"And who is this?"

Weiss glared at the newcomer with a heavy, and in her own opinion, healthy dose of skepticism and suspicion. This red-haired, green-eyed trollop might have conned Ruby into friendly behavior, but Weiss was not so easily swayed. Here they were, trying to share a perfectly adequate breakfast to recuperate the energy burned during their late night sessions, when Ruby suddenly bursts forward with this stick of a girl!

"She's my totally normal human friend Penny!" Ruby said.

"Hello hopeful friend Slate! I'm your hopeful totally normal human friend Penny!" Penny echoed.

Weiss' eyebrow arched briefly. Slate, her last name. She would have to keep that in mind.

"Rosalyn," she shifted her glare to her subordinate. "Why are you entertaining this painfully ordinary girl?"

Penny squealed. "You think I'm ordinary?"

"Of course you are. Look at you, nothing stands out. I have never seen a more normal, absolutely unremarkable and drool human!"

Jaune sighed. "Droll, Wren."

"I do not droll, especially in public! That is uncouth."

"Never mind."

Penny didn't seem to mind the discussion, still grinning ear to ear at being proclaimed an ordinary girl. Ruby was smiling along with her, though clearly confused.

"Did someone say Ren?"

Weiss turned, another redhead appearing. Glowering she wondered if redheads were like a virus, infecting people and spreading around. This one was shorter but had a powerful energy around her. As she recalled, this one was Nora. Jaune's head picked up.

"Hey there, yeah. Just chatting about things."

Nora let out a sharp gasp. "I love things! What kind?"

"About how we're totally normal, everyday human girls of course!" Penny said.

"Bor-ring!" Nora stuck her tongue out. "Who wants to be normal? That's awful."

Weiss nodded. "Exactly. Some girls may aspire to be 'normal', but I feel you are a kindred soul, Nora. We will be nothing less than queens."

"You know it, girlfriend!"

Penny gasped. "Are you also dating?"

"What?" Nora took a step back. "Dating?"

"You just referred to Miss Slate as your girlfriend!"

Weiss glowered at the clearly inferior redhead. "It is a simple turn of phrase. Like how one chokes the chicken to make it stop crowing."

Jaune buried his head in his hands, Yang laughing her head off.

"Why would you do that!" Penny asked.

"Well obviously you have to choke the chicken first thing in the morning! Otherwise it'll just keep bothering you for the rest of the day. Right Jaune?" Yang asked, elbowing him.

"I'm not here. Leave me alone." the boy mumbled.

Nora poked him in the back. "You okay there, new kid?"

"He's just tired. Wren and Rosalyn kept him busy most of the night."

"Yang!" Jaune snapped at her.

Weiss smiled to herself, sipping on her morning coffee. A truly delicious human drink, she had to admit. Not only did it taste good, but it gave her energy. Energy she would need to conquer the world. She glanced at Jaune. Among other things. She had certainly made Jaune work last night. However she noticed Nora with a strange look on her face.

"Ren?" Nora asked worriedly.

"Yes!" Penny spoke up first. "Ren and Rosalyn are both dating Jaune!"

Nora blinked, a strange look on her face. "Ren's dating Jaune?"

Weiss chuckled to herself. "Mating, I believe, is the more accurate term."

Nora's face twitched. That was odd. The smaller girl's head twisted to face Jaune, who was only half paying attention. "How-how long have... you and Ren been... mating?"

Jaune waved her off. "I can't answer that! I'm not like the girls. I have some decency."

Ruby snorted. "Yeah, in public."

"We don't talk about that!"

Nora started to laugh. Soon that laughter bubbled into a full blown cackle. "I guess I'll just have to ask Ren myself! And a few other things too!"

Jaune started to stand, looking concerned for her. "You okay?"

"Stay away from me, hussy!" she hissed before running off.

Everyone stared after her retreating form, an uneasy silence falling over the table.

"Well she was pleasant!" Penny spoke up.

Yang groaned. "Why are you here again?"

"Rosalyn said that I could join her and Ren in being Jaune's girlfriend!"

"You've got to be kidding me." Yang stared between Jaune and Penny.

Weiss crossed her arms as well. "I do not recall agreeing to this, Rosalyn."

Ruby shrugged. "We were going to ask you now?"

"So where is Ren?" Penny asked, looking around.

"Are you joking?" Weiss frowned.

Penny stared at her for a long moment. "I do not believe I said anything humorous." She stopped for a moment. "Though I suppose I could have in some grand display of misunderstanding something simple."

Weiss and Ruby traded looks. Suddenly Penny cried out in realization.

"Your name! It's Wren Slate!"

Weiss' eyes darted from side to side. "...yes?"

"Wren! With a double-u sound but silent!"

"That is how it is pronounced yes?"

"Nora and I thought Rosalyn was referring to capital-r Ren, her male companion who she has had an unreasonable and unhealthy crush on for far too long without actually speaking up on her emotional baggage and making a move toward a healthier relationship!" Penny clapped her hands together. "Fabulous! Now I understand why it was so funny that she thought Jaune was mating her friend and long term crush!"

The first sound that followed Penny's declaration was a loud thunk, Jaune smacking his head onto the table. The next was Yang's uproarious laughter, even as Penny stood there as proud as anything. Weiss glared at Ruby.

"You lied to her that I wasn't first mates with Jaune?"

"I did not! I told her clearly that Wren and Jaune were mates!"

