Jaune Arc dreamt for the first time in weeks.
He stood in some indiscernible place and blurry images of orange and black took up his entire view. Dejavu shot through his body as more images went by.
Time seemed to pass, if there was such a thing as time in the dream, resulting in the images growing more distinct yet also more bizarre.
A field of autumn trees, exactly like those in Forever Fall, sprouted from the ground. They fell over the moment they reached their full height, befallen by a pulsating red wave of energy. Grimm, of all types, flooded out from the corpses of the felled trees, moving in a black and white tide.
The scene changed to a giant skull of a Beowolf floating in a black void. It turned around and the empty eye sockets peered at him. It opened its maw wide, shaking the black void and letting out a canopy of dreadful screams. It flew forward, maw still open, and bit down right on top of him. White bone plating entrapped him inside of an ivory cage.
He stood on the empty void of the bottomless jaw. The blackness peered at him, almost moving. The skull shook him around but stopped an instant later.
Bleach white, almost perfect marble, bone-made material of the entire skull. The ivory bone reflected an unseen source of light, making the interior of the skull seem like it was lit up by sterile lights.
Slowly, the void that peeked in from each crevice of the skull flooded in like a fog. The darkness spilled out heavily from the bottomless portion of the jaw and the eye sockets snuffing out the eerily lit bone. In a few seconds, the darkness flooded the entire skull, painting his vision in pure darkness.
This void pulsed darker than the previous iterations he had gazed into.
A vibration thrummed through the inky black and shook his view like he was standing on top of a beating drum. The vibrations grew louder and more powerful, filling his heart with a heavy feeling.
Something flickered to life in the corner of his vision. He turned to the disturbance. Far into the distance, a mote of light flickered out of existence.
The light burned blurry and indiscernible. He stalked towards the light, pushing through the void like it was murky water. A small part of him wanted to turn back but a larger part of him moved his legs forward. The vibrations grew even stronger, which were not that of a drum but more akin to a strung-up heart.
The pulsations drilled into his mind, forcing all thoughts out except for an urge to get to the light. He needed to satiate that urge. He shouldered closer to the light, which still flickered unfocused even though across the shorter distance.
He clenched teeth and moved across the last of the void towards the light. The throbbing in his head grew so strong it was like someone had taped a jackhammer onto his head.
He collapsed onto his knees in front of the light: a blurry burning fire. Around him, the void collapsed in on-itself, shattering like crushed glass and forming a small space and the light. The tunnel-like space constricted his movement.
The fire danced, indiscernible. It was as if an unfocused camera viewed the fire at all times. But now, so close to it, he could make out one detail.
The light glowed in bright orange and red, colors he couldn't comprehend at his previous distance. The light stopped flickering and stood frozen. In an instant, the light clarified into a sharp flame.
He tried to move back, feeling a sudden primal fear erupt in him, but he couldn't look away and the void stopped any movement.
Flickering once more, the fire trailed across the void and burned under his chin. Heat rolled over him, making him hiss. The first real sensation in the dream.
The flame moved faster and faster, making the heat rolling over him intensify. The pain of a pile of red hot knives rolled over his body, all biting him deep to his bone.
He stifled a groan, which didn't represent a fraction of the pain that rolled off of him.
The flame stopped moving and the heat receded. He basked in the newfound cool that washed over his body. The flame gave him a small reprieve before it blew up.
A thunderclap burst in his head pushing all thoughts of the soothing cool away. The flame expanded outwards like a hot orange tsunami, pushing him back. The flames broke down the constricting void, flinging him back like he weighed nothing.
Hot gale-force winds hurled into his face. The flame grew outwards faster than he could imagine, filling up the entire void and reaching him before he even landed.
His knees hit the now flame-covered ground. The flames encircled him, making him howl in agony. The lapping spikes of red and orange coated him, putting him in pain he had never experienced.
He tried to move his arms but the tantalizing heat snuffed out all sensations.
The flames covered him in a cocoon, a mockery of aura. He tried to find himself in the haze of pain, but he couldn't think straight. He couldn't tell if the torture went on for either an entry or a second.
A primal fear replaced the fiery pain, extinguishing it. The flames covering his eyes parted, revealing more flames in front of him receding. They fell back and grew slightly weaker. Some glimmers of the void shone through the widening gaps between the flames.
The primal fear bubbled stronger. In a way it was worse than the previous fiery pain, this fear came from something unseen, making him even scared to his very core.
He put his hand over his hammering heart, trying to stop its departure from its prison of flesh and bone. Putting his other hand on the smoldering ground, he tried to move back. But the flames to his side and back moved in and forced him forward.
The searing pain caused him to wince. The flames pushed him in front of a giant plume of fire. It flickered distinctly from all of the fire surrounding it. His fear receded.
His vision tunneled in on the pillar of flame, making him forget about the void or fire around him.
Inside of the moving flame, two shadows flickered into existence. They grew more solid, showing themselves to be the outline of curved closed eyes.
The eyes opened and peered maliciously at him, glowed a bright amber similar to Blake's, but these glowed ominously. He stared at the floating eyes and they stared back, piercing his soul and filling him with a feeling of incomprehensible pain and sadness.
They blinked and all of it vanished: the fire, the pain, and themselves. He jumped at the sudden coldness that swept through the world.
He blinked and the void gave way to the ceiling of his dorm. He took a sharp breath, now among the waking.
A small glimmer of light shone through the curtained dorm windows. He harshly breathed, his brain processing the nightmare. His heartbeat slowed and eventually evened out.
His sheets hugged his skin, unruffled, and his limbs stood rigid at his side like they were when he fell asleep. There was no sign he had experienced the worst nightmare of his life except for a thick layer of sweat that covered his forehead.
