The hallowed halls of Beacon Academy, crafter of the finest hunters to walk Remnant, sat empty. Shattered moonlight lit the passages of the school, watching as a caped figure made their way towards the central elevator. What awaited them at the top? The office of Beacon's greatest headmaster, a man said to be infinitely wise beyond his years, whose presence commanded respect, and was praised as the greatest hunter of his generation.
Headmaster Emmanuel Ozpin.
The shadowed figure boarded the elevator and craned their neck from side to side. As the lift slowed they brought their hand to their coat to retrieve something as the doors began to part. Stepping into the dimly lit room, the figure revealed himself to be one Qrow Branwen, with flask in hand and Harbinger on his rear waist. Ahead of him, on the edge of the desk sat the feared Deputy Headmistress, Glynda Goodwitch.
In between two of her fingers was a cigarette, and as she raised her hand to take a drag of her tobacco, she regarded the drinker with a slow nod. The two indulged in their vices for a solemn minute, used enough to each other's company in these moments.
"...I still don't think this is a good idea."
Glynda spared a side glance at her ally, before flicking off some of the ash from her cigarette into a floating ashtray.
"You're preaching to the choir Qrow, and not just myself; James and Theodore are against it as well."
"Are you ready for if this turns into a fight?"
The woman said nothing as the two were interrupted as a door opened from the side of the room, revealing a familiar silver haired man in a gray dress shirt toweling off his hair. Tossing the cloth behind him, the man made his way towards his desk, the many clockwork gears forming the office seemed to slow themselves, as if time was waiting for him to reach where he felt most comfortable. As he looked towards his chair, he pulled it aside before sitting down and lacing his fingers together, the clock faces returning to normal speed as he did so.
"Is everything prepared?"
Glynda glanced at her cigarette before pressing it into her ashtray.
"Yes they are, James and Theodore are both awaiting your call."
Ozpin nodded towards Glynda, signaling her to start their impromptu meeting. As she moved towards a device and keyed in a few commands, the windows to the office were covered by metal shutters, and a holoscreen blurred to life in front of his desk. Greeting him were the face of Atlas's military leader, General Ironwood, and a silhouette sitting in darkness for the man who controlled the majority of Vacuo, Theodore.
The two men said nothing, waiting on their leader, but before anything else could happen, Qrow spoke up.
"Oz, listen. I still don't think this is a good idea. We have no idea what her reaction is going to be, and not just that, she doesn't deserve this after everything she's-"
The former bandit stopped his speech short as the man who gave him purpose raised his hand gently. A frustrated look sat upon Qrow's face as Ozpin spoke again.
"Qrow. Do you trust me?"
Ozpin's tone was even, and all eyes were on the seasoned hunter as he eventually nodded his head.
"Then right now, I need you to have faith in what I'm doing. And that goes for all of you as well,"
He refocused his gaze as he looked to the holoscreen, as well as Glynda before he continued.
"Let me do all of the talking. No matter what you hear, I need you all to agree with me so that we can finally accomplish something. The risk here is great, I understand, but the potential to turn this precious opportunity into the one we've been praying for is too gratuitous to ignore. Do you all understand."
This was no question.
A row of nods was his only answer, and with an even stare, he returned his attention to Qrow, before making a motion with his hand.
"If you would kindly."
Qrow took a heavy pull from his flask before pulling out a survival knife and pressing the tip into his hand four times, drawing blood at each prod, before allowing his aura to heal himself.
The following silence was deafening, lingering amongst those present for a few minutes, before a blood red portal sliced itself into existence across the room. After a tense moment, a figure sans her grimm-like helmet emerged, blade drawn and pointed at Ozpin, the rift closing behind her.
"Hello Raven."
"Parasite."
The woman kept her blade trained on her former teacher as she studied the environment, noticing the holoscreen showing Ironwood, and who she could only assume was the ever mysterious Theodore.
'The shutters closed off the windows from me being able to escape that way. The only other method of retreat if they keep me from using my semblance is the elevator…'
"Would you care to take a seat? You and I have much to discuss."
"I have nothing to speak of with you of all people!"
The vitriol in her voice as she growled at Ozpin carried weight, though any of this seemed lost on the man, who decided to ask a question instead.
"And pray tell, what exactly have I done to deserve such hostility?"
Raven's face shifted to one of incredulity, as she was for once, caught completely off guard by the question.
"You are…absolutely unbelievable. You-You used me. My brother, my team, and sent us off to die. All of us! Not just us, all the hunters across Remnant. You have them believing that we have hope of pushing back the grimm, when the world has no idea what's really happening…You lure children to your schools so that you can brainwash them to do whatever you want, and the especially unlucky ones that you take specialinterest in, like me, Qrow…and her, are set aside to become your soldiers. You are a monster, and you're just as bad as Salem."
