The (Mis)Adventures of Team JPTR

by GenericUsername3846

You know when you have a really bad idea that seems better the more you think about it? This is one of those. Jaune Arc, Peter Parker, Ben Tennyson, and Rex Salazar together in the RWBY universe to form team J.P.T.R. And they said Infinity War was the most ambitious crossover in history. Updates will come fairly regularly if my schedule allows for it.

9. Tasty Exposition

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you like your present.

Well, let's get the obvious out of the way, I've been gone for 6 months. Apologies for that, I was way busier with college than I thought I would be. That, and there has just been... a continuous stream of W's coming my way these past few months since the last chapter, and they did a pretty good job working together to sap my free time.

No, no, I don't think you guys understand what I'm saying here, my life has actually been insane. Lemme run you through this real quick.

The Certain Magical Index: Old Testament Omnibus I pre-ordered months ago arrived with ZERO delays or damages, Genesis Testament Volume 9 dropped and good LORD that shit was PEAK, I hit my 18th birthday, I found out Sable's Grimoire 2 is dropping in 2024, AJR dropped The Maybe Man in early November and the whole album went so hard, Reverse: 1999 dropped on global, Slay the Princess jumped into my top 5 favorite games (Adversary Best Girl, Voice of Hero Best Homie), Hazbin Hotel got its official release date, and I managed to pre-order of a physical version of the Aigis Edition of Persona 3: Reload before all the PS4 copies sold out. On top of all that, I somehow managed to not only roll, but I then proceeded to POT5 Kirin R Yato in 71 pulls, and THEN drew Mumu and Ho'ol in Lone Trail without having to waste all my premium currency. I then went on to draw Executor Alter a few days ago.

Nah, I'm sorry, what the actual hell is going on!? I am on top of the damn world right now! For months, I've been getting the best news on every front. Games I want, songs I like, books I love, these few months have been stupidly kind to me…

Oh, shit, something bad has to happen soon, huh? There's no way this many awesome things happen for me in such a small amount of time unless something absolutely awful is coming. I'm happy the Luck of the Irish is finally kicking in for me after almost 18 years, but now it's got me kind of scared for the Misfortune of the Irish making a comeback.

Shit, let me just write this chapter before I have to think of the consequences for my life being good to me.

I don't own RWBY, Spider-Man, any version of Ben 10, or Generator Rex.

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"Well that was anticlimactic."

"Less complaining, more eating."

It was almost 9 PM. By this point, many of those who were lucky enough to be accepted into Beacon had retreated to their dorms. They were the cautious ones, too afraid to stay up late when they had classes first thing in the morning. The others either didn't care if they woke up late, were too busy celebrating to calculate the risks… or were somehow still too hungry to leave the cafeteria

"Kevin, you already cleaned nine plates. How are you still going?"

"I'm a growing boy, Tennyson."

"You're seventeen."

"I'm a late bloomer." Kevin casually replied with no emotion whatsoever.

"You were like, 5'6 when we were ten!"

"I was an overachiever. Then I took a break when I got bored."

"I… don't think that's how science works."

Peter wasn't sure what to make of the odd conversation his friends were having. Actually, now that he thought of it, maybe that was how it worked. Ben and Kevin were definitely both humans, but their universes could have been fundamentally different from his own. Wherever the two boys came from, maybe humans did hit puberty twice.

"Hmm… I wonder if I'll be able to visit one day."

Nonsense aside, he did feel the need to hide the small mountain of plates stacked behind him with his body. Kevin's appetite may have been impressive in that moment, but his nine courses had nothing on the full twenty-seven plates the small teen had single-handedly licked clean. The massive amount of food provided by Beacon's staff as part of the welcoming ceremony for all the new students allowed Peter to eat to his heart's content. For the first time in a long time, he felt truly full.

"Ugh, I'm calling it. No more for me." Rex tossed his own plate on the large table the boys were sharing. He had only managed to load down three dishes before his appetite was sated. "It's gonna take forever to fall asleep now. No way am I just laying awake in bed all night. Let's do something instead."

"Like what?" Ben temporarily ceased his argument with Kevin and turned to his old friend. "I doubt they'll be happy about us wandering around the school in the middle of the night, even if we are 'Honors Students' or whatever. I'm not trying to get expelled on our first night."

"I don't know, uh… video game tournament?" Rex fished his military-grade scroll out from inside his jacket, holding it up for all to see. A grin split Ben's face.

"Heck yeah. All of you are going down!"

"H-hold on, what about you, Kevin? Shouldn't you go to bed with your team?" Peter posed a fair question, unsure what their nightly arrangement should be in the face of a minor complication.

Teams had been decided only a few hours earlier. As expected, they were composed of four students, specifically two teams of two combined to form a cohesive unit. Peter still felt the method of deciding not only individual pairs, but also teams as a whole was remarkably flawed, but there was nothing he could do. Besides, it wasn't as if he was unhappy with his team. If anything, there was only one problem.

Kevin alone was not part of their team. The core group of five was bound to be split up, they had known that from the moment they left the Emerald Forest. Even then, it wasn't all bad. Four of the original five had all been grouped together, and the team Kevin ended up on was made up of people they knew, and they just so happened to be next-door neighbors. The situation easily could have been worse than it was.

In any case, Kevin was the only one from his team still in the dining hall eating. His three teammates had already retired to their dorm room to rest up for their busy day tomorrow.

"Meh, whatever, I'll just sneak in later. I'm down for a video game tournament." Kevin flexed his fingers with an evil grin on his face. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Tennyson can brag all he wants, but I'm the real master here. I'll beat any video game, any day."

"Unless it's an RPG." Ben grinned smugly.

The evil smile dropped in an instant. "Tennyson, don't you even start." Kevin threateningly pointed at his smirking friend, his tone promising death if resistance was offered. The two other boys present squinted curiously at the odd reaction.

"Uh, why can't Kevin beat RPG's?" Rex inquired.

"It's not that he can't beat them, he's just not allowed to play them anymore." Ben blurted out before Kevin could shut him up. "A few months back, I tried to get him hooked on this one game I bought on sale. Everyone I talked to said it was such a huge game, it would be impossible just to beat the main story in less than a hundred hours. I was hoping he would get addicted to it so I could… borrow his car while mine was in the shop."

Ben suddenly heaved a deep sigh, as if the memories of those times hurt him somehow.

"Well… it worked. Sort of. As soon as he found out how much loot you could get and that you could trade in-game junk to other players for real money, Kevin wouldn't even leave his room. I came to see him after a few days with my cousin, Gwen, and he was still playing. Somehow, he made enough trades to make over twelve thousand dollars of real-world money in just eight days."

Peter and Rex couldn't decide if they were impressed by the rapid monetary gain or disturbed at the thought of how much gaming was likely necessary to achieve such a thing. It sounded… very, very unhealthy.

"... That wasn't even the worst part, though." Ben covered his face with a hand. Perhaps these memories truly were painful. That, or they were so incredibly exasperating, he physically could not stop himself from pausing. He wasn't even smirking anymore.

"You're exaggerating, Tennyson. The best jobs are the ones that get you a big paycheck with minimal effort. All I had to do was sit in front of a TV and kill some ones and zeroes and the cash was rollin' in. I don't see the problem here." Kevin shrugged, refusing to see the error of his ways.

"Kevin, you were killing everyone! Even the women and children!"

"I wanted to see what kind of loot they would drop." Kevin one again shrugged indifferently.

"Dude, you killed a homeless kid! What loot were you expecting!?"

"He tried to pickpocket me."

"He needed food!"

"And I needed Sable Mourne's Riftpurge Scythe. I had a guy lined up who wanted to buy it for six-hundred bucks."

Ben shook his head in pure disappointment. He needed a few minutes to collect himself before continuing.

"Kevin… you started killing actual players after trading with them. You took back the stuff they bought and their own loot, and sold it back at three times the price. You made a little girl cry!"

"I taught her a valuable life lesson, Tennyson. Never trust a guy who sells you legendary gear for only five gold coins."

Yes, this was Ben's greatest mistake. He had created a monster by introducing his best friend to such a game. That particular little girl had apparently just gotten the game that very day for her birthday, only to be approached by Kevin in a tavern located in the City of Beginners. After selling the poor girl an endgame weapon for pocket change, she soon found herself mercilessly robbed for everything she had, including the weapon she had just bought.

Ben knew all this because both the girl's parents had angrily yelled at Kevin through their daughter's headset. It was then he and Gwen realized they had to do something. Kevin was permanently banned from so much as touching an MMO ever again. Just to be safe, they took it a step further and banned RPGs as well.

Sadly, the damage was done. Kevin had made quite the name for himself during his eight-day stint as a gamer. The street-smart thug had immediately understood the money-making potential of such a game and set to work abusing the in-game metrics. In just a few days, Kevin managed to grift dozens of players into selling him high-tier loot, power-level himself so he could gather more equipment on his own, and somehow lined up hundreds of buyers willing to empty half their bank accounts for a crack at his treasure vault. He soon became so good at the game, he could comfortably hunt down other players to steal loot he believed could be sold for a good price.

Kevin was a man mad with power. Between his cutthroat business practices, violent tendencies to kill and loot anything that moved, his ridiculously large collection of highly desirable items, and a bad reputation for always managing to scam anybody brave enough to do business with him, it wasn't long before he became a legend. By the end of the third day, he managed to take out the entire royal family of the largest in-game city and take control of their kingdom, which, while always technically possible, had never even been attempted by anybody before. Even the developers took notice of the degree to which Kevin was breaking their game and attempted to ban his account, only for the criminal mastermind to bust out Level 7 alien tech to scramble his personal data and ensure nobody would disturb his business empire.

