Anime PJ: A Kingsman reference and a John Wick reference rolled up into one scene? Well played, sir, well played indeed. A fantastically entertaining chapter overall.

NeoNazo356: Thank you very much. Most people bitch and whine about quote/unquote "filler", as well as Cameos, so it's nice to get some positive feedback for it.

Blaze1992: So what the kingsmen store was a combo of the tailor shop from the kingsmen movies and the armed tailor from John wick 2?
I am surprised then you didn't show the umbrella gun or the suitcase SMG/Shield.
Also quick question do you accept OC's idea's?

NeoNazo356: Yeah, a combo of the two, since the protagonists of both movies are very finely dressed, and it seemed like a reasonable-enough joint-cameo to make. As for the Umbrella/Gun or Suitcase SMG/Shield, those sound like pre-existing weapon combinations that could appear in the Canon with how varied and diverse the weapons can become.
As for the OCs... It's a matter of context. If they're one-offs that only appear in one chapter that's fine, you just need to provide enough detail so I don't have to do too much patch-work. As for long-term, as in the plot of the story would "mandate" their presence... I already have plenty of OCs I've already put in, and the various Crossovers/Cameos will have the Casting List quite long as well, so long-term I don't think so. Unless they're VERY compelling, but if they're just re-skins, like most of the OCs on this site tend to be, I'll just ignore them in the long-term sense.
Oh, but in the context of this story, it would help if they were thematic after Color or a Fictional Character like the cast of RWBY. But that being the case, OC inclusion would be a "soft maybe" unless you (or others) did a VERY good job with them.

*NEW WORLD*

Saturday morning. The most sacred of mornings for the weary college student.

The earliest time in the week he could slack off and sleep in until noon. Especially after the disappointing "outing" with Weiss he'd been able to eke out the day prior.

His eyes fluttering open, the rest of his team snoozing soundly around him, with no pressing engagements that day, Jaune wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and go back to sleep.

However, that wish would not be acquiesced to, as right as he was about to drift off to sleep once more, a text message came in.

Or rather, it was who the text was from that prevented Jaune from rolling back to slumber.

Jaune. Get your sword and your armor and meet up with us at the fountain in the plaza. We're doing some early-morning one-on-two training.

Jack

'One-on-two? Hm. Must've been a bad auto-correct,' Jaune thought to himself as he rolled out of bed and gathered his gear together.

Since it wasn't as-obtrusive as Nora's war hammer/grenade launcher, Magnhild, it wasn't too much trouble to keep his gear under his bed.

*NEW WORLD*

It wasn't too early in the morning, but still a ways away from noon. As Jaune made his way toward the fountain plaza, passing by students of all kinds going about for their own early-morning activities, he spotted a familiar head of monochrome hair, the Faunus in question clad in his leather vine-patterned armor.

However, as he got closer he realized Jack wasn't alone. Standing next to him and out of view was the hulking figure of Cardin Winchester, also clad in full armor, the end of his massive mace resting on the ground at his side.

'Jack and Cardin… That's okay, I can still work with this,' Jaune sighed, somewhat used to being kicked around by the two of them.

Still, that was why he was doing this.

To get stronger so he wouldn't get kicked around like this.

"H-Hey guys!" Jaune greeted as-amicably as he could. The two of them turning around to face him, a third figure came into view, and this one caused his blood to chill in his veins. "N-N-Nickie!?"

"Sup, Bitch-face?" his younger sister asked, leveling him with an irate look, her fingers drumming the handle of a familiar suitcase. "You certainly took your sweet time."

"W-W-Why are you here?" he gawped, voice quivering as he flinched back.

"I'm here to take back what's rightfully mine; the family heirloom!" she declared, a strong yet delicate finger pointed at the Crocea Mors dangling from Jaune's hip.

"Y-You can't have it!" Jaune yelped, tightening his grip on the family legacy as his hands went for it. "It's mine!"

"Oh, I think you're quite wrong about that," Nickie said putting her suitcase on the ground and undoing the latches. "I know you were a bit of a slacker at school, but certainly even you know how to read," she said drawing forth something more-powerful (in this context) than any weapon.