He wiped the sweat away and picked up his scroll from his nightstand. The bright blue glow of the screen instantly adjusted, growing dimmer. The digital clock read early in the morning. It would be another few hours before class started.
Pyrrha's voice broke through the silent room, "Jaune?"
He jumped, the hairs on his neck standing straight. His heart skipped a beat and he almost flew onto his feet, hunter instinct about to take over. But, his mind caught up and calmed his other half. He turned to Pyrrha's bed, a few feet away from his bed.
She sat on her mattress, looking at him with worried eyes. She sat bent over, her hands covered in the unfinished shoelaces of her bright neon green running shoes. Even in the low light, her face glowed with vigor. Her emerald eyes peered at his blue eyes.
Her bed lay neatly organized with her slew of blankets and comforters piled on top of one another, superficially increasing the bed's height and giving her an extra few inches.
She tied up her laces and stood up, giving him a better view. She wore a cropped cherry red exercise top. The top revealed her toned stomach and hugged her body tightly. She also wore similarly tight leggings, the same color as her top, which hugged shapely legs.
Walking over to his bedside, she opened her mouth to speak, but he stopped her by rolling his covers off and sweeping his legs over the bed. He hopped onto the ground and met her standing.
Whispering, she asked, "Are you alright?"
He shrugged, being honest with his partner, "I had this really strange nightmare."
She nodded and motioned to his bed, "Are you going back to go back to sleep?"
He shook his head, strangely feeling as if he had already gotten a night's worth of sleep, "I think I'm going to stay up."
She smiled, "If you're not going back to bed, why don't you join me for my early morning run? It'll make you feel better and you could talk to me about this nightmare!"
"That sounds great Pyr," he responded.
He wanted to get his mind off of the images from the nightmare, which were seared in his head. Pyrrha rolled her neck, cracking and making her red ponytail swish through the air like an enchanting whip.
She turned around and walked over to her bed, humming.
His eyes gazed to her backside. He swallowed, blushing. Lingering on her back for a few more seconds, he pulled away and silently admonished himself.
He picked up his exercise clothes and silently stepped towards the dorm bathroom. Nora and Ren slept soundly in their beds.
He went into the bathroom and cleaned himself, starting with a cold splash of water to the face. He combed his long hair to the side, trying to tame its morning messiness. He didn't need his hair smacking him on the run.
Putting on his exercise wear, he turned to the mirror and looked over his body. Since Beacon had started, he had grown muscular and bulkier. He flexed his body, straining his muscle against his workout clothes, stretching the fabric to its limit.
Smiling, he flexed more of his muscles allowing himself a little bit of vanity. He had come a long way since the start of Beacon and he still had a way to go.
He did some quick stretches in the enclosed space and checked his exercise wear.
He wore a white shirt that matched a pair of black and gold shorts. Even though the weather outside grew chilly, their aura would protect them and they would get hot from the run.
Tucking in a bit of loose hair, he quietly exited the bathroom.
He walked over to his bed right when Nora started to loudly snore. Ren shifted in his sleep, turning away from Nora. Jaune chuckled at the sight. They had all built a resistance to the girls' Ursa-like sleeping habits.
Standing at his bed, Pyrrha tucked in the final corner edges of his bedsheet. She backed away from her handiwork and placed her hands on her hips, admiring his now made bed.
He walked up to her and exclaimed, "Thanks Pyr, but you didn't have to do that for me."
She looked up and opened her mouth. No words came out of her parted lips and, instead, she roamed her eyes over his body. She took him in for a second or so longer than she should have.
He coughed, grabbing her attention.
She squeaked and looked away. A bright blush coated her cheeks. She turned around and folded her arms in front of her, hiding them from his view. His brow rose in question and concern.
Her back muscles rippled, indicating that she took a big breath. She took another one and faced him.
He approached, making eye contact. She looked away for a moment before looking back, her cheeks dusted slightly red.
Stepping closer, he placed a hand on her shoulder, "You alright Pyr? Is there something on my shirt?"
To iterate the last part of his sentence, he stepped back and looked over his shirt but it shined crisp clean.
Pyrrha's soft voice pulled him out of his search, "No Jaune, I just got distracted by… something. Anyways, I just wanted to make your bed."
He grinned, "Thanks for doing that. I'm ready to go if you are."
She nodded and stepped towards her bed. She took out two identical water bottles from a duffel bag sitting at the base of her bed and handed one to him. She took out two protein bars and stuffed them in her pants pocket.
Turning to him, she flicked her hair over her shoulder and whispered, "Let's get going."
She walked through and out of the dorm door. He followed right on her heels, slowly closing the door behind him to not make a noise.
Pyrrha led the charge out of the dorm building and into the open courtyard campus of Beacon. He walked right by her, enjoying the warm silence between them.
The sun shone down on them, lighting up the Beacon campus. A few students were already out and about, also in similar exercise equipment.
The chilly air struck against his exposed arms and legs. His skin goosed up, but his aura coalesced under the surface of his skin, heating him. Pyrrha led him through the cobbled walkways and well-kept gardens of the school to a lone stone arch.
No one else milled near them. The murmur of voices from the more populated paths gave way to the rustle of leaves and the singing of birds.
Pyrrha turned to him, laying her water bottle down on a small pillar near the arch, "This is usually where I start my runs. It's quiet and there aren't any prying eyes."
He nodded, gazing around at the peaceful environment, "It seems like a great place to start."
"Thanks. Let's do some stretches and I'll show you where my run goes through."
Pyrrha took a step back, moving under the arch and into the shade provided by it. She slowly ran through a series of stretches.