In less than a week, Kevin quite literally took over the world. No trades happened without his permission, no raid loot was collected without his knowledge, and no player lasted long before they were robbed of all their worldly possessions. The only one who could stop him was his very, very angry girlfriend, who was unwilling to accept her boyfriend cancelling on their first date in months so he could rob children.

Even now, months after departing the servers for good, the community of that particular game still spoke of "$$MoneyMan$$" with reverence and fear.

Many were still devoting countless hours to hunting down his legendary loot stash, long abandoned at the bottom of a dungeon custom-designed by the man himself to be impossible to clear ever since Kevin's account was wiped by his very angry girlfriend. Thus, 90% of the best loot in the game was soft-locked behind an unbelievably difficult, player-created raid.

He seemed to be feeling this way quite a lot lately, but Peter wasn't entirely sure how he was meant to respond to all of this. In truth, he was ready to just leave this entire conversation behind. It didn't really matter what he chose to talk about, anything was better than the current topic. Impressive, though it was, it was also horrifying.

"A-anyway… where should we do it? I wouldn't mind a tournament, but isn't Jaune asleep right now? It'd be rude if we stayed up all night playing games while he's trying to get some rest."

"Nah, it's fine dude. He didn't go to sleep, remember? He said he had to make a call or something. I bet he'll be back soon." Rex waved off his teammate's concerns. "Still, wasn't that, like, an hour ago? What kind of phone call takes that long?"

Everything had moved quickly after Initiation ended. Soon after the students were sorted into teams, they were given uniforms in their sizes and escorted to the dorm building to see their rooms. After that, they were free to do as they wished. They could sleep, they could go to the cafeteria and eat dinner, or they could wander the halls until curfew. Despite planning to hit up the cafeteria together, Jaune had told them to go ahead, saying he needed to talk to some people before he could relax, which they assumed meant he wanted to phone home.

It wasn't so much what he said that raised concerns. A student calling their parents to let them know they got accepted into their dream school? There was nothing wrong, or even strange about that. What was strange was just how uncomfortable the blonde boy had looked, almost as if he was afraid of something.

"Now that you mention it, it has been a while. You think he's okay?" Peter glanced out one of the many huge, floor-to-ceiling windows in the cafeteria. From his position, the dorm building next door could clearly be seen, but their exact room was not in view. "Should we go check on him? I'm getting a little worried here."

"Now, now, everybody deserves some time alone every now and then." A mature voice spoke right next to Peter's ear, making him jump away from the table he was seated at. "Your concern is praiseworthy, my boy, but unfounded. I'm sure your friend will be just fine."

A stranger had inserted himself into their midst, so quietly, so quickly, none of them had even noticed he was there. Not even Peter noticed anything until he was already speaking.

"Y-you…" Peter breathed out unsteadily.

"Yes, yes, me. Is it really so surprising? It told you I would be in touch, did I not? Hm, actually… did I, indeed, not? Pity, for all my meticulous scheduling, even I forget things sometimes."

The middle-aged man dressed in a plain, white, lab coat knocked a fist on his head gently, giving the four boys an innocent smile. There was a large plate loaded with food in his free hand. The man must have been around for a while if he had time to grab dinner for himself before approaching them. Everything, from his stance, to his tone, to his general demeanor just screamed "casual". The man that should not have even been on their plane of existence was perfectly playing the part of just another, unimportant person.

No, that wasn't right. The odds of Paradox putting on any kind of act were so incredibly slim, only a crazy man would bet on them. If anything, he genuinely saw no problems with his presence within Beacon, and only came for the food.

"..."

"..."

"Come now, there's no need for silence. Can we not simply-"

"YOU'RE BACK!?" Rex swatted Professor Paradox's hand, knocking away the plate of food he was about to set down on the table. The contents were spilled all over the floor, bringing a sad look to the man's face. It was less the face of a man who had lost his dinner and more the face of a man whose wife had just died.

"Three visits this quickly? You've never come to see us so often before." Ben looked incredulously at his familiar ally, trying to figure out his reason for showing himself.

"Wait, wait, forget that. What are you doing out in public? What if one of the teachers see you?" Peter looked all around for any faculty members who may have caught a glimpse of the unfamiliar man who had found his way into Beacon. Fortunately, the only people nearby were other students, and they were all seated at different tables, far out of earshot.

"No need to worry, my boy. I plan on keeping this brief." Paradox's body flickered for a moment. When it returned to normal, a new plate of food was in his hand, which he set down on the table the boys were sharing, comfortably seating himself right between Kevin and Peter. "I merely wished to observe the situation for myself. It would appear you have done well."

The assortment of otherworldly heroes searched the cafeteria one last time to make sure there really were no teachers nearby. Once they were sure, they arranged themselves all around Paradox, blocking him from sight as much as possible just in case.

"... What do you mean?" Ben pointlessly whispered. He, along with the other boys, was stretching both arms wide. A circle had formed around Paradox like this, further adding to the strangeness of the scene.

"Why, I'm congratulating you. Was that not obvious? You have all followed my instructions quite well, the current situation proves that. I had nothing else to do, so I thought I would pop in to offer my praise in person. Notes are so impersonal, you know." Paradox leaned away from the table, having not even touched the food he had gone to the trouble of collecting a second time. "In any case, my job is done, so… farewell."

"... Hah?"

"""HOLD IT!""" Several voices were raised. Four sets of hands reached over to the man, pressing down on his shoulders to force him back into his seat. He did not look the least bit surprised by this.

"You can't just disappear like last time! You've barely told us anything!" Peter aggressively protested their benefactor's attempted retreat.

"Yeah, you've gotta tell us more! We barely even know what's going on!" Rex joined in the protest, shaking his head vigorously.

Slowly, laboriously, Professor Paradox reached inside his lab coat and made a show of dramatically pulling out a pocket watch. Groaning like a petulant child, he exaggeratedly waved a hand at his captors, who were all glaring pointedly at him.

"Very well. I have some free time in my schedule, so I can stay a bit longer. So long as it won't cause any deviations in my arrangements, I shall answer a few questions." The time-walker pointed across to his right, straight at Kevin. "What say you we go counter-clockwise? Such an underutilized direction."

Realizing he was first up, Kevin did not hesitate to spit out the first thing on his mind.

"Timeline. Explain it."

Paradox grinned innocently. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You said we'd be stuck here for two years. Two years? Why? Whatever we gotta do, can't we hurry it up? I've got stuff to do back home. Gwen'll kill me if I'm gone that long."

Paradox's mouth stretched itself into a thin line, finally dropping his casual attitude. He would obviously find no joy in answering the question he already knew would come. It was hard not to be when he knew exactly what the reaction would be.

It wasn't pretty, and that was after he spent considerable time deducing the best possible answer through trial and error.

"As I informed you before sending you to this world, it would be difficult to solve every problem on your own, purely because what is required is out of your control. You have seen for yourself the particular being I am referring to." Ben nodded along with the professor's words, remembering Salem's impossible resurrection. "While it pains me to say this, much of your time will be spent simply waiting for certain events to come to pass."

... Two years...

Doing nothing more than waiting?!

"... You couldn't have just sent us further into the future?" Kevin grunted angrily, obviously doing his best to keep from yelling. His fellow off-worlders shared his feelings, all clearly making their displeasure known through their grimaces. Paradox shook his head in the negative.

"I'm afraid not. This is the furthest I could possibly have sent you, the earliest point where your intervention is necessary in order to secure the brightest future."

Kevin, as well as the other boys, groaned in frustration. So the "imminent threat" they were promised wasn't even going to be coming anytime soon, they were only present to set the stage. In other words, they could not prevent any disasters, they were merely relegated to waiting for them.

"You want us to spend two years just waiting? What about our lives? What about our families?" Peter heatedly argued against the hand Paradox had dealt them. "The stage is set now, isn't it? Can't you just send us home and call us back when you need us?"

To Paradox's credit, he did look genuinely remorseful, guilt flashing through his eyes as he responded. "I… cannot. The multiverse is complicated enough on its own. When you throw in interdimensional travel and time warping on top of that, things begin to get complicated. Could I send you home? Of course, that is well within my capabilities. I can return you home any time I wish. Even still, I cannot."

"... Wh-what is that even supposed to mean!? You can but you can't!?" Peter was starting to get frustrated with the immortal being. He reached forward and snatched the man's collar in his fist, pulling him in closer. Two years may not have been a big deal for the immortal being, but for the rest of them, that amount of time was far beyond what could just be shrugged off. "I can't just disappear for two years without any good reason! My Aunt May is probably freaking out right now! I can't leave her like that!"

Being gone for a few weeks was one thing. It would be painful for May, and Peter would be sure to apologize profusely for months on end after thinking up an excuse for his unexplained absence. It would be painful, but manageable.

Disappearing for a whole two years without even a note was something else entirely.

"I didn't ask for this, Paradox! Of course I'd want to help if you just told me what was going on, but I can't leave my home for that long! My Aunt May... I didn't even get to say good-bye to her." Peter's grip on Paradox's collar loosened. Just a bit, his head dropped, preventing him from seeing the older man's face.

"... And I am truly sorry for that, but I cannot send you home, not yet." Paradox took a deep breath, making sure to stick to the script he prepared in advance. "There are powerful beings in this universe. They are not present currently, and that works to our advantage. Without intervention, it is entirely possible to save this world. Only then can they be brought into the equation. If they were to return prematurely, everything would be ruined, and this world would collapse without any chance of salvation."

At that, Peter raised his head and the other boys narrowed their eyes. Completely sure he had the undivided attention of everyone present, Paradox shared the central problem they faced.

