Back, also the poll is fucked and I can't figure it out.

Reinforcements

Glynda was a practical woman. She needed to be for the position of deputy-mistress of Beacon. Yes, Ozpin may have been the headmaster, attend all the public events, and do a fair amount of paperwork for the city of Vale, but she oversaw the day to day running of the academy. It was necessary. One person, no matter how incredible, could only do so much. That's why he relied on her, Qrow, Ironwood, and everyone else to help.

Which is why she was angry that Team Jabberwocky decided to confront a White Fang operation taking place in Vale. A majority of her anger wasn't directed at the team, funny enough. Their leader, Jaune Arc, had the common sense to ask for backup before he dived headfirst into a terrorist organization. What she was mad about was Ozpin's encouragement at finding the missing teammate. During the selection process, she made him aware of her concerns about letting in a former terrorist into the school.

He waived it off saying that the Branwens were bandits and they turned out just fine. Her eyebrow twitched at the thought. Qrow was a walking catastrophe and Raven just up and left at one point. Whatever went through that ancient head of his, Glynda couldn't grasp. Sometimes she thought the age was catching up to him. A man could only live so long before something started to crack. Pushing those thoughts away she focused herself at the task at hand.

She looked around the bullhead that was traveling towards Arc's last known location. Team Upsilon was in attendance, insistent on coming with. Not that she would complain, they had the good grace to inform her, and trust went both ways. Her only concern was Ms. Valkyrie, holding a stuffed pig plush and was vibrating in her seat with something that she could only describe as… excitement. Glynda just hoped it didn't cause excess paperwork.

"Five minutes!" The pilot notified them over the roar of the engines. Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing herself, Glynda turned to the other occupants.

"Everyone, listen up!" She used her teaching voice to gather their attention. "In Five minutes, we will be landing at Mr. Arc's last known location. I want all of you to stay in my sights and not do anything rash. Am I understood?" Everyone nodded in understanding. "Good. I hope you all are ready. This will be and excellent demonstration of a 'hot landing' when out in the field." She said, trying to alleviate some of the tension.

They would be there before they knew it.

Weiss was running as fast as she could. Ignoring street signs and stoplights to get to her destination. Why did it have to be on the other side of town? She was walking towards one of the many parks in Vale before he called her. It must have been strange for everyone else around Weiss to see her suddenly bolt after hanging up. Whatever the case, Team Jabberwocky needed her, and she was going to help. Not leave them high and dry as her father would.

Finally reaching the warehouse district, sounds of shouting and gunfire could be heard a distance away. Following the noise of combat that echoed off the metal walls, a new sound assaulted her. Screams. Bloodcurdling screams that made her blood turn to ice and shoved dread into her stomach. Thoughts of her team dying raced through her, pushing her legs to run faster. "No, no, no, no." She whispered to herself in hopes that it wasn't the case.

Nearing the battlefield, the stench of blood assaulted her senses, making her gag. Rounding the last warehouse, Weiss saw the battlefield in all its cruel glory.

Bodies were littered on the blacktop, torn and bleeding wherever they lay. Following the screams, Weiss saw Penny dancing through the White Fang with her fan of swords. She would have wondered where she got the weapons, but the fact that they were butchering White Fang left and right just left her rooted to the spot. The sound of footsteps coming near her broke Weiss out of the trance. Blake was running at her carrying Ruby.

The girl looked like she fought an Ursa barehanded, her outfit battered and torn. She was limping as well, with a slight hitch in her step. Before Weiss could ask, Blake shoved the body into her arms. "Watch her." Blake croaked and pulled out her weapon, sending a volley of bullets towards a different direction. It spurred Weiss into action, pulling Myrtenaster from her wasting and shifting the red mass onto her shoulder. She was thankful she started strength training with Pyrrha and Jaune.

Lancing her rapier into the ground, Weiss brought up an ice wall in-between them and the White Fang, providing ample cover from gunfire. "Thanks." Blake offered, taking potshots around the fake wall. For the moment, Weiss forgot about Blake's involvement with the White fang and looked at the body on her shoulder. Ruby looked alright, but she seemed to be unresponsive to the outside world.

"What happened?" She asked, trying to rouse Ruby from her stupor. The red reaper had that thousand-yard stare her mother sometimes had. That made her more nervous than she would've liked.

"First kill." Blake ducked back as a volley of bullets ricochet off the ice. Weiss was stunned at the concept of Ruby killing somebody. "Everyone reacts differently. I've only seen this once before." Her partner peaked out of the corner. "Get her out of here. She's useless right now."

