Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Yeah! Go Yang! That’s my sister!” Ruby cheered a bit louder than the rest of the audience as the blonde brawler won her bout. Yang was all smiles as she left her opponent humiliated and his aura in the red, making her way out of the ring.

“While I congratulate you on your win, Xiao Long, showing off like that is not necessary. Your goal should be to quickly disable your opponent, not play games with them.” Goodwitch’s stern voice chastised. “Now, our next spar will be between Thrush and Arc. Do not keep me waiting.”

“Kick some ass out there, vomit boy!” Yang patted him on the back as Jaune walked past her and towards the ring. His team, as well as Ruby, cheered him on as they watched him go. He couldn’t share in their excitement. It was only the second day of spars, and while Pyrrha had unlocked his aura for him, she couldn’t just transfer her fighting ability in the same way. He was a total beginner, and from what he had seen the day before, he was the only student to make it into beacon this year with no previous experience. Sure, there was quite a bit of variance in the others. Pyrrha was a champion fighter apparently, whatever that meant, and Weiss seemed to only have learned from private tutors. There was no way Pyrrha would lose in a fight between the two. But Weiss, unlike him, would be able to win against some opponents. He was outclassed by literally everyone here. He resigned himself to being a punching bag as he prepared to fight.

“Good. Now, the fight will end when one of you has your aura enter the red or- hold on a moment.” The instructor’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her scroll. “Arc. Would you mind explaining why your aura is so low?”

Confused by her question, he glanced at the display of their aura readings. While Russel’s was showing a full aura, his own was at roughly 60 percent.

“I- I don’t know.” His brows furrowed as he tried to think of the cause. “I haven’t used it at all since yesterday’s spar.” Having only recently unlocked his aura, he wasn’t sure if Pyrrha had forgotten to mention something to him, but he thought that unlikely. His partner didn’t seem the type to forget something important that would cause this.

But then the display changed. It wasn’t by a large amount. They only noticed because they were actively watching it, but his aura dipped slightly lower, right before their eyes. Goodwitch glared at him. “Arc?”

“I’m not doing anything, I swear!”

“Aura doesn’t just randomly drop for no reason. Perhaps… would you happen to know what your semblance is?”

“My semblance?” Despite his overall lack of knowledge on topics relevant to being a Huntsman, the various spars that he had seen so far and the initiation the other day had made him more than aware of a few semblances, even if he struggled to hide his surprise when seeing them for the first time. Pyrrha, being the great partner that she is, had graced him with an explanation when he quietly asked her later on. “I haven’t unlocked it yet, why?”

“I can think of no other cause for this. Xiao Long! As you have already finished your spar, you get the pleasure of escorting Arc to Dr. Oobleck’s office. We do not know if there are any other side effects to his current… condition , and I will not see him collapsing on the way there.”

Said escort rolled her eyes. “Ugh, laaaame. Come on vomit boy, I want to get back in time to see Pyrrha demolish someone.” His team looked on in worry as she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the halls. In any other situation, a girl as beautiful as Yang grabbing him and leading him away from the group would lead his teenage mind in rather obvious directions, but that was outweighed by more pressing concerns at the moment.

“Um, Yang, should I be worried? Why is she sending me to Oobleck? He’s a history teacher, I would have thought this is more of a nurse issue.” Jaune’s nerves started to get the better of him as he was pulled behind her.

“How should I know? I’ve been at this school as long as you have, and I’ve never seen whatever you have going on before.”

“Right, that makes sense, sorry… but she said something about my semblance didn’t she? You have yours unlocked, you really didn’t experience anything like this?”

“Randomly having my aura drained? Nope. Like I said, never seen anything like it, and I’ve seen quite a few people unlock their semblance back at Signal. Hopefully it’s nothing too bad, but just in case, you’re not allowed to die on me.”

“You care? You were just complaining about having to escort me.”

“No, but Ruby cares, and if you’ve got problems then I’ll have to deal with her moping about how she can’t save you from it or whatever. She’s kind of lacking in the friend department and you seem to have made a good impression on her.”

“Oh.” He wasn’t sure whether to be insulted by Yang’s words or glad that at least her sister liked him, but he didn’t have time to worry about it with their destination having been reached.

“She just mentioned an escort, I’m not sticking around, have fun!” She quickly ran back towards the combat class, leaving him alone before the office door.

“Ok. Oobleck. Excitable but if I was specifically sent to him…” Gathering his nerves, he knocked on the door, but before he could even get a second rap in, it was swinging open.

“Greetings Mr. Arc! Not that I am unhappy to see one of my students, but may I ask what you’re doing here at this time? I believe you should be with Glynda at the moment and she isn’t exactly someone that you want to upset, as I’m sure you well know already. That woman is quite the stickler for the rules and all.” He took a heavy sip of his coffee, his foot tapping as he stood in the doorway.

“Professor Goodwitch told me to come see you? There’s something wrong with my aura.”

“I see. Well, come in, come in, we best get down to it. I happen to be quite the researcher on the subject.”

After Jaune explained the situation, answered many follow up questions, and Oobleck scoured through various papers and reports he had on hand, as well as measuring Jaune’s aura himself, they found themselves sitting across from each other at the desk. The doctor’s many questions and frankly absurd speed had the boy feeling drained and a bit of a headache was coming on.

“Well Jaune, I think it is safe to say that the cause of your aura drainage is related to a semblance. Congratulations. Unfortunately, we have very little idea of what exactly your semblance is, and how to stop this drain. If you truly haven’t noticed anything odd, or out of place, then there really isn’t anything to go off of. I am going to recommend that you do not participate in any activities that may put a strain on your aura until we figure it out. Your aura should recover with proper rest, so assuming it doesn’t activate in your sleep, it should have returned to proper levels when you wake up in the morning. I want you to come see me then, or if, and when, you notice anything odd, so that we may gather more data and see if we can’t get your situation figured out. I’ll be sure to let the staff know.”

Jaune nodded, standing to leave. “Thank you sir, sorry ab-” Finally, I thought this would never end.

Jaune froze. Looking around for the source of the unfamiliar, but definitely male voice, he didn’t spot anyone at the door or near the window.

“Jaune? Are you alright?” Oobleck looked on in worry. Oh, come on! What now? Haven’t I suffered through enough of this? I guess I should consider myself lucky that Port isn’t the expert.

“Who is that?” Jaune asked, the worry was clear in his voice. Only the two of them were in the room, but he had definitely heard another voice. It almost sounded like they were inside my head…

WAIT. YOU CAN HEAR ME?!?!

Jaune startled, jumping out of his chair in a panic as the professor looked on in confusion.

Thank Christ, this has been unbearable. Look Jaune, I need you to focus for me.

Wait, wasn’t this just like a comic he had read? “Uh, Dr. Oobleck? Would you happen to know anyone with a telepathy semblance?”

“I’m afraid-” Really? A- “that such a semblance-” telepathy semblance? “isn’t registered at the school.” I mean I guess that’s actually- “Are you suggesting that-”  a pretty fair assumption- “you hear a voice-” on your part if you- “inside your head?” only just started to hear me…

The doctor looked a bit skeptical of the idea, yet excited at the same time. Jaune could only nod as he tried to listen to the professor over the voice in his head.

“I can’t understand you both at the same time!” Ah, sorry, must be pretty rough on you as well I guess, I’ll try to keep it down.

Oobleck waited for Jaune’s eyes to focus on him once more before speaking again. “Interesting. So, you’re hearing a voice that is not your own? What is it saying?”

“Uh… voice? Can you hear me?” Yeah, I can hear you just fine. I get your thoughts as well, just as an fyi, so try not to think anything too crazy or personal. Tell the doc that we’re gonna have to get Ozpin involved. Oobleck seems nice and all, but I have a feeling this is a little out of his wheelhouse.

Doing remarkably well in tampering his internal freak out, Jaune focused very hard on not revealing to the stranger all of his embarrassing secrets. “He says that he can hear my thoughts, and that we need to get Ozpin, because he would know more?”

“He? A distinctly male voice then? I suppose if the occupier is external that narrows things down quite a bit. This is certainly troubling, but I’m afraid I can’t see how Ozpin would have a greater expertise in this subject. The man is very good at what he does, but to my knowledge his studies into semblances do not exceed my own in depth or quality. What is the reasoning behind going to him? Not that I think it’s a bad idea, of course, something like this is best brought to the headmaster’s attention regardless.” Oobleck had pulled out a fresh notepad, scribbling notes down at a mile a minute as he spoke.

Jaune paused for a moment, listening to the voice. “What? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Come now, Mr. Arc, I can’t help you very much if I don’t have all the details here, share what he’s told you even if it sounds outrageous.”

“He says… a-and I’m quoting here, that secretive little parasite has a lot of experience in being a disembodied voice inside of a younger man’s head. I need tips on how to separate our thoughts and as far as I know, there are only two ways to get that information. The second is a whole can of worms that I don’t want to get into. That genie can stay in the bottle…”

“That is both very interesting, and seemingly nonsensical. Is it speaking in some sort of code? Is it a riddle? It would seem that the only way to solve this puzzle is to go along with the request! Come, Mr. Arc, I haven’t been this invested in a mystery since Glynda hid the coffee supplies last year! Ozpin should be in his office at the moment, hopefully he isn’t too busy!” The man was a whirlwind of activity as he gathered up all of the relevant notes and ushered Jaune out the door and down the hall towards the elevator.