"As I said, the multiverse, dimensional travel, and time warping are all incredibly complicated on their own, but, if managed properly, containable. Once all three share a space, however, containment is impossible. A 'ripple' is sent through all of creation, I suppose it could be likened to a wave of energy. Thankfully, there are no negative effects, and most cannot even perceive such events. Most, that is. Your presence in this world was not a decision I made on a whim. I spent months on end carefully manipulating minute variables, toying with nearly insignificant factors, and waiting for precisely the exact moment it was safe to bring all of you here. If I freely cart you to your home and back as I so desire, I fear the very beings I seek to leave in the dark will sense something is amiss in their private playground. Should they return to Remnant before sufficient preparations are complete…"

There was no need to finish explaining. Something was out there, hiding in the dark recesses of this universe. "They" were gone, but the ripples created by Paradox's actions had the potential to bring them straight back.

Put simply, these "ripples" were like a car alarm. There was no physical danger in allowing it to scream out annoyingly, but if it blared frequently and loudly enough, the owners were bound to notice and come running. This was not comforting news in the slightest. Salem was bad enough, and she apparently wasn't even their biggest concern.

Of course, that answer did not satisfy any of them. Just because there was a good reason for something didn't mean it was easy to accept. Kevin was having a panic attack imagining what Gwen would do to him when they got home, mixed in with his own misgivings of being away from her for so long. Ben's mind was filled with questions of his family. How would his parents react if he was gone for that long? Rex couldn't even imagine taking such a long leave of absence without even telling somebody. As for Peter, he was still stressing out, not only over his poor Aunt, but also his city. Okay, sure, it had the Avengers, Doctor Strange, and plenty of others, but it still felt wrong not being there.

He was so out of it, his hand fell away completely, allowing Paradox to pull away from him. The man straightened his jacket and cleared his throat before speaking. It was time to run damage control after he had cruelly inflicted penetrating damage to the spirits of the boys he dragged into this mess.

"If it is any consolation, your families will not fear for your safety." Four sets of eyes snapped to Paradox, their owners unable to understand his incredible statement. "Transporting others between timelines and universes simultaneously may create a ripple, but a being such as myself has no such disadvantages. I exist beyond reality, a part of it, and yet a separate entity entirely. I, myself, can go wherever I wish, whenever I wish, without fear of making any waves. As such, I took it upon myself to provide your friends and families with the details of your situation, some of them true, some not. With a touch of magic thrown in to seal off any cracks and, well... you have nothing to fear. Your stay here will not cause any problems for those you love."

That was... slightly comforting? Had Paradox essentially brainwashed their families into believing some fabricated story? He must have, there was no alternative. Ben knew Grandpa Max would set straight to work modifying one of his spare Null Void Projectors if Paradox told him the truth, and there was no way May was told the actual story behind Peter's whereabouts, nor was they any way she had been told honestly that her normal, powerless nephew had gone to another universe in order to save it.

There was only one possibility, one stitched out of lies, red herrings, and magical manipulation.

It was better than simply dropping off the face of the world for two years, but something about all of this felt... wrong.

"... Well, anyway, I hope that answer was satisfactory. Benjamin, I believe you are next." Paradox pointed across the table, his smiling face making it seem as if nothing serious had just taken place. His attitude shifted so quickly, it threw the young man out of his shock in only a moment. Ben's displeasure lingered, but he was able to force it down long enough to at least think up a question of his own.

"... I… I don't know, that was my first question, too." Ben ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of something else he wanted to ask while also forcing his concerns away. As he did so, his eyes went straight to a tool strapped to his wrist. "Oh, right! What's the deal with the Omnitrix? Why am I down to ten aliens?"

Paradox did not look remotely afraid to answer this question. His smile had not even dropped in the slightest. By the look of it, this question would have a far less troubling answer.

"The same reason, I'm afraid. The Omnitrix is an incredibly powerful tool, and, as such, it outputs an incredible amount of energy. I'm sure you recall your adventure to save your own universe, many years ago." That was, frankly, a stupid question. It was a bit difficult to forget having a universe-destroying bomb strapped to your wrist. "My apologies, but it was necessary to shut down the bulk of its functionality in an effort to reduce the energy output during interdimensional travel, lest we alert them right from the get-go."

Ben nodded slowly, more or less understanding what he was told. "So... you can fix it, right? Now that I'm here, there's no reason to keep it disabled."

Hopefully, expectantly, the legendary hero held his arm out for the timewalker, a half-pleading expression on his face. His displeasure had been temporarily forgotten now that there was a chance he was due for some good news.

Paradox pressed a finger on his cheek, adopting a pose many a student had used after being caught cheating during a test.

"An excellent question. To be frank, I cannot. If you'll forgive my abuse of an overused analogy, it is quite simple to squeeze toothpaste from its tube, but incredibly difficult to put it back. Shutting down functionality is quite simple, but restoring those same functions... well, I am no Azmuth, you know. And, of course, that is to say nothing of the technical surge it may have experienced during interdimensional time-travel. Will the Omnitrix return to full power during your stay here? Hmm, I wonder..."

Ben did not get the chance to ask anything else before Paradox pointed at Rex. The immortal man was done with him, it seemed. There was nothing else he felt like saying.

"... How… long do we have to wait before the first big event? You said we're just stuck waiting for now, but for how long?" Rex was not in the mood to sprinkle any Spanish into his question. The fun game he played with himself was unlikely to make him feel any better.

"... I never did enjoy spoilers. Soon. That's all I can tell you. Apologies." Paradox curtly shut down the question with a poor excuse for an answer. "My advice would be to simply show patience. You'll be here a long time, after all. Rather than count the days until you must resume your work, why not enjoy your stay, one day at a time?" Rex was not allowed any chance to argue. Like Ben, he was ignored as the scientist pointed at Peter, the only one yet to ask a question. Any questions the tan boy did ask were coldly ignored.

It was not difficult for Peter to come up with a question. Ever since that night at the police station, there had only been one thought, one annoying little detail that wouldn't quit on him, bouncing around in his head endlessly, screaming itself out over and over again.

"This… is exactly where you told us to go. We went where you said, met the people you mentioned, and ended up where you wanted us. I don't think it's illogical to say we're in a safe space, surrounded by people who should be our allies."

Despite already knowing where this was going, Paradox still gestured for Peter to continue, as if he was hanging on his every word.

"... If this is where we're supposed to be… if the people around us are supposed to help us… then why the hush order?" Peter narrowed his eyes accusingly, then shook his head. "No, not that. That's too vague. What I'm trying to say is…"

Peter paused, thinking of the best possible way to ask his question. Deciding to just be blunt, he leveled his gaze at Paradox, meeting his eyes evenly.

"... Why don't you want us sharing information with Ozpin?"

Paradox squinted, his mouth set in a straight line.

Now that was a very good question.

Jaune:

Missed Calls: 973

Unread Messages: 2,192

"Okay... no more stalling. Let's get this over with."

Huffing deeply, Jaune stopped pacing around the small dorm room and sat down on his bed. His teammates had just left to get some food and relax, leaving him alone. They had told him he was welcome to join them, but he had politely told them to go ahead. The opportunity to do what he had been putting off for so long was too great.

His legs refused to stop trembling, so he pressed his feet into the ground so hard they physically could not so much as twitch, though doing so did hurt his feet a bit. As if the motions should not have been possible for a human to perform, it felt like his brain was trying to physically stop his fingers from tapping one deceptively powerful icon, like natural instinct was kicking in, telling him to not do something so dangerous.

At long last, the day had finally arrived. All the pieces had fallen into place. He had made it to Vale, he was accepted to Beacon, and he passed Initiation. The day Jaune would finally speak with his family was here. This was sure to be a painful discussion, a hurtful one, a tearful one, but necessary all the same. However much he wanted to avoid it, it had to happen. As scary as it was to face his family now, running away forever was bound to cause irreparable damage to their relationship.

Actually, almost ten minutes had passed since the others had left. It wasn't that Jaune had suddenly remembered what he was supposed to do, no, he had been thinking about it nonstop all day. The problem was that his fingers continued to pause, hovering just above the icon.

"... There's no time for this Jaune. You don't want them to see you like this, do you? Then suck it up. You're pretty awesome, aren't you? After all, not just anybody could make it into Beacon. Only the best make it this far."

Hiding any longer would be unfair. His family was probably terrified beyond belief wondering what had happened to him after his midnight departure. Jaune may have been afraid, but his own fear was inconsequential compared to his family's. How could he put his own negative feelings above theirs? That wasn't something a hero would do.

The solution was obvious, and easy to implement, albeit frighteningly painful.

Inhaling deeply for a solid seven seconds, Jaune pressed his entire left hand over his right forefinger and forced himself to press that one, damning icon. The dial tone began playing. There was no going back now.

Even if he wanted to chicken out and cancel before anybody picked up, the tone had not even finished playing once when a clicking noise came from his scroll. The blue display took on new colors and shapes, revealing a frantic and gaunt face. Any lingering regrets would have to be left behind. It was game time now.

"Showtime," he thought to himself.

"JAUNE!?" The girl he had chosen to call first after weeks of radio silence was not his mother, nor Vert, the one who pushed him to leave in the first place. Instead, he intentionally picked out a single person he felt obligated to speak with more than anyone else in his family.

"Hey, Meri. How's it going back home?" So casually, he responded to her shocked scream, scratching at the back of his head with a happy grin. It was as if he was just calling to ask how her day was going after only being separated for a few hours.

"Wh-what's going on!? I couldn't find you anywhere, then I found the note, a-and then I… I-"

"DID YOU SAY JAUNE!?" Another voice came from Jaune's scroll, cutting off whatever Merigold had wanted to say.

"JAUNE CALLED!?" Another voice.

"IS HE OKAY!?"

One voice after another came. The image became blurry and impossible to clearly make out as Merigold's scroll was jostled all around. Her sisters had immediately charged in when they heard her scream the Arc son's name, unintentionally tackling her in the process. Luckily, she was already sprawled out on the couch, so there was no danger of being knocked down. Instead, all the danger rested on the possibility of the gluttonous young woman being crushed under the weight of six people.

