Author's Notes:
-I apologize if this chapter seems tedious. This whole chapter involves Jaune narrating his time at Beacon with his family's reactions. Eventually, they will decide his fate...
-Here's a little challenge for you, if you're up for it. Now that you know the names of Jaune's sisters, look back to ch. 15's flashback and see if you can figure out which sister said each farewell line.
"Well, after getting over my motion-sickness that I never knew I had, I found my way to the courtyard and tried to find my way around." Jaune began. "I ended up meeting a girl named Ruby, who, like me, is socially awkward. Despite being only 15 years old, she was a student at Beacon Academy, invited early by Ozpin himself. The two of us found our way to the auditorium, where we were given a brief speech by Headmaster Ozpin and Deputy Headmistress Glydna Goodwitch. We stayed in the ballroom overnight. They were nice enough to give sleeping bags to those who didn't have them. Despite the long journey that made me exhausted, I actually had some difficultly sleeping that night. Somehow I managed to get some sleep that night in spite of my nervousness. Which brings us to initiation day, where I almost died... numerous times.
"The initiation was basically a test to prove our worth. The first year students were divided into groups of 20. That group of 20 students would go to edge of a cliff above Emerald Forest. Unfortunately, I was part of that first group of 20. We were launched off platforms and thrown right into Emerald Forest. Our objective; find a partner, the first person to make eye contact with you, then travel to an abandoned temple where relics where and go to the top of the hill and wait for the pair with the same relic as you to form a team, all while not being killed by Grimm."
"Yeesh. Sounds harsh." Azure said, before turning to Rouge. "Your initiation at Shade was not that harsh, was it?"
"No, it wasn't." Rouge answered. "Granted, it wasn't a cakewalk, but it was not as harsh."
"Anyway, as the students were launched off the platforms, I tried to figure out what a landing strategy was, but I didn't get an answer in time. So there I was, flying through the air, probably about to die, or if nothing else get horribly injured, when out of nowhere, a spear came flying my way, pinning me to a tree, let also saving my soul. Unfortunately, I was stuck there for a while. I tried freeing myself, without luck. This was especially frustrating when Weiss, who was technically the first one I saw, scoffed at me before turning back to Ruby, leaving me hanging in more ways than one. Fortunately, shortly thereafter, Pyrrha Nikos, the wielder of said spear, came to help get me down and we ended up becoming partners. While I originally had no idea who she was when I first encountered her earlier, I learned that she graduated at the top of her class in Sanctum Academy, won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row, and, get this, was the mascot for Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow flakes cereal box."
"Really? You had no idea who Pyrrha Nikos was?! You really have been living under a rock!" Tangerine exclaimed.
"Tangerine, be quiet!" Acacia scolded. "What happened after that?"
"She explained aura to me, and even unlocked mine, I didn't realize it was locked. Anyway, we walked around the forest and entered a cave, that we thought contained the relics, but we were wrong. The cave was actually home to a Death Stalker! I was launched through the air and ended up crashing into Ruby, who was also falling from the sky and saw the temple ground while I was hurled into a tree. After various crazy events, we took the relics, all of which were chess pieces, and created teams to face a giant Nevermore and said Death Stalker. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao-Long took the white knight pieces and formed team RWBY, lead by Ruby Rose. Me and Pyrrha teamed up with Nora Vakyrie and Lie Ren, taking the white rook pieces to form team JNPR, lead by, much to my shock and amazement, me."
"Ok, hold the phone." Rouge stated. "You were the leader of your team? You're joking. Tell me he's joking!"
"He's not joking." Azura commented. Rouge groaned.
"Continuing the story, we beat the Grimm and survived to see another day. Everyone in our group survived. Alas, not everyone was lucky or skilled enough to make it through the initiation. According to what I was told by Velvet, a second year student who is part of team CFVY, there were 15 total first years who failed, and at least seven that were killed by the Grimm. I had survived, it seemed like everything would be okay. Or so I thought. A few days later, I was bullied for the first time by Cardin Winchester, the leader of team CRDL. This bullying occurred for a while, and I didn't realize it at first. Unfortunately, several weeks later, he overheard me confide to Pyrrha how I forged my transcripts and blackmailed me into being his servant for a while. Oh, that was not fun..."
"Oh boy... How did you manage to get out of serving him without your secret being exposed?" Indigo asked.
