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Omake: The Aftermath

"What do you guys think of this? It's a piece of junk but someone's gotta be interested in it."

Night was falling and Beacon Academy was no longer under threat. Glynda herself sent out the announcement to students and staff alike while Ozpin handled the finer details mollifying Vale's council and its citizens at large. Yes, the intruder was dealt with. No, his first escape was a fluke caused by extenuating circumstances. No, there would be no more attempts. No, they may not interrogate the detainee from Haven or the person with the alleged teleportation semblance. No, Ironwood is in full agreement and will not help the council go behind his back.

Ozpin released the sigh waiting in his lungs as the communication finally ended, and wondered how many more lies he'd recently added to the already gargantuan pile he'd saved up over the centuries. On a lighter note the students outside the school were finally allowed to return. He had watched as the young adults swarmed the grounds from his office, desperate to catch a glimpse of the aftermath the lot of them had missed.

When Ozpin turned away from the glancing over the aftermath of the "scuffle" to return to his workload, he regrettably missed Cardin Winchester stumble across a certain abandoned helmet left amongst the broken earth.

The armored student posed with the damaged, rusty piece of metal while Dove, Sky, and Russel took pictures. A crowd had formed around CRDL to get their own look at things. Cardin juggled the helmet with a smarmy grin as a few of the onlookers laughed.

"Hey…should we really be messing with this?" Russel asked after a moment, lowering his Scroll. He waved vaguely at the damaged lawn. "I mean, isn't it like evidence or something?"

"Nah, man! They would've done something about it already!"

"Or maybe they expected us to go right to our rooms and haven't gotten to it yet."

Sky punched his teammate in the shoulder. "Would you quit being a downer?"

Cardin's voice echoed out from within the tight helmet, him having slipped it on without a second thought though its warped shape took a little force to get correct. "Seriously Russ. We're just having some fun." With a bit of extra effort the tall boy pulled his head free, giving it a quick shake and running a hand through his stylized hair. He was just about to hand it off to Dove when a surprising voice cut through the air.

"Cardin!"

Everyone turned to find, of all people, Jaune Arc flanked by both his own team and most of RWBY. For some reason all of them looked as though they'd been through hell which, as gossip spread throughout the campus, was sort of true given how they'd been allegedly attacked by the intruder. Even at this distant, their red rimmed eyes were apparent. Jaune held out his hand.

"That doesn't belong to you. Hand it over."

Cardin bristled and a familiar sneer crawled along his face. "I don't see your name on it Jauney Boy!"

The fist still at Jaune's side tightened so quickly the knuckles cracked. He was still Jaune, the gangly and goofy nerd at the bottom of combat class rankings. But something in that moment made the noodle-esque blonde seem…different.

"I'm serious Cardin. Not now. Not with this. Just give me the helmet."

"Or else what?" the larger boy asked. His teammates drew up beside him to try and look intimidating. Yang scoffed at the posturing and Nora cracked her knuckles. Before either could take a step Jaune was already there. Chest to chest with the other boy, the young knight stared into Cardin's face without a hint of fear.

"Give. It. To. Me."

The other teen's nostrils flared and the atmosphere grew tense, most in attendance preparing for some sort of fistfight to break out, when to their shock Cardin stepped back shaking his head. He shoved the helm roughly into Jaune's stomach and stomped past, purposefully checking the blond with his armored shoulder. "That's twice now. Starting to get real sick of that backbone you're growing," Cardin muttered as he and his team left, the other three boys shooting confused looks between Jaune and their leader.

Multiple pairs of eyes were trained on the damaged, half-melted slab of metal in Jaune's gloved hands ignorant to the departing bullies. "…I'm surprised it didn't vanish as well," Blake said lamely in the ensuing silence. Her voice broke Jaune from his spell and he quickly shook his head. In his arms the helmet was solid, if Cardin wearing it wasn't evidence enough. Blake was right though; none of them would ever forget the sight of…of the older Jaune cutting into his own neck with a look of surprise.

The spray of blood. The choked, gagging sounds.

How everything he was began to break apart into motes of light almost immediately until not even the stains remained.

None took it worse than Weiss. She was still with Winter in Ozpin's office as far as they all knew. The look on her face, one who herself was wronged, an expression that showed she couldn't comprehend what had happened only for the weight of reality to crash down upon her all at one.

Last they saw of her she had fainted into Winter's arms before Goodwitch rounded them up for a 'conversation' most students didn't have to deal with until they were in their third or fourth year, working alongside real huntsman on a regular basis…and where death was far more commonplace.

