(Chapter 2)

The day following the betrayal of the loveable blonde began differently for the students of Beacon who knew Jaune personally. Team NPR all awoke at Pyrrha's alarm, the clock reading 6:30 a.m. After quick showers, the three members didn't even spare a glance at the empty bed that sat the furthest to the right. Ren and Nora found themselves in the cafeteria so to indulge in the pink-clad bomber's pleasure food while Pyrrha made her way to the courtyard to begin her morning exercise.

The leader of team CRDL stirred from his sleep the first few rays of the rising sun had snaked through the drapes, falling upon his face. He let out an unintelligible mumble as he rose from his bed and made his way to the bathroom to complete his morning rituals. Once done, he exited the bathroom in his uniform, and could feel his blood pressure spiking as his gaze fell upon the sleeping forms of his teammates.

The boy dropped his anger after trying, and failing, to melt through the skulls of Sky, Russel, and Dove for abandoning him to man kind's enemy, the feeling of regret seeping into his being instead. The ginger knew that their actions stemmed from the treatment they had been given by him, but that still didn't excuse their cowardice. They all had their weapons present on their persons, so where did their will to fight and protect go in the face of all huntsman's sworn enemy? Still debating on what he should do about his situation, Cardin grabbed his gym bag before he exited the room silently and made his way to the gym to blow off steam and keep his body in tip top shape.

Meanwhile, the four second years of team CFVY were all returning to their dorms so that they could relax before their classes. Having awoken at 5:00 a.m. in accordance with the giant broadsword wielding member of their group, they had spent their time doing their own, more intense physical training. Upon reaching the room, the clock read 7:30, and after short showers for each of the members, they sat on the floor and engaged in group meditation, which they would continue to do until classes began.

Team RWBY's dynamic had been…off in comparison to the other teams that were involved with Jaune. Weiss was all too pleased that the blonde she dubbed a talentless idiot was gone and awoke particularly pleased that she would go a day without hearing any shamelessly poor attempts at flirting aimed at her. Now that her perceived bad influence for her sister was gone, Yang didn't really think much about anything that had to do with Jaune, her thoughts more focused on going to groom her hair before class to turn heads.

Ruby and Blake however were much more…reserved. Blake wasn't happy with what happened to the former leader of their sister team, but also supposed that it may have been for the best. Blake knew that the blonde didn't deserve what happened to him, but also knew being determined could only take one a certain distance, so maybe having to leave Beacon would keep him alive. She could only hope that if her friends ever found what skeletons she kept in the closet, that she not receive the same treatment.

Ruby still questioned if telling the professors about his transcripts was right or not. Even though initiation had been a disaster, they all made it out alive, and when push came to shove, Jaune was willing to fight off grimm to help everyone, even with his lack of training. Any time a more Yang-influenced part of her brain tried to find counter arguments to the betrayed teen, she was already pointing out more good things about him. Her mind in conflict over her former friend, she would lay in bed until classes began with her guilt slowing building.

"Ms. Nikos, would you mind staying behind after class?" The voice of Glynda Goodwitch called out to the spartan teen of NPR after having dismissed her class. The scarlet headed student in question began to wonder why she was being asked to stay but nodded nonetheless and walked over to the desk of the teacher as her sister team and friends followed the rest of the students filing out of the room.

"We'll wait for you outside Pyrrha." Came the voice of her sole male friend Ren. At his declaration, Nora just nodded to the girl with a thumbs-up and a smile of reassurance as they closed the door behind them.

She turned to Glynda as the classroom was now devoid of occupants save for her and the huntress. "What did you need me for Professor?"

The blonde teacher cleaned her glasses, before addressing the student. "The headmaster wanted me to give you some information as to what would be happening due to the change in your team's status." She took a moment to observe the younger girl, but upon seeing little change in the girl's expression save for a tightening of her lips and an ever so barely noticeable narrowing of her eyes, saw fit to continue. "Since there are no three-man teams here at Beacon, and for a plethora of reasons that you needn't concern yourself with, your team's vacant position will be filled by a student by the end of the week."

Pyrrha just nodded in acceptance of the message that had been relayed to her. "I understand Ms. Goodwitch, I'll let my team know as well. Is that all?" The girl said, eager to reconvene with her friends who were waiting for her outside the room.

