If Jaune had to describe the sensation of aura, it was like he had gotten a full night's sleep but upon waking he slammed a liter of pure espresso and was now ready to fight the moon before it invaded Remnant. He could feel his skin thrumming with power, hear his heart pump as loud as a battleship's cannons, and, for a moment, he thought he could hear radio static.

Was this what being high felt like?

In the midst of this newfound euphoria, Jaune realized he was laying on the ground. Had he fainted? He hoped not. That would look so uncool in front of his partner. He slowly sat up, still feeling a little dizzy and noticed he wasn't the only one knocked down.

"Ugh, what hit me?" Weiss groaned out as she got up, clutching her head with one hand.

"What the heck was that?" Ruby cried out.

"That," Pyrrha said, standing up from the kneeling position she was in, "was Jaune's aura activating. I must say, I was hardly expecting a backlash like that." She smiled at Jaune. "You should be proud of having such deep aura reserves."

Jaune stared at his hand, the glow around it slowly fading. "Yeah, sure. Is it normal to feel this… awesome? I feel like I could punch a Goliath to dust."

"Ah." Pyrrha winced. "You're experiencing an aura high. Everyone gets them, but those with stronger auras feel it worse." She walked over and pulled him up off the ground. "Just take it easy and try not to over-exert yourself. It'll wear off eventually."

He hoped so. He could already hear a weird buzzing noise.

"Okay, but what exactly happened in there?" Ruby, now back on her feet, asked once more. "We were having so much trouble but then Weiss came in and we all exploded." She turned to Weiss, who was standing on a shaky leg. "What did you do?"

The disconcerted expression on Weiss' face was odd to see, in Jaune's opinion. It looked out of place on the haughty girl. But, not that'd he'd say it aloud, it was a little cute to see her flounder a bit. "I'm… I'm not sure. I just copied my sister's technique when she unlocked my aura."

"Then why didn't we start with that in the first place?" Ruby asked exasperatedly.

Weiss' stern lecturer face reappeared. It reminded Jaune of a certain teenage tutor, except Nimi only did it when he fell asleep during class. "Because, you dolt, it's a semblance technique that works best on my family's aura. I didn't think it'd work in the first place. The fact that it did so well is troubling in and of itself, but that is a mystery to be solved another day. We've already wasted enough time here and we still need to find the temple. I will not stand for any more interruptions!"

The moment she finished, a low droning sound echoed over the forest. The four of them, startled by the sudden noise cast their gazes skyward.

"What's that sound?"

"I don't know."

"It's not a Grimm I've heard."

"It sounds like a Hellcat," Jaune said. It was hard to forget such a familiar sound, especially when Bataan was always working on one. He still remembered the time she tried to take him on a joyride, and that was when they discovered his affinity for airsickness. Mom made him scrub out the cockpit for that.

What was her plane doing out-

Oh.

Oh.

Aura highs suck.

Jaune swore a curse that his mom would keelhaul a certain cousin for teaching him, and ran for the closest bush big enough to hide him. Once inside, he began to conceal himself as best he could, like a Vietnamese, as Minnie would say.

He only got halfway through when he felt a dense weight crash on top of him, and then another smaller one into his side. His mind panicked for a split second until he saw it was Pyrrha who jumped on him and then Ruby joined in. Just beyond them, up in a nearby tree was Weiss, stepping off of a glyph platform onto the branch.

"What are you doing?" he hissed at them.

Ruby gave him an incredulous look. "What are we doing? You're the one that freaked out about the Hellcat Grimm. What are you doing?"

Jaune shook his head. "It's not a Grimm. It's- shhh!" Jaune curled up under the bush as the droning got louder and louder. Soon enough, the silhouette floated through the gaps in the leaves and then passed directly overhead, before disappearing once more.

With the danger passed, Jaune let out the breath he had been holding, but the high he was still riding set his mind into overdrive. He shakily pushed his way up and out of the bush, leaning against a nearby tree for support.

