Disclaimer: Don't own RWBY or anything else affiliated. Just like my sandbox and gonna hang here for a while.

Chapter Fifteen: Friends

"The situation's changed?"

Qrow shook his head, a silent indication that he wasn't discussing the matter until he was sure they were not out in the open to be overheard. An area such as this was not the prime nor the ideal location for such conversations to take place and he wasn't about to go throwing information out left, right and center before he was good and ready to do so. The members of SKBL seemed to take the hint without needing to be told and this allowed for the five of them to return to their trail, this time moving in the direction of Qrow's guidance. The group was primarily silent as they moved through the barren wasteland. They'd ultimately taken Qrow's advice to heart by keeping silent and attempting to remember as many of the questions burning their minds so that they could ask them once they'd reached a more favorable location.

Skyler felt the smallest tremor of unease shoot through the length of his spine, but he couldn't entirely place why that might be. Was thee more hostile forcs in the area and they just hadn't realized it yet? What could this feeling possibly be coming from? For now, he would trust that Qrow knew enough of what he was doing. This didn't stop his hand hovering close to the handle of his sword though. Despite his caution, Skyler needn't have worried. A short walk after and the group was filing into a small cabin on the outskirts of the desert. It wasn't quite within the borders of the next town, so the perfect spot to be able to notice if anyone else was within ear-shot.

"So, what's all this about?" he asked.

Qrow sighed and for a moment Skyler worried he might only be met with silence, but he daren't speak, Qrow was known for being harsh and he didn't want to push his luck even if Qrow was the one who'd brought them here in the first place.

"The situation regarding the spear you helped to reclaim back when you were students at Beacon."

Of all the things on the list of topics he'd been expecting, that particular answer factored nowhere into Skyler's thoughts. That spear...The Golden polearm that caught the eye of some very high profile enemies back when Team SKBL had been students at Beacon Academy. They had been the ones to go on the mission to retrieve it and despite heavy costs they were able to put the spear in Ozpin's hands for safekeeping.

"What about it?" Cedric asked.

"We've found another weapon associated with that era."

"There's another one of those things?" Koa cursed lowly.

"Yup," Qrow said bitterly, "but this one's worse and far, far stronger than Lancelot's weapon."

"Let me guess," B.B said, "You found Excalibur."

Qrow's brow shot up, "H-"

"How did I guess? Simple really, it's the only recorded weapon aside from Lancelot's spear to contain that much power. So mucb in fact that its last wielder was forced to split it into seven pieces. Besides that, the story of Excalibur has been handed down through my family for generations now."

"Well, that's the gist anyway," Qrow divulged, his arms raising to fold over his chest and his dark eyes turned to each member of SKBL in turn, "We don't know yet exactly who's behind it but someone is trying to steal all seven pieces to reforge Excalibur and use its powers for their own ends."

"Figures as much," Skyler sighed. It was just like all the people who'd gone after Lancelot's spear. They didn't see these weapons as anything but tools to enslave the world and much like it was a Hunter's job to go after Grimm, it was also their job to go after individuals with these kind of mindsets. They were, after all, humanity's protectors. Excalibur was far more well-known than Lancelot's spear was. Stories of Excalibur still existed in modern texts while the polearm had all but faded into obscurity.

"How close are you to finishing up here?"

Skyler considered what Qrow had said, having already noted the expressions on the faces of his team-mates, he knew that they were looking to him to answer this question since he was the leader. His brow furrowed in concentration and it was clear as day that he was silently considering all of the options he'd been presented with. Once an answer was reached, he turned to Qrow and said, "Probably a couple of days if we really push ourselves, three at a standard pace."

"Then it's best I give you a hand so we can be gone as soon as possible."

"After which we can get head back to Vale and find out what the hell's going on. Has the old man been more forth-coming with answers this time?"

The older man snorted in response to B.B's question, folding his arms over his chest, "Y'know how he is, always holding his cards close to his chest. I think we'd have a better chance of the Vacuoan desert freezing over than we have of Oz telling people more than what he thinks is necessary."

"Predictable," she lamented, "But no less frustrating."

"You're telling me."

