Chapter 3: I may fall.
Start.
0812 Hours, JNPR's dorm, Beacon Academy.
The soft light gleaming into the dorm looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale. And it might as well have been, as Pyrrha was in heaven. He was in bed, with Jaune, who had refused to release him when he tried to get up. They were supposed to be at the gym training, but it seemed Jaune didn't want this precious moment to cease. He had been awake for around 1 hour by then, a little later than usual but still earlier than holiday Jaune.
When Ren and Nora went out, Pyrrha shot them a look of pleading to get Jaune off him so they could start training. But, as the people they are, they didn't. Well, they tried waking Jaune up once, but when they tried, Jaune's grip tightened around Pyrrha, and he actually felt a little pain. Whoa.
Ren and Nora then went out (not before Ren snapped a photo) so that they could laugh as loudly as they wanted without ruining the moment. Now, he was alone with Jaune. She couldn't take it anymore.
"Jaune, get up. Your grip hurts a little.", he said. Jaune opened her eyes, and saw she was gripping Pyrrha like a teddy bear. She let out a whimper, and let go. Flustered, her face turned a little red. "S-Sorry, Pyrrha.", she said. Pyrrha brushed it off, and told her to get ready for gym.
0851 Hours, Dust Research Lab, Block D Level 1, Beacon Academy.
"This stuff is refined. I don't know how anyone outside of the SDC could do this!", Glynda said, looking into the microscope which contained the vile of dust given to Oz the day before, by Ruby.
"Well, there doesn't exist evidence that it was or wasn't, so we really can't have suspicions.", Oobleck replied. Well, he wasn't wrong. They've been at it for like 3 hours, so there was no way that they wouldn't've seen any sign of the SDC by then.
They were looking for any possible antidote for this dust that team RWBY and JNPR had been used as a target and was found the day before. As such, Ozpin instructed them to look into the dust. He said that the goal was to get an antidote before schooling starts, next Monday. However, that was really unlikely, so they said that they'll try their best.
"I think I found something.", Glynda said. She jotted down something on her notepad. "What is it?", Port asked. Glynda shows them the illustration, and they both are equally surprised by the discovery. This wasn't just some ordinary dust. Well, okay, it was, but it also had foreign material on it. It was only around 76% Mistrali dust. The rest wasn't even dust. Heck it wasn't even from this planet! It was Ankastapergi, a compound only found in materials form space.
"I wonder how the students are gonna react. We can't really tell them, can we", Port asked. Glynda sighed.
"We won't have a choice if Oz knows. Or if they catch on.".
0902 Hours, Level -3 Gymnasium, Beacon Academy.
"Wow, Jaune. You've really imp - Owww! Uncalled for!", Ruby said. Jaune had bashed her shield into Ruby's head after taking a breather. But, to Ruby's point, he was right. Jaune really did improve since the last time RWBY had seen her.
"You can thank Ann and Mary for tha- Whoa!", she said. Ruby had shot a bullet out of Crescent Rose. Luckily, Jaune dodged just before it landed. Ah, her reaction times were amazing too! Pyrrha was watching, after winning her spar against Weiss. It was tough, but she won at last. Weiss went to the kitchen to grab a few drinks for her friends, as she was the first one to lose a match.
Ruby and Jaune continued to fight. In their new attire!
Ruby now sported a black sweater with red and white on his collar, with her emblem on the back. You wouldn't see it, though, as her cloak covered it. Instead of a skirt, he wore black leggings and continued to sport her black boots, but had to buy a size larger.
Jaune wore an armoured, long sleeved white dress with black trim, and a net like cloth over her cleavages, allowing a little bit to see. She also wore a necklace, but wouldn't let anybody see what it showed. And instead of a skirt, she still wore her jeans from last year. Miraculously, they weren't too ripped.
Pyrrha wore a bronze coloured armour plate on his chest, but that was the only armour on him. His stomach was covered by a black and crimson inner t-shirt, which looked a little ripped. His pants were red coloured cargo-pants (he lost a bet), with bronze trim. His sheath for Milo was in it's usual place, and Akouo would sit on her back.
"Pyrrha! You wanted a Pepsi Max, right?". Weiss had come back. Pyrrha drank like 1 litre of water already, so he decided to just take a Pepsi. Man, he really needed that. Weiss tossed the Pepsi to Pyrrha, and nearly dropped the can. "Pshh. Looks like your reaction times aren't like Jaune's. eh?", Weiss teased. Still giggling, Pyrrha playfully punched Weiss' shoulder.