"You led her to believe that Jaune was pounding away at the wrong hole of some unworthy male! Instead of servicing my own superior wrong holes!"

"Yang said there were no such thing as wrong holes! Only new experiences!" Ruby insisted.

"Yara!" Jaune quickly corrected her.

"Gesundheit!" Penny followed up randomly.

"Um," a new voice spoke up, thankfully breaking into the increasingly loud conversation. "Are you all okay?"

Weiss looked over the newcomer. Tall, almost as tall as Jaune, she was yet another green-eyed redhead. Frowning, Weiss made a mental note of yet another one. The next one she saw, she swore she'd kill just for the sake of keeping their clearly over-populated numbers down.

"Hello, would you-!"

"Rosalyn!" Jaune called out, interrupting his other mate. Forehead red from repeatedly trying to horn duel the table, Jaune rose to offer the new girl a handshake. "Hey there, name's Jaune Arc. I'm sure I would have said something about that a few months ago but I don't care anymore. Who are you?"

"I'm...you must know, yes?"

She was greeted by five equally unaware faces.

"Um, huh. Well, my name is Pyrrha Nikos." When none of them showed recognition, Pyrrha's head tilted. "You are from Haven, yes?"

"Yes." Jaune nodded.

"No." Weiss responded.

"Who knows?" Ruby shrugged.

"Kind of." Yang took another bite of her increasingly cold eggs.

"I'm from Atlas!"

Team AWRY, plus Penny, stared at each other in confusion.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Kind of?"

"Maybe!"

"I'm from Atlas!"

Jaune took a deep breath. "Guys, let me handle this. Um, so we're team AWRY. I'm the...leader?"

Yang tilted her hand back and forth. "Eh. Leader in name order."

"You are our Captain, Jaune. Just as I am your First Mate," Weiss reminded him.

"Wren, not now," he started to say before crying out in pain.

Weiss grinned at his neck, sinking her teeth in deeper.

"Wei-!" He cut his own scream short, glaring at her. "Why!" He corrected himself.

Weiss detached herself from Jaune's flesh, proud of herself for her newfound way to assert dominance over her mate. "I remembered your request about not headbutting you anymore. So, instead, I decided to bite your neck. Far more preferable, if I dare say so. You do seem to show a preference for my mouth at times."

"First, no talking about that kind of stuff around people!"

Ruby tilted her head. "But we talk about stuff like that and I'm people."

Jaune stared at her. He tried and failed to find anything to say for a good long while. Ultimately he just shook his head. "Yes. Yes you are." Then he turned back to Weiss. "Second! How would you like it if I bit you?"

Weiss's eyes lit up at the prospect. Jaune, exerting his dominance, sinking his teeth into her soft, supple, bare flesh? Raking his fangs across her vulnerable, glistening throat? Leaving bruises, breaking the skin even, applying just the right amount of pressure?

"Wren, you're drolling!"

"Drooling, Ruby!" He spoke up.

"I do not!"

Jaune stood up from the table abruptly. "Forget it. Just," trying very hard not to scream, he turned back to Pyrrha. "Hello my name is Jaune Arc, leader of team AWRY-,"

"I'm from Atlas!"

"That's Penny from Atlas," he continued. "We're from a specialized school connected to Haven." Straining to put on a smile, he tried to appear casual. Though all Weiss could focus on were his brilliant, strong teeth and how- "I am very sorry about all this."

Pyrrha giggled. "I see you are a very passionate group."

Yang snorted. "Yeah, you could say that."

"And none of you know who I am? Truly?"

Weiss wasn't sure why the girl seemed so shocked about this. Must have had quite the ego. She would enjoy crushing her in combat class later.

"I do!" Penny cheerfully exclaimed. "You're Pyrrha Nikos! You told us so yourself, silly. I certainly have no prior knowledge of you or why you would possibly be surprised that your peers wouldn't know who you are!" Then the ridiculous girl started hiccupping.

What friends Ruby was allowed to make, it was enough to make Weiss groan. Then someone suspicious appeared, a dark-skinned girl wearing a white top and a blue skirt. She was staring at her wristwatch and moved in an awkward manner. Weiss's eyes narrowed.

"Penny, we must be punctual. Tell your," Her gaze shifted to the group amassed around the table. "Companions that we must be going."

"Aww, but Ciel!"

"No buts!"

Ruby gasped. "But without butts-" Jaune suddenly shot across the table, clasping her mouth shut.

Weiss approved.

He nodded to Ciel and Penny. "That's fine, we need to be going too! Good seeing you, Penny!"

"Good seeing you, boyfriend Jaune!" Penny waved.

"What did you call him?" Ciel could be heard as she pushed Penny away.

Jaune collapsed next to Weiss, a heavy presence that made her flush. She liked feeling his weight over her in the correct situations. Which were, she had to admit to herself, most situations.

Yang got up from the table as Ruby put on her best betrayed look. "Well, I'm going to get changed for combat class. You guys should probably do the same." She grinned at Weiss. "Though some of us would be better off staying out of fights."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, only that three of us have Aura."

"So?" Weiss crossed her arms. "I'll have you know I do perfectly fine with or without Aura."

Yang laughed. "We'll see, Snow Angel."

"Only Jaune gets to call me that!"

By her side Jaune laughed. Weiss, feeling drawn to his warmth, leaned into his side.

