AN: Can't say I planned to update this one, but it felt like a good idea at the time, and I was feeling like writing RWBY, so here we are, the unexpected, and hopefully not unappreciated second chapter of Remnant of a Hero.

Please let me know what you think, and whether you want me to continue it or drop it.

For reference, I've only run this through Grammarly, so if you see any mistakes let me know. There are probably some, but I'm kinda tired and have read through it enough times that I can't spot them any more.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or PJO.

( - )

(Last Time)

"What?" He gasped out, his eyes darting around the dark hotel room in shock, even as an influx of alien memories suddenly filled his head at first overwhelming him, before then merging with his own. At the same time, an unfamiliar energy began to surge through his body. His entire form suddenly took on a shining silver glow, lighting up the cheap hotel room he had booked in Vale in preparation for his initiation tomorrow, as this energy, whatever it was, coursed through his body and unlocked, what he would soon know to be, his aura.

"What?" Jason Arc, or was it Jaune Grace? Gasped out, his heart thundering in his chest and sweat beading his forehead as he tried to work out just what in Jupiter's name was going on!

( - )

Chapter 2

( - )

(At the Beacon Academy)

Ruby Rose was a complete bundle of nerves as she stepped off the ramp of the bullhead and looked at her future home for the next three years.

Beacon Academy.

One of the best huntsmen academies in Remnant.

Excitement warred with anxiety.

At fifteen years old, she was a lot younger than all the other students.

Looking around nervously, she watched some of the other students disembarking. Including a tall girl, with long red hair and green eyes. The girl looked oddly familiar, even if she couldn't quite place where she had seen her before.

Staring at the other prospective huntsmen and huntresses. She suddenly felt very inadequate. Everyone else was much older than her, ranging from first years who were all seventeen or eighteen, to the third-year students who were in their early twenties and on the very cusp of qualifying from Beacon as professional huntsmen. All of them looked so tall and confident as they headed toward the main Academy building.

In comparison, she felt like she was lacking somewhat in both age, confidence and size.

After all, she stood at barely five feet tall, with a thin, reedy body. She looked much younger than the other students, and she could tell that other people would notice that too. And she was younger a whole two years.

Were it not for her accidental run-in with a thief a few nights ago. Then Headmaster of the Academy, Ozpin wouldn't have noticed her and offered her a place at the school, and she'd just be back where she was before, starting a new year at the training school, Signal, in the hopes of one day making it to Beacon.

Her heart began to beat faster in her chest as her nerves started to get the best of her.

This was a mistake.

She hadn't even managed to capture the Dust thief, Roman Torchwick.

In fact, all she'd done was put herself in danger.

If it wasn't for Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin's deputy, stepping in then Torchwick's parting attack would have probably hurt her quite badly.

Her breathing became faster, and her heart started to race.

She wasn't ready for this.

She was scared.

Fortunately, before the fear could get the best of her, her old sister Yang. A bundle of blonde hair and overly infectious cheer threw her around her shoulders, giving her a half hug as she gestured around at their surroundings her bright, violet eyes twinkling with delight. "Come on cheer up Ruby, I mean just look around, the view from Vale's got nothing on this."

Latching onto Yang, Ruby followed her gesture and looked around at the huge castle-like academy building in front of her and the view of the distant city of Vale across the bay that was now behind her.

It truly was a magnificent view.

"Yeah, I know, it is amazing right." Ruby agreed, her worries fading away temporarily as she looked around, taking comfort in the presence of her sister.

Unlike Yang though, she wasn't talking about the view of the prestigious academy or of the massive city in the distance.

Instead, she was more interested in the other students heading for the Academy, or rather the weapons each of them was carrying.

All of them had a vast array of weaponry, including swords, axes, guns, and crossbows. Many of the students present wielded weapons with mecha-shift capabilities – which allowed their weapons to mechanically shift from one form to another.