Weiss was wearing a white shirt over... well, Pyrrha didn't know. He buttoned it up all the way. The shirt had antiperspirant pads under it, so his sweat wasn't so obvious. He sported some dark blue pants. He had also cut his hair to become like Jaune's last year. He didn't want to admit it, but he really missed Jaune's bangs. He loved them!
"Okay! Okay! I surrender!", Ruby said. Jaune had him on the ground, weapon out of sight, and his hair was messed up. Jaune smirked. She held her hand out, and Ruby accepted. Jaune pulled him up, and gave a hand shake.
"Alright! Semis done! Final match: Jaune Versus Yang.".
Yang was turned around, talking to Blake. He seemed unfazed about sparring with Jaune. Ruby, Pyrrha and Weiss knew how much of a bad decision that was. He didn't know what was coming for him!
After he finished dilly-dallying, he showed up to the fighting area. He looked unfazed, and Jaune looked quite scared, but he wasn't letting it get through.
Yang was wearing a brown jacket over a yellow t-shirt. He refused to cut his hair, so it was kept long. He maintained the emblem on her left, as well as the rolled down sleeve of his pants. But, he did get new pants, just some normal black leggings with the left leg cut short.
"So, Vomit bo - girl, how do you wanna lose today?", he teased. She rolled her eyes and Ruby fainted from how cocky Yang was acting. For all he knew, he could've lost a family member when he said that!
"Alright. I wanna clean fight. No tripping, and no semblances. Jaune, I know I didn't have to warn you of that, but Yang ... Well, just try your best.", Blake said. She was the referee.
Blake was now wearing a white robe over her black t-shirt, which sported an unintelligible 'Tribal S'. She had blue cargo pants, with the ends cut off quite messily. She had done it like that, and when asked why, she said "Mind your damn business!".
"Ready. Set. Fight!".
The two fighters sat still in their battle stances. Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha hid behind a counter, and Ren, Nora and Blake hid behind a riot police shield. It was gonna get fiery!
The first to make a move was Yang. Pow. Impact with Jaune's shield. That thing's 'Thunk' rang throughout the entire gym. Yang tried to supress a tear, but a tear rolled down his face. While he was stuck there, Jaune pulled out Crocea Mors and hit Yang with it. It slashed Yang's stomach, and he got shot across the room. He got up, turned around, and took a breath. No way was she gonna crack because of HER.
He ran up and shot a barrage of punches. Block, block, hit. Ow. That hurt, but Jaune's aura was quite bulky. Block, block, and pow! Jaune hits him again and he falls. Jaune walks over and hits him again. Ouch. An audible groan was heard from the onlookers behind the counter. Yang's aura visibly flashes, but he gets up. His eyes turn red. Uh oh. Hair starting to turn red with flames, and Jaune starts to back up,
"Errrr... Blake?! Help me!", she screamed. Blake raised her hands. "I can't do crap! He's not gonna stop till he drops!", she said. Jaune gulps.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH", Yang yells. Jaune jumps out of the way, allowing Yang to smash into the chairs behind. A loud crash and bang was heard, and the last we see is Yang getting up. His eyes were lilac again, and his hair was extinguished. He had a smile. A menacing one, but a smile nonetheless.
"Toodle-loo!", Yang said, voice shaky and cracking. Finally, his aura flashes and he collapses. Weird. Ren and Nora were meant to be monitoring their auras, so why didn't they call it?
"They did. Yang just didn't hear it. And neither did you, I guess.", Pyrrha said. Jaune had a look of guilt as Blake and Ruby were next to the fallen Yang, aiding to his injuries. "Still, I feel bad.", she said.
Pyrrha was about to say something, when Blake called him over. "Think you can carry her to the infirmary?", she asked. Pyrrha nodded and picked him up. Did she even remember where the infirmary was?
1027 Hours, Cinder's Hideout, Northern Solitas.
"Don't mess it up again.", Cinder says. Emerald nods and turns around. Mercury was in the bullhead, waiting for her. They were leaving early, because it takes around 7 hours non-stop to get to Vale from where they were. Not including the stop they were gonna make!
As the ramp closes behind them, Mercury turns the bullhead engines on and lifted the bullhead off.
"So, where too?".
Jeewizz, that scared them. Mercury nearly steered the bullhead into the ground!
"Motherf... Why are you here?", Mercury asked. Roman smiled. "Well, to go home, of course!", he said. "You guys are going to Vale, right?", he said. Mercury just turned around back to the windscreen ahead. Emerald nodded.
"Well, not straight away. We're stopping.", Mercury said. Roman's smile turned sour.
