Chapter 4 of the long awaited White Knight of Atlas! I actually finished this sunday because with all the crap at my job happening, I've been kind of busy. I guess that's what happens when your job is bought out by someone else.


Jaune trudged is way to the training room where Winter was waiting for him with several weights laying at her feet. First he looked down at the weights and then to his mentor before deciding that Marrow was right about him being reckless. "Welcome Jaune to you first combat class. Although I say that we'll actually be working on your stamina and endurance first. After a few hours of that we'll get to sword forms and practice in hand to hand". The first part of that sounded tedious but the second part seemed like it would be worth the wait. Jaune punched his left hand with a wide grin, "alright, let's do this"!

Winter smiled in the face of his eagerness but inside she knew that wouldn't last long. "Then for stamina training you'll use this entire room as the battle field. Your task is to keep out of reach of a beowolf for as long as possible". Jaune raised a brow, "uh, what beowolf"? Winter held her hand out to the right and created a glyph on the floor. The glyph spread and created a large circle for the fallen Grimm to be summoned from. Jaunes heart nearly leaped into his throat as the white beast of Grimm snarled at him with clear violent intentions.

Winter crossed her arm's and eyed the blonde acrossed from her. "Don't worry Jaune, this Grimm is under my control and has strict orders not to harm you too badly. Remember to do everything in your power to keep yourself from being caught and have fun with this if you can". Jaune couldn't help but think that last part was obviously not intended for him, even if she said it to him. Winter snapped her fingers and the large white beowolf charged after the blonde at full speed.

It was made really clear that Winter Schnee was enjoying herself more then she originally let on because as soon as they started the specialist cupped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Jaune - for all his eagerness - screamed like a little girl and hightailed it as fast as he could away from the white Grimm. The screaming continued but what interested Winter more was when the white Grimm - on several occasion - caught Jaune but was forced to let him go. The white Grimm tackled the blonde from the back and dragged him to the ground, only for the young Arc to focus his aura into his fist and deck the Grimm when he had the chance. Between being terrified for his life and not wanting to fail, Jaune showed he was willing to fight when backed into a corner.

The field was covered in cubes that were created by the new training field, designed by the top scientists of Atlas to produce 3D holograms that could be felt and adjusted when necessary. A break through to be sure but also quite convenient for training sessions as well. It meant less damage to materials they couldn't create by themselves.

Jaune also found it quite useful when making his escape from the Grimm to higher ground. Truthfully the game of keep away lasted longer then Winter expected it to, but it also proved her student more capable then she initially believed. "Still, just where did he learn to focus his aura like that? I doubt Vine had enough time to teach him how to weaponize his aura". Winter watched the Grimm race up the cubes to try and catch the blonde, only to come tumbling down the second it got too close to it's prey. Jaune had started to learn that the Grimm was just a mass of aggression with no thought other then charge forward recklessly.

Once he realized that it made dealing with the white beast so much easier. The training exercise started to become kind of pointless after that because Jaune just waited to knocked the beast off the blocks when it was in the middle of crawling up. He repeated the process of knocking down the Grimm for a total of 20 minutes straight before Winter erased the beast to end the session. "I'm impressed Jaune, not many learn how to deal with a Grimm as easily as you have without a bit more training. At least within the military of course".

Jaune took the praise for what it was worth. "Truthfully the blocks did most of the work, leaving me an opening to strike when the Grimm couldn't fight back. If this had been an even battleground I'm sure it would have been over within a minute or two". Winter was glad to see her student didn't let the victory go to his head and inflate his ego. "The mind is an important weapon that many huntsmen and huntresses in training neglect because they grow up believing that they're invincible. Unlike them your weak in body but not in mind. It's true that alone you can be easily defeated but rarely does a hunter fight alone within the Academy".

Winter picked up the weights off the floor and handed them over to Jaune. "Luckily we have plenty of time to get your body up to where it needs to be. You'll strap these weights to your arm's and legs and jog for as long as possible. I'll warn you, after this you'll be sore come the morning but if you use your aura everything will turn out fine". Jaune groaned but still did as he was told and attached the weights to his arm's and legs. "Your free to start when your ready" Winter said before taking a step back.

Jaune nodded and started to jog despite the added weight slowing him down. He already was using his aura to recover from his training session with Vine, what was a little more for his soon to be aching muscles. Winter's intense training proved just as hard as Vine said it would be because as soon as he dropped to his knees from running, Winter had him do push ups. Of course being the idiot who promised to give it his all, Jaune complied with her demands and set off on completing as many set's of push up's as possible.

It was understandable that after all the different types of workouts she had him do he'd thrown up from the overexertion. Tired beyond what he ever felt before, Jaune looked up from his position on the ground to see Winter drop a practice sword next to him. "When you've rested enough we can move on to your sword training. Seeing as your sword is still undergoing modification as we speak, you'll be using this one instead. I made sure the blade was of similar weight and length to your original so there wouldn't be any discomfort".