A bit of a heads up Jaune, because as far as i can tell you’re just the poor bastard stuck with me, and not the one responsible. When we talk to Ozpin… don’t repeat every thought you get from me. This is a bit of a minefield you’re about to cross, and I really don’t want you killed. A hint of caution would be best.

With that terrifyingly ominous warning, it was too late to back out. While he was listening to the voice, Oobleck had brought him into the elevator and the doors were closing.

“I can’t believe I’d rather be getting my ass kicked in Goodwitch’s class right now…”

Chapter Text

When Jaune entered Ozpin’s office, the man was behind his desk, not seeming to be working on anything, just staring him down with a cup of steaming coffee hiding the lower half of his face.

The elevator isn’t silent so it’s no surprise he heard us coming, but shouldn’t there be some level of ignorance on who’s visiting? Not a hint of surprise on his face at the fact that a student in Goodwitch’s class and a professor who should be in his own office are showing up together. I wonder if there are hidden cameras in the elevator. Guess that wouldn’t be too surprising with a guy like this…

Jaune did his best to ignore the intruder in his head, hoping his nerves at being dragged to the headmaster’s office weren’t too obvious. Neither of them said a word, seemingly waiting for the other to make the first move.

“Pardon the interruption, but I am afraid we have a bit of a situation on our hands that requires your attention!” Luckily for Jaune, Oobleck didn’t seem to care for any sort of tension. Ozpin took one last sip of his coffee before responding.

“I see. It’s not often that my students make their way here so early into their education, Mr. Arc. What is it that I can help you two with?”

But when Jaune opened his mouth to explain, Oobleck stopped him, holding a hand up. “Before we begin, I must ask if you understand the meaning behind a rather peculiar phrase that was shared with us. It has us rather confused, and we were wondering if you might enlighten us.”

If Oobleck wanted to control the flow of the conversation, Jaune wasn’t about to stop him. The warning he had gotten earlier had him on his toes, worrying about what exactly Ozpin would do to him if he said the wrong thing. Sure, he was in one of the most prestigious positions in the world, and his reputation seemed pretty good from what Jaune had heard, but being told that a man might kill you made you question things like that.

Would you relax? You’re stressing me out. I’ll tell you what to say so you don’t screw anything up. Damn teenagers.

But with this complaint unheard outside of his mind, the conversation moved on. At the strange request, Ozpin raised an eyebrow before nodding in confirmation.

The doctor consulted his notes, reading off “That secretive little parasite has a lot of experience in being a disembodied voice inside of a younger man’s head.”

It might have been his imagination, but Jaune could have sworn he saw the headmaster stiffen ever so slightly at those words.

It’s not your imagination, he’s panicking. You two aren’t meant to know about that and now he’s stuck between wondering if he’s about to be attacked or if Oobleck is genuinely asking him about the meaning. Though I’m impressed with the doc. I thought for sure he would just rattle off everything you told him blindly, but it seems he’s taking some of it at face value and assessing Ozpin as a potential threat before giving him all the info.

A potential threat? Jaune hadn’t shared the voice’s concerns of murder with Oobleck.

I directly referred to Ozpin as a parasite invading the minds of younger men. How is that not a threat when the man runs a school? Although I suppose with the way I framed it, it might be a bit more concerning than the reality of the situation.

Ozpin set his coffee down. “That is certainly an interesting one. May I ask where you got it from? I’ve not heard that line before.”

With Jaune’s eyes focused on the headmaster, he’d not noticed how Oobleck had stiffed as well. “You’ve not heard that particular line before, but it would seem that you understand it none-the-less. Forgive me, but I’m afraid I’ll have to ask that you explain what it means before I reveal my source.”

With a heavy sigh, Ozpin stood from his chair. “You always were an observant one, Bart.”

“But of course. I am a huntsman, a scholar, and an educator. I find that observational skills are quite the boon to have in one’s arsenal. And with the lack of context, I’m sure you can see why I’m concerned.”

“Indeed, such a statement on its own could be construed in quite a concerning way. But you’re playing with fire at the moment, and I must know where this information came from.”

Was he always like this? At this rate they’re gonna get in a fight and everything will become a mess. Guess it’s my time to shine. Repeat after me, Jaune.

“W-we’re all on the same side, Ozma. Relax and talk this out before somebody does something they regret.”

The room froze. Oobleck, despite knowing the source of those lines, was only left with another piece of the puzzle when a new name was added into the mix. Ozpin, on the other hand, only had his worries increase.

“Ozma? You would do well to learn the names of your instructors properly, Mr. Arc. My name is Oz- pin .”

“Could you not be paranoid for 5 minutes, please? Walking into your office with one of your employees and a student with basically no combat experience isn’t exactly a threat. We need your help, and you could use ours. Now let’s calm down and stop acting like somebody is about to die.” Jaune was drenched in sweat by the time he finished, his nerves getting the better of him. He was not prepared to be talking down his headmaster from attacking him, especially so early into his time at Beacon.

Oobleck put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I have to agree with the young man. I’m not entirely sure of what’s going on, but with that reaction? I think you need to start explaining. We’ve worked together for years, Ozpin. I like to think I can trust you, but now I have concerns.”

Ozpin sat back down, but his grip on his cane was white knuckled. “I would like to trust you as well, Bart. I have trusted you for years. But I can not continue this conversation without knowing where this information is coming from.”

And now we get to the fun part. Buckle up, kid. This is where things get dangerous.

Jaune’s face paled. That wasn’t the dangerous part?! But a reassuring look from Oobleck had him speak up once more. “I… there’s a voice in my head. It said we needed to talk to you. That you could help us.”

Ozpin’s grip loosened. “A voice in your head?”

“Yes, sir. He says…” Jaune paused for a moment, listening to the voice, “ it seems that you’re not the only cursed one here. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. I’m only forcing your hand here because you’re going to need more allies in the near future.”

Ozpin’s displeasure was obvious, but he seemed a lot calmer now. Why would that calm him down?

Because with how crazy your explanation sounds, it would be a horrible cover story for his enemies. So you’re either incompetent henchmen he doesn’t have to worry quite so much about, or you’re being serious, either of which is an improvement.

Oobleck took his hand off Jaune’s shoulder, taking a more relaxed stance. Or, as relaxed as the man could get with his boundless energy, anyway. The room was silent for a moment as Ozpin gathered his thoughts.

“I suppose… that this voice has a point. But I am left with many questions. I will answer yours if you answer mine. Does that sound acceptable?”

“It sounds more than fair,” Oobleck spoke up, “but I must ask that we must go back to the beginning. In what way are you a parasite?”

The man seemed to sag at that question. “I would prefer that you not use that term, but there seems to be no escaping it. When I was a young man, younger than Mr. Arc here, I too discovered a voice that was not my own one day. Telling me things that I could not know. Names of people I had not met. The origin of the voice was never discovered, but I adapted to the situation. Got used to it. And then… well, eventually it seemed that our minds… merged in a way. The man you see before you today is neither completely Ozpin, nor completely Ozma, as the voice came to be known. I am a blend of the two, but obviously I kept the name Ozpin to keep things simple both for myself and people who knew me.”

The air in the room was heavy as they digested that information, as Jaune found yet another thing to worry about.

Relax, kid. First of all, the parts of that which aren’t lies are only true in the broadest sense of the word. Secondly, your situation and his are different. I’m not gonna take over your mind or whatever, you’ll stay you. Not that we’re gonna clarify that for them at the moment, I just need to make sure that my issues get solved without laying all of the cards on the table for a manipulative bastard like him.

But the professor was not one to let things stay quiet for long. “That is… quite concerning. There was not much time between the appearance of the voice in Jaune’s head and our arrival here, but compounded with the other issues he is experiencing, my running theory was that it was his semblance. Could the two phenomena be unrelated?”

“Other issues? What else has happened?”

“Mr. Arc was sent to my office because his aura was draining for no discernable reason. I’ve gone over just about everything I can think of, and if this voice is similar to this… Ozma , you speak of, then it would not be his semblance, but simply another problem that has cropped up for him.”

Speak up kid, it’s time to play some word games.

“U-um!” The adults in the room turned to look at him. “Actually, he said that he is my semblance. His presence is the reason for my aura drain, so our situations are a bit different. He just wanted to get advice on how to separate our minds because he’s…” his face turned red before he managed to continue, “-sick of hearing the thoughts of a teenage boy. And obviously being a constant drain on my aura is going to cause problems.”

Oobleck lit up at the explanation, his pen blazing a trail through his notes. “That certainly makes things simpler! Having my hypothesis proven correct is always rewarding. But I do find it interesting that he is aware of the fact that he is a semblance. I’ve no recollection of such a thing ever occurring, at least not in any capacity that was documented.”