"And, why would you do that?", he asked. Mercury and Roman stared at each other, and Mercury forgot he was piloting a bullhead. A thousand warnings started sounding, and Mercury was fighting for control.
"L-Lower the gears! We're going down!", he said. Emerald pulled the lever, and the bullhead landed, albeit somewhat roughly. It crashed on impact after it hit a few boulders, and the 4 were catapulted out of the bullhead through the windscreen. Emerald had landed on a bush, Mercury on a boulder, Roman onto some twigs and Neo on the hard ground.
After the fog settled, Emerald called out to Mercury, but her calls were met with no answer. Mercury was unconscious. Not dead, but unconscious. Luckily, they were out of the Atlesian Kingdom's jurisdiction, they were in Mistrali. Just farther north than Qeqrinta.
"You guys wanna go south? I'll help. No pay. I know what it feels like to lose someone.", Roman said. Emerald looked for the emergency compartment which had a stretcher and a first aid kit. She found it, and Neo took the first aid kit. She tended to her, Roman's and Mercury's injuries, and since Emerald was somehow unscathed, she moved the unconscious Mercury onto the stretcher.
"Neo says we're 16 kilometres north. We'll arrive in a day or two.".
1052 Hours, Beacon Academy Infirmary, Level 0 (Basement), Beacon Academy.
"...and so I dodged out of the way, and she slammed into the benches. Then she wasted her aura on a quip and fainted.", Jaune said. Professor Goodwitch was taking notes, as Yang laid on a bed inside the infirmary.
"Well, she'll be fine. No one's ever not been just from aura exhaustion, she'll be back in a day or two.", the senior woman said. "Ahh, Pyrrha and Blake. Would you two mind coming with me?". Pyrrha and Blake gulped. What now?
After the two entered the professor's office, they took a seat. Glynda was sitting in front of them, with a worried look on her face. Pyrrha spoke up.
"So, the dust we found yesterday,", she said. Glynda took a breath. "Did you find out anything about it, Professor Goodwitch?". Glynda polished her glasses, then answered, "Yes, but I need you two to be prepared for what I'm about to say, got it?". Blake and Pyrrha nodded, prepared for the worst.
"So, the dust your team brought to us yesterday has been thoroughly examined, and with our observations, I'm sorry to say that there may be no antidote,". Pyrrha and Blake looked a little shook, but they were starting to get used to these bodies. They might not care! Then they remembered their families. They absolutely care!
"However, we might have enough for two of you to test. I would've called the team leaders, but I think they are still in a bit of shock. And Mister Xiao Long is out of the equation, it may be too risky. I need you two to spread the message amongst the 16 of you, and send in 2 people. Come back as soon as possible.". That was tempting, but did they really want to become guinea pigs? 'Well, either that or explain to mom and dad.', they thought. Without another thought, Pyrrha spoke up again.
"We'll think about it. Do we have to take anything?", he asked. Glynda gave out two pieces of paper, seemingly forms. "The two who are willing to do so can sign these forms out. You are dismissed.".
The two walked out of the office, and they looked at each other. "I bet Jaune wants to change, and I'll be the second one. Whatever happens to her, I'll do it too", Pyrrha said. Sensing the absurdity of what she just said, she shut it down. "Ah, n-not like tha-", he was interrupted by Blake putting her finger on his lips.
"If Jaune does it, you are too. I'll wait longer.", she said. Pyrrha smiled, and they went up the elevator in silence. They didn't know what to say! Blake had called all of their friends to the gym to discuss.
1157 Hours, Level -3 Gymnasium, Beacon Academy.
"So, that leaves us with Pyrrha, Jaune, Blake and Coco. Are you all sure you want to try?", Weiss asked. The 4 nodded and they placed their erasers on the desk. They were gonna play Eraser-Battle.
They've been at it for around an hour now, half of which waiting for Sun to stop scolding Ann for not knocking the door. They stopped 30 minutes ago, and Pyrrha could finally explain the situation.
After a while of commotion, Blake and Coco lost. Jaune taking Coco, and Pyrrha Blake. "Alright, so Jaune and Pyrrha will volunteer to test the dust. Now, last chance. Are you sure?", he asked. The two nodded and took the paper.
"Jaune! Remember your middle name! Hensen!", Annabelle screamed. Why?! Why had she screamed it for the whole gym to hear? Ruby burst laughing, and Pyrrha held back a fit of laughter.
"Hey, I like it.", Pyrrha said, patting her back. She smiled, and took the pen. They wrote their info, and made their way to Professor Goodwitch's office.
"You know, Blake told me what you said earlier."
