Hey! I got another chapter for you! And I know…so soon? The answer: Yes. But before anything else; enjoy the chapter.

To Better (K)nights

҉¯`•.¸¸.•´¯Ozpin's Office¯`•.¸¸.•´¯҉

"Ah, good, you've arrived." Ozpin said as soon as he saw Team RWBY and the remaining members of Team JNPR enter his office, escorted by Glynda who took a spot next to him. The headmaster took in a deep breath that he disguised as taking a sip from his coffee mug. With everything that happened with the two teams, the man wasn't able to let them know of Jaune's expulsion. Once the seven of them were in front of him, Ozpin let out a short breath before looking up. "Do you know why I've called you all here?" The man asked, getting everyone to share a look with one another.

"To…congratulate us on stopping the Dust robbery?" Ruby offered, letting out a squeak when the man turned his attention on her.

"Miss Belladonna." The man said, getting the Faunus to stiffen up before she stepped forward. "From what I've been told and seen, you've abandoned your teammates over the weekend after an argument, correct?" The man asked, getting Blake to nod. "Furthermore, instead of returning to Beacon and talking it out, it seems that you decided to do a little vigilante justice." The man added, getting another nod. "This incident result in the loss of valuable Dust as well as the death of many, including that of Roman Torchwick." Hearing that, Blake flinched before nodding.

"Hold on there, sir," Yang said, freezing for a second when Ozpin focused on her. "Y-you can't place all of that on Blake." The blonde continued, getting Ozpin raise an eyebrow. "Jaune was there too." Ozpin didn't say anything and simply interlocked his hands in front of him.

"While we appreciate your input Miss Xiao-Long, the events Ozpin is retelling have come straight from Miss Belladonna herself." Goodwitch said, getting everyone to turn to Blake, only to see her with her head down. "If it were not for her not leaving, a fight would've likely not broken out at the ship yards." The woman said before motioning to the window. "In fact, it would be more likely that the Dust would've been stolen and no one would've been hurt at all. The four of you would've been at Beacon and no time to head to Vale to participate." That got Blake and Ruby to wince.

"But since you've brought Jaune into this, that is another strike against you Miss Belladonna as your actions resulted in him being hospitalized." That made Blake flinch again. Ozpin decided to ignore it and took in a deep breath that caught everyone's attention. "Because of these actions, I am afraid, Miss Belladonna, that you are hereby expelled from Beacon Academy." Flicking the switch, Ozpin watched as the remaining six students immediately began defending Blake, while said Faunus nodded.

"That is enough!" Goodwitch said, silence the other's protests. "Ozpin's decision is final. While you may not like it, you can consider Miss Belladonna lucky." The woman said, getting everyone to look at Blake. "Had she not been enlisted at Beacon, then she would've faced life in prison for her actions." At that, every one of the students widened their eyes. "As it stands, Miss Belladonna's actions are the result of Beacon's lack of rule and policies; this means that her charges are placed on Ozpin rather than herself." The room became silent at that.

"Miss Belladonna…" Ozpin said, breaking the silence that had filled the room. "…I am going have to ask that you pack your things. You'll have a week to leave the campus before being forced out." The man said, getting Blake to nod. "As for Team RWBY, we'll be looking for a replacement as soon this meeting is over." The man said before he turned his attention on the remains of Team JNPR. "As for Team JNPR, I'm afraid that you are also facing the same issue." This got the others, aside from Nora, to look at one another in concern.

"As of last Friday, Jaune Arc has been expelled from Beacon Academy as well." That got everyone's attention again. "We would've informed you about this that day, but it seems your focus on helping Team RWBY finding Miss Belladonna has prevented us an opportunity." Silence began to fill the room again before Ruby took a step forward.

"Hold on…" Ruby said, getting everyone to look at her. "…why was Jaune expelled? He didn't do anything wrong."

"On the contrary Miss Rose, he had." Goodwitch said, placing Jaune file on Ozpin's desk. "As you all likely know, Jaune had forged his transcripts in order to get into Beacon." This got everyone to look a different direction or put a hand on their head. "While this is something we would've passed over, it was the fact that Jaune was a civilian prior to being accepted." The woman said, "We hadn't expelled him because of his transcripts, but rather to save him from dying here."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, "He had his Aura unlocked."

