Chapter VIII: Making Sides Official

Pyrrha was silently fuming as everything fell apart; she did her best to keep a smile on her face though. Not even seconds ago, they had been informed that a high ranking politician had gone out of their way to meet them due to Ozpin's request. It was also not General Ironwood — no, they had already met him. It was the fleet admiral of the marines. According to their headmaster, this man was in charge of the organization that they were trying to join. What made it so bad? First, Nora was still missing. It wasn't even something they could hide either. The first thing the fleet admiral mentioned when they entered was how the submitted team claimed four members. Second, Pyrrha was currently trying to find a way out of handing over the documentation to the man.

Her fingers gripped onto the pages as she tried to find the most reasonable and polite way to explain how her teammate had put down a name she didn't agree with, and it needed to change. Unfortunately, it was taken that she was embarrassed about Nora's disappearance. Ozpin had assured her that all would be well and the fleet admiral, then introducing himself as Sengoku, began a speech on how many young and promising recruits acted similarly. It was nearly ten minutes in and Pyrrha wanted to find a nice wall to smash her head against as the man was telling her how it was up to her as a leader to guide her team to grow not just as marines but as people too. How could she explain to him that it was simply Nora being Nora? Her team understood, perhaps Ozpin and Goodwitch might if she tried to tell them, but it seemed herculean to convince Sengoku.

And with the thoughts of Nora and chaos, she had been sufficiently distracted enough for the fleet admiral to take the papers from her. Then, with a stamp on the paper, her fate was sealed. Yang had the decency to look apologetic when Pyrrha sent her a look. Weiss' hand on her shoulder was far more comforting though.

With their meeting nearly over, Ozpin entered a nearly chatty nature with Sengoku. "I must say, but I did not expect to see so many — spikes. What is their purpose?"

The long, braided beard on his chin swayed as Sengoku shook his head. "A few years back, we had this damned pest around us. Someone with a zoan fruit is our guess: some sort of black bird. The bastard kept flying around our bases and humiliating us. Imagine how it felt delivering a speech to the masses only to have an insufferable rat with wings drop its feces in your hair. We made sure whoever that rascal is, they feared us too much to try anything again."

"A black bird, you say?" Beacon's headmaster held a knowing look. "Do you think perhaps it was Qrow?"

"It probably was a crow zoan." Sengoku answered. "I don't see how it pinpoints anyone. The only person we have documented with that devil fruit is a low bounty pirate that we have behind bars."

Ozpin shook his head. "I meant Onyx Feather Qrow."

"That bastard!" Ozpin's face flattened. He was still not happy to hear how all of Qrow's adventures went without his knowing. "We already know he has the nagi nagi no mi, and his semblance is bad luck. How would you suggest he could do it?"

"Magic?"

Sengoku sighed, leaning back in the chair provided for him. "I already had the world mocking me; I don't need you to join, Ozpin. Now, if that is all, I really should get going. Politics are tedious as ever, and I would rather not let it fall to pieces. I already heard of Garp blundering just on my way here."

"Then we'll not keep you." Ozpin gestured, letting the fleet admiral leave with his guards. Once they were gone, he picked up the stamped papers and flipped through them. Reaching the last page, he hummed to himself, flipped back to the front, and set them down again. "Team PWNY," Pyrrha had to fight every nerve not to sigh, "We will wait here for Ironwood's subordinates to arrive. Until then, do try and find Miss Valkyrie."

He tried and failed to avoid the rain of fire. Bullets scattered everywhere, pelting his skin as he fought every instinct and gave up dodging to run forward. He swung the single blade in his hands. The act was wide and careless, but a shadow of control showed in his attempt.

Ren rolled out of the way with ease, peppering his side with more shots. Jaune tried to follow along, lunging forward. Ren stepped back and clashed Stormflower against the attack. Sparks flew as the blades crashed. Ren twisted his left hand, dragging Jaune into a circular motion that left him wide open.