"No!" Weiss was here to help, not to run. Frankly, Blake of all people telling her that made Weiss livid. "This is your fault for running away!" Blake visibly winced at that but suppressed her features.

"Yeah, I got that, but can we do this later?" Another volley of bullets sprayed ice from the wall. "We have bigger problems." Begrudgingly, Weiss agreed. With Blake taking keeping the White Fang away from them, Weiss opted to keep the ice wall intact, feeding it Aura and Dust. One problem taken care of, she knelt beside Ruby and tried to get her attention.

"Ruby?" She waived a hand in front of her face. "Ruby, can you hear me?" Her silver orbs were still vacant, looking straight ahead. Weiss shook her shoulders, still no response. Running out of gentle options, Weiss remembered something her father would do, as much as she hated to admit it. "Sorry Ruby, I hope you can forgive me." Rearing her hand back, she brought it to her teammates face with all the force she could muster.

The audible smack that it made caused Weiss to cringe, but it had the desired effect. Vacant silver orbs now had focus in them, darting left and right in fear. Okay, progress. Ruby lifted her hands to her face and started to scream. Never mind. Looked like she was on Ruby duty for now. "Ruby, it's me, Weiss. Ruby? Ruby!" The heiress was struggling with Ruby now, trying to get up and run away. They just found their teammate and they didn't need another one running off. Am I the only sane one here?

The roar of bullhead caught her attention. Looking away from her struggling teammate, still firmly in her grasp, Weiss looked up. "Is that more White Fang?" Blake asked, still shooting from cover.

"No." The Beacon emblem was on the side of the vehicle, making Weiss's spirits soar. "It's Beacon."

"Oh, thank the gods." Blake sighed in relief, slumping against the cold cover. Beyond it, frantic shouting and the revving of more bullheads reverberated through the area. Weiss held Ruby in her arms as she continued to fight trying to calm her down.

"It's going to be okay."

Yang was off the Bullhead before it touched the ground, jumping off the ramp. Goodwitch's protests could be heard behind her, but she didn't care. She needed to find Ruby. Rolling as she landed on the blacktop, Yang surveyed the scene around her. There were bodies littered across the area, all of them butchered like cattle. The pun wasn't lost to Yang as she bit back her revulsion from the sight. Focus, find Ruby.

Tearing her eyes away from the gruesome scene, looking for her sister. The White Fang was retreating from what she saw, loading up bullheads and taking off. A lone redheaded girl with spinning blades was running after them, coated in viscera and blood. Gonna stay away from that. Her eyes eventually found an ice wall, signature of a resident Schnee. Pinning her hopes on that, she sprinted towards it.

Getting closer, the cries of her sister could finally be heard. It compelled her to move faster. Yang had to skid to a halt as shew rounded the ice barrier. The image of Weiss holding Ruby as she wailed and Blake slumped against the wall, beaten and ragged was what greeted her. She was instantly by the heiress side, a combination of helplessness and relief flooding through her. "What happened?" She asked, trying to calm her sister down.

"I don't- Stop struggling, damnit! Blake said she killed someone." Weiss had to dodge an elbow to the face to keep talking.

"Shit. Alright. Ruby?" Yang had a myriad of emotions running through her, causing her eyes to flash crimson. Ruby's response was to scream louder and to fight harder, trying to get away from Yang. Useless and making things worse for her sister, a pit formed in her stomach as she fell back to the one thing she did know.

Anger.

"How did this happen?" She snarled, her semblance flaring and melting the nearby ice.

"I don't know!" Weiss snapped back, keeping Ruby in place. "I just got here!"

"Where's Jaune!? He's the one that called us here!" Yang was yelling at this point and was ready to lash out. The anger was familiar, something she needed right now.

"Ms. Xiao-Long, you will behave yourself!" Goodwitch's voice came from behind her. The purple Aura of the professor's semblance surrounded her, locking Yang in place. "I know the situation here is stressful but please keep your wits about you." She released her, regaining control of her body. Reluctantly, she swallowed down her anger for now with a growl. It never stayed hidden for long. Looking back at her team she left behind, Yang could finally see their expressions.

Nora's face was pale, as if she'd seen a ghost. She was a complete opposite from her usual demeanor, but Yang could understand it. Ren had a grim expression, almost at home with his usual neutrality. He seemed familiar with the sight. Pyrrha, on the other hand, was vomiting on the tarmac, bent over with her body shaking. It was an odd sight seeing the usual champion this unnerved, but she was coping. Her rage was the only thing keeping her focused.

"Split into pairs and look for survivors." Goodwitch barked, taking charge of the situation. "Where is Mr. Arc?"