Feeling the excitement building up within her, Ruby practically vibrated, her previous anxiety momentarily forgotten.

"Look!" Ruby called out; her face flushed as she pointed at one of the students who was passing by. "That's guys got a collapsible staff! And, and look over there, she's got a fire sword!"

Yang sighed and rolled her eyes fondly as she reached and grabbed a hold of the hood of Ruby's red cloak started pulled her back, stopping the younger girl from launching herself at some of the passing students so she could have a better look at their tools of the trade.

"Yangggg!" Ruby complained as her sister quickly reined in her enthusiasm.

"Easy there, little sis. They're just weapons," Yang smiled, rolling her eyes.

Putting her hands on her hips as she heard her sister's cruel, heretical words, Ruby broke away from Yang and stared at her in horror, unable to believe her own sister could say such a thing, "Just weapons, Yang! Just weapons!?' How can you, my own sister, say such a thing? Weapons, they're like extensions of ourselves! A part of us, not to mention they're just all so cool!"

"Why not just gush over your own weapon then?" Yang replied, her eyes twinkling as she gestured at Ruby's own precious weapon, Crescent Rose.

Grinning, Ruby quickly pulled out her weapon from where it was attached to the small of her back and pressed the button to mecha-shift it. In an instant it unfolded from a compact state into the form of her custom-built weapon; a large six-and-a-half-foot tall scythe with a gun attached.

Looking up at the Crescent Rose with pride, she felt her confidence swell. She had designed and built her weapons herself using her Uncle Qrow's scythe as an example, which she had then improved upon by adding her own flare.

That being said. She felt her eyes drifting away from Crescent Rose. As much as she loved her own precious weapon, and she did, she was still very excited to see other people's weapons.

Signal Academy, after all, hadn't had any new weapons for some time as they didn't make their weapons until they were fourteen, which meant that Ruby had already had a chance to fangirl over all of the ones in her old class, and all the ones owned by the older students.

Now that she was at Beacon though she'd be able to see a whole new variety of different weapons.

"Of course, I'm happy with Crescent Rose," Ruby finally replied to her sister, cuddling her precious scythe close to her. "I just like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people... but easier… and better…."

"Ruby, come on. Why don't you make some new friends on your own?" Yang sighed again, rolling her eyes.

Ruby smiled shyly at Yang, retracting her weapon back into its more compact form as she did so. "Why would I need new friends when I have you?"

"Actually..." Yang replied shifting slightly, her violet eyes darting around before they fixed on a nearby group of her own friends from school. "I've got to go catch up with my own friends, so… I'll see you later, yeah?!"

A few moments later, Yang was gone. She had ditched her so quickly that she almost made her spin on the spot as she rushed off with a gaggle of her friends from Signal, leaving her staring after them with a horrified expression on her face.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Ruby shouted, her head spinning as she tried to work out what the hell had just happened, "Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Do we even have dorms yet?"

Spinning around, Ruby lost her balance and fell backwards, not noticing as she did so that there was a prim-looking girl with long white hair walking just behind her along with two uniformed porters who were pushing carts full of luggage.

( - )

(Earlier)

Beacon Academy was an impressive sight.

With massive grey stone walls equally large towers and spires, and an overall gothic aesthetic, the famous academy looked more like a mediaeval citadel than it did a place of learning.

Stepping off the futuristic-looking aircraft – the bullhead – he had flown in on, Jaune Arc, or rather Jason Grace as he thought of himself now, couldn't help but look stare around at the campus like some kind of country bumpkin.

Which in many ways he was.

Sort of.

Jaune Arc had grown up in a little rural village could Ansel. A tiny place that was only home to a few dozen families, and that was far enough away from the main trade routes that it very rarely got visitors.

Suffice to say, his experience of the world was limited.

The only time he had left his little village was on a few family holidays, and even then they'd only gone to the nearby seaside town.