The young leader was quiet as he pushed past the bodies lingering the dormitory's hallway just outside JNPR's room, Nora unsubtly threatening the nameless jobbers as they stared at the broken door and its implications. None dared go inside but their Scrolls were drawn and recording. It was seriously getting annoying how desperate people seemed to be with standing around, trying to get a glimpse of something interesting.

All things considered, the door was the only true casualty of the room and Goodwitch could fix it up in a snap. Jaune stepped carefully over the splintered wood and went to the bathroom, an odd choice but Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora decided to do their own things. As Yang and Nora stood in the doorframe with none-too-friendly glares, Blake simply stood leaning against the while, and Ruby hovering near her awkwardly shifting from foot to foot unsure what to do, Ren closed the window while Pyrrha tried to straighten a few things that had shifted or fallen during her moment of panic.

The sound of the running faucet drifted out from the second doorway, lasting for several long minutes as Jaune's friends waited for him to rejoin them, unsure of what else to do. The feeling of being lost lingered among them. None knew what to say, or do, and even as Yang wracked her brain for something lighthearted to break the sullen mood she came up short.

The rush of liquid ended, and Jaune reappeared gently rubbing the helmet with a towel. "Just cleaning it up a bit," he said quietly before moving over to the shelving above his desk. With all eyes on his back the knight pushed aside several of his schoolbooks; the piece of armor was gently placed upon the shelf where it was visible to everyone within the room. Multiple colorful eyes darted between Jaune and the remnant of himself as the lad stepped back: waiting, watching, curious, lacking judgment.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha hedged softly. The blond sighed but a small and melancholy smile creeped at his lips.

"A reminder," he said simply. And really, that was all that needed to be said. A marker of the future they hoped now never came to pass. A token of a man who was lost through time. An ideal to reach for, in heart and body but never the spirit.

Jaune exhaled slowly through his nose and turned away, having memorized its drippy edges and the history embedded in its rust-riddled steel. Jaune refused to become that man. His strength, his drive, his tenacity…the good was hidden well behind the soul-crushing depression which ironically fueled everything he did. The destruction of Atlas/Mantle and all that led up to it was the tipping point. And while the tale of Jaune Arc the Rusted Knight was undoubtedly a tragedy…Jaune Arc the Beacon Student would remember it until his final days and do everything in his power to reach that level of strength without losing his heart.

Though something nagged at Jaune from somewhere in the depths of his thoughts. His counterpart had seemed…off, but the student wasn't sure why exactly it bugged him so much.

Arms wrapped around his midsection from behind and Jaune squeezed the clasped hands at his waist. Nora had become extra clingy since she'd consoled his other self, and on their way out of Ozpin's tower she'd done nothing but hug Pyrrha. A hand touched his shoulder. It could have been either of his other teammates, as he realized the rest of JNPR and the three of RWBY had drawn close enough to touch.

All but one.

Ah, but speak of the devil.

Or perhaps angel in this case.

A body appeared in the room hissing at the last few students that had yet to leave. Weiss looked absolutely terrible all things considered, breathing deeply after running the length of the grounds to return to the dorm in a timely manner with a single goal in mind. The Schnee was devastated, even worse off than when…the incident in the clock tower happened. Makeup smudged, hair askew, clothes rumpled and touched with dirt, all things Weiss would never have allowed anyone but perhaps her own team to witness. To be a Schnee was to try and embody perfection while this was anything but. Yet here she was, the facade broken for all to see.

Weiss jumped into the room and threw herself at Jaune, hugging him about the neck as her face pressed uncomfortably into the blond's armored breastplate. He automatically returned the embrace, stunned.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. Her voice was slightly muffled against his front but everyone could still hear her as her tone cracked wetly. It was all she could say, repeating herself over and over as she began to cry…yet Jaune could not blame her in the least. None of them knew how things would have turned out after she gave that one final order and Weiss had taken the consequences of her unwitting action the hardest of them all.

So Jaune simply held his friend and let her get it all out. Their teams closed ranks and joined the hug, wanting the young heiress to know she wasn't alone. Yang followed last, politely telling the eavesdroppers to fuck off before she snuggled in between Pyrrha and Ruby.

It would be tough for a while. There was no doubt. But together RWBY and JNPR would ensure no one else would have to endure the horrors that potentially awaited them in the future.

This was inevitable.

I mentioned (I think) in the main story that I would probably create extra chapters about things in this world, and here it is. It'll just be a bunch of random ideas that might be canon to Limited Shield Works, or most likely something goofy that tangentially fits with the theme.

Anyways I've got a few new story ideas - ACTUAL STORIES - in the works. Just need to get them properly typed up. So...yeah, see you then.