"O-Oh, she did?", Pyrrha said, weekly and slightly embarrassed.
"Yes. And, I'd do the same,", she said, with a gleaming smile. She reached for Pyrrha's hand and grabbed it. Pyrrha jolted, but held her hand as well.
"Together?", Jaune said.
"Together.".
1346 Hours, Beacon Academy Bunker, Beacon Academy.
"Alright, you two just stand in here, we'll administer the dust through those tubes above you.", Glynda said. "Alright. Err, Professor Goodwitch? Thank you. For doing this.", Pyrrha said. Glynda accepted. "Your welcome. And you two can call me Glynda.", she said. Huh, weird. She seems so friendly! Maybe because she was using them as guinea pigs.
"Shut up, Port.", she said. Port and Oobleck snickered behind her, behind a wall. The contraption that Pyrrha and Jaune were in was simple - two chambers connected to a big tube that had a tank of dust - but it still looked menacing!
"Ok, are you ready?", she said, over a speaker directly connected to the chambers that housed Jaune and Pyrrha. Jaune nodded, and she looked over to Pyrrha, and he nodded too. "Alright. 3...2...1. Start.".
The dust spilled and grazed their skin. The smell was similar, and it made Jaune nearly sneeze.
Once the dust subsided, the doors to the chambers opened up. But, when they emerged, nothing was different. They were still gender flipped. "Ahh, I knew this was going to happen. Well, we'll see what happens tomorrow if you change back, as dust takes time to take affect. Thankyou.", Glynda said.
Jaune waved her hand, seemingly as a gesture of 'I don't know!', but something very different happened. A flash of lightning came out of her hand, making a small crater in the ground until the elevator. The door was literally opening when that happened, revealing a General Ironwood who had jumped into a Winter Schnee's hands.
"Sir?". The general immediately jumped out of her hands, and collected himself. "Glynda, what did you do?", he asked.
"Long story. You two can go, I'll handle him.", she said. Jaune and Pyrrha did so, but while bowing out of respect, Pyrrha's hands got covered with a bunch of metal.
"Huh. That's weird. I didn't kick my semblance or anythi-". Pyrrha slowly turned to Jaune, and he had the biggest expression ever.
"P-Pyrrha? What's wrong?", she asked. Jaune was clueless, as always. "Jaune! This might be your semblance!". Jaune put her hands up in joy, but Pyrrha held them as soon as she saw the lightning. After letting a few tears run, he said "Let's get you a pair of gloves first. Safety matters.".
1432 Hours, RWBYJNPR's Common Room, Beacon Academy.
"Well, we don't know if it's a semblance or not. For all I know, it could just be some lightning dust in my body. They did shower us in like a ton of dust.", Jaune said. Ren, Nora and Pyrrha nodded.
"But my semblance went berserk! Lighting dust doesn't do tha-OWW!". Suddenly, Nora's hammer (Ren and Nora just came from sparring) came smashing into Pyrrha's fists. "Does baby have a boo boo?", Jaune asked. While Pyrrha rolled his eyes, he did silently nod. Jaune went over, took her hands and gave them a kiss.
"There, better?", she asked. Pyrrha was frozen. Face turning red, he yanked his hands from her. She silently laughed, and muttered something in Mistrali.
"Did you just call her cute?", Ren asked, exposing Pyrrha. Pyrrha's face turned even more red, as she walked over to the door, then she said "Ng ko gile, tao ta'.".
"Hey, I'm not crazy!", Ren yelled.
Jaune followed him, going into the dorm with him.
"Pyrrha! Wait!", she said. Pyrrha had gone through the door, and Jaune had caught her, just before she most likely hid in the bathroom. She held his hand and prevented him from going in.
"Pyrrha, why are you running?", she asked. Pyrrha had stopped. He didn't say anything.
"Hey, looks like we both got secrets revealed today, huh?", she said. Pyrrha looked at her, with a look of forgotten. "You know, my middle name?". No response. Well, maybe Pyrrha shaking his head. Jaune sighed. "Hensen.". There was the bubbly Pyrrha she knew. He started to laugh, and Jaune joined in the fun.
"You know, you're not the only one who finds their partner cute.". Did-Did Jaune really just say that? "Whelp, time to shower. I'll go first.".
"Jaune, wa-". He didn't get to say anything before she closed the door behind her.
Ooh boy, Pyrrha really was just a useless guy in love.
2019 Hours, Level -3's Kitchen, Beacon Academy.
"Alright, surely, I can use my semblance to cook as good as Ren, right?", Velvet asked, hoping to get an assuring look from Ariadne, who wanted to teach him to cook, but he said he wanted to try something first.