His first real experience of a city had only been a few days ago when he arrived in the City of Vale with a stolen sword and armour, his paltry life savings, and unrealistic dreams of becoming a huntsman and the hero of Remnant, This being despite him having little to no training, and absolutely no plan for how he would accomplish his goals, besides faking his transcripts and applying to Beacon Academy.

Jason grimaced.

Jaune had been an idiot.

His life savings had barely covered the rent for a crummy motel near the docks, and the transcripts he had faked were so paper thin that a child could probably see through them.

His grimace faded.

Despite his idiocy and naivety though, he still had a good heart and meant well.

No…, Jaune still had a good heart.

Jason shook his head and rubbed at his temple.

He needed to sort his head out.

Admittedly it had only been a short time since he had awoken as Jason Grace in the body of Jaune Arc. With his memories. Or as Jaune Arc with the memories of Jason Grace in his own body. But at the same time, it felt like it had been years.

Wincing at that thought, he stepped out of the milling crowd of other prospective students disembarking the bullhead and stood off to the side.

He could already feel a headache building as he tried to process two contradicting sets of memories, experiences and thought processes at the same time.

Jaune Arc had led a simple life in the country. He'd not done much, but he had a big family. Including seven sisters, an overly affectionate mother, and an overprotective father. All of them featured very heavily in his memories as they went on adventures together, played in the fields and attended the same small village school. For all that he hadn't really done anything in life, Jaune still had a lot of experiences – most of them were happy – and equally big dreams for the future.

Jason Grace, meanwhile, was the complete opposite.

He had lived a life full of strife, stress and danger. He was the son of Zeus. A professional soldier who had killed both monsters and men. Above all though, he had been a hero, one that had cemented his place in the history of the world as one of the Seven Heroes of Olympus.

Ironically, the life Jason Grace had lived was the life of adventure and that Jaune Arc had always dreamed of living. Jason had been powerful, skilled, well-respected and a natural-born leader. While on the other hand, the life Jaune had lived, was the one Jason had always secretly dreamed of having. A life of peace and contentment, with parents who loved him and an older sister to play with and look after him.

He grabbed his head and let out a hiss of pain.

He needed to get a grip and work out just who he was.

The two halves of him for all that they were almost identical physically, were the opposite of one another when it came to personality and life experiences.

Jason's memories and spirit were the more dominant, and so for the most part it felt like Jason was the one in control.

Yet at the same time, Jason had died and had made peace with that. Or at least he had before a capricious goddess had come along with the offer of a second chance at life. As such, Jason had no ambition anymore really, other than to live the best life he could.

Jaune meanwhile, although weaker-willed, and softer, had big dreams for the future. He wanted to become a huntsman, save lives, and become someone important. Essentially, he wanted to be a hero.

This only seemed to complicate matters.

Letting out a sigh, he shook his head.

He was being given some funny looks by those around him.

Shouldering his backpack, he started walking in the direction of the main building where all the other students were heading.

Taking in the rest of the campus as he approached, he frowned slightly as he felt two conflicting emotions rise up within him.

Jaune, coming from a small village in the country might have been impressed by the grandeur of Beacon.

In contrast, Jason wasn't at all impressed by what he was seeing. But then again, Jason had seen Olympus, and no mortal structure, no matter how big or gaudily decorated could compare to the majesty of the eternal city of the gods.

What that meant for him, however, was an odd feeling of both being impressed and yet also disappointed at the same time.

Shaking his head to clear it, he once again joined the crowds.

He was still feeling a bit muddled up as two souls tried to exist in a single body.

Thankfully, he was quickly offered a distraction in the form of some shouting nearby. Looking toward the source of the commotion he saw a pretty, white-haired girl, dressed all in white, yelling at a cute, dark-haired girl in a hooded red cloak.

From what he could see from the scattered luggage and verbal dressing down a younger girl in red was receiving. The girl in question had tripped over the white-haired girl's luggage. An accident, but one that the white-haired girl didn't seem to be in the mood to forgive.