"Um," the voice made Weiss' eyes snap open, realizing that Pyrrha was still there. "I guess I'm going to get ready too."

Ruby glared at Jaune before taking Pyrrha by the arm. "I wanna see your weapons!"

Finally the two were left alone. Soon Weiss felt Jaune's arm encircle her back, wrapping around her shoulders.

"You'll do fine, Weiss." He spoke low, so no one else could overhear him.

Weiss turned her nose up. "Obviously. Who needs Aura anyways?" Glaring at the ground, she made a fist. "I've never needed anyone or anything before. Why should I now?"

"Well, you need me don't you?"

Weiss couldn't keep the grin from her face. "Need is a strong word there, Jaune. I own you. You are mine. You do not need possessions. You simply possess them."

Jaune made a knowing noise. "Well, Snow Angel, we really will be late to class if we don't hurry up."

But the moment he started to move her own arm looped around his neck, keeping him close. She couldn't bear to feel his warmth leave her so soon. The presence he had was comforting in a way. Inviting. She didn't want to leave it.

"Well if that's how you want to be," he started before suddenly standing up, grabbing her legs and back with his arms.

Weiss cried out in shock, protested and cursed all the way. But if she had to admit the truth, she didn't fight very hard to get out of his arms. The more she found herself surrounded by actual humans, normal humans, the more she worried. Was she doing a good enough job? Did she look right? Was she acting right?

Would she be the one to cause Salem's plans to fail?

But with Jaune, none of it seemed to matter. No matter the chaos and problems, things felt safe. That's why she bit his ear when they reached the changing rooms, to remind him who was the dominant one of their relationship.

Jaune, Yang, Weiss, and Ruby arrived in class together. The girls were wearing outfits similar to their normal ones back at the Grimm class, only cleaned up. The extraneous tears and rips were fixed and the heavy dosage of black replaced with their own unique colors. This did little to change how revealing some of their outfits were, especially Yang's. The blonde girl in particular got several cat calls as she entered the room, which she ate up with aplomb, cocking her hip ever so slightly.

Jaune himself had his armor fixed and rebuilt. Sterling white with one larger shoulder guard, but nothing on the other shoulder, he almost felt like it was missing something. Some kind of gold lining? Hard to say. The biggest change wasn't visible though, he thought as he patted his shield, now much heavier than it had been.

Weiss had a ridiculously oversized weapon, some kind of dust javelin he believed Watts said. It was built to mimic Weiss' normal Grimm weapon, but the girl clearly was not sure how to wield one made of metal like this. Ruby received a no frills mechanical scythe, with a heavy back blade attached. She didn't seem satisfied with it though, but wouldn't say what was missing.

Yang on the flip side only accepted one thing from Watts, a singular gauntlet. Black and yellow, it went onto the hand where her Grimm arm normally would manifest. Otherwise she still had her trophy shotgun. Presently she was at the center stage, talking with Miss Goodwitch.

"Because I want to show what I can do!"

"It's not time for combat exhibition, Yara," the stern teacher glared at her.

"Who cares, just let us fight."

"That is not how you learn!" Glynda smacked her riding crop in her hand. Jaune could see what Weiss meant by it looking like something from a porno.

"Blah, blah, blah, structures and book shit. Fighting is fighting, and you learn by doing!" Yang looked out into the stands. "And you can't tell me no one here doesn't want to do me!"

"I don't!" A redheaded boy sitting beside Sun called out, to the laughter of his team.

"I'm going to ignore this gross, disrespectful display if you go sit down right-," Glynda then found herself interrupted, the doors opening.

Two men entered the room. Jaune recognized them both. Ozpin, the Headmaster, and Qrow, their substitute Grimm Studies teacher. Oz nodded to Glynda, who shifted on the spot.

Tapping her foot, she turned away from Yang. "Very well. Who will be our first volunteer?"

Faster than anyone else could, fellow blonde leader Sun Wukong was on his feet.

"Very well. Come on down when you're prepared."

Not long after, Sun and Yang stood opposite each other, Sun leaning on a bo staff.

"Hey there, Yara," Sun grinned at her. "What brings you here?"

Yang grinned. "The chance to make monkey soup."

"Oh, you wanna drink deep on my broth? Girl, you gotta work for it first."

Yang snapped her chains down at the ground, cracking the stone floor. "Boy, you might be named Sun, but you'll melt under my blaze."

Jaune blinked. He looked over to Ruby who had inexplicably gotten a bucket of popcorn. "Are they flirting?"

"Flirting, fighting, who cares! Get to the blood!" she cried out.

Sun seemed to be peering up into the crowd as he spoke to Yang. "Hey, I haven't seen your friend Blake in a few days. Where's she been?"

Where indeed? The fact that Blake was missing still worried Jaune. She'd been surprisingly absent from under his bed the past few nights.

"You're looking for Blake when you've got a girl like me standing here in front of you?" Yang's tone almost indicated hurt, but it was clear that she was being sarcastic. "I'm offended, Sunshine."

"Sunshine?" Sun smirked. "We're giving each other pet names already?"

"Fitting for the boy I'll make my pet once I beat you," Yang retorted, dropping into a combat stance.

One which Sun himself mimicked. "You've got a lot of fire in you, Yara. I like it."

Yang grinned menacingly. "Careful, Sunshine. Play with fire and you're gonna get burned."

