Author's Note:Fight scenes are the bane of my existence -_-

Jaune groaned as he trudged his way out of the exam hall. He had just finished the test earlier with less than a minute left on the clock. However, even with all that time, he had left a good number of the questions unanswered. And he was worried that most if not all of the ones he did answer were wrong.

"I know I flopped that test, I just know it." Jaune muttered dejectedly.

'Chin up Jaune. Since the test is over I suppose I can tell you that you didn't necessarily fail.' Jaune instantly perked up at this. Ozma may have stayed silent during the test but he had kept an eye on the answers Jaune written down and how many he got right.

'Really? How many did I get right?' Jaune was eager to know if he had passed or not.

'I can guarantee that you got most of the questions you did answer right which should be enough to offset the ones you got wrong and didn't answer.' Ozma explained.

'So…does this mean I pass?'

'If we base it on the written exam alone, then no.' Jaune wilted, 'Fortunately for you, you'll have a chance to make up for it in the practical portion of the exam. So long as you do well in it, you'll earn a spot in Initiation.'

'So can you tell me what's in the practical exams at least?' Jaune asked as he pulled up the map that Professor Peach had uploaded to his scroll. He followed it towards Beacon's main building which housed the combat arena where the practical portion of the exam was taking place.

'Certainly. The practical exam, as you can tell from our destination will revolve around physical activity. If things haven't changed from what I remember, then the test can be one of two formats that applicants could choose which to take for the exam. The first one is a combat test where you will fighting against a combat drone that will do its best to defeat you by either knocking you out or depleting your aura.' Jaune nodded as he soon entered the building.

'How strong are they?' Jaune asked as he followed, curious if he could handle fighting the drones.

'It depends on their model and difficulty setting. With the lowest being at the level of the average Huntsman Academy freshman and the highest is that of a professional huntsmen.' Jaune gulped at the thought of facing drones capable of that level of skill, 'though I doubt they'll choose the latter for the exam.'

'How come we don't have more drones out there fighting grimm if they're that strong?'

'Atlas did try a few decades ago when they developed the Atlesian Knights.' Ozma answered.

'I'm guessing it didn't work out very well?'

'On the contrary, it started out promising as they reclaimed territory lost to the grimm with the drones. Unfortunately, the drones couldn't handle operating at the same level of huntsmen without causing severe wear and tear on their components.'

'Unlike huntsmen who can heal with their aura…the drones need repairs or new parts.' Jaune added when he realized the difference between a living, beathing huntsman and a machine.

'Indeed, and with the constant need for repairs and replacement parts, Atlas couldn't stomach the costs so they installed limiters to ensure they can last longer at the cost of lowering their combat capability. Here at Beacon, the limiters can be partially deactivated to serve as training tools for young huntsmen in training like yourself.'

'Partially deactivated? Why?' Jaune asked.

'Imagine a drone suddenly overloading and shutting down mid combat on good days.'

'And what happens on a bad day? They explode?' Jaune guessed jokingly though Ozma didn't laugh. 'Wait, seriously?'

'Deadly serious. While there haven't been any such cases of the drones spontaneously combusting at Beacon, there were incident reports during Atlas' initial use of the drones. This often resulted in the drones exploding during intense battles. Thankfully, only grimm or other drones were caught in the explosion.'

'Oh…so what's the second format?' Jaune asked, eager to forget the scary thought of the drone blowing up in his face.

'The second one is an agility and endurance test where your goal is to finish an obstacle course while defending against a number of traps. You will be judged by how well you clear the course as well as the the amount of time you take to finish it.'

'Traps? Like the ones from Myths of the Forgotten Ruins?' Ozma scoffed at the juvenile gameshow Jaune and his sisters used to watch. It was based extremely loosely, a term he still considered generous, on Oswald's own adventures. He was certain his previous host would be rolling in his grave if he knew what his legacy was being used for.

'Not exactly. While I don't know which obstacles will be used, they could be anything from pitfalls and spiked walls to buzzsaws and turrets. Hmm, now that I think about it, they do sound like they're from that show.' Jaune stopped walking.