Shaking his head, he turned away and was about to walk away from the commotion and leave the dark-haired girl to her plight.

It was the kind of thing Jaune would do, as for all his lofty dreams of being a hero he didn't like confrontation and didn't want to draw attention to himself, especially on the first, and probably last, day of school – Jaune might've had great confidence in his transcripts passing muster, but Jason didn't share that confidence.

Pausing mid-step, he found himself turning to look back at the confrontation.

Jaune might have been the kind of person who would avoid conflict whenever possible.

But Jason didn't think the same way.

But then again, whereas Jaune was a shy country bumpkin, Jason had been one of the Praetors of New Rome and as such had plenty of experience when it came to standing his ground in debates with whiny senators, resolving conflicts, and crushing bullies.

He smiled at the memory.

Back in New Rome, he and his fellow Praetor, Reyna, had made a good tag team. He had played the role of the bad cop and shot down stupid ideas and tore arrogant senators a new one. Reyna meanwhile, had been the reconciliatory, good cop who had soothed damaged egos and offered workarounds to problems that made everyone happy. Good cop, bad cop. Carrot and stick. Honey and mustard. There were a lot of descriptions of the way they worked together. But regardless of what it was called, he'd taken no shit in his first life, and now he was in his second, he couldn't see that changing.

Shifting direction at that thought, he ignored the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that begged him not to get involved and instead took the plunge.

He would start this life how he intended to finish it.

If he, Jaune wanted to be a hero and someone who protected the weak, then he might as well walk the walk.

"-atch where you're going!" The white-haired girl continued to shout as she rounded on the shorter, younger-looking girl.

Who these girls were, he wasn't sure. But from what he could see at first glance, the white-haired girl came across as far more aggressive than the other girl. The younger girl, meanwhile, whose dark hair he now saw had a slight red tint to it, looked panicked and scared as she quailed beneath the white-haired girl's ire.

"You imbecile! Do you know wha-"

"Hey there," Jason interrupted, cutting the girl off mid-rant.

The dark-haired sent him a hopeful look that practically screamed 'Help me'.

The white-haired girl, meanwhile, scowled as she rounded on him.

"And who are you supposed to be?" The girl snapped.

"The name's Ja…" He almost spoke before his mind caught up with what he was about to say. 'The name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet and rolls of the tongue. The ladies love it.'

He internally cringed in embarrassment.

While he would never call himself a player. He, as Jason, at least had experience with girls. He had done a bit of dating back at Camp Jupiter, including going on a few dates with a daughter of Venus, and had been in a semi-serious relationship with Piper, a daughter of Aphrodite, for a couple of years.

Sure, he was no expert when it came to the fairer sex. Especially normal, non-demigod girls. But he at least had a modicum of common sense and self-respect. Enough to know what to say and what not to say in any given situation.

Jaune meanwhile, for all that he had seven sisters, was pretty much the complete opposite. He had no experience with girls his own age and was very sheltered. All of his knowledge when it came to flirting and dating came from crap movies. Moreover, most of his 'chat-up' lines came from cheesy Spruce Willis action movies.

Suffice it to say, his experience was non-existence and the things he had picked up from binge-watching crap TV were completely unrealistic and had no chance of working in the real world.

A part of him suspected his sisters, by their silence when it came to his sheer levels of cringe and naivete, had deliberately set him up for failure.

Shaking his head, he forced a smile. "The name is Ja… y."

He frowned, a part of him wanted to say, Jason.

But a smaller, more annoying and insistent part of him wanted to say Jaune, and then follow his introduction up with some cringey compliments.

"Jay?" The white-haired girl repeated, her brow furrowing as she looked him up and down, unimpressed.

The other girl, meanwhile, just tilted her head to the side and studied him curiously.

"Yep, Jay," He nodded.

He would stick with a shortened version of both of their names for the moment, or at least until he could get a proper grip on what was happening.