“I’m afraid that I’ve never seen such a thing either. It has been… quite some time since I had to worry about keeping thoughts separated, so I’m afraid I can’t give you any advice off the top of my head, Jaune. I will try to compile a list of exercises that may help you and send it to your scroll later today. Why don’t you get back to your classes for now, while Dr. Oobleck and I come up with some ideas. I think the two of us have much to discuss.” The headmaster and professor shared a meaningful look.

That’s his way of politely asking you to get out so he can induct the doc into his little secret society and start plotting against us. Would be too easy for him to just tell me the answer, the bastard. I guess we’ll just have to take him at his word and hope that he pulls through with some ideas.

“Y-yes, sir! Thank you both for your help, I’ll let you know if anything else comes up.” He quickly scrambled back to the elevator, spamming the button to close the door.

With the student gone from the office, Ozpin took off his glasses with a sigh. “I do not like to involve my students in more complicated manners, and I am… slow to trust. But I will correct that mistake today, Bart. You deserve better than what I have given you.”

“I can understand wanting to be secretive about what you have said so far, but I have a feeling that there is a lot more to the situation than what you’ve told that young man.”

“Yes. You might want to sit down for once. A very long time ago, when the moon was still whole, and the Gods were still present, there was a woman named Salem…”

“What the hell just happened?! You said Ozpin could help but it looked like there was gonna be a fight to the death or something!”

The elevator ride down from Ozpin’s tower was not a silent one.

Eh. Didn’t go as well as I hoped, but turned out better than I expected. I’m calling that a win. We lied to him, he lied to us, and now we’ll have to watch our backs, but honestly him being more paranoid than usual in the coming months is a good thing.

“Better than expected?! And what do you mean we lied to him, I didn’t lie… wait, did you make me lie?”

Yeah, I made sure that Oobleck came because I thought for sure there was gonna be a throw down and we’d have to pull out all sorts of secrets to get him to listen to us, if he did at all. No offense, but if Ozpin tried to fight and it was just you? Well, you might have lasted two seconds if you were lucky. As far as the lying goes, we kind of have to. If he gets all the information and starts trying to manipulate us it’s not gonna end well. Sorry if I don’t trust the guy responsible for Ruby and Yang’s messed up family.

“That’s what you expected and you still told me to walk in there?! Wait, what’s wrong with their family?”

Let’s just say that not everyone got as good of an upbringing as you, at least for the moment. And I get that this is new and scary, but you signed up at Beacon. Well, forged your way into Beacon, but still. The life of a Huntsman is not always a pleasant one. People die. Better to get you used to some stress now while we’re sorting out our teething problems than to let you get overwhelmed when it really matters.

“It’s the first week! I know that this is dangerous, but outside of the mess that was initiation, I thought I’d have some time to learn before getting thrown into situations like that.”

Fine. I’m sorry for almost getting your ass kicked or whatever. I’ll make it up to you.

“And how exactly are you going to make it up to me? You’re a voice in my head who has done nothing but cause me problems by existing.”

Jaune, I know you’re not the brightest, but come on.

“Rude!”

I just had Ozpin freaking out by revealing some of his most closely held secrets. I have knowledge.

“And I’m meant to just trust the things you say? I don’t know anything about you. I don’t even know your name! Do you even have a name?”

Damn. You’ve got me there. Call me… actually can we come back to that one? Referring to your semblance by a normal name would be weird, right? Like those freaks who give their dogs people names. We should come up with something cool.

“You’re dodging the question! The way you phrased that makes it sound like you just don’t want me to know your real name.”

Look kid, if you drop it right now, I’ll give you advice on how to deal with girls. You like Weiss or whatever, right?

“That sounds like a bribe.”

It is a bribe. But you’ve already used forged documents, you’re not exactly an upstanding citizen yourself.

“...do you really think you can help me get Weiss to go out with me?”

Ehhh, maybe not Weiss, but I can definitely help you get a girlfriend. Probably. We’ll see. But in exchange, you stop asking uncomfortable questions.

“I feel like I might come to regret this, but… you have yourself a deal, mysterious voice who refuses to identify himself.”

Being referred to as just a voice is  getting old real quick. Maybe your little friends can help us workshop name ideas.

“...I’m going to have to convince them that hearing a voice in my head doesn’t make me crazy, aren’t I?”

You didn’t have any problem making the doc think you were crazy. If it weren’t for me sparking his curiosity, he’d probably be looking into having you checked for schizophrenia. And then you went and blindly parroted what I wanted to Ozpin… honestly, you might be crazy, even if I’m not the reason for it.

“Maybe this is all a nightmare. I got knocked out in Goodwitch’s class and I’ll wake up soon.”

If only we were so lucky.

Chapter Text

“That is so cool! I want a voice in my head! Can I borrow yours Jauney?”

Nora seemed to be the only one taking the news positively. With teams RWBY and JNPR having sat at the same table for a meal, he had been forced to explain the problem with his aura, which of course meant telling them that he was hearing a voice. It would be difficult to hide something like that with how distracting it was at times.

I’m not exactly happy with this arrangement either!

“If you can figure out how to take mine, you can keep it.”

Now that’s just rude. Being stuck in your head is bad enough, and you want to pawn me off on Nora? I do NOT need to know what goes through her head.

“So on top of your issues with your aura, you’re schizophrenic? And the staff just sent you on your way? How utterly irresponsible.” Weiss, in her own, very Schnee-like way, ignored Nora and showed some concern. Or at least I hope that it’s concern?

Dude, don’t lie to yourself. She’s concerned about the image of the prestigious school she’s attending, not your well being. You also seem to be ignoring the part where she just called you a schizo. I know you think she’s cute and all, but come on.

Ruby elbowed her partner in the side. “Weiss! Don’t worry about her, Jaune. I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to fix… this.” She vaguely gestured at all of him. If not for how genuinely kind and positive she always seemed to be, it might be taken as an insult.

It’s the sincerity that makes it hurt more.

Yang grinned, clearly running with the insulting interpretation. “I’m not sure there’s a way to fix that, Rubes. Being Vomit Boy was bad enough, but now you’ve lost your marbles? At this rate you might have our uncle beat, and he’s got a semblance that literally gives him bad luck.”

I’m vetoing any names that Yang might offer in advance. Her track record isn’t great. I mean come on, you lose your lunch one time and now you’re stuck as Vomit Boy?

Pyrrha’s fists slammed into the table, causing everyone seated there, as well as the surrounding area, to stop and look at her. “I can’t believe you all. Jaune is not… crazy, or anything like that. There’s nothing wrong with him! Surely the drain on his aura is proof enough that he’s not imagining it? He just has to learn to control his semblance, like the rest of us did. I highly doubt anyone here had perfect control as soon as they unlocked their own.” She looked around the table, daring anyone to claim otherwise.

Damn. That’s a pretty strong reaction for someone who’s only known you for a few days. Could it really have started this early? I get that you don’t put her on a pedestal but that’s still rather fast for it to get this bad…

In the silence that followed, Ren’s calming voice broke the tension. “I want to believe that what Jaune’s claiming is true, but it is a difficult pill to swallow. I’ve not heard of anything like it, and the only evidence we have is the drain on his aura. Semblances can be extremely varied, even just taking into account the ones at this table, but, counting the ones I’ve seen in action, they all have an effect that others can verify for themselves beyond simply using aura to function.”

Blake’s book was finally set down. “Unless there is a way to prove it, and Jaune just hasn’t shared, or possibly discovered yet? You haven’t told us what this supposed voice of yours is saying to you. Is it anything noteworthy?”

Everything I say is noteworthy, you little- “Uh,” Jaune cut him off. “Well, it mostly seems to complain,” HEY “but it kinda… knows things?”

He was met with several flat looks. “It knows things.” Weiss rolled her eyes at him. “And what exactly does it know , you simpleton?”

“Like, secret things, I guess. I don’t really get it. Ozpin kinda freaked out when I repeated something the voice had told me-” several faces lit up at the potential of gossip, “-that I will not be sharing here! I feel dirty even knowing, and I think he’d expel me or worse if I went blabbering…”

Yeah, I wouldn’t go around sharing that sort of info willy-nilly. Not this early on anyway. Though you’re gonna have to share something to prove it to them, ask for a volunteer so there’s no hurt feelings.

Pyrrha seemed to have the same idea. “So you could prove it by sharing a secret involving one of us, right?”

“Yeah, but um, like I said before, Ozpin kind of freaked out, and I don’t exactly have any control over what he tells me, so do any of you maybe want to volunteer to have a secret spilled?”

Blake buried her face back into her book, obviously not about to agree, but Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, and Ruby all raised their hands. Ruby shot her teammates a look. “Guys! Come on!”

Her sister shook her head. “I’m not saying that I believe this is real, but on the off chance that it is? I’m more surprised that so many of you agreed.”

“I do not hold many secrets. Even if it was something terribly embarrassing, I trust that Jaune would not share something like that with everyone. He could just whisper it into the ear of whoever it is about.” Ren nodded towards Jaune, showing his support. The group all turned towards him again, waiting for the blonde to make his case.

Hmm. Something people don’t know, but also won’t cause an uproar… how about this then?

