RWBY Reading of 'Relic of the Future' Chapter 12: 11 Adapting to Atlas, a rwby fanfic

The creator of Relic of the future is Coeur Al'Aran, all credits for the Story go to him, I'm just building from there, go read it if you haven`t and then come back to read this.

Yoooooooo, three months…yeah this is getting slower by each chapter, and I do have something to say at the bottom of this chapter, so read that.

As always thanks to everyone who reads it and if anyone has anything they'd like to say you know I read all reviews…or I think I do.

Anyways.

Addressing some of the reviews goes a little like this:

Today, natsuheartfilia32 the next chapter is today.

The answer to TurtleDude32 is that, Yes, this is indeed the original timeline of Relic of the Future, not the cannon RWBY.

Zero the One…yeah that slipped by me when I released it, It'll hopefully not happen again from now on.

Encuentro interesante como lo ves Akira-Fiction y déjame decirte que no vas tan mal con la primera idea pero a la vez tampoco es cierto…en todo caso lo que si esta claro es que lo que Jaune esta haciendo quedara un poco en lo oscuro por ahora.

And i belived those are all I thought I needed to respond in a more direct manner, but as I say I do read them all and if I didn't mention yours then maybe it's because I'm doing something something.

With that said.

Enjoy.

Paradox -Mystic POV-

The space went back to being the library on that moment with Jaune and Emerald reading, ending on a much more sweet note.

After that most began to scatter with their own ideas in mind, each looking for something.

One of the few that stayed in place was the three parts of team JNPR that had been brought to the viewing.

"That was a very pretty way to end the chapter" Pyrrha normally had a bit of a jealous spine whenever she saw other girls get close to Jaune, but there was no way in hell she'd feel that way towards the little Emerald and the parent-child moments she had with Jaune.

She was still sitting very closely to Ren and Nora who responded silently or with hums respectively, Ren was keeping an eye out for when the knight reappeared, he still wasn't fully into this whole mess.

Nora on the other hand found herself feeling somewhat tired and sleepy as they hadn't had a stop from the story for quite a while, which in turn prompted her to want to sleep.

That las though got her thinking for a bit. (Actually, how long have we been here for?) after a while she realized that, in some way she can't tell, their notion of time was distorted, it was impossible for them to have been watching events that occurred over the span of what possibly was days at this point in a couple of hours.

What she found most strange was that not in a single moment any one of them had felt the need to eat, go to the bathroom or even drink water, neither they had noticed how long they've resided here.

"Is there something in your mind?" She hadn't realized that her frown grew more concerned to the point Ren had noticed. "You seemed troubled"

"It's…nothing, I was just thinking about what's next" Pyrrha lied trough her teeth, she'd rather find out more about this before she says anything, and as the bad liar that she is, it wasn't hard for Ren to catch her.

She was lucky it had been Ren who asked her though because as much as he could worry, he wouldn't pressure her if it wasn't absolutely necessary. "If you change your mind, I'll listen"

Pyrrha was grateful, the nagging feeling she got from this idea pointed to her towards something that might be the truth, but she wasn't ready to say something so surreal yet.

As if their situation wasn't obscure enough already for her to throw yet another problem.

While team JNRP spent their time as close as they can, team RWBY was completely separated, each going towards something.

"So, enjoying the story" Yang didn't feel all to good about what she was doing, actually scratch that, what she wasn't it was confident in her actions. "you did seem pretty…distracted that last bit"

Her idea to approach Emerald wasn't really smart, but it simply felt right to her.

(…Is she…?) Emerald snapped from her little trance a few seconds after Yang talked to her. "You're talking to me?" She quickly went back to her usual attitude, this girl was friends with the redhead, and she was sure to be hated by them for her death.

"Yeah, I'm surprised at this too" Yang awkwardly laughed, making friends easily was far too different to be talking with someone who was considered an enemy. "I just…well how do I put this"

The blonde began to ponder for a bit taking a sit beside the other girl to actually look her in the eyes. "I've been thinking that you seemed pretty lonely here, away from your supposed 'team'"

"huh, you mean Cinder and Mercury, so what?" she scoffed at how ironic this was, this conversation shouldn't even be happening. "and you came to me, one of the big bad people that attacked the city?" she crossed her arms under her chest, laying back as to appear confident.

Yang eyed her funny, it was clear that the bravado she was showing was faker than a sober Qrow. "sure, you can say I am, then again, I'm not dumb enough to miss that something happened in your little group" Emerald flinched at the statement, that was something she didn't want to hear.

Nevertheless, she now understood that whatever she and Cinder had was false and had accepted the little comfort that offered the idea that an alternate her could be happy. "what are you trying to accomplish here?"

Yang sighed she had expected this to be hard, but man it felt like going in circles in a roundabout.

"You seemed…pleased at the end, but not really at the same time" She pause for a second before muttering for herself. "god, I should have thought about what to say before coming" Yang looked away, trying to find her words.

"What I'm trying to say is that whatever you saw on that last chapter that, just made you think and feel that way, it doesn't have to be there the only time when you feel like that" Yang kept trying, her words sounding less convincing with what she was trying to say. "you said you're one of the bad guys that attacked Beacon, but you don't have to be"

Emerald stopped completely frozen, understanding what she was insinuating. "why?" she couldn't understand why had it come to this, what had changed for the blonde to even attempt to do something like this.

"that's the thing, I'm not sure why" was the answer she got from her. "I just felt like it was the right thing to do, and hey we're here to change the future so how about we start right now" Yang smiled sincerely at the green haired girl, putting a hand on her hip, and extending the other.

Emerald stared at the hand for quite some time, then back to Yang, a smile that could be so similar to the one she'd seen on the man that helped a little girl on the streets.

They both were alone, but now the little one had a place thanks to that man…and now that same man had motivated someone to help her too.

She couldn't expect the Arc from her time to be the same as the one from there, but she also knew that this person in front of him moved thanks to his choice.

Reluctantly she grabbed Yang's hand, getting up to look at her in the eyes.

"don't take this the wrong way, I-I have nowhere else to go" her eyes could tell that her words weren't all that truthful when she said that. "so fine, I'll take you up on that offer, I can't live in the end of the world after all"

Seeing how her words had gotten through the thief, Yang snorted. "Sure thing miss tsun-tsun, let's not be evil so you the world lives for a Xiao-Long time"

Emerald groaned, the pun had been horrible in every aspect.

"Oh come one, my joke was Yang-tastic" hearing her spit pun after pun really made Emerald consider if she'd make a good decision by accepting.

From a distance the resident Knight watched, somewhat impressed that she didn't have to give Yang a little push to act, but nonetheless this proved how much a story could change one's hearth.

"are you enjoying the show?" Behind Lancelot stood Blake, her gaze trying to understand why the knight was paying attention to her partner.

"I am, it is a quite refreshing situation actually" responded the masked voice of their host. "normally I have to push for things like this to happen, yet the influence of the other world seems to move you as much"

Her laugh echoed through the helmet it wore. "It is also quite ironic for this situation to be between these two" the faunus golden eyes squinted in even more suspicion.

"so you're admitting having been manipulating our feelings then?" Blake responded, the meaning behind the second thing it said was lost to her, but she'd gotten what she wanted out of the conversation.

"I'd admit, you two made a pretty admirable attempt to force me to talk" The girl tensed at their plan being discovered as the knight turned, finally looking in Blake's direction. "I cannot manipulate feelings, just amplify them, I cannot make you love something you don't love, but I can make a dubious love become the purest form of it"

"and I did not have to do so this time around" Yang's actions had been truly hers, no amplification involved, it was what the knight tried to say. "I believe you already got what you desired to know, however, next time around please just come ask, I won't hesitate to answer"

With that Lancelot walked away, loosing itself within the library, only to return a couple of seconds later, with a small green box in his hands. "I believe this should serve as an 'apology' for the secrecy?" it sounded like a question, but it was clearly not one.

"What is this?" Was all Blake mustered up to say.

"a gift of course for the three of you" Lancelot put the box in her hands looking at her first, then to the other two who were holding a somewhat awkward conversation. "You are not to open it yet, as it will be locked until it's color changes"

When Blake blinked again, Lancelot had disappeared, having moved to the location of his usual chair.

She looked around still wary of whatever the knight might be planning, but without much more to do apart from wondering what could be in the box, Blake eventually returned to her seat, where Yang and Emerald received her.

If the conversation the two had before could be considered distant, now with Blake on the mix it was like a land mine field, everyone was careful with their words as to not trigger the other.

But, slowly and with each attempt, Emerald accustomed to their presence, and began to speak a bit more freely too.

As for the other half of team RWBY, little red decided to go accompany her partner, who had stayed In her seat thinking, while her sister went to a more secluded space to dialogue with the other adults on matters to come.

She didn't want her best friend to be left aside because whatever happened that made her switch seat, so she moved too, it's not like Yang and Blake wouldn't manage a chapter without her around.

Time passed, theories on what would come or ideas to deal with their own trouble to come in their time were the most usual conversation occurring, however, that time was cut short once more, as Lancelot's voice called in for the holo-space to manifest once more.

Raven's and Cinder's group remained in the same positioning they once held, meanwhile the Y and B from RWBY went back to their seats near JNPR with Emerald by their side.

Ren and Pyrrha looked with careful attention and worry the green eyed girl but a few words of convincing from Yang were enough to let her stay.

Nora was much simpler, since by her own words. "If Jauney can give her a second chance, so can we" sure, they weren't the same person, but at the same time, they weren't different whatsoever.

Emerald didn't know how to feel being around what had been one of her prime targets, the tension rising again, but the ginger's comment was a unanimous decision from team JNPR to give her a chance.

Ruby and Weiss sat now beside Winter, the general, Tai and Qrow while the rest of the group resided behind them.

Once everyone was in place Lancelot sat down herself, picking the book up when they left it. "If we're finished with the break, then I shall begin reading"

The first thing the screen began showing an Atlas station, team November with the inclusion of Jaune boarding a bullhead, possibly making their way back to Atlas.

Time passed, as it had a tendency to.

It went in the blink of an eye, and yet Jaune counted each month with meticulous care, tallying it off against events he knew from the future and preparing for them, waiting and watching to see if anything changed. As far as he could tell, not much did. Atlas trucked on like it always had and he'd even heard from Sylvus Richmond – Squad Lead Charlie when the Specialists were on the job – that Captain Ironwood was being considered for a rather big promotion. There were no details on that, but considering Ironwood's rank of Captain was actually more symbolic than actual, there were rumors that he might even make General.

Jaune laughed when Echo discretely told him that, though he hadn't explained why. "Who could have ever guessed?" he'd said knowingly. Sometimes it was fun to know the future and see things happening before your eyes, especially when it fit what you expected. He'd worried at first that Ironwood's rank had been a change he'd caused, but it looked like he was less an instrument for chaos than he'd expected.

Jaune's voice took them over some events he'd experienced under Atlas care, explaining what he'd been doing.

"It's been months for him" It would be weird if they were to see this whole new life from start to finish, but it surprised Glynda that nothing particularly important occurred in the past months. "has nothing occurred yet?"

"He doesn't need to act so soon, more so with Tyrian knowing he exists" The general answered. "laying low might be for the best, and he's quickly building connections too"

Seeing November's members still around kept giving the same strange feeling as the first time he'd seen them, a mix of happiness and a deep regret, knowing it was not their own story.

Flashes of the events that were being narrated passed by as the depicted situations were shown.

Pyrrha noticed Jaune's expression had shifted slightly "He looks better, more relaxed"

"We saw his first couple days when he started coming to terms with his situation, now he most likely dealt with the information and kept going" the initial shock was a heavy surprise, so it didn't surprise Ren that he'd gotten better over time.

While his arrival in this time had been a crazy and rushed thing, blustering through events without thought or thinking, the last year and a half had been somewhat slower. He'd worked with the Specialists, slotting into Team November and making friends with each of them, completing missions and generally playing Ironwood's errand boy across Atlas. There had been no run-ins with anyone he knew from the future and no reckless melees to draw Ozpin's attention across the ocean.

The work was interesting, paid well and the training was new and exciting. He'd learned to use firearms, and even why Atlas relied on them so much. "It's not like we can't use fancy weapons like everyone else," Delta had explained. "It's just that shit like that isn't much good when you're knee deep in snow or slipping on ice." Grimm didn't exactly camouflage well in Atlas either, so having a long ranged option that didn't require much mobility was the smart choice.

"Man, he does look much better, and he's probably gotten enough time to think of a plan" Tai didn't know If he'd be able to stand after all that apocalyptic despair that was the future, which only made better his opinion on Ashari. "not only that, but this should also give him plenty of time to recover and improve even more"

As a teacher in signal he's used to some form of counseling, leading him to think like one when situations like these arises.

Glynda agreed with his assessment, before smiling. "He's doing well during his stay in Atlas too" this was what was expected for students after graduation, not what actually happened, and seeing this new normalcy in him made her guilt towards what happened diminish a little.

It was no surprise that she'd found herself blaming her lack of direct guidance for them during the war as They were still young when it all happened.

Which was a mistake Glynda wouldn't repeat.

(Jaune finally got himself a gun?) there was a few things Ren never thought he'd see and after letting Jaune use Stormflower once, using a gun was part of those things. (I suppose it should have been much of a surprise)

He also did his best to ignore Ruby's over the top gasp at the same thing.

The training he'd been through had mostly honed his ability with guns, team tactics and organised assault, and had at first felt more tailored to police operations than military. He'd soon reassessed that once it picked up and he realised it was just the introductory classes which were applicable there. Breach and Grimm clearance, how to exfiltrate hostages from human, terrorist or Grimm threats, and even how to peacefully (or sort of peacefully) subdue dangerous targets. It was always done in teams of three, four or five and the focus was always on success without casualties, which he appreciated.

To that effect, he'd gotten stronger, perhaps not in the traditional sense of a huntsman, but in the knowledge he gained. There were a few times thinking back that he'd have liked to have the skills he'd picked up, especially the ones on wiring and defusing explosives and how to hack simple locks and terminals. Specialists by their very nature were specialised, but some skills were too useful to limit to a single individual.

Of Team November, there hadn't been much shifting. The same team was in place with no casualties, mostly due to their intense training, Charlie's leadership, and the overall technological advantage Atlas held. Ever since the battle with Tyrian, they'd been focused on finding and closing down more of Merlot's facilities, especially before they could be compromised. They'd not run into that madman again and there'd been no news from Salem, only Merlot's twisted Grimm. While he wasn't sure no news was good news in this case. It at least let him relax a little.