"I was getting to that. Cardin had me on a leash for a week or so before I snapped. The night before, I spoke with Ruby, who was unaware of my plight, and told me that being a leader wasn't just about me anymore, and that I had to put my teammates before myself. Alas, after she left, Cardin ordered me to round up a bunch of rapier wasps. The following day, we all ventured to the Forever Fall forest, where we were to collect jars of red tree sap. Anyway, being forced to work for Cardin, I had to get six jars of sap. One for every member of team CRDL, one for myself and one for Cardin's nasty plan. With the box of rapier wasps he forced me to gather the night before, he planned a surprise attack on Pyrrha by having someone hit her with the jar of sap and then release the wasps on her... And he wanted me to do it."
Gasps were heard all around.
"You didn't do it, did you?" Amethyst asked sadly.
"No, I didn't. I don't know entirely what it was, but something in my brain clicked and as I looked sadly at my red-haired teammate, I realized that I couldn't do it, no matter what may happen to me. I refused to do it, and in a moment of thoughtlessness, I threw the jar of sap at Cardin. He proceeded to beat me up afterwards, and he promised to send me back in teeny tiny pieces. I glared at him and retaliated in response, 'I don't care what you do to me... but you are not messing with my team.' He tried to punch me again, but before he could do so, something strange happened. Somehow I unconsciously blocked his punch with my aura. I have no idea how it happened, nor did I have anytime to think it over. Cause the next thing I know, an Ursa appeared, either attracted by the sap, his negative emotions, or perhaps both.
"Despite everything he put me through, I still defeated the Ursa and saved his life. But immediately afterwards I spoke these words to him; 'Don't ever mess with my team - my friends - ever again. Got it?' And that was the end of his bullying. He never once blackmailed me again, although we did still have a minor rivalry, and I still hate his guts. Later that evening, I apologized to Pyrrha and asked her to help me with combat training, even if I believed I didn't deserve her help. Fortunately, she forgave me and that was the beginning of my rise to a warrior. In these sessions, we covered fighting, aura technique, and other subjects I was struggling with.
"The second semester started off with a bang, or with a Yang, as Yang herself would say." He chuckled. "Call it absurd, ludicrous or just down-right silly, but on the first day, team JNPR got into this huge epic food fight with team RWBY. It was quite a lot of fun, even if we did end up losing."
Emerald raised an eyebrow. "How were you defeated?"
"Ruby, who was the only one left at this point, used her semblance, super speed, by dashing around the cafeteria to create a hurricane of various food items that all of us were sucked into. We were slammed into the wall and sprayed with a coating of soda, creating this huge, messy yet colorful and beautiful artwork. Someone even got pictures of it. Of course, Glydna scolded us, but Ozpin told her to let it go for reasons I do not know. It was a real hoot. Anyway, much later on, as a prerequisite to the Vytal Festival that was to take place in Beacon, team RWBY was put in charge of the Beacon Dance. Team CFVY was supposed to organize it, but one of their missions ran overtime. In the days leading up to this formal dance, I tried, and failed miserably, to impress Weiss and get her to go out with me. I had been head-over-heels for her for quite a while, and I had no idea how to speak to her without messing it up and being harshly rejected. I spoke to Ren to try and get help, and then Pyrrha gave me some advice; if it's the truth, I couldn't get it wrong.
"Acting on Pyrrha's advice, I decided to ask her to the dance more honestly without any ridiculous schemes. Unfortunately, by the time I found her, she was already interested in another guy by the name of Neptune Vasilias, a member of team SSSN of Haven, that was at the academy to compete in the tournament. I felt crushed and ran off. I later on learned that while Weiss asked him out, he turned her down because he was reluctant to admit that he could not dance. I gave him the advice Pyrrha told me earlier on being honest and he followed it. Meanwhile, I went forward in my promise to wear a dress for the rest of the evening since Pyrrha did not find a date, swallowing my pride and getting some laughs. There might even be some pictures that ended up online, but who cares? I danced the night away with Pyrrha and my team, and I had a great time.
"Not too long after the Beacon Dance, there was a small scale attack on Vale by the Grimm, but we all managed to stop them. Roman Torckwick, one of the baddest criminals in Vale, was finally captured for his long list of crimes. With upcoming Vytal Festival, and the fact that I survived my first year at Beacon, I believed things would only get better from there. Not too long after the end of the first year, the Vytal Festival Tournament began. The matches took place in the Amity Colosseum, with random territories and random team match-ups. Well, some were random... Moving on, after team RWBY finished their match against team ABRN of Haven, and kicked their butts, we encountered them by chance at a noodle shop and ate lunch with them. Shortly afterwards, we were called to our first match against team BRNZ of Shade. On our side of the field was a mountain, and on their side, a forest.
