King: These are interesting to write. I had fun getting this one down. Hope it shows.

Inspiration: n/a

/\

As King popped back, he found a scene of several of the students ranting.

Pyrrha stomped around a bit in frustration. She noticed King pop back and stormed over to him. "Why do we keep seeing Jaune as either a villain or a psychopath?!"

King floated in place a moment, "Really? You think I control that?"

"Don't you?! You told us you're basically a god in this theater!"

"I also told you they're playing at random. I get it's difficult to see your crush in situations like that…"

Pyrrha's anger for the magic ball gave way to embarrassment for her crush being out in the open. Not that anyone else was surprised in the slightest. The only one who didn't know wasn't there, so nothing really changed.

"… however, remember, I'm not in control of those realities or how they play out. I had to remove the filters to search for the previous reality."

Yang leaned back in her chair, "How's that going by the way?"

"No real progress… Infinite choices within each reality make for difficult searches for specific versions. I've narrowed it down based on Jaune's Jedi status, but there are still way too many Possibles…"

"'Possibles'?" Weiss raised an eyebrow, "You mean possibilities?"

King turned to Weiss, "Possi… Oh! Right! No, actually. Okay… I'll try to explain this as best I can. There are two relationships for the various realities. The first is what's known as an Alternate. These are two realities that are fundamentally different from one another. All you've seen so far is Alternates. No matter how you spin it, these could never be mistaken for your dimension for one reason or another, usually through the access to magic systems or lack thereof. The second is known as a Possible. These are dimensions that share fundamental traits on a base level. In other words, for your reality, a Possible would be a world of huntsmen/huntresses fighting the terror of the Creatures of Grimm by using aura, semblances, and mechanized or hybridized weaponry."

Blake blinked in confusion a moment, "That's… oddly specific."

"That's the point. But even then, there are infinite possibilities within that! For example, in one Possible Ruby wields a combination scythe and sniper rifle, but in another she uses a dust-enhanced saber. Or, say, in one version, Jaune is the lovable goof you all know; while in another version he was born female and was the Princess of Vacuo! Stuff like that, but always within the same fundamental system."

King glowed a faint red for a moment. "Speaking of… New reality is ready and it happens to be a Possible~ Who's ready?!"

"So, this is going to be a Jaune that could exist?"

"Could be? Could have? It all depends on the choices made up to that point. But, this is going to be a Jaune that fits into your reality. Let's start it up and you'll see what I mean." King dissipated, and the screen began its new window into the multiverse.

The screen opened to show Jaune sitting in a seat on a familiar airship. It was the day the students arrive at Beacon Academy, a school deigned to train Huntsmen and Huntresses. For many, it was the day their life began! For Jaune… it was Wednesday.

Ruby was incredulous, "What?! How could he not be excited! That was the day we all arrived at Beacon!"

Yang tapped Ruby's shoulder to get her attention, "Isn't that also the day he puked on my shoes due to motion sickness?"

"Yeah… But he doesn't look sick now."

Jaune took a deep breath and looked around. There were plenty of rather… colorful students on the transport. Then again, glass houses… He wasn't about to judge. To them, he probably looked like the odd man out. He hadn't bothered to wear his combat gear and was just waiting in his seat wearing his Pumpkin Pete hoodie, jeans, and sneakers.

Seeing the hoodie, Ruby tried to contain her laughter, but failed miserably. "What is that?!" Ruby fell over in laughter, "It's got a cute little bunny rabbit!"

Jaune leaned back in his chair, waiting for the ship to finally land already. He wasn't even sure why he had to take the transport… He was walking through Beacon last week! But, someone said no one was allowed on site between then and opening day, so he had to leave. Even though he knows for a fact that Professor Goodwitch remained on campus.

Glynda looked to the screen with a questioning glare only a teacher could muster, "And why would he know that?"

Jaune sighed and leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees, thinking to himself out loud, "This is a ploy for me to make friends, isn't it?" Jaune sighed and sat back up. His hands now placed over his knees, he took a deep breath. "Might as well get in some meditation."

Ren raised an eyebrow. He would often find meditation to be a calming force and attempted to teach it to Jaune when asked to. The young knight wasn't the kind of person to sit and empty their mind so easily, so it was slow going. Seeing Jaune actually meditate would be interesting.