Jaune rolled over and on to his stomach with a grunt. His muscles were screaming at him to stop but the blonde wasn't ready to listen just yet. Jaune took hold of the practice sword and used it like a cane to prop himself up onto his feet before holding it up at the ready. Winter watched the young Arc take deep breaths in and out for a moment before pulling out her own sword. "We'll just start with a few forms to get your body moving. You are to follow my lead and keep your body loose while remaining light on your feet".

"Like dancing, right"?

Winter gave a pleased nod, "yes, just like dancing".

Winter gave a pleased nod, "yes, just like dancing". She stepped forward and turned around so she was standing shoulder to shoulder with her student. "We'll go slow at first and pick up speed as you get use to the movements". Jaune nodded and settled into a stance much like Winter's. His mentor checked his stance and made adjustments to his footing and balance when she noticed they were slightly off. "Since you also wield a shield as well, we'll focus on one handed sword strikes for now" Winter said. Jaune agreed and then followed after Winter as she went through several swings slowly so he could mirror them.

Jaune was still feeling pretty tired when they started but after several sets of combination sword swings and guards, he started to catch his second wind. "You are recovering faster then I thought you would" Winter noted. Jaune stopped his sword swing and lifted his left hand up to his face, "I think it's because I'm constantly allowing my aura to flow through my muscles". Winter raised a brow at his words. "Jaune we've been practicing with the sword for nearly an hour already, are you telling me you've been streaming your aura for that long unconsciously"?

Jaune thought about it for a moment before realizing that was actually what he was doing. "Now that I think about it...yeah, I guess I have been. Actually I've been streaming my aura since I left Vines session". Jaune looked over to his mentor to see her staring at him in disbelief. "Is that a bad thing"? He asked. Winter stepped over to him and held out her hand, "let me see your scroll for a moment". Jaune did as he was asked and handed over his scroll. Winter went through it quickly and pulled up his aura gauge. "This should be impossible" she whispered before looking at him "your positive you've been streaming your aura this entire time".

"Y-Yes I have been, I swear" Jaune answered quickly.

Winter looked back at the aura gauge for a few minutes before setting it in rest mode. "Your aura gauge say's your aura hasn't dwindled at all. Such a feat would be impossible, even with your amount of aura there should have been some kind of change". Jaune took back his scroll and placed it in his pocket, "do you think the aura gauge is glitching? Or maybe my scroll is broken"? Winter shook her head, "I highly doubt it because if there was something wrong with your scroll there'd have been some kind of notification or at least a frozen screen...". Winter seemed to have gotten lost in thought cause she suddenly went quite.

Jaune didn't want to disturb her when she was thinking so hard but they were still in the middle of his training session. He tapped on his mentor's shoulder gently and watched Winter's head snap left and right. "wha?! Oh, pardon me, I didn't mean to get so distracted like that". Jaune knew the mystery of what was happening to him seemed interesting - mostly to him - but first he needed to continue his training. A better understanding of what he was capable of would come in handy when he tried to figure out the strange things that were happening to him.

Winter straighten herself out and took on her stance. "Just a little more training with our swords and we'll switch to hand to hand combat". Jaune nodded and followed Winter's lead once more.

After practicing a little longer with their swords they moved on to the last part of their training for the day. Before they started, Winter excused herself from the room for a moment before returning in a brand new outfit. Never thought yoga pants could look so good! Jaune thought internally. Winter wore tight black yoga pants with a light grey top that left her arm's bare. Jaune mental scolded himself before coughing into his fist, "so hand to hand, right". Winter nodded as she strapped fingerless gloves onto her hands.

Jaune raised a brow, "what are the gloves for"? His mentor tossed a few jabs and jumped in place to loosen herself up a bit, "so I don't hurt you too bad". When Winter was ready she took a stance and eyed her student. "The best way to learn is to jump right into it. Now"! Jaune raised his hand to guard his face because Winter had suddenly turned into a hell cat bent on ripping him to pieces. From punches to kicks, Jaune suffered it all and while he did there were brief moment of advice sprinkled in with warnings on what not to do to avoid getting a good kick in the nuts. For what good it did.

Out of the whole thing he experienced, the grapples were probably the most pleasant. That was until the pain started and he ended up regretting his life choices. By the end of it all, Jaune felt almost like a broken man. Winter dried herself off with her own towel before walking over and looked down at him. "You still need to work on your guard, and no, blocking with your face doesn't count". Jaune fake laughed before his bruised ribs started acting up and he was forced to stop.