Jaune couldn't help but sweat a little. He had hoped to get a little time to talk with Merigold alone, but that clearly wasn't in the cards. It was unfortunate, but he could always call her again later.

"JAUNE! What do you think you're doing, young man!?" Amid the cacophony of voices, one alone was clearly heard above them all, and it made Jaune's blood freeze. At last, the image cleared up. Merigold's scroll was lifted into the air, revealing a sea of blonde hair had buried her, before it settled right in front of the face of an incredibly angry man, a severely worried looking woman right beside him.

In that moment, he felt like a balloon stuck by a needle. All the courage he had built up fell apart, shattered easily by the hammer-and-chisel combo that was seeing his parents side-by-side.

"H-hey, dad, hey mom. H-h-how're things-"

"Jaune." Juniper Arc's tone made it obvious she was not in the mood for jokes. "Where are you right now? What were you thinking, running away from home?" Around Juniper and Jonathan, Jaune's sisters were piling up beside him, frantically trying to catch a glimpse of Jaune on the tiny scroll screen.

And like that, Jaune's fear vanished, replaced by something else.

"... Where am I? Huh? I told them, didn't I?"

For a moment, Jaune was confused. He clearly remembered what he had been thinking that night, when he wrote his family the farewell note. He knew there was absolutely no point in hiding where he was going, so the foolish runaway had decided to clearly state he was going to Beacon to try and pass Initiation. For his mother to ask where he was…

"Oh. I get it…"

Forcing down the bitter feelings that question brought, Jaune threw on a smile. He was supposed to be happy. He would be happy. This was the kind of news he had always dreamed of sharing with his family, and he wasn't going to let anything ruin it. She probably just wanted to make sure, anyway. For all the Arc matriarch knew, something had happened to prevent her son from reaching his destination. Yeah, that was it.

"I'm glad you asked." Jaune sprung to his feet, slowly twirling around in a circle so that his parents and sisters could see the mostly-empty dorm room he was occupying. "Mom, dad, everyone, I am officially a student of Beacon!"

The smile he had initially forced grew naturally on its own. He felt so, so incredibly happy to say those words, more so than he had expected. It was an indescribable feeling of release, like he himself had been given incredible news, and not the other way around. It was warm, somehow. Was it scientifically possible to feel warm from your own words? No, forget that, it wasn't an important detail! And if just saying it out loud felt so amazing, Jaune couldn't even imagine how he would feel when his family reacted with amazement.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... What did you just say?" From somewhere in that sea of blonde hair and frantic expressions, the hushed, subdued question floated hollowly through the air.

"E-eh? I said, I'm a student of Beacon! I went through Initiation today and I passed! I even made some friends already, and we got a room for our team! Oh, that's right, our team! I'm part of a team! Team J.P.T.R.!"

Jaune was practically bouncing around the room like an excited child, almost laughing with every word. He shoved his scroll in front of everything, showing off the beds, the empty dresser, and even the bathroom. With nothing else to show off in the barren room, he went over to the window and thrust the screen outside, giving the other Arcs a view of the courtyard down below and chilling his hand in the night air.

"It's awesome, right!? I actually did it! I got in!"

Nobody in his family said anything. Jaune could just barely make out Vert, part of her face showing between their father's arm and Bleu's hair. She was smiling widely, wordlessly telling him she was proud. Save for Saphron and her tiny, unsure smile, the others looked so utterly neutral, it was completely impossible to guess how they were feeling.

"Wh-why aren't they excited? I made it in. I did it! There's nothing to worry about anymore, I proved I have what it takes to be here! So, why…"

Beginning to sweat, Jaune tugged at the collar of his new school uniform. He hadn't been required to wear it at night, but he was so excited that the beautiful clothes were thrown on almost as soon as they were given to him. This approach wasn't working, he needed to switch things up.

"M-maybe if I tell them that, they'll be more excited."

This particular detail actually made Jaune feel incredibly stressed out and anxious, but he was getting desperate here. Somehow forcing his smile to grow, he began speaking faster, trying to hide how nervous he was.

"A-and that's not all! You'll never believe it, I'm the leader of my team! ME! I'm the J of J.P.T.R.!" With his eyes scrunched tight, Jaune pointed a finger at himself. "Oh, l-let me explain! I was super surprised too, but what happened was-"

Two Hours Ago:

"We did it, boys. Time to celebrate!" Kevin clapped his hands on the shoulders of the two people closest to him, who just so happened to be Jaune and Ren. Both boys flinched at the forceful slaps they received to their now-stinging shoulders.

They had arrived at Beacon Cliff, only to find their fellow students were long gone, leaving only Headmaster Ozpin. After they handed in their chess pieces, he told them to return to the school and wait in the auditorium for the Entrance Ceremony to begin.

He had also taken care to congratulate each of them on being accepted as students of Beacon Academy.

Uncaring for all the people around them, Kevin uncharacteristically whooped happily in celebration now that he and the others were gathered in the auditorium. After being forced to wake up at an ungodly hour, trek through an uncomfortably hot forest, fight a bunch of demon animals, narrowly avoiding a heart-attack courtesy of his best fri-... doofus acquaintance, and then being forced to walk back to the school, he was feeling pretty awful. From here on out, it would be nothing but celebration parties, tables full of food, and good times all around. So sue him if he was a little excited.

"Would it truly kill you to practice just a bit of decorum? It's unsightly for a student of Beacon to behave like this." Weiss crinkled her nose at the large young man's attitude. She wasn't even sure why he had been allowed to take part in initiation. The thuggish man looked so… mature… she had trouble believing he was only seventeen. Unless the heiress was shown a birth certificate, she would go right on refusing to believe he was any younger than twenty.

Then again, he wasn't the only one who wasn't the proper age. Peter had said himself he was only fifteen, and she suspected Ruby was the same. Ben and Rex, too, looked slightly too young to be at the academy. The only logical way she could excuse such a thing was by considering their Honors Student status, but then, what about the dolt?

"Ah, relax princess." Totally uncaring for her cold attitude, Kevin carelessly dropped an elbow on Weiss' shoulder, keeping most of his weight shifted to his feet to avoid knocking the smaller girl down. "Come on, lighten up. We passed, didn't we? Hurry up 'n celebrate."

Weiss only glared and shoved Kevin's elbow off of her shoulder. Courtesy of his impressive weight, she was forced to use some of her aura to do so.

"I'm perfectly content as I am, thank you." The rich girl turned around and crossed her arms, no longer willing to lay eyes on the overly-familiar gorilla sharing space with her. "We may have passed, but that only means we should act even more proper than before, lest we tarnish the name of Beacon Academy. Childish celebrations have no place here."

"I did it! Winter, I made it in! I was so scared I would fail! Thank goodness I passed!" The inner thoughts of a princess truly are beyond what can be comprehended by the common people. Focusing only on her stern expression, not one of Weiss' companions could guess what she was really thinking, nor were they aware of the sheer number of times she had mentally jumped up and down and cheered in the past thirty minutes.

Rubbing his shoulder tenderly, Jaune smiled just a bit at Weiss' attitude. There was something strangely adorable about how serious she was acting, even if it did feel a little excessive. The only reason he wasn't celebrating as openly as Kevin was because he was terrified of drawing even more attention to himself.

"Hah, now we're both students, Yang! I'm not just your little sister, I'm your classmate now, so hah!" On Ruby's part, the little Reaper was oddly smug, going so far as to stick her tongue out at her smirking sister.

"Oh yeah? Well, I guess I'll just have to be even more sisterly from now on, then. Can't have you getting too even with me, little sis."

Those final words were drawled out with an unsettling amount of mirth as Yang snatched up Ruby in a headlock and, with a gleeful smile, threateningly brought her hand ever closer for a noogie that was sure to be worthy of some kind of world-record.

"NOOOOOOOO!" It was hard to watch the small girl kick her legs and flail helplessly in her big sister's grip without laughing. Jaune failed almost immediately, as did Nora. Even Peter cracked a little despite being in the process of trying to free Ruby from her torturous cage.

"Ahem." The sound of somebody clearing their throat was overlaid with tinny sound effects, indicating their voice was being played over a set of speakers.

Jaune's eyes snapped over to the stage, where Ozpin stood behind a microphone. The others also took notice of his presence and righted themselves. Yang quickly released Ruby, and the two of them straightened up, as though nothing had happened.

"I would like to congratulate those of you who managed to succeed in today's test. Most would not have been up to the challenge, but you have all proved that you do, indeed, belong at Beacon Academy." Ozpin sounded as polite as ever, right up until he cracked a smile. "And, while I'm sure it would be proper to give a speech welcoming you all, I assume I am correct in my belief that you are all interested in only one thing."

Above Ozpin, two white screens flickered to life. They were not currently displaying anything, leaving them empty.

"Without further ado, I would like to officially create the teams you will remain with until your time at Beacon comes to an end. I ask that you please join me on stage when I call your names, and exit once you have been given your team name."

Jaune felt an odd combination of stress and happiness. On the one hand, he was freaking out in the face of a situation that probably wasn't as high-tension as his mind would have liked him to believe. On the other hand, this was everything he had ever wanted. Whatever collection of miracles had come together to make it happen, he wanted to be aware of all of them so he could properly thank whoever had decided he was worth blessing with good fortune to such an unbelievable degree.

Without the long string of miracles he had been handed, there was no way he would have been standing there, eagerly awaiting the identity of his team. He knew Peter would be there, but what about the other two? Could it be Ruby and Yang? Would Weiss end up joining? Or Pyrrha?

Just knowing so many people felt good. Being able to think of so many people when considering who he would like to be on a team with made for a safe, warm feeling. Eagerly anticipating who he would be working with was far better than sorting through people who hated him and deciding who would be the least awful.