"Enough of this banter," Glynda announced. She raised her hand into the air. "Yara from team AWRY VS Sun from team SSSN." Her arm came down in one swift motion. "Begin!"

The two charged, Sun leaping up and away from her initial strike. Yang hurled herself forward, avoiding his own counter strike. He landed first, rolling into her as she was still turning. Three hard strikes from his staff knocked Yang back, even as the faunus twisted around her, landing a powerful kick to her side.

Yang took the blow and grabbed his foot, pulling the boy off of his feet and swinging him up into the air. Before she could smash him back down with all her might, his staff erupted into several pieces, Jaune realizing that the weapon was actually a series of guns fashioned together.

Ruby's eyes grew wide at the reveal even as Sun unleashed gunshot after gunshot into Yang, forcing her to let him go sooner than she wanted.

"It's also a gun!" Ruby squealed beside him.

Weiss shook her head. "Sounds unnecessary."

Yang stumbled back a step even as Sun landed, kicking her in the face.

"What's the matter, did you get some Sun-burn?" he grinned, until he found chains twisting around his neck. Eyes widening, blue orbs locked with Yang's lilac.

She grinned. "Dunno, but you're about to get ball-busted."

Yanking him forward, Yang smashed her gauntleted fist into his own face, but he wasn't allowed to fly away as Yang kept her grip on his newfound leash.

"Come on monkey boy! Where's that good shit you were talking!" Yang snarled as she landed blow after blow into Sun, the boy trying his best to block the attacks and mitigate the damage.

Jaune tensed up. Yang had to control herself.

"Man, you're a lot of woman to handle," Sun muttered, his Aura levels low.

Yang twisted around him, forcing him to his knees as she pulled the chains tight. Leveling her shotgun at the back of her head she nodded. "You damn well know it."

"Good thing I've got some extra hands!"

Suddenly, to her utter surprise, two golden Suns appeared. The twin glowing apparitions struck Yang simultaneously, one aiming for her knees while the other struck her neck, Yang's grip on Sun instantly broken.

He grinned as he did a spin kick, knocking her across the arena. "Guess you can call this a Yar-bang!" He stopped for a moment. "Man, that doesn't sound right for some reason."

Yang snarled, eyes flashing red. Jaune's breath hitched. Those red eyes. Was that her Grimm side starting to emerge?

Then she began to laugh. "How about a Yang-bang instead?"

Sun clapped. "That's it! That sounds way cooler."

Yang grinned, showing teeth. "I'll be sure to engrave it on your remains."

An alarm sounded, stopping Yang cold.

"Due to being knocked out of bounds, the match goes to Sun of team SSSN!" Glynda announced.

Yang blinked, staring at her footing. Though she landed on her feet, she was indeed past the boundaries. The girl looked confused, not that Jaune could blame her.

The Grimm Academy didn't bother with things like boundaries.

"But I was winning!"

Glynda glared at her. "Maybe, maybe not. The outcome of the match was that you were knocked out of bounds."

"But I can still fight!"

"Then maybe you should work on where you land, Miss Xanthic."

Yang's face screwed up, anger building. Instead she turned and left the room. Glynda shook her head.

"Girl needs to work on her conduct." Glynda looked towards the stands. "Who will be next?"

Jaune felt bad for Yang. Losing like this had to of felt awful for her. Sun was returning to the stands but clearly looked bothered. Maybe he could get the two of them to talk, prove to Yang that normal people could in fact-

Why was Weiss on the center stage?

There she stood, a weapon she never used before in one hand, her other situated on her hip. While he could admire how her skirt left so much of her long legs exposed, she looked so vulnerable to him like this.

"What is she doing?" he hissed to Ruby.

"She said something about avenging team AWRY's honor, or something," Ruby shrugged. "What's the big deal? If she gets hurt she'll heal."

"Ruby, if she gets hurt they're going to know something is different about her."

Ruby's eyes widened. "Oh."

Jaune looked towards their two overseers. Qrow was still as keen as he was when watching Yang fight, but Ozpin didn't seem to care as much now. He grimaced as Qrow briefly looked their way, breaking eyesight.

"Pyrrha Nikos, if you would come on down."

Glynda's voice broke Jaune out of his worries. Pyrrha seemed like a nice, sweet girl. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad?

Penny saddled up next to him. "Hello, boyfriend Jaune!"

He sighed. "Hello, Penny." Looking around, he saw a lot of people whispering to each other as Pyrrha reached the center stage. "So what's got everyone so gossipy?"

"Oh, nothing much. Only wagers about how quickly the white one named Wren will get beaten."

Jaune nodded. Then stopped. "Why is that?"

"Pyrrha Nikos won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row. A feat no one else has ever accomplished!"

Jaune stared at her. "So when you said you didn't know who she was..."

"I was telling the truth!" Hiccup. "I only found out about this after we last met!" Hiccup. "I am sure glad you are my friend and will not judge me for my totally normal and human transgressions!"

Jaune shook his head. "How bad could this be?"

Ruby shrugged. "Pretty ugly."

"Her nickname is the Invincible Girl!" Penny spoke up.

"Are you...trying to help?" Jaune asked.

"Maybe! Is it helping if I told you that she is one of the strongest of her era and a prodigy?"

Jaune stared helplessly at Penny. Ruby patted him on the arm.

"Yes, you're helping," she nodded. "Helping set up how bad Weiss is going to get her butt stomped!"