Jaune called upon his aura, waiting for more bullets to greet him, but Ren's foot did instead. It struck him in the chest and knocked him off balance. He threw a wild slash, but when Ren dodged, the momentum of the heavy blade added with his fall caused the handle to slip from his grasp. Crocea Mors clattered away as he landed on his butt. He reached for it only to hear a click near his head. Turning, he was greeted with the sight of twin pistols inches from his face.

Jaune gave up reaching for his weapon and simply surrendered. While putting Stormflower away, Ren gave him an apologetic look. He reached out a hand that Jaune took readily. Jaune had grown somewhat used to Beacon's combat classes, but their training here was beginning to grow more and more intense and common. He felt more than lucky to have a crew that was willing to help him while still following him. There were too many people out there who would just overthrow him, even if they would be justified in doing so. That being said, he had only sparred with Neo once now, and she instantly became his least favorite sparring partner.

Jaune sat in one of their chairs, gulping down water. When he finished, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "I really need to get my shit together. I'm too weak."

"You are improving, you know?" Blake had sat down next to him. She was taking a much needed break from guiding them. Their new log pose was positioned tightly around her wrist, and it quickly reminded Jaune of how jumpy she had been with it at first. If they had so much as diverted a hair, she would call for all hands on deck. Now that the sky hadn't come crashing down, she seemed to finally relax. He wished he could say the same for himself.

"Yeah, I improved from getting my ass kicked in less than twenty seconds to getting my ass kicked in less than thirty seconds." He rolled his eyes, more at himself than her.

"From the way I see it, you came to Beacon with poor training to the point you almost needed to be built from the ground up." It was all true, but she could have said it with some more tact and not in such an apathetic tone. "Now, in the span of some months, you've gone leaps and bounds from where you began — you might be holding your own soon. The only thing holding you back is your fear of your opponent; you never seem to want to engage while in combat. It's almost like you had no experience fighting before Beacon."

"That's because I didn't." Amber eyes blinked at him. At her silence, he continued. "I sort of forged my transcripts and cheated my way into Beacon. I had no training and didn't even have my aura unlocked. If Pyrrha hadn't caught me with her spear, well — I would have been a red puddle in the Emerald Forest." It was blunt, but he honestly just wanted to throw the words out there. It's not like he wanted to hide anything from his crew, especially something that might be vital for them to know in the future. It still felt like ripping off a bandaid.

For all of the reactions Jaune expected to receive, Blake's was not on the list. "I suppose that makes it all the more impressive."

"What?" He cocked his head. "No big speech on my stupidity? Nothing about being incompetent or about putting my friends in danger?"

Blake, for all the wisdom in the world, shrugged. "I feel as though we've all grown numb to outrageous things. Forging your transcripts? Compared to becoming a pirate, that almost feels like nothing. Really, it just explains why you were so weak and lacking training." He cringed at the words, but couldn't refute them.

"I probably would have been upset before, but as I said though, it makes your accomplishments more impressive. You've entered a combat school with no experience and now you've grown to the point that you can land hits. It might seem pathetic from your perspective, but the distance from civilian to huntsman is large: you're closing that gap in stride."

Jaune soaked the words in. "Thanks, Blake. I guess I never thought about it that way. I was just — so used to seeing myself so far behind that I never thought about how far I've come."

He suddenly felt Cardin's large hand slam against his shoulder. He looked up to see the smirking boy look down at him. "You just need to get stronger, right Jauney-boy?"

Jaune looked around, seeing his friends smiling at him. "I guess so; I'll do my best. I promise all of you that I'll get strong enough to call myself your captain! After all, I am the man who will become King of the Pirates!"

Beacon: located in Vale and considered a home to future huntsmen destined for greatness. Many considered it to be the best of the four huntsmen academies, though that could be Valean bias; however, it was still known for many of the biggest names. The great Team STRQ, their resident Glynda Goodwitch, the renowned Nicholas Arc, and even in the newer generation it taught both Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the SDC, and Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl. Beacon was also the school where the headmaster left with little to no notice, taking the deputy headmistress with him.