"The match began with the sniper running into the forest as her teammates and my team charged towards each other. As she started the gunfire, I called for a tactical retreat and told my teammates to spread out, thinking of the divide and conquer strategy. After battling the circular-saw spinner for a while, I recalled that Nora had the semblance of absorbing and producing electric energy to her muscles. Realizing that there was a lightning storm brewing at the top of the mountain, I told her to the get to the top of the rock for a huge power boost. While she scaled the mountain, I called for Ren to distract the sniper. Either he failed at that or the sniper saw right through my plan, because I noticed her aiming for Nora. To foil her plan, I helped up Pyrrha into the air, launching her upward on my shield to guard herself and take the blow, allowing Nora to reach the top and charge up a super powerful attack of heart grenades, which the sniper was able to dodge, but her cover was now exposed, leaving her vulnerable to attack.
"Nora jumped down from the mountain and sent the other three flying to the ground as the sniper coughed on the smoke. I tried to have the team finished them off with team attacks, but everyone forgot what Arkos and Flower Power were."
"Wait. Arkos?" Azura inquired.
"Yeah, it's me and Pyrrha's last names put together." Jaune answered.
"That sounds like a ship name. So does Flower Power." Acacia said.
He sighed. "Moving on... After they didn't understand my directions, we were interrupted by the leader, and I told him that were in the middle of a conservation, before Pyrrha reminded me that we were all in the middle of a fight. Remembering the real situation, I gave an exasperated sigh and ordered Nora to hit em with her hammer. Before anyone could react, she did just that, knocking them out of the arena and against the barrier, almost forming the letters 'YMCA' before they fell to the ground. The second round went smoothly, even if I did not participate. Pyrrha and Nora went on to the doubles round. We were originally going to send Pyrrha and Ren, but after Nora's smashing performance, we all agreed that the two of them together would be unstoppable. Of course, they were. The other team from Haven didn't stand a chance, and were defeated within less than two minutes. Pyrrha knocked out the first one with a barrage of attacks, knocking his aura down to zero and Nora knocked the other guy out of the arena with her hammer.
"A few days later, the second and last match of the Vytal Festival began; Penny Polendina vs Pyrrha Nikos. The fight seemed like it would be in good spirits, but we were wrong. Unbeknownst to all of us, Cinder Fall and her associates were planning the Fall of Beacon. I feel like I should have seen it coming with Yang being tricked into attacking a defenseless Mercury, making it look like an attack done in malice, but no one saw the warning signs. We didn't realize what happened until it was all but too late. When Emerald Sustrai used her semblance, hallucination creation, to trick Pyrrha, everything went horribly wrong. She thought she saw Penny multiply her swords by the dozen, the hundred, a thousand blades aimed all at once. Terrified and confused, she used her semblance, polarity, to a devastating magnitude. This came with severe consequences. Unbeknownst to almost everyone, Penny was a robot with an aura, and the metal bending property of Pyrrha's power crushed her and severed her into pieces with her own swords, leaving everyone, especially Pyrrha, horrified at what she had done."
Gasps were heard from many who were present. Those who weren't frozen in fear, meaning Azura, Emerald, Tangerine, Rouge and Roux were visibly downcast from his proclamation.
"Oh no..." Azura said, falling into despair.
"Oh.." Rouge moaned in sorrow.
"Ohhh..." Amethyst added.
After a moment of silence, his father asked, "And what happened afterwards?"
"Obvious spoiler alert; it gets worse from there. Shortly after the duel, a woman, who we believe to be Cinder Fall, hijacked the broadcast and gave this huge speech condemning the government of the kingdoms, especially Atlas, and that they could not be trusted. With people upset, scared and unsure who to follow, the Grimm were attracted to the city and the White Fang soon followed. The Amity Colosseum was attacked by a Nevermore, which we managed to subdue before Professors Port and Oobleck told us to scram, leaving them to fight the monsters. Of course, they survived, so while they fought in the city, we tried to protect our school. During the chaos, Atlas drones were hacked, adding to the escalating chaos. After a brief duel with the forces of evil, I saw Pyrrha approach Ozpin. I followed to see what was going on, little did I know what I was getting myself into."
"So what happened? What did you get into?" Azura asked.
"That... is tricky. It contains classified information. Therefore, I will tell you the unclassified version, which is only half-true. This is what we would end up telling Nora and Ren. We were taken to this secret vault underneath the school. There was this weapon that Pyrrha was supposed to take control of and wield in order to help save the world, even though there were risks to using it. Unfortunately, Cinder got the weapon before Pyrrha did, and the two of us were forced to flee. Ozpin fought her, but considering that we heard the raven-haired thief propelling herself to the top of Beacon tower, we knew that he lost. Alas, what we don't know is what happened to him as a result of his clash with Cinder. Pyrrha looked at the top of the tower and just by the look on her face, I knew that she planned to face her all by herself. I begged her and pleaded her not to do it. But before she left, she did something that I never would have imagined her doing.