“ Pyrrha’s semblance is Polarity. It allows her to control the magnetism of metallic objects .”

The redhead’s eyes widened in shock before her face lit up. “That’s correct! Is that proof enough for the rest of you? The only people who would know about that at Beacon are the staff, and even then I’m not sure how many of them would both have access to our records and bother to look at everyone’s semblances.” As she confirmed the information to be accurate, most of the group found themselves looking at Jaune in a new light.

But Weiss’ eyes narrowed. “Pyrrha. Have you used your semblance at all since arriving in Beacon? Or maybe during a public match before you got here?”

Oh come on! Forever Fall! It’s supposed to be revealed at Forever Fall!

Jaune’s partner paused for a moment. “I suppose I used it during the initiation, but never overtly. I prefer a more subtle approach, so that I can always have it as a surprise if I truly need it. I’ve never used it brazenly enough that people would notice if they didn’t know about it in advance.”

What do you mean you used it at initiation?! I don’t remember that!

Yang rolled her eyes at that remark. “Geez, brag some more why don’t you. I’ll make you use it and then beat you into the ground, just you wait.”

“Yang! Don’t pick fights with our friends! But, um-” Ruby glanced around the table nervously, “I think what Weiss is saying is that even if the rest of us didn’t, Jaune could have noticed and just not said anything. Not that I doubt him or anything!”

You should. You definitely should.

“Our fearless leader is totally awesome enough to notice that! But if Weiss is still daring to doubt him while she’s within striking distance, then he can just do another one!” Nora cracked her knuckles, looking ready to jump over the table at a moment’s notice.

If Nora didn’t have her whole thing with Ren then I’d be setting you up with her. Would do a lot for your confidence issues.

“Ruby’s warning goes to you as well, Nora. But I suppose it couldn’t hurt to have another example…” Ren tried to wrangle his partner as he spoke.

“Right! Um, sure, just one second.”

What do you kids think this is? I’m not like Jinn, just waiting for people to- ugh. Whatever. Fine.

“Ruby,” the group's attention focused on their youngest member, “the uncle that Yang mentioned earlier, with the bad luck semblance. Is his name Crow?” Her eyes lit up, but before she could verbally confirm the statement Jaune was egged on to continue by the voice. “Also, apparently it’s spelled weird? With a Q instead of a C. He uses a mechashift scythe, like you do.”

“Ohmygosh, yes! That is so cool!” She stuck her tongue out at her partner. “See Weiss? Even if he heard me or Yang talking about uncle Qrow, which he didn’t , how would he have known that it’s spelled with a Q? The voice is totally real and awesome!”

The girl in question scowled, but a tint of red was brought to her cheeks. “I- just because I can’t think of a method right now doesn’t mean that this isn’t some sort of trickery! I won’t be made a fool like the rest of you when it’s revealed that he’s a fraud.” Gathering her things, she left the table in a huff, exiting the cafeteria.

“Someone really needs to remove the stick up her-” Yang’s commentary was muffled by her sister covering her mouth, but the brawler was easily able to remove the offending hand. “I wasn’t going to say anything bad! Probably. But, eh-” she turned towards the other blonde at the table, “I guess you really showed me. Can’t really argue with evidence like that, with him being my uncle and all. But now that we know for sure that it’s the real deal…” An almost manic glint was in her eyes. “This little voice of yours could tell us all sorts of juicy stuff, right?! Think about it! All the gossip you could ever ask for, answers to all the tests-”

“Our deepest, darkest secrets that we don’t want people to know.” Blake interrupted her partner. “If Jaune can suddenly know anything about anyone, that would mean that no secret is safe.” The table’s good mood dampened a bit with that idea.

Why you paranoid little- She’s gonna make everyone distrust you if we don’t fix this right now. I’m not some monster that’s gonna go spilling everyone’s secrets left and right. Even if I wanted to, I can’t! Kind of. Repeat after me.

“ That’s not how it works. The voice knows a lot of things, but it isn’t all knowing. Its knowledge is limited. And even with the things that it does know, the voice knowing something, and me knowing something, are two separate things. ”

His partner was the first to speak up after that. “Then what are the limitations? You’ve learned stuff about Ozpin, Ruby’s uncle Qrow, and myself so far. That’s quite the range of people, at least in my eyes.”

There was a pause as Jaune waited for the voice’s response. “The thing that they have in common is a relation to me. You’re my partner, Ozpin is the headmaster of the school I attend, and Qrow… I’m going to meet Qrow soon?”

Nora leapt up from her seat. “You can see the future?! Tell me all about future me! Do I become even more amazing? Am I married? Do the lowly peasants of the land all bow down to me as their supreme leader?!”

I supposed I walked right into that one, didn’t I? I’ve gotta work on that so I don’t completely screw things up…

The excitable ginger’s partner forced her back into her seat before asking Jaune a question. “If your semblance knows the future, would that mean that we’re stuck on an unchanging path and free will doesn’t exist?”

Ruby looked aghast at the mere idea. “No way! That can’t be right, I totally choose my own future! If it’s all set in stone then…”

Her teammate chose to console her, but surprisingly it wasn’t her sister. “It would depend on what theory you subscribe to, and exactly how Jaune’s semblance works. I’m only going based off of what I’ve read of course, but there are several trains of thought in regards to how time travel, or in this case, seeing the future, would actually work if it was real. What Ren suggested is a possibility, with every event being set in stone, and people who see the future being cursed to know the fate that awaits them, but being unable to change it. But there’s also the possibility that time is branching, with every choice that’s made creating a whole other world, in a sense.”

Her partner gave her an unimpressed look. “You wanna explain that in a way that makes sense to the rest of us?”

Jaune took over the explanation from there, guided by the voice in his head. “ As an example, take this apple. ” He held up the fruit provided with his lunch. “ According to the theory that Blake just described, the world that we exist in is one where I choose to take a bite out of it. ” He did so, revealing the off-white insides. “ However, me taking a bite of the apple was a choice that I made. In the moment that I did so, I could have chosen to not take a bite, and instead offer it to Nora. If we subscribe to this theory, that choice created a branch in the timeline. Two branching paths for two choices, both existing at the same time, but each unaware of the other. Of course, if you extrapolate, this would be true for every possibility, meaning that there are an infinite number of alternate worlds that differ from our own as little as one different choice, but could also be so different that it would be completely unrecognizable because some significant choice was made differently a long time ago. In this scenario, rather than none of our choices mattering, it would mean that every choice that anyone has ever made matters. ”

The group listened, obviously surprised by his knowledge of the subject, even if they knew that he was probably being fed the answer by his new semblance. “ Of course, these are only two theories, and there are many more that we could get into. But I would recommend against the one Ren proposed, nihilism isn’t any fun. The part of this that is important to the conversation is that the semblance in question is aware of a few possible futures, not all of them, and the more this reality deviates from the futures already ‘known’, if you will, the less reliable any sort of prediction becomes. Unless this reality follows one of those paths directly one to one, there will be a point in time where any of the supposed ‘future knowledge’ becomes completely useless, if not a hindrance, because it’s just not true anymore.”

That was a lot of information to process, especially for those who had done no previous reading on the topic, which included Jaune himself.

But we should probably distract them before anyone else gets some ‘genius’ idea in their head…

“It’s getting kind of annoying to refer to it as ‘the voice’ or ‘my semblance’ or whatever, especially since he talks to me, but I’m kind of struggling with a name. Do you guys have any ideas?”

If any of them caught on to the fact that it was a forced topic change, they didn’t say so, instead throwing out the first ideas that came to mind.

“Second Thoughts?” 

“Eavesdropper.” 

“Future Visions.” 

“Inner Monologue?”

“Abstract Thoughts.”

“Nora Two!” When the group looked at the one to suggest it, she simply shrugged. “What? Jauney can name his semblance whatever he wants, and I think that would be a great name!”

Maybe Isekai Mirai? Nah, nobody else would get that here…

Jaune was a bit overwhelmed with all of the suggestions given to him at once. “I guess I’ll have to sleep on it…”

Chapter Text

“You want me to spy on some kids? I’m willing to do a lot for you Ozpin, but I have to draw a line somewhere. I think activity that might get me put on certain lists is fair game for that.” For once, Qrow didn’t punctuate his remark with a swig from his ever present flask.

“I am not asking you to ‘spy on some kids’, Qrow. I am asking you to monitor a potential enemy agent who spends quite a bit of time with your nieces. Surely you can see the sense in keeping an eye on him.” Ozpin looked out of the window of his tower, down onto the students going about their day.

“And what reason do you have to believe that Mr. Arc is a ‘potential enemy agent’ as you put it?” Oobleck may have been made aware of the dangers lurking in the shadows, but he was an educator first and foremost, one who cared about his students. “Mr. Branwen here has a semblance that some would consider the epitome of just how unique and abstract they can be. If he can cause bad luck wherever he goes, I do not think it so strange that the young man in question is able to hear a voice in his head that tells him secrets. And beyond that, an alcoholic of his age doesn’t exactly have an excuse to hang around teenagers for an extended period of time, even if two of those students are family. No offense, Mr. Branwen.”