The screens above Ozpin flickered to life, four images of male students appearing in the corners. They slowly moved to the center of the screens, forming straight lines.

"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark." Ozpin listed the names of the four students, who had made their way on stage as soon as they saw their faces appear on the screens. "The four of you retrieved the Black Bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Cardinal, led by…" Ozpin paused dramatically, clearly hoping to instill anticipation in his students. "... Cardin Winchester."

Underneath the images of the four boys' faces, letters appeared, creating an abbreviated form of their team's name.

"'C.R.D.L.?' Cardinal? I don't… think that works." Peter blinked slowly at the monitors, his brain unwilling to accept the abhorrent spelling. Where was the 'n' sound coming from?

Beside him, Jaune chose to clap politely. He had no idea who any of those guys were, but that didn't matter. They were his soon-to-be classmates. That alone meant they deserved respect.

As requested, Team C.R.D.L. exited the stage after a short round of applause. Their faces were quickly replaced by others on the electronic screens the moment they rejoined the audience.

"Ooh, that's us! Come on, Yang, let's go!" Ruby snatched her sister's arm and all but ran to the stage, Weiss and Blake following close behind. When the four of them stood before Ozpin, he addressed them with a smile.

"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao-Long. The four of you retrieved the White Knight Pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Ruby, led by…" Again, Ozpin intentionally paused. "... Ruby Rose."

The look of shock on Ruby's face, coupled with Weiss' scandalized expression forced a laugh out of Kevin at their expense. Ben, too, chuckled slightly, but he at least had the decency to hide it. As Yang tackled her little sister in a hug, Jaune held up his arm to give his new friends a thumbs up, doing whatever he could to show some support. The newly-formed team's leader looked so nervous up there, she could give even the professional nervous wreck himself a run for his money.

Like before, letters appeared under each of the girls' portraits, showcasing the abbreviated spelling of their team name.

"That's…. not how you spell… rrgggghh!" Peter felt himself growing irrationally angry at the ridiculous spelling. At least it sort of made more sense than the last one, but that wasn't saying much.

Team R.W.B.Y. hurried off the stage, making way for the next set of four. Again, the pictures on the screen were swapped out for new ones.

"Yay, it's our turn! Let's go, Renny!" Nora charged straight onto the stage the moment she caught sight of her familiar, orange hair. Her three teammates eventually joined her, walking at a far more subdued pace.

"Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Kevin Levin, and Pyrrha Nikos." There was a strange glint in Ozpin's eye. He was obviously excited, like he had been waiting for this one team in particular.

He couldn't be totally sure, but Kevin was almost positive the older man briefly turned to face Professor Goodwitch, who was standing next to the stage, and flashed a proud smirk at her. The glaring woman scoffed and rolled her eyes, refusing to play along with his games.

"The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as…"

Underneath the pictures of their faces - which Kevin did not remember posing for - four letters appeared, spelling out P.V.R.L.

"Team Pearl, led by… Pyrrha Nikos." There was absolutely no reason for Ozpin to look as self-satisfied as he did. It was as if the man was wordlessly gloating to everybody who laid eyes on him. For what, well, that was truly the question. All that mattered was that he truly believed he had reason to preach his superiority, which he had proven… somehow.

"Heh, surely my wordplay abilities astound them. Ozpin, sometimes your genius is frightening." The sheer amount of self-praise was so sickening it could have poisoned a lesser man.

"'V' doesn't make that soooouuuund!" Peter was barely keeping himself from grabbing his hair. He was all for a good acronym, but these were completely nonsensical.

Another polite round of applause passed through the auditorium. Obviously trying to annoy his friend, Ben made a show of clapping louder than anybody, coupled with loud whistles, cheers, and shouts of "That's my best friend!" Somehow, he roped Rex into it, leaving a very angry Kevin on the receiving end of an unwanted stream of positive support. The pair continued long after everybody else had quieted down and Pyrrha's team had left the stage.

"You're a dead man, Tennyson." Kevin promised nothing but pain when he rejoined the rest. Ben did nothing but grin back while Rex, who was resting an elbow on his shoulder, shrugged innocently.

"Aw, but we just wanted you to feel loved on your big day, Kev."

"Too much love, go back to ignoring me until you need something." Kevin coldly shut down the false declaration of affection.

"Hate you? No, nunca! We even got you presents to celebrate." From absolutely nowhere, Rex magically produced a bite-sized chocolate candy and a single dollar bill. Kevin eyed them cautiously, then snatched them both up.

"I want the presents, you can keep your love." Tucking the dollar in his pocket despite it being useless on Remnant, Kevin threw the candy in his mouth and went back to ignoring the pair of hyenas laughing behind him.

Several other names were called. It looked like there wasn't anybody who failed Initiation, nor did anybody… go missing. The auditorium was just as filled as it had been the day before. There were, however, several people who looked deeply unsettled.

If Jaune were to wager a guess, he would bet that they had laid eyes on Ben as he rampaged through the forest. Unlike his group, they did not have the benefit of an explanation, so they probably thought there was some kind of Mega-Grimm stalking through the Emerald Forest. He felt a bit bad for them, but it wasn't really his place to explain the true nature of the monster they had seen. Besides, he doubted anybody would believe him if he said it was actually a regular person who transformed with their Semblance. That would require proof, and he would much prefer Ben never turn into that thing again.

And so, the legend of the Emerald Forest Demon would be allowed to spread without interruption.

Eventually, every last person in the room had been called except four. They all knew they were the only ones left, and they were alright with that. Their team assignments definitely could have been worse, and this came with the added bonus of making it easy to discuss important, "save-the-world" business. It would be a pain if they had to constantly abandon their teams to meet with each other, like Kevin would unfortunately have to do.

On the bright side, they were only split between two teams, rather than being split between five.

Jaune felt very relieved when he realized he would get to be on a team with Peter, Rex, and Ben. He liked all of them as people, and was sure he would be happy to spend four years with them.

Ben and Rex also had no objections to the assignment and were already making plans for how to best cause mayhem without it being traced back to their team… or, without being traced back to them, specifically.

Peter just wanted this all to be over. The egregious acronyms he had been forced to suffer through were threatening to give him an aneurysm. The sooner this ceremony ended, the better.

Oh, and he liked the team composition. But mostly, he wanted this to end.

Knowing they were all that was left, the four boys made their way on stage before Ozpin even began calling them.

"I wonder who will lead us? Ben's super strong, so he'd be a good choice. Rex has those cool machines, I bet he'd do pretty well leading us. And Peter, he's a pretty awesome guy. I wouldn't mind if he was the leader. Huh. I guess… I can't really lose here. Awesome."

Jaune watched their pictures sort themselves into a line, letters slowly appearing under each of them. He felt pretty satisfied knowing there was no chance of getting stuck with a bad leader.

"Jaune Arc, Peter Parker, Ben Tennyson, and Rex Salazar." While Pyrrha's team had been faced with excitement, Ozpin faced the current group with what appeared to be pride. No, not pride? What was that emotion floating in his eyes? Relief? Joy? Whatever the case, he looked very pleased for no evident reason.

"The four of you retrieved the Black King pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as…" The pause felt longer this time, like Ozpin was savoring every delicious nanosecond of anticipation the four boys experienced. "Team Jupiter, led by…" Okay, these pauses were definitely getting longer, there was no mistaking it. "... Jaune Arc."

Peter, Rex, and Ben made small noises of satisfaction. The spelling wasn't so hopelessly disgusting this time, so Peter actually didn't mind their name that much. Furthermore, he firmly believed Jaune would do well as their leader. Better Jaune than him, anyway. While he did have experience leading teams, it wasn't something he enjoyed, per se. As for Ben and Rex, they were aware it would be harder to get away with acting like gremlins if either of them had to be the leader. They considered this a win.

As the three of them felt fairly pleased with the outcome of their performance during Initiation, there was one among them who did not share their enthusiasm. In fact, he could swear he had heard the sound of shattering glass when it was declared who would be leading Team J.P.T.R.

"... Eh?"

Present:

"I seriously thought I was gonna have a heart attack right there on stage!" Jaune had begun pacing around the room, not slowing down for a second as he unintentionally rushed through the story. "I think I might have blacked out for a second, because one second I was on the stage, then I blinked, and I was back in the crowd. I couldn't even focus on anything Ozpin said after that. All my friends were congratulating me and telling me I'd do great, but I was just trying to keep myself from passing out on my feet! Oh man, it was crazy!"

The Arc family took in all this information, patiently listening to the foolish Arc son recount his inauguration as leader of his own team.

"But man, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do now. Like, I-I-I feel weird, y'know?" Still smiling excitedly, Jaune shook his free hand, like he wanted to remove something from his person. "I don't know how I'm supposed to lead a team, but I'll do my best! I'll make sure we do well, for sure! Even after we graduate, I'll hold us together. We'll be a super-team of Hunters, the kind that everybody knows! 'Look, that's Team J.P.T.R.!'"

Not losing a bit of his enthusiasm, Jaune playfully enacted a child pointing out something amazing to his parents.

And still, none of the Arcs said anything. They remained stone-faced and silent. The only exceptions were Vert, who was clapping in support, Saphron, whose smile had grown, and Merigold, who looked like she didn't know how to feel and was stuck between a smile and a frown.

Momentarily, Jaune's feet faltered, bringing him to an awkward stop. This wasn't quite what he was expecting. Empty silence? Where were the cheers?

"... C-come on. Get excited. This is big news, you know? Barely anybody gets into Beacon."

Jaune righted himself and cleared his throat. He clearly needed to break out the big guns here.