The bandit leader's speech ended, and the tension in the room was beyond the breaking point. Glynda and Qrow looked ready for whatever may come, while Ironwood and Theodore were both leaning forwards, awaiting what their leader had to say. The man in question sat there, fingers laced and covering his mouth, before reaching up and removing his glasses.
"Is that it?"
The room froze.
"That? That's the reason you threw a near eighteen year temper tantrum and abandoned your team? Your family?"
"Don't you dare bring them into this!"
Raven's roar did nothing to deter the incarnated man as he sat there cleaning his glasses.
"I didn't. You did. A few paces from me is your brother, my most reliable and trustworthy field agent. Taiyang and I don't speak as much, but he was able to secure a position teaching at Sanctum after I put in a good word or two there. And Yang; your daughter? She is one of my students. So let me ask you a question,"
The man looked up with his dead stare and continued.
"If you hated me as much as you claim to, then why abandon the family you built instead of keeping them away from me?"
The atmosphere took a further nose dive, Glynda idly noticing Qrow constantly clenching and unclenching a fist at his side as he sat silently and watched the exchange.
The woman seemed taken aback, and Ozpin didn't relent.
"Actually, I do believe that if anything, you should be thanking me."
"...What?"
"Do you truly believe when you came to my academy all those years ago, that I didn't know who you and your brother were? The things you two'd done? No, I knew, and I could've taken care of you too, Brothers know I'd have been well within reason. Instead, I accepted and trained the two of you. I gave you two a team, and that team turned into a family. Qrow chose to live in the future, while you continue as a slave to your past."
The woman's glower as her arm started to shake slightly didn't go unnoticed by any of the observers, but Ozpin kept hold of the conversation's control, and began to steer it elsewhere.
"But, I didn't have Qrow call you here, or assemble the other headmasters because I wanted to patronize you or speak about the past. I summoned you to talk about the, immediate future."
"And I want nothing to do with it. I've heard all I needed to, I'm leaving."
The woman went to slice open a portal, but as she turned around, Ozpin spoke.
"I suspect that you will reconsider that decision, seeing as it concerns the wellbeing of your tribe."
She froze. The air chilled and the tension skyrocketed to new heights as the headmaster of Beacon now had her full attention. She turned to face him, murder in her eyes before she faltered ever so tinily. He'd taken off his glasses and began massaging his temples. Once he was done, he cracked open his eyes, glowing ever so slightly in the darkness of the room before he spoke.
"Before we continue, I feel as if I need to apologize. I'm truly sorry that you feel the way that you do about our current state of affairs, and I'm even sorrier that I allowed it to fester until this point. You asked to be let into my circle of trust, and I gave you that. Along with that came responsibilities and burdens that you could have never have expected, but regardless, they were then your's to carry."
The man placed the glasses back on the bridge of his nose, the reflection of the light hiding his eyes as he re-laced his fingers together.
"But, I've given you courtesy, enough. It's long been clear to me that I must adopt a more heavy-handed approach in regards to you. So, allow me to present you a choice-no, a fact: You will help me save Remnant."
The woman's throat felt dry as the hand on her katana handle began to shake slightly.
"And if I refuse."
"Then I will destroy your tribe, burn your homes to the ground, much like you have to the innocent frontier settlements you raid."
As he said this, the hands on the clock faces in the office slowly began to turn faster, the ticking sound inching louder as an invisible pressure began to slowly leak throughout the space.
"I will, personally, slaughter each and every single one of those murderous vermin you call tribesmen. I swear, I will erase the feared Branwen tribe from history, and write a new fairy tale from their ashes."
The bandit chieftess's shaking was now very much so visible, the ticking sound louder now, and continuing to increase in speed. The leaking pressure, that…uncomfortable feeling, was now beginning to flood the room.
"And after the extermination of your tribe is done, you won't be next, no, you won't die until I permit it. You WILL help me, even if you aren't…yourself."
Seeing that she was frozen in place, and the others spectating wore various other expressions, he decided to pull something from his desk; a deck of cards.
"Of course, if you wish to leave this life behind; to truly and forever wash your hands of me, I'm willing to offer you an accord."
All eyes snapped to him as he began to slowly exhibit some cardistry, shuffling through the deck skillfully and agonizingly slow, purposely so, before flipping a card into his hand from the assembled deck. He admired the card, whatever was on it, before throwing it towards the dark-haired woman.
She reached out and caught it, back facing up, before turning it over and feeling her whole world come to a halt.
The queen of clubs, and in the portrait frame, a picture of Yang. The daughter she loved and left behind.
Her disbelieving eyes looked up to Ozpin as he spoke.
"I know you have it Raven."
Glynda's eyes kept darting between the two. As the woman kept her shaken silence, Ozpin continued.
"You took in my Spring Maiden, didn't you."
It was no question, and never in her life, did Raven feel more vulnerable than she did at this moment. Her only comfort was that Ozpin didn't know exactly who the bearer of the powers he sought after is. Seeing her refusing to speak, the man pressed further.
