A single flag was raised. Outside the borders of Argus, the combined number of volunteers, Branwen tribe members, huntsmen-and-huntresses-in-training, and team JNPR stood in defense of the city. Atlas military personnel stationed here were guarding the seas. The old woman leading the soldier here had a strange admiration towards her kingdom, to say the least. Given that the Branwen tribe were bandits, it is supposedly understandable that there are concerns with law and order here in Argus. The key word there is supposedly.

The same could not be said about the volunteers and team JNPR. Did it have anything to do with their association with the bandit tribe? Jeanne wanted to think that it was the case. The claims of them being enemies of Atlas said otherwise.

"Is it because we have a flag?" Nora asked. "They do know that it is just a weapon, right? We're not trying to invade either."

"Maybe it has something to do with Jaune?" Ren pointed towards their team leader.

At the farthest end of this makeshift camp was Jaune. Ever since he had begun distributing any of the rations given to him, none of the people here had been hungry since then. There were a few thieves who tried to steal, thinking that he had been hiding more only to find that it had been empty until he himself picked it up. Jeanne had to step in a few times before any cult about her brother could be formed; it was a combination of both life experiences and the fact that she knew just why Jaune was suddenly able to do this.

I am not letting him get burned at the stake here. She promised. Jeanne doubts that anyone on Remnant would be that devoted but times like these often have people look to something as a sort of comfort and right now, Jaune was giving them that comfort.

Jeanne looked up at the flag that had been raised. It was an imitation of the design found on her own. While it doesn't have the same effect on the others as the original, nothing was ever said that the imitation could at least rival that which it imitated. The image had simply been associated with them and that meant good news for the people here. Had Nora had her way, they would have had the Arc family symbol instead. But Jaune didn't want that.

Her brother had been content with just knowing that he was doing good. That was what mattered and there hadn't been any problems outside of that occasional opportunistic thief from the earlier days. Beyond that, there was always the ever present Grimm though their number had been decreasing lately. Any sense of hope was held by everyone's hearts jealously; it really was a potent weapon against creatures drawn to negativity. Jeanne wondered if it might have had a repelling effect of some kind; there isn't much known about the Grimm here and she, along with the rest of JNPR and likely Raven Branwen, already know more about the world of Remnant than the rest.

"Grimm!" one of the Branwen tribe members called out. "Grimm on the horizon!"

Immediately, the people gathered together with the huntsmen and huntresses at the outermost circle that is being formed. The volunteers were further in with the elderly and children at the center.

A small group had been gathered and charged right in. There had been fewer of them around here lately. Most believed that it had something to do with the terrain. However, much of the area leading towards Argus was open space with hardly any craters or rivers. Those were found much further back but the Grimm couldn't possibly be held back by that much, could they?

Mainly Boarbatusks by the looks of them and judging from the speed that they were approaching. The Grimm came barreling through the open spaces as the people readied themselves for the ensuing conflict.

Jeanne raised her hand. "Nora."

"You got it." Nothing more needed to be said. Nora's launcher wasn't as fanciful as that of a cannon but it was close enough for Jeanne. Manually adjusting her teammate's weapon, Jeanne aimed at a particular spot.

"Now!" Jeanne called out.

Nora's grenades flew in an arc and landed perfectly to where the Grimm were most concentrated, scattering most of them. Those that remained continued with their charge as Branwen tribe members took the wooden pikes and used them as spears, letting the Grimm come at them here.

Huntsmen and huntresses charged forward soon after. The Grimm had a simple mindset: go in as straight a line as possible. While some of the Grimm had developed intelligence to be clever, those often avoided conflict if it meant its defeat. There was a large gathering of people here and it was evident that they were armed, any Grimm that had come for them must be young and inexperienced.

It had been less a battle and more a skirmish here. Argus was protected, that much was clear. Still, that didn't stop anyone here from celebrating and victory that they were having.

The flag's cloth flew in the wind. Jeanne looked back. Nope. Argus' gates were still closed to them. She could the soldiers up there on the walls moving about, probably going to inform whoever it was that was in charge of them here.

"Seriously?" Jeanne heard someone say. "We're doing their job for them and they still won't let us in?"

"The Grimm are all around us and they think that they can hold them off? Don't we have enough negativity already?"

Jeanne could see that Jaune was approaching them, hands raised. "Okay guys, let's not do anything we would regret here."

"If there is anyone who should be regretting their actions, it is those on the other side of that wall!"

"Yeah! What? Just because we came with a bunch of bandits, we're suddenly guilty of crimes? At least those bandits are keeping us safe!"

Right. There had been those as well. There was dissent among the people that they had brought here. Argus' soldiers were never clear about their reasons for letting them in. The one that had been given wasn't flying well with the others.