"After Miss Nikos had unlocked it for him during initiation." Goodwitch countered, pulling up a screen and replaying the event. "In fact, had Miss Nikos not pinned him to the tree, it would've been likely that Jaune would've died from the impact alone." The woman said, pull up another screen to show Pyrrha's javelin pinning Jaune to the tree. "By all rights, Jaune should have died during initiation; but favorable circumstances allowed him to live."

"Unfortunately, luck tends to run out quickly." Ozpin said, getting everyone to look at him. "As Glynda had said, we didn't expel Jaune for his transcripts, we did for his safety."

"But that didn't stop him from being hospitalized." Weiss said, getting everyone to look at her.

"That is correct Miss Schnee," Ozpin said, "However, just because Jaune couldn't continue to train here to be a Huntsman, doesn't mean he can't continue out in the world." Hearing that, the others took in a sharp breath of air. "Like Team RWBY, we will be looking for a replacement for your team as well." The man said, getting the others from team JNPR to nod. "However," The man continued, getting everyone's attention again. "There is something else we've brought you here for." Hearing that Goodwitch pulled up a new screen and increased it size.

"If you're seeing this, then that means I've left Beacon." The video showed Jaune dressed in a different hoodie, one that armor plates attached to it. "I won't act stupid and I'm going to assume that Ozpin already told everyone that I've been expelled from Beacon. It's no secret that I cheated my way into Beacon, and nothing I say will probably change that."

"This was when Jaune left." Ruby said, getting Nora to shake her head.

"Before it actually…" The ginger said, ignoring everyone else's stares.

"I won't bore you with any tragic backstory. I had my reason for coming to Beacon…it just turned out to the wrong ones." The video showed Jaune taking a deep breath before he looked at the screen again. "Anyway, since I'm not going to attending Beacon anymore, I won't be needing much." The video showed Jaune stepping to the side to reveal his original armor and weapon on the bed behind him. "But before I leave, I have one favor, for anyone watching this…either Nora, Ruby or even the Beacon staff."

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Ruby said muttered casting a look at Nora to see her still looking at the floor.

"Send Crocea Mors home." The video said, getting everyone to raise an eyebrow at it. "It's a family heirloom, used over generations and handed down from father to son…until I took it." Hearing that, everyone widened their eyes. "It should only be used in the hands of an Arc and thanks to my stupidity…I'm no longer one." That statement caused everyone to widen their eyes even more. "Feel free to do whatever you want with the armor, it's just something I picked up on the way to Beacon. Just make sure my father gets the Crocea Mors back, even if you have to deliver it in person."

"How would we send the sword back if we don't know where he lived?" Ruby asked.

"The town of Bijou…The Hidden Gem of Sanus. That's where my family lives…" The video answered before video Jaune let out another sigh, this one accompanied with a short chuckle. "And, if you care…maybe I'll leave my thoughts on everyone here…just some observations I made." With that, the video ended, a replay video showing on the screen as silence filled the room, but it was quickly ended by Ozpin clearing his throat.

"As you've just heard, Jaune had left a few things in the room he was provided. However, it seems the items he had left behind are missing and all we've been able to recover is his old scroll." Ozpin said, getting six of the students to look at one another. "Going off of recent relations and interactions with each of you, I was hoping that one of you would know anything about that." There was a long silence as seven students looked at one another.

"I didn't see anything." Ruby started, looking at the floor before focusing on Ozpin again. "I had to deal with Weiss and Yang fighting after Weiss caused Blake to run away." At that, Blake nodded before speaking.

"I don't know anything either. In fact, I ran into Jaune as he was leaving Beacon." Blake said, giving a shrug in response. "I did notice that he was wearing different clothes, but I didn't think much about it. Even then, he didn't tell me anything about leaving."

"We haven't talked to Jaune since news of his transcripts had come out." Ren said, getting a nod from Pyrrha, Weiss and Yang before everyone focused their attention on Nora, who was currently looking at the floor.

"Miss Valkyrie? Care to explain?" Ozpin asked, only getting silence in return. "Miss Valkyrie…If you would, can you please tell us where everything is?" The man asked, before a new voice spoke up.

"Indeed, and if you would, can someone please tell me where my son is as well." At that, everyone turned to the elevator and were greeted to the of a man and woman walking towards them. "Ozpin." The woman said, getting the man to lean forward on his desk and stare at the woman.