"If you wish to be the coward you've proven yourself to be so far, then surrender the spring maiden to me, and after that, you can have your freedom."
"...And if I refuse?"
She glanced down to peek at her daughter's face, before she looked up to regard Ozpin, only to see he was no longer in his seat. Suddenly, a card was handed to her from the side and too frightened to create any space between herself and her former mentor, she numbly looked down to see the king of clubs, and in its portrait, Taiyang Xiao Long, her only love. As she gazed down at the two cards in her hand, refusing to believe that this was the reality she was in, she felt something off about the card with her ex-husband's picture.
Her finger began to slide over it, revealing another card below it, slowly.
The ace of clubs, and as the portrait slowly became visible, a familiar red eye peeked out, and her chest began to feel like it being crushed into itself, not having to see anymore to know who was on that fucking card.
Suddenly, her pupils shrank as she felt Ozpin's breath aside her ear as he whispered so that only she could hear.
"Then you can be responsible for their deaths,"
The spectacled man gently took all three cards from her hand before pushing them together and flipping them until only a single card remained. Flipping it over as the two looked at the picture together.
The one-color joker. The fallen leader of team STRQ. Summer Rose.
"Just like hers."
The ticking of the clocks ceased, and so too did the hands on the clock faces, as if freezing this moment in time. The pressure from before, that had risen well above anyone's heads, evaporated suddenly leaving it easier to breathe, evident by the gasps and gulps of air by the others in the room.
"Fucking…hell Oz…"
Qrow was grasping his throat with a sweat covered hand, before shakily making to take a swig from his flask, Glynda doing something similar with a new cigarette.
Raven from where she stood, her whole world and plans she'd been laying for years began to shatter in front of her. Managing to look up, she saw the man responsible once again seated in his seat, with his fingers laced together with that damned emotionless look on his face again.
"What is your choice?"
"..."
A sight none present thought they'd ever see painted themselves before them, as Raven fell to a knee and bowed her head, tears hitting the ground as she forced herself to submit.
"...W-What choice do I have, you monster…"
The room was silent save for the choked noise that Raven made from where she knelt. Even Ironwood seemed uncomfortable as he tugged at the edge of his collar. A chuckle from Ozpin drew everyone's attention.
"Wonderful!"
He clapped his hands together as a smile stretched across his face, his mood a complete turnaround from mere moments before, earning uneasy glances from his inner circle.
"Now then, pick yourself up from off my floor Raven. It's time to talk about what you'll be getting in exchange for cooperating so readily."
The woman stood to her feet, wiping away her tears with grit and bared teeth as she did before barking back a retort.
"There is nothi-"
"Vacuo."
Her words died in her throat as she took a step back from where she stood, this time, even Glynda and Qrow were shocked to gaped expressions and silence.
"W-What did you say?"
"Vacuo. The Jewel of the West? The once Great Oasis? Allow me to make this clear-"
The man leaned in with that slight smile as he spoke in a lower tone, his eyes focused on Raven's own.
"Serve me; help me rescue this world, and your reward will be The Kingdom of Vacuo."
The bandit chieftess was frozen at the peak of disbelief as the words of her former mentor echoed in her head.
"...Y-You can't promise that Ozpin."
"Actually, he can."
All attention shifted to Theodore from where his silhouette had his hands folded together on his desk.
"Theo…"
The man appeared to straighten a tie in the darkness with a hidden expression as Ozpin coughed, returning the attention to himself.
"Raven, I'm sure you've already noticed by now, but Leo isn't present for this little meeting of ours."
The man sat back into his chair, and for the first time since she'd arrived, looked truly affected by something he said.
"This is no coincidence or mistake. Our…My dear, old friend Leo has turned to the Queen."
Ozpin turned away from them in his chair, leaning forward where he sat looking away from them as he wiped his eyes.
"He's likely been her spy for a few years at this point. It would coincide with a few leads and disappearances that I thought nothing of before recently."
The woman sucked in a breath of air as she realized just how compromised they could potentially be.
"So, in light of this and after long deliberation, it's been decided that Leo shall be…relieved, of his status as Headmaster of Haven. Which is where you come in."
The woman started to connect the dots, and her eyes widened before she managed to respond.
"You want me to assassinate Leonardo?! That's no small order; and what of his academy?"
"Well Raven, for you to assume command of Vacuo, means that Theodore would have to relinquish he position. And in the brief moment of confusion that will follow the announcement that we'll make surrounding Leo's fate, Theo here will take control of Haven under an alias. And since no one has ever seen the "mysterious" leader of Vacuo, it will be the perfect opportunity to slip you into your new role as Headmaster and leader of Vacuo."
The woman's head began to throb at just how far this had been planned. A seat floated next to her, glowing purple, and her eyes met Glynda's, the blonde's eyes showing a bit of sympathy for her. She reluctantly took the chair and slumped into it as she massaged her head.
"So that's all then? I kill Leo, Theodore takes Haven, and Vacuo is mine?"