Oobleck stared ruefully out of the window of the headmaster's tower. Beacon had been without any official headmaster or headmistress for two days before it was decided that another faculty member should step into the shoes. Ozpin had taken Glynda, so she was gone. Peter had not only revealed a criminal history, but disappeared suddenly as well — likely running from the law. Plum had also seemed to vanish into thin air. Oobleck felt that was fitting for her personality. It all gave him a bitterness toward the man who dumped this on him. Ozpin had mentioned something about big plans; STRQ two-point-o, he had called it. Something about their greatest team but better.

Whatever the case, Oobleck was now not only headmaster of Beacon, but the only professor there. It was noon, and his thirtieth cup of coffee that day reached his lips. One might say his eye was twitching. It was more accurate to say both were twitching, and then they were only twitching slightly more than the spasming of the rest of his body. It was not easy to attempt being in four places at once.

The doors burst open. A haggard student with an oddly large nose burst into the room. "Sir! The cafeteria has run out of coffee!"

Oobleck whipped around, launching the papers off his desk and knocking over furniture as he marched to the boy. "This is disastrous! There is not a threat on Remnant that could bring about such a catastrophe! Worry not, we will send for more immediately."

"Look! See, it's that shiny thing in the water over there!" Nora pointed over the horizon. The marines that were trying to round her up just looked over to the setting sun in confusion.

"I think that's just the sun. I don't see anything."

Her finger pointed accusingly. Her other hand discretely shoved pancakes into her mouth. "It has to be pirates or something!" Her voice was muffled from the mass of breakfast food she was having for dinner.

"I don't see it!" A new voice shouted next to her. Nora turned to see a boy roughly her age with black hair, black eyes, and wearing a marine uniform. "Oh, hi there! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm the man who's going to become King of the Marines."

Nora nodded in understanding as more food vanished beneath her. Luffy looked down and frowned. "You're eating pancakes?" Nora nodded. "Why eat those when they have such good meat! They have steak, pork, chicken — any you can imagine! The pancakes kind of suck."

Nora's eyes lit with a fury unknown to man. "You take that back," she growled.

Luffy laughed defiantly. "Watch, I'll eat so much more of the meat than you've eaten pancakes to prove how much better they are."

"That doesn't even make sense," one marine argued.

To Nora, it made perfect sense. The mysterious shiny object in the sea was forgotten as they barreled over to the mess hall. Marines dove out of the way in fear for their lives. Valiant men stood guard, trying to stop the force, but it was for naught and the two dived at the food. Screams of horror could be heard by chefs all around the world.

Somewhere, Sanji shivered in fear.

"Look." Ruby pointed up past one of The Bucket's walls. "Is that a marine base? We're passing really close, they might see us."

Blake grimaced. "I've been trying to have us follow the log pose while using the map. I haven't done the best."

Jaune shrugged, entering the conversation. "It's fine. We're far enough that no one should be able to see us."

Across in the distance, they could faintly hear, "Look…Pirates!"

They all looked at each other. They knew that voice. "That's Nora," Jaune stated the obvious. He was about to panic when a firm hand rested on his shoulder.

When he turned, Ren was next to him, smiling faintly. "That means we're safe." Oh right, Jaune had forgotten about her wild stories. It almost made her a sort of girl who cried wolf. Jaune grew a look similar to Ren. It was nice to hear their friend's voice again after so long apart. How much longer would it be next time?

"Gah! Neo, please! I'm sorry I did the wrong thing! Please, not the cheese!" They turned to see Cardin crawling out of the cockpit, a pissed Neo following.

"Should I ask?" Ren muttered. She was supposed to be showing him how to pilot The Bucket. Whatever error Cardin had made, he wouldn't be making it again. Jaune shook his head, conveying just how futile it was to understand the short woman. Ren fully understood. It was as if he traded Nora for another Nora that was more violent instead of hungry. Not that he would ever actually replace his childhood friend.