Jaune started to feel the presence of the universe. His aura beginning to manifest as he…

"Hello~"

And… it's gone. Jaune opened his eyes, revealing them to be a bright green.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. He wouldn't say it out loud, but this version of Mr. Arc reminded him of Glynda when they first met… Overly reserved, a bit underwhelmed by everything, they even shared the street clothes style on day one rather than their combat attire.

Standing in front of Jaune was a young girl with a black and red gothic style going for her. Her hair followed the same vein being primarily black with red tips. She seemed like the kind of girl that somehow became everyone's friend. She smiled as she spoke, "Nice to meet you!"

Ruby got over her laughing fit and looked to the screen in shock. It was her, but she wasn't socially awkward! How is this possible! Tell me your secrets, me!

Jaune sighed, "Might as well…"

Ruby tilted her head, "Hmm?"

"Nothing." Jaune stood up and held out his hand. "I'm Jaune."

Ruby shook Jaune's hand, "I'm Ruby. Nice to meet you!"

"You said that already."

"I know. Still true."

No one among the students could believe what they'd seen. A social Ruby?! It was insane! She even used her repetition to make herself still sound somewhat cool.

Jaune rolled his eyes but smiled. "So, what brings you to my neck of the woods then?"

"You were all alone and looked like you needed a friend!"

Jaune raised an eyebrow.

Ruby sighed, "Okay… My sister was embarrassing me, and I used making new friends as an excuse to get her to stop."

"That makes more sense."

Yang groaned a bit, but she still smirked.

"Still… I figured, why not right? My mom used to say strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."

Ruby paused a moment, "Wait… that's what Jaune told me when we met…"

Jaune let out a single chuckle, "I suppose that's not technically wrong. A bit dangerous if taken at face value, though."

"I know. But it's the principle of it all."

The ship signaled to the passengers that they were starting to land. Jaune smirked, "Guess I'll catch you around then."

Ruby waved as he walked away. When Jaune looked back a moment, there was a taller, blonde woman with her arm wrapped over Ruby's shoulders. Likely the sister in question. Jaune continued to walk, tripping over a luggage cart.

Ruby tensed up, "I didn't do it!"

"You cannot be serious!" The voice crying out was rather shrill, but not without something underneath. A cold exterior as it were. A young woman in a solid white dress started to pick up her belongings, mostly dust vials. Her stark white hair and the symbol on her back told him all he needed to know. This was Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. The only question he had was, why is she here?

Winter addressed her sister without looking away from the screen, "Seems this Jaune is familiar with you."

Weiss turned to her sister, "He's heard of me. There's a difference."

"I'm aware."

Jaune sighed. He did knock them over… He knelt down on one knee and started to reach for one of the vials, only for it to be snatched away by the heiress.

She had everything up and was holding the vial toward him in an accusatory manner. "And just what do you think you're doing?!"

Weiss's eye twitched. Was she really that bad when she met Ruby? Thinking back, she may have been rather harsh…

Jaune stood back up and looker her in the eye. "Considering… I was going to help pick up the vials. Apparently, I didn't need to bother."

"You're the one who knocked them over in the first place!"

"And that's why I wanted to help."

Weiss finally caught up with herself and her face turned red in embarrassment. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath, "My apologies. The vials are filled with dust, so them being loose made me… unnecessarily antagonistic."

Jaune crossed his arms, "That's a way to put it."

"I am ashamed of my actions and ask you to forgive my outburst."

Jaune was silent. He took a deep breath, but this was a smokescreen. He took the time to take in her aura.

"Wait, that's a thing?" Ruby asked, confused.

Glynda adjusted her glasses, "Only the most powerful huntsmen can read a person's aura. That or…"

"Or?"

Ozpin picked up the conversation, "Or, they would possess a natural affinity for the Auric Arts."

"Woah! What's the Auric Arts?! That sounds so cool!"

"The most prominent example I could give you is Glynda. He fighting style includes using her semblance to move objects at will. This is achieved through her semblance, which I remind you is an extension of her aura. Auric Arts are the personal, mental control one must have to extend their aura beyond their bodies. For most, this would be an extension of your senses. For those like Ms. Goodwitch, it makes them more powerful."

He could tell she was earnest in her apology and in her reasons to attend Beacon. He couldn't tell the more minute details, but he could tell her more surface emotions. By the time he reached his exhale, he knew everything he needed. "Don't worry about it. We can call it even."