Emblazoned across the top of the form were the words Order of Repossession, a picture of the Crocea Mors mounted atop a fireplace's mantle included. Most of the smaller print was too fine to read from a distance, but it was the signatures of approval at the bottom that caused Jaune's heart to stop in his chest.

Germán Luis Arc

Regina Jeanne Arc

"Wh… What…?" Jaune gawped, feeling the color draining from his face.

"That's right, Bitch-face. This. Is. The Reponing!" Nickie cackled, the girl getting an odd looks from her entourage. " . . . It's a combo of 'Repo' and 'Reckoning,'" she clarified.

"Oh, I get it," Cardin hummed.

"So, has Jaune always been this slow, or is he just stupid?" Jack asked as Jaune's mouth continued to open and close like a fish's.

"He's a slacker, plain and simple," the boy's sister bit out. "You know what this means, right?" she asked in a louder tone, drawing the attention of passerby. "Listen up you little thief! We can do this the easy way, or the hard way! Now hand over that sword!"

"N-No! Please! It's all I have!" Jaune pleaded, clutching the family heirloom to his chest.

"Fine. We'll do it the hard way," Nickie said with a tired sigh and a snap of her fingers. "Boys."

"Yes?" the two asked.

"Get him," she ordered darkly.

"Yes, ma'am," Jack and Cardin replied with a nod, the smirk on their faces causing Jaune's heart to sink into his stomach.

"Wa-wa-wait! Mercy!"

"Sorry! Fresh out of mercy!" Jack smirked.

"Though we've got a two-for-one offer on ass-kickings!" Cardin added.

The next moment Cardin's mace found Jaune's chest plate, sending him flying through the air as-easily as the last time they'd fought. Before he could hit the ground however, Jack was instantly behind him, catching him around the waist and driving his head into the ground in a textbook German Suplex.

Suffice it to say, while Jaune had more Aura than the average person by merit of his own constitution, the damage was in no way insignificant.

Jaune falling to his stomach, got his limbs underneath himself and tried to rise, only for Jack to grab him by the back of his collar and belt before kneeing him in the stomach. The air succinctly emptied from his lungs, he was then thrown into another of Cardin's mace strikes and oncemore sent flying, only this time he was caught in a standing lariat, the blond sent pinwheeling through the air before landing flat on his back once again.

It was around this moment that Teams RWBY and JNPR arrived on the scene, following those that came to see the spectacle.

"What's going on here?" Pyrrha demanded, her eyes soon falling to the boy sprawled out on the ground. "JAUNE!" Stepping forward to help him, her path was swiftly barred by a familiar face. "Nickie?"

"Stay out of this. You don't have a dog in this fight," the blond growled.

"What are you talking about? They're hurting him!" Pyrrha cried as Jack and Cardin proceeded to kick the downed blond, still clutching the family heirloom to his chest as he turtled up.

"Obviously, someone hasn't been kept in the loop," Nickie said holding up the repo order, a proud smirk on her face as Pyrrha's fell upon reading it.

"What's that?" Nora asked, fingers drumming the handle of her Magnhild while Ren just barely managed to restrain her.

"It's… a repo order…" Pyrrha's voice trailed off into a defeated tone. As though what was going on before her was out of her hands.

Which, technically, it kind of was.

"Repo? Repossessing what?" Yang asked, torn between beating the shit out of Cardin and trusting Jack's judgement on the matter. She hadn't known the Faunus that long, but she knew he never did things without a reason.

"What am I repossessing? Oh, nothing much, just... the family heirloom that Bitch-face stole from me," Nickie replied with an upward lilt, the smirk on her face growing as shocked expressions spread across RWBY, JNPR, and the growing crowd. "What, did he never tell you that?" she asked, adding fuel to the fire. "That he stole the family heirloom meant for me?"

"No! He most-certainly did not!" Weiss spoke up, rather angrily at that.

"What're you getting so upset about?" Yang asked with a raised brow.

"As someone with a family legacy to uphold, let's just say that someone outright stealing an heirloom from its intended recipient is something I take great personal offense to!" Weiss growled between grit teeth.

