Author's Note:This chapter took a lot longer to write than it should have. Still not happy with some parts but I hope you enjoy.
It was late in the day when Jaune walked out the airship terminal. He was thankful for the uneventful and stress free flight back from Beacon, including no motion sickness thanks to the medicine that Beacon's resident doctor had given him when he was released from her care.
'Remind me to thank Doctor Tsune for the pills next time I see her.' Jaune said as he patted the pouch that held more of the medicine. He made sure it was secured this time so he couldn't lose it.
'While I am also grateful, I still have my doubts on that woman being a licensed physician.' Ozma complained, much to Jaune's confusion.
'Why's that? I didn't see anything wrong with the way she treated me.'
'Then why did she insist on keeping you at the infirmary even though your aura was already healing your injuries?' Ozma pointed out.
'She probably wanted to make sure I was fine before letting us go.' Jaune said in the doctor's defense.
'I'll grant her that but what of the constant poking and prodding of your sore spots?' Ozma countered, 'And don't tell me that you didn't see the way she was smiling when she found at a really sore spot.'
'Okay, it was a little weird but-' Jaune started but Ozma interrupted him.
'Her tail was wagging when you cried out in pain, Jaune.'
Jaune tried to defend the doctor's actions but couldn't find a reasonable excuse 'Alright, I got nothing but since you don't like her so much, let's do our best to avoid getting sent to the infirmary when we're at Beacon, okay?'
'Agreed.' Ozma quickly replied while sighing at his host's naïve nature but dropped the matter and changed the topic. 'Anyways, since you're free, do you wish to explore the city before we return to the hotel?' Ozma was curious to see how much Vale had changed since he last been here.
'Sounds good to me though think we could start with something to eat first? Doctor Tsune made me skip lunch while she was examining me.' Jaune said as he felt his stomach growl with hunger.
'I think I might know of a place we can try, provided its still there that is. Also, the less we speak of that fox in doctor's clothing, the better.' Ozma then sensed Jaune becoming suddenly upset, 'Jaune? Are you alright?'
'Oz, are you racist?' Jaune asked seriously which made Ozma's mind grind to a halt.
'Wha..huh? No! I'm not racist! What made you think that?' Ozma demanded.
'Well, grandpa once told me that a lot of old people are prejudiced against the faunus and you told me yourself that you're pretty old yourself so…' Jaune trailed off.
'Jaune, just because I'm old doesn't mean that I'm racist.' Ozma reasoned though Jaune remained unconvinced.
'What about when you referred to Doctor Tsune as a fox?' Jaune retorted, 'I mean, sure she has fox traits but grandpa told me that only racists refer to faunus as animals.'
Ozma tried to argue though he couldn't think of anything to dispute Jaune's words. He chuckled as it has been a long time since he was last beaten in an argument, even if it was an admittedly minor one. How…novel.
'Hey! Being racist isn't funny!' Jaune scolded.
'Of course not Jaune, my apologies. I'm also sorry for my words about Doctor Tsune earlier. It was a bad habit from an old life, but it does not excuse myself for what I said.'
'Apology accepted. Now let's go grab a bite to eat and discuss ways for you to not be racist.' The good feeling Ozma had instantly went up in smoke and replaced by frustration.
'I told you, I'm not racist. It was an honest slip of the tongue.' Ozma protested though Jaune remained unconvinced.
'Uh huh, sure you're not. We can talk about it when we eat. Speaking of which, you said you know a place earlier. Do you remember what's it called?' Jaune asked as he pulled up a listing of eateries in Vale on his scroll.
'Don't change the subject, Jaune. I'm telling you, I'm not a racist!' Ozma denied though Jaune had tuned him out as he was more focused on feeding his empty stomach.
'Hmm, this place looks good…but the cost.' Jaune blanched at the price and kept scrolling through the list of eateries all while ignoring Ozma's protests.
'Jaaaaune!'
'Man, the food from that place was so good.' Jaune let out a satisfied sigh as he wandered through the streets of Vale at night. 'How did you know about a place like that?'
'I actually used to go there when I was alive. Though the last time I was there, it was just a food cart run by a pair of twin brothers who had dreams of opening up their own noodle shop.'