"I suppose that sounds fair."

Jaune walked passed and waved back. For now, he had to get to the entrance ceremony. After that, he'd be stuck with everyone else again. He might use that time to try to meditate again before bed. He took a deep breath, "Okay… here we go." As he walked in, the screen began to fade.

"What?! That's it?!" Ruby stood up from her seat in frustration. "That can't be it."

Weiss thought for a moment, "It does seem to be over…"

"No way! Nothing happened!"

"King did say they were all random." Blake reminded them, "He never said what would happen in each."

"Again."

The group looked back to the screen. Apparently, it wasn't over.

When the screen returned, it showed a young Jaune, around 9 years old, with his hand reaching out toward an apple. He was sitting in place, not moving closer. Simply reaching out.

Ruby had sat back down when the screen returned, "What's he doing?"

"Aura training." Glynda readjusted her glasses. "He's attempting to reach out with his aura to effect the apple in some way. Given his age in this, this is how he trained to read the auras of others."

Jaune's face strained. His aura began to form around him in a bright lavender. As the aura formed around him, a similar effect appeared around the apple, as if trying to take hold of the fruit. Jaune's concentration fell off and the aura around the apple faded. The young Jaune fell forward and held himself up by his arms. "I just can't do it…"

"Yes, you can."

Few were expecting what they saw.

A younger Glynda, by about 8 years, walked up from behind him and helped him back to his seated position. She knelt down and held onto his shoulders. "I know you can do this."

"But no matter what I do, I just can't get it to move."

Glynda sighed, smiling down to Jaune, "That's because you're not supposed to. You're trying to use my semblance instead of your own. You've shown great improvement, your aura can manifest and reach items beyond you, but you still need to train. In time, you'll understand your power. For now, we need to return to your other studies." Glynda stood back up, adjusting her glasses, "Today is dust application."

Jaune continued to look toward the ground. Something about what she just said started to turn the gears in his head. "I have an idea…" As he spoke, the screen faded to white.

"What was that about?" Sun asked. "Since when do Beacon teachers teach 9-year olds? I mean, I get it, start the training early, but I didn't think that was a thing you'd have time for. That's why there are the combat schools."

Glynda shook her head slightly, "I do teach younger students of Vale when their semblances are shown to be more auric than physical as far back as core combat school training. However, I haven't trained anyone at the age of nine…"

Jaune woke up to the sound of his alarm. He sat up from his sleeping bag and stretched his back. Unlike in their own reality, Jaune's day one sleepwear was a white t-shirt with black pajama pants. On the upper part of his right pant leg was a golden symbol of an arch with a three-pointed crown above it.

This didn't garner too much of a reaction. After the first night, Jaune had exchanged his onesie for a similar attire, save for the colors: the pants were blue. But the symbol did turn a few heads. It was clearly a modified version of his symbol in their own reality: the two gold arcs on a white background. Now, there was a single arc beneath a crown, which looked rather familiar now that they thought about it.

Th camera moved behind Jaune as he stretched, revealing the back of his shirt had a phrase written in bright, emerald green lettering, [Something Wicked this Way Comes].

Ruby shrunk a little, "Why have a shirt like that?" She hoped it wasn't a sort of foreshadowing for what was to come. Too many psycho Jaunes for one day…

Blake was the first to answer her, "It's a literary reference. But I don't know where it's from…"

"Then how do you know it's a literary reference?"

"Because it comes up in some of my books."

Glynda had frozen when she saw the phrase. Now, she could finally speak again. "The Bloody King."

Both students turned to their teacher, "What?"

Ozpin took a sip from his coffee. "The Bloody King was an old play written during the early years of the kingdoms. It was about a man who assassinated his king to take the throne. Most of the play centers around his spiral of guilt and anger until justice finally catches up to him."

Glynda nodded, putting earlier pieces together, "It was also my mother's favorite story."

Jaune stood back up and started to make his way toward the changing room to get ready. He changed into a solid white t-shirt, a pair of black slacks, and a pair of dress boots (like dress shoes, only more functional). After he was done, he moved to lockers to acquire his weapons and coat.

"His coat?" Nora questioned. "Why would he keep his coat in his weapon locker?"

Ruby was just interested to see what this Jaune would use as weapons.