"Weiss?" Penny tilted her head.

Jaune groaned. "Wren's nickname. That she doesn't like us saying around other people, Rosalyn."

"Whatever. Penny's not people, she's Penny!"

"Penny is most definitely people!" the ginger protested, and then immediately hiccupped.

"You've got to get that looked at," Jaune noted.

"Wren of team AWRY, versus Pyrrha Nikos of team JNPR!" Glynda called out, catching their attention.

Jaune held his breath.

"What is the matter with you, girl?"

Wren looked taken aback. "What?"

"Why have you not raised your Aura?" Glynda glared at the girl, tapping her foot. "I cannot sanction a fight between you and Miss Nikos if you refuse to comply."

"But," Weiss started, panic flooding her. Jaune didn't need to feel her emotions to know what was bothering her. "But I can fight without my Aura!"

"If you will not raise your Aura to acceptable levels, I cannot allow you to fight." Stern eyes judged her severely. "Is this what you really wanted? To waste our time, Miss Slate? Because that is all you are accomplishing."

"I can do just fine as I am!" Weiss made a fist. "Just let me try!"

"That's not how things work, Miss Slate. Return to the stands this instant, before you further disgrace your team and school." Glynda turned to Pyrrha. "I am so sorry that you were disrespected so. You may return to your seat if you wish."

Those words seemed to break something in Weiss, the girl shuddering. Dragging herself over to the stairs, she looked so lost.

"That's fine, ma'am."

So hurt. Afraid.

Murmurs built across the crowd. "She must have been afraid."

"Didn't want to fight Nikos."

"It's the Invincible Girl, who would?"

"Coward."

Vulnerable.

Jaune was on his feet in an instant.

"I'll fight her."

Glynda breathed in sharply. "Mister Arc, I've had about enough of your team for-!"

Ozpin's cane stamped down onto the stonework stairs. "Let him."

Glynda glared up at Ozpin. "Mister Arc has no formal training beyond whatever he learned at whatever outreach school AWRY is from. I do not see how this will be in any way a fair fight, with all due respect."

The headmaster looked between Jaune, Pyrrha and Glynda. "He is one of Leo's students. I wish to see what he has learned. Let him. If Miss Nikos wishes to fight him, of course."

"It would be my pleasure," Pyrrha nodded.

Glynda muttered something to herself before agreeing. "Get down here, Arc."

Jaune met Weiss on the stairs. Tears were beginning to run, her human form leaving her vulnerable to more human emotions.

"Come on Snow Angel, smile." Jaune took her by the arm and pulled her in close. Leaning in, he whispered to her. "We'll get your Aura unlocked soon."

She grabbed him in turn, hugging him tighter. "Smash her face in."

"Which?"

"Both."

He grinned against the top of her head. "I'll try."

Finally they broke apart, Weiss lingering for a few moments before joining Jaune in the stands. Jaune, for his part, felt an anger grow in his heart.

He wasn't angry at Pyrrha, or even Glynda exactly. Just at everything. Everyone. This entire damn scenario. Now he found himself face to face with someone literally called Invincible.

"Jaune Arc of Team AWRY!"

Someone who was a prodigy. Probably trained all her life and won award after award for her skill and power.

"Versus Pyrrha Nikos of Team JNPR!"

Someone who held the entire school in awe of her prowess and was even known to students from as far away as Atlas. While he was only Jaune Arc. But for once, he wasn't worried. He wasn't nervous. Who cared if he wasn't as strong? Who cared if he didn't know half the things she did? Who cared if he didn't have a tenth of her skill!

He was Jaune Arc, and he came into this world through bloody evolution! He fought the worst monsters that existed in Salem's twisted school and survived! Maybe he couldn't win...

"Begin!"

But she'd remember his damn name.

Jaune charged first, Pyrrha immediately on the defensive. She seemed confused when he just swung at her, but the swing was easily blocked. He swung out with his shield, Pyrrha dodging around the strike. That was how the fight started. Clumsy yet powerful swings would be dodged or deflected, Pyrrha peppering him with her own blows instead.

Soon he started to get into a groove of how she moved, of what she was trying to do. She kept trying to set him up to react to her own movements, so she could properly counteract it. Well screw that! Instead Jaune kicked at her, Pyrrha jumping back out of reflex, still in range of his sword as he swung it down.

She rolled out of the way. Lashing out as she moved, she kicked at his feet. Probably thinking she could sweep him off his feet.

She didn't.

Jaune took the blow and didn't even stumble, swinging around, catching red hair with his blade. Strands of red flew into the air, Aura burning away from them as Pyrrha pushed herself further back. She looked surprised for a moment, before a serious glare settled on her face.

"You're sturdy."

Jaune nodded. "You're good. Let's see who breaks first."

She smiled. "Gladly."

She launched at Jaune with a series of sword strikes, Jaune taking the brunt of them with his shield. Pyrrha was skilled, and strong for a human, but he had survived far, far worse. In time he even started to get into the swing of how she attacked, working in her own slashes and stabs. Pyrrha jumped back, sheathing her sword.

You've never had to dodge a fist as big as your whole body, his mind snarled.

Her sword sheathed, the weapon shifted into a rifle. She had gained considerable ground moving back, and began to fire. Jaune took as many blows as he had to, charging through her gunfire. His shield ate most of the shots, his armor absorbing the rest. Pyrrha jumped up and away as he reached her, kicking off of his back and forcing him to stumble forward.