He gazed at her for a moment. He put his water bottle next to hers and moved a few feet in front of her. He ran through his series of stretches. The flexible straining movement popped his bones and sent waking shocks throughout his system.
His body still ached from the trashing he had received yesterday, but energy already flowed through him. His aura had fixed up most of the bruises and actual damage. But purple spots from where Banesaw directly nicked him still pulsed strong. It would take a bit more time for those bruises to heal.
Satisfyingly grunting, he stopped stretching. Pyrrha picked up both of their water bottles and handed his bottle back.
She walked next to him under the archway and asked, "You ready to start?"
He nodded, eager to start moving.
Together, they both stepped into a steady jog side by side.
His legs hit the ground at an even pace. The wind lapped his face, turning from a cold annoyance into a cool refresh from the heat that had accumulated during his sleep. They didn't run so slow that they didn't feel anything but not too fast either where they only focused on the run.
A few minutes into the quiet run, Pyrrha spoke up, "So what was that nightmare about?"
He turned to her, still keeping up his pace. The trees and marble structures of the campus passed by. A few groundskeepers labored between the neatly trimmed hedges. He gave one of them a quick smile and wave, behind Pyrrha's head, and the groundskeeper replied in kind.
He gathered his thoughts, trying to come up with a coherent story.
Looking into Pyrrha's eyes, he told her every excruciating detail about his dream. She listened attentively, keeping her focus on him and barely looking down on the path. Her emerald eyes soothed his fears while he spoke about his dream.
She kept her pace, even with her eyes off the road, quickly stepping over any obstacles on the path. She sympathetically hummed or closed the distance between them to touch his shoulder in comfort.
He finished the description of his dream with an analysis, "Now that I'm looking back at it, those eyes were definitely Cinder's. And all of those images were tied to the fall in some shape or form."
Pyrrha nodded, running next to him shoulder to shoulder, "From what you've told me, that makes a lot of sense. But why would you be having nightmares like that right now? Have you been watching those videos again?"
He shook his head. He hadn't watched the videos in weeks. Why would he need to? He and Blake had already combed through them, taking note and memorizing every single detail. It would be a waste of time and unneeded emotional trauma to watch the videos for no reason.
The videos were well and truly seared into his head as an intrusive but necessary memory. If he closed his eyes he would be able to replay them perfectly.
He rubbed the back of his neck, "No, that's not it…"
She replied, "Maybe it has something to do with the Fang and us dealing with them."
"That's a good suggestion but I don't think it makes sense. We've had a few hiccups with the raids on the Fang but we've been mostly successful so far."
"Then what could it be?"
He paused and took a moment to consider.
Sighing, he thought out loud, "Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we're getting closer and closer to the Fall. I think my body is just trying to remind me to be prepared for it. Although, I wouldn't say that it's doing an effective job."
He grinned and she barked out a quick laugh. Her expression shifted and she closed the last few inches between them.
Still running, Pyrrha squeezed his bicep, refreshingly. She nodded. her emerald eyes swimming to the very core of his being.
Giving him another squeeze, she spoke, "I hope your body learns not to worry about it. You, me, and Blake all made a promise to make sure those videos never become reality. I intend to uphold my side of the bargain no matter what. Jaune, I will fight with you against anything, just say the word. I know that we'll be able to stop the fall."
Her hand squeezed tightly once more. A fire of confidence and determination flowed in her eyes, reflecting the rays of the rising sun. The emotions coursed from her hands and into him, filling him up with the same confidence and hope. He flashed his most endearing smile.
He intended to keep his side of the bargain as well.
The pair continued to run, chatting amicably. Jaune's fears lessened the more he talked with Pyrrha over the videos, the Fang, Cinder, and even mundane things like classes and homework.
Laughing at one of her jokes, they rounded another corner of the path. They ran onto a path that ran right next to the dorm building. How had they run back here so quickly? The path they had taken winded around the school for miles.
He slowed down as he neared the front of the building. Pyrrha did the same, pacing in sync with him. He walked a bit faster than Pyrrha and stood in front of the dorm entrance.
Taking out his water bottle, he chugged the nourishing liquid down. Pyrrha came up next to him, also drinking from her bottle.
He stopped drinking the water and fished out his scroll. He flicked it open and gaped at the time on the digital clock. It was still a ways away before classes started. Even though Pyrrha's path took them through a lengthy section of Beacon they must have sped through it.
Pyrrha let out a gasp of shock, looking at her scroll. She didn't look like a person who had run several miles. She breathed steadily and swayed in place fluidly. A small sheen of sweat on her forehead gave away that she had done any sort of physical exertion.
He looked over his own body. He didn't feel sore at all, his body buzzed with high-power energy. His chest rose steadily.
His body was well and truly becoming huntsman qualified. All that extra training and exercise was paying off. He smiled and a bit of pride swelled through his heart at how far he had come.
A fiery determination replaced that pride and a small smile graced his lips. While it was nice to see that he was improving, he wouldn't stop now. He would work harder and harder to become the greatest huntsman he could be. Both for himself and to appease the generations of huntsmen that came before him.
But now he needed to check with Pyrrha. He slid over to his red-headed partner. Her head craned down to her scroll and her emerald eyes were glued to the blue screen.
She hadn't worn her bronze headband, exposing her forehead, which he seldom got to see. It was a bit strange to see his partner exposed like this but it didn't detract anything from her.
He shook his head out of his thoughts and looked at her scroll. A digital clock, like the one on his scroll, shone on her screen.
She looked up and frowned, exasperated, "How did we get here so quickly?"
He shrugged, "I was going to ask you the same thing. But I think we were so focused on our conversation that we naturally sped up. Although I don't feel like we ran a lot, I could go for another lap."