'Well it's safe to say they achieved their dream. That place served the best noodles I've ever had.' Jaune declared as he let out a loud belch. 'Oops, excuse me.'
'Anyways, do you wish to keep exploring or should we return to the hotel and wander around tomorrow?' Ozma suggested.
'Let's keep exploring. Gotta walk all this food off while we discuss your racism.' Ozma frowned at this as his non-existent eye twitched.
'Jaune, I already told you why I'm not a racist. Why is it so hard to believe?' Jaune rolled his eyes.
'I don't know…the explanation you gave me sounded a lot like excuses a racist would make to prove they're not racist.' Jaune retorted teasingly
'Jaune…' Ozma said warningly.
'Alright, alright! I'll stop. Just wanted to be sure.' Jaune kept walking until he noticed a storefront that was still open at night. 'From Dust Till Dawn? Heh, funny. Dust, crystals, books, tools, cartridges and scales. Sounds like a shop for huntsmen though why sell scales?'
'First off, puns are not funny.' Ozma huffed vehemently, to which Jaune rolled his eyes, 'As for the scales, some huntsmen imbue their weapon with dust or make custom dust rounds so having a scale helps them measure the correct amount of dust they'll need.'
'Hmm, wonder if I could do the same to Crocea Mors.' Jaune wondered as he briefly imagined his sword lighting up on fire and lightning. There wasn't anything wrong with his weapon as it is but he wouldn't mind having more options in a fight.
'Possibly though I'm not an expert in that field. Maybe you can ask the shopkeeper here for some advice on that' Ozma suggested.
Lured in by the possibility of adding such a feature to his weapon, Jaune eagerly stepped forward and reached for the door only to be interrupted by the shop window to his right suddenly shattering as two figures crashed through it.
He turned just as one of the figures, a girl dressed in a black dress and a red cloak, stood up as she mechashifted the object in her hand into a large scythe that she effortlessly twirled around her body before slamming the blade into the ground threateningly. Jaune gulped as he was worried that the girl had just robbed the store and was going to silence him as a witness.
'Oz, some help would be nice.' Jaune said as he fed some aura into his arms, ready for a fight.
'Silver eyes…' Jaune quirked a brow in confusion.
'What? You okay, Oz?' However, before Ozma could explain, they were interrupted by another voice coming from the shop.
"Ok…get her!" Jaune jumped out of the way when a number of armed men in black suits ran out of the store as they surrounded the girl.
'What the heck is going on?' Jaune wondered in general confusion.
'Jaune. I don't have time to explain but you need to help the girl, now!' Ozma demanded urgently.
'Right!' Jaune nodded as he poured some more aura into his arms and legs, ready to jump in though he stopped when he saw the girl easily dispatch two of her attackers as she sent one flying into the air with an upward swing of her scythe that had been bolstered by a powerful shot from her weapon and slamming the second on the downswing.
The first man landed on the ground next to him in a low groan and tried to get back up only for Jaune to knock him out cold. Jaune disarmed the man just to be safe before turning his attention to the last man who fired his submachine gun at the girl who dodged out of the way by using the recoil from her weapon firing.
Jaune quickly intervened as he rushed the gunman who immediately sprayed him with bullets. He winced as he took the hits, briefly noting how they barely stung when compared to the chimera. The gunman panicked as Jaune got up close and swung his gun at him out of desperation. Jaune ducked under the clumsy swing and swung his fist straight at the man who went flying from the aura enhanced uppercut. Jaune dusted himself off as the girl landed next to him.
"Thanks for the assist." Jaune nodded back and was going to say something when he was interrupted.
"You were worth every cent, truly you were." a flamboyantly dressed man sneered as he looked down the unconscious gunman. He then looked at Jaune and the girl, "Why are a couple of kids like you doing out this late? Isn't it way past your bedtime?" the man taunted which made Jaune frown though the man didn't let him respond as he lifted his cane and the base of the cane flipped open, revealing a reticle, "Allow me to put you two to bed. Permanently!"
'Jaune!' Ozma warned just as a red flare came whistling out of the cane. Jaune pushed the girl back who cried out in protest before he flared his aura. It kept him safe but the power behind the shot had sent him flying back into the wall of a nearby building. The wall cracked and pieces of it crumbled off from the impact.