The butt end of Jeanne's flag slammed against the ground. Though the earth softened the sound, it had still been loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

"Shake the dirt off of your feet," Jeanne commanded. "All of you. We're settling here."

"Jeanne?" Jaune asked.

"If they won't budge," she explained. "Then we'll just have to make do with what we have." She then lowered her voice. "I know you wanted to see if Saphron, Terra, and Adrian are alright, but if they won't let us in…"

Her brother sighed. "Yeah. They probably won't let them out either. I just wish we knew the exact reason why. Even if it really is because we've allied ourselves with bandits, they could have just had them under monitoring if they cared too much."

Nora entered the conversation. "Me thinks that the one in charge doesn't like us. I mean, have you seen how that old lady spouts how Atlas should be the one on top or something?"

"It really shouldn't matter who is leading humanity." Ren agreed. "There isn't a better time of a united humanity than now. The Grimm are a common enemy enough as they are."

"Some people are just set in their ways," said Oscar. "Sorry for coming in unannounced but could I ask for your time, Jeanne? It is about our mutual companion."

Jeanne nodded and followed. When they were ways farther than the rest, she asked, "is there anything you need professor?"

"He does," Oscar answered. There was a slight frustration in his voice. "Ozpin has been thinking, actually."

"About?"

"About this God of yours. He is unlike the Brothers who made Remnant but if He could, the headmaster was wondering if it would be possible…"

The boy's voice became softer as he went on until he could no longer be heard.

"Why can't the headmaster tell me himself?" Jeanne asked. She could guess what it was that the headmaster wanted.

"That's…" Oscar was finding the words. "I actually am not sure. Ozpin usually isn't like this—wait. He says that he is uncertain if he should be asking. He says that he had been thinking and that he is guilty of many crimes. Knowing the truth about Salem, he had sent many people to their deaths—"

"You want to know if your curse could be lifted." Jeanne guessed correctly.

There had been a pause before Oscar nodded, affirming Ozpin answers.

"I think that He might," she answered.

Another moment. "What? Now? Alright fine, you really should have done this yourself."

Oscar collapsed for a moment before gaining Ozpin's usual composure. However, his face still spoke of sadness and his shoulders seemed as though there was a weight being placed upon it.

"Then, miss d'Arc," Ozpin said. "I am not so certain if you possess such authority, I would like to make a confession, if you would hear it."

Jeanne found a place among the grass to sit, the old man in a boy's body sat across her. The headmaster was looking down on the ground, almost ashamed to even look up. She didn't have the authority, that was true, but even so, who was she to deny him?

/-/

With the last of the rations distributed for the day, Jaune could sit back and somewhat relax. Ever since he had this… gift? He wasn't so sure about what to do with it. On one hand, it was great that they wouldn't have to worry too much about food and drink. On the other, he wasn't so sure how long it would last. It certainly would be better if Argus' gates had just opened for them.

He liked to think that it was really just a case of communication and trying to keep up with any sense of order rather than whatever that strange demand that they were making. Atlas being the one to lead the charge? Who was in charge over there? No one could wrap their head around it really and he wasn't doing any better. Instead, he, along with everyone else, just made do with what they have.

"So…" Pyrrha, his partner, sat next to him. "How are we doing, mister miracle worker?"

"You know," Jaune replied. "When I faked my transcripts and applied to Beacon, I never even thought that it would lead to this."

"Yeah." Pyrrha agreed. "I don't think anybody could. I'm impressed at your stamina to be honest."

"Stamina?"

"You didn't know?" His partner genuinely sounded confused. "Jaune, you've been standing and distributing rations for hours non-stop. Then, you went off to join us in that skirmish. I was worried that you were pushing youself."

"I did? I never noticed."

"How did you not? You're not tired or anything?"

"Well, no, actually. I just felt like I could keep going, you know." In an attempt to show his point, Jaune stood back up only to feel the sudden rush of exhaustion wash over him.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha caught him. "You shouldn't get up so quickly like that. You're clearly more tired than you thought."

"I…" he replied. "Wow, I guess I really was more tired than I thought. Weird. Always felt like I just started when I did, you know."

"Did you talk with Jeanne about this? About… those dreams you said you had?"

"We did a little but even she doesn't know the full extent of what it is I'm supposed to be doing."

"He works in mysterious ways," Pyrrha quoted. "We can't really complain, can we? We're getting help."

"Yeah," Jaune agreed. "It feels nice knowing that we're doing good."

The two of them stayed together in silence. They looked over the people who have begun to eat amongst themselves. They could see Jeanne stopping yet another attempt at the apparent cult that had begun to form around Jaune. If he hadn't been made aware of it, he was sure that it never would have occurred to him. He agreed with Jeanne on this end and said that it wasn't really his doing but rather a help from other places. That had been enough for some people though the end of that result was that he had become some sort of servant himself.