There was much one could do in a year and a half and Jaune hadn't wasted it. "Rather than learning mechanical skill this whole time he's settled into more varied skills" The general could give merit to that decision as he already stood as a good combatant.

Raven didn't like that way to look at things. "That's too over reliant on being in a team, he lacks strength for himself"

"That's most likely because he has trust in his team or that whoever he's working with is capable and knows the limitations of an individual" the man answered back. "something you clearly don't know the half off"

"and what happens when the team is an incompetent one, you survive alone of course" She was clearly trying to poke at Ironwood there just as he'd done, but it didn't seem to have an effect. "that is if he were strong enough to survive"

The two stared each other, their animosity slowly ruining the somewhat good mood that'd been building up until now.

"Alright, enough" Tai ended up being the one to break the stalemate. "James you should know better than to try an argue with Raven" He more than anyone knew how pointless that could be.

He wanted to reprimand Raven too, but that'd be a really dumb thing, she'd never listened before now it would be even worse.

"that aside" Yang began, trying to leave the sour mood behind. "it seems like Vomit- I mean, Jaune is growing like a leader, heck maybe we could use some of this for our own"

Emerald looked puzzled at the blonde before hesitantly asking. "were you about to call him Vomit?" She'd been tasked with investigating team RWBY, but she tried to avoid JNPR most of the time, so she wasn't aware of most of their interactions.

"It's actually Vomit boy, a nickname I use on him because he puked in my shoes the first day" Yang explained before her expression softened. "I suppose I can't really see this Jaune as Vomit boy anymore"

As Jaune continued to narrate the past year and a half of events, his friends and allies slowly began to relax, seeing as how he'd been doing alright and had adapted quite well in his new environment.

He was also doing missions, which his friends found awesome.

They were on their way back to Atlas from one such mission now, with the Bullhead drawing in to land on one of the military's many pads and a vehicle arriving to take them back to the Academy. Jaune hopped off the craft alongside Foxtrot, his offer to help her down going ignored. Behind him, Echo made a motion to jump. "Catch me, Jaune. Catch me!"

"I'll let you fall."

"Ha. You're no fun." Echo hopped down and clapped a hand on his shoulder. They were both garbed in black combat gear with balaclavas pulled down around their necks and visors hanging below that. In full gear and ready for combat, they looked a terrifying sight – likely on purpose – but now back in Atlas, their discipline had faded.

"Cut the flirting and get in," Charlie barked. "I've a date tonight and if you make me late I'll drag your sorry ass down to apologize to my wife first hand."

The flashes of different events ended at last, leaving the guests to watch the last moments of the travel back to the academy, only to find Echo getting down from the bullhead in a very ridiculous way.

(It is good to see his humor didn't die out) One of the things that Ironwood would never admit having missed was the simple and stupid things Echo tended to pull when the situation was lax.

Yang found their exchange to be similar her kind of friendship. "Heh, I thought they'd be more stuck up" More so if she took into account they were Atlas specialists.

"Like Weissy" Nora eloquently added loud enough for the heiress to hear.

Said heiress desired to answer back, but also didn't, as to maintain her image in front of Winter, Ruby giggling at her other side didn't help though.

They enjoyed the antics of the group, it felt much better than all the stressful events that had lead up to now, of course, not everyone shared the enjoyment, but most did.

"Yeah, yeah. Cool your jets."

"It's bad enough I have to put up with your bitching here, but I don't need it at home. She's annoyed enough I'm always out with the boys and not spending time with her."

"She does realise you're on critical missions, right?"

"You think that matters?"

They all laughed and clambered into the vehicle, closing the doors shut behind them. It whirred to life and moved off a moment later. "So, Jaune, how's your missus doing?"

"Doesn't matter how critical it is, one's lady always comes first" Neptune commented with confidence and a shining smile when speaking about Charlie's date.

"you say that but you leave yours when it comes to dancing" The way Sun's words destroyed the blue haired boy smile was comical, his tone made it even better as he was just being honest, not mock him.

That didn't mean Neptune saw it that way. "not cool dude"

A few seconds later, once the laughter had calmed Echo asked a question that they didn't expect.

"HIS WHAT!" Pyrrha accidentally screamed taking all the attention to her. "…Sorry…" She thought that they are asking for Jaune's missus, that they were referring to a romantic partner.

"look at him go, getting a girl wasn't something I'd thought he'd do" Yang laughed, the duty driven and awkward Jaune beginning a relationship with the world at the brink of collapse was not something she'd expected.

Tai shook his head at his daughter's reasoning. "The time of the more dangerous events doesn't even begin until eight and a half years from this point, I don't see why he wouldn't try"

Emerald interjected, her voice low, not sure if she was actually allowed to intervene. "I don't think he's taking about a girlfriend or something similar" she then made a gesture to keep watching.

"My what?"

"The lady of your household," Echo teased.

That way of saying things actually confused people, they weren't really catching on who they would be talking about, more so after the subject being Charlie's wife.

"are they gonna say anything or- ?" Yang was about to finish asking before she was interrupted by Foxtrot.

Foxtrot punched Echo's leg. "He means your daughter," she explained.

"Ah." Jaune punched Echo's other leg for good measure, earning a pained cry. "She's doing alright. Her reading isn't perfect but she can understand things if she's given some time to work through it. I think she's coming on fairly well."

She'd had no education before that, of course, and he couldn't ever remembering learning to read himself, so he had no real idea as to whether her progress was good or bad. He thought it the former, though that might have just been that given her age and intelligence – or at least her work effort – she found it easier to retain the information. If nothing else, Emerald was more mature than most kids her age, putting her all into learning.

"Oh" both father and daughter of the Xiao-long household said simultaneously, this was something they should have seen.

Qrow took the opportunity to laugh at his teammate's face.

"I supposed so" Emerald still felt somewhat conflicted with that idea but at the same time, she knew her other self was in good hands.

"we've been shown important parts of these events, his relationship with anyone would be something to be included in that category" Winter explained, having figured out they also weren't referring to a romantic interest.

Pyrrha too had the decency to look embarrassed at it.

The group of specialists continued their conversation and most of the guest watched silently since the things shown weren't something of importance to the future, not for them anyways.

That of course, excluded Emerald, she was curious about the life little her was living, if Jaune was a person worth trusting or she had simply walked into another Cinder. (I'm not sure what I would do with a chance like this…probably just listen to what he tells me)

"Yeah, I was thinking a little more `actual life` than education," Echo laughed. "Come on, man, when are you going to move out and get your own place?"

"What do you mean? Ironwood said he was happy to put me up in Atlas."

"Dude, you're living in what is essentially a glorified hotel room. You have a single room with two beds, a bathroom and some cupboards. You don't even have a kitchen."

Emerald's doubts were cleared with the following exchange, the little version of herself was simply listening to what he asked of her…not that she wouldn't have done the same.

Ironwood also found something to say out of the conversation. "They are still living in the room I gave him?" It was strange for him, a year and a half of work under him could pretty well pay off most living expenses.

"Maybe he just doesn't want to move?" Weiss mentioned having heard him mutter to himself.

Winter looked at her sister before slowly shaking her head. "It is as Echo puts it, it's a room, not a house which not only takes the possibility of privacy to Emerald but it's also restrictive in some sense"

Weiss appeared to think about it for a bit, but before she could say anything Ruby intervened.

"Imagine sleeping in the same room as your dad" That was all she needed to say too, as the image of sharing a room with Jaques seemed to not only disturb Weiss, but also it disgusted Winter if her expression was anything to go by.

"I'm out on missions a lot," Jaune defended.

"Yeah, but your girl is going to be ten soon. You really think someone her age wants to sleep in the same room as her old man, let alone live in a dinky place like that?"

"I… I guess not…" He'd never considered it, and while he might have been out on missions, Emerald clearly wasn't. It really was too small a room to live in.

"You earn good money, don't you? I've not seen you spend much."

He hadn't, apart from supplies and clothing for Emerald and treats every now and then – many of which she took with gusto, or at least once she realised said treats were food. She never asked for more and never raised a fuss if he didn't, but the rare sign of excitement in what was otherwise a dour child ensured he brought some home every time he came back from a mission.

"I suppose him focusing on the more threatening matters lead him to forget some of the more simple ones" Winter speculated, this was a man that had seen the world burn and lived in those times. "Or maybe he's accustomed to the lack of commodities and as such he believes he'd only needs the essentials" hell, a room with a bathroom probable was luxurious from what he was accustomed.

"you're saying he's still living as if he was on war?" Glynda asked, even if it sounded more like a confirmation than anything else.

"He maybe sees certain things as 'unneeded' since they weren't something he had normal access too like privacy or space" Tai agreed, some huntsman sometimes lost their sense of monetary value while in the wild for too long, maybe he simply had a similar issue.

Ruby interrupts them, having heard something from the scene. "he hadn't even noticed" seeing as how he hadn't reflected upon that until now.

"All that money and he does little to nothing with it" Roman said completely unrelated to the previous conversation, he didn't really paid attention to these little things.

"Get an apartment in the city already," Echo laughed. "You're good for it."

"He does have a point," Foxtrot said. "Do you intend to sleep in the same room as her until she is a teenager? You need to give her some space."

He supposed he should, though really he ought to have done it months ago. Ironwood had never made a meal of Jaune staying in Atlas and neither had Emerald, but their place really was just a hotel room of sorts, smaller even than JNPR's dorm. While at first he might have excused the inaction as being because he didn't intend to stay in Atlas for long, he'd been here eighteen months now and looked set to stay a little longer. He still hadn't found any information in the library pertaining to the Relics, after all. It really would be easier to go through all those books if he had a little more room to work with.

The vehicle shifted back into Atlas Academy before he could think any further on it, and they were ushered out and into an elevator, where they were quickly taken to report to Ironwood. Jaune stood silently back while Charlie went through the report, chalking up another successful mission for Team November and another one of Merlot's facilities taken down.

"Well done, Specialists," Ironwood said. "Atlas thanks you for your hard work, as do I. I trust there were no complications this time?"

"Delta stubbed his toe," Echo said.

Delta proved that false by kicking Echo so hard he cried and fell. Ironwood chuckled through it, either inured to their foolishness or perhaps even amused by it himself. The man wasn't as hard-bitten as Jaune remembered, though it was possible that was a change in the future, and not necessarily for the better.

They kept the conversation going along with the specialist, listening to their points and making some of their own, indulging themselves in a calm discussion, forgetting about the scene for a bit.

Cinder and Raven however took a little more interest in the monologue Jaune had with himself, having similar thoughts. (there's nothing in Atlas…I don't know why I should be surprised)

It wasn't really, both of them knew well that Ozpin would hide everything he could that he deemed a threat to the current balance.

Soon the Bullhead arrived at a landing platform, leaving them, letting team November begin making their way towards Ironwood's office.

Soon Charlie began with the report.

The general quickly recognized the missions they were being sent for, as they had a high priority back in the day. "They're the ones taking care of those this time" Last time he had mobilized lager amounts of troops himself because of November's deaths.

Those missions were something he deemed too dangerous for a small team since he lost one to them.

Th report went on without any complications, maybe one or two laughs at Echo's comment on complications and even more of them once Delta retaliation.

James frowned at the last minute comment, however. (Was a truly bad enough to believe so?) He wasn't about to let that shake his resolve, but it was a good thing to know.

If he could stop that and make things better for Ironwood, would he? Should he? As always, it was impossible to tell, though Jaune wasn't sure he'd be able to stand by and let something bad happen anyway. Like it or not, he was in the past and that meant he'd be making changes no matter what he did. It just wasn't possible for him to have no impact.

"Team November dismissed," Ironwood said. "Ashari, can you stay a moment?"

Jaune nodded and held position as the others left, ignoring Delta's teasing taunt of "Someone's in trouble~" If he had been, Ironwood would have worn something other than a smile and would have told Delta off instead of shaking his head.

"You're not in trouble, in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't." Jaune sighed. "Is it Emerald?"

"Against all odds, no. I've heard nothing bad from Mrs Greening since you left." Which meant he'd heard nothing bad from Winter, of course, since she was Emerald's de facto mentor in Atlas; a fact that both she and Emerald hated with a passion. Of course, neither would admit defeat in the matter and both continued to glare daggers even a year and a half later.

He'd thought to take Emerald to task over that but she was only just starting to trust him properly, and to be honest he wasn't even sure it was a bad thing for someone her age. Emerald being completely subservient and passive would be more worrying than a childish argument. Jaune did feel bad for basically throwing Winter to the wolves, but tried to make it up to her by sparring with and helping out on her training. It was a small trade, but it let him feel a little better.

It was easy to understand what Jaune was trying to say. "if he changes too much, the future will end up too different to ours" Glynda understood that when the Arc questioned if he should help more than he already has.

"As if the future wasn't already that way" Qrow mentioned, if he made things better in the past, he might change things sure, but he'd have a better starting point that in their time.

"It's not like we can tell him that" and that ended up killing the conversation, Roman's words were blunt and the truth, they could discuss things like these for sure, but they wouldn't be able to say anything to Jaune about it.

The specialist left the room not long after that, leaving the Arc and the past General in the office.

"What's this about James?" Qrow asked, he knew the tin man enough to know he had something planned.

Said person could only shake his head, this wasn't something he'd done, and if he had, he didn't inform anyone of it, leaving him in the dark as everyone else was.

"'Against all odds?' were you a troublemaker as a kid?" Yang mentioned, she was clearly trying to tease the new addition to the group.

"eh, I-I'm not sure what he's talking about" Emerald on the other hand had absolutely no idea how to genuinely react to that other than fake some response, so she took the question seriously.

Seeing how awkward she was with her response Blake decided to spare her of the 'yanging'. (Goddam I'm spending too much time with Yang) Blake put her hand on Emerald's shoulder. "Ignore her, she's just trying to get to you"

She decided to follow Blake's suggestion, it seemed like the most sensible thing to do, however, it did make Yang deadpan at them.

Hearing Winter being Emerald's tutor got their attention back, no one had forgotten what happened last time after all.

"I was sure my other self had decided not to do this?" the previously mentioned woman asked, she wasn't upset, just curious.

Lancelot lifted its head to look in her direction. "I did cut said part of the narrative short as it didn't really give much else, it was a series of events there that let you to continue tutoring her"

It was the answer they got and as such the one they had to accept as the reason, they held no way to corroborate after all.

As the eyes of most went toward the two women who were described to be rather 'vindictive' with each other they noticed how both of them were purposefully avoiding the other.

In their heads however they were focused on the next thing that was said.

(He's letting it go for me?) Emerald could understand why he'd let her do it and the fact that he did rather than have her grow passive and obedient to him spoke volumes of how much he cared.