"Headmaster Ozpin accepted me personally, you know? I know, it sounds crazy, but I actually met him before I even got to Beacon. It's a really long story, but we talked for a little while and he just… accepted me, just like that. Oh, yeah, he said he knew you, dad. How come you never mentioned you knew the Headmaster?" Jaune was beginning to talk faster, to the point it was getting hard to understand him. "Well, never mind. It wasn't just me, either. Everybody on my team was accepted by the Headmaster himself. That means we're pretty awesome, right? Everybody's even calling us Honors Students!"

"... Jaune." At last, Jonathan Arc began to speak, but his son was so amped up, he didn't even notice.

"This is just the beginning, I know that! I know I can't just stop here, I've gotta keep going. I-I need to study, I gotta keep practicing fighting, I- Oh, I have a team! I can spar with them! Heh, pretty big upgrade from beating up trees, right guys? Before long, I'll be so awesome you won't even recognize me. I bet I'll even be able to beat you, dad."

"Jaune." Jonathan tried again, only for his overexcited son to continue speaking. As far as he knew, his family was still remaining silent, prompting him to speak even faster, not even realizing how sweaty he had gotten, or that he was still pacing rapidly around the dorm. His volume had grown with his excitement, bringing him to a half-shout.

"I can finally take the first step to reach my dream. Now that I'm a Beacon student, I need to work even harder, and I will, I definitely will! I'll work hard, my team will work hard, and we'll be the best out there! Once we graduate, we can all be heroes together, going around the continent helping people, just like you, da-"

"JAUNE!" Jonathan raised his voice to a shout, making his daughters recoil away from him, shocked by the sudden increase in volume. Jaune abruptly came to a stop, tripping over his feet and almost falling over. He narrowly managed to avoid smashing his face into the wall, somehow keeping the scroll angled on his face the whole time.

"... Y-Yeah, dad?" Jaune excitedly plopped down on his bed, holding the scroll in both hands to avoid shaking the screen. He smiled widely at his family on the other side, waiting for his father to congratulate him.

"... How soon can you come home?"

"... Huh?"

Jaune hadn't expected to hear anything like that.

"...Wh-what?"

"When can you come home? It looks like the airport renovations won't be finished for another week or two, but is there another way on your end? A student transport shuttle or something like that?" Jonathan carefully thought up possible ways for his son to return to their small village. "If you're not sure what to tell the pilot, I can give the village's area code and coordinates. If payment is an issue, tell them I'll pay once you're home."

Jaune couldn't comprehend whatever nonsense his father was spewing. He was getting a bad feeling all of a sudden.

"I-I don't get it. What do you mean, when can I come back? I don't know if I can go that far from Beacon, but you guys can definitely visit me when the airport is done. I checked, th-they have guest rooms here for visitors. You wouldn't even need to pay for a hotel or anything." The corner of Jaune's mouth slightly tilted up, his voice shaky. I-I can show you around the campus, you can meet my team, and my friends. You'll love them, I promise you will-"

"Jaune." Jonathan interjected again, sounding more tired than angry. "You can't stay there. You need to come back as soon as possible."

"... What?" Jaune could barely get it out as a whisper.

"Jaune, I always told you no because I wanted you safe. Just because you made it into Beacon doesn't mean all the danger is gone, it just means you're even closer to it than before. The longer you stay there, the greater the chance of you getting hurt, and I don't… I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you over there, where I can't protect you. I'm sorry Jaune, but you can't stay there."

"... No. No, no, no, this isn't how it was supposed to go."

"Did… did you not hear me? I made it in. I passed the tests, dad. I finished Initiation, I'm the leader of my team, the Headmaster personally accepted me! I-I made it! Dad! I got here all on my own!" Jaune stood back up, bringing the scroll closer to his face in the process. "All the way from home, I made it! I got here myself, and I didn't get hurt at all! All of this, dad! I pulled all of this off myself!"

"... I'm proud of you, Jaune, I really am." Jonathan took a deep breath and gave his son a pained smile. "You have no idea how proud I am that my son managed to get into the best school in the world. You pulled off something so incredible, all by yourself, without any help from me. It's incredible… I really do mean that..."

"... But…" Jaune's voice rose dangerously. He didn't like the way his father trailed off near the end.

"... You have to come back, Jaune. It doesn't start when you graduate, even just being at a Huntsman Academy can get you killed. When I started training, there were well over thirty other people in my year. By the time I graduated, I only had about eleven classmates left, counting my teammates. This life… every second of it is filled with danger, and at any time, you could-"

"You think I don't know that!?" Jaune cut his father off, unwilling to listen any more. These incessantly repeated warnings were grating on his nerves. "Of course I know it's dangerous! I never thought running around fighting monsters would be safe! I don't care how dangerous it is, I just want to-!"

"Jaune." For the first time in several minutes, somebody other than Jonathan spoke up. The speaker was none other than Juniper Arc. "Please. I know this must be frustrating, but please listen. I don't want to lecture you, I don't want to instruct you, I just want to ask one question."

The genuine desperation in his mother's voice succeeded in calming Jaune down. He hadn't noticed, but at some point, he had stood back up and begun to breathe heavily.

"A… question?"

"Yes. Jaune, why do you think we want you to come home?"

It was such a simple question, with such an incredibly simple answer. Even Jaune wasn't so foolish that he actually required some time to consider his answer. The moment he heard the question, the correct response popped into his mind instantly.

So… why couldn't he voice that answer? For what reason did his first thought feel… wrong?

Like he was searching for help, Jaune scanned the faces of his siblings, who remained crowded around their parents. Saphron looked displeased with how the conversation was going, Rouge was frowning heavily, Merigold seemed sad, Vert was outright glaring at Jonathan, Bleu looked like she was trying to hide her concern under a disinterested expression, Violette appeared uncomfortable, and Indigo was on the verge of tears.

None of them helped him.

He had been so confident in his answer for all of one second, and now it felt like the opposite of what he was supposed to say.

"To… keep me… nearby? So you don't have to worry?" Why did the obvious answer feel completely incorrect? Jaune almost stuttered as he forced out the only response he could think of. Juniper looked like she wanted to sigh, but held back the urge.

"Yes, that is certainly a large factor, but that isn't all. Jaune, what will you do if you fail one day?"

"... What?" Jaune didn't know what he was supposed to say to that. What did that even mean? If he failed what one day?

"She's saying you're too kind to be a Huntsman, baby bro." The video became blurry for a few seconds, like somebody had snatched the small device away from Jonathan. When the image cleared up, the one directly in front of the screen was Rouge. "You freak out if somebody gets so much as a scratch. Remember when you were eleven, and you cried because Bleu killed that spider? Or that time when…"

Rouge trailed off, halting her words before she went any further. Shaking her head, she set her mouth in a firm line and continued.

"You're the sweetest, kindest person I know, Jaune. You love everybody unconditionally, and lose it every time something bad happens to anyone. And, as a Huntsman, it'll be your job to travel all over Remnant, responding to distress calls, saving villages, and killing Grimm."

"Y-yeah, so? Isn't it a good thing that I care so much? What kind of Huntsman would I be if I didn't care about anybody?" Completely missing the point, Jaune pushed back against his sister's words.

"Well, like mom said, what are you going to do if you fail one day?" Rouge did not hide how concerned she felt for her little brother. Pure, unfiltered fear at the thought of his emotional state should the worst happen flooded her voice, making it impossible to ignore.

Jaune was floored. Of all the reasons he could think of, this was one he had never expected to hear from his family.

"Keep your son safe."

It was such an obvious line of thought, anybody would understand it, and it was what Jaune believed his family had been doing for so long. Keep him at home, refuse him training, keep him away from the wilds, all in the hopes his dreams of being a hero would die out, all for the sake of keeping him safe.

Safe.

That was easy.

Protecting a body was so incredibly easy, it was laughable. The hard part was the mind.

Trauma.

Distress.

Nightmares.

Shock.

Paranoia.

Anxiety.

Distrust.

Stress.

Hunters commonly faced such mental health issues long after retirement. Jonathan was one of the lucky ones who completely held onto himself after a long career, but even he had his moments.

The mind was far harder to protect than the body. One could easily guard their own body without help from anybody else, regardless of where they went. The mind, on the other hand, was a far more complicated matter. By oneself, far from home, far from family, in unfamiliar territory where everything wanted you dead, the mind became vulnerable.

It was not their own feelings, their own emotions the Arcs wanted to protect. The one they were so hellbent on protecting was none other than the hopeless boy who had run away from home.

Realizing all of this, Jaune felt…

"... They don't think I…"

The scroll traded hands again, this time resting in the palms of Saphron.

"Your dreams are your own Jaune, but they're right. I'll never tell you to drop everything when you've come this far… but I truly hope you thought all of this through."

Again, the scroll was snatched.

"Please Jaune, just be safe. I don't know what I'd do if… if…" Merigold could not say more, unable to bring to words the horrible mental image she had of her precious brother.

"You're being way too desperate, bro. Did you even consider how the rest of us would feel if something happened to you?" Even Bleu, who hated being honest about her feelings, was up-front with her concern.

"... Please, Jaune… please just come back." Indigo could not put together any actual argument, desperate pleas were all she had as tears rolled down her face. Violette said nothing, but she did nod in the background.

The scroll never made its way to Vert. Perhaps even she felt the same way, and would not be able to deny such a thing if she were made to speak. Rather than discourage the boy she had supported, she chose to say nothing at all.

At last, the scroll was passed back to Jonathan and Juniper.

"Jaune, you are our son, our child." Jonathan picked up where his daughters had left off. "All we want is to keep you safe. I know it hurts, and I truly am sorry. I have no desire to crush your dreams, nor have I ever wanted to make you feel inadequate. If you want to hate me… I'll accept that, as long as I know you'll be safe. I'm sorry, Jaune… but this is not up for debate. You need to come home."