It felt like there were two souls fighting over a single body. Jason was the stronger and more dominant personality. But Jaune was still there in the background, persistently hanging on and making his presence known in every thought and action he took.

"And who are you two?"

He continued looking between the two of them.

"You don't even know who I am?" The white-haired girl frowned.

"No…" He tilted his head to the side and glanced over at the other girl.

She awkwardly shrugged in response and also shrugged.

"I'm Weiss Schnee," The white-haired girl said expectantly.

Jason gave her a blank look.

The name Schnee was sort of familiar, but he couldn't exactly remember why off the top of his head.

"Of the Schnee Dust Corporation." Weiss pressed on, her pale blue eyes narrowing as they bored into him. "And you'd do well to remember that."

Jay frowned.

He knew about Dust and was at last peripherally aware of the Schnee Dust Company.

Dust, he knew, was essentially a multipurpose, naturally occurring energy source that was mined from the earth in a crystalline form, and then refined down into a more useable state I.e. Dust. Once refined, it could be used for a number of different purposes including as fuel for vehicles and as a generic energy source for all kinds of different technology. And obviously, considering it was humanity that was developing the wonderous energy, it could also be weaponised.

Admittedly, Jaune had never used it as anything other than a power source for his different gadgets, and so only knew the basics about Dust. The kind of common knowledge stuff that one would learn in school. For the most part, though he had never had much interest in the subject.

Jason, though, had more interest in the subject, and his thoughts went beyond the commonly agreed-upon consensus of just what Dust was.

To him the explanation behind what Dust was felt woolly. Especially since a better explanation, or at least in his opinion, was that it was magic that had somehow been rendered into a physical state. Not that he was about to just state his unsubstantiated opinion on the subject aloud and particularly not to an apparent expert on the subject like the angry girl in front of him.

He preferred not to be thought of as crazy.

This was also why he was keeping a lid on the whole two souls in one body shtick, after all that kind of thing felt like it was more suited to the plot of a poorly written novel than real life.

As for the Schnee Dust Company. All Jaune knew about it was that it was some kind of big corporation based in the northern Kingdom of Atlas that mined, processed, and shipped out large quantities of Dust.

"Excuse me, are you listening?" Weiss snapped, her eyes narrowing.

"Huh," Jay blinked, pulling himself out of his thoughts. "Yeah, you're Weiss Schnee…, so what…? Why should I care who you are? I mean this isn't the Schnee Dust Company or Atlas, it's Beacon Academy."

"The Schnee Dust Company-" Weiss started to say.

"Is not you," Jay cut her off bluntly. "You might be the Heiress of your daddy's company or whatever, but you're not the boss. And besides here at Beacon, you're nothing special, just another student. Same as her."

He nodded toward the younger girl, who let out a cute squeak as their attention returned to her.

The white-haired girl looked outraged at being deemed 'nothing special'.

Not that he really cared, he had met people like her before.

In many ways, she reminded him of some of the more annoying Legacies in New Rome. Nothing but a puffed-up piece of shit that contributed nothing and instead skated by on the feats of their far more successful ancestors.

"How dar-" the Schnee started to say.

"Give it a rest," Jay cut in, his expression flat. He could already see that she was gearing herself up to go rant about just how important she was, and why he should be genuflecting and grovelling at her feet. "Did she purposefully kick over your luggage?"

He looked down at the girl in red, who quickly shook her head in the negative. "It was an accident. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Just because-" Weiss started to say, her tone frustrated and her cheeks turning a little red as she struggled to regain control of the conversation.

"And did she apologise?" Jay once again interrupted.

"Yes," the girl in red quickly nodded her head, turning to look at Weiss. "And I am sorry, I really didn't mean to trip over your stuff."

"Then there we go," Jay pressed on, speaking over Weiss before she could start ranting again. "It was an accident, she apologised, nothing was damaged or broken, case closed."