Her past self may not understand but the current Winter did. (I suppose I can let it go)

"I actually wanted to ask you about a new initiative I had in mind. I'd appreciate your advice." Jaune nodded to say he was listening and Ironwood went on. "As you know, your appointment to the Specialists has yielded exceptional results, and Team November has become one of the best performing teams to current date. They were good before, of course, but are now exceptional."

The idea of a new Atlas initiative got Cinder's interest for once, and alongside with her interest it came the straightening of the militants backs, the reveal of any possible intel off them was bad with some of the people that were here.

Ironwood's worries were unfounded, as he didn't have a specialist team performing at the time. "This is new" maybe this could be a new idea he could use himself if it had merit to do so.

He also tried to not show a proud smile when November's record of success was mentioned.

The news of that were both disappointing to Cinder as much as an opportunity to ruin any future plan if the General expression was anything to go by.

"They're good people," Jaune said, pushing some of the praise away. He really couldn't take all of it. "They've helped me out a lot, too. I wouldn't be where I am now without their training."

"Indeed. Well, my proposal would have no effect on them, good or bad. I've been toying with the idea of enforcing new recruitment rules on my Specialists. It wouldn't impact on existing Specialists, of course – only the new ones." he assured. "My idea was to impose a requirement of at least two years of huntsman or huntress experience, post-graduation."

It was a suggestion that seemed to come out of the blue. Jaune stood there a moment, wondering why Ironwood wanted to ask him about it and why he'd felt nervous in the first place. Come to think of it, hadn't Weiss once mentioned this? He had a feeling it had come up when she'd introduced Winter to Team RWBY.

"Is this about Winter, sir?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Specialist."

Jaune and James then began their discussion, the current captain let the blonde know of what he thought he'd do, which was something the current Ironwood didn't expect would happen.

(This isn't a new thing, I had implemented something similar long ago) His reasoning was different however, the new requirements for joining the specialist had been modified to avoid having unprepared individuals join, no matter how much potential they got, he didn't want to lose another team.

The Ace ops were a subsequent product of those changes as well as Winter's integration in the militia.

Weiss wasn't aware of this, which then led her to ask. "was there a requirement like this when you applied sister?" she was aware of the insistence of joining her sister had all that time ago.

"Yes, but they were included much earlier, and the requirements were different" regulations were harsher and the trials to reach the specialist rank were more convoluted as to limit the most out of the participants.

The information continued to pile in, which caused Weiss to be slightly confused. (I was aware of this? I don't remember such a thing) maybe she'd looked into it when she heard her sister would be there? She didn't know.

The only time Ironwood called him by his rank, or any of them by it, really, was either in professional situations or if he was trying to conceal something. In this case it was the latter, though only because Jaune had been present to hear it numerous times. "James…"

"Alright, it's Winter." Ironwood admitted with a heavy sigh. "I take it you've heard about her decision?"

"She wants to join the Specialists."

It wasn't hard to figure out, and not just from his knowledge of the future. Mature and aloof though she may have been, Winter was still a person, and considering his position in the Specialists, she'd asked him about them numerous times. It was hard not to realize when she'd literally hunt you down for information on your job.

Much like Weiss, Winter could be wonderfully blunt at times.

Jaune's next statement earned a second of silence. "I'm not so easy to see through" The idea that one of the most resourceful men in the world was so easily caught in his lies led to such a thing.

"It's good to know" Qrow said his smile being wider than before. "it's a shame I don't have a rank to use this with Jimmy"

"I'll make sure you never have one" Ironwood grumbled to himself, he really should work better on his mannerism around who he considered friends.

He knew he didn't slip up like that because of his usual way of concealing things, rather that he was sure his alternate considered Ashari as a friend in some way and was much more relax in his dealings with him.

"Nothing too different from our timeline" Weiss muttered slightly dejected, she was happy for her sister and admired her a lot, it was just that she sometimes wished her sister had been home with her rather than leaving them alone in the manor.

She wouldn't dwell on it either, it was something that couldn't change at this point.

Ruby giggled once the sister's bluntness was compared. "He's right about that Weiss" She only knew Winter for little while yet that was enough to recognize certain 'Schnee patterns'

"Hmph" The white haired heiress looked away at the proclamation.

"She does, Ashari."

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes and no."

Cinder groaned internally. (We aren't even watching something important, and now we have to see her problems now?!) she was seriously considering that this place had nothing to offer to her other than turn her subordinates against her.

"Does it have to do with her father?"

"Very much the `yes` side of that statement. Jacques was never fond of his heiress going through huntress training, but put up with it because he thought it a phase and something the Schnee family could use to impress others. I don't think he expected her to keep at it, let alone that she'd make this choice at the end."

Atlas was different to Vale, as befitted the Kingdom with the greatest military on Remnant. Winter was essentially in what would count as Signal for Vale – known as Atlas Academy Prep - and even though she was only fourteen now, she would be fifteen when she graduated, and she'd be eligible to consider Atlas Academy, what was basically Beacon-level education. None of that would have been a problem, but for the other difference between Vale and Atlas, in that those students who graduated from prep had a choice in where they went.

Go to Atlas Academy and become a huntsman, graduate and do whatever you wanted outside of a combat role, or join the military. Winter had chosen the latter, much to the shock of… well, everyone that wasn't a time traveler.

"We knew this shit already, Jaques being an ass is Remnants number one common knowledge" Raven remarked boredly, her legs not resting on the rest of the couch they were on, over Vernal's legs.

Said girl ignored what her boss was doing an instead turned to the two Schnees in the room. "Can't you just assassinate him? He probably is weak as fuck"

An offer like did sound tempting for some of the other guests, but the sisters, as much as they understood that the world might be a better place that way, were against such a thing.

"We'd rather not stand on his level" Weiss answered rather seriously. "I want him watching the day I lead the SDC so he can see how I lead it better than he could" It was

"That's not what the future said" Vernal responded, they've heard that he now commanded what was left of Atlas, a fate no one wished for.

Winter coughed to get Vernal's attention, only for her to meet the second most cold glare she'd ever received. "It won't happen here" that actually sent shivers down her spine.

The influence of the SDC no doubt weighed on Ironwood over this, but it wasn't just that. Early graduate or not, Winter was only fourteen and a half. Even if she were fifteen when she enlisted, that would be sending a child to war – regardless of the fact there was no, and if the future held, wouldn't be, a war. It was an ethics disaster, not to mention a scandal waiting to happen.

And it wouldn't if Winter went to Atlas Academy as a huntress. She'd be nineteen when she graduated, above age and free to do whatever she wanted. It would have made life easier, which was no doubt why Ironwood had come up with this new initiative. Jaune laughed.

"Something amusing, Ashari?"

"I'm just thinking how Director of Specialist Forces James Ironwood has been cowed into inventing a rule on the spot because he's afraid of a fourteen year old girl."

Ironwood's mouth fell open for a few moments, before the man sighed and cupped his face, shaking it from side to side. "I can't even protest that. What a dark day it is when those who would lead falter so."

"I don't think it's a bad idea, sir, but maybe it's something you should decide on your own. I'm not exactly the average for what you'd get as a huntsman candidate." And that was putting it lightly. "There are other ways to keep her out of danger until she's of age. You could give her a non-combat role or take her on as an intern."

"You're right, I suppose." Ironwood sighed again. "Very well, thank you for your thoughts, Ashari. Dismissed."

Jaune nodded and left the office, closing the door behind him. James' secretary, a pretty girl known as Sophia, waved to him as he passed. She looked overworked as usual with three plastic cups of coffee empty on the desk. Much like Ironwood, she had to contend with both school paperwork and Specialist paperwork, and both together took a toll on her.

"I'm really sorry for the troubles general" Winter was aware of said consequences, what she didn't take into consideration was the trouble Ironwood went with her insistence to join, as such she saw fit to apologize.

Ironwood shook his head with a sigh. "It's nothing Winter, you become one of the best of Atlas that way, I believe the troubles for it were worthy" Life was made of choices and the ones he made allowed her to grow this much, he wouldn't regret them no matter how annoying she'd been with her insistence.

Jaune then began to laugh at him, which in turn took his attention back to his alternate.

His reaction ended up being almost the same as his counterpart, only that instead of shaking his head he let it hang for a while, not refuting those words in any way and letting himself speak for himself.

That aside, Jaune's advice had its merit and following it with the knowledge of what was to come could help set up a secondary team of Ace ops to begin training with a supporting role until they grow enough.

With that Jaune left the room, letting most of the people in the room, who were actively ignoring what was happening because it was honest to god boring for them, know that maybe they'd see something interesting.

"Is Ironwood complaining about Winter again?" she asked.

"You know?"

"It's hard not to. The poor girl comes here often enough to try and convince him."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Is that allowed?"

"It is when she comes in her capacity as a student. Atlas has an open door policy to students with issues who wish to consult a member of the faculty." Sophia's smile said she knew Winter was taking advantage of that a little, but that her hands were tied. As were Ironwood's.

"Sneaky of her," Jaune praised.

"She knows how to get what she wants. I think she's become a little more verbal after spending time with your daughter, too."

"I doubt the SDC will thank me for that."

Glynda did a double take as she saw Sophia initiate a conversation, even after all this time working with James she hadn't know she even existed, yet at the same time, seeing her current state, there was some form of camaraderie in her eyes when she looked at her.

Tai was close enough to notice and chuckled. (Looks like she found someone in the same boat as her) He didn't laugh out laud just to avoid her wrath.

Then he laughed loudly once Qrow spitted away what was he was drinking from his flask while laughing too, he had no idea what the man found funny there, but he couldn't keep it together.

"Wow, that's a lot of dedication" Ruby gasps in awe, utilizing school politics to constantly request the same thing over and over while being also too young for her current year was something that she had found to be rather similar to herself.

Even if the rule bending to achieve what she wanted was something Ozpin had done, not her.

And now with the revelation that Emerald might have made Winter more 'vocal' about what she wants, James was even more glad that they were already over this.

"They surely won't" Weiss spoke to herself, she could imagine the kind of reaction her father would have.

"I'm sure they won't." She smiled and waved again as he departed, moving through the corridors of a school that wasn't Beacon with the ease of someone who'd learned them. Students of wildly varying ages went by him, some of the older ones who recognized his rank pausing to salute. It was an odd experience and always was, especially since he hadn't grown up in Atlas, but he now held rank and influence and that showed.

He still felt awkward using it, of course, and asked everyone to stop saluting and calling him `sir` whenever they addressed him. Some listened, others didn't. He had a feeling Pyrrha would have found it hilarious.

It was outside his room that he bumped into a familiar figure, one coming out with an indignant huff and a stomp. Winter had a moment to gasp before she bounced off his chest. She caught herself on the door she'd just slammed shut and stared up at him wide-eyed. "M-Mr Ashari, I didn't see you. My apologies."

"It's fine, Winter." It had surprised her the first time he called her that so casually, and even in the future he'd never been on a first-name basis with her. Still, being so small now, she reminded him more of Weiss than she did her older self. She'd started to grow, though, both outward and up. She was taller than seventeen-year-old Weiss now. She was also more developed than her.

Sorry Snow Angel, but it's true.

As Jaune made his way through the halls of the academy some of the students were able to see one of the four huntsman academies that they hadn't visited. "Wow, I'd never seen Atlas before, It looks like those old futuristic movies" Yang was the first to voice her impression of the place.

"Oh, those from the alien invasion?!" Sun responded, having also though something similar.

"this is so cool!" the silver eyed trainee exclaimed excitedly, she was a fan of the huntsman career which made seeing an academy pretty exciting.

Contrary to what most would believe Weiss wasn't really comfortable with the aesthetic of the place, she enjoyed Beacon more mostly because of the warmth that the place showed over the cold blues and grays of Atlas.

It reminded her too much of the Schnee manor.

Glynda looked as the "It seems like his position brings Mr. Arc quite a bit of attention"

"I suspect that it's not only that, but the fact that he also lives in Atlas that gives him this much recognition" Winter replied, she was known there too in their time, but that was due to also living there as she could perform her duties assisting the general better from there.

A certain redhead laughed to herself while watching, Jaune was absolutely right to believe she'd found this to be funny, who was the one feeling strange for being recognized and admired now.

It took a bit more time to arrive at their destination, the door that led to Jaune and Emerald's room in Atlas. What they didn't expect who was the one that had opened the door.

And then bumped into him.

"Oh hey, we get more of this" Qrow hadn't forgotten last time they'd seen the younger Winter in action, he hoped what happened would be repeated.

At the mention of it the specialist's eye twitched in annoyance, she didn't want to be reminded of that. "as if, I don't behave like that nor I did at said age it was simply an instance of my guard being down"

"Sure thing Ice Queen"

After a rough meeting Jaune began to compare Winter and Weiss "Is he calling me small?"

Ruby giggled at his partners reaction. "Jaune is pretty tall Weiss, everyone is small for him" the glace she'd get from her only made her laugh harder.

"I don't know Weiss, I think he's calling you more than small" Yang made a little comment that was just perfectly timed with a little 'sorry snow angel' that infuriated her even more.

Winter reined over herself trying to not say anything at the obvious sign of him eyeing her as it was clear there was no malice in it.

Not towards her anyways.

"Have you come back from another mission, Mr Ashari?" Winter regained her composure and stood, coughing into one hand. "Another success, I assume."

"It was."

"I expected as much. Your skill would not allow anything else." Winter hesitated and bit her lip. "Did you… may I ask if…?"

Jaune laughed. "I did talk Ironwood down a little."

"You did!?" Winter almost cheered. Her eyes widened and she snapped to attention, snuffing out the excitement as best she could. "Ahem, I mean thank you, Mr Ashari. I appreciate you speaking to the Captain on my behalf. You have my gratitude, and the gratitude of the Schnee family." Winter bowed with one hand over her heart.

Too cute. There was something about how hard she tried and the little instances where she failed to control her emotions that made him grin. Winter's cornering of him a few weeks before and the nervous (for her, anyway) request that he put in a good word for her with Ironwood had been one such example. It was the kind of subtle, sneaky thing he'd never have expected of Weiss, but would of someone like Jacques Schnee. Maybe Winter took more after her father than she realised, or some of his lessons had stuck.

"Sucking up to the higher ranks eh Ice Que-" Qrow was so content with making fun of Winter that he didn't notice halfway through his words that a heel hit him hard over his head.

His aura couldn't protect him in this space either, making it so Winter's recent strike worked wonders in knocking him out.

"…It was worth it…" ragged words came out of the specialist mouth as she fell asleep after assaulting the man, having to handle the consequences of violence.

No one had expected that to happen, and due to such an unexpected turn of events they stared at it more than they should, they ended up not paying attention to the scene.

