I realize it's been awhile since I last uploaded but that's mostly been due to the hours I've been working. Whenever I wake up it's like I only got an hour or so before I have to get to work again and I've barely been able to do anything other then eat sleep and work for the most part. Luckily for me though I've been put on the 8hr shift now so I ain't working 12hrs anymore. It's really been helping me cause now I can use those four extra hours on something more productive. I'll tell ya working those 12hrs almost made me want to quit my job at times because even though the money was good and all I never had time for anything or anyone else and that included my dog.
Oh and for those wondering my dog has turn a year old on the 17th of last month. lol through him a little birthday party and everything. Even invited my friends over so they could bring their dogs and had them play outside in the back. I'll tell you now there was a lot of dog poop that needed to be cleaned up afterwards.
Anyways enough of that and on to the chapter.
"Ugh"!
Jaune skid across the floor and crashed into a holo cube, destroying half of it with his body on impact. When he pulled himself out of the remains of the cube another body flew towards him at incredible speeds. His mind kick started itself and Jaune jumped forward and braced for impact as his teammate slammed into his chest. Ilia's aura shattered and she fell unconscious in his arms but there was little time to think of anything else because a swarm of white nevermore dive bombed on the two of them. There was nothing he could do to defend himself since he dropped his shield and sword earlier, so instead he spun in place and used his body as a shield to protect his teammate. The barrage of nevermores crashed into his back with so much force that he almost fell on top of the chameleon girl.
He grit his teeth through it all until the attack let up and he felt his aura shatter from all the damage. He was reeling from the pain and damage he'd taken but managed to lay Ilia on the floor before looking behind him at the battlefield they were on. Penny and Weiss were the first two to be taken out of the fight mostly because they were deemed as the worst threats to their opponents. Jaune tried to stand up but the pain he was feeling ended up just making him fall to the side.
"Your still awake huh? Color me impressed kid, you sure can take a hit".
Jaune turned his head a saw Elm looking down at him with a big smile and her hammer balanced over her shoulder. "I told you he would be" Harriet said as she came to join her teammate. The Ace Operative looked down at him and smirked, "he can take a beating from me for a little more then two hours so this much is about what I expected". Elm chuckled and looked up to her teammate, "your sure that wasn't just you holding back"? Harriet crossed her arms and raised a brow in Elm's direction. "Fair point" Elm said as she caught her teammates meaning, "then maybe Jaune might just be ready for the academy after all".
"I wouldn't go that far yet but with our remaining time until the deadline I think we could change that".
Winter put her saber away and looked over the field. "Alright everyone collect the trainees and deliver them to the infirmary. Once they've recovered enough we'll go over today's sparring match and explain how they could have done better for the next time they face us". Winter looked over to Penny who was now sitting down on the floor and asked quietly "did you make sure to record your own actions during the spar for playback"? The robo girl nodded but said nothing because for not the first time she was trying to come to grip with the frustration she felt from losing to another person.
Even with all the strength she'd been given, the knowledge and techniques she'd downloaded, to lose over and over again was frustrating but it was also enlightening.
The Ace Ops scattered and began picking up their students with Marrow and Elm helping Jaune up and Harriet along with Vine carrying Ilia. Winter created a Beowolf Alpha to carry Penny and Clover was left to transport the heiress while her sister was busy.
/
A few hours later Winter entered the infirmary and saw Jaune sitting next to her sister with his hands hovering just over her stomach. Under normal circumstances she'd have drawn her saber and nailed the man for daring to attempt touching her sister in such a way. Luckily for the blonde, she could physically see him using his semblance to heal her sister. Winter stepped to the side so that she stood in front of her sister's bed and watched as Weiss's aura was completely healed.
Weiss lifted her hand in front of her face before opening and closing it to see how her body responded. There was no pain left and the bruising on her pure white skin vanished without a trace. "Thank you Jaune, your semblance really comes in handy when you don't want to be bedridden for the rest of the day" she said with a smile. The blonde chuckled lightly. "It's not a problem Weiss, I'm just sorry it took me so long to stop by to heal you".
"Was there some reason it took you so long to come to my sister's aid"? Winter asked in order to insert herself within the conversation. Jaune looked her way and nodded. "It turns out there's a certain amount of aura I have to have at the ready in order to use my semblance properly. I didn't know that at first and ended up using all my aura in trying to activate my semblance". Jaune rubbed the back of his head and looked embarrassed at his previous action. "Because I was so impatient to get up and going again I ended up breaking my own aura without meaning to". This tidbit of information was unexpected but not uncommon among most people who could use a semblance.