"I am nothing if not a man of my word; Vacuo will be the territory of the Branwen Tribe."
"If it is to be my reward, I will rule as I see fit Ozpin."
"But of course, as long as you give me access to your resources and cooperation from time to time, then do as you please."
"...And Theodore is okay with this? Being forced to surrender control of the Kingdom he's managed to bring some semblance of order to?
"Oh yes! In fact, it was his idea. Your ideals and morals match almost entirely with Vacuo's; furthermore, Theo ran Vacuo anonymously. No one there knows what he looks or truly sounds like, so there isn't anyone there to say that you weren't 'Theodore' this entire time. And besides, Theo always referred to Vacuo as a…How did you put it, old friend?"
"A crime infested shithole, Ozzy."
"Ah yes, that's right. So, with the bulk of what we are here to discuss out of the way, let's wrap it up with our last bit of business. You see, with Haven compromised, and their students here in my school, we have plenty of reason to suspect that we've been infiltrated with a few spies of the Queen. Likely, one team's worth of students."
Raven growled under her breath before she sat back in her chair.
"Well, if that coward of a lion is helping them, he's no doubt covered his tracks."
"Oh certainly, which is why we are going to weed them out, subtly."
"And how do you plan to do that?"
"With the new initiative we are implementing, the-"
"Inter-Academy Relations Building Program. This initiative is in its infancy, and you all are our first test to see if this idea can work."
The spectacled man looked around the room as the many first-years began to whisper amongst themselves before he raised his hands, silencing the room.
"While I'm sure a number of you no doubt have a plethora of questions running through your heads after hearing about Leo's sudden decision to retire, there's much to know about this program, and participation is mandatory, as decided upon by myself and the other headmasters."
"Ma'am, are we compromised?"
Emerald's whisper was met with one of Cinder's own.
"Not entirely. If we were, we would've already been forced to kill our way to a retreat. But, I'm sure that fool Leonardo is already dead."
Mercury looked over to the shortstack assassin in her disguise.
"Think they know about us?"
The girl in question shrugged her shoulders in response as they waited whilst Ozpin studied the room, and was greeted with silence as he continued.
"Now, while I'm sure that you've had time to grow at least somewhat comfortable with your partners and teammates, we will be temporarily separating all partner pairs and suspending the current first-year teams across all four academies."
"Shit shit shit! They know, they have to."
"Emerald! Collect yourself, or I'll kill you before they'll ever get the opportunity."
Cinder's threat was hissed under a breath as Emerald whispered back a meek apology. The hidden maiden glared up at the stage as Beacon's headmaster was met with cries of outrage; the auditorium practically erupting with the voices of the many students. Glynda prepared to quiet them down, but was met with a raised hand from Ozpin, who gently raised his cane, before bringing it down unto the stage beneath him. The sound was akin to a deep bell, and instantly hushed the room. Smiling, the unknowable man continued.
"As you've all just made me aware, you aren't fond of this decision. However, this doesn't come as a random decision. Over eighty percent of student teams don't take jobs together beyond their first year following graduation; so this program is not only to strengthen relations between the four academies, but to teach you all how to improvise and cooperate when working with someone new for an extended period of time. Therefore, each of you will be assigned a new temporary partner, hailing from a different school than yourself."
The real purpose of this wasn't hidden in the slightest to the four infiltrators. They kept the act up spectacularly as they continued to listen.
A raised hand in the audience showed itself, and pointed his cane towards them.
"You said 'for an extended period of time.' How long will this last Headmaster?"
The man took a sip from his mug, handed to him by Glynda before he answered.
"This arrangement will last until the month before the Vytal festival. And be sure to help each other, as there will be no four-person teams for the duration of this exercise. You will have new rooms for just the two of you, and will have to learn to trust one another with your lives."
The students began to grumble under their breaths, but he could see quite a few of them either excited or grumbling to themselves. He smiled faintly before he spoke again.
"Furthermore, we have made special arrangements for this year's Vytal festival qualifications. Listen carefully, as I don't intend to repeat myself."
He waited as the room gave him their eyes, before resuming to speak.
"To qualify for the Vytal this year, as usual, a team in its entirety must pass selection, this hasn't changed. In addition to this however, as a requirement for each individual to qualify for selection, they and their partner pair must both qualify. If either of you fail, then you both will, and by association, so will all the involved teammates of the failing pairs. So if you see your partner struggling in anything that you might be confident in, then it would be in your best interest to assist them, and vice versa."
If the outburst from the students was considered loud or unruly earlier, this outburst was a few moments away from possibly becoming a riot. The man didn't give the students any further mind as he absentmindedly sipped from his mug, waiting for them to get their, rather loud, complaints out of their system.
"That conniving worm!"
Cinder was seething underneath her exterior as she saw how Ozpin planned to interfere with her operation.
A few minutes passed before Glynda's patience finally gave in, and she cracked her riding crop in combination with her semblance, letting out a light shockwave as a warning. The room settled down reluctantly, before she nodded to Ozpin, who raised his mug in response to her.