If you asked Ren what his goal on the Grand Line was, he would tell you it was to find the All Blue. The truth was slightly more than that. He was mainly here to support Jaune and his journey. Finding the All Blue was just so he would have the ingredients to make a dish that could get Nora to forgive him.

Neo let the ire fade as she cheerfully waved to the rest of the crew. Jaune was certain there were the beginnings of Ruby's technique there. If Ruby had caved and begun to teach Neo, he would have to bribe her with cookies and make an official order as captain. Still waving happily, Neo grabbed Cardin by the feet and dragged him back into the cockpit.

"I consider this penance for how he acted in Beacon." Blake glared as Cardin's hands disappeared.

"Isn't penance supposed to be voluntary?" Ren debated.

"He volunteered to help her first. That's voluntary enough."

"Um," Ruby hummed nervously. Jaune wondered if it was out of fear of Neo or if she was worried about getting in trouble for Neo's semi-puppy eyes. "Do you think she's acting this way because she's been the only one piloting us for a few days and she's frustrated?" Ah, probably the first one then; however, he wouldn't be fooled so easily. Ruby showed on the marine ship that she could be devious. Perhaps it was a diversion.

Jaune blinked in confusion. It had gone suddenly quiet, and all eyes were on him. That was when he realized Ruby's question was directed at him and he had been lost in thought. Even now, after noticing them staring, he was still thinking. "Judging by how the people at that first island acted when she couldn't have been there that long, I think that's just how she is."

Ruby's shoulders drooped. "Why is she with us again?"

"Because our captain recruited her." Jaune caught the distancing tone that Ren used.

Ruby's disappointment grew an annoyance on top. "And why did you want her to join, Captain?"

To that, surprisingly, Jaune had a prepared answer. It was almost as if Neo was the only crew member he foresaw needing to justify his recruitment for. "A few reasons, actually. First, because she offered and we needed to get out of Vale fast. If I had turned her down, there was no guarantee we could have gotten away. We would still be in Vale; maybe we would be under stricter watch in Beacon to the point someone would watch us sleep, or we might have gone to jail."

Ruby suddenly paled at the thought of those two potentials. Jaune went on, as if his argument was prepared. "Second, I like to think I'm decent at reading people —"

"You've thought Weiss was into you for far too long," Blake drawled.

Jaune coughed to clear his throat. "I said I was decent at reading people, not that I'm omniscient or something." Blake's expression did not change. In fact, both Ruby and Ren were doing excellent Blake impressions at the moment. It was so funny he forgot to laugh.

With dramatic exasperation, he went on, "As I was saying, I can almost read her expressions. It's like she's speaking except she's mute, you know?" None of them knew. "I could tell she was curious about us, so I told her what I was doing. When I saw she wanted to tag along, that gave her more points in my book."

"You recruited her on a look?"

Jaune dutifully ignored her. "I'll admit, sometimes she gives stabby faces, but she always listens when I get onto her."

Ren looked worried. "Is that why you're always yelling 'Neo, no' across the ship?"

"Yeah. Even when I can't see her, it's almost like I can — Neo, no!" Jaune cut himself off to yell, and there was a frustrated thump on the wall after he did. He sighed. "It's like at this point, I just have a sixth sense about it. I wonder if Torchwick ever felt like this?

"Anyways, my last point is that she seems to have some dream she wants to achieve. I have no clue what it is, but I respect people who have noble dreams."

"You really think it's noble?" At this point, Ruby, Ren, and Black were feeling and acting so much the same that it might as well have been any of them who asked.

Jaune, the one they followed, their captain, the single man they were forced to place their trust in, shrugged.