"Jaune… This isn't true… is it?" Ruby asked hopefully, subconsciously clutching her Crescent Rose to her chest.

"No!" Jaune blurted out instinctively before realizing he'd dug himself a little deeper. "I mean… Yes, technically," he amended. "But I can explain!"

"I think your sister's explained plenty," Ren hummed, crossing his arms.

"Oh ho ho ho ho!" Nickie whooped. "No, no I don't think I've explained enough juuuust yet~"

"Nickie, please, I'm begging you-"

"Did you know that Jaune never went to Combat School?"

" . . . What?" Weiss asked, her brow twitching and shoulders trembling with barely-suppressed rage.

"Yeah! Guy totally got his hands on some fake transcripts and lied his way into Beacon. A real dick move if you ask me," Nickie said with a hand-wave, adding more fuel to the fire. "Still don't know how he survived the entrance exam. Must've had his hand held along the way," the blond said dismissively, Pyrrha shifting uncomfortably to the side.

At the same time in the surrounding crowd…

"Hey, is that really true?"

"Did he really lie his way into Beacon?"

"It was pretty weird how weak he was."

"No wonder his form was so bad."

"That phony!"

"Why was he made leader instead of Pyrrha Nikos?!"

The mutterings of the crowd growing louder and more caustic, Jaune's eyes darted to the crowd, his blood turning to ice water in his veins as eyes filled with derision and scorn bore holes into him from all sides as Nickie played the crowd, her every word riling them.

Some in the crowd were merely disappointed with him, but others outright loathed him. Many (read: all) who loathed him had worked their entire lives just for a chance to attend the prestigious Beacon Academy, so to learn that someone in its most-hallowed field of study had lied their way in was something none of them could abide by.

That he'd gone as far as to steal the family heirloom from its rightful recipient was simply icing on the cake.

"Man, Jaune, you really dug yourself into a hole, didn't ya?" Nickie asked, choosing instead to focus on the hurt, angered, and betrayed looks that Teams RWBY and JNPR were sending her brother's way instead of actually looking at him. "What's the matter? Nothing to say? You were always so good at running your mouth. Hell, the fact that your little charade lasted this long is nothing short of amazing. That takes real talent you know. If you'd become an actor, you could've easily won an Academy Award for this kind of performance."

"Nickie… Why are you doing this…?"

"Because it should've been me! If not now, then later!" Nickie snapped. "You getting into Beacon on nothing but lies with the sword that was meant for me after you gave up on becoming a Huntsman… That really pisses me off!" she raged, a vein angrily throbbing on her forehead as she let her anger show.

"Man, Jaune, your sister is scary," Cardin shuddered, the most confusing boner of all time forming within the confines of his battle pants.

"DOUBLEEEEE…!"

"Hey Jack, do you hear something?"

"DYNAMIIIIIC…!"

"Yeah, it sounds like it's getting closer-"

"ENTRY!"

Cue Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth OST – Starlight (by Suara)

The next moment a blur of fine clothing cut through the air, sun at its back, as a pair of riding boots struck Jack and Cardin in the face one apiece, the two of them sent tumbling through the air on the force of the blow, throwing them away from their downed quarry.

"The fuck?!" Cardin yelped, he and Jack spitting out dirt and grass as they rolled onto their backs to get a look at their attacker, a pair of fresh shoeprints on their faces.

"You… you're…" Jaune gaped as he looked up.

"The RA?" Jack blinked confusedly.

"Yeah! That's me! And as the RA, I take offense to you beating up this helpless loser when I can do something about it!" he said jabbing his chest with his left thumb.

"Hey!"

"Quiet. I'm speaking for you," Vincent said over his shoulder, never peeling his eyes from the two attackers. "Now, I don't know the whole story here, but I know that violence isn't the answer for it, so why don't we all sit down, discuss this like reasonable adults, and-"

"You kicked me in the fucking face!"

"-or we could escalate…" Vincent said wearily as Cardin rushed at him, mace raised over his head. "Fine… We'll do it your way…" he sighed, eyes closed as Cardin closed in on him.