"Now before we begin to announce the partner pairings, I want to introduce the temporary instructors that will be overseeing the program."
The man gestured to the side to reveal a pair of people making their way onto the stage.
"Say hello to your new professors, Qrow Branwen and Shion Zaiden. The two of them will be who you all report to for the new class that they will be in charge of starting tomorrow."
"Are you kidding me! He's gonna be here all the way until the Vytal?!"
Mercury's little outburst went unpunished as Cinder had to grit her teeth upon seeing the veteran hunter of Ozpin's inner circle.
Ozpin allowed a brief pause as he took a large sip from his mug, and upon realizing that he'd reached the bottom of his cup, decided that it was time to cap things off.
"Now then, I'll allow our new professors to announce the new partner pairings for the semester, and with that, I wish you all the best of luck in your studies and cooperation."
As he made his way off the stage, Qrow took the cue and stood in front of the mic before calling out the first name.
"Jaune Arc of team JNPR."
All students from Beacon immediately focused, wanting to know who the unlucky team that was going to get straddled with the dead last of the first years.
"Your partner: Emerald Sustrai of Team CMEL."
The rest of the pairs went by over the course of the next half-hour with some of the notable partner pairs being Flynt Coal partnered with Weiss Schnee, Sun Wukong and Cardin Winchester, Mercury with Yang, Neptune and Lacey Mint, and capped off by Cinder partnered with Ciel Soliel.
"Take the next few minutes to speak with your own teams before we send your new room numbers and access codes to your scrolls."
With Shion having finished off the announcements, they and Qrow made their exit from the auditorium as the students began to form huddles all across the space.
"Ma'am, what are we going to do?"
"They've made it next to impossible for us to convene now. And, with only having some weekends to meet, organization is going to become a nightmare."
"Are we…calling it off?"
Cinder sent a dangerous look to her subordinate, who quickly lowered her gaze to the floor.
"No. I've worked too long and too hard to get this opportunity. We will figure something out. However, for us to execute my plan, we'll all need to make it into the Vytal. Which means that not only can none of you afford to fail, you'll now have to ensure your partner doesn't as well."
A chorus of pings was heard around the auditorium and everyone began to check their scrolls. Sending one last look warning them of failure, the ill-intentioned quartet split up, making their way to their respective rooms among the sea of students.
Emerald made her way around a few corners and within a couple minutes of walking, she stood in front of her room. Taking a deep breath she held her scroll to the door, and upon hearing it unlock, she pushed it in and walked into her room for the next semester.
Greeting her was a rather normal room, all things considered, save for the abundance of space she had in contrast to the four person rooms they'd been staying in the last few days. Boxes of personal effects sat in the center of the room, and she stood around idly wondering what to do next before she heard the door open behind her.
Turning, she was met with the unapologetic image of mediocrity. A blonde with blue-eyes, only slightly above average in terms of his height with nothing else of note to see. She sighed internally while she put on a fake smile to greet her new partner with.
"Hi."
"O-Oh-uh, hi. I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc; shor-"
He seemed to think something over before he shook his head and spoke again.
"Actually, forget that last part."
Seemed like he thought twice about using some kind of automatic pick-up line. Good; maybe, just maybe, this would be bearable.
"My name's Emerald Sustrai, hope we can work together."
The two stood in silence before Jaune rubbed the back of his head and tried to lead the conversation somewhere.
"Sooooo…which side of the room do you want?"
"Doesn't much matter to me, you pick. I'm fine with whichever."
The blonde nodded after a second before taking the boxes labeled as his and moving to the right side of the room. As Jaune began to move things around and decorate his side of the room, the mocha-skinned girl observed him closely, and decided that while he was lacking confidence, this arrangement wouldn't be that bad as long as her partner could carry his own weight.
"Hey, Jaune."
"Yeah? Need something?"
"Why don't we do this later? We should go get a training room before everyone else does. I want to get an idea of your fighting style so we can get a feel for each other. When we get back, we can see where we both are in everything else."
"...Alright. Let's go I guess."
The two quickly made their way across the campus to where the training rooms were, and managed to get there before anyone else, securing one of the rooms to themselves for the next few hours. They met back up in the ring after donning their combat gear.
Emerald looked her new partner over, and remained unimpressed. Standing across from her nervously, Jaune wore a chestplate over a hoodie with jeans, wielding a sword and shield. She resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose before she readied the aura monitor.
"Alright, let's start off with a spar so we can gauge where we are."
The blonde seemed to attempt to psyche himself up before nodding to the girl with uncertainty in his eyes.
The counter on the screen counted down as the two prepared to clash.
Once the buzzer sounded, Emerald shot forward with her gun-sickles and readied a slash. Jaune brought his shield up and lowered his center of gravity while preparing a counter, but it was for naught as the moment the thief reached him she used one of her weapons to hook the top of his shield down leading into a kick that snapped his head to the side in a fluid motion.