"You okay?" the girl called out in concern. Jaune groaned as he lifted a hand up and gave her a thumbs up. "Good, you stay here. I'll deal with the last baddie." the girl then ran off.
"W-w…wait!" Jaune called out but the girl had already run off.
'Jaune, you need to go after her.' Ozma ordered.
'I think she has it handled.' Jaune said as he got up only to hear an explosion from the building followed by some smoke, 'That doesn't look good.' Jaune then heard movement and looked to see someone come out of the shop and he noticed how familiar he looked.
"Hey, aren't you the guy from the noodle place- Wait, nevermind! Think you can watch these guys while I go after the girl?" Jaune asked, gesturing to the unconscious robbers. The old man nodded as he pulled out his scroll and showed that he had already called the police. "Thanks…now to catch up."
"That won't be necessary, Mr Arc." a woman called out. Jaune turned his head and was surprised at who it was.
"Doctor Tsune? What are you doing here?" Jaune asked in disbelief as the fox faunus, still dressed in her white coat, sauntered up to him. Jaune felt Ozma's discomfort at the woman being here but kept quiet.
"I was having a nice chat with a colleague over some drinks when we got alerted by the police about a dust robbery in the area so we decided to check it out." Doctor Tsune explained as she surveyed the scene around Jaune, "Though I'm surprised to see you here and that you've already dealt with the robbers. Good work."
"Thanks though I barely did anything. The others were taken down by a girl-wait! There's another robber and the girl went after him! We gotta go help her!" Jaune said as he moved to follow after the girl though Tsune raised her arm to stop him.
"Relax Mr Arc. My colleague is already handling the matter herself. Everything is under control." The doctor assured before Jaune saw an airship, a bullhead, hovering over the building as a purple streaks of light slammed into it, causing it to shake unsteadily. It soon steadied itself to get away.
Jaune's eyes went wide when a purple light streaked over the bullhead and exploded outward into a series of purple rings which conjured up dark storm clouds in the sky directly over the bullhead. It then started raining down shards of ice that rained down onto the airship, some of which punched into the fuselage.
'Could it be?…A Maiden?' Ozma said curiously though before Jaune could ask, he saw a flash of light coming from the bullhead that caused another explosion on the roof.
"You sure your colleague has it handled?" Jaune asked worriedly before he saw a purple spear made of stone shards being launched at the bullhead.
"Yes." Doctor Tsune answered confidently. She kept smiling as the shards were blasted apart only for them to quickly reform and slam into the top of the bullhead where they split into three separate tendrils that snaked around the bullhead, ready to bring it down.
However, just as it seemed the bullhead was about to be overwhelmed, a sphere of fire blasted outwards, burning the stones shards so hot that they turned to ashes while the airship remained untouched. Jaune then heard distinct blasts of the girl's weapon he heard what sounded like screams followed another explosion from the rooftop.
'Jaune. We have to check on the girl.' Jaune nodded as he flared his aura and focused it into his legs before he jumped up into the air and towards the rooftop.
"Hey! Get back here!" he heard Tsune call out but he ignored her as he went higher.
He cleared most of the building before gravity took hold. Thankfully, the ladder was close enough for him to grab onto as he climbed the last few rungs up to the rooftop just in time to see the bullhead flying off in the distance as well as the girl who was apparently fine and smiling at another woman who he assumed to be Doctor Tsune's colleague.
"You're a huntress…" he heard the girl gush, "Can I have your autograph?"
"Huh?" Jaune blurted out in confusion, drawing the woman's attention who glared at him, "Er…hi?"
'This was not how I imagined my first night in Vale to end.' Jaune deadpanned as he sat in an interrogation room with the girl who was fidgeting in the seat next to him. They had been brought in to the police station to be questioned about their involvement in stopping the robbery. After being questioned rather extensively, they were left in the room where they were told to wait.
'At least the girl is safe.' Ozma stated in relief. 'Why don't you talk to her?' With nothing else left to do, he cleared his throat. He quirked his brow when the girl flinched at his voice.
"Sorry…" she murmured so softly that Jaune almost didn't catch it.
"Umm…why are you apologizing?" Jaune asked to which the girl lowered her head as she wrung her hands nervously.