Winter stretched her arms and made to leave when Jaune spoke up. "Aren't you going to help me"? His mentor looked him over once and opened the door to the training room. "You have two good pair of legs right there, and that's all the help you really need. Goodnight Jaune, we'll pick this up tomorrow". With that she left the room an him alone for the night. Jaune remained on the floor until some of his sore body was relieved thanks to his incredible amount of aura. "Need food" He groaned and proceeded to leave the room as best he could.

If there was anything good from getting beaten up by Winter was that she seemed to be more relaxed and less hostile to him then before. The witty comebacks along with the smiles she'd shown him were proof of that. Jaune smiled through the pain, "I bet she didn't even realize she was doing it". He guess that meant his mentor wasn't the complete ice queen he first thought she was. Jaune shook his head of the useless thoughts floating in his head and pushed on to the cafeteria once more for his last meal of the day. While he sat and ate his meal, he couldn't help but dread the days to come if they were like this. All that awaited him after his meal was a nice shower and the comfortable bed that embraced him when he fell on top of it.

/

Several days passed and the entire Ace Ops was summoned to Ironwoods office late at night. Winter was already there Because she received the summons first in order to help Ironwood with the last of the preparations. Clover, Vine, Marrow, Elm and Harriet shuffled into the room and stood at attention, waiting patiently for the General to begin whatever he called them there for.

When Ironwood was ready to begin he clicked on his scroll and the room went dark. The center of the room spread out and a table rose up before lighting up the room with a hologram of all the info he had received from the White Fang traitor. "I shouldn't have to tell you but everything I'm about to say is highly classified" Ironwood said meeting their eyes. "Several days ago we received a tip on the White Fang sect here in Atlas" a tap on his scroll and faces appeared "this tip highlighted the leaders of the sect along with their higher brass".

"Sir" Harriet cut in "can we even trust the word of this traitor"? Clover placed a hand on his teammates shoulder to calm and catch her attention. "We can trust their word" he assured "the General had me confirm the Intel over the past few days and from what I could see there is cause to investigate". Clover nodded to the General, allowing him to continue without further interruption. Ironwood pointed to the faces on the screen, "each of these individuals oversees a part of the slums where they allow White Fang members to travel in and out Mantel undetected".

Ironwood tapped on his scroll and the Two of the faces were highlighted red to show more importance then the other. "The sect leaders that oversee the whole White Fang operations in Atlas are these two. Mr Duglas and his wife, Harley Everitt. While also coordinating the White Fang's efforts in the city, they also have a deal with the local orphanages to secure faunus children to have them trained to fight for their cause or sent to menagerie. We've also been given warehouses where we can find the Fangs weapon stashes along with hideouts should they flee".

It was a lot of info to take in, but with all the things the General had gotten from the traitor they could begin rooting out the White Fang entirely. "What are our orders sir"? Clover asked. Ironwood broke down the plan he had prepared in advance and assigned each of them as leaders of squads that would hit different points in the slums simultaneously. No doubt the council was going to be upset with him because he was about to launch a military operation within his kingdoms walls without telling them, but secrecy was necessary for what was about to happen.

The lights illuminated the room and the table in the center of the room shutdown and sank back into the floor. "Winter because of tomorrows plan, I need you to inform Jaune that his studies and training are going to be canceled for that day" Ironwood said before taking a seat at his desk. Winter nodded in response, "I'll get it done sir". Pleased with Winter's response the General leaned back in his chair, "speaking of Jaune, how has he been doing in regards to his training and studies"?

Winter cleared her throat and began first. "Overall he has been working his hardest to understand the source material he's been given. As for Jaunes combat classes...well let's just say that at the rate he's going, fighting the Grimm might not be too far off of a dream. His ability to plan and react to unexpected situations has really improved as of late. Just the other day I had Jaune face off against three beowolf's with a practice sword he'd been training with. Fighting them head on at his level would have been impossible, so he used the environment created by the new training room to tip the fight in his favor".

There was a small hint of pride in Winter's voice that surprised the General. "That is most impressive, most hunters his age would choose a clear field to use their weapons without restraint. I take it Jaune has already seen his weakness and aims to use his intellect where others wouldn't". That was a good thing in his opinion. Most people are too proud to admit their own weaknesses, which usually end up with people badly injured or dead in most cases. "Has there been any problems or oddities with your student since he's been here"?

Winter exchanged looks with Vine before turning back to the General, "there...has been some odd happenings we've noticed in Jaunes aura over the past few days. We weren't exactly sure at first but lately it seems Jaune's aura has been recovering far more quickly then even we anticipated". Ironwood raised a brow at the curious subject. "Are you sure? Couldn't it just be that he's getting use to your training methods and has learned to limit how much damage he takes". It was what popped into his head when hearing of it at first but the look on Winter's face said otherwise.