"Servant," Jaune whispered. "Didn't Jeanne say that she was one? Back at… Beacon?" The memory of that school brought a sting to his heart. It did for every member of JNPR.

"I think?" Pyrrha didn't sound so sure. "Maybe in passing."

"I wonder if that is what is happening to me now." He stared at the palms of his hands.

"It's a start." Jeanne must have heard their conversation. She had been close-by when she begun to approach them. "Servants are being made by their legends and people's belief in them, Jaune. It wouldn't surprise me that yours, at least here, are being made."

"Here?" Jaune realized it sooner. "Oh right, yeah." Alternate timelines. He couldn't imagine any of those alternatives, no matter how vivid they were. One of them had his transcripts exposed and he had to leave Beacon and ended up being an apprentice to someone who reminded him of Weiss if she were older. He even had a weapon that wasn't Crocea Mors.

Then, in there was commotion among the crowd. As their group began to split into two, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Jeanne could see that there was a soldier of Argus approaching. It wasn't one of those that had been close to that old lady.

"I am here to speak with the leader of this band," said the soldier. "I have come to deliver a message directly from Atlas itself."

The three of them looked at one another. It should also be of no surprise that anyone nearby was listening closely. Now that they had decided to simply settle here until they figure something out, the soldiers are coming out.

"Am I speaking with the leader here?" asked the soldier again. "Am I speaking to one Jaune Arc?"

"Wait, me?" Jaune asked. "I'm not the—"

"It's the cult," Jeanne answered. "They're not being formed; I'm making sure of that. But that doesn't mean there aren't any talks anyway. So… it means that you are now the leader of this little exodus of people, Jaune."

"Great." Jaune didn't need that. "Better than the cult, I suppose." Trying to stand back up was still rather tired and Pyrrha had to assist him until he got his balance. Then, he addressed the soldier, asking, "so, what's the message?"

"Ehem," the soldier replied as he took out his scroll. He also sighed as he read it aloud. "The glorious general of Atlas has decided to allow you sanctuary within the port city of Argus as refugees. Be glad then of Atlas' generosity."

The soldier then put the scroll away.

"Officer-in-charge?" Jeanne asked.

"She's only doing her job, ma'am," replied the soldier. "With this war against the Grimm, our priority first and foremost has to be the people within our walls."

"Let's just let this be water under the bridge," Jaune suggested. "We got a place to stay now and if they need any help, we'll be more than happy to provide."

"Woo!" Nora's voice was heard from across the group. "We're finally getting to sleep on beds again!"

"Here." Jaune rolled his eyes and took out a piece of bread and gave it to the soldiers.

"I'm surprised you lot still have supplies that lasted this long."

"We don't." The blonde knight shook his head. "By all accounts, we should have days ago." Or would that have been weeks? Months? He never really kept track of the time since it had begun; it was hard to.

Argus' gates opened and they were greeted with a welcome sight. Denizens of the city port waited their arrival in great anticipation.

"Feels like we're returning from a war campaign," Jeanne commented.

"They probably heard about what was happening to us out there," Jaune replied.

Behind them were the crowd of people. Friends and distant relatives were reunited. There was an awkwardness though between some of Argus' people here and those from the Branwen tribe. Whether that was the kidnapped that have been given their freedoms after being sold for ransom or other reasons, Jaune didn't know. All he knows was that it was awkward for those tribe members that have been recognized by the others.

One thing that had caught Jaune's attention however, was that some of the people on this side of Argus appeared thinner than those outside. They weren't malnourished or anything but it had been clear that they were running tight on their own rations.

"To labor and without reward, huh?" Jeanne must have noticed her brother's expression. "So, is there anything you wish to do?"

Jaune took a moment of pause. As he looked towards them, he knew that he had to do something. However, looking down at the bag he had with him, the same one that he kept getting the bread from, he wondered if there was a better thing to do.

Then, it came to him. "Do we have any fishing nets?"

Jeanne raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I'm pretty sure that can be arranged. Don't even need soldier's permission for that I think."

"Even if we did," Pyrrha added. "I don't think that it is going to stop us, now is it?"

"Nope," Jaune said. Stretching his arms, he then asked his way to the ports. "Let's not think about the cost and just give. I'm feeling better already."

"Take it easy, Jaune, okay?"

"I will. Take care of everyone else here for me, will you?"

"Seafood dinner?" Nora asked. She, along with Ren, finally managed to come up to them. The two had been at the back of the group, protecting them from behind.

"Let's see what we can catch," Jaune replied. He then turned to the other boy of the team. "Ren, think you can come up with something?"

"I certainly would prefer a proper kitchen for once."

"Great. Time to feed the plenty, I suppose."

AN: Alright, we got the bread and now the fish