The theory was that those who had passive semblances like the General who were unable to shut them off had a larger pool of aura then most in order to handle the burden of their power being in constant use. People like herself had smaller pools of aura in comparison because they could choose when and where they were allowed to use their power so the strain wasn't enough to force their aura to grow in order to compensate. It was also why after receiving a certain amount of damage they couldn't use their semblances anymore because they learned from a young age what their limits were and that overuse could do more harm then good.
Jaune looked back to his teammate and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Your aura is healed but try to take it easy until your safely discharge by the Doctor's". The heiress nodded to his request. "You know you should probably take your own advice from time to time" Weiss said with a smile "if I recall correctly you took far more damage then all of us put together before you went down". Jaune rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "In my defense I've dealt with this level of training from Harriet in our hand to hand classes...you know before this joint training that Ironwood has us doing".
"General" Winter interject and made sure he repeated.
With his job done the blonde stood up and excused himself so he could offer the rest of his team his healing capabilities. Winter and Weiss watched him go but waited until the door closed completely before turning to each other. "I see your relationship with each other has improved. That's good. It will make working together in the future more easier once your team becomes official" Winter said. Weiss shook her head with a smile. "Your right sister. If only I was going to remain in Atlas that is".
"It's not to late to change your decision".
Weiss shook her head once more at her sister's words. "My decision remains the same Winter, as does the reason I decided to apply to Beacon in the first place". Winter didn't look all that bothered by her failed attempt to have her change school's, instead she held out her scroll and smiled. "I figured as much, but I at least had to make some sort of effort in agreement with father's condition for training you. Seeing as I failed I decided it best to at least show you who we've selected to take your place on Jaune's team". Winter nodded to the scroll she held out and waited for Weiss to take it.
The picture was of a young woman with brown skin, dark teal hair and blue eyes.
"Her name is Ciel Soleil" Winter said as she stepped around her sister's bed to stand next to her. Weiss nodded but kept her eyes on the photo of her replacement. She'd heard that last name somewhere before but for some reason the answer kept slipping away. "I'm sure you recognize the name" Winter said to fill in the silence "she is of the Soleil conglomerate, the same people responsible for creating and designing weaponry and armor for the Atlesian military". Weiss's eyes widened as her memories of the family came back to her.
The Schnee family and the Soleil conglomerate weren't exactly close by any means and that was mostly due to reputation factors. They did do minor business with each other for the security detail but that was usually handled by the Mistral branch. The Mistral branch offered cheaper products that were far less then good in her opinion, but thanks to the animosity between their families she was surprised they received anything at all. In fact the Soleil conglomerate utterly despised the Schnee's for their use in cheap faunus labor.
She supposed that made sense since the head of the Soleil family had actually married a faunus women...a fox faunus? If she remembered correctly that is. It was probably why their family didn't meet up much at important events since her father always surrounded himself with those who thought the same as he on the faunus's position. Just imagining how awkward any party could have been if either family attended at the same time sent shivers down her spine. Weiss turned to her sister and handed back the scroll before asking the nagging question in her mind. "What training has she gotten to make her ideal to take my position on the team"?
Winter pocketed the scroll and met her sister's gaze. "Ciel has had extensive training under General Ironwood himself, and she's also taken part in military drills and exercises so she's worked with teams before. Besides her training as a soldier she's also been trained to wield every know firearm and weaponry within the militaries armory. As far as replacements go I honestly can't see a better trade off than this". With all the praise she'd given the Soleil girl, it wasn't hard to notice the conflicted look on Weiss's face.
In a rare act of compassion Winter placed a hand on Weiss's shoulder, causing the heiress eyes to widen slightly as she looked up to her sister. Winter's voice was as calm as ever but carried a tiny hint of concern as she asked, "are you truly okay with this Weiss"? The young heiress opened her mouth to answer but quickly found her voice failed to come forth. Doubt had wormed it's way into her heart and even though she still wanted to make a name for herself elsewhere she couldn't erase the time she'd spent with her team here.
Sure they hadn't started off on the good foot but seeing as how they'd been pushed to form a closer unit ever since their mission some time ago, that'd changed significantly. Her friendship with Jaune - as awkward as it had started - had become something as a catalyst to becoming more familiar with each of their teammates. The easiest to get to know was Penny, and although she had no way of approaching the strange girl, Jaune had taken the initiative and brought them together. The boy awkwardly worked as a mediator for the two of them and although it took much of her patience she soon came to realize that the red head was as innocent as she first appeared.