"Oh shit, I've really done it now, haven't I?" he groaned, his hand brushing through his hair.

"Done what?" Ruby and Pyrrha asked, popping out of the bush.

Weiss elegantly dropped out from the trees above with a few glyphs. "Would someone explain why we panicked over something that was certainly not a Grimm?"

Jaune winces. "Sorry. It was my cousin's plane, an old Hellcat. I'm pretty sure she's looking for me."

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Remember when I said my mom wasn't keen on me being a Huntsman?" Jaune grimaced. "I have really underestimated lately how much she stood by that."

"Oh. Wow."

"Yep."

"Why not?" Pyrrha asked, curiosity laced with concern in her voice.

"Because she's my mom. Because she's an overprotective worrywart. But mostly because she wants me to stay at home and take over the family business where I'll be safe." Jaune gave a long-frustrated growl at the past part. "Desk jobs don't slay Grimm."

"Do you have any siblings to take the role?" Weiss asked, an odd calculating look on her face.

"Seven sisters. Two older ones." Jaune was a little too frustrated to be amused by the girl's reactions to that fact, but they did make him feel a bit better. "And no, my mom didn't even consider any of them able to take the job for some weird reason."

"I see." Weiss' expression shifted into something unreadable.

"What are you going to do?" Ruby asks innocently.

A part of Jaune said to go home and face the music, but it was a small part that was reacted to as if it was a roach by the rest of him. No, the first chance to give up was back at home, facing that vampire in the basement. In retrospect, knocking her out was crazy, but deep down, Jaune knew it was when he fully committed himself to this crazy scheme. Roman's price gouging didn't stop him, lack of aura didn't stop him, and finding out the truth of his old sword only made his commitment stronger. He'll still have to face his mother's wrath, but it can wait until after graduation.

"For starters," Jaune said, speaking with conviction now, "finish this initiation."

"What about the Hellcat?" Pyrrha asked. Her question was framed logically, instead of with concern.

"The forest is pretty big and as long as I stick to cover, I should be fine. One Hellcat is easy to hide from."

As if the universe was listening, two more droning sounds made themselves clear. Both sounding like they were moving around the forest.

Jaune cursed under his breath. "If we move carefully, we can get past them, but it may take too long. I don't know how much farther the temple is."

"What if the planes were distracted?" Ruby asked.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "They're hundreds of feet in the air. How are you going to distract them?"

"Don't worry, I think I have an idea!"

"Why does that not fill me with confidence?" Weiss muttered.

Yang covered her eyes from the sun as she peered up at the planes circling the forest like vultures.

"What do you think they're looking for?" she asked her quiet partner.

"I don't know. They look like Great War planes. Maybe they're on patrol? Nevermores are common in Vale."

"Maybe they just want a bird's eye view?" Yang smirked at her partner.

Blake gave her a deadpan look. "If we're going to be partners for the next four years, I'm going to insist you work on your jokes."

"Darn, and here I thought we were really taking off but I guess my puns don't fly with you." Yang rested an arm on Blake's shoulder.

Blake rolled her eyes. "I think I just heard the sound of every Grimm nearby dying from that terrible pun. You should reconsider your fighting style to add comedy." A ghost of a smile flitted across her face. "It'd pack more of a punch."

Yang blinked. She then wagged a finger at her. "Oh you're good." Then she grinned. "Guess you're not as much a stick in the mud as I thought. No offense."

"Some taken."

"Brevity is the soul of wit," a new voice said.

"What the-?!" Yang whipped around, surprised by the newcomer, and once she got a good look at them, she was surprised again. "A maid?" she blurted out. Yang glanced at her partner to see she was even more startled and on edge, gripping her weapon. Yang filed that away for future pranks, and then focused on the maid.

"Can we help you?" Yang wondered what kind of maid would be this far out in the forest.

The maid picked up her dress and curtsied. "Greetings, I am Sheffield. Pardon me for the startle, but have either of you seen a reckless, blonde idiot recently?"