“Some taken, but I get it.”

“I used the word ‘potential’ for a reason, Bart.” Ozpin turned towards the others as he spoke. “It is not that I believe he is actively working for Salem or her allies, it is that constantly hearing a voice tell him things could very easily lead to him being… influenced. His father is a good man, and I see many of the qualities that made his father a quality huntsman in the boy as well. But I allowed him into the school with his forged transcripts because I believed Beacon could mold him into the best version of himself.”

“You let him in with forged transcripts?” Qrow gave the man an incredulous look, but Ozpin ignored him.

“I had not anticipated that for every minute of positive instruction we may give him, there may be hours that he would be given instructions that could work in the opposite direction as well. Mr. Arc is the only person who can hear the words of his semblance. We have no way of knowing if it would lead him down a dangerous path, not until it’s too late.”

“That is not an excuse to have a man spy on him. He deserves privacy the same as any other student! We know who Ms. Belladonna’s parents are, that she was previously a member of the White Fang, and yet we do not spy on her, now do we? And that is as it should be. We trust our students to make good decisions, and only punish them after they have strayed from that path.”

“Wait, you’ve got White Fang members attending Beacon?” Qrow was once again ignored.

“We are not talking about the White Fang. We are talking about a boy who knows things that he should not. He is not someone I have known and worked with for years, someone I know that I can trust. He decided to come to Beacon, he wants to become a Huntsman. But if the voice in his head is an entirely separate entity, how can we know that their goals align? That he will not be manipulated into serving the interests of someone else? We can’t. However, if we were to have someone keep tabs on him, make sure that he isn’t getting up to anything untoward, at least until some level of trust is built…”

“Do you truly think that any level of trust can be built when you’re actively spying on him? Do you do this for everyone you meet? Was I spied on? What about Glynda or Peter or the headmasters of the other schools? After all, we directly influence the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses, why wouldn’t you spy on all of us? We could potentially be working against you.”

“Hey now, it’s not like that and you know it Oobleck, Oz wouldn’t-”

“The more we speak about your secrets, the more you start to sound like James. I have respect for you, but I’m not sure that I can respect your methodology. I… I think it would be best if I were to cool my temper before we continue. Good day.” The doctor pressed the button for the elevator, leaving the pair behind.

“Why am I even here if I’m just going to be ignored for the whole meeting?” Qrow threw his head back, downing his entire flask in one go.

Ozpin sighed, taking a seat at his desk. “I apologize, Qrow. You know how these things can be. Can I trust that you’ll look into the boy for me?”

“...I suppose. But something’s been bothering me. If this semblance of his knows your secrets, what’s to stop it from telling him that I’m keeping an eye on him?”

“As far as I can tell? Nothing. But it came to me, asking for advice, so it is not omniscient . We can only hope that its limitations mean that it won’t be alerted.”

“I really hope this doesn’t come back to bite us, Oz…” Qrow opened the window, stepping out and falling out of sight.

“-tattletale, and parallel mind.” Jaune found himself going over the list of names the team had come up with the following day, still undecided.

Hmmm. I don’t think any of them are exactly bad names, except maybe Nora’s suggestions. Second Thoughts is my pick though. Clever, rolls off the tongue, hints at the reality of the situation without being obvious if you just knew the name. Who came up with that one again?

“I think it might have been Blake? With all of them shouting over each other it was kind of hard to tell though. But I agree on that one being the best of the bunch, so we’ll go with that. Unless you feel like revealing your real name?”

I thought we agreed to no more uncomfortable questions, at least from you.

“We did, but you’re the one who suggested Cassandra! That’s not a semblance name, that’s a person’s name!”

I can’t help that our thoughts are still spilling over! I only thought of that one because of an old story where a woman named Cassandra predicted the future and was ignored or something like that. Been a while since I heard it so don’t quote me on any details.

“Fine then, keep your stupid secrets. Some semblance you are…” Jaune grumbled, “Hopefully that list of exercises Ozpin sent us will help with the separation, though I don’t really understand them. How is mediation meant to do anything?”

Honestly? I don’t get it either. But he’s the only one who would have any clue, so it’s follow his advice, or we resort to literal guesswork. I’ve never tried any of this stuff, so I suppose I can’t exactly knock it without putting in a serious effort, even if our first attempts didn’t yield results.

“How could you have tried it? You haven’t even existed for a week.”

Right. Yes. You’re totally correct, I should have thought of that.

“When you say it like that I don’t believe you.”

Well I don’t care what you- OH! A convenient distraction! I need you to look at the wall over there, next to the window. Don’t say anything!

With no other options if he wanted his mental roommate to shut up when he needed his head quiet, Jaune found himself staring at a blank wall, wondering how exactly does this count as a distraction?

Quit complaining. While I’m stuck in here I’m limited to your senses, if you can’t see something neither can I. I thought I had heard… aha! There you are, you dusty old bird!

A bird? You’re distracted by a bird?

It’s a special bird! One of the alcoholic variety.

How can a bird be an alcoholic? Can birds even drink alcohol?

Look Jaune, birds aren’t real. They’re sent by the authorities to spy on you.

What on Remnant are you talking about?

First of all, I’m not talking about anything. We’re thinking , genius. Secondly, I mean that bird right there, the one looking at us through the window, is spying on us. What’s so confusing about that?

Jaune, very much done with Second Thought’s shenanigans, proceeded to stand, sending a message to his team that he’d meet up with them soon.

Come on! You have to let me have a little fun here. It’s kind of boring being stuck in your head, you know. I have to sit through all these garbage lectures, watch you get your butt kicked, hear all of your cringey teenage thoughts. This could be considered a form of torture.

“The torture is me having to put up with you. Why couldn’t I get a cool semblance like… well, basically any of the others I’ve seen?”

I’ll admit that some semblances are cooler than me, but not all of them. That’s just mean. I’m way cooler than Mettle or Misfortune. Also, why are you physically speaking? Isn’t one of the biggest bonuses of me being in your head the fact that we don’t need verbal communication?

“We’re having a conversation, it feels weird to not be speaking to you.”

Well you better get over the weirdness real quick. That’ll be a liability in the field, and I kind of need you alive for my continued existence. Presumably, anyway.

“What difference does it make against Grimm? They don’t seem like they can understand what we say. Or maybe they just don’t care? Either way, I’ll definitely be talking to my team, even when we’re fighting.”

I’m not talking about fighting Grimm. I’m talking about fighting other people.

“Why would I fight other people? Huntsmen fight Grimm. That’s like, the whole point.”

Because when shit goes- I mean, you have to fight people all the time! You fight other people in combat class don’t you? And when the Vytal Festival rolls around you’ll be doing team combat with the other schools.

“But that’s just training, isn’t it?”

Look, you’ve heard how Ruby got into Beacon, right?

“She fought some criminals? Stopped a robbery?”

Yes, exactly. She stopped Torchwick and some goons from robbing a dust store. Goodwitch showed up part way through and assisted. The ideal is that you fight against monsters. The reality isn’t always that pretty. I can’t say for sure, but I imagine that’s why you guys do so much training against each other. Fighting a person and fighting the Grimm are two very different things, especially if those people are trained just as well, if not better than you are.

“I guess when you put it like that it makes sense, but I never saw my dad fighting other people…”

You didn’t exactly grow up in a crime ridden area though, did you?

“Well… no… I guess I see your point.”

Good. In that case, start working on thinking to me, instead of speaking to me. Also, when we meet up with your team you’re gonna ask Pyrrha for extra training. Not that you can really start it until we get the aura drain thing figured out, but it’s good to be proactive.

“What? Why?” Er, I mean, ‘what? Why?’

…we’ll work on it. And it’s for the same reason that you’re not speaking right now. You need to be ready for combat situations, and frankly? You kinda suck. I know you forged your transcripts, you know you forged your transcripts, Ozpin probably knows… but you haven’t told your team. They should probably be aware so that they realize you need extra training. They all have a lot more experience than you. And that’s all on top of the fact that you’re skipping any training while your aura is draining like this. Or did you want to hold them back by being an awful team leader?

…no. Fine, I’ll let Pyrrha kick my butt if it’ll shut you up.

Ha! You think I’m gonna be shutting up? That’s hilarious.

“Too long! I’m gonna call him Second!” Excluding Nora’s proclamation, his team seemed to accept the name for his semblance.

“Nora, you can’t just say that people’s, or semblance’s, names are too long. That’s rude.” Ren chided his partner.

“I totally can! All of our names are only one or two syllables. Thoughts can be his last name.”

“That’s… not in correct…”

I don’t particularly care if she just calls me Second.

“He says he’s fine with it.” Jaune spoke for his semblance.

“It’s nice that we have something better to call him, but have you had any luck with stopping him from draining your aura?” Pyrrha asked.

“Not much luck yet, but we haven’t tried everything on Ozpin’s list yet. I’m sure we’ll get it figured out soon enough. Although… we haven’t actually checked my aura levels recently.” Jaune pulled out his scroll.