Pyrrha watched silently as Nora competed against some boy. The cooks were working overtime to keep up with even just one of the combatants. She sighed, feeling so many different emotions. First she felt frustrated. Nora had caused her to be humiliated in front of important people, and if she hadn't been so flustered, she might have been able to get the team name changed. Then she felt guilty for feeling that way in the first place. Nora was her friend and didn't deserve Pyrrha's frustration. From there, she allowed herself to feel some amusement, enjoying Nora's behavior and the memories of Beacon it brought. Then finally, those same memories brought back a pain in her chest. Their misguided friends were still out there.

"Are you going to simply watch, or are you going to retrieve her?" Weiss had arrived, and Yang was not too far behind. The shorter girl looked up at Pyrrha with a look that said she had respect for her leader, but would put her own foot down if Pyrrha would not.

She idly wondered what brought out this specific sternness in Weiss. It was likely the same that gave her own self determination.

Deciding to take the calmer approach, Pyrrha smiled kindly. "Let her have this. We're not going anywhere at the moment, we know where she is, and look at her: she's having fun."

Weiss huffed, but a hidden smile twitched on her lips. The moment was ruined when someone next to Pyrrha called out. "Hey, you're the leader of that new team, right?"

She turned to see a marine looking at her. Forcing a smile, she answered, "I am. How did you hear about us?"

The marine jerked his thumb at the eating competition. "Your teammate kept telling us about it. Honestly, everyone in the base has to know by now. Anyways, she said you got devil fruit powers? Those aren't that common and that's got most of us curious. What are they?" The sounds of Nora's victory and winning a prize were blocked out.

Now, Pyrrha felt ire.

"Sir." Winter saluted. It had been nearly hours since she had turned around once. This was a matter of grave importance to her, involving marines, pirates, Beacon, and even her own sister. Thus, every fiber of her attention was required. She reasoned that was why the general looked so surprised. He had to be impressed with her since she had not shown this dedication in Atlas matters.

Ironwood sounded more aghast than impressed. "Specialist Schnee, where are Specialist Clover and the two detainees?"

Winter, still keeping her posture, clicked her heels and turned. There was not a single person behind her. "Sir!" She turned around and saluted once more. "I believe I have lost them, sir!"

Ironwood palmed his face. He had gone through so much in these past few days and wanted something, just something, to go right for once.

Neptune groaned like he was in pain. Sun was smiling, his hands interlocked behind his head. They were on a small ship that resembled more of a raft with sides than an actual boat. Guiding them along was Ebi Clover.

"Why? I thought you said you were saving us!" Neptune accused the man.

"I am saving you," he replied. "I'm saving you from being forced to become a marine." Clover's voice said it was the most obvious thing in the world. Sun could agree.

"Thanks, man! I knew you were cool. So, are you a pirate?"

To Neptune's dread, Clover affirmed, "I was part of a crew, one that hasn't sailed around in a while. Though, with what Winter was saying — maybe they're picking up again. I'll drop you boys off somewhere safe before heading out myself."

Sun opened his mouth, maybe to ask more questions, but he suddenly heard a shout from the marine base they nearly went to. Something about 'shiny' and 'pirates,' and then he swore he heard his name.

"Looks like I'm becoming infamous already. I really need to get a title then. Sun of the Dawn, Morning Sun — oh, maybe tall, blond, and scraggly. No not that, that's not really a pirate name. Maybe…"

Neptune had nowhere to escape to. Outside the boat was water and inside the boat was Sun. They were best friends, but right now — right now, he was being a pain. What did he ever do to deserve this hell?

AN:

So, this is now caught up to Wattpad and over halfway through what I've already written. So far, Qrow seems to have a reputation, doesn't he? But it couldn't have possibly been him ruining those speeches.

Oh, and as for why Sengoku is there (besides crack fic logic, of course), I figured Ozpin would be a liaison of sorts and high up in the politics of the marines. If nothing else, his presence would call for a meeting with someone important.

Also, I do plan on giving everyone epithets. I love them in general and one piece is full of them. Sun trying to come up with one is actually a joke based on how he's one of the few I can't find any that I like the ring of…

Anyways, next chapter: Run In With Smoker