Pyrrha nodded, her lithe yet toned muscles flexed with energy, "I also feel like I could go for another round."
Right at that instant, Weiss walked out of the dorm building. She stopped and stood on the steps leading up to the dorm, looking around, water bottle in hand. She wore a similar running outfit to Pyrrha although it was in blues and whites with a giant snowflake in the center. She wore a white visor cap to complete her look.
He raised his hand, waving at her. Weiss's eyes moved over to his hand then to his gaze. He smiled and waved her over. She nodded, a small smile adorning her lips.
She walked over to him and Pyrrha and greeted the both of them, "Hello, are you two out on a morning run?"
Jaune stepped forward, "Care to join us? Pyrrha knows a really good path."
Weiss asked, stretching, "Now that I'm looking at you two, you both look like you just ran."
He shared a look with Pyrrha.
Turning back to Weiss he spoke, "We just discussed that. But we don't feel tired at all so we're okay with another lap."
Pyrrha nodded, giving him a thumbs up. Weiss got the message and walked closer to them. Pyrrha led the way over to the archway they had started the run from.
While they got ready, Weiss asked another question, "So, do you two usually go out on morning runs?"
Pyrrha dabbed a thumb to her chest, "I usually do, but at a much earlier time than this and today is Jaune's first time going with me."
Jaune added on, " I think I'm going to make this a regular thing, it's a really nice start to a morning."
He turned to Pyrrha, "If you accept me as your running partner that is."
He raised his brow, wondering what her decision would be. She looked away from his gaze for a moment. She looked back, blushing.
She took a deep breath and quickly answered, "Of course Jaune. You can run with me whenever you want.
The trio finished preparations and set off into another run. He and Pyrrha talked with Weiss. It was polite and nothing too deep. He let Pyrrha do most of the conversing, running behind and observing the two girls.
His thoughts shifted over to, now that Weiss had joined him and Pyrrha, how Weiss was all buddy, buddy with him. That cold and impersonal demeanor she pierced him with, at the beginning of the school year, had been replaced by the kind and politeness of a good acquaintance, ever since he met her after exploring that trophy shed.
He suspected that the main reason was that he had stopped harassing her for attention. It was a nice development and he wasn't going to squander it. Internalizing this, he jogged closer to Pyrrha and Weiss and joined them.
They all happily talked until they reached the dorm building once again. Taking a breather and refreshing themselves, Weiss and Pyrrha came up with plans to run together regularly and they made plans to run regularly as a trio.
With that, they headed back into the dorms and another busy day of school.
In the middle of Grimm 101, where they had managed to convince Port to let them fight Grimm in the emerald forest, Nora bashed the head in of some Beowolf as easily as she talked and skipped over him and Pyrrha.
They all wore their huntsmen wear and held their weapons. He stood next to Pyrrha, looking over the disintegrating corpse of an Alpha Ursa. The fight hadn't been hard with the two of them working together.
His chest rose steadily and his hands itched for the next Grimm. A light sheen of sweat covered his head, making his hair matt over one of his eyes. He occasionally had to move his hair to the side, but he didn't mind it.
Nora interrupted his battle craze with a cough. He and Pyrrha both turned around and greeted her. Because of the extra rigorous training regime, they were not at all winded from the Grimm fighting so far. Nora expressed the very epitome of not being winded, with her hair in perfect shape and an energetic smile gracing her lips.
She spread her legs wide and pressed her forearms onto the butt of her hammer. The soft forest grass flattened underneath the shimmying movement of the metal Grimm crusher.
His bombardier teammate grinned, "Soooo….."
He raised his brow, waiting for her to continue but she, instead, trailed off and looked between him and Pyrrha expectantly.
In the foreground, past Nora's bright bob of near orange hair, Ren deftly fought a pack of Beowolves and one juvenile taijitu. He deftly used aura-enhanced kicks to leap and jump over the heads of the Grimm. They didn't get a scratch on him, but he did pelt them with a barrage of green bullets.
Jaune turned back to Nora who still wore her bright grin. He turned to Pyrrha and made eye contact with her. She shrugged, committing a silent message that she didn't know what Nora was playing at. When did they ever know what the bubbly girl was doing?
Turning back to Nora, he asked, "So what's up Nor?"
Nora's grin grew wider and she stepped forward with a glint in her eyes.
She chirped, "So what were you guys doing on another late-night escapade?"
He tried not to react. He stamped his heart before it could beat faster and he willed his eyes to remain in a neutral position. Trying to recall if Nora was asleep when they had gotten back, he ran through ways to get her attention off of him and Pyrrha.
A shiver went through his spine at how perceptive his teammate could be at times. Her teal eyes moved between him and Pyrrha, waiting for a response.
His mind raced through excuses, trying to find one that would satiate Nora's curiosity. But he only drew blanks. Turning to his partner, he hoped that she had a plan.
Pyrrha stepped forward in the same calm manner she had before Nora jumped the question on them, and smiled, "Well Jaune wanted to get in some one-on-one training but we were so focused we lost track of the time."
He stepped in, adding to her story, "Yep, Pyrrha beat me to a pulp but I still kept on coming at her. We didn't realize we had trained for hours until I almost fell asleep mid-swing."
He stretched out for effect and groaned in discomfort. He didn't even need to fake the pain from a fight. Nora's eyes narrowed and she darted her head between them. He softly smiled.
After a minute, she raised a brow, "Wow you two, that seems like a totally believable story-she shrugged-Anyways I'm gonna go watch Ren kick some Grimm butt."
Without another word she skipped over to Ren, cheerily singing.
He turned to his partner, dumbfounded, "Do you think she believed us?"