What’s the point of constantly checking it? We know I’m draining you, that isn’t magically going to stop. Though may- oh. That’s interesting.

While his aura was obviously still draining, the rate was not what they had been expecting.

“How am I still at 50 percent? That’s only a 10 percent difference from when I was supposed to spar yesterday. It had drained four times that amount before Second started talking to me.”

“Perhaps the drain isn’t linear with time? Though I’m not sure how what might be considered heavier use could correlate to less drain without some sort of strange hidden variable involved…” Ren contemplated.

I am not about to do that sort of math again. If that’s the case we’re making it someone else’s problem.

“Maybe your body just needed to get used to it?” Pyrrha suggested, “There are some semblances that are passive, and it wouldn’t make sense for something that’s on all the time to constantly drain your aura by so much.”

“But if that’s the case, wouldn’t Oobleck have recognized what was happening?” Jaune countered, “With all the notes he has, he had to have seen at least a handful of cases where the semblance was passive. Theirs would have drained them more at the start, just like mine did, right?”

“But he had never seen a semblance as cool as yours before!” Nora exclaimed, “Maybe something about Second being able to talk drained your aura harder at the start. Like a jump start! He needed your energy at the beginning to get his own battery going. Maybe once he gets up and running properly he won’t even drain your aura anymore?”

Trust Nora to come up with an analogy related to electricity… but it is something worth considering.

“I sure hope so.” Jaune replied, “The sooner my aura gets fixed, the sooner I can get back into training. Speaking of which… would you guys mind helping me get back up to speed? Having time off from training is going to leave me even further behind you guys than I already was.”

Pyrrha seemed to light up at that request. “Of course! I’d love to do some extra training with you!”

“We’d be willing to help as well of course, but Pyrrha should probably take the lead, given the results of the combat classes so far.” Ren chimed in.

Pyrrha blushed, but she seemed even happier with that outcome. I wonder why?

If you actually put in the effort with this extra training, I might just tell you.

You can’t just tell me now?

It’s like I said before, I’ve gotta have my fun somehow.

Chapter Text

“As odd as this is to say, it would seem that Ms. Valkyrie’s hypothesis has some merit to it. Your aura seems to have fully recovered.” Oobleck poured over the data he had recorded, making even more notes on top of the pages he already had as he gave his conclusion to Jaune.

The last few days had been boring, but in a good way. No unexpected surprises, just attending classes, sitting out of combat exercises, and trying to adjust to having a constant nagging voice he couldn’t escape.

Aww, I love you too Jaune. You ungrateful little-

“I am going to tentatively say that you may return to normal aura usage, combat practice and all, but be sure to keep an eye on it. If your semblance, ahem, Second Thoughts, truly fits the analogy of having needed a jump start, then while he should have no problems running on his own for now, that does not mean that he always will. It would not do for you to suddenly find your aura draining at an alarming rate while in the middle of a combat situation.”

“Of course, sir. Thank you for spending all of this time helping me out.”

“There is no need for thanks, I am simply performing my duties. Although… there is one other thing that I wanted to mention before you leave. Have you noticed anything… strange? Beyond the oddities related to your semblance of course.”

Jaune pondered the question for a moment, but as far as he could tell, every odd thing that had happened recently had been because of Second Thoughts.

Go on, keep it up and see how much I decide to help you out from now on.

“Nothing I’ve noticed, why? Should I have noticed something?”

Oobleck sighed. “I certainly hope not. You see, in one of my discussions with the headmaster recently, he said some things that I… fundamentally disagree with. I feel morally obligated to let you know that he has been making plans to spy on you. He wants to know if you can be trusted now that Second Thoughts is ‘influencing’ you. I told him that I wouldn’t stand for such a thing, but it’s possible that he has decided to do it anyway. Have you noticed anyone following you around? Coincidentally being around you a lot more than they were previously?”

“He what?! Spy on- no, I haven’t- I mean… I haven’t noticed anything like that, but it’s not like I was looking for it either…” Jaune was clearly disturbed by the news, thinking back on the last few days.

“Perhaps Second Thoughts has noticed something?”

Of course I noticed, does he think I’m as dumb as you? I pointed out the spy and everything, you just up and ignored me. Not my fault you didn’t take me warning you seriously.

“What? When did you warn me about being- the bird?! You were serious about that bird?! I thought you were messing with me! How can a bird be a spy for Ozpin?!”

Oobleck seemed just as perplexed by Jaune’s outburst. “A bird?”

“The other day he told me some nonsense about birds not being real, that they’re spies for the government or something like that. It didn’t, and still doesn’t, make any sense!”

It makes perfect sense, thank you very much. Did you happen to recognize what kind of bird it was?

Flustered as he was, Jaune’s response was made aloud. “What kind- I didn’t realize I was meant to be inspecting it! It was… black I think? Kind of big too… I don’t know, a raven maybe?”

Close, but no dice. Raven is Yang’s mom. The bird you saw was Qrow.

“The more you talk the less it makes sense! So what if the bird was a crow, what does that have to do with anything?”

Oobleck was quicker on the uptake. “A crow you say? Hmm… is it safe to assume that one of Ozpin’s apparent right hand men being named Qrow, and that you were spied on by an avian of the same name is not a coincidence? Though I’m not sure what the specifics would be, we know that Qrow’s semblance isn’t some sort of shape shifting ability.”

It seems the doctor more than earned his title. The next step requires outsider knowledge, so I can't blame him for his confusion. You see-

“The Branwen siblings both possess the ability to turn into their namesake. This is separate from their semblances. Qrow can turn into a crow, Raven can turn into a raven.” As Jaune spoke for Second, neither he nor Oobleck seemed any less confused.

“But how can that be possible? I don’t know his sister beyond some vague details, but I have seen Qrow’s semblance in action. The poor fool was bumped by a passing student, tripped over a cat that was passing by, fell into a mud puddle, splattering Glynda’s brand new white blouse while she was trying to impress James… I didn’t see the rest of it, having gotten out of there as soon as I saw the look on her face, but I cannot imagine that sort of thing can happen regularly without it being his semblance. Turning into a crow could be nothing but a semblance. Perhaps… is it the work of a semblance belonging to someone else? The mechanics would have to be quite strange…”

That’s all you’re getting out of me as far as that particular rabbit hole goes. If you want anything more, you’ll have to get it from another source.

“What use are you if you’re going to give us garbage information and then act like it’s someone else’s problem?” Jaune sighed, trying to repress his annoyance with his semblance before making a suggestion to Oobleck. “If you’ve met him before, you could just ask him, couldn’t you? This Qrow guy is Ruby and Yang’s uncle, he’s gotta be somewhat reasonable.”

“Relying on familial relations to judge character is a bad idea Mr. Arc, but in this particular case I don’t think your idea is unreasonable… I’ll see if I can’t hunt him down, get some answers out of him. I apologize for not bringing this to your attention sooner, but I had hoped that Ozpin would see reason.”

“I can’t really blame you for that when my own semblance was aware of the fact and decided to tell me in riddles…”

What do you mean ‘riddles’? I straight up told you the bird was spying on you, that is the literal truth. You doubting my words is on you. You should be taking everything I say as gospel, I’m the greatest thing that’s hap-

“I am sorry all the same. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an alcoholic to hunt down.”

“I think we can call it here for tonight.” Pyrrha stepped back, grabbing a bottle of water, not that she seemed to need it. Team JNPR had found themselves a quiet spot to train that night after Jaune told them he was cleared. Ren and Nora had at least worked up a sweat, so Jaune didn’t feel quite as bad about the fact that he was drenched in it, panting for breath and red in the face.

That was kind of pathetic. I knew you were bad, but this was really something else.

“Shut-” Jaune gasped for air “-shut up Second.”

Nora perked up at the mention of the mysterious semblance. “Oh! We’re whipping you into shape, but can Second implant awesome fighting skills into your mind?!”

Definitely not. I don’t know how to fight.

“He says he doesn’t know how to fight. Besides, you guys are much better teachers.”

I could teach you all sorts of things, I just haven’t felt like it!

“Hmm. He doesn’t know how to fight?” Ren mused, “In a way that makes sense, with Second not having a physical body and all, but at the same time I find myself surprised by his limitations.”

“Should we be surprised, though?” Pyrrha questioned, “I know that Second pulling out those secrets the other day sort of got it in our heads that he knew way more than the rest of us, but sometimes it seems like he’s just another person. A person stuck inside Jaune’s head, of course, but you know what I mean.”

“If Second is just another person, he’s the most annoying person I know.” Jaune grumbled.

“Is he actually that annoying, or is the problem just that you can’t escape him? Renny is amazing and I don’t think he could ever annoy me, but even we aren’t together all the time.” Ren notably did not say anything about whether he felt the reverse was true of Nora, but he nodded in agreement with her point.

“I guess when you put it like that…” Jaune sighed, “It could be worse.Though Ozpin’s suggestions are making it a bit easier on us, so that helps.”

“Ozpin’s suggestions?” Pyrrha inquired.