'Oz, please tell me you're joking cause the obstacle test sounds like a death trap.'

'Unfortunately for you, I'm not. Granted, while the traps are lethal to the average civilian, you have aura so unless you're careless about your aura, you should be fine.' Ozma rolled his eyes when Jaune's thoughts were filled with cartoonish scenes of himself falling victim to the traps. Including a rather amusing one where he was shot full of holes by turrets.'I highly doubt any of that will happen, Jaune. The traps will shut down the moment an applicant's aura goes into the red.'

Jaune slumped his shoulders and sighed in relief, 'Oh thank goodness. I was worried for a moment there.'

'While I understand your fears, I doubt the traps will give you much trouble, especially with your absurd aura reserves.' Ozma pointed out, 'You could probably just…what was the term you used in that game again…ah right, facetank. You could facetank the traps and come out with your aura still in the green if you wanted.'

'First, never use gamer slang, it sounds weird when you say it especially when you use it wrong.' Ozma huffed in response, 'And second, even if I can 'tank' the traps, I'd like to avoid anything that might get me maimed.' Ozma nodded in agreement at the prudent decision. Just because one can do something doesn't mean they should do it.

'Then I'm guessing you'll be choosing to take the combat test?'

'Yeah, it sounds the like the easier option. As long as they don't crank up the settings to a professional huntsman's level, I should be fine.' Ozma wanted to say something to Jaune about jinxing himself with such a comment but he kept it to himself.

"What in the name of the Brother Gods happened here?" Jaune exclaimed in disbelief at what he saw.

When he entered the combat arena, he had expected to see some of the other applicants taking the tests so he could get a preview of how they're done. However, he didn't see any of that.

Instead, what he saw were shattered pieces of concrete and warped metal scattered across the arena. He even saw some pieces of shrapnel embedded in the walls surrounding the arena. The large scorch mark in the center of the debris told him that there had been an explosion and judging by the white foam covering the arena, a fire had broken out as well.

"Who the hell are you?" a voice called out and Jaune looked around until he saw a short but stout man staring at him from the side of the arena.

"Er…H-Hi! I'm Jaune Arc! I'm here to take the practical exams." Jaune explained himself as he made his way down towards the man, "I'm guessing you're Professor Mulberry?"

"Ah right, Arc. Peach called me earlier and told me to expect you." Professor Mulberry greeted before gesturing to the mess on the arena floor, "Though as you can see, you can't take the test right now."

"Right…What happened here anyways?" Professor Mulberry frowned as he let out a frustrated sigh.

"A couple of showboats in the last batch of applicants, that's what. One of them had the bright idea to clear the traps with her grenade launcher." the man grumbled as he gestured to the ruined obstacle course. "As you can see, it worked…a little too well."

"Huh, good thing I'm here to take the combat test then." Jaune said though he got a bad feeling when Professor Mulberry shook his head.

"No can do, kid."

"Why not? Did they get blown up too?" Jaune asked worriedly.

"Not exactly, they're…I think it'll be faster to just show you." the man said before he took out his own scroll and pressed in a command before Jaune heard a metallic noise from the arena.

Jaune blinked in amazement as a large metal dome closed over the arena before the sides of the arena separated into two halves that retracted, revealing a large piston underneath the arena floor. The piston hissed as it lowered the domed floor down into the opening.

'Well this is certainly new.' Ozma hummed. 'Wonder what it looks like down there.'

Jaune looked down into the hole but could only catch a brief glimpse of the machinery down there before another domed floor was raised in place. The sides of the arena extended back out and closed around the floor. He heard a series of hissing and clanking noises before the arena was whole again.

However, the amazement in his eyes soon turned to confusion when the dome retracted, revealing what was scattered across the floor.

"Are those what I think they are?" Jaune asked while pointing at the evidently cut up pieces of metallic limbs and torsos. Professor Mulberry sighed deeply and nodded.