The next moment, eyes of crimson and violet snapped open before ribbons of silver light spilled out, a breath of air drawn in before he exhaled a silver-tinged cone of air. The high-speed air washing over Cardin and Jack behind him, crystals of ice began to form across their bodies, the spectators in their general direction fleeing in opposite directions as grass froze, shattered, and tumbled.

"C-C-C-C-COOOOOOOLD!" Cardin shivered, teeth chattering as the crystals forming across his body grew into a sheet.

'This power… could it be…?' Jack asked as the chilling winds washed over him. ' . . . No. No, it isn't that kind of power. If anything, it's closer to Psychokinesis,' he thought, noting that not a shred of activated Aura was coming off of him. 'It's been a while since I've fought an Esper…' he noted as ice crystals began to form across his body. "Heh. At least today won't be boring!"

The wattage output of his body vastly increasing, metabolic energies burning, his skin gained a reddish tint as his Shivering began to stave off the cold, wisps of steam rising from his form as the ice spreading across him began to melt. Digging his heels into the ground and pressing forward, Jack passed in front of Cardin and stood in front of him, the heat rolling off of him freeing the armored teen as well, the larger teen bracing his shoulder against Jack's back as the two pushed through the chilling wind.

"Guys, seriously, I don't want to have to hurt you two," Vincent said assertively, his left hand going to his shoulder and his right eye clamping shut as the space beneath his mantle glowed orange.

"You should've thought about that before getting involved," Cardin growled, shaking the last of the ice crystals from his hair.

"Fine. You asked for it," Vincent growled as steel entered his gaze.

Whipping up his right arm the moment the orange glow abated, instead of the familiar ringed chrome he'd become known for, his arm was now colored jet black with dull brass-colored mountings, made of a combination of artificial muscle and rigid plastics. His hand in particular looked much more rigid; more mechanical in nature than the wind wielder's default.

Extending the jet black arm up and rolling his articulated fingers into a fist, the brass-colored knuckles of his mechanical hand sprung up like claws, a whirring charge of an electrical build sounding from the artificial hand. Visible only to certain Faunus nearby, a pair of UV lasers painted the approaching Jack and Cardin, an arc of electricity in the form of tiny motes of light leaping between them too fast to dodge. The two's muscles violently contracting, Jack and Cardin were dropped to the ground like twin sacks of potatoes.

However, while Cardin completely locked up and hit the ground with a *Thud*, twitching and convulsing (and even peeing himself a little though Cardin would never admit as such), Jack was able to get his hands beneath him, shaking the high voltage off by merit of pre-existing nerve damage.

"That… should've done more damage…" Vincent said with wide eyes, looking between the still-standing Faunus and the "taser knuckles" on his artificial hand.

"A couple years ago maybe, but I, have developed an immunity," Jack half-lied through his teeth, striding forward as-confidently as his clamped-down muscles would allow.

"Final warning! I was trying to be nice, but you're making it really difficult to be civil here!" Vincent said taking a solitary step back.

"Bring it on, Robot-Cop. Hit me with your best shot!" Jack proclaimed, arms spread as though waiting to receive a hug.

Narrowing his eyes at Jaune's attacker, Vincent raised his right arm up once more, his feet set parallel to the jet-black limb behind him. His hand folding at the wrist completely under his arm, the hard plastic plates making up his forearm expanded away from a triangular nozzle concealed within, a mechanism spooling loudly as energy was drawn into it.

It was then that Jack realized… he'd fucked up.

The invisible deuterium-fluoride laser painting Jack before he could even contemplate dodging, the wall of concussive force that struck him threw him completely off his feet, the Faunus sent sailing through the air and striking one of the nearby pillars, his body leaving a spiderweb crack before he slumped to the ground.

At around roughly the same time Jack hit the ground, Vincent too dropped to one knee, his right arm hanging at his side as the plates flanking the nozzle vented heat before the mechanical limb closed itself up, his mantle falling over it concealing the wave of chittering metal turning black muscles and plastic into chromed rings once more.

"Ow…" Jack groaned, blood trickling down his chin. "Anyone get the number on the thing that hit me?"