҉¯`•.¸¸.•´¯Hospital¯`•.¸¸.•´¯҉

"Alright, ready?" Jaune nodded at the question before he pushed himself off the hospital bed. After going through another quick check-up, the doctor had decided to have Jaune try walking again in order to see if he was able to leave. "Okay, now walk, one foot in front of the other, until you touch the wall." Taking a deep breath, Jaune gave himself a quick nod before he began taking a few steps forward. "Now walk back to your bed." Jaune did as he was instructed, still measuring his steps. "Good."

"Did I pass?" Jaune joked, getting the doctor to chuckle.

"Almost, can you lift up your right leg and rub it on the back of your left?" The doctor asked, getting Jaune to nod before he did what was he was asked. "Now the other side." Repeating the actions with the opposite sides, Jaune saw the doctor give a nod before typing something down on her scroll. "Interesting." That caught Jaune's attention.

"What is?" Jaune said, slowly making his way to the doctor.

"Well, considering you've survived a Bullhead crash, it isn't too surprising…" The doctor said before she turned her scroll around and showed an X-ray of Jaune's body. "…but it looks like aside from some strained muscles, your perfectly healthy." Jaune took a second to look over the X-ray, taking the scroll from the doctor to zoom in on his bones to see that they were fine. The doctor was kind enough to hit a button to change the X-ray into one that showed his muscles, his arms and legs being highlighted in a yellow-ish green light.

"So, nothing's wrong with me?" Jaune asked, getting the doctor to nod before took back the scroll.

"All I can recommend is taking it easy with lifting heavy things." The doctor said, getting Jaune blink. "C'mon, why don't we get you set and on your way?" Jaune could only nod as he was led back to the bed.

҉¯`•.¸¸.•´¯Ozpin's Office¯`•.¸¸.•´¯҉

The tense atmosphere that was filling the room began to choke everyone else as Ozpin and the woman continued to stare at one another. The only one who seemed unaffected was the man that had accompanied the woman, who seemed to be more focused on Goodwitch.

"Well, Ozpin? I'm waiting." The woman said, breaking the silence and getting everyone else to take a deep breath. The man simply let out a sigh before leaning back in his chair, his coffee mug in his hands. He didn't get to take a sip before the sound of it shattering made everyone look at the woman to see her hand extended, the mug now in pieces on the floor beside her. "I will not be tolerating your laidback attitude this time Ozpin." The woman's voice made everyone else stiffen up while Ozpin lean forward again.

"As far as I know," The man said, looking at the shattered mug, "Jaune was admitted into the hospital a few days ago." The sound of more glass breaking causing everyone to jump before they noticed the woman's fist on Ozpin's desk, a spiderweb of cracks growing from where her fist was. "We've yet to hear anything since."

"You're losing your temper again." The man said, getting the woman to let out a heavy sigh before she looked at Goodwitch. "We're in the presence of children, you know." At that, the woman cast at glance at the seven students before the tense atmosphere immediately dispelled, this time causing everyone to release the large breaths they were holding in.

"Your students are getting soft." The woman commented her attention focusing on Goodwitch when she cleared her throat. What surprised everyone was the fact that Goodwitch seemed to freeze up for a second before she collected herself.

"If it isn't too much trouble, Camellia," The blonde disciplinary said, "would you mind telling why you're here and how you found out about Jaune's expulsion?" Camellia took a second before she pointed to the screen that showed Jaune's video.

"How else." Camellia answered, "That video was sent to us Friday night. Naturally, hearing that our son had been kicked out from Beacon had us on edge. Rather than send for him, I figured that it would be best to come here ourselves." Goodwitch simply nodded in response before she took a step back. "As for who sent it…" Camellia said, taking out her scroll and pressing the screen a few times before Nora's scroll began to ring. This caused everyone to focus on her, though the six other student and Goodwitch were more in surprise while Camellia stopped the call.

"Nora, you called them?" Ruby asked, getting Nora to nod before she saw Camellia walk up to her.

"What relation do you have to my son?" The blonde woman said, lowering herself Nora's eye level.

"The three of us are-" Ren cut in before the woman looked at him, causing him to shut up immediately.