"shit" Tai couldn't decide between laughing or checking if Qrow had a concussion from that hit, only leaving him with a short vocalization.

"Hu-HUH?!" Both Ruby and Weiss shouted simultaneously after seeing their relatives fall to the ground.

(Urgh, why is it that you always end up causing trouble Qrow?) Lancelot thought to herself while observing, in all realities she'd seen, there were few where the male Branwen didn't get into trouble often.

""EJEM!" After seeing that the little act of violence Lancelot had enough with the distractions, deciding to snap those who lost focus out of their trance. "You might miss an important detail if you continue to stare at Qrow"

"ah, my apologies, you're right" The general turned away from the black haired man to the front. (That was unexpected, but I can't let something like that lower my guard in this place, it might be dangerous to do so)

The rest followed suit.

He'd agreed on behalf of her help with Emerald – and out of guilt for not telling Emerald off for being a terror. To be fair, Ironwood hadn't asked why he defended Winter earlier. Maybe it was changing the future, but he doubted it would have that big an impact. He owed Winter anyway, and she deserved more than the ignominious death she earned in the future.

"How is Emerald doing?" he asked.

"Emerald has reached Grade Four on reading and writing," Winter replied. He had no idea what that meant but nodded along. "She still struggles with arithmetic but has reached a level only a year below her age, which is an achievement." The latter was added with a huff and an unsaid `I suppose`, indicating just how irritated she was. Winter really did try her hardest, though she always left his room looking far more frayed than she had going in.

"Thank you, Winter. How about you and I spar another time?"

The frustration vanished as the girl perked up. "Re-? I mean that would be appreciated, Mr Ashari. I always find your lessons to be a valuable source of insight."

He was sure she did, and he only offered them as silent thanks for looking after Emerald while he was on missions. He'd taken to teaching Emerald too, though only some self-defence and basic training at this point. He'd been hesitant to teach her anything, but quickly realised that with how his life was likely to go, that would be as good as signing her death warrant.

All the amusement Winter's actions might have brought were suddenly shed once Jaune's thought brought them back to the situation.

"Not even a bit for us to assimilate it" Tai grumbled loudly, they could go for a while without the mention of the catastrophe of the future.

They might want to know them to avoid them but having them arrive out of the blue wasn't liked by anyone. (…Sister…) Weiss for example, she didn't wish to watch a little flash of her and her team with JNPR sitting in front of a hastily made grave for her sister.

Ruby put her hand on her partner's shoulder looking at her with a determined expression. "It won't happen, we'll stop it" It was moments like this when she remembered that Weiss could only think of herself as a fool for believing to be a better leader than Ruby in the past.

She shook her head and looked back at her. "Of course, you'd think that it'd let something like that happen?"

On the other side, the rest of team RWBY were having their own little conversation.

"Ah, fourth grade level I'm proud of you Em" Yang was taking the chance to joke around their newly found friend.

Blake buffed at the provocations, Emerald didn't know how to react to them aside from indignation which was perfect for the blonde's plan. (Doing that to make her less awkward, you really are smart when you want to Yang) She'd never hear the end of that If she says it out loud, so she left the comment to herself.

Winter didn't always join in, but she was eager for any lessons he offered, especially private ones. Had Yang been here she might have suggested the younger girl had a crush on him, though the truth was very different. Winter Schnee had a crush on his skill, coupled with an intense desire to be as good as he. Ever since she'd realised he would actually spar and offer advice, she'd done her best to earn time with him, which was partly why she put up with Emerald, even now.

While he was sure she got good training and lessons from her teachers, those were still taught to a full class. It was obviously a lot better to have someone train her privately, and for that to be a Specialist was also a big bonus, at least in her books. In fact, Winter was bouncing on the spot before him, or at least she did for the two or three seconds it took her to notice and stand ramrod straight, eyes wide in horror and mortification.

Jaune had to laugh. "You're allowed to be excited if you want, Winter. I won't think any less of you."

Her cheeks coloured. "I-I have no idea what you mean, Mr Ashari. Please excuse me but I must attend to my studies." She hurried off a moment later, her gait trapped somewhere between a polite walk and an embarrassed flight.

Well, that was one young girl dealt with. Time for another. Jaune knocked once on the door and pushed it open, stepping in. He grinned when he saw Emerald, though mostly because her eyes widened and she hid a shoe behind her back. She was barefoot, as usual.

A little detail that they had been ignoring the whole time was then quickly exposed once Jaune returned to his thoughts.

"He's training her too?! What the fuck blondie, you fucking left me behind before!" The indignation of Vernal could only be surpassed by Weiss's sheer shock at Jaune teaching Winter.

Said shock turned into frustration a few seconds later. "Arc better not tutor my sister incorrectly!"

"hey Blake, was I the only one who heard that?" Yang whispered to her partner, also letting Emerald hear in the process.

"You mean the crush thing?" Emerald spoke before Blake could. "It isn't an uncommon thing I also…never mind" It was clear why she'd stopped talking and the two didn't push into it, rather, they moved the conversation to another topic.

"Yeah, better keep that to ourselves though, we don't want Weiss to get an aneurism" Blake could hear the shouts of anger of the heiress even if it hadn't happened yet.

Winter quickly left after an entertaining interaction, at least for most, leaving Jaune to go towards the door and open it.

"Hello Emerald."

"You're back."

Eighteen months of the two living together and as Echo said, in worryingly tight conditions. In that time she'd come to accept him a little more, though she still wasn't exactly the most verbose of people. She would ask questions now, however, and sometimes even push a little if she wanted to know something. He did his best to encourage her by answering all he could or pointing her in the direction of answers if he couldn't.

It wasn't all perfect, of course. There were times when he'd move too suddenly and she would stiffen or flinch, and more where she'd remain silent or do whatever he asked without a single bit of hesitation. He'd asked Mrs Greening about that and the teacher explained it might be Emerald's way of preventing him from getting rid of her, by basically doing whatever he wanted to try and make him happy. She also had no friends to speak of, nor did she try to talk to anyone in Atlas.

Then there was the way she acted around Winter. Amusing as it was, it was still a bit of a concern she looked worried every time he saw her, like she was expecting a slap for her impertinence. As far as he was concerned, Winter gave as good as she got.

"The mission went well," he said in answer to the unasked question. He made to kick off his boots but hesitated and kept them on. "How have you been while I was gone?"

"It's nice to have someone receive you home after a mission alright" back in the first three years of having Yang and first of Ruby Tai had always looked forward towards returning from a mission and seeing his family back home.

Glynda hummed in agreement before speaking. "There's more confidence in her voice" Emerald had been terrified of him in the lest chapter, being able to properly communicate with him in such a short time showed.

"but she's still wary of him" Oscar mentioned as Jaune continued to speak of the situation.

Yang turned to look at Emerald again "were you like this too?" She acted too differently to her counterpart and Yang doubted it had been due to Cinder letting her be more open, she honestly believed that if it was for the woman, Em would have stayed the same as the little her.

Emerald took a bit of time reminiscing before answering. "For a while, but I lived in the streets much longer that her, so I grew out of it before I was picked up" She followed Cinder blindly sure, but she also had her own opinions on matters and wasn't as jumpy as her alternate.

"I really don't like seeing that you know" Yang was now facing towards the Em of the past. "It just gives me a horrible feel whenever I see a kid that way"

The green haired thief blinked twice before turning towards Yang, in all of her time both spying or just encountering with them, she'd never actually gotten to see something that wasn't the funny outgoing persona she projected.

"I know that the feeling it's probably nothing compared to what you have lived, but it doesn't change how much it affects me…Do you get what I'm saying?" She didn't, not really anyways yet it seemed like talking like this was alleviating the girl in some way.

She always saw this goody two shoes people as idiots, people who didn't have an ounce of survival instinct that went their way to an early grave, but now she not only had probably been spared from a future in jail by one but another her was being given an actual life to live by another one.

That being the case she decided against asking whatever Yang was talking about, nodding and smiling a bit as an answer since it showed that it helped her relax a bit.

"Okay," she replied with a shrug.

He nodded to a book on her bedside table, some fantasy story he'd bought her – simple enough for someone her age and not too verbose. "Is your reading coming along okay?"

"Yes."

Jaune sighed at the one word answer, though he realised why a second later and it turned into a quiet chuckle. Her eyes were fixed below his waist, which might normally have been a problem if he knew they weren't on his pocket. He pulled out a bag of gummy sweets and tossed them to her. Emerald caught them and tore into the pack ravenously. You'd think she hadn't been fed for weeks, but her appetite for sweets was something that hadn't changed from the first time he'd bought her a chocolate slice back in Vale.

Even so, there were rules to be kept. "What do you say, Emerald?" he asked teasingly.

Emerald froze, though only for a second or two. "Thank you…" she whispered.

"Good girl." His permission given, she started to wolf down the sugary treats. "Don't get comfortable here tonight," he said, knowing she was listening from the way her head tilted, even if she didn't stop eating. "We'll be going out into Atlas to do a little property hunting. I… I've come to realise this place really isn't big enough for the both of us."

Seeing the much more responsive Emerald, even if it wasn't by much, was a good change. "Their relationship really progressed in the time we skipped" Tai really hoped his alternate met Jaune, give him some parenting pointers and all that.

"She does seem more healthy than before" Glynda eyed the kid for a bit, what were sullen and thin arms now were somewhat defined muscle mass, ones that signified a healthy aura wielding children.

Her complexion and posture look way better too, even her skin seemed more moist and cared for.

They didn't understand what Jaune meant by 'the reason behind short answers' but once they saw it, it was quickly understood.

"adorable" Blake's plain look when saying was completely betrayed by the way her hears flopped in her head with excitement as they saw the little Em ravage trough the candy bag.

"It's just a brat" Vernal spat but in whispers, she wouldn't by any chance show how infuriated she felt by being left behind.

(He's going to be taken Echo's advice then?) Pyrrha looked around the room, not much had changed since they were here so it wouldn't be a hard thing to move.

And he could just imagine Echo's sarcastic reply to that. You came to realise? You did? Yeah sure, not like I deserve any credit around here.

"He better not learnt you said that then" Ren replied to Jaune, knowing full well he couldn't answer, sighing as he shook his head.

"Jauney really knows when it comes to his friends" Nora laughed wholeheartedly, her leader was a good judge of character when it came to his friends…mostly anyways.

"Anyway, it's about time we looked for somewhere a little bigger. I figured we could rent an apartment in Atlas. How does that sound?"

"How does it sound…?" she asked nervously, not sure why her opinion mattered or what answer he wanted from her.

"Are you okay with it?" he amended. "Or would you rather stay here."

"I'll go wherever you tell me."

Ugh… Not quite what he'd hoped for. Well, she was only nine and a half. Maybe she'd become a little more confident once she had a room to call her own and a little more space to stretch her legs. He really had neglected her on that, leaving her cooped up with only Winter for company whenever he went on one of his missions.

"Come on," he said, gesturing for her to put her shoes on. "If we find a place before it gets dark, I'll take you to that restaurant you like."

Emerald had never been shoed and ready with her coat faster. Though she didn't show her excitement, at least not like Ruby might have, her actions betrayed her. Jaune laughed and placed a hand on the middle of her back, steering her out the door. She no longer flinched when he touched her like that.

They were making progress, small as it might have seemed.

After telling Emerald of the idea of moving they began to have a one sided conversation, where the Arc tried to have Em relay her opinion.

Yang had to try not to laugh at Jaune and his failed attempts at getting her to talk. "Yeah, that's a lot of not progress"

"yeah, but maybe the newfound privacy of a room of her own could help?" Neptune intervened having heard Yang. "She really doesn't have any in there so she may assume it's to avoid secrets"

Cinder's eyebrows rose at his deduction, she had actually done something like that as to avoid any kind of possible betrayals, she didn't expect any of these kids to be able to think like that.

"What kind of sick fuck does that?" Yang's expressive response to that idea was also rather irritating for the maiden.

"at least now they're leaving it for an actual house" Glynda interrupted the students seeing as how they probably could enter a discussion with that topic that would distract them more than they already were.

Seeing Em get exited in her own way was also an adorable extra to see which made her alternate groan embarrassed.

/-/

Soon the Holoo-space began accelerating the images once more, showing Jaune and Emerald leaving Atlas academy and embarking on their new quest of finding proper housing.

They ate as promised in a restaurant before going toward one of the places they've visited before which Jaune eventually decided it would be the one they were going to settle in.

It took what seemed like an hour or two of thinking before they finally decided to settle with one, and by them it meant Jaune deciding and Emerald just nodding along.

Atlas was colder than Vale. It was an obvious thing and not all that amazing that she realised it, but never had it been more obvious than when you were walking the streets late at night. Emerald was grateful for the thick coat the Smiling Man had bought her, even if she wondered how her kind even survived out here. Maybe they didn't. Maybe they all froze to death and were shattered into ice come the morning, thrown out with the loose snow.

She didn't know, and as she walked beside him she couldn't find it in herself to think about it. Her stomach was full of warm and good food, not to mention a heated fudge cake heaped with ice-cream. It could have been a blizzard out and she'd have been too warm in her tummy to notice.

Emerald wasn't entirely sure what the man next to her was to her anymore. He'd been the Smiling Man before, and he still was to a degree. She knew from meeting his team briefly that the Specialists were killers – killers who were good at their job, because they'd looked more dangerous than any of King's men ever had. They smiled and laughed too, which made her think the man who kept her around fit in very well.

"Finally they decided, fucking took them forever" Vernal though she'd seen most of the boring things in life, but this was another level, she would never try to buy a home.

It was faster to steal one anyways.

"They couldn't just pick any, they had to be smart about it" Raven reprimanded the girl, that impatience of her was rather irritating. "you need to remember that my alternate might go there to drink or avoid authorities, it has to be well suited"

"Ah, of course boss" Nobody really cared about what Raven said, it was normally Qrow who'd make something up to annoy the bandit, however he was still indisposed.

They also didn't mention how Raven indirectly acknowledged that Jaune was someone her alternate might have bonded with.

Instead the big majority were focused on Em's little display of creativity. "That's a vivid imagination" Blake couldn't help but compare those words to some of the more gruesome books she's read.

"You tell me, I would have thought she was mad or something when she said that if it wasn't clear she's pretty satisfied" Tai agreed with Blake's words, something like that happening in the streets of Atlas would be horrid.

"We really need to get you a therapist Em" Yang said while looking at a slightly embarrassed Emerald.

"Not only that, she's also simplifying complicated things which makes it sound horrible" Glynda added, the idea of the Specialist being as sole killers was as wrong as it was accurate, they could be described as so, but it would disregard the whole person and intentions behind them.