"The last time I saw him, he was fighting some bitch." Blake helped, slumped by the melting ice wall. Yang bit back a sarcastic remark. Walking past her, Goodwitch knelt beside her and checked her injuries.

"Where?" She reiterated again. Blake just motioned her head past the barrier with a grunt. "We will have words back at Beacon, young lady." The professor promised, walking away. A somber look entered Blake's amber eyes as she nodded to herself. Yang felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Ren staring at her.

"Come on. We have work to do." The brawler silently chastised herself. She was the leader, the one to take charge. The one to keep their head above water. Fury welled up inside her, the familiarity of the feeling giving her a semblance of cold clarity. Thankfully, she knew how to direct it. Most of the time. Leaving her screaming sister caused her heartbreak, but she was alive. Her partner was still shaking, starring at the ground.

"Ren, Nora, find any survivors and patch them up if you can." Ren gave a nod of understanding and left with Nora. Yang could count on those two to stay safe. Grabbing her partner by the shoulders, Yang propped her up. Seeing wide, fearful eyes in the champion was something she didn't expect. Luckily for her, Yang had something to solve it. "Pyrrha, I need you to listen to me, can you do that?" She took a deep breath and nodded her head.

"Good." She tried as hard as she could to keep the anger out of her voice. "We're going to look for anyone else alive." Her mom voice had an effect on people, or so she would like to think. It might have been the threat of a beating if they didn't listen to her. "Stick with me, got it?" Another shuddering breath and her partner nodded, standing straighter.

"Yeah. I can do that." Like a switch flipped, Pyrrha's eyes started analyzing everything around her. The rage beneath the surface still churned in her chest. Putting aside for now was something she could do after years of practice. Surveying the scene around her, her eyes fell onto Faunus with a bow staff laying on the ground next to him. From a distance, he resembled Jaune, but the wardrobe and the tail sprouting from his ass ruined that concept.

"He looks like hell." Yang observed as the duo approached him. Nudging the man with a foot, a groan came from the body. He looked up at them through lidded eyes.

"Am I in heaven?"

"No." Yang gritted out. "Welcome to hell."

The situation was not what she expected. Scratch that, it was worse than she expected. Glynda was a Huntress before coming to Beacon, and that entailed her fair share of horror. Coming across villages freshly devastated by a Grimm horde was the only thing she could compare the current scene to.

At least Grimm had the common sense to eat the bodies.

The unintended blessing of having a monstrous entity hunt your species is that cleanup was relatively easy afterwards. There were hardly any bodies left to find. Glynda shook the thoughts from her head and focused on the task at hand. Other than Xiao-Long's outburst, things were going as well as they could be. It would usually be later in the year where they would start exposing the students to these kinds of environments, but, as Professor Port puts it, 'Shit Happens.'

Her emerald orbs scanned the battlefield as she moved towards Arc's last known location. The savagery that took place here was nauseating, and she doubt she would ever get used to it. Blood mixed with viscera and rain hung in the air and raked her senses. Stepping over a corpse, Glynda spotted a familiar shield next to a prone body. Shit, not here. Quickening her pace, she was able to reach the bloodied boy.

His usual blonde hair and face were stained red with blood, just like the rest of his outfit. Grey coat wrecked and there was a stab wound in his chest that was oozing. She could just barely see the rattle of his breathing. He was an utter mess, beaten to hell and left for dead.

But he was still alive, if barely.

Glynda knelt down, assessing the damage and what she needed to do. Chest wound first. She thought, digging out the first aid kit she brought with. Alerting the local authorities was the first thing she did, and they were still on their way. Pulling out gauzing and ripping it open with her teeth, she applied pressure to the wound on his chest.

There was a pull. Not a physical one, but the pull of her Aura. And she could see it flowing into him, the purple glow turning white on contact. Startled, she pulled herself away, bring the piece of gauze with her. Through her glasses, Glynda could see the wound slowly closing on its own, then stop as quickly as it started. Never ceases to surprise me. Jaune Arc never recorded unlocking his semblance, and as far as Beacon knew, he didn't have one.

Silently saying a prayer for herself, and hope that no one saw this, Glynda touched Arc's chest again. Just like last time, her Aura started draining from her body into the student. It was an odd experience, like slowly becoming fatigued from doing nothing. Thankfully, the results were immediate, the wound was closing itself and color was coming back to the boy's face. Sirens could be heard in the distance, heralding salvation.

Glynda pressed her hands and tried to force as much Aura as she could into him. "it's going to be alright Jaune." She murmured, even though she couldn't hear her.