Pyrrha shook her head solemnly, "Judging by her reaction probably not, but it's Nora, who knows how she's going to view it. We just have to be even more careful next time, but for now, we should just act normal."
He nodded and took in his partner's sage advice.
He and Pyrrha walked over to the nearest Beowolf pack rumbling at them through the thick foliage and, in silent unity, charged at the Grimm and fought. After minutes of fighting, he had forgotten about Nora's comment, too immersed in fighting the Grimm.
The two sets of partners joined together into team JNPR and fought wave after wave of Grimm that poured out of the emerald forest like black sludge.
He swung his sword and cut right through the torso of Beowolf. Nora came to his side, leaping off of Pyrrha's shield, and smashed her hammer onto the bone plate head of an Ursa.
He gave her a quick thumbs-up, but turned away in a blink of an eye and sliced into more Beowolf that sprang at him. The Grimm weren't smart and easy to beat one on one, but there were so many rushing at them that it would get sticky if they let themselves be overpowered. It wasn't a war of strength but one of attrition.
Although with the aura meditation and aura control training he had incorporated into their regimes, all headed up by Ren, they would have no trouble holding against the tide of Grimm. Given his own extremely high aura pools, he could probably fight to the end of the emerald forest and back, feeling only mildly tired at the end.
In the corner of his vision, Ren spun around like a green and pink tornado, moving through the packs of Grimm and cutting into them with his emerald blades. Occasional bright green bullets pinged off of him and into the crowd of beasts, disorientating any that got hit.
Ren sped through most of the weaker Grimm leaving the medium and heavier-sized ones for him and Nora. Pyrrha, on the other hand, fought through the entire tide of Grimm killing them no matter the type or size.
She moved fluidly through the crowd of Grimm, dancing more than fighting, twisting her shield or javelin to continue her momentum. She never stopped her endless swings and cuts.
She also provided support to Jaune and Nora with her semblance, making their weapons hit at impossible angles or making them doge Grimm that snuck up behind them.
The team fought the tide of Grimm, drawing more packs from the veranda of the forest. But they killed more Grimm than the amount that showed up, thinning the crowd.
A thumping electric sound thrummed throughout the forest, coming from every direction. Jaune and his team ignored the sound and continued to fight the Grimm. He smiled, adrenaline pumping through his body.
He wouldn't admit it aloud but one of the things he liked most about being a huntsman, other than protecting all of humankind, was the fighting, either against other huntsmen or the Grimm.
Battle brought a certain high to his brain that made the world bloom in a certain clarity and made him genuinely happy. He reveled among the snarling Grimm and their scraping bony white claws.
He took the title of huntsman seriously, but if he didn't love doing it he wouldn't be a good huntsman.
The electric thrum sounded again before a coughing old voice replaced it, the voice of Peter Port, "Attention students, while I don't want to spoil your glorious fun against the Grimm, class is ending, so please finish your battles and come back to the grounds."
His Grimm 101 teacher's voice cut out from the forest's implemented PA system with a cough. He slashed through the arms of a Beowold and eyed his partner. They shared a look, passing it on to the other two members of their team.
They all nodded, and coordinating together, poured all of their auras into their bodies for a final devastating attack on the remaining Grimm.
He ran to the center of the field and hoisted Pyrrha above his shield in its light dust form. Pyrrha easily moved with him and stood on his shield, raising her own up. Ren swiped through a pair of Grimm and fluidly jumped onto Pyrrha's raised shield, looking over at Nora.
Nora picked up a massive Ursa near her by its hind legs. She swung it around, spinning in place. It roared and lashed out its giant paws but those only hurt its brethren swarming around Nora.
Spinning into a blurry top of bright pink and orange, Nora stopped on her heels and threw the Ursa into the horde of Grimm. The giant mass of black and white barreled through the Grimm, creating a path right to Jaune and the rest of team JNPR.
Nora, aura coating her thighs, leaped after the Ursa. She flew through the clear path the Ursa made and killed it mid-air before it could reach them.
Still mid-air, she briefly made eye contact with him. He reached out his non-shield arm and, before Nora could fly right past him, caught her calf, redirecting her momentum, and pushing her up their human pillar with an aura-infused arm.
The pink bombardier flew through the air past Pyrrha and a few inches above Ren. Before she fell back down to Remnant, Ren reached out and dished out a devastating amount of concentrated aura palms at Nora's heels. The force of his punches rocketed Nora high into the air above the field.
Her air flapped in the wind and she wore a mad grin. Being so far away, she looked like a pink star.
She raised her hammer high into the air and let out one singular maniacal giggle. Gravity took hold of her and she fell back down, hammer tipped down.
He, Pyrrha, and Ren quickly broke away from one another before their teammate dropped down onto them.
Nora flew through the sky, becoming a blurry pink meteorite. Right before she hit the ground, he and the rest of team JNPR pushed aura to their legs and jumped into the air.
Nora's steel hammer hit the ground with a mighty boom. A second passed where all the sound in the world disappeared and all of the Grimm stood frozen.
One massive visible shockwave from the strike point broke the calm.
The Grimm nearest to Nora instantly combusted into dust. The rest were flung back like pebbles into one another, the trees, or into the air. The ground shook thunderously and groaned. Massive booms cascaded from the ground and the field heaved upwards, breaking into sharp uneven fragments that punctured Grimm.
The shockwave, like the invisible hands of one of the brothers, cut down the nearest trees and the nearest foliage.
All of this happened in an instant. The second the shockwave passed, going deep into the forest, he and the others touched back down into a very different field. Nora stood in the middle inside of a massive crater, twirling her hammer in her hands. A giant cloud of Grimm ash flew in front of her face, covering her beaming teeth.