"Don't worry Jack…" Cardin said as he got to his feet. "I'll avenge you."

"Not dead yet, but I love the energy," Jack said plainly as though critiquing an actor. "Go on, then. Kick his ass."

"You got it, buddy!" Cardin whooped energetically as he closed in on Vincent once more, a little clumsily but still menacingly to someone at their knee.

"They attacked first! You all saw it! AIR BLADES!" Vincent cried as he threw out his flesh-and-blood hand, a half-dozen emerald discs of wind whirling to life around him before they dove at Cardin from all angles.

"Ohshit!" Cardin yelped as he flailed around the buzzsaw-like blades. Scores gouged out across his armor, in the midst of his flailing, one of the air blades bit into the shaft of his mace, dropping the end of his weapon atop his head with a *CLANG*, the red-head clutching the goose egg left behind as he rolled on the ground.

END OST

"There…" the whitette sighed, drawing in a breath before he walked over to Jaune, extending his hand. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Y… Yeah, I'm fine…" Jaune said accepting the hand and was lifted to his feet. "So uh… Thanks… For helping me out back there."

"Well, I can't really stand bullies, sooo…"

"Bullies?!" Nickie cried out irately. "Jack and Cardin are the good guys in this situation!"

"Come again?" Vincent asked with a confused look.

"Jack and Cardin were repossessing something that was stolen!" Nickie answered irately. "Jaune's the bad guy here!" she said jabbing an incriminating finger his way.

" . . . "

What followed was a tense moment of silence before…

"Ow… Ow, ow, ow! My hand! You're crushing my hand!" Jaune cried as the hand gripping his own slowly tightened like a vice, the bones in his hand creaking and fingers turning purple as the pressure continued to mount. The pain soon growing so-intense that Jaune was forced to his knees, looking up, the blond saw his rescuer mechanically turn his head towards him, the previous friendliness completely gone in lieu of smoldering loathing.

"You… LIED to me!" Vincent raged as fire burned in his eyes, Jaune squealing as he genuinely felt something break in his hand. "I stood up for you and you LIED to me!"

"Wait! Ow! Please! Ow! If you'll just let me explain…!" Jaune cried as he tried to pull away, tears stinging his eyes as his fingers began to bend in directions they weren't meant to bend.

"Why? So you can lie to my FACE?!" Vincent growled as murderous intent flooded off his body, the betrayal he felt fueling an undying rage he hadn't felt before. "No… No, I don't think so," the older teen said as he drew back his right arm, Jaune yelping as he raised his remaining arm to block the string of blows that rained down on him.

What followed was an unadulterated beatdown, Jaune's hope for escape nonexistent as the flesh-and-blood hand around his clamped down with almost superhuman force, the other beating his free arm black and blue beneath his armor.

His stamina dropping like a stone as Vincent followed up on the beat-down Jack and Cardin so-lovingly provided, the last of his energy evaporating, his free arm fell to his side, leaving him completely exposed to the powerful right hook Vincent was preparing; if how-much he was drawing back his arm was any indicator.

"Crapbaskets…" Jaune muttered under his breath, eyes closing before the fist of ringed chrome could descend upon him.

*WHAM*

" . . . Huh?" Jaune asked a moment later, realizing he had not been struck. " . . . Ni… Nickie?" he gaped as he opened his eyes, witnessing his sister standing above him and holding the arm of ringed chrome at back, her arm trembling from the force but otherwise holding firm as her heels skid back an inch.

"Jaune might be a liar, a cheater, and even a fraud," Nickie said looking Vincent in the eye as he regarded her. "I might absolutely loathe the fact that he got into Beacon without putting even an ounce of effort into it," she continued as her arm shook, but didn't yield. "And while it'd totally be hilarious to put 'Was fisted to death.' on his tombstone… He's still my brother," the girl conceded. "I might not like him, but I still love him. And I'd be a pretty bad sister if I let you cave his face in, well-deserved or not, sword or no sword."