The unlit cigar tasted bitter on his tongue, the end chewed thoroughly and releasing the herb. Stressed was an understatement right now as the thief recounted what in the flying fuck just happened. Roman looked out of the side hatch of the Bullhead, thankful that they were getting away from Beacon's reinforcements. He could see the sirens in the distance, no doubt on their way to his scene of crime. The moment that Belladonna girl showed up, everything just turned into a clusterfuck. Roman knew he was pressed for time, but this was ridiculous.

Well, at least we got our haul. He thought to himself as the warehouses drew smaller from the pack of Bullheads, soaring across the ocean. Adam will be livid, but that I can deal with. At least Cind- The train of though was derailed as a beam of emerald energy smote a nearby Bullhead, igniting the Dust contents and turning the vehicle into a flaming comet.

"PERRY!" Roman roared and whipped his head to the cockpit. "PEDAL TO THE FUCKING METAL, NOW!" Being one of the smarter Faunus, the vehicle lurched with newfound speed, tumbling Roman against a Dust crate. He didn't care though. Self-preservation instincts were currently screaming 'Fuck That' and Roman couldn't help but agree. It was the main problem to the whole fiasco, Murphy be damned.

It wasn't Red suddenly dropping or bringing that blonde animal that he needed to manage. It was that fucking redhead that literally butchered his help to pieces. Weren't these supposed to be bright eyed kids? He wished Neo took care of her, but she was preoccupied with something else. Speaking of which, where is the little bastard? He craned his head around the cargo bay, but all he saw were crates of Dust and cargo netting. Shrugging, Roman was content to ride out his getaway slumped on the floor against his haul.

At least he had a good excuse.

It only took an hour of turbulent riding to reach their hideout. And by hideout, Roman meant an abandoned city from a failed Vale expansion. Go figure. The city streets were abandoned as they flew by, structures that were once well used crumbling with decay. Ignoring the obvious places to land that were infested with Grimm, the Bullheads entered a spacious cave in the side of a nearby mountain. Turns out, the locals who made it before becoming Grimm food, designed it as an easy way to transport goods via airlift.

Shame they never took full advantage of it.

After entering, the entrance opened up into a vast cavern, where the rest of the city lay. Mount Glenn was somehow hollowed out and safe enough to put in fourteen story buildings, complete with roads, shops, and even a hospital. Roman knew how the place fell, the Grimm over running the settlement and killing nearly everyone. The real question was how they were able to do so much construction unmolested only for it to all come crashing down.

It didn't make sense, and Roman hated that.

Conspiracy theories aside, he had more important matters to attend to. The White Fang now inhabited the forsaken city, using it as a base of operations away from the prying eyes of civilization. A member was beckoning for the vehicles to land on a cleared away street. Roman felt the lurch as the vehicle finally landed on solid ground and was thankful for it. Stepping out of the Bullhead, the thief stretched his legs and twirled his cane.

It looks like only one of their vehicles were destroyed, ultimately destroying a third of their haul. Tons of Dust, down the drain. Roman thought. Masked Faunus rushed to the Bullheads, securing the Dust and hauling it away in underground warehouses. Saw what you want about the animals, at least they knew the sense of urgency. He could hear the gossip already from a nearby group about what happened, already exaggerating the details of the heist.

Meh, let them talk. I have bigger things to worry about. Such as getting blitzed and forgetting the night ever happened. Walking past the terrorists as he sauntered away to his new makeshift base in an old police department, Roman idly wondered where his partner in crime was.

The apartment was quiet, something she was used to but hated. The living room was properly furnished, including a loveseat, drink table (as Roman called it), plush couch, end tables and a Tv. Her boots were kicked up on the table, lounging in the softness of the couch, arms spread wide. It was a nice place, plenty of room to live in the city of Vale. A goofy grin was on her face, recalling the events that night.

Adrenaline pumping in her veins, setting her body alight. Those blue eyes starring her down, promising death. A shudder worked through her body at the memory. She sighed contently at the taste of his blood on her lips, still lingering on the tongue. How he took so much punishment and was ready to take more. Ugh. Toys like that were hard to come by. A quiet creak came from the couch as she made her way to the bathroom.

Flipping on the lights, the short woman started to undress and start the shower. Curiosity possessing her, examined her form in the mirror as she stripped. She looked like fresh roadkill. Blood stained her uniform and hair, which was frazzled and disheveled. Grime and bodily fluids stuck to clothes as she laid them on the floor. Kicking off her boots finally, she hoped into the bath.

The warm water cascaded down her body, washing away the filth. Warmth seeped into her sore muscles and cold bones, soothing her like her parents never would. It felt similar to the violent embrace she had with that man, she casually thought. Though, this was nowhere near as comfortable. The memory of fighting tooth and nail against him while staying intimately close to feel the heat off his body. Sounds of carnage all around them, the scent of a fresh kill, and the taste of blood helped solidify the memory.