Black Grimm ash covered the now fragmented field in large ash piles. It was as if they had jumped from a lush field and had dropped down after the apocalypse passed through it.
They gathered at the edge of the land and stood next to one another, looking as the wind picked up the piles of ash and floated them into the bright blue sky in a cloud of blackness. A moment later the ash dissipated into nothing. They stood there for a moment and caught their breaths.
Turning to the trees, they headed off towards Beacon. Along the way there they met up with team Ruby who had also dealt with their own horde of Grimm. The teams regaled one another of their fights.
The eight-person group chatted to the school building. He looked between all of them during a lull in the conversation. Right then and there he realized that they were less of a team of eight huntsmen trainees and more of a well and true family.
He stopped in his tracks, making him trail behind the group. He smiled and a strong warmth washed over him.
He would protect his family no matter what.
Blake and Pyrrha, who had been deep in conversation, turned to him. They beckoned him over. He jogged to them, re-joining the conversation.
The group re-entered Beacon and went to their remaining classes.
After another round of classes, the group sat in the cafeteria, stocking up on energy for their last class: combat class by Goodwitch.
She would put them through the wringer. She would also make their battles tougher by the day since his team and team RWBY's new training regimes had made them exponentially stronger than the entirety of all the other first-year students.
He didn't mind the new challenge and thus ate like a beast, trying to stock up for the oncoming energy-consuming battles.
The two teams sat together around the rounded table that had become their unofficial spot. Every team in the cafeteria had their unofficial spots that no one else dared sit on.
The table stood right in front of the windows, giving them a scenic view of the Beacon campus. The lunch line and the doors leading out of the cafeteria were equal distances away from their table. Overall, it acted as the perfect place to sit.
He sat on one side of the table with his team, Pyrrha on his elbow. Team Ruby sat across from them, also next to one another.
He and Pyrrha talked with Ruby and Weiss about school, being a huntsman, and their hobbies.
Pyrrha and Weiss were both, surprisingly, movie buffs. Pyrrha explained how movies were her main form of entertainment in between the awkward amounts of times between matches. Weiss watched movies in between her rehearsals or concerts.
Nora and Yang talked to one another in loud laughs and giggles. Nora regaled Yang with her bizarre dreams, to which Yang responded with not so serious analysis.
Ren dutifully listened to Yang and Nora's conversation, pitching in with the truth when Nora exaggerated. He also spoke with Blake who, to no one's shock, flipped through another book.
She responded to Ren and also joined him in commentating on Yang and Nora's conversation, doing what Ren did for Nora but for Yang.
Talking with Ruby about the latest video games, Jaune snuck a glance at Blake.
Her amber, almost glowing eyes, peeked over the edge of her book and peered into his eyes. The muscles around her eyes scrunched, almost as if she was smiling.
He turned away before someone noticed and re-focused on Ruby, drawing back into her vortex of energy. In the corner of his eye, Yang's mane of golden hair turned in his direction and so did Nora's bob of orange.
Stabbing his food and talking to Ruby, his eyes darted to Yang and Nora's hunched-over forms. Nora pointed at him and whispered something to Yang. The blonde brawler responded, either nodding or humming.
He continued to converse with Ruby, bringing Pyrrha and Weiss back into the mix.
About halfway through lunch, Yang leaned over the table, one hand under her chin. She almost pushed Weiss off her seat, but the heiress gasped and fought back to regain space to no avail. She huffed and crossed her arms, staring ice needles into Yang's head. The blonde brawler didn't pay her any mind, squarely focusing on him.
Yang's sudden position made her chest heave out. He easily kept eye contact with her, avoiding her chest.
He had been dorming with two beautiful women in very close quarters for the past few months, he had grown a resilience to the allures of the women of Beacon, Yang included.
Yang batted her eyelashes playfully and she opened her mouth to speak. But he spoke first, trying to get a hold of the conversation before it spiraled out of control.
Whispering he said, "You're giving me some strange signals Yang. If I didn't know any better I would say that you're trying to seduce me."
Yang, for her credit, only blushed slightly.
She leaned over more and spoke, "Nora's been telling me a lot of things today. One of the most interesting things is that you, Pyrrha, and Blake have been hanging out a lot recently. If it is what I think it is I think I would have to start calling you lover boy from now on."
She said the last part loudly enough to attract the attention of the rest of the table. Their respective teammates l looked up from their various activities and focused on him and Yang. Nora scooted closer with a wide grin adorning her face.
She put her hand under the table and Yang did as well. He imagined them under-fiving in glee. He sighed and looked over to Nora who simply smirked mischievously. His orange-haired teammate leaned in closer to him, mirroring Yang.
Grinning, Nora asked, "So Jaune, what is the deal between you, Pyrrha, and Blake?"
Pyrrha bristled and turned to Nora, slightly red-faced. She glanced at him and gave him a look. She was going to try to divert attention away from them.
She turned to Nora and pierced her with her emerald eyes, "Me, Jaune, and Blake?"
Nora didn't back off and smugly grinned, "Oh don't even try to deny it was only you and Jane Pyr. I can see right through that blush. If you were really embarrassed you would be redder than Ruby's cloak."
Pyrrha opened her mouth to retort, feigning shock, but she looked over to him and put her raised finger down. She turned it over to him to defuse the situation.
He peeked at Blake who had now put her book down. She gazed at him and gave him a small nod, one that was barely detected by anyone else at the table.
Taking a breath, he faced the two buxom girls, and spoke slowly, "Look, it's not what you think it is."
Yang rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Jaune if you think I'm an idot-"
He cut her off, "Me, Blake, and Pyrrha just like hanging out sometimes. We're just friends."