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

The tension steadily rising as once-friendly eyes held an edge of cold steel, heterochromatic eyes regarded Nickie, then Jaune, then Nickie again. The pretty blond staring into mis-matched eyes, unflinching, after several long moments, Jaune let out a pained hiss as he nursed his now-freed hand, his former captor letting out a hiss of his own as his eyes drooped shut.

"Sorry. I'm not a big fan of liars," Vincent said once the anger bled out of his eyes, shoulders slumped tiredly.

"Yeah, well, we're in the same boat on that one," Nickie hummed. "Don't hold it against my brother or anything. He got his dick broken by a seventy year-old librarian," she whispered into his ear.

" . . . Is that some kind of metaphor or something?" Vincent asked confusedly with an innocent tilt of his head.

"No. No it is not," the blond chuckled.

"I think you broke my fingers," Jaune whimpered as he cradled his mangled hand.

"Quiet, you," Nickie bit out before turning back to Vincent. "So… Yeah, looks like we solved that misunderstanding, sooo…"

"Right, the sword," Vincent hummed as he let go of Jaune's hand before walking off to recover aforementioned stolen property.

However, instead of handing it off to Nickie, Vincent instead walked towards Jack and Cardin as the two regained their footing.

"I acted without thinking. Please forgive me," Vincent said sincerely, bowing his head deeply as he offered the sword and shield to Jack.

"Well… At least you apologized… so… yeah… Yeah, we're good," Jack acquiesced, unused to receiving such heartfelt apologies; from a Human no less.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused," the whitette replied evenly as he walked away. Stopping halfway out of the plaza and giving Jaune the stink-eye, his lips curled up into a snarl, Vincent spat on the ground with an audible *Pui* before walking off three more steps, letting out another *Pui* before leaving the plaza for good.

"Well…" Jack hummed as he walked up to Nickie and held out the sheathed sword for her to take. "There was an interruption or two, but we got the thing back, just as ordered."

"And I appreciate you for it," Nickie said with a smile, briefly looking to the spectators surrounding the plaza before turning her eyes back to Jaune, the blond wilting under their eyes. "C'mon, bro, you knew this was the only way it could end," the girl said flippantly.

"Yeah, Jaune. You know the old saying. 'The truth will set you free'," Cardin chuckled, tickled pink that contextually, he wasn't the bad guy in this scenario.

It was all relative.

. . . Don't look at me like that.

"I'm also quite fond of 'What goes around comes around'," Jack hummed, stepping back to watch the spectacle that was to unfold as Teams RWBY and JNPR converged around him.

"Guys, I-"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D DO SOMETHING SO-DESPICABLE!" Weiss, the last person Jaune ever wanted to be angry at him, shrieked lividly at him the moment the spectators began to disperse.

"Weiss… wait… I can explain…" Jaune offered weakly.

"Don't say my name! You don't have the right! And don't you ever talk to me again!" the heiress shrieked as she struck him across the face with the back of her hand before angrily storming off.

"Well… You done goofed."

"Nora… But yes, you really did screw the pooch this time," Ren chided before turning his attention back to Jaune.

"Ren, I-"

"So. The truth finally comes out, doesn't it?" the Mistrali teen asked with a cold look in his eyes.

"Ren, I was going to tell you-"

"When? After Nora was killed? After Pyrrha was killed? After I was killed?" Ren asked accusingly.

"N-No! I would never-"

"Tell the truth? Yeah, I guess that's why your sister had to do it for you," Ren growled lowly, the absolute loathing in his tone causing Jaune to shrink back under the Mistrali teen's lightish-red eyes bore into him.

"Ruby?"

"Jaune, I… I'm not sure what to say to all this," the red-head muttered, clutching at her own weapon as she took a step away from him, the hurt and betrayal visible in her eyes hurting Jaune more than any blade or fist or mace could've.

"Man, no wonder Jack had an axe to grind with you," Yang said scratching her head as she walked away, washing her hands of the entire thing, Blake following after with nothing to add.

"Pyrrha…?" Jaune asked timidly as he turned to her.

"Jaune, I… I need to be alone for a while."

Refusing to even look him in the eye, Pyrrha turned around and ran off, leaving Jaune without a friend in the world to lean on.