"Yes, Ms. Nikos, that is all. Oh, but splendid performance in class today, you and your team are exceeding my expectations." At this, the scarlet-haired girl blushed, as while she was used to praise from her family and civilians, to receive it from an accomplished huntress was humbling. Pyrrha nodded her head and made her way to the door at a slightly faster pace, causing Glynda to just shake her head with a small smile at the girl's actions.

On another continent, Jaune had just finished three of his evaluations. His morning routine so far had consisted of a medical exam, physical tests, and a combat evaluation. All he had left to complete was his written exam.

His medical exam was by far the quickest, showing that the boy was cleared to begin at the academy and was in perfect health with no threat to his health or others. The physical test wasn't quick but was the most pleasant for the young man as Jaune saw all the minimums he had to meet for each test and decided to go further than what was required so that he could boast his state of fitness.

The combat evaluation had taken the larger portion of his morning and had left him rather exhausted. The combat evaluation consisted of the blonde teen battling in a simulation against a Sabyr, and he was given a generic metal sword and shield to use for the test. Having never seen the grimm before, he took his time to slowly analyze his opponent whilst being on the defensive, earning himself a few glancing scratches, but nothing truly serious. After roughly five minutes of studying his opponent, Jaune was satisfied in his assessment of his enemy, and he moved to dissect the saber-toothed grimm, trying different attacks to find what would be the best course of action.

Upon cutting off the tail, he discovered that the grimm was in a state akin to agony, as it worried more about its wound than its opponent, which had been the last mistake the simulated being of hatred made. As the simulation fell apart, Jaune could only marvel at the accuracy with which the simulation had to have replicated the bone masked terror with and filed the information away so that he would know how best to combat the grimm should he ever face one in reality.

For his next combat evaluation, he was tasked with fighting a small group of seven older Atlesian soldier robots all carrying auto-rifles. Their combat patterns being slightly more predictable, the boy wasted no time as soon as test began, charging into the enemy frontline with his shield raised to add to his charge. As the soldiers just finished booting up as he reached them, the metal soldier at the forefront of the group was sent flying back from the impact.

Wasting no time, he turned and kicked the robot to his right back, before he swerved to the left bringing his sword down on another steel soldier. He was rewarded with the sight of a sloppily bisected metal skeleton falling apart, before he back to the soldier that he had kicked seconds ago and lunged towards it with his sword ready to pierce as it was trying to return to its feet. It ceased its movement as Jaune's sword found its way to where the human heart would be and fell to the ground as the blonde pulled his sword free from its chest.

Shots rang out from his left where the other soldiers had finally begun firing as they no longer had to account for friendly fire. Jaune took a few hits, aura dropping slightly as he did so, and dived back to where the two halves of the bisected metal soldier lay motionless. He picked up the upper half of the deactivated robot, and used it as an impromptu meat shield, and once the soldiers ceased firing to reload their weapons, he threw the steel body towards two of the remaining soldiers, earning him the sight of a tangle of steel limbs.

The battle continued for a short while longer before Jaune had managed to defeat all his foes, beheading the last robot after he disarmed it. He had lost more aura than after his bout with the Sabyr but was still resting comfortably at 65 percent. After completing his combat test, he was permitted a half hour of break before he would be given his written test, which he was in the process of doing currently.

"…What kind of test is this…" The blonde couldn't help but ask out loud to the room he sat alone in. He reached his hands up and tousled his hair in irritation as he looked down to the paper containing the questions he was required to answer, letting loose a huff of frustration at the nature of the questions.

*Question 1- You can save either a single person immediately but doing so will likely cause the death of ten people as a result. Conversely, you can save the group of ten, but will have to leave the lone civilian to their fate to do so. What course of action do you take?

*Question 2- A highly dangerous criminal has escaped his prison cell and managed to free the other prisoners in his block, causing panic among the guards at the growing prison riot. You are nearby and can either assist the guards in quelling the riot or chasing down and apprehending the culprit. What do you do?