As he approached his locker, he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He had to be ready for this. Opening his locker, he revealed a long, royal purple coat. Resting on the bottom was a pair of gauntlets. He smiled as he put on his coat followed by the gauntlets, which rested atop the coat's sleeves.

Nora tapped her chin in thought, "Do you think he's a brawler, like Yang?"

Ruby observed the gauntlets for a moment, "No way. His gauntlets aren't designed for it."

"How can you tell?"

Ruby gave Nora a deadpan expression, "Really?"

Nora chuckled nervously, "Fair enough, but I'd still like to know."

Ruby nodded, "Okay, so! His gauntlets are likely made of a class-2 metal alloy, the same stuff they use for dust canisters. Good for holding dust, not so good for punching Grimm. Yang's Ember Celica are folded Class-3."

"Woah! What kind of metal is your scythe?!"

"Crescent Rose is a Class-5 alloy. Strong and easy to obtain!"

Yang groaned, "Can we please watch the reality instead of talking about weapons all day? Night… It's hard to tell here…"

Jaune held up his gauntlets toward the light on the ceiling. Hidden away in small sections of the gauntlets was a set of dust containers. He made sure they were all full before nodding, "Alright. Let's go."

"Sounds good~!"

Jaune jumped in place and spun around to find Ruby laughing at his expense. "Why would you do that?!"

"Because it was funny?"

Yang laughed, "She's not wrong!"

Jaune took a deep breath, "Regardless. It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise. So, any plans for what happens next?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's this rumor about teams. Any idea who's going to be on your team?"

Jaune knew about the teams. He just shook his head and closed his locker, "Not really. Just going to wing it."

"I guess that works. See you on the other side."

As she walked off, Jaune shook his head. This was going to be an interesting day…

The students were lined up along a cliff face, each standing on a metal plate.

"Oh my gosh! It's the Emerald Forest!" Nora shouted.

Sun turned toward team RWBY, "What kind of crazy initiation requires you guys to stand at a cliff like that?"

Blake sighed, "You have no idea…"

Ozpin was standing in front of the students with Glynda Goodwitch at his side. He took a sip from his mug before addressing the students, "Welcome to the Emerald Forest. On the Northern edge of the forest is a set of ruins. In these ruins, you'll find a series of relics. Your mission is reach these ruins, retrieve one of these relics, and return here before sunset. What's more, you've no doubt heard about the creation of teams. These rumors are true. Your full teams will be formed at the end of your initiation. That said, the first person you make eye contact with upon entering the forest will be your partner for the next four years."

Neptune and Sun were looking at the screen in shock. Their own initiation wasn't exactly simple or easy, but they had the advantage of an extra week to find a partner beforehand.

Jaune took in everything he was told. He had no idea of who would be a good partner. At best, he knew he'd have a friend. It seems he really will have to wing it…

Glynda stepped forward, "Now, a warning. The forest is filled with the creatures of Grimm. You will likely need to fight for lives. I suggest finding your partners sooner rather than later." She adjusted her glasses and glanced toward Jaune. "I wish you all luck in your initiation."

Once the speeches were done, the students began to be vaulted into the forest. Jaune stood at the end of the line, waiting his turn as his fellow students were launched into the sky. When his turn finally arrived, his platform stalled for just a second longer than it should have.

Glynda turned toward Jaune in this moment, "At least try to find a partner you can get along with."

Jaune smirked, "I'll see what I can do." After that, he was launched with the rest of the students.

"Huh…" Ozpin thought for a moment, "It almost sounds like…"

His thoughts were interrupted by what was happening on screen. Jaune had stalled midair with his arms tucked behind his back. He was floating!

Ruby went starry eyed, "That's so cool!"

Weiss watched the screen in bewilderment, "How is he doing that?!"

Ruby shrugged, "Levitation semblance?"

The back of Jaune's coat showed a glowing pair of green wings. He had interwoven wind dust into his coat. By sending his aura into the garment, he can use it to hold himself up in the air. He still needs training to really fly, but this is a decent start.

Weiss wanted to say how ridiculous it was. But, as she thought about it, it started to make a little more sense. He was effectively using his aura to make his coat float, thereby holding himself up by his arms using said coat. "That… could actually work."

Yang turned to Weiss, "Really?"

"It would take a lot of training to balance your aura and the physical strain, but it is sound logic."