"Yep, courtesy of the other showboat. You're supposed to fight just one drone and take it down to pass the test but that girl somehow got it into her head to take on multiple drones to guarantee a slot in Initiation." the man grumbled as he hopped up onto the arena with a single jump and stared at the pile of parts. "And I was the idiot that humored her request…you can imagine the look on my face when she tore through the lot of them in just a couple of minutes." the man then made a shocked look for comedic effect though it didn't get Jaune to laugh as he kept staring at the broken remains of the drones.

Jaune gulped as Ozma noted that the drones had been taken out with clean and precise cuts. He'd hate to make an enemy of the person who did this.

"So I'm guessing they pass?" Jaune asked curiously.

"Oh they passed, alright. Not everyday we'd get such promising applicants." Professor Mulberry nodded before he picked up a metal head and sighed. "Still, it's gonna take a lot of work fixing everything up but it's nothing new around here. The students here wreck the drones on a regular basis…even though I keep telling them not to." the man muttered.

"Don't you have any spare drones? Or maybe fix these ones up?" Jaune suggested.

"These are the spares…what's left of them at least." Professor Mulberry stated as he tossed the useless head away. "As for fixing them, normally I'd cobble the usable parts together but that girl really tore through them. Not a damn thing I can do on short notice."

"So does this mean that I can't take the practical exam?" Jaune asked worriedly.

"Actually yes, you still can." Professor Mulberry replied, "Since you're the last applicant on the list, there's another option we could try. Though I got to warn you, it's probably the toughest one to pass. So are you up for it?"

"Whatever it is, I'll take it!." Jaune exclaimed without hesitation to which Professor Mulberry smirked.

"Alright kid, go grab your gear from the locker room." the main pointed at a doorway on the other side of the arena. "Your scroll will tell you what locker your gear is stashed in. Now go on, get! I got some calls to make."

"Yes! And thank you professor!" Jaune beamed before he sprinted to to the locker room. Professor Mulberry shook his head as he took out his scroll and dialed a number.

"Damn kid didn't even bother asking what the test was." he muttered before his call connected, "Hey, you free right now? Yeah I need your help with something."

"Locker 636, 636." Jaune repeated to himself he looked around for his assigned locker. "Why is it such a high number? There's not even that many lockers here."

Ozma could only shrug his non existent shoulders in response.

Jaune sighed as he continued looking for his locker though he blinked when he found it in front of him.

"Oh…"

'Oh indeed. Your luck really works in mysterious ways. I do wonder how it will balance out later. Hopefully it won't be too severe.'

Jaune rolled his eyes as he keyed in the password on his scroll. The locker beeped before unlocking itself, allowing Jaune to open it up and smiled when he saw his equipment stashed inside.

'Better suit up quickly, Jaune. Wouldn't want to keep the professor waiting now.' Ozma advised.

'Right.' Jaune reached for the chest plate and slipped it over his head and around his chest before pulling the straps tight. 'Hmm, it's getting a little tight.' Jaune noted as he loosened the straps a bit. Satisfied with the adjustment, he reached for the spaulders and rerebraces.

'You seem to be outgrowing them which is no surprise. Perhaps it's time we look into some upgrades to your combat outfit.' Ozma suggested to which Jaune snorted.

'With my budget? Yeah, not gonna happen anytime soon. I'll have to make do with what I have.' Jaune said as he made sure his armguards were secured. Ozma hummed in response as an idea crept into his mind but shelved it for the time being. 'By the way, any idea on what this test is going to be?'

'I'm afraid I'm just as clueless as you are. Aside from facing you off against grimm, my best guess is that they'll have you fight a second year student which will obviously be much harder than a combat drone.' Jaune dropped his right glove in shock.

'How am I supposed to win against an actual Beacon student?' Jaune gulped as doubt crept into his mind.

'Calm yourself, Jaune. It was just a guess and besides, even if I'm right, I've trained you for many years and I can assure you that you've grown strong, stronger than most people your age. Strong enough to hold your own against a second year student.' Ozma assured.

'How can you be so sure? I've only ever fought grimm until now and the only people I've ever fought is my dad in sparring matches and he beats me almost all the time!' Jaune exclaimed, his panic growing.

'And what of the times that you did beat him?' Ozma countered, 'Your victories may be few in number but the fact remains that you were victorious against your father, who is as I need to remind you, is a veteran huntsman.'