Only so much though, as he twisted and lashed out his blade skipping off of her shield. Pyrrha landed hard, but didn't have a moment to breathe as Jaune charged with his own shield drawn. This blow connected, Pyrrha's shield arm forced away by his own sword strike. The girl gasped out as Jaune smashed into her abdomen, until she slashed at his face. That made Jaune stumble a step, giving her a chance to break away, Pyrrha planting her foot in his stomach to kick off of.

Flipping, she landed two powerful heel kicks on Jaune's head and shoulder, driving him back further. Shouting, Jaune swung out again, Pyrrha matching the blade with her own. A test of strength, one she was more than qualified to win.

You've never had to escape tentacles that would choke the life out of you if you failed.

So Jaune poured on, his body glowing briefly. Pyrrha's natural strength gave way to Jaune's Aura amplification, the Invincible Girl again skipping back and away. She managed to avoid serious damage again, Jaune realizing he just wasn't able to hit her hard enough. Grimacing, he knew how to remedy that.

But I have! his mind continued to rage. I may not be as good as you, but I've had to claw and scrape and adapt to survive!

"Yeah! Go Jaune!" Ruby shouted from the stands. "That's my man!"

Pyrrha's attention moved to them for a second. "Enthusiastic girlfriend you've got there, Jaune."

"Excuse me, you mean my man!" Weiss shouted in turn, loud enough to be heard.

Jaune sighed.

"I thought we were sharing him?"

"We are, you dolt!"

"So what does it matter who he belongs to!"

"Bragging rights!"

Pyrrha blinked. "Girlfriends, I suppose. I'm sorry."

"Yeah." Jaune shook his head. "Yeah."

She was shifting her weapons into a spear as he sheathed his sword. If she was confused, it passed quickly as he locked the ancestral weapon into place, the shield transforming into a greatsword. Pyrrha centered herself, throwing her spear straight on as Jaune charged her. She probably expected him to dodge out of the way, to leave himself open to her next planned attack. Foolish of her.

With a shout, Jaune's Aura twisted higher, white brilliance coating him as her spear bounced off of his shoulder and flew off to the side. She didn't have time to react when he brought his greatsword down onto her shield, bending it inwards with one mighty strike, Jaune continually pumping his Aura higher and higher. When she didn't break, he reared back and swung back down twice as hard, her body flashing red from the effort.

Then something impacted him from behind, her spear returning to its master. He saw briefly her hand glowing black as the spear, bouncing off of him, landed in her grip. She lanced it forward as he brought his greatsword down on her once more, Jaune grimacing as he felt the spear tip stab into his unarmored thigh.

His strike did worse, driving her to the ground, her arm dislocated from the force. His Semblance fading, Jaune knew his Aura was barely hanging by a thread.

He also knew she couldn't be doing much better.

Raising his sword high, he prepared to end the fight.

It was to his confusion that he was then sent flying through the air, an invisible force repelling him as far away from Pyrrha as it could. Smashing into the far wall, even the stone broke as he was embedded within it. Blearily looking, he saw Pyrrha, panting on the ground, one hand raised. Glowing black, like before.

Her Semblance.

Jaune fell from the wall after a moment, landing clear outside the ring. The alarm sounded, but Jaune didn't think he minded too much. He also wasn't quick about getting back up, all of the places she struck him finally catching up. Breathing deeply, he rested his head against the cool floor.

"Good fight," he breathed.

"The winner is Pyrrha Nikos!"

Pyrrha got to her feet, resetting her arm. She stared at Jaune in some manner of confusion and respect. "You're not very skilled...but you are powerful." She offered him a hand. He took it, Pyrrha helping him to his feet. "You must have led an interesting life, Jaune Arc."

Jaune groaned. "A little too interesting." He eyed her for a moment. "Interesting Semblance you've got there."

"I could say the same!"

Jaune smiled. "Semblance or no, you better live up to your name until the tournament comes."

"Oh, why's that Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, eyes playfully narrowing. The two were returning to the seats, Pyrrha sticking close to him.

"Because I'm going to strip you of your title when we meet there."

She grinned. "I'd love to see you try."

"You will not be stripping her of anything!" the sudden voice of Weiss caught him off guard.

"What?" Jaune blinked.

"I will not allow you to take this scourge of genetics as another mate!"

Pyrrha choked on her own laughter as Jaune groaned. "Wren, come on. It's not like that."

"You already have four mates! You do not need any others!"

"It's not like that! And how do you come up with four?"

"Myself, Ru-Rosalyn," she corrected herself. "Yara."

"Still no on that!" Yang shouted, sitting near Sun now. She had returned during Jaune's fight with Pyrrha apparently, though he missed it until now. The two were talking about something.

"You don't have a say in the matter, harlot! And Blake!"

Jaune groaned. "No, and no. No. I'm allowed to be friends with a girl without them being mates."

"That's right, boyfriend Jaune!" Penny cheerfully spoke up.

Pyrrha tilted her head. "You truly have had an interesting life."

Weiss glared at her. "You will not be allowed to sire any more redheaded children into this world, no matter how glossy your skin and supple your hair is."

Pyrrha stared at Jaune, deeply confused. He shrugged.

"Just smile and nod, she'll calm down sooner or later."

Pyrrha nodded in understanding. "Like an agent!"