Jaune held his gauntlets out backward and burst forward and down toward the forest. When he landed, he gripped one hand around the neck of a Beowolf. His gauntlet started to glow a bright, pale blue before the creature's head was incased in a block of ice. As another Beowolf began to charge him, he reached his other hand back, catching its claw with his other gauntlet. This gauntlet began to glow a deep red-orange before the Beowolf's body erupted in a torrent of fire.

Ruby's starry eyes went galactic. "Oh my gosh! That's so cool!"

Weiss crossed her arms. "That would explain why his gauntlets were the same material as a dust container…"

Jaune let go of both creatures once he was sure they were dead and disappearing. Once he was certain he was alone, he started to move northward again. Jaune reached a forest clearing and started to walk out of the cover of the forest. As he walked, he stopped. A large King Taijitu began to rise up from the ground and moved slowly. As it started to lunch toward him, its head burst from a massive shell.

Jaune turned toward the side to find a familiar sight. Ruby was standing on the forest's edge with a massive scythe over her shoulder. "Hello again."

Pyrrha was conflicted. She was happy Jaune's partner would be someone that seemed like a nice person. She had gotten used to the idea that this wasn't the Jaune she was familiar with by this point. So it was easy to stomach, but it was still bitter.

Jaune smirked and waved toward Ruby, "Starting to think you're following me."

"If I was, you wouldn't know it."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "She says with a giant scythe over her shoulder."

Ruby paused a moment. "Fair point."

"So, you find anyone else or are we a team now?"

"I haven't seen anyone until now." Ruby collapsed her scythe and returned it to her back. She walked with Jaune through the forest. She looked him up and down a moment, "What? No weapon?"

The Ruby in the audience was dumbfounded, "How can you ask that?!"

Blake placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder and made her sit down again. "She likely didn't see what his gauntlets do. She probably thinks their just armor. You said so yourself that they aren't as effective against Grimm. And you did that all by visual observation."

Ruby sat back in her seat without a fight, "Fair enough…"

Jaune held up his right hand, "The gauntlets have dust inside them."

"Oh! That's pretty cool. They have a name?"

Jaune smirked, "You're oddly nosy about my weapons."

"It's a hobby. Besides, if we're going to be partners, I want to know what I'm getting into."

"Fair enough. The gauntlets are called Toil and Trouble."

Mercury started to laugh, "What kind of dumb name is that?"

Ruby thought for a moment, "Like the Bloody King line?"

This made Mercury pause, "what?"

"That was the idea, yes."

The two walked on, eventually finding the ruins. Ruby started to lead the way to the ruins, "This the place?"

"That's how I remember it, yes."

"You've been here before?"

Jaune moved forward and looked over the chess pieces sitting on the alters. "More than once. Which piece were you thinking?"

A happy-go-lucky red-head popped up on the other side, "I'm thinking the castle."

Jaune jumped back, his coat causing him to float for a moment as his aura reacted.

Looking back up, he found a girl with orange hair on the other side of the alter giggling at his reaction. She was dressed in a white sleeveless shirt, a pair of black shorts with a pink lightning bolt on either side, and a pair of calf-high, sky-blue boots. Standing next to her was a young man with dark hair pulled back into a pony tail. His attire resembled the style used by archers: single sleeve jacket, single leather bracer and glove, white/grey slacks, and simple boots. The calm demeanor and pink streak in his hair told them who this was.

But the orange haired girl introduced them anyway, "I'm Nora and this is Ren."

Ren bowed slightly, "Nice to meet you."

Nora jumped up and cheered, "We're in this one too! Maybe we get to be a team! Wait, where's Pyrrha?"

Ren had to remind her, "Different reality, remember?"

Jaune had stood back up and waved lightly, "I'm Jaune. This is Ruby."

Ruby waved to Nora, "Hello~!"

Nora had jumped up and was sitting on one of the alters with white rook piece in hand. She was purposefully sitting as though she was a queen atop her throne. "A pleasure."

A loud roar from the forest caught their attention. A duo of students was running a large Death Stalker. The first was the young heiress, Weiss Schnee. The other was a young faunas woman with black hair and a pair of cat ears. She was dressed in attire similar to her attire worn during the initiation they remember.

"Hey! It's Blake!"

Blake blinked for a moment, "Just… without the bow…"

The two continued to run until Weiss spun and used her sword to unleash a massive wall of ice to separate them from the creature, "That's won't hold long…"

Blake was panting and was just happy to have a moment, "It won't have to. Let's grab a relic and…" This is when she noticed the others. She raised her hand slightly in a weak wave, "Um… hi?"