Off kilter, Jaune attempted to regain some form of composure, but was given no such courtesy as when he was able to find Emerald she was running towards him once again, much lower to the ground this time.
Thinking quickly, he dropped to a knee and twisted with his shield across his body. Emerald, predicting his next move, dropped into a slide and hooked one of her sickles around his ankle, cutting into his aura while slinging herself around him and away from his telegraphed shield swipe.
To the blonde's credit he turned to where she was with a slash ready faster than she expected at this point, but unfortunately, it was not to be successful. The green-haired girl brought her heel up against his wrist, effectively killing any chance of him harming her with his sword for the moment.
He looked surprised, but was greeted with her revolver aimed at him before she managed to fire a round off, impacting against his cheek with a loud crack. Adrenaline must have kicked in, as he gripped her ankle with enough force to actually hurt before turning and throwing her as hard as he could to create some distance.
Emerald was surprised for the briefest of moments before she shifted her body and landed into a small back hop. Checking up at the monitors, she saw that her aura was still at ninety-nine percent, while Jaune's had dropped to…only ninety-two percent?
She looked across to where her partner was getting to his feet and into his read position.
"I think that's good enough for now."
The knightly-teen looked confused as he responded.
"Huh? I still have plenty of aura though."
"Yes, but I said we were going to spar, not fight. I just wanted to get a feel for how you fight. Plus, I'm pretty sure we both know how things would go if this was a fight."
The blonde looked down dejectedly as his shoulders slumped.
"From what I was able to glimpse, you like to turtle behind your shield and wait for a moment to attack, but you're too slow to capitalize on openings like that. On top of that, you don't have a lot of power, and you're telegraphed; like really, really telegraphed."
The blonde remained silent save for a sigh as he turned his shield into a sheathe and slid his sword into it whilst he received Emerald's critique.
"Right now, you've got one thing going for you. You must have a boatload of aura, since you're not even below ninety-percent of if after taking a bullet to the face."
The blonde perked up at that; good, him being receptive to praise and critique meant that at least she could mold him into being good enough to pass. Hopefully.
"I don't know what kind of training you've been doing, or how much of it, but you have a long way to go before you'll be ready to qualify for the Vytal. And I don't know about you, but my team and I want to compete, so you better be ready, because you're going to be doing my training routine from now on."
The blonde seemed unsure for a moment as he opened his mouth but struggled to find the words. Seeing this, Emerald tried a different approach to encourage him.
"Plus, I'm sure your own team wants to compete, and the only way they can is if you step up."
For the first time that she's seen, the blonde's face showed something besides insecurity or other negative emotion, now he looked determined. Good, he'd need to be if he was going to improve, after all, Cinder would kill her if she failed.
"I'll do it."
"Good, now we'll run through some exercises before we work on combat again before we leave, and then we'll see where we are written class wise."
(That Evening)
Jaune was taking a shower after a long training session, and Emerald took the chance to call her team.
A few rings went through before all four of Team Caramel were a four way scroll call.
"Report."
Cinder was the first to speak, and Neo began typing something into text. Soon, a message appeared on the other's screens.
'This blueberry haired idiot is okay enough that I shouldn't have any problems making the Vytal, and he seems gullible enough that I could sneak away some nights to help Roman.'
Cinder nodded her head at that, Mercury took the cue and went next.
"The blonde I got saddled with is pretty good actually. Might actually be a problem down the road. Shouldn't have to worry about qualifying for the Vytal on my end, but I don't know how much I'll be able to 'work' with her. She's a talker and insists on doing everything as a duo."
All eyes were on Emerald as she took a deep breath of frustration and finally pinched the bridge of her nose.
"My partner is…one step away from hopeless."
"Explain."
Cinder wasn't pleased to hear that, but the mint-haired girl did as told.
"His combat skills are atrocious; it's actually a miracle he made it into Beacon. He doesn't use or know anything about dust beyond what a civilian would, and he doesn't have any ranged capability. He hasn't found his semblance yet, and he can barely keep a hold of his weapons, not that he's any good with them. Not to mention, I did some asking around, he's the dead last of Beacon's first years. His grades aren't anything to write home about, but they aren't gonna be what keeps him from qualifying. And beyond that, he-"
"Care to reword that last bit, Emerald?"
The tone in Cinder's voice told her that she made a mistake of some kind as the half-maiden spoke again.
"Remember Emerald. If your partner fails, then so do you. And if you fail, so do I. So it would be in your best interest to make sure he improves enough to qualify for the Vytal."
"Y-Yes Ma'am, I understand. But…how am I going to help with any of our goals?"
"You won't. If your partner is truly that pathetic, then the only things you need to concern yourself with is ensuring he improves, and learning more about his former partner."
Cinder looked behind herself before she decided to end the scroll call early so that no one's partners got suspicious. As Jaune exited the shower, Emerald entered after him and sighed. This was going to be a looooong semester.