Nora playfully rolled her eyes and gave Yang a pointed look.
Yang guffawed, "So if you're just friends, what are you guys doing hanging out so much?"
He raised a brow, "Oh come on don't tell me you haven't figured it out. We always go to the library soo…"
Yang continued, "Soo what?"
He shrugged and smiled in his most aloof manner, "We have our own little book club that we try to do once in a while. Blake started the idea and Pyrrha and I liked it so much that we try to make it a regular thing."
Continuing with a grin, he said, "Now Yang, if you find us having a little book club so scandalous then you'd be in for a real shock at what other people do in this school."
The last part made the entire table break out into laughter, except for Nora and Yang. Ruby's stomach laughed like it was going out of style, Pyrrha and Weiss both giggled, and Ren and Blake smugly smiled at their respective partners.
Yang and Nora groaned loudly. Yang finally gave Weiss her seat back earning a small huff from the white-haired heiress. She leaned back in her seat and cupped her hands behind her head.
Nora slumped onto the table, making all of their food jump slightly, also groaning.
The two girls looked over at him. Yang shook her head while piercing him with blank eyes.
Nora grumbled, "Seriously Jaune, that's it?"
He nodded, smiling brightly.
Nora groaned louder and rolled her face onto the table, grumbling into it.
Yang scoffed, "You're so lame Jaune."
He shrugged and slyly winked.
Blake spoke up, "I think it makes him more endearing, more real."
Pyrrha nodded, smiling.
The table went back to normal and they continued to eat. He shot glances at both Pyrrha and Blake, trying to ease any of their concerns.
They nodded and he let out a quick breath.
Yang shrugged once he didn't give anything more and went back to eating her food. Nora, still face down on the table, groaned once more. Ren patted her on the shoulder.
She slowly sagged up, crossing her arms. She turned towards Jaune and sent him a piercing glare, which could have been scary if not for the pout that grew on her lips.
She looked away from him, grumbling. He gave her a wave, earning a row of laughter from the entire table. Nora rolled her eyes and, still grumbling to himself, plucked into her food.
He waited for her to do something but when she didn't he resumed his conversation with Ruby.
Yang shrugged when he didn't give anything more and went back to her food, now conversing with Blake.
Talking with Ruby and Pyrrha, he shot glances at both his red-headed partner and Blake trying to convey that he had successfully diverted any suspicion away from them.
Both of them gave him barely perceptible nods, indicating that they understood.
He enjoyed the remainder of his lunch.
Near the end of the lunch break, Nora smiled mischievously in the corner of his eye. She reached over to one of the plates in front of her and picked up the frost-covered pie on top of it.
His heart skipped a beat and a familiar sense of Deja Vu filled him. A tide of images relating to a very messy food fight flooded his brain.
He knew what Nora would start: A food fight that would somehow destroy the entirety of the school cafeteria and would somehow not net them into any trouble.
It was strange that Ozpin let them off the hook for trashing the entire cafeteria. His excuse of youth didn't account for what they had done. They knew better and could have stopped anytime, but they didn't. Ozpin should have punished them but, strangely, he didn't.
Jaune hummed, pulling away from his conversation with Ruby, letting Pyrrha step in for him. His mind delved back to the food fight scene from the videos.
Why did Ozpin let them go without even a slap on the wrist? From the videos, it looked like Glynda was ready to give them a year-long detention but Ozpin waved her down.
Was it because Ruby, with her silver eyes, was a part of the group? Was it that Pyrrha, one of his candidates for Amber's maiden powers, was also a part of the group? Or was it both of them?
He looked around the room wondering how many other young women in the very same cafeteria were being considered candidates for the maiden power. Their names could be on some sort of a hidden list deep within the headmaster's files.
Pulling his thoughts from the maidens and averting his gaze from the other students in the cafeteria, he focused back on the consequences of the food fight. He couldn't let them start the fight. It would draw too much-unwanted attention to them.
He turned towards Nora, who held the pie in her hands, looking like she was going to eat it, but she politely turned to Weiss. The SDC heiress didn't notice Nora's sudden fixation on her, too deep in a conversation with Yang and Pyrrha.
Nora's grin grew wider and she flexed her wrists. She oriented the pie towards Weiss's face and threw it. Right as she threw the pastry, he darted out a hand with toned huntsman-like precision and caught it midair.
His hand smacked into the pie, meeting cream then breaking into soft dough. Weiss turned over and gasped, he flashed her a small smile. Weiss wasn't going to get any paler than she already was.
The entire table stopped dead in their tracks and turned to the source of the wet nose accompanied by his hand hitting the pie. With all eyes on him, he slowly draped the broken pie off of his hand and put it back on Nora's plate.
Nora's mouth opened wide as the rest of the table turned to her with curious expressions. Thick white cream covered his hands.
He turned to Nora and spoke so the entire table could hear him, "Nora, you know you shouldn't play with your food."
Most of his team and team Ruby broke off into a fit of laughter, except for Ren and Weiss. Weiss gave him a curt nod and handed him a lacy blue and white handkerchief. He accepted the piece of cloth with his clean hand, giving Weiss a curt nod.
She smiled and huffed in Nora's general direction. She went back to her conversation with Pyrrha.
He wiped the cream off of his hand and threw the tissue in the nearest bin. To his side, Ren shook his head disapprovingly at Nora. In a rare display, a red tint blush covered Nora's cheeks and she tried to look away from the gaze of the two boys of her team.
He waited for a minute ready to stop anyone from starting the food fight, but no one did such a thing. Taking a quick breath he finished the last of his lunch.