As she spoke, a pair of bodies fell from the sky and on top of each other. The one that landed first was the blonde girl from the ship, Ruby's sister if memory serves. The other was the groaning form of Pyrrha Nikos.

"Oh! Okay, I think I see where things swapped up." Nora started to list them off, "No sword Jaune, Ruby and Pyrrha swapped places on the teams, Blake doesn't wear a bow…"

Yang chimed in, "A socially competent Ruby…"

The hooded student turned to her sister, "Hey!"

Looking up, the group saw a giant Nevermore circling around them. Jaune was dumbstruck. "Did… did they?"

Ruby nodded, "Sounds like something Yang would do…"

Ruby and Yang actually laughed at that, given Ruby was the one that hopped a ride on the Nevermore in their reality, but Yang admitted it sounded like a fun/crazy idea.

Jaune sighed, "I'm not even going to ask…" Jaune turned and picked up the white rook still resting on the alter. "Alright, let's get moving. Grab your relics and let's get back to the cliff!"

Yang and Pyrrha stood back up and nodded to each other. Yang moved over to grab the white knight piece. Blake and Weiss grabbed the corresponding piece and the eight teenagers started to move through the forest and back to the cliff face. Unfortunately, the route there was through a collapsing aqueduct. The Death Stalker and Nevermore had followed them as well, making the situation worse.

Nora had a look of nostalgia, "Good times~"

Sun looked at Nora like she was crazy, "Your initiation was insane…"

Weiss created another ice wall. "We need to find a way to get rid of these things. I'm running out of ice dust."

Jaune looked around to find a better route, but none made themselves seen. "We're going to have to fight them off."

Blake nodded, "Okay…" She looked up to the Nevermore. "If we can freeze its wings, that Nevermore will drop, and we won't have to worry as much. The Stalker will be more difficult."

Nora pulled a small maul of a war hammer from her belt. "Ren and I have experience with Death Stalkers." As she spoke, Ren grabbed a collapsible bow from his back and readied himself for a fight, notching an arrow from the quiver across his lower back.

Ruby turned toward Yang and Pyrrha, "Yang? Think you can hit the Nevermore?"

Yang grinned and slammed her fists together, "Easily."

Yang grinned. She knew she could hit the Nevermore easily. She had in her reality, after all.

But Neptune picked up something else, "Wait, didn't Weiss say they need to freeze the Nevermore?"

Yang paused, "Oh yeah… Then why ask me to…"

Yang unleashed her own gauntlets, revealing them to be a bright, ice blue. When she threw her punch, an icicle flew off toward the flying Grimm, hitting it square in the head.

"Okay… that would be why."

Pyrrha readied her rifle and placed in a clip of dust rounds. She fired three shots of concussive rounds toward the Nevermore to help her partner by limiting the beast's options. "Combined fire!"

Yang reared back and Pyrrha placed her rifle over Yang's shoulder. They both fired their weapons at the same time, combining the ice and concussive effects to spread the freezing power over a wider area.

"Holy crap! We're awesome!" Yang was having a field day seeing this.

Pyrrha was impressed but wanted to know how the two were so coordinated so quickly.

Pyrrha ran out of rounds and released her clip, "Yang, back up round!" As Yang reared back, she tossed another dust clip to Pyrrha. She replaced her magazine and the assault continued.

Jaune blinked in surprise. "How did…"

Ruby read his face and answered before he could finish, "They were friends from combat school."

Pyrrha almost shed a tear. A version of herself that wasn't up on this crazy pedestal? It was almost beautiful to her.

Ruby leveled her rifle/scythe toward the ice wall, waiting for it to fall. "You said there's dust in your gauntlets. Can you hit the Nevermore?"

"Not from this distance."

The ice wall began to crack as he spoke.

As that happened, Jaune continued to speak, "My weapons rely on my semblance, the ability to extend my aura and attach it to targets."

"Is it helpful?"

"It's good for keeping track of anything important."

The wall began to shatter and fall away.

"It also helps with things like this."