"A mentality twisted into simplicity" that could be a good way to describe her alternate's way of thinking, one that was her own once. (It's good that I grew out of that mindset, not even I like hearing me think that way)

He owned her still, too, though even at her age she knew better than to say that to any of the people who talked to her like Mrs Greening and the stuck-up frost bitch. The Smiling Man owned her life like he owned her body, and if he wanted to make use of it by feeding her treats and helping her become stronger and smarter, then who was she to argue? It didn't mean he was a good person or had any feelings for her. It just meant she was useful in some way.

And she was fine with that. It made things easy to understand.

If she could stay useful, he wouldn't try to get rid of her. She'd already come to the conclusion he didn't want to hurt her, or at least not yet, but now that panic had been replaced with a different kind. She'd gotten used to a softer life. She liked being well-fed and having warm clothes and warmer baths. She didn't want to go back to the streets, and certainly not Atlas' streets where the biting wind would flay the skin from her bones and turn her lips blue.

I'll just have to be useful, she'd decided some time ago. She wasn't sure when. If I do whatever he wants and show him how good I am, he won't have any reason to get rid of me. I'll be able to stay and be full and warm.

This was just the next step of that, she supposed. This being their new apartment, which the Smiling Man – Jaune, she tried to remind herself – led them into. He flicked a switch, bathing the spacious room in bright, white light.

"Em stop sulking goddamn it" The assassin shouted from across the seats, seeing these things was funny at first, but he had already begun to get tired of the child's existential doubts.

Cinder glared at him for it as she'd let it clear that communication with a traitor was not permitted. An action to which Mercury lifted his arms in surrender, she was going to be there when they returned so he prefers to avoid issues.

And while the majority of the room wouldn't just say something like that to a child, let alone herself from a future she wasn't going to become, they too didn't want any more of this.

Each paragraph just summarized a distorted view of the world that was sadly all to real in some cases.

Ren, Nora and Sun were those who sympathized the most with the situation, but even they couldn't just keep hearing these things.

The room they were in was bigger than the whole room they'd had before. It was wide and open with a kitchen along the back and a sitting area at the front, with a comfortable looking sofa bigger than the bed she'd had before, and two others, sat before a huge TV. Emerald huffed at that; still hating TV. There was a table to the side of that, though, with four wooden chairs around it and a rug underneath. There was another, lower table between the sofas and the TV set, and quite a little floor space beyond. There were four rooms leading off from the main one, one of which was a small closet beside the door, but the others revealing a huge bathroom, and then two separate bedrooms.

"You can pick one for yourself," the Smiling Man said. "You'll be responsible for keeping it clean, though I'll chip in if I have time."

The tension little Em brough along still held strong over the heads of everyone there, and Ruby didn't like how it felt. "h-hey, look how big the house is, je je" her attempt was rather poor, but it also effective due to how it matched with what Emerald said.

A good coincidence that made some snap out of their own thought, it didn't make them forget, but at least it drove them back to the reaction.

"…We're really living there from now on…" Emerald muttered to herself, in all her years not even at her current lifestyle she had lived somewhere like that, sure it could be considered normal, but being always traveling with Cinder, it never really allowed her to properly.

"Huh, impressed by the size" Yang couldn't contain herself from making an inuendo, while at the same time speaking somewhat seriously. "you'll be surprised to see that most houses are this size around Patch"

Ignoring the blonde, Emerald focused on Jaune's words as he looked to her counterpart, her expression twisting with clear confusion. (Maybe this is right choice after all) She was still doubting all of this, but after what Yang and her alternate were showing her. (I think I like it here"

Emerald's mind boggled. A room for herself, all for her? She swallowed and poked her head into it, marvelling at the big bed – it was a double! – and also the sliding wardrobe to the side with a mirrored surface. She could see herself in it and had to take a second to realise who it was. She was a little taller than she remembered, but the biggest difference was that she wasn't skinny anymore. Her bones weren't as visible. The white and grey uniform still looked horrible, though. She hated it.

"Which one do you want?" he asked.

"Which-? Uh, this one?" She hadn't even seen the other, but didn't want to waste his time. It was already more than she'd ever imagined.

"Alright, I'll take the other. I'm going to unpack my gear. You can watch TV if you like, or bring some of your own stuff in."

"I'll unpack," she said, both wanting to spare him the trouble and also to avoid the TV. She didn't own much, even if what she did own was so much more than she ever had before. She had clothing that was in one piece and didn't chafe her sensitive skin. She had warm socks, underwear, pyjamas and even a fluffy dressing gown a rich shade of cream. She liked to sit in that sometimes and just marvel at how soft and warm it was.

The Smiling Man had also bought her what he called a teddy-bear, though she had no idea what she thought of that. It was a golden coloured furry bear with black button eyes. It was soft, but it felt silly. Still, being a gift from him, she'd accepted it instantly. It sat on a seat in the corner now, staring at her bed as she sat down on it, her staring back.

"From 100 to cero seriously" going telling the horrors of the kingdoms that few truly see to fascinating over a room was not Romans idea of funny, but somehow it still got a silent laugh out of him.

Neo smirked in his direction having heard him perfectly even thought it was almost completely silent. That killed his mood, now she was going to make fun of him.

They then watched as the two separated, going each towards their own chosen bedrooms. They were forced to follow Emerald inside her new room.

Few things apart from clothing were inside her luggage, of which the most calling was a little teddy bear of golden fur.

Ruby coed at the last thing Emerald took out. "Aw, look at it, she has a little Teddy bear Jaune gave her" Weiss was trying really hard to not notice things as they watched, her prejudice and her clear distain of the blonde knight being one of the reasons as to why.

However, there was one clear weakness with Weiss, adorable things.

As such, once Ruby spoke of Emerald and his plushie in a certain tone, she couldn't help but agree with an 'aww yeah'.

"I still don't like you," she whispered.

"oh, that wasn't a reaction I expected" The red reaper quickly deflated being caught of guard by the admission, especially with how cute the bear looked.

"Teddy's aren't for everyone sis" Yang loudly said to her from a few seats away, making Ruby pout with her words.

After saying that she heard Emerald mutter beside her. "It's creepy" They way the bear's eyes were and how it stared at her alternate didn't make her mid change.

The bear didn't reply.

"Tch." She turned away and pushed her empty case under the bed. She only put up with the bear because it was from him. It felt childish. He'd once suggested she could sleep with it in her bed, but she'd never allowed it to. "You stay on the chair," she commanded. "This is my bed." She patted it, and then paused. "My bed," she repeated – and it was. It belonged to her. The whole room did. "My bed, my room, my window, my wardrobe."

With a wide smile, she hopped up onto the quilted bed and laid down on it, head between the cushions. This was what it probably felt like to be royalty. How many people her age could say they had a bed all to themselves? Not many, she imagined. None she'd known. Most were lucky if they had a dirty blanket to sleep under.

Hers was clean, fluffy and striped blue and white. She liked it because it was hers and quickly wrapped herself up in it, still clothed and not at all bothered by it. Except for her shoes. She kicked those off to the back wall and wriggled her toes. With a pleased sigh, she leaned back and stared upwards.

A smile flickered over her face.

"My ceiling…"

Slowly Emerald left all her things in the appropriate spaces they should be, drifting a bit in her thought, not revealing anything they hadn't known nor expected.

She laid on her bed looking upwards, smiling in a subtle manner.

And with that the Holo-space began shutting down around them.

/-/

"I guess we're finishing it up here" Roman spoke first, they usually had some form of transition when the scenery changed leaving the blackouts for the real end of a chapter.

"urgh, that was pointless" Raven ended up saying while stretching for a bit, the whole experience was nothing but a recollection of what he'd been doing in the time skip.

"Doesn't matter, I needed that pause" the youngest in the room answered, mostly talking to himself.

He didn't really want to know much more, no matter how much he was needed to.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on where one sees it, Lancelot interrupted. "No, we have not finished" Turning the page of the book the holo-space was commanded to shift, showing a training room of Atlas, where two people stood. "It's simply a time skip of around six months, completing the second year"

The apartment had been a good purchase, Jaune decided a month or three later. Well, he'd realised it early on and it was a rental more than a purchase, but still, this confirmed it. Emerald adored her room and looked after it with more gusto than he thought a girl her age really should. She didn't make a mess like he and his sisters often did of their rooms. It was also nice to cook food for a change, and Emerald had learned how to make some simple ready meals, perfect for those times where he had to go on a mission.

Of course, she wasn't old enough to be left on her own at those times and had to go back to Atlas Academy when he did. He could imagine Emerald thinking how she'd looked after herself on the streets for eight years, so she could look after herself in an apartment stocked full of food for a day or two, thank you very much. Even so, she followed his instructions without any fuss once he'd made it clear there was no other option.

Something she'd taken with far less gusto was the realisation that distance from Atlas Academy didn't necessarily mean freedom from Winter Schnee. Emerald's education was still on the rocks and Winter wasn't about to give up on the best source of one-to-one training she could get so easily. The look on Emerald's face when Winter appeared at their door had been worth a million lien. The look on her face when Winter suggested they study in her room was priceless.

Before anyone could say anything about the two people training quick flashes of different events were shown.

Jaune and Emerald in her room, apparently cleaning even though the room seemed to be incredibly well kept. Cooking, or eating, simple scenes one would find in an everyday life.

"This is weird" One of the people who were represented muttered to herself, she'd never truly had a family, never enjoyed that which her alternate now had, yet at the same time, it was by the hand of someone who she'd know of being her age.

"Weirdly nice" Blake added beside her, so many memories with her own family that seemed so similar to this one. "the other you is in good hands"

The green haired girl could only stare. "yeah"

Tai looked at them with reminiscence, so many days with her two daughters. "Jaune does seem to be a good father, as inexperienced as he is" A little frown forming on him afterwards. (Even though he seems to reject the notion of her being his daughter)

To this day, Winter still hadn't been allowed to so much as glimpse Emerald's room. They studied on the dining room table instead.

The apartment wasn't big enough for them to train in sadly, but there was a gym nearby, and given that Atlas was heavily militarised, the gym had combat rings and arenas as standard. It was in one of those that Jaune and Winter sparred, him on the defence as Winter came in for another assault. Her form with her sabre was excellent, but her body wasn't quite there. She didn't have the strength she would when she was a few years older and as tall as he.

He tried not to take advantage of that, knowing that `age` wouldn't be a good lesson for her. Instead, he focused on parrying her attacks and wearing her out. To her credit, she realised his tactic only a few minutes in, but by then it was too late. He disarmed her after a brief exchange and touched the edge of Crocea Mors to her neck.

"I yield."

After a bit they returned to the arena they saw beforehand, however and unlike last time, they weren't standing one in front of the other, rather, Jaune had his sword right under Winter's neck.

Sun made a disappointed noise once he saw this. "Aw man, we missed this" It would have been nice to see them train, maybe even pick up some new ideas.

"He's training Winter directly?" He had thought the idea was for a tutelage of the whole team, although this may be just combat training and it was Jaune who'd gotten that part. "Maybe we'll see a stronger Winter than the one we knew"

"heh, maybe then she'll actually be a threat" Raven mocked the sleeping woman, she knew that Winter wasn't really someone to scoff at, but she'd never admit that, preferring to mock them.

"I don't like this" Weiss grit her teeth, she was being petty, maybe, but seeing Winter lose, no matter how young she was, at the hands of Arc was such a strange thing that she didn't want to see it.

"Good fight," he said as she staggered to her knees and gasped for breath. "Your form is improving, though you need to learn to compensate for your reach. Have your studies on summoning progressed any?"

"N-Not enough," Winter panted. The proud girl was slick with sweat but didn't seem bothered by it. She rarely did, though he knew from how she acted normally that she took her appearance seriously. It was just that she took training more seriously; a sentiment he more than agreed with. "I can summon some birds at the moment but it takes too much concentration to use in a spar. I decided the distraction would cost me too much."

"You're right there," he praised. Back when they'd first started Winter had been more adventurous, eager to show off, but she'd soon come to realise he was a no nonsense fighter who would exploit any hole she left. Stopping in the middle of the fight to try and use her Semblance? Well, she'd better be prepared for him to be on her in a second or two. "You are improving, though," he said. "Gain a little height and reach and you'll be in good shape. As for your Semblance, that's just down to practise. Keep trying and you'll get the summoning down."

The two couldn't look more differently, while one stood looking mostly fresh, the other was breathing hard, trying to recover from the extenuating exercise.

Ironwood looked at the two with critical eyes. (Hmmm, I remember Winter getting her summons on her last year at Atlas, this Is already a leap in strength compared to ours) Maybe because Jaune had traveled with the Schnee heiress and had trained alongside her too was why could give good advice to the younger winter.

That could lead her to get better faster and learn the more complicated things earlier, which would be a boost as she'd have more time to perfect her skills and get experience.

Weiss focuses on the other things they were saying as they talked.

She concentrated in what Jaune thought of Winter's old style, one she had somewhat used to learn herself, all the thing she did and what was the most likely thing to happen.

Weiss own track record at Beacon and outside of it when they were doing 'missions' made her realize that she, for a lack of a better word, failed like an idiot while trying to imitate her sister to some degree.

Glynda appreciated the level of thought he'd given to the training of the girl, as a teacher of combat class she found it respectable and something that got her a smile. (Who would have thought this is my most problematic student)

"Thank you, sir."

"I've told you to call me Jaune," he said.

"Mr Ashari?" she tried.

"Jaune."

"Mr-"

"Just my name."

"Jaune, then," she managed, not quite meeting his eyes. He'd known she was a stickler for the rules, but really. "Thank you for this spar, Mr- Jaune," she corrected before he could call her out. "And thank you for all the lessons, too. I feel like I'm closer to becoming a Specialist than ever before."

"Why do you want to become a Specialist, anyway?" he asked. "I figured you'd be all for being a huntress."

Winter stared at the ground. "That is… something of a private concern."

Winter was insistent in calling Jaune by his surname, which was funny on the surface but…

"Right, I had forgotten this" Tai snickered at James's uncomfortable expression and his words, the man knew better than anyone else Winter's instance on formalities no matter the situation.

Something he was grateful while on duty but was quite tiresome when off of it.

It was even funnier when Jaune achieved what seemed to be the impossible task of getting her to talk more casually, the amusement coming from the swift switch on James face.

When Jaune asked for Winter's motive Weiss looked at her sister with a sad smile, one she normally wouldn't show for anything, but since she knew the answer and what entailed, not only for her, but for Whitley as well she couldn't help herself.