*Question 3- Due to a grimm attack, your aura is low, weapon(s) are broken, and are fatigued. A family has taken shelter in a building behind you and are radiating fear which is attracting the nearby grimm. There is a bullhead with a boarding ladder ready above you. You can either leave the family and board yourself, or let the family embark while you stay and wait for reinforcements. What choice do you make?

*Question 4- How did you reach your answers?

The blonde stared up to the ceiling in thought and began to wonder what the purpose of this test really was. "These aren't questions that someone would normally have to answer. These are all theoretical, so really there aren't any wrong answers. But…I feel like I'm missing something here. Jaune scanned over the test for any clue as to how he may have been supposed to answer, before he finally noticed it. With a small smirk, the blonde picked up his test and folded it, before standing from the desk and making his way to the door.

Once outside, he was met by his proctor and questioned as to whether he had completed his exam, to which the blonde confirmed he had. He was given directions to the general's office and instructed to make his way there, where he would hand his paper to Ironwood himself.

As Jaune stood outside the large doors to the headmaster and general's office, he couldn't help but begin to second guess his decision, but just as any doubt entered his mind, the doors to Ironwood's office opened to the boy autonomously, and he was greeted with a space full with screens adorning the walls, accompanied by plaques as well as framed medals, ribbons, and commendations.

The older man who had been waiting for the teen's arrival stood behind his desk, looking out over his academy and beyond, turned to glance over his shoulder to acknowledge Jaune with a nod of his head. Jaune took this as his sign to come in, faintly noticing the subtle sound of the doors closing behind him.

"Welcome Jaune. I hope the tests weren't too hard." Ironwood said as he turned back to look out over the nation he was responsible for protecting.

"No sir. I actually enjoyed the physical assessments." The blonde said with some appreciation in his tone.

The older man made a sound of thought as he continued to stare out over Atlas, and to some degree, the edges of Mantle that were not obscured by the smoke rising from the city below. "Jaune, come take a look over Atlas from where I'm standing for a moment."

The teen just tilted his head in confusion before complying, walking around the desk carefully, and took the spot of the general as the militant man moved to the side to allow Jaune to gaze from his favored spot.

Unlike the first time, the blonde's breath didn't hitch when he looked out over the city, he had his first glimpse into an architectural masterpiece and technological utopia cemented in his mind, never to be forgotten.

But as he stood from where he imagined the general did each day, the afternoon sun falling over the sharp shapes and accentuating the artistic designs of the rooftops and towers he stood above, he couldn't help but stand silent and appreciate the view he was allowed, respectful of the quiet beauty glowing from Atlas, as well as the bustling hearth that could be called Mantle that was just barely visible from where he was, but ever present.

"It's a view that never tires. Wouldn't you agree?" The voice of Ironwood inquired, cutting through the silence, reminding him of who he was in the company of.

"Sir, I've only seen a view of Atlas, including today, three times. And while it will never beat the first time, I wish I could see Atlas like this every day." The blonde teen softly replied.

"Well then, what do you see?" The older man asked with interest, hoping to learn more of the student who had managed to earn the favor of his friend who was much older than many could ever hope to understand.

Jaune stood quiet, thinking. He knew that the headmaster wasn't asking that literally, but he took a few minutes trying to organize his thoughts into a sensible explanation, and upon failing to do so turned to face the taller man.

"I'm…not sure general." The teen responded almost meekly. The older man simply turned his head to look back out the window, body still turned towards the teen as he spoke.

"Would you like to know what I see then?"

The teen just nodded his head in response and the man continued.

"I see lives. Lives that will begin today, some of whom will have especially bright futures and live long so that they can share everything they've experienced with someone they care about.

I see lives that will continue today. People who haven't lived as long as some but have lived longer that others as well. People who are in the process of making their stories, living their life, and growing from the adversities they face and rising from the challenges they conquered.

And I see lives that will end today. Those who have lived longer than you or I and have experienced what life had to offer them. Those who will tell stories to the younger generations and are reminders of times long past." Ironwood turned his attention back to the young man across from him before finishing his speech.

"And it's my duty to protect the lives of everyone outside of this room that reside in this nation, both as General Ironwood, and as a huntsman of Atlas."

