else moved into battle positions, Julian swung his weapon out and charged at the enemy.

"I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure I killed more Grimm than you," said Emerald, her arms crossed.

"Nuh-uh! I had way more kills than you!" Ruby shouted back.

"Oh, so how many did you have?" Why are you two doing this?

"Nine!"

"Well, I'll admit, that's pretty impressive, for a fifteen year old!"

"That's more than you!"

"Oh, well I counted eleven!" Emerald stuck her tongue out at Ruby. Julian wasn't paying that much attention to the fight, but he was pretty sure his partner didn't get that many kills. She might have been counting some of the ones from before.

"I would've gotten more if you didn't steal all of them!"

"Ugh! Will the two of you just shut up!" said Weiss.

"At least I didn't set the whole dusting forest on fire! Were you even trying to help?" rebuked Emerald. As pointless as the whole situation was, Julian's partner had a point. The heiress hadn't done much except create a situational hazard. Furthermore, the girl was far too reliant on dust for her abilities; Julian knew that it was best to conserve whatever resources he had available.

"That wouldn't have happened if you two dolts knew how to coordinate your attacks!" On the other hand, their teamwork could have used some work. Almost everyone was too focused on getting kills for themselves to cooperate with each other effectively. Especially Emerald and Ruby, as much as Julian hated to admit it.

"I didn't even get one," Jaune said to himself.

But he did draw some of the Grimm away before they could catch the others unaware. Not that they really needed his help. Pyrrha walked alongside to console the boy. Julian would have liked to do so as well, but he was still trying to reflect upon the events of the battle.

Just how did I manage to do that? Right in the heat of battle, some sort of primal instinct took over. It wasn't anger per say, but it was more like a heightened awareness.

I killed three of them. Just as part of the pack had charged towards Jaune, Julian had rushed in, cleaving two heads off. When the last one had turned, Julian had split it in half when it tried to tear at his throat.

Grimm do not bleed. So many times had his weapon cleaved through the bones of other men that the sight of blood and entrails became natural to him. How many men did I slay with these two hands?

"Julian, are you alright?" a voice called out to him. The boy rose up, and he looked around. It was Ruby.

"Oh, it's nothing," the boy said. Jaune and Pyrrha seemed to be looking over at him as well.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Julian turned his eyes up toward the sky. Somewhere far off to the northwest, another group of students was trying to fend off a Nevermore with machine guns and grenade launchers. The sounds of gunfire and explosions seemed almost natural to him. Maybe we should help them out.

"Hey look everyone! We're here!" shouted Ruby as she pointed straight up ahead.

"Thank Dust!" remarked the heiress.

"I couldn't agree more," said Emerald, her arms still crossed.

Far up ahead, Julian saw a round, stone-brick rotunda. A crumbling stone wall hugged around the left side, and just inward of this stood a raised ring held up by four simple columns. Around the centerpiece's floral design stood twenty small pillars holding up what appeared to be chess pieces.

Relics. Upon a brief examination, there seemed to be four of every piece, two in black and two in gold.

Every piece, except for pawns. Yet pawns decide what shape the battle must take. When those in power neglect the influence that even ordinary people can wield, it is their greatest mistake. Even pawns can challenge the might of legends and strive to become better themselves.

Though, maybe I'm just over thinking this. The headmaster should try to make his students feel important, after all.

Both of the black bishops were missing, along with one of the golden rook pieces. While the boy couldn't say for sure, it was fairly obvious that the teams were supposed to be sorted based on what pieces were picked. Everyone else walked into the circle and examined the pieces in front of them. It was said that these grounds were used to commemorate some ancient god or goddess, back from before the days of the first kingdoms.

"Horsie!" shouted Ruby as she picked up a golden knight.

"You just had to pick one of the weakest pieces, didn't you?" said Weiss, her fists planted on her hips.

"But it's a horsie! And it's so cute!" said Ruby as she hugged the piece close in to her body.