It was a relief to be honest. There weren't many who were so innocent at this point in their lives but Jaune had assured her that she was still learning and if they'd become friends Penny would probably learn from her as well. Unsure as she was the heiress reluctantly agreed because it wouldn't do to leave someone unprepared for the world in just Jaune's hands alone. Although she meant no disrespect, Jaune could be a little childish at times and that would surely rub off on someone as impressionable as Penny. After a few days it seemed Penny had really taken a liking to her and would even spend time trying learn how to better act her age when she was around.
The hardest one of their team she got to know was Ilia. Seeing as her first impression was down right terrible in the beginning, she didn't even think working together was possible. To her surprise yet again it was Jaune who swooped in and acted as a mediator for the two. His terrible people skills ended up having the two trading sarcastic comments with each other about their leader much to the dismay of the blonde. After which the two of them slowly found solace in the fact that they were probably the most level headed of the team and were able to hold conversation with each other more easily.
At this point in time the fact that Ilia was even a faunus would slip her mind and they'd talk like two normal girls with teammate problems. It was a comfortable normal that she wasn't sure she'd have with another team.
"Weiss"?
The heiress sighed and clenched her fist tightly. "I'm sure Winter. This is something I feel I must do, and who knows I might find teammates even better than what I have here". She really hoped so because starting over seemed even harder then she first anticipated. Regardless of her misgivings she'd find her own team and lead them even better than Jaune could ever hope to. In her heart that's what she decided. Of course it didn't mean she couldn't still be friends with the other's, and as their friend she couldn't settle them with anyone less than acceptable by her standards.
"Winter".
"Hmm"?
"I want you to set up a sparring match between me and this Soleil girl".
Winter watched her sister closely for a few seconds before a small smile graced her lips. Was it jealousy of her replacement or her own sister trying to make an excuse for herself to stay? Either or didn't really matter but she was curious to know just how well little Weiss truly stacked up to someone who had been trained by the General personally. "There really isn't a reason to but I'll go ahead on your request all the same. Not for your benefit of course but I am curious as to this Ciel's skill level and attitude towards her future task of teaming up with individuals like Jaune and his team. For that reason I will be having Jaune attend this match of yours".
Weiss nodded in agreement and spoke casually with her sister for a little longer before Winter dismissed herself and left her alone in her room. The pain in her body was gone and she'd been in bed long enough for her legs to feel restless. Going against Jaune's advice she climbed out of bed and headed over to the bathroom mirror to look herself over.
Had she gotten stronger? This wasn't the only time she questioned her abilities as a huntress but now that they were famous all over Atlas the question became more prominent then ever before. Beacon was for the best of the best and yet in spite of that she'd never been pushed as hard as she had here. The Ace Ops were the best huntsmen and huntresses in Atlas and they definitely lived up to their reputation, but wasn't this the special treatment she was trying to get away from? Granted they earned their spot as Ironwood's up and coming special hunters in training, but how much of that was from their hard work exactly?
Weiss could just imagine her father in the dining room with each member of the council, shaking hands and promising money and more for what he wanted. In fact she was almost certain there had been some underhanded action taken by her father otherwise the meeting with the council wouldn't have turned out the way it did.
/
A few months ago in the middle of Atlas's central park an entire award ceremony was set up within the time it took for Jaune and his team to arrive from Argus. There was also the small debriefing they undertook upon arrival but that was like an extra 30 minutes or so. Still within that short amount of time they managed to gather a good amount of people and set up food stalls in several locations.
Jaune peeked out from backstage and gulped as his knees turned to jelly right under him. Falling to the floor from stage fright would have been embarrassing to say the least but before it could happen Penny hopped on his back and forced him to strengthen his legs or be crushed to death. The red head scanned the crowd and smiled brightly. "It seems the General was incorrect when he said there wouldn't be too big of a crowd at the congratulatory ceremony. By my readings there is approximately one thousand and seventy-six people in attendance". Penny's pupils widened and shrunk with inhuman speed, "seventy-nine now".
The weight Jaune felt on his back increased and had him gritting his teeth as Ilia appeared on top Penny. "No kidding. I know this may sound stupid to say at a time like this but I'm starting to feel a little nervous here. I mean it suddenly feels like we're some sort of celebrities or something". Veins began popping out of the blondes neck as yet again the weight on his back increased. "We're not some sort of celebrities we ARE celebrities. How many people our age are able to take down a prominent figure in a terrorist organization? None, that's how many" Weiss said matter of factly.
"Why do you sound like your trying to take credit for Adams fall? We and even the White Fang know it was all Jaune's doing" Ilia pointed out. Weiss blushed slightly and turned her head away in embarrassment, "I-I never said I- Ah"! Jaune's legs gave out and the whole group dropped to the floor. Weiss was the first to pop up and growl angrily, "what's the matter with you you dolt! Don't you know it's bad manners to interrupt someone when their talking? Couldn't you have waited until we were finished".