As he finished his statement, Jaune felt as if he began to understand the disciplined man a tad bit better. This wasn't a man who was respected because he was general, this was a man who was general because he was respected. He was charismatic in a way Jaune wouldn't have expected.

Ironwood, deciding he had made his feelings about his home clear to the blonde teen, decided to switch gears.

"Sorry to seem so philosophical. Now, I believe you have something for me?"

Jaune remembered his original purpose for coming, and fished the folded parchment from his pocket, before handing it to the older man. The headmaster accepted it wordlessly before moving to sit at his desk and unfold it to observe the document. Jaune walked from his spot behind the desk and took a seat across the headmaster as he observed his test.

Jaune sat in silence as Ironwood raised his eyes from the paper back to him with an amused ghost of a smile on his face.

"So, is there a reason you left the answer slots blank?" the Atlesian huntsman asked.

"Yes sir." Jaune responded with a rare expression betraying no emotion.

"And that would be?" At the question, Jaune cracked a small smirk, that evolved into a full-blown smile as he answered.

"Because by myself, I would have to make these types of decision, where I can't save everyone. But, with my team, we could save everyone, so that we wouldn't have to prioritize any one life over another, so that we could make sure everyone lives to continue their lives to the next day."

Hearing his response, the older man gave a satisfied nod, before asking another question. "And how did you reach this conclusion?"

Jaune just shrugged his shoulders before saying something that would speak volumes of his character to the headmaster of Atlas.

"I want to be a huntsman, and we're strong alone, and stronger together."

James sat back in his seat, thinking on the words he had heard the seventeen-year-old transfer say, and was just possibly beginning to understand why Ozpin took such a shine to him. He pulled out a form from the top right drawer of his desk and signed it, before handing it to Jaune. Jaune took the paper he was handed, before his eyes widened.

It was an acceptance letter into Atlas academy. HIS acceptance letter.

He felt a hot wetness from the corner of his eyes and wiped them away quickly before saluting the man to show his gratitude.

"Thank you, Sir! I swear, you won't regret this decision." The blonde declared with butterflies in his stomach.

The general just waved him off, and watched as the young boy turned, prepared to end his day of tests and trials, before he felt the need to test one more thing.

"There is one more thing, if you'd indulge me." At his statement, the boy whipped back around ready and eager to help in any way possible, waiting to hear the man's request. Ironwood rose from his desk and made his way to an octagonal table on the right side of the room, and once there, gestured for Jaune to join him but to stand on the side of the table opposite him.

Jaune stood there in slight confusion, before the tabletop began to glow and he was greeted with the hologram projection of a familiar board game he loved playing. "Conquest? You play?" He asked all to shocked to find that the leader of a country's military played the same tabletop game he did.

Ironwood just nodded before eluding as to why. "Yes, yes I do. It's a rather good game to teach tactics as well as discover something that other games or tests can't really discern. Judging by your reaction, I believe its safe to assume you play as well?"

"Yes sir, I know all the rules and it's something I enjoyed playing for fun in my downtime."

"Well then young man, let me see how good you are. I'll be playing as Atlas if you couldn't guess, so choose your nation and we'll begin."

The blonde teen though about his three remaining options, mulling over the pros and cons of each nation, before making his choice.

"I'll choose Vacuo." The newly minted student declared, to which the general nodded. As the holo-table began to generate the field, James asked two questions of Jaune before they began their battle of wits.

"This game has been around for a good amount of time, and while they still add new expansions, it is mostly the same. How long have you been playing?"

The blonde thought for a moment as his cards were displayed in front of him via holoprojection.

"Since about a week after the game came out. Roughly." The teen replied.

Internally, James winced, if the boy was even half as competent a leader as Ozpin had eluded to him being, the coming contest wouldn't be an easy win.

"I see…and who taught you?"

"My grandma-former grandmother, Joan D'Arc." The blonde was lost in his thoughts of his loving grandmother, and remembered how the only letter he'd gotten from his family after becoming a beacon student was from her. The weathered woman knew him so well that she sent a very touching letter to a combat academy, knowing that he would be there attending. She said that no matter what, he'd always have her support, regardless of wherever the nomadic woman was.