It was all the same words, the same promises, the same bland lines Jaune had heard right from day one, down to the exact letter.

"We just want you safe."

"You should be safe."

"We need to protect you."

"Everything is fine, as long as you're okay."

Every single time, it was always the same.

Protect. Safe. Protect, Safe. Protect! Safe!

Protect...

Safe...

"..."

Jaune remained silent the entire time, listening to everything his family had to say. He heard their pleas, their concerns, their orders, their heartfelt wishes for nothing but his safety.

His teeth were clenched so tight, they were in danger of cracking.

"... You don't think I can do this."

It was not a question, not a random line thrown out in search of an answer. Jaune knew exactly what his family thought of him. He only confirmed it so they would not have to say it themselves.

Jonathan looked taken aback by just how angry his son sounded. He expected roaring frustration, shouting, and aggression. What he did not expect was a quiet, barely discernible whisper filled with anger, delivered through gritted teeth and pressed-together lips.

"... You don't. Right from the start, you never thought I could." Jaune had previously been looking down at his feet, only allowing his family to see the top of his head. He had done so to ensure they would not see him crying, if it came to that. Now, he wasn't quite sure how he looked, nor did he know what expression he was wearing.
Whatever the answer to those questions were, they must not have been pleasant if his family's reaction was anything to go by.

"You want me safe? I have to be protected? Are you kid- SERIOUSLY!?" Suddenly, he shouted, unable to hold back any more. "I'm not a baby! No matter where I end up, I'll always be in danger! Anything can happen anywhere, it doesn't matter if I'm a Huntsman or not! You can't just 'protect' me forever!"

"Jaune, you need to calm down." Jonathan held up a hand, wearing the most peaceful expression he possibly could.

"Calm down? Calm down!? I MADE IT!" Jaune yelled again, gesturing to the room around him. "I did everything right! I made it to Vale! I saved people! I showed up in the newspapers! I got accepted into Beacon! Everything, all of it, I did everything right, and you're still telling me I can't do this!"

"Jaune, that isn't what we meant." Juniper quickly stepped in, joining her husband in their attempts to calm their son down.

"You need to cool it, little bro. Forget your ego for a second and listen to what we're saying." Rouge's frown returned, like her sibling's behavior was disappointing her somehow.

"Please, just try to understand." Merigold, too, joined in.

"... It's always the same." The Arcs blinked in surprise. They hadn't expected Jaune to actually lower his voice so easily, to return to being calm so quickly. "Always, all of it. You tell me you want to protect me, and when I get mad, all you do is tell me to calm down and say the same thing you said before. Understand? What is there to understand? What am I missing? Is there more? Did I skip a page? How am I supposed to know that… when you always just tell me the same thing!?"

Jaune did know what he looked like in that moment. He would bet everything he owned that he would be able to perfectly describe every last detail so meticulously, his description could fill an entire magazine.

He was glaring so hard his face hurt. His eyes were narrowed so much, he could barely even see. And, most apparently, he could feel warm trails on his cheeks.

He did not have it in him to shout anymore. His voice dropped back down to an angry whisper.

"I got here myself. I accomplished so much without any of you there to protect me. I did so many things I never thought I could do as soon as I left home. I've met so many people, done so many things, and I've never been happier." Jaune forced his expression to soften as he tried one last time to reason with his family. "... And you don't even care."

"That's not what-" Jonathan tried to deny the ridiculous statement, but his son wasn't finished.

"'Great job, son'. 'We're so proud of you'. 'We can't wait to visit once you're settled in'." Jaune was speaking as if he was quoting somebody else, like another person was borrowing his body. "... That's what I wanted to hear… when I called my family to let them know I got into my dream school. That all my hard work paid off, and that I was finally on my way to being like my hero."

Several of the Arcs opened their mouths, only to close them again. They didn't know how to respond. Continuing to push their argument seemed doomed to fail, but they couldn't very well concede when they were this deep.

"... But, I know. It doesn't matter. It's not safe here. You can't protect me here. If I become a Huntsman, I won't be strong enough to handle it. I know… you don't think I can do this." The scroll was beginning to slip from Jaune's hand, moving the focus from him to the ceiling of the dorm. "... Fine. Then I'll get better. If I'm not strong enough to live without you protecting me, then I'll get stronger. I'll prove to you that I can handle this. I'll be the best one here. I'll do stuff nobody else can do. Then you'll…" Jaune trailed off with a sigh.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... It was nice to see you, really. I'm sorry it took me so long to respond to your messages, I just… wanted to wait until I could give you some good news. Thanks for worrying, and sorry for scaring you. I love you guys."

Ignoring the overlapping shouts of his family, Jaune pressed the red icon that would disconnect the call. Quietly, he stared blankly at the black screen of his Scroll. Almost instantly, he began receiving mail notifications.

"..."

He didn't know how much time passed as he sat on the bed in silence. Was it a few minutes? An hour? Was time even passing anymore, or was everything standing still?

"... Mmmgggg… gggraaahh!" Suddenly, Jaune sprung off the bed, and, grabbing the object nearest to him - a small notebook void of any notes - threw it straight at the wall.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? THAT'S ALL THEY HAVE TO SAY!?"Jaune stomped around, huffing angrily. The call he had been dreading and looking forward to was all for nothing. It changed nothing. His family still expected him to come home.

All because he was too weak, and he couldn't even blame them for thinking that way.

What hope did somebody who had only ever attacked trees have in a combat school?

How could somebody with an easy, peaceful life manage in the bloody, tumultuous lifestyle of a Hunter?

How could a person with no experience whatsoever act as if he already knew he would be fine?

Jaune ignored all these thoughts. They didn't matter. Those irrelevant details wouldn't help him at all. There was only one thing he was thinking of in that moment, and that was how to make himself look better, how to be better.

"Think, Jaune. You might as well just be a toddler stumbling around hoping you don't bump into anything. How do you get better? How do you get stronger? You can't spar with anybody, or they'll know you don't have any skill. Okay, okay, that's fine. I'll just… train by myself. I can hit targets and practice moves on my own. Yeah, yeah that'll work. It'll definitely work. I can get strong that way in a few weeks. No problem. Nope. It'll be fine."

Jaune was pacing around in a circle, wearing down the rug underfoot until a faint track formed.

"Something nobody else has done… maybe I could tell them I defeated the monster in the Emerald Forest. Yeah, I've even got witnesses. That has to prove something, there's no way they can just shrug that off! No Hunter ever defeated a Grimm that big! Yeah, perfect, great! That's my in, that has to work!"

Jaune stopped to scratch his head. For some reason, his scalp felt weirdly itchy. Was he sweating? Like, a lot? It felt like it.

Whatever, he'd worry about that later.

He couldn't just be the same as everybody else. "Passing" was no longer acceptable. If he didn't stand out, the low-class knight may as well have been worthless. It couldn't possibly be that hard. He could definitely succeed, because… because…

"Ah, Mr. Arc. The centerpiece, the cornerstone, perhaps the most important person in this entire room. You, young man, have an incredibly crucial role to-"

"STOP!" Jaune waved away the pointless thoughts. Thinking about hopeful dreams wasn't going to help him. He needed to focus on reality, not get lost in worthless illusions dreamed up so he could feel better about himself. He needed real solutions, real value, from real people.

And it all started with his own actions, his own efforts.

If his family didn't want to believe in him, he'd make them. He could totally prove he belonged at Beacon in just two or three weeks. No problem at all. Why would it be a problem?

After all, hadn't everybody told him exactly that?

"But I'm sure you'll do great, Jaune."

"You look strong enough. You'll probably do great, kid."

"Good night, Jaune. I'm sure you'll do great."

"... Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Everybody said it, so it has to be true. I-I'll do great. Th-there's no way I won't. No way." Jaune looked over to his bed. Leaning up against it was Crocea Mors, comfortably nestled within its sheath. Taking hold of the hilt, Jaune pulled the gleaming blade free and held it in front of his face, observing his reflection in the polished steel. "Y-y-you'll definitely do great, Jaune. You'll do great, you'll do great, you'll do great."

The words were repeated over and over, like a mantra, until he could reliably say it without sounding unsure of himself, until he was sure he sounded as confident as he wanted to be.

The face reflected in Crocea Mors remained anxious, pale, and frantic.

Thirty Minutes Later:

The others had returned. Peter was kind enough to bring a plate of food back for his leader, which Jaune gratefully consumed. He hadn't realized how hungry he actually was. His mind was too preoccupied coming up with plans to register the sensation of hunger.

When they returned, the room was a bit cleaner than it had been when they left. Apparently, after finishing his scroll call, Jaune had taken it upon himself to tidy up. There wasn't much to do, considering the rooms had already been prepared for the new students, so he stuck to minor improvements. Wiping away miniscule amounts of dust, straightening the bedding, putting away his own belongings, and other such actions.

By the look of it, he had also taken a quick shower before they returned. He looked refreshed and comfortable, and his hair was slightly damp. Although, the shower must have been a little too hot, because his face was somewhat red even then.

After running his plate down to the cafeteria, Jaune had returned to the dorm to find his teammates preparing for bed. They looked unnaturally tired, and beyond that, frustrated. Had something happened while he was gone? He tried to ask, but they insisted everything was fine.

Most likely, they really were just tired. Ben was already climbing into his bed, carelessly tossing his scroll onto their shared dresser. He had chosen the bed on the far left wall, while Rex took the one right next to it. Peter had claimed the bed right beside the opposite wall, leaving Jaune the bed between his and Rex's.

Shrugging, Jaune removed his school uniform and deposited it in his section of their shared dresser. The other boys did the same, save for Peter, who thought his uniform was a little wrinkled and decided to hang it in the window for the night.