Vine stepped forward to offer his take, "we can assure you that is not the case here sir. Winter has informed me that Jaune is constantly letting his aura flow into his muscles to recover from the hard training we are putting him through. Normally that would be fine for a few minutes but Jaune is constantly doing this for hours without end. Even with the amount of aura he possesses, such a feat would no doubt leave him drained by the end of the day after the intense training Winter gives him".

Ironwood nodded along with the operatives words and remained silent until Winter gave him some startling news. "After our training as of late Jaunes aura hasn't dropped below half" Winter finished. Ironwood shook his head, "how is that possible"?

"I believe it's possible that Jaunes semblance is in effect without him realizing" Vine said, catching everyone's attention. Ironwoods eye's suddenly became more focused on his operative, "explain". Vine nodded and started with what he believed Jaune's semblance to be and why it was helping him recover so fast. "I know this may seem far fetched to all of you but I believe Jaunes semblance is a type of aura recovery". Immediately all but Winter and Ironwood began to out right argue with Vines theory. The words "that's impossible" or "is that some kind of joke" were on repeat as the Ace Ops bickered amongst themselves.

Ironwood slammed a fist onto his table, "that is enough"! The room quickly quieted down and Ironwood continued. "Vine, I have heard your belief on the matter but we both know a semblance is fueled by ones own aura. What your suggesting is impossible". Vine didn't look fazed by the disbelief of his peers nor of his superior, instead he chose to push on with his reasoning. "With all do respect, I believe Jaune is an exception to the rule we normally live by sir. Taking into account of the physical training, the aura training and the constant streaming of Jaunes own aura throughout the day...it's the only thing that would make sense".

"Couldn't this Jaune just have a reinforcement type of semblance that keeps his aura from falling"? Harriet asked.

Vine shook his head, "if he did then we would have noticed the change in how much damage the boy could take in his training". The Ace operative looked to Winter to make sure his reasoning was valid enough, and when she nodded in approval Vine continued. "All though this is all still speculation at this point, we could be looking at a huntsmen who's breaking the mold of what we know as we speak". Vine turned to look at the General directly, "sir, with your permission I'd like to test to see if what I believe is true".

Ironwood thought it over intensely. If what Vine said was true then the boy could potentially have an unlimited amount of aura for his use alone. But what if there was more to it then what they saw on the surface? What if the boy could distribute the aura into other people? Right now the boy didn't even realize that he was using his semblance, but what if he did and learned to harness such power for the good of Atlas...no the world? Such a thing could be a game changer for sure. Ironwood sat up in his chair, "I will allow it but only after tomorrows operation. Now, if there's nothing else your all dismissed".

The Ace Ops gave a salute and exited the room in an orderly fashion with Winter not far behind.

When they were all gone, Ironwood clicked on his terminal and connected a call to the head scientist. The receiver picked up and a darkish skinned man with white hair appeared on the screen. "Good evening General, to what do I owe the pleasure"? the scientist asked. Ironwood smiled, "Doctor Polendina, I'm actually calling because I'm in need of your expertise. Namely of the aura variety". That got the Doctor's attention and put a smile on his face, "how may I be of assistance"? The Doctor asked.

/

The six that just left were quiet at first until Harriet asked a simple question tat was bothering her, "so who's this Jaune fellow you guys were talking about"? Vine spared a glance for his teammate before answering. "Jaune Arc, he is a student that I've been training this past week along with Winter". Harriet raised a brow at his words. "Is that why you've been missing the past few days? Got stuck baby sitting some rich guys brat"? Vine shook his head, "Jaune is not from a rich family, he was actually accepted by the General and allow to undergo training here in preparation for the huntsmen acceptance exam".

Harriet hummed in understanding.

"He must be someone special if the General is putting in this much effort to get him accepted. From the training you two are giving him, I doubt he's some kind of prodigy" the Ace Ops leader said. Clover looked to the two teachers and smiled, "if you guys ever need a hand with the boys training don't feel afraid to ask us for help. The Generals name is on the line here, so if there's anything we can do to help this kid pass just say the word". Harriet nodded along with her leader despite not being too thrilled with the idea of helping some kid who doesn't have much training under his belt. "Yeah, count me in on that too" she agreed.

Winter and Vine exchanged looks with each other before looking towards Harriet. The Ace operative got the sinking suspicion she'd accidentally walked in to a trap there somewhere.

"Actually Harriet, we could definitely use your help with something" Winter said with a small smile.

Harriet cursed inwardly but wore a smile on the outside.


Keep on working hard Jaune and you'll become the man you were always meant to be.

Who knew Vine was gonna be a good teacher there? I did of course. He's just reeking of that older sensei vibe. And let's not forget Harriet, poor girl wanted to follow in Clovers footsteps and ended up being the first one asked to help. Lol.