Another shudder of pleasure tore through her body at its recollection.

Neo thought it had been a wonderful night.

Jaune jolted awake, breathing heavily. Sweat clung to his body, sticking to his outfit. Confused, he carefully looked down at his black shirt and jacket. His hands pulled the cloth it felt familiar, but that's not what made him pause. His left arm, his original arm was there. Not the grey metal or the gentle hum from his bicep. "What the fuck?" This wasn't right. Last thing he remembered was fighting that multicolored bitch and trying to get Ruby out.

"Huh. That's new." Someone said ahead of him. Jaune's eyes darted up to see who the voice belonged to. It was him looking back, but it wasn't a mirror. The other Jaune was lounging at his desk from his room in Ansel, reading through one of his comic books. In fact, he was back in his room. Everything from the old guitar in the corner by his dresser to the gaming posters on his blue wall. Even his family's voices could be heard outside the room, following the daily routine.

"Okay, this is weird." The mattress of his bed was soft beneath him, just like he remembered it.

"Yeah." Jaune said, closing the comic and setting it on the desk. "Wasn't expecting this." Now that Jaune got a good look at him, there were subtle differences. His hair had a silver tint to it, almost looking platinum instead of blonde. He was wearing a teal button-down shirt with black slacks and red tennis shoes. Standing up, the other him stretched his body, earning a few pops from stiff joints. "So, this is what home feels like." Groaning as he looked around.

"Yeah, back in Ansel." Jaune said, still trying to wrap his head around seeing the other him. Other Jaune opened a window next to his dresser, leaning outside and taking a deep breath of fresh air.

"Gods, this feels familiar." The sigh sounded pleased, almost relieved at the fact. A silence followed the statement.

"Am I dead?" Jaune thought it was a logical conclusion. The last thing he remembered was looking up at the sky, wounded with no Aura.

"Afraid not." He answered, still looking out the window.

"How can you be sure?" Jaune asked, growing slightly more panicked. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair as thoughts bounced around in his metaphorical skull. "You're just a voice in my head."

"Which means I can't be here if you're not alive." Jaune stopped his frantic thinking at that statement.

"Oh." That made sense. "But why do I have my arm back?" The other him inhaled deeply from the scent of Ansel before turning back to him. His eyes had a darker shade than Jaunes.

"My theory is that this is like a dream."

"A dream?"

"Yeah. Which is why I" He gestured to himself. "Have a body now. Also, are you constantly in pain, or is that from the fight?" The other rolled and massaged his shoulders, as if trying to work out a kink. "Because I feel SORE." Jaune just shrugged.

"I don't know. I've been training the whole, so I guess I'm just used to it?" He hadn't stopped since entering Beacon. Everything from strength training with Nora and Yang to conditioning with Ruby and Blake. Pyrrha and Weiss tortured him by honing his skill with the sword, building up his pain tolerance. Ren was his only bastion of sanity from it all, only training his aversion to gunfire. Now that he did think about it, he always felt pain somewhere.

"Sweet Christ, that sounds horrible." Was the other's response, shuddering at the thought. "I don't miss that." He paused. "Wait, how can I miss it? I've never done it."

"Maybe it's because you're in my head?"

"Nah this is different. Something just feels off." Jaune looked around the room, but everything looked the same to him. His bedsheets, the walls, the desk, his comics, everything looked as it should be. It all seemed so familiar.

Drowsiness assaulted him, pulling him down into the bed. Eyelids struggled to stay open as the other glanced back at him. "Huh, must be time. God knows how long you've been out." Jaune was barely keeping himself conscious as his body was refusing to listen to him. The soft mattress and pillow beneath him were just too comfortable to fight against. The other was by his side staring at him with an inquisitive expression.

"Will…" It took extreme effort to talk. "Will I remember this?" He just shrugged with his hands in his pockets.

"No clue. This is my first time actually meeting you, ya know." Ah. That made… Sense. "Say hi to everyone for me."

Other looked down at the now empty bed as Jaune faded from the mindscape. The whole thing was surreal in his opinion, but then again, he was just a voice in his head. This was the first time he was able to move and explore, as he stretched his new body and looked down. "Huh. Stylish, I think?" Everything right now was weird. Looking around the room, he had an objective that only someone his age and enough free time could understand.

"Alright, Jaune Arc, where are you keeping the copious amounts of porn?"

Wrapping up the docks and whatever else. So, the poll is fucked. But from what I can see, Ruby commands a nice lead with Weiss in second and Glynda bringing up third. Gotta love milfs. Until next time.