"Well, you got pulled here to the police station for being involved in my fight so I was worried you were mad at me since you were so quiet and frowning a lot." the girl explained.
"Oh…that. I get like that whenever I'm lost in my thoughts, that's all. I'm not mad at you." Jaune said nervously.
"Really? Even though you got pulled into my mess?" the girl asked.
"Not really. If you weren't there, I would have jumped in to stop the robbery myself. I'm training to be a huntsman after all." Jaune declared which made the girl smile.
"It is certainly good to hear that the current generation of huntsmen-in-training are so dedicated to helping others." a voice called out as a woman walked in. It was the woman who was with the girl on the rooftop.
Jaune and the girl both smiled at the praise though it vanished when they saw that the woman wasn't smiling at all as she brought out a scroll which had a recording of the robbery and the subsequent fight.
"However, it doesn't change the fact that both of you were reckless." the woman then paused the video and pulled up photos of the damages caused from the fight. The shop's broken window, the bullet holes scattered throughout the area as well as the cracks on the road and the wall that Jaune had crashed into. "I hope you two realize that your actions won't be taken likely. You put yourselves and others in great danger."
"But those robbers started it first!" the girl protested.
"And your involvement escalated it." the woman retorted sternly which made the girl wilt which did not sit well with Jaune.
"Is it so wrong to want to help others?" Jaune interjected, "Would you have preferred if we had just stood by and let an innocent man be robbed?"
The woman stared at him before shaking her head, "No, no I don't. If it were up to me, I'd send both of you home with a pat on the back for stopping the robbery..." both teenagers smiled at the praise before the woman suddenly brought out her riding crop and slap it down on the table. "...and a slap on the wrist for your recklessness."
The girl had pulled her hand away in time though Jaune hadn't been fast enough as he nursed his stinging hand.
'That must certainly sting.' Ozma commented. Jaune ignored him as he turned back to the woman.
"But it's not up to you, is it?" Jaune asked while eyeing the crop warily.
"I'm afraid not, Mr Arc. The police are unhappy with both of you for your vigilantism and are seeking to press charges." The woman answered.
"But we helped stopped the robbers!" the girl exclaimed before settling back down when the woman gave her a stern look, "Sorry."
"While you and Mr Arc did indeed stop the robbery, need I remind you of the collateral damage from your reckless heroics?" the woman said as she pointed to the photos from before.
"So...what's going to happen to us?" Jaune asked worriedly.
"We're currently negotiating with the police to drop the charges or at the very least lower them to a count of minor misdemeanour." the woman explained.
"Not that I don't appreciate it but why are you doing so much for us?" Jaune asked.
"Well, you two are applying to Beacon Academy and while you haven't passed Initiation yet, it is enough for me to consider you students and as a teacher, it is my duty to protect you." the woman answered proudly.
"Wait, you're going to Beacon too?" Jaune and the girl asked each other at the same time.
"Indeed you are though like I said, you will need to pass initiation first before you may attend my school as proper students." the professor stated.
"Then would it alright if I could have your name? I'd like to thank you properly." Jaune asked before he noticed the incredulous look the girl was giving him. "What, do I have something on my face?"
"You don't know who she is? Seriously?" the girl asked in disbelief.
"Likewise. You don't know who I am and yet you're applying to my school? the woman was perplexed. "You do know that Beacon's website also has pictures and profiles for its staff, right?"
"Oh…really? Sorry…but I didn't check it since I was so excited when I sent in my application." Jaune answered sheepishly.
"I see. Then allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Glynda Goodwitch, headmistress of Beacon Academy. You may call me Professor Goodwitch." Professor Goodwitch stated.
"Oh…oh!" Jaune's eyes widened in realization, "T-then thank you for going through so much trouble for us, Professor Goodwitch." Jaune replied. The girl nodded hurriedly in agreement.
"It's too soon to thank me just yet, Mr Arc." Professor Goodwitch stated, "The negotiations are taking a while so both of you are stuck here until it's settled. In the mean time, I've already contacted your family and informed them of the situation."
Jaune sighed as he knew that his scroll will probably be full of missed calls and long messages when he gets it back. He made a mental note to call them to assure them that he was fine before going to sleep. The last thing he needed was for his family to show up in Vale looking for him.