"...yeah. Sure." Suddenly he felt a great pain on the side of his neck. "Ow, Weiss! Stop!"

Biting down harder, she growled at him. "Pay attention to me!"

"Stop biting me for affection! You're not a cat!"

"What would my being a faunus have anything to do with it!"

Pyrrha giggled, bewildered at their antics. Penny clapped in joy as she started chatting about various cat themed accessories they could get Weiss. Sun and Yang continued to mock spar, Yang playfully punching at the boy in his seat as he held up arms to protect himself. Ruby was staring at her own weapon, as if she was planning something, only half paying attention to the chaos in the stands. Jaune, for all of his complaining, felt great. A serious fight was just what he needed, and now going forward he could figure out how to draw out Weiss' Aura and maybe if they kept making friends like Pyrrha, Penny and Sun, they could get somewhere.

Eyes of red shined in the darkness. This is where she belonged. This is where she deserved to be. Moving along the wall, she found a certain displeasure with this school. Things were too bright during the day. Too welcoming and friendly. At night, things were different.

Blake twisted along the nooks and crannies of the school walls and ceiling, darting from shadow to shadow. Fangs twisting wide, she couldn't help but salivate.

A young student, maybe a first year, was out in the hall.

She looked to be the right size. Blake needed a new outfit every few days, and what better way to get one? Stalking along she noticed this girl was considerably shorter, more suited to Weiss' size than her own. Blake tilted her head.

Well she could rock a short skirt.

The girl stopped, black twin tails bobbing as she looked up to where Blake had been.

She had good senses. Blake grinned. The girl had mint-green eyes and was wearing some kind of frilly outfit that Blake couldn't wait to try on.

The girl glared at the shadows, continuing on. Blake followed her for a time.

She didn't need her clothes just this moment. She could wait another day or so. Letting the ones smart enough to be wary grow suspicious of what was in the dark always made it more worthwhile when she finally did strike.

A tentacle reached down for the girl, coming just close enough to graze her neck. She twisted violently, striking at what was behind her.

Which was nothing.

The girl looked equal measures pissed, and just a bit paranoid.

Blake grinned.

This one would be fun to hunt.

Weiss. Weiss.

He'd heard it. Even if he wasn't meant to. Even if it was a slip of the tongue. He'd heard the boy utter that name. The true name of Wren Slate. Of the girl who looked like Winter Schnee.

Qrow sat alone in his office. He leaned back in his chair and glanced around. An office. He was a teacher now, all right. Complete with the paperwork and privacy required to do said paperwork.

Right now, however, that paperwork could rot for all he cared. Coming here to take over for Professor Port's class wasn't his real reason for being here. He knew it. Ozpin knew it too, even if the man was still in denial.

Qrow knew. Before it had simply been a hunch, even if it wasn't. Now though, he had proof. He'd heard it from the boy's lips. They were hiding Weiss' identity. Why? He couldn't say. It made no sense. None of it made sense.

He knew, however, what he had to do about it.

This was information he knew he couldn't simply keep to himself. Ozpin may have been reluctant to commit to a plan of action, but he knew someone else wouldn't be. A person who he may have gotten along with like oil and water mixing together, but someone who needed to know all the same. Had their positions been reversed, and she had heard someone utter Yang's name, he'd want her to tell him. No matter how crazy it sounded, he would have wanted to know.

Qrow grabbed his scroll from his desk's surface and pulled up an unfamiliar number on his contact list. A number he had managed to snag, but had never once called before. He'd never had reason to. Until now.

With a deep breath he pressed the call button and held the device to his ear. He could only hope she would pick up an unfamiliar number. He smiled grimly. Of course she would. Winter Schnee wasn't afraid of the unknown. If anything she would hunt down the suspect who managed to get a hold of her personal scroll number.

"Hello?" the feminine voice on the other end answered. How about that. He had expected surprise and anger from the woman.

"Winter," he greeted. Another deep breath. "It's Qrow."

Silence. At least for a few seconds. "How did you get this number?"

"Not important. We need to talk."

"I don't believe I need anything from you, Qrow. How did you get this number?" she repeated.

"Don't be so sure of that," he continued, ignoring her burning question. It wasn't important. "You'll want to hear what I have to say."

"Then hurry up already. I don't have all-"

"Weiss is alive."

Even after cutting her off, the effect was immediate. Silence. Utter silence. Seconds passed by, and she hadn't said a word in reply. He wondered if she had hung up on him in disgust. Like he was playing some sort of sick prank on her.

"Winter?" he asked, uncertain if she was still on the other end.

"What did you say?" she hissed. Somewhere between suspicion and disbelief.

Qrow understood where she was coming from. He had been in shock too once he had sobered up. It wasn't easy to find out your long lost family member was alive and well.

Though, he couldn't say how well they all were. From what he'd seen they were a healthy but eccentric group of kids. But then again could he really say that he and his own Team STRQ teammates had been any different back in the day?

"I said Weiss is alive," he repeated. "I've seen her here at Beacon myself."

More silence. Again, it was understandable that she needed time to process his words. To contemplate the fact that the sister who had gone missing years ago was still alive.

"Qrow..." she said in a low, dangerous tone. "Despite our past encounters, this is low. Even for you."

"This isn't a prank, Ice Queen. I told you that I saw her."

"Do not test me with your drunken hallucinations. My sister died years ago."