"Hmph!" The heiress turned around and crossed her arms. A bishop would seem more to her liking: a piece with great range and power, but one that easily could be boxed in by members of its own team.

"I don't really know all that much about chess," said Jaune. "Julian, which of these pieces do you think I should pick?" Pyrrha seemed to be trailing along behind him, but she frowned a little when Jaune said this.

"You can pick whatever piece you'd like, Jaune," said the champion of Mistral, a hint of sadness in her voice. Jaune briefly turned around to face his partner, but then stepped back a bit so that both Pyrrha and Julian were in his sights.

"Well, I think the castle looks kinda cool, but I'm thinking we should get something that represents us as a team, you know?"

"Whatever," said Emerald from behind the group. "Just make it quick, okay?" The green-haired girl was leaning over by the pillar with one of the gold queens on it. She could have easily taken the piece for herself, forcing Julian to accept her decision, yet she didn't seem interested in pressing the issue.

"So," said Jaune, "do either of you two have any ideas?"

"I shall be content with whatever choice you pick," said Pyrrha. Despite her fame, the girl was surprisingly unassertive in her desires. Seeing as she was always looking at the boy every few seconds, she seemed to have a strange fondness for him. Looks like I'm going to have to decide for them. This must be how General Yang feels all the time.

Julian walked over to one of the pedestals with a golden king on it, and then gestured his hand towards it. Though it wasn't nearly as strong as some of the other pieces, the king was vital to winning battles late in the game, when most of the other pieces had fallen. It was a piece whose protection was always of vital importance, whose presence the others could not do without. Like Jaune, in a way.

Jaune stepped up to the ornate pillar, picked up the relic, and examined it. "Well, it does look pretty cool. You seem to know more about this stuff than I do, so I think I'll trust your decision."

Pyrrha looked over at Julian. "I think it's a fine choice. Thank you, Julian." The boy saluted out of instinct. He then started walking to retrieve the other king. Out of the corner of his vision, Emerald gave him a disapproving scowl.

Over on the other side of the circle, Weiss was busy chasing Ruby, trying to wrest the knight from her grasp. "You come back here!" shouted the heiress. In the process, they seemed to have knocked down several of the black pieces from their posts.

"Should we help them?" said Jaune.

Julian rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't worry, I'll fix this." Though he didn't want to stand in the way of the Schnee girl's fiery wrath, he did run around the edge of the temple to put the pieces back into place.

Emerald let out a groan. "You people are such…"

Just then, the Nevermore from before swooped down into the clearing nearby, followed by a pair of students. One of them, wielding a heavy grenade launcher, had short, reddish-orange hair marking her of Jotunheim descent. She was probably one of the ones who moved out prior to the rebellion. The other one, wearing a traditional green and black tailcoat, seemed to be of Midwestern descent, like much of Yang and Ruby's family.

Luckily, the big black bird didn't seem to notice the large group standing in the open temple. Weiss and Ruby stopped in place, and everyone else readied their weapons.

"Lets help them out. Just try to stay away from that fog up ahead." said Julian.

"Wait!" shouted Weiss. "We are not going in without a plan this time! Since I'm the smartest one here, aside from Pyrrha of course, you all better listen to what I have to say!"

"Looks like someone needs to take a chill pill," said Emerald. Out of almost everyone's sight, Jaune meekly raised his hand. This is going nowhere.

"Shut up! Look…"

"BANZAI!" Ruby swung her massive scythe into the ground, and then blasted herself off into the trajectory of the Nevermore. Everyone seemed to watch in silence.

Pyrrha started to speak. "Do you think we should…" As the battle raged on nearby, everyone shook their heads in confirmation.

"Well," said Emerald, "looks like our fun isn't over just yet."

Headmaster Ozpin announced the next set of students. "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."