(Isn't he aware of this already, he showed he knew more than we expected before) Blake thought when Winter decided to keep her motives to herself.

"Then don't answer it."

Her shoulders relaxed a little. "Is that okay?"

"Sure. You don't have to tell me all your little secrets." And he had a feeling her silence was confirmation enough. The only thing she'd feel reluctant to talk to him about would be her family. While he'd managed to get her to talk about Weiss a few times, and even Whitley, she'd never once spoken of her mother or father.

"At least he learnt to not pry when he isn't wanted" Weiss buffed irritated, she didn't want Arc pushing her sister, much less getting tangled into it.

The conversation continued as any other would, however, it was Jaune's thoughts that were the more interesting part. (He really doesn't know…although it feels as if he has some form of idea) Blake now wondered how much had everyone learnt from one another.

She looked around, all of the students sitting in a relatively close zone, few having moved seats since this began. (I really did make the correct choice back in that train)

"This feels personal man" Neptune said without thinking, watching this felt like something they shouldn't be seeing.

"I know man" Sun nodded by his side.

"You can go get changed," he suggested instead. "I'll arrange a transport to take you back to Atlas."

He didn't want to push her.

"I can walk." she protested.

"Yeah, and you can freeze to death, too. It's the middle of winter and a blizzard out there. Not even Ironwood himself would go for a walk in this weather, least of all if he was exhausted after training. I'll hire you a taxi."

Ironwood grumbled at the show of stubbornness of his specialist, she could be really tough when she had an idea in her head.

"I place of my brother I'll say, she really does have an icicle up her ass to be this fucking hardheaded" Since Qrow was still unconscious Raven took the opportunity to make fun of the Schnee herself, although she was more vulgar with her wording.

"…you…" Weiss didn't like that at all but was smart enough to recognize that anything she says would be pointless as Raven wouldn't bat an eye at what she says.

Her cheeks flushed once more, embarrassed to have been caught out, or perhaps just to admit weakness, even if it was to sub-zero temperatures. "Thank you, Jaune. I… I would appreciate that. I can pay, however."

"Nonsense. You've helped out with Emerald for almost two years now. Some training and a few taxi rides is hardly a big price for me to pay." Nor the meals he occasionally forced her to accompany Emerald and him on, no matter how much Emerald disliked that. He really did owe Winter a lot and as she grew older he started to feel worse and worse about blatantly using her competitive nature to force her into the role of underpaid babysitter.

"Just accept the fucking ride and be done with it!" Vernal let out a frustrated complain, being tired of this dumb back and forward. "seriously, what's with this child"

Rejecting an offer for a free ride, only an idiot would do such a thing.

Glynda simply sighed tiredly, this wasn't anything new to her, especially not after working with her on a good amount of missions.

Ironwood too wasn't new to this, but unlike the beacon professor, he didn't express anything.

Not that Emerald would like the term. In fact, Emerald was glaring at Winter's back now, even as the heiress made her way back to the changing rooms. Emerald was already fresh from a shower and dressed, having sparred against him first.

"You're a surprisingly good teacher," Winter suddenly said.

Jaune couldn't help teasing her. "Surprisingly?"

As soon as Jaune made note off Emerald's presence in the room, a good portion of the guest turned to her, finding her glaring quite adorably at Winter.

"Two years and they still don't get along" Ruby's awkward words escaped her as she saw how her own partner was glaring daggers at the child.

"now that's dedication" Mercury laughed it off, the pathetic attempt of a glare Em was doing was incredibly stupid, making it amuse him.

Winter's comment on Jaune's abilities to teach get a laugh or two more, but not much else, as it was sadly true that he wasn't really expected to have good teaching skills.

It wasn't something he'd done before, and he usually was the one needing to be taught.

"I didn't mean-" Winter huffed when she realised he wasn't offended. The fact a girl her age could huff at all was worth another laugh. "Most people I know who teach don't seem to be as good practically, at least the trainers my father would hire for me. On the other hand, those who seem to be really good at their jobs normally aren't very good at teaching."

He could understand what she was trying to say. Specialism dictated people got better at their job and gave up other skills, and although Mrs Greening seemed more than capable in both roles, he had a feeling she was the exception. She was a teacher in Atlas Academy, after all, and thus one of the best teachers in the whole Kingdom.

Charlie, Delta, Echo or Foxtrot would have been garbage teachers for Winter. It wasn't that they didn't have the skill or the technique, but that they lacked the patience, experience and the ability to tone down their skills and look at things from the perspective of a beginner. They would assume she knew things she didn't and struggle to understand why aspects that were simple to them didn't come quite so easily to her. Simply put, they were too good at what they did and had forgotten what it felt like to be a rookie.

He was different.

"That's how it tends to work yes, however by taking the necessary time and putting enough effort one should be able to pass their knowledge correctly" Glynda new how hard it was to switch from something like killing Grimm to instructing the same matter.

She made the decision to do so to ensure the future generations, which she believed was worth the effort to try and do so.

That was a sentiment both Tai and Ironwood understood too, as they had roles in the education of aspiring huntsman too.

And along James understanding came the realization that his old team of specialist would have been somewhat terrible teachers as Jaune explained, their good performance as specialist hadn't been something they learnt rather it was something developed as they worked and experienced different missions.

"hmm?" His pointing of difference got the general and Glynda's attention.

"I wasn't always as strong as I am now, Winter. I used to be the weakest person you'd have ever seen, so I know what it's like to not be good enough. Since I had to learn every little trick I know, it's easier for me to point them out to you." And, of course, he could draw back on the training Pyrrha had given him, imparting that onto Winter.

He remembered every mistake. He'd learned from every mistake, understood and overcome it – and he'd done so relatively recently, rather than at a young age like Ruby or Yang had. That meant he remembered it a lot more easily.

"I suppose that makes sense. Still, you could make quite the good money as a personal trainer or teacher."

"Maybe." It was an interesting thought, very much so. Then again, she was probably just trying to lead him into it so she could hire him. Jaune laughed and made to rub her head, though exhausted or not she managed to escape that with an indignant look. "Go get a shower," he said. "I'll wait."

Winter nodded and left.

Glynda had to credit Jaune for thinking that way, his weakness moved him to learn a bit of everything and using that to his advantage.

"I suppose…I never really gave it much thought, but his way of fighting is a bit messy" It seemed as if it was his own style while including things that one could find from short sword wielders of rapier users as well as other bladed objects. "and that's not considering Qrow's dirty way of approaching a fight"

"You're saying he's just taken and learnt skills from everyone around him?" James read the reports Oz had for interesting students, and it wasn't a coincidence all the weapons Glynda had mentioned were part of both JNPR and RWBY.

The Beacon instructor stopped to think for a moment but ended up shaking her head. "I wouldn't say learnt, it's closer to adapted them to his own may of fighting"

Then adding in the fact that for him that learning happened a bit more than two years ago then it was clear why Jaune would be a good teacher…that Jaune anyways.

(I guess all those stops to train do work in the end) Oscar let that stray thought in, he never really believed that stopping mid travel to train was something smart, since the faster they arrived the better and they could train there anyways.

Emerald looked frustrated.

"What's wrong?" he asked, walking up to her.

Emerald looked away. "Nothing."

"When someone says that, they normally don't mean it." Least of all when it was said with such a blatantly frustrated tone. Emerald's dislike of Winter was no secret, but it felt like it had been growing lately, especially when they trained together. Was this how Pyrrha and his team had felt when he tried to pretend Cardin's bullying hadn't existed? At least Emerald had the excuse of not even being ten. "You know you can talk to me if something is wrong, right? I'm not going to snap at you if you ask me a question."

Asking wasn't easy for her, that much was obvious. Her face twisted, caught between intense desire and a fear he often saw but struggled to place. It was desperate and anxious and would come out at the oddest times. Most of the time she never did say what was wrong, which was why he was so surprised when she blurted out an answer.

"From one brat to a parasite, great" Vernal muttered annoyed, she didn't like Winter at all, however she'd rather have her on scene rather than the depressive weed haired child.

Her pride wasn't wounded from not being the one picked, she just detested the street rat.

"Ah, look at him learning of parenthood" Tai honestly enjoyed when something like this happened since each time it seemed as both simply forgot about the whole, 'not really my daughter idea' and acted more and more like a family each time.

It also brought back some pretty nice memories that Raven's background gagging wouldn't ruin.

Pyrrha, Ren and Nora looked one another at the mention of the somewhat recent events. "six years is what he needed to learn that" Ren could only say that, his usual expression having altered slightly as his pupils were smaller than usual.

Nora Laughed at Jaune's lack of awareness when it came to people. (Funny, I said a while that he read his friends well) That just got her laughing harder.

"I can be stronger than her."

"Hm?"

Emerald's eyes dipped down, focused on his feet. Her hands clenched into tiny fists, like she expected his anger. Even so, she forced herself to speak. "I can be stronger than she can," she said. "I can fight. I can try harder."

"Where's this coming from?"

"Why are you helping her to become strong?" Emerald asked. "I can be use- I can be stronger."

"I suppose you can," he said, not really sure where she was going with this. "I'm helping her as a way to thank her, though. She's done us – me – a lot of favours. This is the only way I can pay her back."

"Essentially, she's just jealous" Roman snorted mid phrase, his words obviously being mockery, his distaste for Cinder's brats made all scenes that embarrassed Emerald just better.

Sadly the other idiot didn't even have screen time, which was also something to laugh at, but he hadn't appeared yet either, so he'd keep his mouth shut about that one.

And as he predicted the green haired thief glared at him, to which he simply smiled back.

For some of the others this showed them how much Emerald actually needed to feel useful in order to not believe he'd leave her if she wasn't.

"you do know you don't need to be useful for people to care about you right?" Yang questioned the girl, who looked pretty conflicted at the idea of that.

Some understanding seemed to dawn on Emerald, though she still looked nervous. "She… Winter is stronger than me," she whispered, voice so quiet he had to learn forward to hear it. "She's better than me, stronger, faster…"

"She's also older than you, and she's had more training." Jaune pointed out. "Don't worry if she's stronger now. You'll catch up in a few years. Maybe you'll be even stronger."

Emerald's head shot up. Her eyes were wide and hungry. "I will?"

"Sure. I'll be training you, after all."

She sagged forward, expelling a huge breath. "S-So we'll keep going like this?"

"Of course. We won't be staying in Atlas forever, Emerald, even if it's nice here. Maybe it'll be a year, maybe two, but we'll leave and go back to Vale. I won't be able to help Winter anymore after that, which is why I want to help her now."

Emerald's silence was telling for them, and the idea little Em kept enforcing of being strong to not be useless also got them their answer.

"We really do have a lot of work ahead of us" sighed the blonde while looking at her partner, who's face looked as plain as ever while agreeing with her head.

They then heard Jaune comment on Emerald surpassing Winter at some point, something which someone would never let slide no matter the situation. "That's preposterous, who does he think he's comparing her to, Winter is a specialist of the highest grade"

Ruby adverted her eyes from her partner to the debatably adorable Winter who was sleeping like a baby, then she looked at her not so adorable unconscious uncle. (I mean, not everyone can knock uncle Qrow like that)

After repeating the reassurance for the kid three times they finally snapped out of that conversation, learning a bit of Jaune's plans.

"Will I come with you?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll keep your training up when you do."

Another breath, this time of relief. Emerald nodded and didn't meet his eyes, but even to his she seemed somehow more relaxed, less anxious. When Winter returned, Emerald didn't even have a glare for her, nor even a frown. She stood patiently behind Jaune as he arranged the taxi and bid her farewell, and even said goodbye to Winter herself. Winter almost choked when she heard that, and no doubt it was to the polite girl's horror that the door shut and the taxi pulled away before she could return it.

Jaune laughed and patted Emerald's shoulder. "Good girl. Come on, let's go home."

"He'll return to Vale eventually" One or two years was probably enough time for him to settle matters over there, what Glynda didn't know was what he looked to do in Vale the rest of the time until the attacks.

Ironwood thought about it for a moment before settling on not wanting his alternate to lose a good specialist. "Wouldn't Oz be an impediment there, he is pretty set on his way of acting" he conveyed that through an excuse, however.

The students were more concentrated on Em rather than Jaune's plans since they'd see it anyways and seeing a much less tense Emerald was really cute, specially with how close she stood near Jaune's leg.

And they also were concentrated in sheer horror that was Winter's face once she returned and Emerald said goodbye to her.

They'd never seen someone leave so fast before, and they've seen Ruby leave after being promised cookies.

"Can we-?"

"We'll stop for food en route," he said.

Emerald nodded. She didn't smile, but she walked a little closer to his legs and didn't look quite so stiff anymore. Jaune tried to ignore it, and the confusion that threatened to overwhelm him. Mom had once said having kids was hard work, but he'd never understood it. He did now.

Why didn't Emerald come with an instruction manual, and where could he buy one?

They shared one last little moment which made anyone who'd been a parent, a proper one I mean (Not Raven), smile it was something that had happened to them at some point too, although the interaction might have been different.

Oscar had to do a double take. (huh? Why did I feel identified by that, I'm fourteen I don't have kids) The he realized that Ozpin's influence might be stronger than he gave it credit for.

Tai was the one who was the most amused by this, he too had imagined the idea of a manual in how to take care of a Yang considering how difficult she was, and he was still a new parent.

Then everything began to pass faster.

/-/

The diner the two had that night was interesting to see, but since it was sped up they couldn't really say much else.

They now were following Jaune as he walked down Atlas library while reading a book that looked to be almost in the end of the story.

"Two years and still no leads…"

Jaune sighed and closed the book with a solid thwack, placing it back on the shelf. Atlas' great library was a massive thing, part information paradise, part tourist attraction and part cultural monument. It was free to use by everyone, but the information it contained was varied, ranging from fiction to history, language, cooking and everything else. It had multiple floors, ringed balconies, tour groups, dining rooms, conference rooms and even a small museum to the back.

Simply put, it was paradise and purgatory all in one, offering you all the information you might ever need, but hidden in more content than any man could hope to read in ten lifetimes. It might have helped his search if the stuff he was looking for was in the digital archives – basically stored on terminals and data drives – but since he was looking for ancient civilisations, fairy tales and legends, all of his material was in traditional book form.

As Pyrrha would have happily admitted, Jaune wasn't the best when it came to book work.

"If only it was that easy" James himself had skimmed those libraries a good amount of times in search of something, he, like Jaune, had found near to nothing when investigating.

No matter how much information Atlas library had, it never seemed to be anything of 'that'. He did give up searching after he joined Oz's group, but that didn't mean he hadn't passed hours researching the same thing.