"I mean, I guess?", he said. Velvet nodded and got to work.
30 Painfully Smelly Minutes Later...
"Velvet. Velvet! VELVET!', Ariadne screamed. Velvet had fallen after his pan of food exploded. Looks like she put a little too much cooki- wait. Oh, Velvet, you idiotic Atlesian bunny. You put the diluted crap. You just put water onto a pan with cooking oil. Ariadne sighed. He turned the stove and stuff off, put Velvet on the bench in the kitchen, and began cleaning up.
"Uh, Ariadne? The heck happened here?", Ren asked. Ariadne started to explain Velvet's insane idea to try and mimic Ren's moves while cooking, and how he put the watered down cooking oil after already putting normal cooking oil. Ren face palmed.
"i know, right? I wanted to teach him a little, he asked me for tips.", he said. Ren looked thoughtful. "Say, how about you teach me how to cook that...oh what did you call it...the fried fascist stuff?", she asked. Ariadne face palmed. "Nasi Goreng Kampung?". "Yeah! It was delicious!", Ren answered.
"Just FYI, it's just Village Fried Rice.".
2138 Hours, Level -3's Kitchen, Beacon Academy.
"Okay, now all you need to do is add the spring onions, and that's done!", he said. Ren and Ariadne had spent the last 45 minutes or so just cooking some fried rice. But, it was worth it. Ren was satisfied by the rice, and she felt like she was on top of the world.
"Alright. Ren, don't take my judgement too close to heart. I'm just very brutally honest.", Ariadne said. He took a spoonful of the rice from the tray and ate it.
"Wow, not bad for a first timer! This wouldn't be ridiculed as bad as some of the others at home!". Ren had a look of uncertainty, but Ariadne seemed to know what she was feeling.
"Don't worry, that's a good thing!", he said. Ren smiled and took a little out as well.
"Ah, just as good as yours the other day. Wait...Goodness! It's spicy!", Ren said. Ariadne laughed as she went to the fridge for a drink of milk. A sigh of relief came from Ren, and Ariadne continued to laugh. As a joke, Ren shot him an unapproved look. Ariadne became serious suddenly, and he walked out of the kitchen after apologizing.
Wait, what? Was she too serious looking?
"Wait, Ari!", she called. She held his hand, to which Ariadne reacted very poorly to. He fell to the ground, and found the wall, to which he leaned towards. He started to cry, uncontrollably.
"Ren! whats wrong?", Pyrrha asked. Jaune was asleep in the room, and after hearing his cries, wiggled his way out of Jaune's grip. "I don't know what! I held his hand, then suddenly he collapsed!", she said. Pyrrha kneeled down to Ari's level, as he now had his crying under control.
"Ari? Are you okay?", Pyrrha asked. His voice soft and reassuring. Ari shook his head and opened his mouth. Nothing came out, however. "It's okay, take your time.", he said. Ari wiped the tears from his eyes and started to take deep breaths.
"Y-You know how when we first m-met, and Blake asked if I had a partner?", he asked. Pyrrha thought he knew where it was going, but didn't want to assume. "Yes, and then you just ran out.". Ari and Pyrrha shared a light laugh at that, then the atmosphere returned.
'W-Well, I don't, anymore. He was ... abusive. He didn't like it when I laughed at him or made him feel bad, so whenever I did it, he would hit me. But, after a while, he started hitting me for no reason.", he said. Ren gasped, and she sat next to Ari.
"Ari, I'm sorry. I never knew. I was just joking, and it seems like I crossed a line. Friends?". Ari nodded. "Friends.". They held hands for a second, and Ren got up and went back into the dorm to let the two of them continue their bitter-sweet moment.
"Ari, I know how hard it is to talk about that sorta stuff. But, I'm really thankful that you did,", Pyrrha said. The 2 looked at each other, and the hugged it out.
"Does anyone else know? Have you told anyone else?", Pyrrha asked. Ari shook his head. "Like you said, it's hard.". Pyrrha's heart felt a little broken at that.
"Ari, I really, really advise you to visit Professor Williams. D'you know him?", Pyrrha asked. Ari nodded. "Ozpin does know about my ... situation, so he gave me Prof. Williams' card. Can you follow me to his office, tomorrow?", Ari asked.
Pyrrha was conflicted, but thought that his friends are more important than his fitness.
"Yeah, sure. Meet me in the kitchen.", he said. "Thank you, Pyrrha. C-Can you bring Blake too? If she can, that is?".
"I'll do what i can.", Pyrrha said.