Blake raised her free hand and looked at Yang.

"Wha- Hey! I'm not an idiot."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "You didn't deny that you're reckless."

"I prefer the term 'free spirited'."

Blake looked back at Sheffield and let go of her gun. "I'm guessing Yang isn't who you're looking for. Can you elaborate?"

"Certainly. The rubbish- pardon me, boy I'm looking for is Jaune Arc. He's tall, blonde hair, blue eyes, and looks overall plain and foolish. He should be carrying an ornate sword with a sheath that extends into a shield."

Yang paused. This maid was looking for Jaune? The way she spoke was weird too. Was she upset at a mess he left behind? The guy was a dork, sure, but he didn't seem the messy type. Yang asked the maid as much.

"There are a number of messes he's caused as of late," Sheffield said coolly. "I am simply in the process of cleaning it up before he causes any more trouble."

Yang wasn't sure what to make of this maid. Maids were supposed to be all cute and smiles, not ominous and vaguely threatening. She reminded Yang of the stories about that cold blooded maid vigilante of Vale some decades ago.

Yang kept a dazzling smile on her face and, in her usual joking fashion, asked, "So you're here to 'take out the trash'?" She pointed finger guns at the maid.

Sheffield's face didn't change, or rather, it only turned icier. "Something like that, yes."

The frost in her voice froze the smile on Yang's face, turning it brittle with shock. Her eyes widened, frantic at the maid's possible meanings. 'Oh fuck! Am I talking to a hitman? Hitwoman?'

Thankfully, Blake took up the slack in the conversation.

"You're not from Beacon." Not a question, but a statement. "Who are you really?"

"I am Sheffield, simply a maid passing by. No one of concern to you." She spoke crisply and cleanly, like it was a packaged response.

"Okay," Blake said, her tone slightly unconvinced, "then what's so important about this guy that you need to use old military planes to find him?"

"That is also none of your concern."

"Y'know, the more you say that," Yang said, drawing herself up into a fighting stance, "the more it kinda makes me concerned." Yang wouldn't say she's the smartest person around, but even she could see all the pieces falling into place now. It turned into a picture she certainly didn't like.

Sheffield raised a brow at her. "And why would you be so concerned about him? You've hardly known him for more than a day."

"I've known him long enough to see that his mom is the kind of bitch to sabotage her own kid's sword." Yang noticed a crack in the maid's icy mask at the mention of the sword.

Now the maid narrowed her eyes. "And what are you going to do about it?"

"Well, I've never fought a maid before."

"The Belladonna is right, you are a reckless idiot."

Blake flinched. "How did-?"

But the question was lost to Yang as she blasted herself forward with a yell. Sheffield did nothing but stand there in response, making her an easy target. Yang punched forward towards the maid's head, careful not to shoot, but the maid wasn't there anymore.

No, she had simply moved a few inches to the outside of her arm. Undeterred, Yang pressed her attack, punch after punch after punch with a kick or two thrown into the mix.

"Stay still, damn it!" Yang yelled.

"You fight like a desperate suitor trying to win a fair maiden's heart with your constant messages of intent."

"What?" Yang was blindsided by the response, enough that her last punch went wide. This time, Sheffield stepped inside Yang's space before gripping Yang's wrist and elbow and simply twisting. Yang wasn't sure how, but next thing she knew, the air was knocked out of her lungs as she hit the ground.

"Eventually, the maiden will have no choice but to shut you down."

"Yang!"

Blake's pistol flew just past Sheffield's face and hooked into a nearby tree. Sheffield's head turned just in time to see Blake's ribbon-propelled flying kick, but not fast enough to dodge it. The maid was knocked away, but she recovered expertly, sliding to a halt, eyes now focused on the new threat.

Blake pulled her pistol back to her hand and held her cleaver-sheath pointed at the maid as Yang stumbled back to her feet. "Yang, we can't fight her."