(Two Weeks Later)
The time since their first day had been productive, but progress was slow coming. Trying to bring Beacon's deadlast up to snuff was proving to be a harder process than she expected.
But perhaps that wasn't fair; she'd never taught anyone before, nor would she describe herself as teacher material. Thanks to his absurd aura quality, the blonde had managed to make some noticeable physical improvements, on the charts at least. His aura recharged and healed himself so quickly and often, that progress would take weeks for other hunter students, he made in days.
He was still a long way from being a shoe-in for the tournament, but she was sure he'd be able to be where he needed to be by the half-way point of the semester, physically that is.
Combat wise, he really hadn't made much progress. Every sparring session or fight they had was just her throwing him around the training room, and she was starting to get worried that if she kept making him spar against her, that he'd develop habits that she'd have to later break.
So today, they were doing something a little different. Instead of getting a private training room, Emerald decided they were going to train out in the fields with everyone else. As they made their way out, they saw plenty of individual training sessions happening. Finding an empty plot near some familiar faces, they began to run through some warm ups, before Jaune looked over to Emerald.
"So, what are we doing today?"
The mint-haired girl didn't respond, instead looking around at who all was nearby.
'I don't want him to go against Merc or his partner; he isn't ready for that yet, and I need him to build some more confidence. Who else is there…'
Her eyes eventually landed on a blonde monkey faunus and a tall ginger, in an argument much like everyone had come to expect from them after the last few couple weeks.
'He isn't ready for the monkey either…but he might be able to take on the ginger. From what I've seen in combat classes, he isn't too bright or skilled, just has a lot of power behind his hits. And from what I've heard around, those two have history, so if he can wrench out a win, it could really do something for him, and if he loses, it shouldn't hurt any more than it already did.'
"Stay here, I'll be right back."
Not bothering to wait for a response, Emerald walked towards the bickering pair.
"Hey!"
The two paused their argument to look over, and while Cardin clicked his tongue in annoyance before looking over to the side, Sun had the decency to look apologetic before he apologized.
"Oh, hey. Sorry if we, uh…distracted you."
"Don't worry about it, that's not what I came over here for."
"Oh?"
She turned to Cardin before she spoke again.
"Hey, can I get you to spar?"
The tall teen looked to her direction and seemed to release a bit of tension at the notion of a fight.
"Wasn't like I was gonna get anything meaningful done here anyways, so sure. How we doing this?
"Not me actually. I was hoping you could spar with my partner."
The ginger looked behind her to where she was pointing, and wore an even look on his face as he saw him.
"Jauney Boy?"
He looked like he was deep in thought about whether or not to do it, but sensing his apprehension, the mocha-skinned girl decided to speak up.
"I know you two have some kind of history, but I need him to fight someone besides me before he starts getting into some weird habits."
Cardin thought about it for another minute or so before he sighed and began walking over with Executioner in hand.
"Jauney Boy!"
The blonde looked over to see Cardin walk onto his plot of the field and stand across from him.
"Cardin?"
Emerald walked to the side between them, standing off of the plot, Sun coming to stand next to her.
"You need to spar with someone else today so you don't face off against everyone like you would like me, so you're gonna spar with him today."
The blonde looked unsure of himself, but quickly shook whatever doubts he had out of his mind for the moment before nodding to his partner, deciding to trust what she had planned. The ginger looked back over to the dark-skinned girl before he spoke.
"Rules?"
"Five minutes pass, ring out, or one of your auras dropping below fifty-percent of their aura ends the fight."
The two teens looked at each other before nodding to Emerald. They readied their weapons and waited for a signal once their auras were synced to Emerald's scroll.
"Go!"
As usual, Cardin charged in, intending to put the aggression on both hard and early. Running forward with his mace poised for a big swing, Cardin leapt towards Jaune intending to take the advantage. Instead of standing idly with his shield raised, waiting for the hit to come, Jaune thought ahead and already began to dash away from what would soon likely become a crater.
His haste was rewarded as moments after he reached safety, Cardin impacted the ground, kicking up a cloud of ash and dust that obscured his vision. He stood with his sword ready and shield raised, slowly walking forwards in an attempt to leave the haze. A shadow flickered out of the corner of his eye, and he barely managed to position his shield in time to block the head of Cardin's mace from crushing his side, but it did send him back towards the center of the cloud.
As he got back to his feet, Jaune weighed his options. If he made a move to get out of the cloud, Cardin would try and blindside him to either keep him in the haze or crush his aura reserves, not to mention potentially running out of bounds. If he waited for the cloud to disperse, there wasn't anything to stop Cardin from doing it again, but on top of that, he'd just attempt to whittle him down from wherever he was hiding. And sadly, the blonde didn't have any abilities that would allow him to blow away the cloud himself.