“Well, the whole point of us visiting Ozpin when Second was unlocked was to get advice from him I guess? Because he-”

they’re not supposed to know that

“-uh, not to be rude, but he’s kind of old, plus he runs Beacon. He was bound to have seen something at least tangentially related! So Second wanted some advice from him…”

Pretty weak save, but I’ll let it slide this time.

“Ah, you did mention something like that, didn’t you? I had forgotten about it in all the drama of you unlocking your semblance.” Ren said, “So what sort of advice did he give you? Anything interesting?”

“Interesting? More like the opposite. He has me meditating, and thinking about things that differ between me and Second, and concentrating my aura to different parts of my body… the list goes on, but they’re all about the same level of mind numbing.”

“And how is being bored out of your mind supposed to help you?” Nora seemed offended at the mere idea of going through such a process.

“Well, he said something about it creating a more solid distinction between us? Honestly it all sort of went over my head, and I’m not sure how many of his little tricks are working, but something is working. It’s not by much, not yet anyway, but I’ve definitely been… ‘overhearing’ Second’s thoughts less than I was before. I think we’re getting closer to a point where I don’t hear anything from him unless he wants me to.”

“What do you mean by overhearing? I mean, conceptually I get what you’re saying, but when it all happens in your head…” Pyrrha’s brows were furrowed in concentration as she tried to work it out.

“I mean that I would hear idle thoughts I wasn’t meant to. When I first heard him, it was thoughts about how boring my meeting with Oobleck was. There was some commentary on our conversations I don’t think he meant for me to hear… although half of the stuff that leaks through doesn’t make any sense to me at all. I’m never sure what’s a person’s name, what’s a place, what’s a concept I’m just not familiar with. He uses weird expressions sometimes and I’m hoping that I didn’t pick up on any of them.”

“Have you considered writing them all down and trying to work out his plans for world domination?” Nora’s eyes were wide with excitement at the prospect.

If you start doing something like that I’ll use our connection to torture you with catchy songs you don’t know the entirety of. You’ll have to register your semblance as Earworm instead.

“I don’t think I’ll be doing that. Sorry, Nora.”

“But you didn’t deny the plans for world domination! Ha! I’m onto you Second! If you think that you’re gonna snatch my spot on the throne, you’ve got another thing coming!”

As Ren tried to keep Nora from attacking Second Thoughts through Jaune, the blond whispered to Pyrrha. “I think it might be a good idea to just have the two of us come for the next training session.”

The redhead had to suppress a smile. “That might be for the best.”

Chapter Text

“In my defense… well, I guess I don’t really have much of a defense. I’ve not seen any sort of odd behavior I wouldn’t expect from someone with a semblance like that, and all I’ve accomplished is feeling like a bit of a creep.” Qrow took a swig from his flask.

“So now that you’ve invaded a young man’s privacy and found Ozpin’s concerns unfounded, as they were from the start, you’ve come to see the mistake in your ways?” Oobleck leveled the man with a heavy glare from behind his glasses.

“It’s not that I thought it was a great idea from the beginning, I just… those girls are everything to me, Bart. Can you really blame me for being a little cautious with their safety?”

“That’s Doctor Oobleck to the likes of stalkers, thank you very much. And I can very much blame you for your actions. There are people that I care about, that I have seen fall into… bad crowds, so to speak. Ones that were definitely a threat to their safety.” The professor’s gaze wandered into the distance as he spoke.” And yet not once did I deem it necessary to breach anyone’s privacy.”

“I ain’t gonna apologize for making sure that they were safe with him. I owe Summer that much. But I’ll try to get Oz to back off a bit.”

“I suppose that’s the best I’ll be getting on that front. But that leaves me with my next problem with you.”

“There’s more? What, are my rugged good looks and incredible charm annoying you?”

Oobleck rolled his eyes. “Not that, you buffoon, I’m referring to your methods. I’m told that you were spying on him as a bird. I can’t make much sense of such a statement, but I do not see a reason for lying about something so absurd, so I am left to assume that there is truth to it. Explain.”

“Is this some sort of joke? I thought Ozpin already gave you the big explanation? I was in the room when you two were discussing the kid working for Salem. Don’t go pulling my leg, I get enough of that already.”

“I had thought so as well. He explained Salem to me, yes, but it would seem that while he has revealed one or two secrets, he has kept many more hidden in the dark. So tell me, how exactly were you able to turn into a crow?”

Qrow looked lost, but after a moment’s thought started his explanation. “It’s Ozpin’s magic. Team STRQ got Oz’s attention during our Beacon days, he brought us into his little group a long time ago. Raven and I got the ability to turn into birds, Summer had… her own thing going on, and Taiyang got incredible luck with the ladies, that bastard…”

Qrow’s complaint about Taiyang was ignored. “Ozpin’s magic?” The doctor looked bewildered, but recovered quickly. “I see. That certainly seems like something he probably should have informed me of if he wants me to trust him further than I can throw him.”

“Don’t think like that, I don’t need another Raven to deal with. Ozpin is a good guy, trying to do what’s right without making it everyone’s problem.”

“Is he though? Perhaps your sister has the right idea if her reaction is similar to mine. You seem awfully trusting of him for someone who knows how he keeps secrets.”

“I’ve been helping him out for a long time, Bart. I know the truth of what’s going on behind the scenes.”

“And yet you just assumed that he had told me everything you knew. Strange, isn’t it? That he would make you aware that I was being brought into his fold, and yet not tell you of all the things he was still keeping from me. What other secrets is he keeping from me? What is he keeping from you?”

“He wouldn’t-”

“He would.”

Qrow struggled to find a proper response.

“Qrow, I think you and I need to have a nice long chat. Why don’t we start with you telling me everything you know about this shadow war? I’m sure that I have much to learn.”

“I think it’s about time you came through on your end of the deal, Second.” Jaune walked through the halls of Beacon alone.

And what exactly was my end of the deal again?

“Wha- You don’t remember?! You’re supposed to help me get Weiss to go out with me!”

Ah. Right. That deal…

“Don’t try and back out of it now! You’re full of useful information, or at least you claim to be-” Rude. “-so I expect results here!”

I suppose I did promise something like that… Look, first of all? Cut the “snow angel” garbage.

“What? Why? It’s a compliment, and a cute nickname!”

No, it’s cringe and weird. She doesn’t like it. Everyone besides you can tell that she doesn’t like it.

“So… I should try a different name?”

In a way. Hmmm, let’s see… what do you think of “Weiss”? Short, simple, she’s already used to responding to it.

“But that’s just her name?”

Exactly. No cringey nicknames. Anything that you manage to come up with is going to be awful, so just don’t. It’s perfectly fine- no, it’s preferred that you just use her name. She’ll appreciate it.

Jaune’s shoulders slumped. “I guess I could give it a try… what else did you have in mind? I don’t think just using her name is going to do a whole lot.”

My second piece of sage wisdom… you might not like this one, but I am being serious here. You should probably give up on Weiss. You’re not a bad dude, you could totally get a girlfriend, but Weiss? I just can’t see that happening. Anything is possible I guess, but you gotta know when to walk away.

“Give up? Why would I give up?! My dad says all you need is confidence and look at how many kids he’s got! Sure, my attempts so far haven’t really panned out, but that doesn’t mean I can just call it quits.”

I understand that you’re really into her Jaune, but I think she’s made it pretty obvious she doesn’t feel the same. There is a possibility that you’re right. That all it will take is some more pestering and she’ll suddenly realize she was wrong and you’re a real catch and you two live happily ever after. But you have to consider whether or not that’s realistic. Weiss is the heiress to the most powerful company on Remnant, high-strung, bossy, etc. You on the other hand are a dude who got into Beacon through illegitimate means, is generally kind of dorky, not always the brightest tool in the shed. And that’s all fine! Well, the law breaking isn’t great, but people can get over that. You’ve got sort of a dorky, boy-next-door sort of vibe? Honestly, you’d probably have a lot of luck with moms… but that’s getting off topic. My point is that while what you are isn’t bad, it isn’t the sort of thing Weiss is interested in, and you have to accept that. What are you going to do if you make her hate you? Right now it’s just an annoyance, but if you keep going? She’ll actively avoid you. She’ll resent you for making her reject you all the time. It’ll drive a wedge between your teams, and where will that leave everyone else? Do you want to risk your friendship with Ruby hitting a rough patch because you couldn’t take a hint?

“I… is it really that bad? I just thought… but I really like her…” Jaune shook his head. “No. You’re just messing with me again, aren’t you? I’m just a joke to you. Well I’m not letting you ruin my chances if you’re going to be like that. I’ll just have to keep trying.”

I know it’s tough, but I’m trying to be real with you Jaune. If you don’t believe me, you could always ask Ren for his thoughts on the matter. He’s your one male teammate, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind helping you out with this, even if it would be pretty awkward. Besides! Just because your chances with Weiss are slim to none doesn’t mean you can’t get a girlfriend at all. You’ve probably noticed, but Huntresses tend to be on the attractive side, and I’m sure that at least a few of them are into guys like you. It would be… wrong, for me to straight up tell you that ‘x girl’ has a crush on you, but I will tell you that you have at least one admirer. If you weren’t constantly going on about how much you want your “snow angel”, she might work up the courage to actually say something about it. If she doesn’t… well, I could always influence things a bit. I give you a hard time, but at the end of the day I am your semblance. I want things to work out for you.