'But…' Jaune started but Ozma cut him off.

'But nothing Jaune. You've worked hard to to get where you are or did you forget who gave you your weapon.'

Jaune said nothing as he reached into the locker and took out a sheathed sword. He stared at the briefly before he unsheathed it reverently. The blade was scratched and nicked all over, yet it still held its razor edge despite having serving in the Great War and several generations of huntsman before him. He smiled fondly as he recalled the stories his grandpa told him that featured the sword he now held in his hands, including the ones that told him the weapon's name. Crocea Mors.

He had dreamed of wielding the sword since he was a child and he finally got his wish when his father had passed the family heirloom down to him on his sixteenth birthday, along with a application form to Beacon. And while he would deny it to anyone that says so, he also remembered crying happy and admittedly ugly tears at his father finally acknowledging his efforts and his dream to be a huntsman.

'Take pride in what you have accomplished. I believe in you, just like your family does. You can do this.'

'You're right, I can do this! I'm gonna pass this test, make it through Initiation and get it into Beacon!' Jaune declared confidently as he sheathed the sword and hooked it to his belt. He closed the locker and headed for the exit but stopped before he passed through the door,'Oz…'

'Yes Jaune?'

'Thanks.'

'Anytime Jaune, anytime.' the two smiled as Jaune walked out the door and into the hallway to the arena.

"Alright kid, everything's ready on my end. How about you?" Professor Mulberry called out

"As ready as I'll ever be." Jaune replied as he unsheathed Crocea Mors and grasped both hands around the handle before turning to face a large container that the professor had called to be brought in.

"Okay, just let me open her up…" Professor Mulberry pressed a few a commands into his scroll. The container let out a hiss as opened up. Jaune tensed up when he saw a red light inside the container.

'Grimm?' Jaune wondered as he tightened his grip on his sword. However, he soon realized it wasn't grimm when he saw a metal foot step out of the container 'A drone? I thought the professor said there weren't any left-Oh gods, what is THAT!?'

Ozma had nothing to add as he shared his host's sentiment.

Jaune took a few steps back when the 'drone' fully stepped out of the container.

It wasn't a combat drone, not a standard one at least as it towered over Jaune by a few feet. Instead, it seemed to be an amalgamation of multiple drones bashed together as the mechanical chimera, as Jaune internally dubbed it, had four modified legs attached to two torso parts that were seemingly welded to each other and on top of it was a full torso that also had been modified as it had four arms connected to it. The head itself was that of a standard drone's though the retractable visor was damaged as it had a gaping hole in it, exposing its optical sensor that glowed an ominous red, making it look like a single eye that was staring him down.

"What is that thing?" Jaune demanded while maintaining eye contact with it, afraid it would move if he looked away.

"You like it?" Professor Mulberry asked while grinning widely, "It's something I put together from all the parts of the drones the students wreck. I use it to punish students that keep wrecking the drones during training."

"Is it even safe?" Jaune asked as he saw the 'chimera' standing there menacingly, "It's not going to suddenly blow up, is it?" Jaune gulped as he recalled Ozma's talk about the combat drones and their history.

"Course not! I made doubly sure the limiters are working. And besides, it's not like I'm gonna sic it on you on its highest setting. So are you gonna fight it or do you wanna sit out until next year's Initiation comes around?" the professor asked impatiently.

Jaune's eyes hardened as he held up his sword in front of him. Mulberry nodded in approval.

"Good answer. I'm gonna set it's combat strength to level one but I gotta warn you that it'll be tougher than the average drone. Got it?" Jaune nodded. "Alright, the fight starts when the buzzer sounds off."

Jaune saw a holographic screen project over the arena with a rather old and unflattering photo of his face from a family photo on one side. His eyes twitched at the image of young him in those pigtails.

'I'm gonna kill my sisters when I see them again.' Jaune promised when he heard the professor laughing.

'I did warn you to not leave your scroll unattended.' Ozma reminded while stifling his own laughter.