A silence fell over the group and settled there, none knowing what to say when it came to the hand they'd been dealt by the man who'd done so much for them. Through all their struggles, he'd been there. Yet, Skyler wasn't so naive to think that the man was infallible. Everyone had flaws, no matter how powerful and a force of light they were. This was just an example of that. Yet, despite these thoughts he was not the one to break the silence. In fact, none of them seemed willing to break that silence for fear of saying something they might later come to regret.

In the end, it was Qrow who decided to take the lead on conversation, through a change of subject entirely, "Well, whatever the situation we'll need to deal with the one we're in right now if we're to get back to Vale before the end of the week. Any clues to where the nest of those things is located."

"We've all but pinpointed its exact location," Cedric divulged, "But we've got a cross-section of three possible locations that all match the description we were given. Most of the duration of finishing this mission is down to travel time between the locations."

"Well," Qrow interjected, "Now that I'm here...maybe we can hit all of them at once."

"All of them at once?" B.B queried, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Sure, kid. You and the Ninja kid can hit one, Big man and little red can get the next one and I'll take the last one. Given my...affliction, I can travel a lot faster than the rest of you and this way we can be out of here by the end of the day...and me being alone for the duration of the fight is...for the best."

Skyler sensed that there was more to it than that, but he wasn't going to risk Qrow's ire by asking him to elaborate. Everyone was entitled to some secrets, even if he didn't necessarily like it. He was sure this was nothing on the level of what the old man was hiding from them anyways.

"We'd better get a move on. Cedric, bring those locations up on your scroll for me?"

"Got it, boss."

Another week had come to an end and it seemed like they were all making a decent amount of progress. Jaune had thought that implementing dust into the way they fight had been an excellent suggestion on the part of Weiss, but Jaune himself had the small problem that none of his weapons had dust nor even had slots for them. Also, with the way Crocea Mors worked, he was doubtful that modifying the weapon would even be a positive thing. The last thing he wanted to do was to damage its other capabilities while trying to add another aspect to it. What he really needed was a secondary weapon that he could fit with all the dust modifications he wanted.

He'd have to keep thinking about it. Though Weiss' suggestion had been good, it didn't settle the fact that despite everyone having accepted her apologies, the one person who hadn't was Blake. Jaune wasn't sure why, but he wasn't even really sure that he should be asking about it.

According to Yang, Blake and Weiss had almost come to blow during the aftermath of the training session the girls shared while he and Ren were off in leadership class. To some extent Jaune was glad that he'd not ended up being the leader of Blake and Weiss on the same side. If the nature of their argument was to be believed then imagine how much worse it'd have been if those two were on the same team or god forbid, partnered up? Just when he thought things were becoming amicable between Weiss, her own team-mates and Team ABYN this cropped up taking them all back essentially to square one. Jaune knew that as leaders it was his and Ren's responsibility to get things to a manageable conclusion but how could they? Girls were a difficult subject to begin with and the two of them were being forced to navigate the personalities and idiosyncracies of six of them at once.

Jaune through all of this had come to one singular conclusion.

His life growing up with seven sisters had not, in fact, prepared him for this as much as he initially thought that it had. Sure, his sisters had fought before and yes, he had some role in helping them all come to conclusions that ultimately led to the best results for all involved but this just wasn't the same as those situations and it never would be. Family was usually naturally inclined to fix things with each other. At least that much had been the case for his sisters and it appeared as though neither Blake nor Weiss shared those sentiments and they didn't have the family attachment either which would ultimately serve to just make things more difficult in the end. Perhaps this was one of those situations that he was supposed to let go of and wait until it handled itself? He doubted himself or Ren could do much else at this point. As he'd repeated to himself so many times that day already Jaune once again allowed the same three words to resurface at the front of his mind.

Girls are complicated.

Sighing some, he turned his attention back to the page in front of him, continuing to scan the pages for any sign of Acheron or his brother. Jaune was currently located within the Academy Library towards the back of the room, a pile of books stacked up to his right and another to his left. Once he'd determined that there was nothing in this book regarding the man that had been frequenting his dreams, Jaune placed it into the pile to the left and then reached to collect another from the pile on the right. He dropped it quietly to the surface of the desk then flipped it open and repeated the process once more. There was nothing for a single moment, nothing until Jaune's cerulean orbs finally fell upon the connection he'd been looking for.

'The Athurian Prince - Acheron.