Oscar thought about it for a moment before asking. "is all of this digitalized in our time? because it'd be easier to keep track of the information if it was" More comfortable when looking for information too.

"We've worked on the more recognized works, but ancient text that aren't common haven't gotten one, we've focused on other matters in those years" Ironwood responded, as much as he too would rather have them all in a database for their handling it was a use of resources that they really didn't need.

The read head mentioned giggled at her own mention, she was genuinely happy Jaune still remembered all of those things even years in the future.

"There has to be something in here. I'm just not looking in the right places."

Legends and fairy tales hadn't revealed much, or they had, but it wasn't anything he didn't already know. He'd found the legend of the maidens easily enough, it not being a precise secret, but there hadn't been anything more than what Ozpin had already told him, and he in fact knew a lot more than the books did in that regard.

So, he'd moved onto looking for `Relics` or any information on them – which was a dead end all of its own. Or not a dead end per se, but a spider web of disconnected information. `Relic` was too ambiguous a term to work with, so he ended up delving into books containing archaeological finds, broken pottery and ancient weapon fragments. He might have stopped there, but if the Relics were from an ancient civilisation as Salem (and the very word, Relic) hinted, then this might still be of use. It was a lead.

The problem was, it was a pretty vague lead, and it turned out archaeology wasn't quite as esoteric as fairy tales. They didn't get lumped into one handy compendium of children's legends, but rather a thousand or more books written by archaeologists and historians of varying skill. And hey, Oobleck had written some books. His old professor – sorry, Doctor – had never mentioned that before.

They saw flashed that showed some of the books he looked through, various popular, others no one actually knew by name, all of the referring to either a legend or lost civilizations.

Ren looked at the names of those books. "two years of research in one of the biggest libraries in the world and he got nothing, the headmaster really tried his best to hid everything" And the passage of time along with the academies only helped Ozpin ensure that things stayed hidden as he wanted.

"There's also all the things he has to look up" Blake agreed not being one bit completely jealous that Jaune was in one of the top 5 bookworm's dream buildings.

Yang snorted at Blake's pitiful attempts to hide her envy before saying. "And all of the shit he doesn't actually know he needs to look for"

The three looked at each other in silence before sighing, that sounded like a lot of work.

Sadly, neither Oobleck nor the others he'd read through so far had produced anything of use. While there were theories and myths about the civilisation that came before, it appeared to be a rather natural progression of their own, humans and faunus using old weapons like spears and swords, before they slowly evolved and adapted into industry and metallurgy. Basically, just a more primitive version of where they were now.

"There's no way they could have made something like the Relics, then." Jaune groaned and let his head pound for a few moments in silent agony. Again, books weren't his thing. Where was Ren when you needed him?

"Wait, professor Oobleck wrote a book on this?" the students did a double take as they heard the man's name while mentioning a book.

Then the holo-space echoed the words, DOCTOR.

They looked at Lancelot for any clued as to what the hell just happened, but she merely looked in another direction, not willing to explain the alternate universe where everyone was a cosmic entity In which their professor just made this a rule of the multiverse.

All of her coworkers learnt to call him doctor sooner rather than later to escape the voice.

Another day, another dead end. Jaune checked the giant clock in the centre of the library – a frankly monstrous thing that reached from the floor to the ceiling, with eight different faces so it could be seen from any angle. It was already nearly five and he'd promised Emerald some training tonight, which meant he'd best get back in time to cook dinner.

The disappointment as he left the great library was muted. He'd been doing this for two years now and it had been four months since he and Emerald moved into their little apartment. Day in day out, when he wasn't on missions, he came to the library to research. Even if he didn't find anything, he knew he was narrowing down the options. He had ten years – or eight, now – and it would have been arrogant to think he could fix everything in a matter of weeks. Life wasn't nearly that convenient, which meant a lot of digging and long nights. He was close to a breakthrough, he was sure.

His feet took him down the familiar route home, the wind biting as ever but not quite enough to necessitate catching a ride. He tugged his furred hood up over his head and stepped out onto a wider street, a pedestrian high-street with shops lined on either side. He wanted to stop and buy Emerald something en route.

"He really seems to be pouring himself into the research a bit too much" Jaune didn't really looked overworked or seemed to show signs of it, but if there was something Tai knew was that if he had just been repeating this routine he spoke of then he'd get burnt out eventually.

"He does tend to over work when he really thinks something is important" Pyrrha announced defeated, her trainings with her leader had shown her that, he really only stopped once she told him it was over.

"And not really work on anything else" was the response she got from Weiss, who didn't really say that out of malice, more so like stating a fact.

"at least he should be closer to the truth now" Glynda hoped that was the case, they really couldn't believe much more on what Ozpin told them, or at least they had to take it with a grain of salt.

The truth, now that was something that interested Cinder…that and how to actually kill Salem, since she'd try to betray her eventually.

They then began to follow as Jaune made his way back home, not expecting to find a familiar symbol on their way.

But the street was filled, and not in the normal sense of shoppers. There was a large crowd gathered, with signs raised above their heads. There was shouting and chanting. The placards wore different messages, but one thing repeated more than any other, either on flags or wooden signs. It was a white emblem on a blue background – a snarling maw surrounded by a white circle.

The White Fang…

Jaune's shoulders tensed. Here already, in the open? He looked left and right, wondering where the Atlas soldiers were and why no one was stopping this. Crowds had gathered nearby to watch, and none of them seemed to realise the danger. Two faunus saw him and detached from the crowd, moving toward him. They weren't masked, but they wore the White Fang's symbol on their clothing.

As they approached, Jaune's right foot slid back, body tilting in readiness for combat. The two saw it and flinched. They were nervous now, understandably so. Jaune's eyes roved over them but he didn't see any weapons. None at all.

The lead faunus swallowed and took a step forward. The smile she wore was nervous, like she expected him to attack at any moment.

"Here, sir," she said, holding something out. "Please take this."

"That's the-!" Weiss began speaking alarmed, she saw the symbols and immediately thought of their own experiences.

Some of the other students and teachers also tense at their appearance, not liking what could happen.

"…The White Fang…" Blake however had a different, she recognized some of the messages on the boards, this wasn't the Fang of their time, this was her parents Fang.

Similar thoughts to Jaune's went to some of the guest as they saw a crowd around, more so when two approached when they really weren't paying attention to them.

"Jaune be care-" They really weren't paying too much attention to what they held, their instincts acting before their minds.

It was a flyer.

"-full" Pyrrha finished, this really wasn't what she expected.

Not a bomb, not a knife, nor a gun. It was a hastily made flyer printed on someone's computer and filled with information on injustice against the faunus and the White Fang's proposed legislative changes to bring equality to Atlas. The front picture featured a faunus and a human stood side by side, smiling with their arms around one another's shoulders.

"Ah."

The White Fang. The old White Fang, the peaceful organisation that wanted nothing more than equality. Jaune cringed and looked up but the two faunus had already moved on, leaving him behind to feel like the biggest asshole imaginable. They probably thought he was as racist as they came.

"Damn it, Jaune." He sighed and pocketed the flyer. The least he could do was put it somewhere others could find it, or maybe teach Emerald to read it so she wouldn't develop any bad habits. These people weren't his enemies. They were just regular citizens dreaming of a better future.

"What…?" Weiss did a double take, this wasn't how things usually went.

Blake looked at the flyer, some semblance of nostalgia washed over her. She'd been there when those flyers were printed, she waited excitedly while they made them in someone's home.

And if this was that rally where they used them first, then she knew what would happen here.

"so this is the old Fang you spoke of" Yang asked her partner, this people really weren't the ones who'd end up attacking the Vytal festival in their time, not all of them at least.

They then watched as they left, leaving Jaune who felt reasonably bad for his reaction, he too had realized too late who they were.

It wouldn't last.

He had no idea when the White Fang would turn violent, but he knew they would. This display, this protest, this peaceful overture and the suggestions of change, would amount to nothing. That was… more distressing than he'd realised. Racism hadn't seemed like a big thing in his time in Atlas, but now that he thought about it he hadn't seen a single faunus since he'd arrived. Team November lacked one. There were none among the teaching staff of Atlas, and he hadn't seen any faunus students, or faunus taxi drivers, restaurant workers or store owners.

So, where were they all working?

Not the mines…

Surely not…

"Racism isn't always in the blatant chanting of hate and the throwing of rocks," Blake had once told him. "More often than not it's subtle, insidious, and quite often subconscious bias. Most people don't even realise they're doing it."

Jaune sighed again, this time running his hand down his face. Was this something else he could change? Probably not, he realised. He had no idea when the White Fang would go bad, and while he could go to Menagerie and find Blake's parents, there was no telling how he'd convince them to distrust their own people. Plus, it would mean no Blake in Beacon, and that might have a cascade effect that led to her team dying.

"It's an easy thing to overlook" Blake said heavily once she noticed her partner and Ruby's eyes on her. "But that's how it normally is"

She really couldn't blame the blonde for not thinking too much about it either, he had bigger things on his plate.

And the more he thought about his own intervention the worse things seemed to develop.

"damn it, is there really nothing" Yang said under her breath, not having the Fang of their time around would be pretty nice, specially if they could solve the problem from the root.

But something like racism wasn't something one person could simply overturn, even if he had years to work on. Even with help from that time's Fang and maybe even Ironwood, it was hardly possible to fix it either.

Then there were the consequences it'd had on her own team…but wasn't it too selfish of her to want her team with her rather than getting rid of a problem like that.

Yang decided that she'd rather not answer that.

Maybe he could try and suggest some changes to Ironwood. It was the only thing he could think of, though even then he knew it would never come through to anything. He didn't think Ironwood would care for species at all – ability was ability to the man – but Ironwood was still bound by politics, and all the powerful people in Atlas didn't see things the same way. If Ironwood tried to introduce faunus rights, he'd only find himself losing out on the promotion to General, and then someone far worse, with far less care for their citizens – human or otherwise – would assume control.

That might destroy the future. Remnant needed James Ironwood. It needed him more than it did Jaune Arc, frankly.

The protest was being dispersed now. The police had come, and though the protest wasn't by itself illegal or violent, they still forced it to leave – albeit with thankfully non-violent means. They pushed their way through to the leader, escorted him away, and then slowly started to picket the others and push them on, with only the faunus who reacted violently – and there were some who did – being arrested. Looks like the seeds of violence are sprouting even now. When words and overtures of peace yield nothing, it is human nature to try the more direct route.

Sadly, it wasn't just the faunus thinking that way. Though the authorities handled themselves well, many human spectators jeered and tossed insults, while others tossed bottles or stones. The faunus were covered by Atlas soldiers where they could be, but some hit home, and the cries of pain only seemed to fuel the angry mob more.

The more things were put into perspective the worst things appeared.

James looked with understanding more than anything at that. "I'm flattered he thinks that way, but maybe I should try to do something" He'd always been too concerned about what might happen if he were to try and modify the views one faunus.

His position as general being the thing he was a afraid of loosing the most since it gave him certain liberties in their stand against Salem…but then again, they really weren't doing anything against her.

Then the insults began.

"Animals!"

"Go back to Menagerie!"

"You're not welcome here!"

Some of the insults were viler, `dog-fucker` was a popular one, or just changing the first part to whatever faunus type they were. Some liked to believe (erroneously, of course) that faunus were born from humans rutting with animals. It was the kind of baseless conspiracy theory racists liked to use to convince themselves their actions were justified. It was pathetic, and in a way he couldn't help but wonder if the White Fang had the right idea. Not in terms of terrorism, but that words alone wouldn't change things. Adam was probably right in saying the first iteration of the White Fang hadn't gone far enough, but the problem was that he'd taken it too far.

Blake's ears fell flat against her head, maybe it was because of how long she'd stayed away from Atlas that she'd forgotten this, after all, the people in Vale were much more silent in their discrimination.

The students anger began boiling as the insults were continuously thrown, they hadn't heard something similar to the theory Jaune mentioned but that people thought that of others was a disgusting idea.

Meanwhile Weiss could only look baffled as how the treatment went, she'd heard Blake talk of things like these happening, but watching it occur was a whole new experience that left her with too much to think about.

Something caught his eye in the crowd, or someone. It was a tuft of black with two black ears above, dark shorts and a small, lithe frame.

"Blake…?"

And in the midst of all of that, there was one small girl with black hair and cat hears.

"Blake?...you were there?" Weiss now had a bigger shock than before as one of her teammates was being target of the unpleasant crowd.

Yang, Ruby and Sun were equally as surprised at seeing the girl there too, each with their own levels of wanting to break those people in half, Yang leading that list.

A nod was all Blake gave as she was concentrating more on the person who was by her side at that point.

It was. It was her. She was in the protest, small and angry and carrying a sign even as she was ushered away with several other smaller faunus. A rock struck the boy to her left and he fell with a startled cry. An Atlas soldier moved to shield him, leaving Blake open.

Jaune was already moving. He stalked past the angry public and to the melee, dashed at the last second when he saw a rock fly. Blake saw it too, and tried to shy away – only to find herself pressed in by so many bodies. Her hands came up to shield her face. It was too far, too fast. He wasn't going to reach her. Frustrated, Jaune swept forward, flung his coat back and drew Crocea Mors. The blade scythed up, catching the rock and deflecting it not three inches from Blake's little face.

The sound and sight of bared steel brought absolute silence.

Adam, it was Adam, Blake really almost didn't recognize him without his mask anymore. "Adam" she whispered, she really had forgotten how he looked like before.

And the guilt of not being able to stop him before he became what he is today struck with much more force than before.

That was short lived as the sudden sound of a blade impacting against something took her out of her thought, seeing Jaune standing with his back turned to her and Crocea Mors out.

The huntsman part of the audience released a collective sigh of relief seeing that Jaune finally intervened.

Jaune had his back to Blake. He couldn't see her, nor her expression, but that was fine. His eyes were focused on the angry mob instead, even as his coat fluttered down where he'd sprinted from. It revealed him now fully, the pristine white uniform he wore, the knee-high grey boots, the golden lapel, the ornamental mantle that fell down his right shoulder to his elbow, attached to his collar with a golden clasp. It wasn't a uniform made for fighting or combat, but rather one designed to impress and show off his rank. He only wore it because it fit in with the library and his old clothes were falling to pieces, but it did have a tendency to make people stop and stare. Useful here.

They recognised it. Soldiers around him stood taller and saluted and the authorities rallied behind him. Those in the crowd shifted nervously, and a single word spread like whispered wildfire, audible over the hush.

"Specialist…"

"Soldiers, see the White Fang to safety," he bit out. He wanted nothing more than to see to Blake, to talk to her, but she didn't know him – didn't trust him – and the situation was still too volatile. "No faunus are to be harmed under your protection." He raised his voice. "They are citizens of Atlas and are afforded the same protections as all."