"She kissed me. She cupped her hand around my face, my brain couldn't even process what was happening. I threw my arms around her waist and returned the kiss. As she broke the kiss, she looked at me sorrowfully, saying 'I'm sorry' before using her semblance to push me into a rocket locker and sending me away to protect me from Cinder's wrath. After I landed in a desolated part of the city, I called the first person I saw in my contacts list; Weiss, and begged her and Ruby to save Pyrrha before she got killed. The call had ended with me smashing my scroll by throwing it on the ground. I was terrified, losing my mind, and right before I was dragged into combat, I realized how I felt about her; I was in love with her, and I still am. Unfortunately, I was then pitted against a horde of Grimm. During the ensuing fight, my shield ended up shattered as it was crushed in the claws of a Nevermore. Eventually, I managed to defeat them all.
"After defeating the Grimm, Professor Oobleck found me and took me aboard a bullhead that brought me and numerous other students to a warehouse on the opposite side of Vale. This battle was a disaster. Several students injured or killed, and some, like Weiss and Ruby, were missing. According to what I was told by other students much later, as a result of them being MIA, Blake ran away for reasons unknown, Weiss was taken back home to Atlas by her dad, and Ruby and Yang went home to patch. Anyway, once we got to the warehouse, they took role call, which took an eternity. Then they asked some teams to get apartments since they didn't have enough supplies for everyone. After 10 minutes of discussion, they asked teams what they would prefer. Those who wanted apartments were given arrangements made by Dr. Oobleck, while those staying at the refuge were given sleeping bags and pillows by Mr. Port. Some people such as Blake, Yang, team SSSN, and team NDGO stayed there. Other teams, like my own team, team CRDL and team CFVY, decided to get apartments. I made this decision, possibly against my teammates wishes, to avoid people seeing me sobbing and that I could keep my negative emotions to myself as I attempted to deal with them.
"Unfortunately, my heart nor my mind would let me rest. After waking up from a terrible nightmare at 3:20 am, I grabbed my gear, wrote a note to my teammates explaining what I was doing, and went out to search for Pyrrha. She had been missing for 20 hours, and out of those 20 hours she was gone, I was looking for her for close to 15 hours. As the sun was setting, I was just about to throw in the towel, when my luck changed for the better. I found Qrow Branwen, Ruby and Yang's uncle, who knew where Pyrrha was and lead me right to her. Sad to say, she was damaged as if she was a fragile porcelain doll. I sobbed for her and held her hand, hoping for her to say something. I was just about to give up faith, when I felt her gently grasp my hand as she woke up, much to my relief. I asked Qrow to leave the room, and after a moment of awkward silence, she told me the truth- the unclassified version of the story. After we left the hospital, we encountered team CRDL, who were quite mean to me and Pyrrha, especially when she tripped and twisted her other ankle. I carried her like a princess and after getting her away from those horrible men, I confessed my love for her, we shared our second kiss and became an official couple."
"Aw, how romantic!" Acacia cheered.
"That's adorable!" Amethyst agreed.
Rouge rolled her eyes as Jaune continued. "I know right? We made it back to the apartment, ate dinner with our teammates, told them the classified version of the story and spoke some prayers to the forces of the universe as I fell asleep with the girl of my dreams in my arms. I didn't really know who to thank, so I thanked any deity that was listening. So we were all living there for two weeks. During this time, Pyrrha retrieved Penny's swords to retrieve the remains of her weapons at Beacon's destroyed CCT tower and eventually, my scroll, as well as my shield and Pyrrha's spear, were repaired. We also discovered that some of the matches in the tournament were rigged, but we had no way of determining all of the ones that were rigged. Unfortunately, the landlord was increasing everyone's rent in the apartment complex, and because of that, and Beacon's destruction, we left and went our separate ways. Nora and Ren went on a boat to their treehouse in Fiti, Pyrrha went back to her home in Mistral, and I went back here. After Ren and Nora left, me and Pyrrha spoke to each other about family and moving on. Eventually, the helicopter pilot arrived to take her to the airport back to Mistral. She gave me some items and was about to leave, but it wasn't that easy to let go. After one last kiss, and a tearful goodbye, she left, leaving me all alone.
"And that was it. The end of Beacon, team JNPR, my time in Vale and the departure of my first and only love. So, reluctantly... I came back here. And that is the end of the story. There is nothing more to say, I guess, other than... 'Can you forgive me?'"
"Well, he's been honest this entire time, even if he gave us a classified version of the secrets of Beacon's vault..." Azura said. "But he's probably going to be punished either way.