Time flew by as the two played their game, but around the time the first rays of sunset began to seep into the room, Jaune lost the game, something that both players expected, but their reactions were drastically different. Jaune's stomach made a loud rumble and noticed that it was well into the afternoon before bidding farewell to the headmaster and returning to his temporary quarters. As the door again closed behind the blonde, the headmaster of Atlas stood silently in thought observing the field of his match.

He did indeed beat the younger man, employing tactics and showing no mercy or quarter against the student, and in the end assured his victory. However, the young man was certainly no slouch, in fact, the general considered him to be quite the tactician as he scanned the field and began to re-watch certain segments of their match. Overall, despite the victory Ironwood achieved, he won the war of the game at an unpayable cost.

Both parties realized that the younger man stood little to no chance of winning, so instead of trying to reach a goal that was unrealistic, he opted to make sure that the win gave him no spoils of war, and would leave his country lacking in every department. From forcing them to increase their national debt, to culling the number of soldiers left fit for battle.

If this scenario had played out in actual war, both countries would have succeeded in wiping each other off the map if the conflict had escalated to this point. It was more likely that a ceasefire would have been agreed upon much earlier back. Jaune may not have realized it yet, but he had the makings of a brilliant tactician, and a damn scary one in James' eyes.

(Three Days Later)

Jaune was standing in one of the many indoor training arenas of Atlas' academy. He was told to be here at 1600 hours to meet his new partner but arrived thirty minutes early so that he didn't make anyone wait. Although part of him was excited to meet his new team, he was also bone-shakingly nervous. More than once he had to force himself to stop shaking his leg and refuse the urge to pace. His teeth chattered so much wondered if he was cold, or nervous, or both.

He looked up to the clock and saw that it read 15:45 and started to sweat bullets as a bit of self-doubt and panic set in, enough that he never heard the door being opened of the footsteps approaching from behind him. Until the owner of said voice spoke, scaring him from his thoughts.

"Sal-u-tations!"

Jaune screamed in surprise, twisting around to face whoever managed to successfully sneak up on him, and was greeted with the sight of a girl shorter than him with an exuberant expression on gracing her features. She had orange hair the same color as a sunset and wore a white blouse under a grey dress with back trim and electric green accents. On her legs she wore thigh high black boots with the same shade of green accents. Tying the look together was the pink bow in her short hair and black neck collar that served to really bring out her lime-green eyes and thousand-watt smile.

"…Come again?" Jaune said intelligently.

"Salutations!" The girl said again, not losing any of the joy her tone originally held as she greeted the blonde again.

He just stared at her for a moment before recalling his manners and stammering out a greeting.

"O-oh, I-uh, um, what brings you here-wait! That's impolite, I'm sorry-I" The blonde took a minute to quit speaking and gather his thoughts after having failed at returning the girls greeting, before trying again.

"deep breaths…Hi, I'm Jaune." He managed to finally say to the girl. This only served to widen her smile somehow as she picked up the conversation from that point.

"I'm Penny. Penny Polendina, and it's a pleasure to meet you Jaune!"

"Likewise Penny." He replied with a smile on his face, successfully having calmed his nerves, before recalling something important.

"Wait…not to be rude if I'm wrong, but I'm supposed to be waiting to meet someone here." As he said this, Penny raised a hand to offer him a small wave before she spoke. "Indeed! I look forward to working with you partner!"

At this Jaune relaxed visibly, relieved to know that the first student he's held a conversation with was to be his partner. He watched as Penny eagerly grabbed a hold of his hand that had hung from his side with both of hers and gave him an enthusiastic, if not slightly comical, handshake. Upon letting go, she gave him information that had been told to her by the general.

"Alright Partner, I was given instruction from the general to tell you that you and me will be partnering together for the rest of our time at Atlas, and that starting today, you and I will be residing in the student dorms; fourth floor, room 404, where we will meet our other two teammates. Any questions?" The bubbly girl asked to the blonde who had paid rapt attention to the girl once she mentioned the headmaster.

"Nope, I guess I'll head to my room and grab my stuf-" She was quick to cut him off before he could continue his train of thought.

"No need Partner! The general took the liberty of having it moved to your new room for you."