"The hell we can't!" Yang's eyes turned red as she glared at the maid. "I'm not going to fall for her tricks again."

"It wouldn't take much to trick you," Sheffield said coolly.

"Shut up!"

"Yang!" Blake put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "I don't think you'll be able to win this fight. She's too experienced. Don't forget we still have an initiation to finish and we can't do that if we lose our aura fighting here."

Yang growled. She was still sure she could take the smug maid on, but Blake was right about the initiation part. "How much farther is the temple?"

"Not much, why?"

"I say we grab our relics and then beat some answers out of this maid." And, not that she'd say it aloud, if this maid was occupied fighting them, then it was one less person searching for Jaune. He'd still have to go to the temple, but Yang was confident she could hold the maid off long enough. "Hey, short, dark, and frilly! How about we take this over to the temple so I can finish my job and then beat the stuffing out of you?"

Sheffield hummed for a long moment and said, "Very well then. You'll be the third trollop I've put in their place today."

Oh, Yang was going to enjoy making her eat dirt.

As they trekked through the woods, Yang shot off a quick text to her sister, telling her to warn Jaune about a maid and planes looking for him.

Ruby stared at the message from her sister. "Wish you had mentioned that ten minutes ago." She typed back a response explaining the recent events and that Jaune and Pyrrha had broken off to hide easier.

"Something wrong?" Weiss asked.

"Maybe? My sister just told me now there's a weird maid looking for Jaune too."

Weiss pauses. "A maid. In a Grimm-infested forest." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "What kind of family hires maids to do this kind of work?"

Ruby pursed her lips in a frown and then asked a question that had been bugging her since they parted ways with Jaune. She just couldn't figure out how to bring it up without sounding weird. "What's your issue with Jaune? You were being all fussy before but now you're cooperating."

Weiss' eyes flashed with anger. "I'm tolerating him. For now. He is a buffoon in many regards and if circumstances were different, we'd already be at the temple."

"So why help him?"

Her expression turned sour as if she ate a lemon. "Against my better judgement, I sympathize a bit with his problems, and I can respect his drive to get into Beacon despite all this. Nothing more."

'At least she's not completely heartless,' Ruby thought. Much as she wanted to ask more about said sympathies, she decided to switch to a safer topic. "Are you going to give him those autographs he asked for?"

Weiss' mouth twitched. "If he makes it into Beacon, I'll consider it. I'm surprised that's what he knows me as, considering -"

Snap!

Fwoosh!

Ruby and Weiss yelped as the two of them were suddenly entangled in a net and hoisted up high. The two of them wrestled and shifted as best they could, but it was difficult as the net seemed to only restrain them tighter the more they struggled.

"Get your elbow out of my ribs!"

"Move your knee out of my face!

"You're squishing my hand!"

"Don't put that there!"

Their struggling stopped as they heard something crash through the bushes towards them. A tanned figure leapt out, wielding a custom bolt action rifle and pointing it at them.

"Gotcha, Jaune! You can't escape..." She put down the gun and frowned deeply. "You're not my prey."

"Of course not, we're huntresses!" Weiss cried out. " Let us down!"

"Another good trap ruined," the figure grumbled as she pulled out a knife and unceremoniously cut the rope.

Ruby and Weiss fell screaming onto their butts and backs. Their auras took most of the damage, but it still hurt. Now that she wasn't wrapped up like a pretzel, Ruby got a better look at the trapper, and then immediately wished she didn't. Not because the girl was ugly or anything, but there was so much skin showing. Did the girl even realize her shirt (for a very loose definition of the term) was floating up a bit in the breeze? Where were her clothes?

Weiss had similar sentiments if her choked sputtering was anything to go by. "What are you wearing?"

The tan girl looked down, unashamed and bemused, and replied, "These are my hunting clothes." She looked back up. "If you're huntresses, why are you wearing dresses?"

"Combat Skirts!" Both Ruby and Weiss said in unison.