When the wall fell away, the Death Stalker started to attack. Jaune held his hand up in a finger-gun. He smirked and reeled his hand back, "Bang." A lavender ball of aura shot out from his finger and combined with dust in his gauntlet to create a small fireball. Once it hit the creature, it reared back. Nora used this jump up and slam her hammer into the creature's head, creating a localized bolt of lightning.

Nora went as starry eyed as Ruby, "Woah~!"

Ruby had to take a moment, though, "Wait, how did Jaune's aura shoot out and turn into fire?"

Weiss shook her head. "It's like with Blake using dust rounds to create elemental clones when she dodges attacks. Certain semblances can be used in tandem with dust to create a combined effect. Jaune stated his semblance allowed him to send his aura away from his body, thus the combined effect is the dust-powered aura bullet."

"Wow~!"

Ren pulled back and loosed an arrow into the Death Stalker's eye. As it recoiled, Nora jumped around and struck the tail's end, breaking the stinger. When she kicked off and landed, she spun around to act as leverage for Ren to jump up and strike with five arrows. Loosing all five, he hit the remainder of the eyes, causing the Grimm to flail in confusion and frustration.

Ruby had been charging her weapon the entire time. She had one shot.

Ruby was about to complain about the idea of one shot at any time in battle.

Ruby found her shot when the creature moved upward, its head now in clear view without anyone too close. She pulled the trigger and fired a powerful shot from her weapon, which ripped the creature's head apart from the force of the railgun.

Ruby paused, her thought never reaching speech, "Rail… gun?" Ruby knew about the theory of weaponized magnetism known as the railgun. It could fire metal projectiles at speeds to pierce through most armor types. But it was theoretical as to its actual applications. It was crazy! It was over-the-top. It was… a single tear fell from her eye, beautiful.

Jaune looked down at the weapon in shock. He started to nod, "Okay… Can you get the Nevermore with that thing?"

"Not for another couple of minutes. Until then, you're stuck with normal bullets."

Ruby's complaint was answered before she could ask.

Jaune thought for a second, looking up as the Nevermore started to descend. "I have an idea."

As the Nevermore landed, Pyrrha and Yang aimed for its wings to prevent take off, but they were running out of rounds. Weiss moved next to them with Blake on the other side. Taking their example, Weiss created an ice glyph and Blake started to unload her weapon into the Nevermore's feet. The camera showed as the Nevermore was getting pinned down by ice. It roared, trying to free itself from their attacks.

The camera zoomed back to show Jaune's gauntlets were glowing a bright yellow, his hands resting on Ruby's shoulders. Ruby's aura surged with electrical energy through Jaune's semblance and into her weapon. The railgun was now overcharged and ready to fire. With a pull of the trigger, the world went silent. Ruby's attack fired with the force of an artillery cannon and the speed of her railgun. The Nevermore's body suddenly had a giant hole in the center as the creature started to finally fall. The screen fading to white.

No one was ready to see that. But this time they weren't complaining. The scene that played out before them was an incredible show of power. Ruby was geeking out about the weapon and its force of impact. She wanted to know how it worked. Others had similar reactions, some with military application in mind.

When the scene returned, they saw the auditorium as teams began to line up and be welcomed into the school. Ozpin led the previous team away and addressed the next team, "Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Pyrrha Nikos, and Yang Xiao Long. From this point forward, you are team BLNS (Blanks), led by Blake Belladonna."

As Ozpin listed their achievements, Jaune and his new team were waiting in the wings. As they stood there, Glynda walked up behind them. "I must say, I'm rather impressed." The group turned to their teacher. "I look forward to teaching you all."

Ruby smiled, "I'm looking forward to learning!"

Glynda chuckled, "You are a treat, aren't you?"

Ironwood was surprised to see that. He had never seen or heard Glynda chuckle like that. It was a foreign concept to him.

Glynda had long placed two and two together and sighed. "Of course…"

The students turned back to her, "What?"

Glynda motioned for the group to approach the headmaster, "Good luck out there."

Jaune waved back as they moved toward Ozpin.

Ozpin looked them over and started to list their names. "Ruby Rose. Lie Ren. Nora Valkyrie." He paused a moment at Jaune. "Jaune Arcadius Goodwitch."

Everyone other than Ozpin and Glynda froze. Sun was the first to collect himself, "That explains a few things from this one…"

"From now on, you three will be team GRRN (Green). Led by Jaune Goodwitch." As Nora spun to hug Ren, Ozpin smiled, "This is going to be an interesting year indeed."