The only option that was left available to him now was to land a successful counterattack that would make Cardin feel just as vulnerable as he was. Shifting his feet, he took a deep breath and steadied his sword arm, thinking about how Emerald would've handled this situation as he waited. Cardin was surprisingly subtle when he wanted to be, and with a tactic like this deployed, it wasn't likely that he'd ever strike from the front. He almost landed a hit from one side, so while either of those were options, it wasn't where Jaune expected him to be.
Behind him was a very likely target, but no that wasn't the answer, a small smirk came to his lips as he suddenly looked up and saw a shadow descending towards him through the ash and dirt. Watching the former bully's arm almost in slow motion, Jaune slammed the hilt of Crocea Mors towards the ginger's weapon arm wrist, and watched as a look of surprise fell over the taller teen.
With his opponent's balance off and his feet not yet returned to the ground, Jaune decided to capitalize on this moment, and yanked him down with a lurch, before rising up just as suddenly with his shield in a motion that crossed his body, delivering a successful and satisfying shield swing to Cardin's chin, before reangling his sword to get a good slash in as he disengaged from the mace-wielder.
The cloud had cleared away enough for others to see the two standing across from one another. Jaune waited for Cardin to get to his feet; a foolish decision for someone who wasn't expected to win, but one he stood by regardless.
By the time the two were standing at their full heights with their weapons in hand, the haze had completely lifted, and the larger teen brought a hand up to rub his jaw as a smirk appeared.
"Damn Jauney Boy, maybe you can get my blood pumped after all!"
With that, the fight resumed in earnest, the two beginning a much quicker engagement with less telegraphed moves and more quick attacks, and glancing blows. Emerald checked both the clock and aura monitors as this went on.
There was less than a minute before their spar was over, and while both of them were in the eighties, approaching seventy soon no doubt, she couldn't help but watch as something kept her eyes glued on their bout.
Seconds later, Jaune made what would've been a fatal error for most; many spectators watching as his sword was sent flying out of bounds from a swing Cardin lured him into. Moments later, his shield was sent away from him as well as he was forced to block a blow he'd literally slipped into.
Weaponless, and just less than three-quarters of a minute to go. Jaune attempted to make for his shield, but was cut off as the former bully moved to stand in between him and his goal. He began to move forward slowly, and Jaune clenched his fists as Cardin's approach began to quicken.
Looking around for something, anything, he heard a grunt of exertion. Looking behind Cardin, he focused in to see Mercury and Yang really going at it on their plot. Back and forth the two struck at each other, kicks vs punches, and none of the blows were being restrained.
Watching Yang maneuver for the briefest of moments, Jaune began to emulate her ever so slightly, dropping into the girl's very own boxing stance before lashing out with the same right cross that she just had. The lightning quick strike was simple, but effective, as it landed clean through Cardin's wind-up and sent him back coughing.
Emerald's eyes widened as she saw Jaune look past Cardin again, this time focusing on the silver haired assassin before he dropped to a crouch followed by a sweep kick. Still copying, he walked forward quickly to be in position to stomp down on Cardin's torso, but wasn't quick enough as the mace wielder rolled away just before he could connect.
As Cardin got back up to his feet, Yang and Mercury had ended, or at least paused their fight, and Jaune, with nothing left to parrot, slipped into an unarmed fighting stance he'd forgotten he'd even known. The two stared at each other for a moment, before they both charged forward to attack Cardin with a titanic two-handed downwards swing against Jaune's ferocious uppercut.
The buzzer for the two cut through the moment, and both of them managed to stop their attacks a few inches from each other before they separated to see both Sun and Emerald looking at the two surprised. Though, Emerald was more akin to being frozen in place.
The two that'd just finished having their spar suddenly felt the adrenaline leave their bodies, and had to catch their breath, opting to kneel, or fall with their back to the ground in Jaune's case. As Sun went over to talk with his temporary partner, their previous argument forgotten, Jaune caught Emerald walking over to him.
"That was pretty impressive, Jaune."
"But, I didn't win?"
"No, but you didn't lose either. Isn't that a sign that you're improving."
The blonde pondered on her words as he looked down at himself, covered dirt and sweat before an earnest smile crossed his face.
"Yeah, I guess you're right!"
She figured this was usually when someone was supposed to bring them down from their high, but it looked like he really needed this, so she could afford to let him have his moment. The bell rang across campus, and everyone started to grab their things to prepare for their next class. Jaune got to his feet and collected his weapons, before moving towards the main building, and Emerald watched from where she stood beside him wondering what changed near the end of the fight.
Glancing down towards the ground near where Jaune had been, something odd caught her eye. Kneeling down to get a better look, the ground was cracked and protruding, which by itself, wouldn't be anything to take note of. But strangely enough, the ground was cracked in squares; perfect ones, and some of them looked as if they'd tried to exit the ground entirely.
Just what was going on?
(A/N)
This one is for a idea that randomly popped into my head. Not much more to say about it than that, but I will say that I like where this idea could go.
Anyway, I'm going to go and continue working on some more writing, so I'll see y'all soon.
BJH