"Oh, well if that's the case, then do you wanna lead us to our new room?" Penny nodded her head and began to walk forward with a bounce in her step, leading the taller teen as they made their way to the door, when she heard Jaune talking, most likely to himself she deduced, in a quiet voice.

"This is good…this is good. I made it in, I'm about to meet my team, and thanks to Penny, I finally have a friend here. She's kinda quirky, but so what? I'm pretty odd myself." He continued to mutter under his breath for another few quick moments before bumping into something, causing him to take a minor step backwards. He tilted his head down and came eye to eye with Penny who had a tentative look on her face as she asked him.

"What did you call me…" She inquired slowly, making eye contact with him.

"O-Oh, I-I'm really sorry, I was uh…talking to myself. I didn't know you could, um, hear me…I'm really s-"

"You called me your friend." Once she said that, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as she continued. "Do you mean it? Am I really…your friend?"

Jaune took a moment to smile at the girl before nodding down to her, "Absolutely! Why wouldn't you be Partner?" He replied with mirth, the girl looked at him for any signs of deceit, but upon seeing none, her shining smile returned, and she took him into a hug, wrapping her thinner arms around his torso in happiness.

"Sen-sational! I can't wait to tell my father about you Friend Jaune."

'Friend Jaune?' the boy thought to himself, now something seemed odd about the girl, but finding out what it is was second to attaining air.

"That's great…Penny…but-need…air…" Penny gasped at how hard she must have squeezed him, before apologizing profusely and helping him off the ground.

"I'm so sorry Friend Jaune, I didn't mean to-" This time, the blonde cut her off so that she wouldn't feel guilty for hurting him accidentally.

"Its…okay Penny, just…gimme some warning next time." The blonde breathed out between large gulps of air, flashing her a small smile of his own. The ginger-haired girl just watched him for another few moments as he collected himself, before nodding her head, smile returning.

"Alright Partner, let's go meet our team!" she exclaimed as she skipped away with Jaune following behind her. As they made their way through the halls, a thought occurred to Penny that she voiced to Jaune.

"Friend Jaune, do you think our new teammates will also be our friends?" she asked with an innocent tone, to which Jaune thought for a moment on before answering.

"I hope so Penny. It's a lot easier to work with people you enjoy being around," He paused seeing the girl's attention focused solely on him, before continuing. "But I don't think you have anything to worry about, you should be fine Penny." He informed the girl with a satisfied nod but was surprised when her face shifted from one of innocent curiosity to worry.

"What about you Partner?" She asked as she observed him closely, waiting to hear his answer. Jaune didn't think the girl would read between the lines of his remark, and realized that while the girl may be innocent, more so than any he's met before, she was not oblivious.

"I'm not sure to be honest Penny…" He replied with uncertainty laced in his voice. The green-eyed girl took a step closer placing a hand on the taller boy's shoulder, before trying her best to reassure him.

"Don't you worry Friend Jaune, I think you are most pleasant company, and our new friends most likely will too!" she paused, adopting a somber smile, and spoke again. "And on the chance they don't, I'll still be your friend! No matter what." She spoke with finality.

Jaune just gave her a small smile, before noticing how much attention the girl was giving him. Embarrassed by their proximity, he cleared his throat and tried to switch gears back to their original task.

"H-Hey, so we-uh, really shouldn't keep our new friends waiting any longer right?" At this the shorter girl's eyes widened, and she took a step back, covering her mouth with her hand showing her shocked expression at the thought of keeping new potential friends waiting.

"Oh my! You're right Partner, lets get moving!" And with that, she took off running with Jaune following behind her.

After having made their way to their designated room, they both stood outside the door. Penny was still wearing her large smile, looking no worse for wear, and Jaune was panting from the full-on sprint he had to do in order to keep up with the girl.

"Alright Friend Jaune, are you ready to go inside?" Penny inquired as she turned her cheerful gaze on her company. The boy in question held up a hand, signaling that he needed a moment. Upon catching his breath, he nodded his head at the girl, and she opened the door.

The sight of what greeted them as they opened the door was nowhere near as impressive as the sound of what transpired before them. As they stood in the doorway, they were greeted with the sounds of a trumpet and drums being played together well and decided to wait until the other members of their new team finished playing their instruments to introduce themselves.