Little to nothing has been recorded on this hero, aside from the fact he and his brother had once warred over their father's blade, the legendary weapon of divine creation, Excalibur. One theory hotly debated between modern historians is Acheron's potential link to the old gods and-'

Jaune's eyebrow shot up upon reading this section, the old gods? What significance did they have in relation to Acheron? It looked like he was going to be short on information this time...it appeared as though someone had ripped away the bottom half of the page on Acheron's history. Though disappointed, Jaune was hardly surprised. The tome looked particularly ancient and had probably been held within Beacon's library for many years and he likely wasn't the first person to try researching heroes of old. The book was rather worn in other places too so it stood to reason that standing the test of time had been difficult for it.

Though, he didn't miss the opportunity to add the small section of infomation he'd obtained to his notebook. Once he'd done so, he moved the book to the pile on the left and started on the pile to the right once more. The next book was as empty as the first, so he quickly moved it to the pile on the left and another sigh fell from his lips. He'd come so close to something...there had to have been something on the ripped piece of paper that had been removed from the book from the small piece on Acheron. Yet, here he was nowhere near any closer to a major discovery about the man from his dreams. He reached for another book, this one looking rather battered and old. Hopeful to finally he opened up the book and began to flip through until-

'The Athurian Prince - Acheron.

Hardly any mention of this hero has been made even in the old stori-

Another mention of Acheron, Another page ripped out before the wording of the book could reveal too much. Surely it was just a coincidence? The books did look rather damaged in other areas as well. The two paragraphs on Acheron specifically was just a random stroke of bad luck, it had to be. Not deterred in the slightest, Jaune went back to the pile on the right, ready for his next book. The hours rolled on and yet, no matter how many books he looked in Jaune could not find even a mention of Acheron nor the famed sword he'd come to possess as an adult. Feeling his eyelids growing heavy, Jaune sighed...maybe it was time for a rest? No, he only had two more books to look through. He could find mention of Acheron there, he could find-

He stepped out into an open field, his gaze sweeping around the entirety of the unfamiliar place he found himself in. He is placed in what appears to be a small canyon, walled off on all sides save for one point of terrestrial access via a tan set of stone stairs.

Jaune's foot moves his foot toward those stairs. Though unable to tell what lie ahead, his own curiosity had ultimately gotten the better of him and he felt as though he had no choice but to ascend those stairs. At the top of those stairs is an area is filled with brilliantly golden-yellow flowers broken up only by patches of gray rock. In the center is a large fountain that seemed oddly familiar to him, at the back of which is an immense tree with dark gold leaves. It is a serene location that emanates a sense of life and power about it.

Why did this place feel so familiar to him? Had he once known this place as a child and could no longer recall his attachment to it? Was it from another dream? Or a dream of a dream?

"Acheron?" Jaune called without thinking, "are you here?"

No response.

He didn't really know what he expected by calling that question into the wind.

"You must be the one to find the pieces."

That voice...he could attest to that being familiar in the very least, he'd recalled it talking to him several times but he'd never been able to place it and it seemed being unable to place it was going to remain a constant, "Acheron?"

No response.

"Find Excalibur."

Jaune, was in fact, collapsed against the table of the library as he snoozed lightly against the surface of the table. His arms were held up against the surface and his cheek rested upon one of the books he'd been reading as he sought out answers on Acheron. He was in such a deep sleep that he neither saw nor heard the approach of another or the small chuckle that left their lips.

His body left the seat, being pulled up onto the back of the figure, who finally spoke, "Thought I'd find you here, c'mon ladykiller, time to get you to the dorm before curfew. Miss Goodwitch will have a fit if she finds you asleep here rather than in your bed."

Yang had seen Jaune leave the dorms earlier in the day. That in itself hadn't been weird. It was the weekend after all and one couldn't be expected to spend every waking moment with their team no matter how well they were getting along and she was no stranger to the weird feeling that the dissonance between Weiss and Blake was causing the other members of their teams, in particular Jaune and Ren who not only got along with eveyone from both teams for the most part but were also the leaders of said teams meaning that a lot of these situations fell upon their shoulders even the ones they didn't particularly want to. She double-checked to make sure that Jaune was firmly upon her back then silently nodded and began the trek back to Team ABYN's dorm room.

"Did you find him?" Pyrrha asked worriedly the moment Yang got the door open.

"Sure did," Yang murmured, "He's asleep so try and keep your voice down."