He looked around for any signs of Ozpin or Glynda but the two educators weren't anywhere in the room. A small twitch in his brain told him that someone was looking at him.
Peering up, he met Blakes amber eyes. She nodded, communicating that she had seen and understood what he had been trying to do.
The lunch period ended and they went to their last class of the day.
He trudged out of combat class, feeling sore to the bone. The rest of his and Ruby's teams moved into Beacon's halls in similar conditions, all except for Pyrrha who stood looking around with a small smile on her face.
Even though they had gotten stronger and could beat most of the other first-year teams with little to no effort, Glynda still found ways to push them to their limits.0
She made them fight with second-year teams that were willing to help her for some extra credit. She also made them fight high-tech huntsman-level battle droids with adjustable levels, courtesy of Atlas academy.
He thought they would be as weak as the AK units from the videos, but the robots were experimental and thus provided a sizable challenge. One robot had sucker-punched him in the rib. He rubbed his side, steel remembering the pain of cold metal smashing into his aura.
Glynda had also mentioned how they had risen so far in their combat prowess that she was considering moving their combat class period to match with a second-year combat class. They weren't talking with any of the other first-year teams so they had nothing to lose if they started to learn with the second years.
The two teams milled out and into the side of the hallway, followed by the other first-year teams. The other teams passed by them, either giving pointed looks or looking at them before whispering amongst themselves.
He tried to ignore the attention they were getting. Even though it might be detrimental to his, Pyrrha's, and Blake's goals of changing the future it would be even more harmful if they didn't train at the level they were doing. They would have to bear through the added attention brought on by their superb strength.
But, while he, the rest of his team, and his sister teams chafed at the newfound attention. Pyrrha easily ignored it. It seemed that she still held onto the instincts she had honed during her time as a super famous arena fighter.
He stepped away from the group and motioned Pyrrha and Blake over. The two girls gave quick goodbyes to their teams and quickly joined him.
They headed down the hall and towards the library. No one batted an eye at their group up and leaving, although Nora did turn around, while walking with Ren and Yang, and gestured between her eyes and his.
He shrugged, turning around and walking with the girls.
He focused on the two women he walked beside. He started up some simple small talk which they joined in on.
The small talk satiated them until they reached the doors of the library. They went through it and entered the library, full of people.
They walked over to their quiet spot and sat down. On the way there, he waved at the small librarian who waved back to both him and Blake excitedly.
Sitting down in his seat, he looked to Blake who sat on his right, and to Pyrrha on his left. In the small deserted holo comp section they sat in, it looked like they were a trio of studious students working diligently on their homework.
They even took out their school supplies to add to the image. But, they also needed to complete their actual homework so it didn't hurt to have the materials out.
Pyrrha took out her scroll and so did Blake. Both of them pulled up the photos they took in the Fang office base. Jaune, meanwhile, went through the web on the holo-comp and pulled up a live news feed.
The girls stopped scrolling through the photos and placed their scrolls in front of him. They positioned their chairs and leaned in closer, giving all of them good views of the photos.
A voice from the news feed caught his attention, and subsequently his teammates. They looked up to Lisa Lavender reporting on the Fang.
The purple-haired woman reported next to an image of the Fang office outpost, "Onto our latest news on the Fang, yesterday, a VCPD squad led by huntsman Qrow Branwen busted a major Fang hideout. No specific details have been given about the bust but the huntsmen coordinator and VCPD police commissioner have assured the public the Fang are slowly being rooted out of the City."
She continued, "With more Fang bases being uncovered and because the Vytal festival being held at the end of this year, the Vale council has decided to close all air traffic over and near the city. To fly, a pilot or organization has to pass a strict background check and present their ships and cargo for inspection. They also have to present their flight route, which they cannot deviate from. The VCPD will be patrolling the air enforcing the aforementioned rules. Here is the Vale Air Space Commissioner to talk more about the subject…"
Jaune tuned out of the news broadcast and turned to his teammates, "It looks like Qrow busted the Fang."
Blake nodded, "I can see how the VCPD might not want to give any specific details about the Fang base. If people knew that the Fang were tunneling right under their noses there would be widespread panic."
Pyrrha finished, "And we can't have that or else Grimm would be piling onto Vale's walls."
Jaune rubbed his chin, "It is a bit frighting how the people in power just hide stuff from the public."
Blake shrugged ever the realist, "It's to protect everyone from the Grimm. I think most people would like to live in blissful ignorance over being run over by hordes of Grimm."
He shrugged, conceding the argument.
Coughing to get both of the girls' attention, he straightened, "Let's get to work. Remind me where the location of this final Fang base is."
Blake leaned into him, flicking her hands over her scroll. She pushed her scroll towards Pyrrha's open scroll, making them combine into one shared screen. She clicked on a clear photo of the Fang map that outlined the path of the Paladin.
Pyrrha leaned in on his other side, "The last Fang base is located pretty far from the rest of them. It's actually near-she paused- a residential area?"
He leaned forward to get a better view of the scrolls. Pyrrha was right, the red circle that marked the location of the Paladin was around a house in a residential area.
Pyrrha asked the question that stewed in his head, "But how could the Fang operate out in the middle of a populated neighborhood? How could they even hide a giant high-tech Atlas Mech?"
Jaune tried to answer, "Maybe they have tunnel systems like the office outpost?"
The two girls wearily looked at his suggestion. He turned back to the map and focused on the red circle's house.
They had a long day ahead of them.
AN:
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Also, for those wondering why Jaune didn't see Sun or Neptune, it's because I've changed up the timeline significantly. The Vytal festival will be happening near the end of the school year, very far off from where we are now, so you may or may not be seeing them later. See you all next chapter!