"Wait, you called my parents?" the girl asked, her skin, suddenly pale, almost worryingly so. Jaune could only imagine what was going through her head since he's been in trouble with his parents before though never to this degree.
"Indeed I did. They were not happy to hear of your actions tonight. They said they're on their way to the station." the woman replied which only made the girl more nervous. Jaune could relate to the fear and tried to help.
"Hey, it's gonna be alright." Jaune assured. "Your folks are probably mad right now but they'll definitely cool off on the drive over." the girl simply shook her head.
"No, you don't understand! My mom, she can-oh no." the girl said before a swirling vortex of red and black energy appeared out of thin air. Jaune immediately stood up and raised his arms up, his aura flaring up.
'What is that thing?' Jaune asked.
'It's a portal of some sort. Best be on your guard, who knows what manner of monsters could come out of it.' Ozma advised.
"Stand down, Mr Arc. It's fine." Professor Goodwitch told him. He looked at the professor who nodded at him before he lowered his arms and waited.
Soon, a black and furry paw stepped out of the vortex. Jaune instantly thought it was grimm before it was revealed to just be a pair of black fuzzy beowolf themed slippers worn by a woman dressed in black and red pajamas who had a red sword in her hand. The woman looked half asleep as she shuffled her way out of the portal which vanished the moment she was through. She looked around before she saw Professor Goodwitch and nodded tiredly to her.
"Branwen." the professor greeted.
"Goodwitch." the sleepy woman yawned in return, "Where is she?"
Professor Goodwitch gestured towards Jaune who blinked blankly at the attention before he felt something pressing against his back. He turned his head and looked behind him to see the girl trying to make herself as small as possible behind him.
"I can see you, Ruby." Branwen called out in annoyance.
Jaune heard the girl gulp before she peeked her head out from behind him and waved her hand weakly at the woman.
"H-Hi, Auntie Rae…How's Uncle Tai?" Ruby stammered weakly.
"Asleep, like I should be right now." Branwen grumbled which only made the girl flinch, "Then I woke up when I got a call from your mother, speaking of which…" the woman then swung her sword and another portal appeared before another woman who looked remarkably like Ruby stepped through it. She even had a cloak on though it was white instead of red like Ruby's
'She's got silver eyes too…' Ozma stated in amazement which only made Jaune more curious about what's so special about those eyes.
"Thanks for this, Raven." The woman said to Raven who simply nodded before swinging her sword again, creating another portal that she shuffled through. The girl's mother then turned to Professor Goodwitch, "Thanks for calling me, Miss Goodwitch and for keeping my little girl safe."
"I was simply carrying out my duties as a huntress and teacher but you are welcome all the same." Professor Goodwitch said in return.
"With that out of the way, where's my precious Little Rose?" Jaune snorted while trying to hold back his laughter at the nickname, drawing attention to himself again. "Oh? And who is this young man?" the woman asked curiously.
"That's Mr Arc, the one I told you about over the phone earlier." Professor Goodwitch answered, "As for your daughter, she's right behind him."
"I see." the woman turned to Jaune, "Young man, would you mind standing aside so I can have a few words with my daughter?" she asked evenly while smiling at him.
Jaune instantly knew what was going to happen so he nodded and stood to the side, leaving Ruby in plain sight. The girl pouted at him for abandoning her but her attention soon turned to her mother who stepped closer to her.
"H-Hi mom…er…I can explain." Ruby said nervously.
"Oh? Please do…I'm all ears." Ruby's mother said evenly as she leaned closer, still smiling which only made the girl more nervous.
Jaune silently prayed for Ruby as he sat back down at the table and did his best to tune out Ruby being chewed out by her mother.
Author's Note: Surprise! Team STRQ is still together here though in more ways than one if you catch my meaning. As you can tell, without Ozma incarnating as Ozpin, a lot of stuff changed, namely STRQ never learning of magic and as such Raven never ran off from fear of Salem's immortality and Summer never going missing by doing a dangerous mission on Ozpin's behalf though since Raven never left, Summer didn't have a chance to pursue Tai anymore so you all can probably guess who Summer ended up with.
The other major change is that Glynda became headmistress instead along with some others though I won't reveal too much cause, you know. spoilers and stuff.