"Still too frilly for a hunt." The girl then gave a wolfish grin and said, "Anyways, name's Minneapolis but call me Minnie. Don't suppose either of you have seen a tall beanpole by the name of Jaune, have you? I need to drag his ass home."

First maids, now semi-clothed streakers? Wait. Wasn't this Jaune's cousin?

"Why?" Ruby asked, bouncing into a standing position. "What do you have against him being a Huntsman?"

"Me? Absolutely nothing."

Ruby's mouth opened and closed until she could squeak out, "What?"

Minnie shrugged. "I'd be fine if he was a Huntsman. He'd be a better hunting partner if he was."

"Then why all this effort to stop him?" Weiss asked, now standing as well. "What's so important that he can't do this?"

Minnie took a long moment to think of an answer. "Because he's meant for something else."

Weiss' lips twitched downward. "And because of that, you send maids and planes after him instead of, I don't know, calling the school?"

Minnie looked up in the direction of one of the passing planes. "Yeah, Carolina probably went a little overboard with this. But in her defense, Jaune escalated things first by running off in the middle of the night after stealing the Duke's sword." She chuckled. "No one expected him to have the balls to pull a move like that."

Ruby's mind reeled with that information. Jaune seemed like such a nice guy, if a bit awkward like her, but to go that far to be a Huntsman? That was… kinda impressive, actually. It was a bit mean to fib about "borrowing" that sword, but would it be a fib if he returned it after making his own?

Wait, that was a noble's sword?!

Oh, now she had to inspect it properly after this.

"Well, you can forget about catching him because Jaune's definitely going to get into Beacon!" Ruby said confidently. Jaune and that sword.

Minnie raised a brow. "Oh? How so? We've got the sky covered. He won't get far before being spotted."

"Not if we distract them with Nevermores."

"Ruby!" Weiss cried. "Don't tell her that!"

… Whoops.

Minnie's expression didn't change, but her head tilted a bit. "Ruby… Rose?"

"Uh, yes?" How did she know her name? Ruby was sure she hadn't met someone like this before.

"So you're the kid that Summer wouldn't shut up about. I thought you looked like her."

Ruby felt her heart skip a beat. Minnie knew her mom?

"Yeah, I knew her," Minnie replied when Ruby asked. "She and her team were fun hunting buddies."

"Could you tell me about her?" Ruby blurted out, pressing into Minnie's face.

"I could."

Ruby tried very hard not to roll her eyes. "Will you tell me about her?"

"Mmmm, nope!"

"Wha- why not?" Ruby felt her heart fracture at the denial. A source of info was right here and she didn't have to wait for them to be in a good mood or drunk to ask!

"Because information isn't cheap and my price is steep."

Ruby pouted fiercely. "What do you want?"

Minnie ran her tongue over her teeth. "Summer was one of my better hunting partners. How about a hunting competition? Depending on how you do, I may tell you a story or two."

Weiss started to object. "Ruby, we can't-"

"Deal!"

"Ruby!"

"Let's make it more interesting," Minnie added. "We rustle up those Nevermores you wanted and have ourselves a good turkey shoot before Bataan takes them all out."

"I thought you were trying to catch Jaune?" Weiss asked.

"I am, but the others can handle him easily. I'm only here if he puts up a fight. Besides, this hunt is the most interesting I've had in a long time."

"I'm so terribly sorry about squishing him like that."

"Hmmm, I'll forgive you if you answer one question."

"Of course!"

"What is your opinion on pancakes?"

"Do creeps, er.. crepes count as pancakes?"

"Hmmmm... close enough. Alright, you're forgiven."

"Wonderful! Now, would you please help me find my Honorable Master?"

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this out. Work has been kicking my ass and it's not letting up any time soon. Spent more than a few afternoons playing the heck out of Shadow of War to recharge myself

We're starting to get into the really fun stuff now. For those of you who were expecting Battleship Jaune, sorry but I did say I wasn't going to make him OP.

He will be getting a boatload of Aura at the very least.