"Too heavy".
Weiss's face turned beet red with anger. "EXCUSE ME?! What do you mean I'm too heavy?! Are you trying to say I'm fat?! I happen to know for a fact that I am the lightest one out of our entire group thank you very much! Didn't your mother teach you any manners when it comes to talking to a lady or were you too busy with your head in comic books to learn anything"!
When the blonde didn't respond - thanks to seeing his father mess up enough times to know when to keep quiet - Ilia lifted her head up slightly and answered for him. "Yeah I think he was talking about all of us combined princess". It took all but a second for the heiress to play Jaune's word's over in her mind before she hid her embarrassment behind a hand and a cough as she turned away. "W-well next time you should be more clear with your words so there won't be anymore misunderstandings".
Ilia couldn't help but smirk, "but wasn't it you who made the mistake and thought it was you he was talking about? I mean I understood what he was talking about as soon as he said it, right Penny"? Penny raised a thumbs up from under Ilia butt. Weiss glared Ilia's way but the chameleon girl looked away and pretended not to notice. It was around that time when Winter and Ironwood arrived to see the four of them still laying on the ground. "Is there a logical reason for the four of you to be laying down on the floor in your dress attire"? Weiss's elder sister asked.
The team scrambled to their feet with Weiss flattening her dress to get rid of any wrinkles that might have appeared while she was on the floor. Ilia didn't seem to care all that much as she dusted off the black suit she was wearing before shoving her hands in her pockets. Much like Weiss, Penny used the sensor's in her eyes to focus on any flaws in her lime green dress and worked to even them out to appear presentable. The last to get to his feet was Jaune and after he cracked his back by leaning backwards he stood up straight revealing the white military dress suit that almost mimicked Ironwood's.
It wasn't exactly his choice to dress up this way but Winter and Ironwood himself said that as the leader he needed to look more presentable than the other's. Winter sighed and stepped into his personal space before reaching over to adjust his outfit. Jaune blushed lightly as Winter's finger wove over his chest as she straightened his white Atlesian coat. From there she moved up towards his neck and took hold of the red tie. "Remember" she said as she tighten his tie "your the leader of your team and the man who defeated Adam Taurus. How you present yourself to everyone will reflect on how the people will see your team in the future".
Suddenly all his anxiety came rushing back before he knew it.
Winter tugged on his tie once more forcing him to meet her eyes. The cold mask she wore cracked a little and she gave him a small smile, "just treat this like another piece of training and I'm sure you'll do just fine". When she let go she took a step back and took a better look at him. "Now your ready".
Winter had finished prepping him just in time because as soon as she had finished councilman Grey Earlington called them to the stage from his podium. Jaune took a deep breath and hoped it would calm his nerves, but when it didn't Penny pushed him from behind and practically sent him flying out onto the stage where his training kicked in and he front flipped and landed down on one knee in front of the crowd. Everyone was silent and although he could feel the nerves creeping back up he improvised by standing tall, chest puffed out and arms out wide on either side of him.
The crowd exploded with cheers and whistles a moment later. Sure Atlas was known for their hardened soldiers and cold demeanors but that was probably why his showboating earned him such excitement from the people. The people chanted his name and Jaune returned it with a wave of his hand and a smile he definitely had no confidence in as he made his way over to the counselors standing on the side clapping for him. The rest of his team made their way out from behind the curtain and joined him on the stage where each of them gave him a variety of responses to his antics as a showman.
Weiss shook her head and tried to hide her embarrassment, Ilia chuckled behind her fist, Penny gave him a thumbs up and Winter lived up to her name because her glare could freeze the soul like a winter's morning. Through it all his nerves were so shocked that eventually he just ended up being numb to the feeling. Councilman Grey held out a hand and shook Jaune's for the cameras. "Thank you for coming Jaune Arc" he said with a smile built for the media. Jaune gave the elder man's hand a firm shake and smiled in return, "happy to be here counselor".
There were more flashes from cameras and the two stood together a little longer for the pictures to be taken. After a few seconds the two separated and councilman Grey return to his podium and adjusted the microphone. "Welcome everyone to this momentous occasion" he said calmly and clearly "where we the councilors of Atlas and the people of this fair kingdom can give thanks to these fine young heroes of tomorrow. Give thanks? You might be wondering what I mean when I say this. To this I say yes, to give thanks to these young heroes for striking a blow back to those who have made it their mission to turn our lives upside down".