Jaune sighed as he made a mental note to update the picture later. The other side of the screen lit up though only had an image of twin axes crossed over each other circled by a laurel crown. The symbol of the Kingdom of Vale.

Below his picture, Jaune could see a green bar that represented his aura levels though the drone had a red bar that he guessed was the chimera's 'health pool'.

'Don't treat this like a video game.' Ozma cautioned, 'This 'chimera' as you call it is bound to be strong if the professor uses it to punish students.'

Jaune nodded and held his sword in front of him in a defensive stance, ready to react in a moment's notice. Both he and Ozma went quiet and waited.

The buzzer blared loudly, signaling the start of the fight.

The chimera's eye instantly lit up and stared at Jaune who waited for it to make the first move.

"Target acquired." the chimera stated before it stretched all four arms forward before they mechashifted into multi-barreled guns, "Engaging target."

'Dodge, Jaune! Dodge!' Jaune was already moving as he leapt to the side, dodging the volley of dust rounds that impacted where he had been standing, scorching the floor black.

'Damn, that was close. Thanks for the warning.' Jaune stated.

'You're welcome but it's best you get moving.' Ozma advised as the chimera had shifted its guns back on him. It's eye glowing menacingly as it fired its guns.

"Target locked." and the guns fired once more.

Jaune yelped as he dived to the side to avoid getting shot. He dropped into a roll and quickly got back up into a running sprint when he saw the hail of bullets closing in on him.

'You need to get close.' Jaune looked back at the bullets and paled as they were getting closer to him. 'You can't just keep running, Jaune.'

'I know! I just need some breathing room to look for a weakness or something.' Jaune said before he suddenly yelped out loud when one of the rounds clipped him in the butt. It didn't hurt him very much thanks to his aura but it still feel like being stung by a bee, which spurred him to run faster.

'Well whatever your plan is, you better figure it out quick before you run out of stamina.'

Jaune could only yell out in frustration.

Professor Mulberry chuckled as he watched Jaune run before he looked up at the projector to check on the boy's aura level. It would be bad if the drone went overboard after all. However, he became perplexed when the bar was still full.

He looked back to see Jaune spinning his sword to deflect the shots he couldn't outrun. However, given the sheer volume of fire, more than a few made it past the boy's blade and struck him, causing him to stumble briefly but somehow didn't affect him much as he kept running.

The man looked at his scroll for a more detailed readout and saw that Jaune was indeed losing aura. However, the amount was so negligible that it barely registered on the screen. With the stupid amount of aura the kid apparently had, he wouldn't be surprised if he could just stand there and tank the bullets all day if he wanted.

"Ah screw it!" Jaune yelled out.

Mulberry looked up to see Jaune charging straight at the drone while holding his sword in one hand and a heater shield in the other which blocked most of the rounds though the rest still struck his unprotected sword arm and legs.

"Huh, kid's crazy but he has some serious balls." Mulberry smirked as he continued to watch the fight unfold.

'This freaking sucks!' Jaune yelled as he ran through the storm of bullets. If getting hit by one felt like a bee sting, this felt like several hives' of bees suicide bombing him.

'I did tell you that this course of action isn't the wisest' Ozma spoke up, 'But seeing as you're committed. I will trust in your judgement. For now, endure until you see your chance.'

Jaune nodded and gritted his teeth as he kept running towards the drone. The machine's A.I. quickly realized the danger he posed and started backing away while still firing at him.

"Oh no you don't!" Jaune roared as he fed aura into his legs and leapt high into the air. At the height of his jump, Jaune did a midair flip and positioned himself so that he'd fall towards the chimera shield first and let gravity do the rest.

The drone kept firing as it kept track of Jaune's rapid descent. It quickly calculated its his' trajectory and moved to intercept as it stopped firing one of its guns and mechashifted back into its hand that it immediately used to grab Jaune by the leg just before he could land the hit.

Jaune yelped as the chimera slammed him down onto the arena floor hard enough to crack it and knock the breath out of him. He groaned as he laid dazed on the floor. Unfortunately, the chimera wasn't done with him just yet as it lifted him back into the air.