Roughly four minutes later, the music began to fade until both the unidentified students grinned at each other. Jaune cleared his throat from the doorway, earning him the attention of who he assumed were the other members of his new team.

One of them was a dark skinned, dark haired boy in black, he wore rather semi-formal clothes in a rather informal manner, his lower outfit consisting of pinstripe slacks and white dress shoes, and his upper clothing being a white conductor's shirt worn under a gray vest with a electric blue tie that hung around under the collar of his shirt, but lie completely undone. On his leg, Jaune noticed what he assumed was a holster but lacking its weapon and next to him on the post of a neatly made bed lay a black hat and glasses that were the same shade.

The mostly orange haired girl was much more difficult to describe, her style more colorful than her companion. She wore a pink mini skirt with black shorts beneath and covered herself from the knees down with calf high socks and knee pads. Her attire above the waist consisted of a blue crop top above a black athletic bra, and on her arms, she wore guards. The most outstanding features of the girl were the collar with a bell she wore from her neck, her tattoos, highlights, and the pink tail that swished in the air behind her.

Penny was quick to start conversation with the two, seemingly appearing out of thin air in front of the faunus girl. "Sal-u-tations! Since this is Room 404, its safe to assume you are our new teammates, right?"

The pink haired cat girl recovered from her shock almost as quickly as the excitable ginger seemingly materialized in front of her and looked to her partner, matching Penny's energy.

"Flynt! Flynt, look! We finally have two more people for a full team!" The cat-tailed girl exclaimed to her calmer partner, who just chuckled before responding to her.

"I see em' Neon, no need to spaz." He replied, eyes and tone full of mirth that came from years of knowing someone. The girl seemed to take a deep breath, and if Jaune heard right, counted under her breath for a few seconds before exhaling, now still exuberant, but more collected.

"So! I'm Neon Katt, and this is my partner, Flynt. Say hi Flynt!" the boy just rolled his eyes with a smile before standing up where he was seated and walking towards Jaune and Penny with a smirk, not exactly cocky, but…sure of who he was, almost as if he knew something someone present didn't.

"Pleasure. Name's Flynt. Flynt Coal." He stuck a handout to Jaune, who took it and continued the pleasantries.

"I'm Jaune, it's nice to meet you both." The blonde teen turned to his ginger-haired friend. "Hey Partner, why don't you introduce yourself." He said to girl, being rewarded with a smile.

"I'm Penny Polendina, and the pleasure is all mine!" At her greeting, the boy recoiled a bit, before asking a question to the girl.

"Polendina? Like Pietro Polendina?" he asked curious as to if the girl was related to the man.

Upon hearing the name, Penny's eyes widened a bit that someone knew of her father and brightened more, despite feeling impossible. "Oh! You know of my father? Sen-sational!" Jaune listened to this confused slightly, figuring out that his partner's father must be rather important.

"Pietro…Polendina? Isn't he, like, a genius scientist or something?" Neon asked, voicing the unasked question Jaune was also harboring. "And an inventor as well!" Penny tacked on with pride in her father.

"Yes, he is one of, if not the greatest minds here that are behind Atlas' military strength and quality of life." A voice cut out from the door behind the four teens who turned to look at their surprise visitor. They were all surprised to see general Ironwood standing in the doorway, holding a box with the symbol of Atlas on the side.

Ironwood looked directly to Jaune as he spoke this time. "Jaune, since you're officially a student here at Atlas now, inside of this package are a few things you'll need for your time here." Upon saying this the blonde walked forward to accept the package, but as he put his hands on it, Ironwood leaned forward slightly and spoke in a very hushed voice. "You should let your team know about your circumstances for coming here sooner than later young man. Secrets only increase their weight over time."

He took a step back from Jaune, seeing that the boy was very conflicted at the prospect of telling his new team about what had caused him to come here, but also not disagreeing, knowing that the general was right. The general cleared his throat, catching the attention of the young man before him and his team, and continued.

"From this day on, the four you: Jaune, Coal, Katt, and Penny, will form Team JCKP," He paused, smirking slightly as he did so, keeping the teens in suspense for a moment before he continued.