"These cases have Dust in them!" Weiss snapped, her expression hardening. "Her 'accident' could have caused an explosion!"

"Your Dust is stored in suitcases. And forgive me if I'm wrong, but aren't suitcases expected to be jostled in transit?" Jay shot back. "If getting knocked over is enough to destabilise the Dust in your suitcases, then obviously they're not up to standard. You would have thought that as the 'Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company' you would at least know how to properly store and transport Dust."

"Of course, I know how to properly story Dust," Weiss snapped, finally able to get a word in. "These suitcases are the finest money can buy and are specially designed to safely store Dust."

"Then what's the problem?" Jay shot back. "She tripped over your cases and then apologised. That's all there is to it, and that should have been the end of it. But instead, you just started shouting at her and pushing her around. And why? Well, it's either because you're nervous, and so are acting out because of that. Or it's because you're a bitch?"

The girl behind him let out an 'eep'.

The porters behind the girl in white shared a look and took a step back.

As for Weiss, she seemed to swell up in outrage, her eyes flinty.

"You… you…" Weiss growled, her face flashing red. "You are a cad!

He sent her a flat, unimpressed look.

"Probably true," he said, "Now how about we just let the matter lie and draw a line under the incident. You go your way, and she'll go hers. This is our first day here, there is no need to let things escalate more than they already have."

"I'll remember this," Weiss huffed, her expression still cold as she sent him a nasty look and then turned and stalked off, even as her porters picked up the rest of the fallen luggage and carted them off behind her.

Watching her go, Jay frowned.

The part of him that was Jason was feeling smug and satisfied. He definitely could have been a lot more diplomatic in defusing the situation. Yet at the same time, he could not bring himself to care. He hated bullies, and he hated spoilt, entitled brats. Weiss Schnee had been both.

The quieter part of him that was Jaune meanwhile, was curled up in a foetal position crying. Jaune hated confrontation, and he especially hated upsetting pretty girls.

Wetting his lips, Jay continued to watch her stalk away for a few moments. As he did so, he noticed a dark-haired girl with yellow eyes standing just off to the side. Like him, the girl was watching Weiss. Only unlike him, who was watching her storm off with a mixture of curiosity and appreciation, the other girl was scowling fiercely at the Schnee as she passed.

Shaking his head, he turned back to the other girl.

"Erm, so hey," Jay said, waving his hand awkwardly. "Nice to meet you, I guess."

The dark-haired girl's face reddened.

"H-hey," she said, bobbing her head and shyly looking up at him.

Smiling faintly at her nervous response, he idly noticed that she had silver eyes.

"So, as you might've heard, my name is Jay," he pushed on. "Sorry for interfering like I did. I didn't want to cause you any trouble, but it looked like you needed a bit of backup."

"No," the girl said abruptly, her face flushing a deeper red. "I mean, no you don't have to apologise. I…, well I didn't know what to say. My sister had just abandoned me and then when I tried to find her, I fell over her suitcases and then that Weiss girl just started shouting at me, and I didn't know what to say or do, so I just said nothing, but then she didn't stop and… well, I'm Ruby…."

Blinking as he tried to make sense of what she had just said, Jay smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Ruby," he said offering his hand.

Taking his hand, the younger-looking girl shook it tentatively.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too," Ruby nodded, her silver eyes peering up at him through her thick eyelashes. She looked pretty young for her age, or at least compared to the other first-year students he had seen. "So… erm, do you know where we're supposed to go?" She continued, nervously.

"Not got a clue," Jay shrugged honestly. His initial plan had been to follow the crowd and go where they went. From a brief observation of his surroundings though, he could already see that the rest of the students had all left the docks and headed towards the largest building on the campus. "But I'm sure if we head toward the main building, we can probably find someone who might know where we need to go."

"Oh, okay, yeah, that makes sense," Ruby bobbed her head quickly, seemingly happy to let him take the lead.

Shrugging, Jay sent her a smile and set off in the direction of the main building.