"I suggest that you learn to speak only when spoken to." The woman said, the tense atmosphere coming again. "If I had less patience, I could guarantee that you would not be conscious for speaking out of line."

"Temper…." The man said again, getting a sigh from the woman before Nora spoke up.

"I was his teammate." The ginger answered before motioning to Pyrrha and Ren, "He was our leader, but he acted like a brother to me after we became a team." Hearing that, Camellia raised an eyebrow before she nodded.

"I see…" The woman said, turning away from the student.

"You're Jaune's mom?" Nora asked, getting the woman to look back.

"Indeed. My name is Camellia Arcane." The woman said before she motioned to the man. "That's my husband and Jaune's father, Alexander Arc." At that, everyone raised an eyebrow before Alexander spoke up again.

"Before anyone asks, the Arc bloodline is very traditional." The man said, extending the silence in the room. "But for now…" the man said before he looked away from Goodwitch and focused on Nora. "…would it be too much to ask for Jaune's things?" Nora looked at the man and nodded before she shook her head and began walking towards the elevator.

"You go ahead and collect what you need, dear." Hearing that, everyone turned to see Camellia returned to the front of Ozpin's desk. "Ozpin and I have somethings we need to discuss." The man simply nodded before he motioned for Nora to continue to lead the way. "I suggest that everyone else leave the room as well." The man simply let out a sigh as he watched the rest of the students as well as Glynda enter the elevator with him and Nora.

҉¯`•.¸¸.•´¯Lady Fyre's¯`•.¸¸.•´¯҉

"Well, if it isn't little Mr. Mercenary himself." Pyre said, leaning on the counter when she saw Jaune enter, his clothes replaced with a casual set the hospital had given him from the Lost and Found. The blonde simply froze where he was before looking around, sighing when he saw that the shop was empty.

"Er…what?" Was all Jaune could say in response, something that make Pyre smirk.

"Guess you never got to take a look at the headlines." Pyre said, grabbing a paper from behind her before placing in in front of her. Jaune took a look at the headline before immediately taking a sharp breath.

Resident Criminal Roman Torchwick Killed!
Unknown mercenary, believed to be Roman's killer, taken to hospital.

"When did this come out?" Jaune asked, getting Pyre to raise an eyebrow in confusion?

"Just this morning, why?" Pyre said, her eyebrow raising higher when she saw Jaune let out sigh of relief.

"Oh, good. Then it means it hasn't reached my parents." Jaune said, handing the paper back before he moved behind the counter.

"Why would that be bad?" Pyre asked, getting Jaune to stop. "I mean aside from the whole 'possibility of taking you back home forever' thing?"

"My parents are not exactly level-headed…" Jaune said, taking a second to look at his hand. "…my mom in particular is a hot-head and is more than willing split mountains to look for me." Jaune said, getting Pyre said look at Jaune in disbelief. "She gives 'Over Protective Parent' a whole new meaning."

"So what? You just gonna hide out here for a while?" Pyre asked, getting Jaune to remain silent; that was the only answer she needed. "I see, well, feel free to stay. Judging from the look on your face, you'd rather fight a horde of Grimm than your own mother. That says something." Hearing that, Jaune couldn't help but blush "And besides, there's also the fact that your new armor is ruined, so I might have to make more."

"Are you sure? I mean, about making me another set of clothes? I don't think I can afford it." The blonde said, getting a dismissive handwave in return.

"Relax. Everyone needs a helping hand every now and then." Pyre said, before she smirked and held up the newspaper again "As for paying, you can just pay me off when you collect your reward." Hearing that, Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"My reward?" The blonde asked, getting Pyre's smirk to grow.

And there we have it. A somewhat expositional chapter that will continue into the next one. Anyway, for those of you who probably didn't noticed, I had changed a something with the description of the story and had changed the character tags. The reason being that I'm doing this story again with a similar take and this one will have more story to it than the alternative. I don't know if I'll upload the alternative, since it'll be different and probably longer.

Anyway, thanks for the support and for helping this story reach over 100 favorites, over 150 follows and just over 7,500 views. I really don't have much to say here other than that the next chapter will continue from here.

And to clear something up: I made a mistake and referred to Jaune as a mercenary. I will correct that in later chapters but know that I intended for him to be a Freelancer.

Until next time, see ya!