"Team Jackpot, Led by Jaune"

Meanwhile, many hundreds of miles away from Atlas, a bunny-eared second year student was returning from lunch with one Cardin Winchester. As the two of them walked down the halls, the boy earned looks of skepticism from students they passed due to his actions against faunus in the past. She just put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile that he was grateful for.

Suddenly her scroll began to vibrate, showing an unfamiliar contact I.d. She looked at Cardin confused, and he just mirrored her. She decided to answer after debating until the fourth ring.

"Hello…?"

"Velvet!" She heard a familiar voice exclaim over the phone shocking her.

"Jaune?!" Upon saying his name aloud, many eyes turned to face the rabbit faunus, suddenly very interested in her conversation. After Jaune had left for Atlas, rumors as to why he left began to spread like wildfire around Beacon, and those who asked his old team or team RWBY knew of his falsified transcripts. Cardin seeing this motioned for her to follow him to the courtyard, away from prying ears.

"Where are you, how are you calling me?!"

"I memorized your info Velv. The day you gave it to me I didn't have my scroll, so I forced myself to remember it until I got back to my dorm." Velvet smiled warmly at this, knowing full well that was something the boy would do. "Also, I'm in Atlas. I got accepted as a student and I just got my scroll. Oh! And I met my new team," as the boy said this, Velvet put Jaune on speaker so that Cardin could hear him as well. They heard a loud crash in the background followed by shouting and laughing before Jaune spoke again.

"I think I'm gonna like working with them." The tone he spoke in told both the Beacon students that he was happy, and that he was going to be fine at his new school.

"So, what're you doing J.B.?" Cardin spoke into the phone.

"Cardin? That y-wait, J.B.?" Jaune's confused reply came back.

"Jauney-Boy."

"Ah, I get it. Anyways, I'm about to unpack, talk with my team about everything, and then look into getting a new weapon and clothes." Upon voicing his plans, the two students looked at each other and grinned, realizing their friend was better than alright, he was great. If things kept progressing as they were, he'd no doubt be on the right track to enact his plan come the Vytal Festival.

"Jaune. After this call, I'm giving you Coco's contact info. Call her when you go to get clothes." The rabbit faunus spoke with a knowing tone to the boy.

Suddenly, the grin left the brown-haired girl's face as she hesitantly asked a question after what she heard. "Wait, Jaune…what do you mean you're going to talk with your team about everything?" Cardin's face changed to one of alarm as he looked down at Velvet then back down to the phone.

Jaune paused, the tension born from his moment of thought growing before he answered his friends.

"…Yea. Yea, I'm gonna tell them." The blonde teen said with uncertainty.

"Are you sure that's a good idea J.B.?" Cardin asked slowly.

"No." The blonde answered. "But it's a better idea than letting them find out in the future from someone else." He said in finality.

"Alright Jaune, you have our support, all of us. I hope it goes well." The camera carrying girl responded back. After a few more minutes of talking, Jaune felt he had stalled long enough, and ended the call to tell his team of his not-so-secret secret, but not before getting the contact info for Cardin and the rest of team CFVY and wishing his friends well, they in return wishing him good luck.

Jaune turned to his new team and coughed loud and awkwardly, gathering their attention.

"Listen, team…there's something I think you should know."

And the boy, despite how scared he was, swallowed and began telling his story.

(A/N)

Hello again everyone.

I'm writing this as I'm finishing the chapter, which for some of you reading will be moments before this was uploaded. So, I think I've set the groundwork for the story decently, despite me letting the story write itself, but as much as I like to cover every detail, it really slows down the pacing of the story.

However, things pick up next chapter, as we'll see Jaune finally get his weapon, and a new outfit, which I imagine more than a few of you are curious about. His semblance won't be revealed just yet, sorry, but I'm saving that for a scene I'm still imagining playing out in my head.

This chapter was smaller than I anticipated, but I think that was a good capping point for the next one.

Another thing, if I manage to finish other stories' other first chapters, should I put them out? Let me know.

And finally, I updated last chapter after I did some proof reading. Fixed a few minor errors, but the big detail was that I added an Author's note to the end of that chapter as well.

Till Next Time,

BlackJackHero