"Well… That could've gone better."

"Jack, what the hell did I ever do to you?" Jaune asked on the verge of tears as he looked up at his tormentor.

"Hey, don't try and pin this on me," the Faunus snapped back. "It's like your sister said; this was the only way it ever could've ended. Your lies were going to catch up to you someday. What, did you think after standing up to Cardin in the Foreverfall Forest by not chucking that jar of tree sap at Pyrrha that'd just be the end of it? That you'd magically be acquitted of your crimes?" Jack asked. "No. At least not if I had to say anything about it, and those words… were oh-so-satisfying," Jack said with a genuinely-happy smile on his face as he walked off. "Don't bother coming to me for training anymore. With the way your career just crashed-and-burned, you'd only taint my good name. See ya. Definitely wouldn't wanna be ya."

"Man, that was just brutal," Cardin winced before following after the Faunus. "Hey, you wanna grab a bite?"

"Sure. I could eat."

"Hey, don't look so sad, Bitch-face. All I did was tell the truth; and that's never the wrong thing to do," Nickie said as she condescendingly pat Jaune's head, the Crocea Mors now synched to her side. "Oh, but don't worry, it isn't all bad. As a consolation prize, here's all that old crap from your closet," she said jabbing her thumb toward an old steamer trunk she'd been standing by the entire time. "Anyway, I think my work here's done. You should really visit home sometime. Or don't. No skin off my nose," she said with a haughty tone, patting the family heirloom at her hip as she walked away.

And thus, it was official.

Jaune wanted to roll over and die.

*NEW WORLD*

"Why…? Why did things have to turn out like this…?" Jaune asked as he walked back into his room an hour later.

With no friends to rely on, he'd had to drag the heavy steamer trunk his sister had brought for him all by himself, and it was not fun. Not with how heavy it was, or the looks that people gave him as he passed.

He wasn't in the mood for lunch, or dinner, and after getting the stink-eye all the way home from his peers, he wanted nothing more than to leave tomorrow's problems for his future self.

"Maybe things will be better in the morning," Jaune sighed as he tried to go to sleep, praying that were to be the case.

*NEW WORLD*

"AAUUUGH!" *Pant* *Pant* *Pant*

Blinking his eyes rapidly as he rolled out of bed and onto the floor with a thud, as Jaune's eyes adjusted to the light, he realized that Crocea Mors was still there, under his bed like always.

"Oh… Thank god… It was just a bad dream…" Jaune sighed happily as he rose to his feet before crawling back into bed.

However, right as he was about to drift off to sleep once more, a text message came in.

*NEW WORLD*

"OH GOD! IT WASN'T A BAD DREAM!" Jaune yelped as, after arriving at the plaza, he proceeded to get the crap kicked out of him once again in front of the entire school.

Same as before.

As in, the exact same. Down to the text, the beat-down in front of everyone both physical and verbally, and the sequence of events that followed… and followed… and followed…

To be continued…

*NEW WORLD*

AN:
Originally I was just going to have Nike completely "destroy" Jaune Arc so his duplicity from the Canon would finally be addressed instead of being brushed under the rug the way it was in the Canon after Volume 1.

However, since most Jaune-lovers don't believe in "character growth" at Jaune's effort i.e. expense (I had a story taken down because of them; one where Jaune actually paying attention to the one-and-only entrance to The Underground Vault led to Ozpin killing Cinder in a "How it Would Have Ended"-esque scenario; but I digress), I decided to mix my original plans with a bit of Groundhog Day. I was more-largely inspired by RWBY: ABRG (RWBY Abridged) – Chapter 6 – Grimm-Hog Day by KRWBY Productions, since I've never actually watched Groundhog Day by Harold Ramis and Danny Rubin but have the general idea of the plot.

Anyway, if any of you have ever seen the "repeat-a-day" scenario played out, you'll understand what comes next, and why I tacked on the 'To be continued…' placard at the end of this chapter.

And if any of you decide to "rage quit" over this and/or the next chapter... then screw you guys. You can go get stuffed.

Looking forward to the Reviews, and it goes without saying, but Trolls and Flames will be ignored.