The patriarch of the Arc family spoke, "Alas, there is a slight problem with the punishment I had in mind... I was going to take away his scroll and ground him to his room for a very long time, but considering that the Beacon CCT tower is down, that punishment would not be very effective."
Rouge smirked to herself before turning to face her father. "I have an idea on how Jaune should be punished, that is, if you would allow it."
"Go on." Roux coaxed.
"Jaune should be punished with being the housekeeper, meaning he has to do all the household chores. This would not only punish him for forging his transcripts, it would allow mom and dad more working hours to get more money and get out of the huge debt faster. Oh, and make him a butler as well!"
"What?!" Jaune exclaimed.
"Hmm... Housekeeper and butler. I like that idea." Roux stated. "I say we do a majority vote. If at least five of us believe that Jaune deserves to be punished in the described manner, join Rouge at the end of the table. If you believe he shouldn't be punished in this manner or not at all, go to the opposite end of the table."
Roux and Azure joined Rouge at the other end of the table. The other sisters stood up as well. Tangerine walked towards Rouge and her parents, not even giving her brother a passing glance.
"Tangerine? Why?" he asked her.
"Sorry Jaune. I can understand what you're trying to do, but the way you are going to achieve the dream you have in mind, is immoral and wrong." She folded her arms. "If you were smarter, you would have asked me for help instead of lying to no end."
"Huh. For once Rouge and Tangerine agree on something." Emerald remarked. "That's not something you see everyday."
"I don't believe Jaune should be punished at all." Amethyst said. "He never hurt anyone, he never killed anyone. I don't see what the big deal is, therefore, I'm standing by him, and you should too." She walked to the other end of the room. "I've got your back, big bro!"
Jaune briefly smiled. "Amethyst is right." Acacia answered. "Jaune's chasing after his dreams. He shouldn't be punished for that. You should reward him for coming so far in such little time."
She stood by Amethyst's side.
"Same here. He did what he had to and no one was hurt. Also, it's not like he stole the opportunity from anyone else. He survived and thrived. No punishment for Jaune!" Indigo declared, standing by Acacia and Amethyst.
"I don't want to be swayed by emotions, so I am going to think this through logically." She breathed in and her body began to glow with an emerald green aura. After five seconds, the aura vanished. Jaune gawked in confusion, pointing his thumb to her, hoping for an explanation. After a moment of silence, she gave her answer. "I am not going to see Jaune punished." Her voice was different, without any emotion, monotone, almost like she was a robot. "I am saying this for the following reasons. One, Rouge is suggesting two different punishments for only one bad deed. If this punishment were to be executed, it would be unfair and drive Jaune to the ground. Two, while Jaune may have done an immoral act by lying and cheating his way into Beacon, he was following his dreams, as Acacia and Indigo mentioned earlier. Three, he never hurt anyone while achieving these dreams, as Amethyst mentioned earlier. And four, while I do believe Jaune should be punished, preferably with housekeeper since it would be the most productive and effective solution, the punishment Rouge is suggesting is too harsh, and therefore, I stand by my brother, older sister and younger sisters."
Emerald joined the others as Roux surveyed the situation. "Well, it seems we are at an impasse. Oh wait! Someone hasn't voted yet! Azura has yet to choose what she believes should be done." He turned to Jaune. "Looks like your fate rests in her hands." He turned to his daughter. "So Azura, do you believe Jaune deserves to be punished as the housekeeper and butler, or should he just get away scot-free?"
"Well... Considering that Jaune never lied once, even about the classified information..." Everyone watched on in silence, waiting for the lie detector to make her decision. "I'm afraid... I have to see to it that Jaune Arc..." The room showed Jaune's supporters, save for Emerald, be extremely worried, those against Jaune were looking on in wonder and Jaune himself about ready to bite his nails. "be punished."
Rouge cheered at Azura's decision.
"Aw..." Acacia, Amethyst and Indigo said sadly in unison.
"Undesired outcome has occurred." Emerald stated.
"What? But why?" Jaune asked.
"You lied and cheated your way into Beacon, did you really think a good and honest truth-teller like myself would just let that go unpunished?" Azura answered. "Also, you have refused to answer the following question several times; where did you get the money to enroll at Beacon Academy?"
"Look, if I could tell you, I would, but I can't, so I won't, ok?"
Only his parents knew the truth about that, because he made them swear to secrecy. His sisters had no idea.
"Well then. Jaune Arc, your punishment as housekeeper starts tomorrow. Azure will make a list of chores you must attend to on a regular basis. Your punishment as butler however, starts now!" Roux decreed.