( - )

(With Ruby)

Jay was an odd guy.

That was the first thing Ruby had noticed about the other first-year student as she walked beside him.

On the surface, Jay seemed like the average guy.

He was reasonably tall for his age. More than a foot taller than her, not that that said much considering how short she was. But even so, he was probably the same height as her dad, so relatively tall.

He also had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as her dad too, that was something she had noticed about him straight away.

Though his hair was a little shorter than her dad's and not as messy, and his eyes were more electric blue than sapphire blue.

But even so, he looked a little similar. However, there were still obvious differences. For one Jay was much younger than her dad. He also had paler skin, a thinner face, narrower shoulders and a lot less muscle.

Overall he still looked like he was a teenager. That said, despite looking like a seventeen or eighteen year old, he certainly didn't act like it.

Instead, there was an older, more mature air about him.

Which was kind of funny when she compared him to her dad, who didn't look like a teenager but still acted like one.

She had to fight off a giggle at that thought, even as she continued to observe the other teen. Not that she could claim to be all that mature herself. Especially considering she was two years younger than him.

Jay though, despite looking young and wearing what even she could tell was cheap armour, still gave off an aura of maturity and strength. It was the kind of presence that she normally associated with the fully fledged huntsman, and not with teenagers.

Which again was kind of funny, considering the way he shut down Weiss when she started trying to shout at him.

Her head tilted to the side at that thought.

Yes, he was definitely odd. There was just something different about him, even when compared to her sister and her friends. Despite them all being the same age, he just gave off a different vibe.

But not in a bad way.

Still, it did make her wonder about how skilled he was. His combat outfit consisted of a pair of jeans, a hoodie and some cheap armour, none of which really gave off the cool vibes she had come not expect from huntsmen. Yet the way he walked and talked, told a different story. Plus, considering he had made it into Beacon, he obviously had the skills and training

She let out a breath and tried to clear her head.

She had been staring at him, which was both rude and also a little embarrassing. And considering she had already embarrassed herself once that day, she didn't want to do it again. Especially now she was hanging out with someone who could potentially, possibly be a friend one day…, maybe.

Her cheeks heated up a little at that thought.

A part of her desperately wanted to cover her face with the hood of her cloak.

She was awful when it came to social interaction.

She just didn't have the natural confidence and charisma that Yang practically embodied.

Instead, she was awkward, shy, and often got tongue-tied about anything not related to either comic books, video games or weapons.

Still, though, Jay hadn't ditched her yet. Instead, he continued to walk alongside her and make idle small talk. Which was nice, as it soothed her anxieties and allowed her to regain her equilibrium a bit after her tense confirmation with Weiss.

Smiling a little, she looked back at Jay.

Despite being a bit rough around the edges, and abrupt, he still seemed like a pretty nice guy.

He had stood up for her in a way nobody else besides Yang ever had.

He was certainly nicer than the white-haired girl who yelled at her earlier.

Her mood dipped a bit at the thought of Weiss.

'I hope I get to apologise properly later.' Ruby thought to herself as her mind drifted back to white-haired. She hadn't been all that nice or friendly. Yet at the same time, she didn't like upsetting people, and she certainly didn't want to start off the school year with an enemy.

Biting her lip at that thought, she glanced over at Jay again.

"So…," she said, breaking the comfortable silence that had formed between them. "I got this thing!"

Without another word, she proudly deployed Crescent Rose.

With the sound of turning gears and shifting metal, her weapon mecha-shifted from its compact base form into a scythe.

"Huh," Jay said, his eyes widening a fraction. "That's cool."

"Isn't it!" Ruby grinned, puffing out her chest as she hefted the weapon. She totally knew that he would be super impressed. "It's not just a scythe though, it is also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!"

A gun?" Jay asked.

Ruby grinned and pulled back the charging handle with an audible click.

"Yep," She said, popping the 'p'.

"Cool," Jay acknowledged.