The four students walked onto the stage of the auditorium. While most of them wore heavy armor, the one named Russel was dressed only in a vest and sweatpants. He also had a messy green mohawk on his head. Most likely, the kid had been a native of Vacuo in his early life, or so Julian reasoned. The one named Cardin, towering above the other three, had a large, golden eagle on his breastplate, though it could have been a Nevermore as well. Something about the boy's eyes betrayed a certain coldness, though Julian couldn't say what it was.

Professor Ozpin cleared his throat and then continued. "Lie Ren. Nora Valkyrie. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team SLVR, led by Ruby Rose."

Yang's cousin simply stood where she was, her mouth wide open in shock. Weiss growled before marching toward the stage, and the boy named Ren simply smiled in approval.

Nora hugged her arms around Ruby's stomach and lifted her up into the air. "I'm so proud of you, person I just met this morning! Hooray for Ruby!" The girl was surprisingly strong, seeing as she was able to lift both Ruby and her unwieldy gun-scythe with ease.

Ruby's arms and legs flailed about as Nora lifted her up and down again and again. "Help… Please… Can't… Breathe…"

Nora set her down for a second. "Okay, new leader!" She leaned in close, cupping her hand over Ruby's ear. "But just remember this, I'm the real mastermind behind this operation. Without me, you would be nothing! Got it?"

"Okay," Ruby said as her teammate lifted her up in her arms.

"Alright!" Nora began carrying the dark-haired girl over to Professor Ozpin.

Ren let out a sigh and started making his way toward the stage. Sometime after everyone had taken down the Nevermore, Julian's group had learned that Ren and Nora had taken the golden rook. Seeing how well everyone worked together, Ruby decided to swap her knight piece for the rook so they all could be on the same two teams, especially after seeing what a fun person Nora was.

Once everyone was gathered, Nora set Ruby down as everyone applauded. Though it was unlikely that Yang's cousin would see him, Julian gave her his salute. The young girl looked around at the audience, still semi-unconscious from Nora's abuse. Although she seemed an unlikely candidate because of her age and inexperience, Julian knew she would make a fine leader. While she had a tendency to charge headlong into situations, she had a surprisingly sharp intuition for battle, given how she managed to coordinate everyone during the fight against the Nevermore. Even the great Yang Wenli would be jealous of her tactical acumen, though most likely he would just laugh it off. But given the way she composed herself on stage, it could be difficult to discern this quality without having seen it first-hand.

As team SLVR began to walk off the stage, Ozpin continued on with the ceremony. "Emerald Sustrai. Jaune Arc. Julian Mintz. Pyrrha Nikos. The four of you retrieved the white king pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team JSMN, led by Jaune Arc."

"Wait, what? Led by… me?" Jaune's head turned back and forth between Pyrrha and Julian. The former soldier smiled at the boy, and Pyrrha did the same. While Julian had more experience leading soldiers on the battlefield, he could understand why the headmaster had chosen Jaune as their leader, as he too could see the boy's potential.

The three of them started walking toward the stage. Soon after, Emerald got up from her place along the left wall and followed after them. From what Julian had heard, students usually ascended to the stage as soon as their names were called, but students this semester had been reluctant to do so for some reason. At the same time, Ozpin made no effort to enforce this years old tradition, especially since he went through every team before its members could get into position. Maybe he's taken the general's habit of pouring wine into his coffee.

As the four of them lined up on stage, the audience applauded, just like for everyone else. Julian held his arms to his side, standing straight like a rod. He would have given his salute, but abstained from doing so, knowing his teammates would not follow. As the boy looked around the room, he saw Ozpin turn to face him, a look of indifference on his face. Although the eyes behind those glasses betrayed no emotion, the former soldier knew that the headmaster had already made up his mind. Though Julian had tried to accomplish his mission, in the end, he was not the one who had protected Jaune.

Just how am I going to explain myself to him?

A/N: Okay, so that's the end of that arc. The main story will kick off soon. As always, be sure to leave some feedback. I don't really know what people think about this story so far, or if I'm doing anything wrong, so any comments or criticism would be appreciated. Things are a bit slow at the moment, but stuff will build up eventually.