"Sooorry."

"He fell asleep?" Blake asked, looking at the sleeping form of Jaune from over her book, "We should really talk to him about overdoing it before this obsession with his dreams takes him over entirely."

"We should," Yang agreed, "But we won't mention it for now. Neither of you can tell me you've never been so excited about something before that everything else fades out of your mind without me thinking that you're lying. Let's leave it for now and if it becomes such a regular thing that his grades and training start to fall then we look into it. He came to Beacon to escape from overbearing and controlling people, the last thing we want to do is give him the impression that he's been thrown in with another lot."

"You seem to care about him a great deal," Blake said.

Yang looked down at the young man situated in her arms, a smile on her face, as she lowered him into his bed before retreating from it slightly, "I do. He may be clumsy at times, but he's also a fiercely caring person who gives absolutely everything no matter what he's doing. It doesn't matter if he's not the best at something because you can be damn well sure he'll struggle and fight until he is the best at it. We've only known each other for a short time but I know that Jaune is someone that will have my back no matter what. Friends like that? They're difficult to find these days and it makes me glad to have the three of you as my team-mates. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I wasn't expecting such strong friendships to form with you all as easily as they have but I'm thankful that they did."

"I whole-heartedly agree, Sunflower."

"Sunflower?" Yang asked Pyrrha.

"You're going to give me a nickname and not expect something in return?"

"Fine," she conceded, the smile on her face betraying any unhappy connotation that might have been implicated by her tone.

"I think we'd better go to bed before we wake up Beacon's next scholar," Blake advised.

Yang nodded at her handiwork then the brawler then retreated to her own bed and hopped up into it, "We'd better get some rest as well, I doubt D-Z will take it easy on us if we're late tomorrow morning no matter how laid-back of a Professor he is."

"I agree, Goodnight Yang."

"Night Blakey, Night Princess."

"Goodnight Blakey, Night Sunflower."

Morning came as quickly as the night had fallen and Jaune Arc's eyes slowly opened. He was still in his armor? Weird. ...Wait, had he fallen asleep in the library last night? Then how had he returned to the dorm room instead of being tossed into a grave by Glynda Goodwitch? He shot up from his lying down position and his gaze rapidly fired around the room as though he were a deer caught in headlights. How? HOW!?

"You're lighter than you look, lady-killer," Yang teased him, adjusting her hair a little as she exited the bathroom, "Don't worry got you back to the dorm before Goodwitch got there. Was just going to tell you that you'd lost track of time while researching but you'd already fallen asleep by the time I got there and I didn't want to wake you. Besides, you've carried me and Blake now so it's only fair if we do the same for you every now and again, right?"

"Y-yeah, thanks for that Bee."

Yang shook her head amusedly, "You don't have to thank me, idiot, just hurry up and get ready before we're late for D-Z's class. I've gotta go and grab breakfast before class starts. You want me to grab you anything- besides coffee that is, I'm already getting you that don't worry."
There's a smirk that curves onto Yang's lips, "Because we all know what Jaune's like without his coffee."

"A Bagel will do, probably won't have enough time to eat anything else on the walk to class."

"Got it, see you in a bit ladykiller."

End Chapter

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the incredibly short chapter since I've been ramping up length lately, unfortunately this is a side-effect of what I'm going to go into soon. Though I won't say too much as this is not why you're here I feel as though I owe an explanation on my absence. My depression resurfaced and I was not mentally in a place to update any of my stories nor reply to any of the beautifully thought out private messages that I've been sent between the last update and today.

I know this chapter is bare-bones and feels like a part 3 to thawed weiss, but I needed to do a filler chapter to see if I still had the ability to continue this fic. Let me know what you think in a review if you'd like to but there's never any obligation for that. I appreciate every single person who comes by my stories even if the only thing they do is read it. That means more to me than any of you know and I'd like to once again offer my sincerest thanks to everyone who sticks with me through the ups and downs as I slowly learn more about writing and improving my abilities as much as I can.

That being said, I'm hoping the quality of my stories will only continue to grow and to everyone waiting on updates from some of my other stories, I promise updates for those are on the way too. I'm looking forward to everyone seeing some more progress on those as well.

Thank you all for being amazing readers and even better people.

I hope you enjoy the chapter and what's to come in all of my stories.

PanickedMode. :)