"And so did my nieces," he countered. "Or at least I thought they did. But they're here too, Winter. What they'd look like all grown up. One looked just like my old teammate Summer Rose. It has to be Ruby."

"Qrow..."

"Yang wouldn't been seventeen this year," he continued, ignoring her protest. "And Ruby fifteen. It matches up, Winter. The one who looks like you was their age too. You do the math. Would your sister have been old enough to attend Haven Academy?"

It took a few seconds for Winter to respond this time. Rather than anger, there was sorrow in her voice. "Weiss would have been seventeen as well..."

He leaned back in his chair, eyes closed as he continued. He saw the girls in his mind's eye. "It's them. It has to be. My Semblance isn't seeing ghosts, Winter. They're real. Alive and in the flesh."

"Qrow. I understand where you're coming from." Her tone was softer now. Almost warm. A strange sound to come from the Ice Queen's lips. "It took me a long time to process the loss too. And it's understandable that you'd want them to be alive if you've seen girls who remind you of them..."

Red eyes burst open. Was that it? Did Winter think that he was only wishing that those girls were his nieces because he wanted them to be alive?

"This isn't misplaced grief, Winter! And I'll prove it!"

Qrow angrily tore the scroll from his face and put the Specialist on speaker. Opening up his pictures, he selected one he'd taken of the group today in Glynda's class. A nice shot of Yara, Rosalyn, Wren, and Jaune all together. He still had no idea who the boy might be, but right now his only concern was proving to Winter that he wasn't merely grieving.

Sending the picture across continents thanks to the CCT network, it reached Winter's scroll in no time. "You see that, Winter? You look at that picture and tell me that's not your sister."

He needed her to come to Beacon. The silence over the scroll was becoming annoying. More important than that, he needed an ally who truly believed that those girls were who he said they were.

"Qrow... where did you get this picture?"

"I took it today. Here at Beacon. The boy in that picture, Jaune. He called the white-haired girl Weiss. It was a slip of the tongue, but I heard it with my own ears."

He heard a strange sound from Winter's end. A harsh snort through her nose. He wouldn't comment on it. He'd nearly burst into tears himself.

"Is this... how she would have looked if she'd grown up..." Winter spoke softly.

"She did grow up, Winter. I don't know where, but just look at her. Tell me that's not Weiss and I'll hang up right now."

Moments turned to seconds, and Winter said nothing. She couldn't. How could anyone look at the ghost of their long dead sister in the flesh and deny it was them?

"Come to Beacon, Winter. Come see for yourself."

This really wasn't the kind of conversation they should be having over a scroll anyway. Winter should be here. She needed to be here for her sister. Just as he was here for his nieces. And just as importantly, he needed a partner to go about his investigation. He hated to admit it, but Ozpin's lack of commitment to learning the truth could hold him back.

"I..."

"Do it, Winter. Do whatever it takes. Take time off. Go on a mission. Whatever excuse you need. You have to come here and be here for your sister."

A shaky breath answered his demands. He knew he was getting through to her. Winter didn't just want to believe anymore. She did believe. Seeing was believing, and a picture was worth a thousand convincing words.

"I'll be there as soon as I'm capable of finding an excuse to go."

Qrow smiled. Good.

"Okay. I know it's an odd thing coming from me, but I'll stay in touch." He laughed. "Never thought I'd say that to you."

"No. Please do," she pleaded.

In any other situation he would have felt satisfied with himself at Winter's request. Here and now, however? They were on the same side. Their families side.

"And Qrow."

"Yeah?"

"Keep an eye on her until I get there. Don't let anything bad happen to Weiss. Understood?"

Crystal clear. He would have demanded the same of her had their situations been reversed. "You got it, Winter. Weiss is in good hands with me. They all are."

"Thank you."

Again, words he never could have imagined coming from Winter's lips in regards to him.

"It's late, and I'm sorry to have dropped this on you so suddenly. But I'll let you go now. You do what you need to do to get over here. And try to get some rest. You'll need it for what's to come."

"Yes. I will. Thank you again, Qrow."

"It's no problem. I'd want someone else to do the same for me." Never mind the fact that Ozpin had done the same for him. He'd just kept Qrow in the dark until he saw the girls for himself. "See ya around, Winter."

"Have a good night."

With that the call ended, and Qrow once more sunk back into his seat.

He would continue to observe until Winter arrived. Only once they had gathered enough intelligence would they make their move. Only with a combined assault would they confront those kids and the truth about who they were. It wouldn't be today. It wouldn't be tomorrow. But soon they would get to the bottom of just where they'd been all these years. And who was responsible for them being here at Beacon today.

Author's Note: So this was a totally new experience for me. For the first time ever, Burkion wrote the majority of the chapter! Normally I write the lion's share of each chapter, but this time he wrote a good 75% of it. And he did a great job at that with all the fight scenes and humor. And on a personal note, it was awesome to only have to write one scene myself while I worked on other projects, including a new super secret collaboration I'm working on with another writer.

You'll notice that we mentioned Team JNPR here. Who's that J? Why, we've decided to take Jacqueline B. Ivory from that JPDE visual novel game and use her! Considering we're already using all the other canon characters, this seemed like a good choice for Pyrrha's partner who won't really play much of a role in this story.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter. I know I sure did. More fun. More comedy. More action. And most importantly, the plot thickens. Winter is coming.

Thanks for reading. Let both Burkion and me know what you thought!