"For all the White Fangs claims of equality they've done nothing but pillage and murder humans indiscriminately, regardless if they be innocent or guilty. I ask only this, who gave them the right to play judge and jury? Who gave them the right to be the executioners? These faunus care not for law and order but will claim it is for equality when they kill. So tell me if eye for an eye is what they they seek then why can we not seek the same. Two wrongs don't make a right? Then are we to continue these events until all of our loved ones suffer at the hands of these monsters"?
The crowd yelled "NO" loudly.
Councilman Grey raised both his hands high and quieted the crowd with a smile. "I feel the same as you and that is why we should give our gratitude to these young hunters. They have done something truly monumental in the short amount of time they've served our kingdom. By putting an end to the wrong doings of that detestable Adam Taurus they've saved countless others from falling at his hands. By removing such a person they not only dealt a significant blow to our enemies but showed what the future could be like if we were to fight back in earnest. But enough with the long winded introduction and let us give a round of applause to our heroes".
Councilman Grey stepped aside and allowed Jaune to take his spot in front of the podium as the crowd clapped and cheered for his team. Luckily for Jaune his nerves were still too shocked to register that he was going to speak to several hundreds of people. Thinking back to what Winter and he went over while in Ironwood's office the blonde turned to the counselors a smile. "Thank you councilman Grey, and thank you to the rest of our counselors for welcoming us here today. We are honored by the kind words you've shared for us, but we should make it clear to all that this was just as much luck as coincidence".
Jaune turned to the crowd and placed his palms on either side of the podium as he took a deep breath. "The truth of the matter is that we were on a mission to deliver a defense shield to Argus so they could better defend themselves from large Grimm that would no doubt come in from the sea. It was supposed to be a simple mission because the truth is we aren't even a part of Atlas academy yet". The news had the crowd breaking into whisper's amongst themselves. Jaune ignored it all and continued. "The mission was set so we could learn to better cooperate amongst ourselves for when we entered the academy this year".
"WHO WAS THE STUPID ONE TO SEND INEXPERIENCED KID'S INTO THE FIELD"?! someone from the crowd asked.
At that moment General James Ironwood stepped forward and took Jaune's spot at the podium. "If you must know it was I who decided to send them on this task". The crowd fell silent but Ironwood was far from finished. "Though you see them all as inexperienced children I can assure you that they are anything but". Ironwood held out a hand towards Jaune and looked to the crowd, "this young man is not just anyone but someone who was personally trained by the best Atlas has to offer. He has undergone extensive training under the Ace Ops and Winter Schnee, my top specialist".
The news caused the crowd to begin whispering amongst themselves once more but Ironwood continued on, deciding it best to not give the crowd time to respond.
The person he stopped at next was the chameleon faunus Ilia, where he held out a hand just as before and turned to the crowd. "This young lady that stands before you is Ilia Amitola, a former undercover agent of mine that infiltrated the White Fang and brought me vital information about the branch stationed in our very kingdom. Thanks to her training in espionage we were able to root out the White Fang in it's entirety from Mantle with little effort". A white lie mixed with some truth was hard to disprove. More whispers started but the General wasted no time in moving on to Penny.
Like before he held out his hand towards the girl and turned to the crowd. "Penny Polendina. Some of you may know of Atlas's genius scientist, well let me assure you that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to his own daughter". Moving on the General stopped at Weiss and looked to the crowd. "Weiss Schnee, sister of Winter Schnee and heiress to the Schnee dust company. Do I really need to say more about her qualifications"? Ironwood returned to the podium and placed his hands on top of the wooden surface as he looked over the crowd with his stern gaze.
"These are not children I see but future huntsmen and huntresses that will one day be laying down their live to serve you. That is why as headmaster of Atlas academy I hereby offer these four entry without the need for an initiation".
Some within the crowd looked positively stunned by the Generals proclamation but there were a few that nodded along in agreement.
"If they are willing then who are we to stand in their way" the General said with his head held high.
/
Weiss sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Even though her father wasn't there the council couldn't have put all that together in such a short amount of time without help. The food stalls that lined the streets would have needed time to get things ready but money could sometimes make the impossible happen so long as there was enough of it. Then there was the free entry into Atlas academy. If she took up the offer then she'd be trapped here under her father's watchful eye even if he and the General didn't get along.
Weiss made her way back to bed and let her eyes drift shut. If her sister managed to set up the fight between her and the Soleil girl then she'd have a couple of days before she had to join up with Jaune for their fight against Winter. It was going to be a busy month for sure but she had to make sure everything was taken care of before she left. After all she owed her team that much for choosing to leave them.
To follow ones own path parting with those you care about can sometime be inevitable. Trust me I would know.
So there we have it. Another chapter down and on to the next.