"I can't be the only one who thinks this was a little too crazy for the first day, right? What kind of teacher throws his students off a cliff into a forest full of monsters?" Ben gestured half-heartedly from his position on his bed. He was already laying down and was only talking to fill time while he waited to fall asleep. There was a distinct lack of energy in his voice.

"It definitely doesn't seem like the best way to do things. There has to be a less dangerous way to sort through examinees." Peter sounded more exasperated than anything. The wanton endangerment of people, kids, did more than just annoy him.

"I thought it was pretty fun. Well, until Ben ruined the party." Rex good-heartedly jabbed at his tired friend. If Ben heard him, he either didn't care or was too tired to respond. His eyes kept shutting on their own. It was a challenge to keep them open at this point.

Jaune took notice of this. Glancing at his other two teammates, he saw that they looked the same. Utterly exhausted.

"... We have class tomorrow. H-hey, isn't this the time to… I don't know, do leader stuff?"

Nervously, Jaune cleared his throat, pulling his team's attention over to himself.

"N-now listen, we have to be up early for class tomorrow, so we shouldn't stay up late. A-as the leader of Team J.P.T.R., I hereby declare we're all going to bed early." His teammates blinked back at him, saying nothing. "... If that's okay with you."

Jaune threw in the last part with an utter lack of confidence. It would take a while to get used to giving orders.

Peter shrugged. "Sure, no problem. I'm pretty tired, anyway." The youngest member of Team JPTR climbed into his bed and rolled onto his side. Rex flashed a thumbs up at his leader and even hit the lights before slumping into his own bed. Ben did nothing. By the look of it, he was already unconscious.

Jaune felt a weird urge to smile. He was glad to be working with such kind people who were willing to listen to him, inexperienced as he was.

… Inexperienced?

No, no, that wasn't right. Inexperienced? Jaune Arc? That was ridiculous. Haven't you heard? He was a confident graduate of combat school, just like everybody else here. Who was the inexperienced one? He knew exactly what he was doing.

And what he was doing at that moment was using the bathroom. It was a nightly ritual. Whether he actually had to go or not, the blonde knight felt anxious if he didn't at least make a quick visit before settling down for the night.

Before he exited the small bathroom attached to their dorm room, he casually decided to take a quick look at his scroll. Unsurprisingly, he had plenty of new messages. No longer having a reason to ignore them, he begrudgingly decided to check their contents.

The longest ones were immediately discarded. Jaune could tell at a glance they were either apologies for forcing him to come home or more lectures. There was a message from Vert in which she told him to keep fighting and that things would work out. That had made him smile, but didn't really improve his mood.

The only one that really stood out was the message from Rouge. It was the only one that didn't have an empty subject line. Curious, Jaune tapped the message.

Sender: Rouge

Subject: A Word of Advice

You want to hear "something new"? Fine, then listen up. You, little bro, need to start seriously thinking about your situation. It's not just a game or some far-off dream anymore. You're in this now, and that comes with a lot of new things I know you haven't even considered yet, whether you think you have or not. If you ignore everything else I say for the rest of our lives, fine, but you'd better listen to this.

You need to think. Not about yourself, but about everything else. Stop seeing the world through your own eyes, from your own perspective. Look at every angle you can, consider everything, and stop being so narrow-minded. Because trust me, little bro, if all you got from that call was that we don't believe in you, you definitely aren't ready to be a Huntsman.

You didn't "skip a page", Jaune. You're just stuck rereading the same one because you still can't understand it.

But, whatever. It's your life. Stay safe, little bro. I'll see you soon.

"..."

Rouge was a difficult person because it was nearly impossible to know if she was ever being honest. The second-eldest Arc child was so frighteningly good at lying, she could be running a dozen different cons on the same person at the same time, and cut them all off perfectly at any time without anybody ever knowing, and without anything left behind to reveal what had actually happened. It was a running joke in their family that she could never be allowed to become a politician, or else she would control the entire world within a month.

Luckily for them, her dream was to be a lawyer.

The Arc family had long since learned that they should be very careful with Rouge. Her odd sense of humor could very well cause her to fabricate the most insane stories purely for her own amusement. Indeed, it was incredibly difficult to know whether or not she was being honest about something.

Except for one, very specific set of circumstances. Rouge enjoyed having fun, but she never took things so far that it would cause serious harm to anybody. She took her role as a big sister very seriously, and when one of her siblings needed help, she set aside the lies, the tricks, and the fun little scams and gave the best advice she possibly could.

It was for that reason Jaune was the only person who never doubted her, no matter how many times she conned him in one way or another.

"... Right. Look from other angles. Thanks, sis." Jaune muttered despondently as he stepped out of the bathroom. His scroll was tossed carelessly on top of the dresser he shared with his teammates before he fell into his bed. He was too tired to properly think on that advice. It could be revisited tomorrow.

It hurt being upset with his family. He didn't want to feel like he had any reason to be angry or put-out with the most important people in the world to him, but Jaune didn't know how else he was supposed to feel. Was it better to forgive them, or not? To listen, or to keep charging ahead?

"..."

That wasn't a serious question. Turning back never was and never would be an option. The only path available was the one laced with thorns that would stab at his feet with every step he took. The inexperienced knight only needed something that could push him, something he could use as a source of inspiration to make as much progress as he possibly could in three weeks.

Blankly, Jaune rolled his body to the side and looked out over the room. His teammates were all passed out already, waiting for him to join them in the world of slumber. Did they have their own problems, too? He couldn't remember any of them mentioning their families back at the interrogation room. What he did remember was that they all wanted to help. Peter came all the way from Menagerie to be a Huntsman. Ben gave up his drifter lifestyle to help protect the world. Rex had so much talent, he scored a personal tour from General Ironwood himself at one of Atlas' facilities.

No matter how you looked at it, they were all incredible people. So much more incredible than their sorry excuse for a leader.

Being mediocre was absolutely unacceptable, not only for himself, but for them. Jaune would not be the one to drag down these amazing people.

"We'll all make it. I swear, I'll be the best leader I possibly can be, for myself, and for all of you. Every one is us is going to make it to graduation, and we'll all be heroes together."

Jaune rolled back over, facing the wall. That was enough thinking for one night. Now, he needed to get some rest. It would be a long day tomorrow, and the last thing he needed was to sleep through his first class as a student of Beacon.

What kind of example would he be setting as the leader of his team?

Ozpin:

It had been an incredibly successful day, overall. The fact that not a single student had died was already great news. Add in the fact that nearly all of them had passed Initiation, and the aging Headmaster was over the moon.

"A strong batch of warriors, an abundance of motivation, and plenty of hope and ambition to go around. Hm, the future truly is looking bright."

Ozpin stood alone in his office atop Beacon Academy's central tower. It was late enough that he was likely the only one still up and about. Even Glynda had retreated to her quarters, ensuring she would be well-rested and prepared for the classes she had to teach in the morning.

That wasn't bad. Ozpin didn't mind being the only one left awake. Even if he had somebody to talk to, there was very little he actually wanted to talk about that the other party would share his interest in.

For now, he was content with taking a moment to stare out his office window, surveying his beautiful academy for a while before heading to bed himself. Small moments like these brought him great joy, more than he could ever describe to anybody.

"So many bright students, all ready to do their part. I'm sure every one of them will make the world a better place, in their own way."

*Brrrring* *Brrrring*

Ozpin reluctantly tore himself away from the window to return to his desk. Despite being such an important man, the terminal on his desk received calls surprisingly infrequently. Whenever somebody did attempt to call him directly, it usually meant they hoped to discuss something important.

This was sure to be no different.

"Oh? I know that ID." Ozpin raised an eyebrow as a name and number appeared on his office Scroll. Normally, such a thing would not appear unless the same person had called before. In this case, it was taken a step further. The man in question had never actually called before. The reason his ID showed up now was because Ozpin had personally given him his contact information, even calling him every now and then whenever something important came up.

"Hah, why now, Jonathan? Nearly thirty years, and only now you contact me?" Ozpin carefully observed the familiar name that belonged to both a legendary Hunter and an old friend. Smiling faintly, Ozpin reached a finger towards the terminal's screen…

And swiped down, rejecting the call.

Ozpin leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together and staring at the now black screen.

"As happy as I am to receive a call from an old friend, I do wish you would leave me out of your family matters, Jonathan."

Ozpin stood up and walked to the elevator that would take him to his private quarters. It had been a very long day, and even the greatest men required rest.

All of them, without exception.

.

.

.

Jaune calling his parents hits different when you've got "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne playing in the background.

Bit of a shorter chapter this time around, only because I already know what I want to do next and this chapter would be very, very long if I tried to do both at once. I guess this is kind of another two-parter, in that sense. That's also why it kind of cuts off pretty abruptly.

Anyway, there is something I want to say real quick, just for future reference for all of you. One year. That's the deadline. I am well aware of the pain of a story just going cold without any notice from the author, not even a little update saying the story is definitely dead. So, I promised myself I would always keep my readers updated. Even if I have no time to drop chapters, even if my computer breaks and I can't afford a new one, if NOTHING else, I would at least run down to the library, hop on a computer there, and write a tiny update confirming whether or not the story will continue. Remember this, unless I drop an update SPECIFICALLY saying the story is dead, it's not dead, I'm just not able to update at the time. If nothing, not even an update comes for one entire year, assume I'm dead or in a coma.

Moving on, this chapter isn't perfect, obviously, but I think it's alright for what it's meant to do. I won't say too much though, since I already said this is pretty much just half of what it's meant to be. This is only a third of your Christmas gift, after all, and half the fun is unwrapping every present. There's no excitement if you know what's inside. That being said, I realize now how misleading "Good things come in 3's" actually is. No, I am not going to be dropping 3 chapters all at once today. The next chapter will be ready in 4-5 days, and the third will be ready a few days after that.

Thank you for reading and remember to leave a review.

Aren signing off.