Ruby smiled.

It was nice to meet someone that appreciated her baby like she did.

"How about you, what've you got?" She pressed, her eyes alight with curiosity. She always loved seeing other people's weapons. They were all just so varied. Everyone had a different style of fighting, preferences when it came to what weapons they used, and a multitude of different ideas for how they could upgrade their weapons and add in different mecha-shift forms.

"A sword," Jay said after a moment of silence.

Smiling wryly at her enthusiasm he unsheathed a simple-looking sword from the scabbard at his side and showed it to her.

Taking a step closer to him, she frowned.

The blade was a dull, silver colour, and the only ornamentation it had was an unadorned golden hilt and a white leather grip.

Scanning the weapon with a practised eye, she tried to look for any cogs, gears, or mechanical parts. Basically, anything that she could use to figure out the full capabilities of his weapons. Did it turn into a gun? Or maybe a scythe, like her uncle Qrow's weapon?

After a few seconds of searching, she found nothing.

"What is its name? And what does it do?" Ruby finally asked, giving up on working it out for herself as she instead looked up at the bemused blonde expectantly.

"It's a sword," Jay said with a slight grin. "And you use it to stab people. Normally with the pointy end. Though with this type of sword, it's double-edged and has a decent weight behind it, so it can be used for slashing too. It won't do much against armour, but it will definitely cut exposed flesh. And if that doesn't work, it has a heave pommel which can be used for bludgeoning. So, I guess it's multi-purpose in a way."

Ruby stared blankly at him for a moment. "Does it mecha-shift?"

Jay titled his head to the side thoughtfully.

It almost looked like he was taking a moment to think about the answer himself, which was a bit odd considering it was his weapon.

"No, it's just a sword. The scabbard expands to become a shield though, so that is handy." He continued, patting the white scabbard at his side.

She blinked, "But wouldn't it weigh the same?"

"Yep, but less bulky to carry around I guess," Jay shrugged.

"So did you build it?" Ruby asked as she searched for something else to say. From what she knew every student at Signal Academy built their own weapons. Which made sense in her eyes, after all, if you were going to rely on a weapon to save your life, then it was better that you knew that weapon inside and out, including how to fix it should the need arise.

"Actually…" he scratched his head "It's my great-great-grandfathers. He used it in the war."

Ruby blinked in surprise.

His sword was old, and yet still looked pretty new.

"Huh," she hummed, "Well, I like it. Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days. I may have gone a bit overboard myself… heh…"

"If it works for you, it works for you," Jay replied easily, not taking any offence to her poorly concealed disappointment. "I mean I used to use a weapon that could shift between a sword and a javelin. But I broke it a few years back. I've been having to rely on just swords for the last few years."

Ruby's face twisted in horror at the thought of her precious weapon being destroyed. "I'm sorry."

Jay smiled warmly. "What for? It wasn't your fault, besides as far as I'm concerned a weapon can be replaced, a person's life not so much."

She felt her brow furrowed.

It definitely felt like there was a story behind his comment.

Despite her curiosity though, she couldn't muster the confidence to push him to tell her more.

Hopefully in the future though, once she got to know him better, she'd be able to learn more about him.

Her face flushed a bit pink at that thought, even as she followed him up the steps and through the large doors that led to Beacon Academy's packed-out atrium.

( - )

AN: So what do you think? Good, bad, weird, wonderful or crap? Honestly, I'm interested to hear what people think about this kinda bizarre take on a crossover.

Not going to lie I kind of got the idea after seeing how similar the two characters looked, and after remembering the book Blake was reading in Volume 1 of RWBY about a guy with two souls. Seemed like a fun idea, and one that I have seen other writers do well in other fandoms. Made me want to give it a go.

Hopefully, you enjoyed the chapter, if not my bad. Either way, I love to read reviews, whether they be good or bad, so long as they're not rude and offensive they're appreciated.

Have a good one all.

Greed720.