"At least now he'll put everything in order" The general was glad he was there, this was probably something that they didn't deal correctly in their time.

"Or fuck it up further" Vernal answered with he preferred version, she never understood that racism bullshit, discrimination was something that only the weak faced because of their lack of strength.

But now someone actually strong was there ready to show all those imbeciles hiding in a crowd what strength was.

The soldiers recognized Jaune and his orders as they began to take the Fang away, out of the reach of the initial multitude of people.

Blake could now feel a bit more comfortable knowing this didn't escalate into a fight…like last time.

That brought with it its fair share of shock, and protests. The faunus seemed relieved, some pleased, some confused, but it was the mob that took it worse. Insults and boos where thrown, along with the occasional rock that never quite reached him. Jaune nodded to the nearest soldier, indicating he should carry out his orders and leave the crowd here. The man started to usher the faunus away, and Blake was swept along with the crowd.

Jaune faced down the civilians, even as some began to hurl insults his way. Animal lover. Traitor. Government conspiracy. Repression. There was more, of course, but those were the ones he picked out. He swept his sword before him and the crowd went silent once more.

"Those with a grievance should come say it to my face."

"it's over and they're still bitching" Now Vernal was getting pissed off at those people, they're so pathetic in her view that all they could do was throw names like idiots, no one tried a punch and that was a testament to their weakness.

Emerald had always avoided the whole faunus thing, she'd better things to do like survive, but now that she somewhat knew one of the people involved, she wasn't sure.

Her gaze went to Blake and saw her discomfort leave her expression once Jaune talked again, showing he wasn't affected by those peoples words.

Now she was sure she needed to rethink her views on what she saw, mostly her indifference to it.

The crowd shuffled awkwardly, went silent, and not a single person moved forward. A few tentative `boos` were sent his way, but that was all.

"No one? Or is it just that the cowards who shout out dare not show their faces? It's easy to hide behind a wall of people and bray like a wild animal. You call them animals, yet all I see before me is a pack of rabid dogs." Jaune sighed when no one dared respond. "Disperse and go home. Think about what you did here today, if thinking is something you can even manage. Today, you have disappointed Atlas, and shown an ugly side to the city."

"JAJAja…ah kid's got them good" Roman actually laughed as those Atlessian Elitists assholes got their own words returned to them. "it's always nice to see them shut their mouth"

"are you alright Blake?" Yang asked her partner, she knew this wasn't something she'd want to see again.

Blake responded tranquil but firm at the same time. "I'll be fine, I just need this to be over so the emotional ride ends for a while" it was hard to calm down when so many things happened so quickly.

It sometimes made her forget this was an alternate timeline most of the time.

The crowd parted. Whispered insults and barely-hidden sneers were sent his way, but without the White Fang to be angry at, they had no reason to stay. Not unless they wanted to actually attack a Specialist, which would be suicide at the best of times. Jaune could tell he'd made no friends today, perhaps not even among the White Fang, who would just see his interference as keeping the peace. Even so, he didn't regret it. If anything, he regretted that it had to happen at all more.

With that now over the acceleration began, with them only Jaune walking home, slowly trying to rid out of his anger, some regret still on his face.

/-/

The return to normal speed happened once Jaune arrived at his home, he seemed more calm than before probably having taking things with tranquility on his way to not get any more upset.

Jaune had barely managed to restrain his anger by the time he reached his apartment and Emerald. The latter was important since Emerald was still attentive of his mood and would likely shy away if she thought he was angry at her, or liable to take his anger out on her. He stood outside his door and took deep breaths for a good minute and a half, thinking more pleasant thoughts about Beacon and how absolutely normal and content Blake would be there in time. Eventually, his smile came back and he allowed himself to enter.

"Hello," Emerald called dutifully.

"Hey Emerald," he returned, smiling. The scent of food caught his nose. "Are you cooking?"

"You said to get take out," Emerald said nervously. She presented the table, which had a number of steaming boxes on it and two plates.

The had one last glimpse into what he thought on what just happened, and they honestly liked seeing the little flashes of Beacon it showed, those were some good memories they made.

Jaune entered his home after that, finding Emerald sitting with tow plates and boxes of food.

The way Em looked nervous thinking was a good way to get themselves distracted, leave what just happened behind for a bit.

"You-?" Jaune laughed. It was hard not to. "I meant you could get it for yourself," he said. "You didn't have to buy me any." He'd expected her to use the extra lien to buy some sweets, but she'd gone out and ordered for him, too.

And he was hungry.

He patted her head, making her pause in the middle of an apology. She looked up at him through his fingers. "Thank you, Emerald. I was starving and this was very thoughtful of you."

She nodded. She didn't smile, but she stood a little taller and her cheeks twitched. It might have, if one looked closely, hinted at some pleasure. Right here and now, it was enough. The two sat at the dining room table and ate their takeout in peace. It was Vacuan tonight, and so filled with spices and fragrant scents, the kind of food Emerald loved more than anything since it made her taste buds tingle. When they were done, she made to take the plates but he stopped her, telling her he'd clean up.

"Ah imagine having a daughter that thinks of you when you give her money to buy food, couldn't be me" Tai began speaking with a fake betrayed tone, making both of her kids look in his direction pretty outraged.

"The hell, what do you mean old man!" Yang had the shortest fuse as always which made her father laugh as she fallen directly into his teasing.

Ruby was more of a nervous guilt as she indeed had taken the extra money to but cookies, which would make what Tai said somewhat true.

Glynda and James watched as Tai's joking worked in making the students more relaxed, he really knew how to work with kids.

The Emerald in the room couldn't help but feel embarrassed by both Tai's joking and her other self attitude, her cheeks lit up red slightly as she looked away from the rest.

She'd tried to argue, of course, without ever disagreeing with him out loud, but he told her it was as thanks for her thinking of him and bringing him food. She seemed to accept that and went to her room to read the book he'd bought her.

"Letting a ten-year old buy food for you…" He shook his head and laughed. "You're supposed to be looking after her, Jaune. Not the other way around."

He'd have to do something nice as thanks – maybe even look to commission her a weapon since she didn't have a proper one yet. He'd had half a mind to get that done before he left Atlas, since their metallurgy was some of the best in Remnant. He stacked the plates in the sink and filled it with hot water, allowing them to sit for a bit before he'd go back to clean them.

"She even tried to clean the plates, oh how unjust the world is" Tai continued, since his scheme was working he didn't see a point in stopping now.

Raven watched from afar as her ex-husband acted like an idiot while the kids around engaged with his stupidity.

She didn't want to keep watching that, the stupid thing the knight was doing grew stronger whenever Tai acted on something, she hated feeling that way.

He was dumping the empty take out cartons in the bin when the air behind him tore open. Crocea Mors was by the door but a kitchen knife was in his hand within a second. He spun, prepared to fight, but his eyes widened at the red and black portal that swirled in his apartment's living room.

A figure collapsed through it, striking the wooden floor and coming to a stop against his dining room table. The portal flickered out of existence, and the woman – dressed in red and black, with a bone-white mask - lay still, unmoving.

It was Raven.

And she was bleeding all over his floor.

"AH!" The fall of something in the living room and the consequent Thump that followed startled the heiress who was not really focusing on anything at the time.

Horrified gasps then began as they saw an incredibly wounded Raven who was bleeding all over the floor, not moving an inch and with her mask still on.

The most surprised out of them all was the person whose body fell from a portal. (she has a bond with him?...never mind that now, this is when I got the powers) She stared at her own body in the ground before opening her mouth. "well, this is interesting"

Now she wanted to know what kind of development this would bring about.

Her rambling and thoughtful face was ignored as the younger people stared and promptly looked away from the almost corpse, both horrified and disgusted while the surprised of seeing Raven of all people in that state was something that left them frozen for a bit.

And then the scene changed.

/-/

"Boss, are we not going to talk about that?!" Vernal asked altered, not because of the wounds, she'd seen her like that after fighting the Spring Maiden, but rather it was who she went to afterwards.

Raven shook her head, this may prove to be entertaining for her or a good way to earn a strong ally for her alternate, so she wanted to see it. "leave it be Vernal"

Ignoring the glances Tai and Yang sent her was a bit more complicated than letting that go though.

"Blake, are you-?"

"I'm okay," Blake gasped, shaking like a leaf. They were outside of Atlas now, gathered with the other White Fang and safe at last. Her eyes burned with tears, not from anger or pain but the after-effects of her fear. She rounded on her companion. "But you, your face – Adam!"

"It's fine." It wasn't, but he somehow remained strong, wiping away the blood from where the rock had hit him. There was a jagged cut between his eyes and she wasn't sure it would heal without leaving a horrible scar. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Her eyes burned again. He was always worried about her.

They were now with another group of people, one they had seen not too long ago.

"We're back with the Fang huh" Yang stopped looking at Raven and now focused on the two central pieces in this new scenario. (Damn it) It felt frustrating watching Blake like that.

She was shaking intensely and the only comfort she had at the moment was the so called Adam, which she didn't really spoke all that good of in their time.

The thing is, and this was something all RWBY noticed was how different his behavior was to the one Blake explained to them…at least not when she talked about the current Adam.

"Atlas is just as bad as everywhere else," Adam snarled. "All the Kingdoms are. This isn't fair, it's not right, it's not working."

"Adam, we can't talk like that," Blake hissed. She looked around to make sure no one could hear her. "You know my dad-"

"Your dad isn't leading us properly!" The boy sagged when Blake flinched. He touched her cheek, heedless of how much blood ran down his own. "And that's not your fault, Blake. I'm sorry for yelling. I just… I'm just angry."

And in pain, she imagined. Blake nodded, trusting him implicitly. "I know. We're… we're lucky that man was there to stop them from doing anything worse."

"He was a Specialist," Adam said.

"A Specialist? But don't they hate us?"

Blake both remembered and didn't remember this conversation, it was along the lines of what she'd had with Adam on her past, but since it was after he attacked some people who threw rocks at them it was also different.

And he was much less harmed than he was when it happened too.

"This is just sad to see" James muttered, children being involved in this was already bad, but the fact that grown adults couldn't see past their own ass and dared to attack them was something he didn't want Atlas being.

Yet they were the worst by far in their timeline.

And just like that Cinder's indifference had changed to interest once more (Are we watching the beginning of the current Fang…this actually could be useful to me when dealing with that mad bull) this place showed them some useless things but buried beneath that laid a goldmine of information.

"Apparently not all do, or he doesn't." Adam grunted and sat down. "I'd thank him for saving you if I could. If someone had dared to hit you, I'd have attacked them then and there, your dad's wishes or not!"

Blake sat next to him and poked around in her pocket. She came out with a small handkerchief, and Adam closed his eyes, allowing her to dab the blood from his face. He never let anyone else so close, but their bond, their trust, was more than any other.

"You can't solve every problem with violence," she chided. "That's what my mom always says."

"Can't you, Blake? Isn't that what he just did?"

She hesitated.

Blake had hopped that with Jaune's intervention the new White Fang might develop slower than in her time, without Adam attacking and seeing how fear also worked to make the people back away.

But that was all wishful thinking since the moment Adam opened his mouth to talk after she wiped the book off his face was the exact thing she didn't want to hear.

Resignation overtook her, she knew her own version of the Fang wouldn't change just by seeing It in this place, but it seemed as even this book didn't have a solution either for it.

"He commanded the crowd and forced them to stop. He cut down the rock that would have struck you, threatened them into submission, and then forced the soldiers to take us away safely." Adam's voice rose in pitch as excitement set in, and despite her desires, despite everything she knew, Blake felt her own heart beat a little faster, too. "He brought peace!"

"M-Maybe…"

"Not maybe, Blake. Absolutely. No one was hurt after he stepped in. He stopped the violence, stopped the hatred – and he did it not with words, but with action. He didn't reason with them. He forced them to stop."

Adam was right, there was no denying it. The man had stood tall before them and cut down the fight before it could ever happen, and he hadn't done so with logic. He'd stopped the mob hurting them with the simple and clear fact that if they'd tried, he would have hurt them more.

"he enforced order not peace" James began. "he might have calmed the situation but it was clearly not a real solution" if the situation were to happen again then it was clear that the same thing would happen.

Glynda noted what James spoke off and agreed, this wasn't what should be the way to solve the situation.

And now Blake had been influenced by Adams words, but at the same time those might have been her own beliefs too.

"I worry what this might cause" the monkey faunus said to nobody.

Was that really the way forward? It sounded wrong, but what he'd done wasn't wrong, was it…?

Sure, he'd used violence, but he hadn't actually used it. He'd just threatened it, and done so to prevent worse violence. Maybe… maybe they could be the same. Maybe they could do the same and skirt the line. It wasn't wrong if they were doing it for a good cause, right?

"Okay," Blake whispered, earning a shocked expression from Adam. She giggled and dabbed some more blood from his face. "You're right Adam. Maybe things would be better if we did something. I… I think I'm with you. No, I know I am."

Blake sighed. "and so it begins" The circle of hatred the Fang had begun to stir was back this time maybe even stronger than last time.

"We'll stop them" Yang reassured her, talking about the ones from their time.

"I hope so"

Adam's smile was worth everything, and as he took her hands in his she knew her words meant the same to him. They built him up and made all the pain he'd gone through worth it. "I'll re-make the White Fang one day, Blake," he promised. "I'll change it into something different. I'll make sure that every person in Remnant knows our name. This I promise to you."

Blake believed him.

She really did.

And with those hopeful golden eyes on view everything ended.

-END-

Soo, how does it look?

Was it enjoyable to read?

I really do find it incredible that some people can write so much in so little time.

Now, this is a bit different than usual as I normally just leave a random question for you guys to answer, its fun, I like doing so, however, that's not what happens today.

I'm pretty sure you've noticed that the release of chapters slowed. That had its reasons for happening (mostly how long the originals are and trying to match, even surpass in my own wording added, y'know along with trying to make it good) so I have a small proposition.

It's actually 2 of them.

1 I continue to post as it's been, the thing being that in between these posts I'll make one-shots of various series and stories to keep you guys with something (this wont really affect how much it takes to get chapters out since I'll probably squeeze writing them in some holes too small for me to want to write this)

2 I begin to cut chapters into the more important bits and go around skipping most of the "less interesting to react" that's obviously by my own criteria (Someone suggested this like, way back in chapter 3 I believe, so yeah might be going with Ushio's idea)

So yeah, whichever you prefer since I honestly like both, but I don't want to do both.

Now what you actually wanted to read, the question.

What's your favorite sauce for whatever you eat it with?

-Mystic-