Crocea Mors fell from Jaune's hands as the sword and shield clattered to the floor noisily which snapped Jaune out of his daze. He saw his weapon above him and tried to reach for it but found that he was stuck so he looked down at his feet and saw the mechanical arm holding him. His eyes followed the metal limb to the chimera it was attached to which he was suddenly very aware of as well as the three guns it was pointing at him in pointblank range.

"H-Hey now…maybe we can talk about this?" Jaune joked nervously.

The drone stared at him before it responded, "Neutralizing target."

"This is going to suck." Jaune whined as he crossed his arms in front of him and squeezed his eyes shut before the chimera opened fire.

Professor Mulberry winced as he watched Jaune getting shot up, his aura steadily dropping by the second. He knew that the safeties would kick in if the kid was in any danger but given his aura level, it will take a while. He didn't see any point in drawing out the kid's suffering as he pulled up the drone's killswitch on his scroll.

However, before he could press it, he was suddenly blinded by a bright flash of light. The man rubbed the spots out of his eyes before he blearily looked back at the suddenly quiet arena. His jaw dropped at what he saw.

"Ugh…that didn't work out…like I planned." Jaune groaned as he laid there on the floor, looking up blankly at the ceiling.

'They rarely do.' Ozma said as he knew that feeling all too well.

"What…happened?" Jaune coughed.

'Your semblance finally manifesting perhaps…' Ozma offered though he could only recall the flash of light which obviously came from Jaune's aura but not much else. He shelved the thought for a later time when he heard Professor Mulberry approach.

"Kid! You alright?" the man called out worriedly as he stood over Jaune.

"Everything…hurts." Jaune moaned.

"Considering that stunt you just pulled, I'm not surprised. How did you do that? Is it your semblance?" Mulberry asked

"No idea…maybe?" Jaune answered before he remembered that the fight was over and hesitantly asked. "So…did I pass?"

Mulberry snorted at the question, as he pointed to the side, "Why don't you see for yourself?"

Jaune groaned as he slowly turned his head and looked to where the professor was pointing and gasped at the drone, or rather, what had been the drone.

The drone's entire front side look like it had been crushed into itself, almost like a flattened soda can as the head had become part of the torso. The arms fared no better as the ends of each limbs had also been crushed. The only thing that was relatively intact were the two back legs.

"Did…did I do that?" Jaune asked in disbelief.

Mulberry laughed, "You sure did, kid! And you passed with flying colors too! I'll see you at Initiation!"

'You did it Jaune. You're one more step closer to your dream.' Ozma congratulated.

"Y-yay…" Jaune cheered weakly as he raised his arms up in victory only to immediately pass out as his arms flopped to the ground.

"Kid? You alright?" Mulberry asked but received no response, "Crap, better get him to the nurse's office just to be safe." he said as he reached for his scroll and dialed a number, "Hey Tsune. It's me, Harold. I got a patient here that I need you to look after…"

Fun fact: The above fight with the 'chimera' was originally going to be a non-canon omake for me to practice writing fight sequences where Jaune was going to be badass and kick the tin can to the curb complete with one-liners like the following snippet:

Jaune swung his sword down on the chimera to finish it off but it was blocked by the shield held by a surprise fifth arm connected to the back that bashed his sword out of his hand.

"Nice shield." Jaune quipped before he thrust Crocea Mors' sheath past the fifth arm and into the open joint it was connected to, "I got one too." he said as it mechashifted the sheath into it's shield form, crushing the internal components and bisected the chimera's torso, "But mine's better."

As you can see, it was cliche as intended but the more I wrote, the more I liked the idea of Jaune fighting the chimera(though it was more of a centaur) rather than a teacher(Let's make a game of guessing who it was going to be. Hint: it's a canon teacher :P) So I decide to rewrite the fight to fit with this version of Jaune who is still a dork at heart that messes up at times despite Ozma's best efforts.

Anyways, before I go, got another not-so-quick question for you all: What's your stance on aura's defensive property in fanfics? Do you want aura to be a complete forcefield that prevents damage as well as sensation of pain? Or for aura to protect against damage but the user still feels the the hit though it's dampened?

It won't affect my writing, just curious