Jaune was silent for a moment, considering Second’s points. “I’ll think about it. But if you are messing with me again, then I’ll… uh… I’m not really sure how to threaten you, but I’ll come up with something!”

Fair enough. Now hurry up before you’re late! It’s time for Pyrrha to kick your ass again.

Pyrrha did indeed kick his ass again.

“I know it may not seem like it from your perspective, but you really are improving.” Pyrrha offered him a hand, helping him stand back up from being knocked flat.

“And you’re not just saying that because we’re partners or something?” The skepticism was obvious in his tone.

“I’m serious! The rate you’re improving at is pretty astonishing actually. It’s almost like you didn’t have any instruction at all before this. Like you finally have some guidance to lead you down the right path and before you were just stumbling about.” The redhead laughed at the notion. “But I guess that’s pretty ridiculous.”

Jaune’s mouth went dry.

You know… this would be a good chance to tell her.

For once, Jaune remembered not to speak aloud to Second. Tell her what? That I’m a fraud? That I don’t deserve to be here?

I’m not sure that I would phrase it that way myself, but if that’s how you feel, then yes. She’s your partner Jaune, she deserves to know. Her reaction won’t be as bad as you think it will be.

Is that something you actually know ? Or are you just trying to guilt me into it?

Does it matter? She’s going to find out eventually, and it’s better that she finds out from your own words than to have it be dramatically revealed or something. I mean, she unlocked your aura dude. Logically speaking, she has to know that something is up, right? I also think it would make you feel better. It’s your call at the end of the day, but I think you should do it.

Jaune paused for a moment to consider the suggestion, but hashing things out with Second had left a bit of an awkward silence with his partner. “Jaune? Are you okay? I didn’t hit you too hard, did I?”

He was startled to attention. “No! I’m fine. It’s just…” A deep breath steadied his nerves. “What you said was… not as ridiculous as you might think.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that you’re right. This is the first time I’ve received proper training. Not tonight specifically, but, you know? Beacon. Initiation was the first time I had seriously tried to use Crocea Mors.”

“Jaune, I… are you serious?”

“I know! It was stupid. It is stupid! I’m a moron and a fraud and… I skipped over that part, didn’t I? I, um, might have- well no, I definitely did-” He stumbled over his words, “I forged my transcripts! Before Beacon I had no training at all. I stole Crocea Mors from home, it was a family heirloom and I… I decided to become a Huntsman really recently, and my dad didn’t want to train me, but I was just so sick of being this useless-”

“Jaune!” His partner interrupted him.

“...yes?”

“I… your words were running together a bit there, but if I understood you correctly, then yes what you did was stupid. You could have died very easily.”

Jaune’s head fell at those words, accepting the harsh reality he had expected.

“But it was also very brave.”

His head snapped up, his eyes locked to hers.

“I was shocked when I realized you had no aura. I tried to come up with a reason that made sense, but in the end I just brushed it off. I figured that if you made it to initiation, you must have some idea of what you were doing… but it’s pretty clear that you don’t. Or rather, that you didn’t until you reached  out to the team for help.” The smile on her face was reassuring. “I… it might be a bit silly, but I think that coming to Beacon, ready to fight the grimm and risk your life without even knowing that you would have aura to protect you… I think that’s brave.”

Jaune was lost for words.

You could try “Wow, that really means a lot to me Pyrrha, you’re the best partner ever” or something like that. I’m not good at the touchy feely stuff, but you gotta say something here.

“Thanks Pyrrha, I appreciate it. Um, could you maybe keep that stuff a secret though? I might tell the rest of the team eventually, and Second says that Ozpin already knows, but… I kind of want to prove that I can keep up with you all properly before I go spilling that sort of stuff to anyone else. Goodwitch might kill me if she finds out…”

She laughed at his worry. “Of course, Jaune. I can’t have Goodwitch murdering my partner. What kind of team would we be then? Team NPR, RNP, PR-” a slight flush crossed her face, “ah, yeah they all sound a bit wrong don’t they?”

I don’t know, team PRN sounds good to me. I can see Nora shouting that Pyrrha’s the glorious leader of team po-

“Yeah! Really strange, we can’t be having that! Haha, um, why don’t we get another round in!” Jaune quickly picked up his sword and got into a mostly correct battle stance.

“You’re on. Don’t think I’ll take it easy on you just because I know the truth now!” She lunged at him.

Chapter Text

After several days of introspection, Jaune decided that Second did have at least one point. It couldn’t hurt to get his teammate’s thoughts on the things that were troubling him. Ren is a quiet, thoughtful sort of guy right? Surely he can give me some solid advice.

Second Thoughts was silent.

And so Jaune found himself approaching his one male friend during one of the rare instances that they were both separated from their partners. The two women of the team had been roped into “weapons talk” by Ruby, whatever that was supposed to mean. Nora was always in the area when there was potential for an explosion, and Pyrrha was both too nice to refuse and all too happy to further cement a friendship with someone who treated her like a normal person. Or at least, as normal as one could get when Ruby was involved. Ren had managed to escape when Ruby started geeking out over Milo and Akouo, while Jaune…. well, there wasn’t much to really talk about when Crocea Mors was just a sword and collapsible shield.

“You know Ren, I think this might be the first time I’ve seen you apart from Nora that wasn’t in the locker rooms.”

“Despite popular belief, we don’t spend all of our time together.”

“It’s just hard to see that with how much time you do spend together. Um-” Jaune hesitated for a moment. “So, sorry to cut into your alone time, I guess, but- could we- talk? Guy to guy, you know? I don’t know if I’m doing this right…”

“It’s certainly an odd way to say you want my advice, but if that’s what you’re after then feel free.”

Jaune’s shoulders sagged. “Great, thank you. I just… I’ve got a lot on my mind and you seemed like a good guy to talk to about it.”

“Does Second Thoughts not have the answers you’re looking for?”

“Second Thoughts is my problem!”

“I’m afraid that I don’t follow.”

“I just-” the blond sighed, “I don’t know. One day I’m trying to adjust to the fact that I’ve been made team leader at a huntsmen academy where I’m clearly the least skilled in the group, and then the next I’m dealing with Second. It’s… a lot, all at once. I don’t know how to deal with suddenly having a voice in my head. I’m getting used to it I guess? And we’ve managed to reach a point where I only hear his thoughts when he wants me to, which is nice. But I still… when people talk about Second, at least as far as I’ve heard, it seems like there’s two ways of viewing him. Either it’s just my semblance, a manifestation of my soul, a tool that I can use to my advantage, trust and rely on wholeheartedly, because if you can’t trust your own soul, who can you trust? Or in the other way of thinking, Second is a completely separate entity from me, one with his own motivations and goals.” Jaune paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

“That seems like a very binary way of viewing it, and I can’t say that what I’ve heard lines up with either of those viewpoints to a T. Do you really think that people only see Second in one of those two ways?” Ren questioned.

“Yes. No. It’s probably a lot more complicated than that, but it feels that way, you know? I guess in both camps there are people that view it as a good or bad thing, but the fundamentals seem the same to me. Maybe it’s all in my head, and I’m ignoring something obvious, but…”

“I think you’re missing quite a bit, but the more important factor is probably how you view Second Thoughts. Regardless of whether you interpret their intentions correctly or not, other people can think what they like, but if the problem lies in your relationship with him then their opinions don’t really matter for this situation.”

Jaune was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to properly express his thoughts. “Second… I don’t know what I think of him. He’s… I think rude is the nicest way I can put it. He likes to joke at my expense…or at least, I hope they’re jokes. And we may have found a way to keep me from hearing all of his thoughts, but… I mean, he says that the barrier between us is becoming thicker. That as I hear less of his thoughts, he hears less of mine. But I don’t have any way to prove that. I’m supposed to take it at face value. It’s like any form of privacy I had before is gone. I know he can’t actually do anything with that information, that the only ones who have to actually worry about secrets being spread are the rest of you, but I have to live with him in my head as a constant reminder. And I know that he drains my aura, and only I hear him, and he must be my semblance, because what else could he be? But hearing him, having conversations with him… it doesn’t feel like he is. If it weren’t for the fact that he knows all of the secret stuff and that he’s, you know, in my head and all that, I would think that he was some other average person. A jerk, but still just a person.”

Ren waited for a moment, wondering if Jaune’s rambling and ranting would continue on before responding. “I’m afraid that I don’t have much experience dealing with disembodied voices in my head, so my advice might be a bit lacking in this area, but I’ll give it my best shot. I think… if Second Thoughts feels like a person to you, then maybe you should treat him like a person.”

“What does that even mean?”

“I mean that you should treat him like you would anyone else. Or maybe… I suppose since you’re stuck with him no matter how well you get along, you should try to treat him like a partner. Maybe not quite like Pyrrha, but you could take inspiration from other teams. It seemed like Ruby and Weiss got off to a rocky start as well, but they’re… well, I won’t say that all of their issues are resolved, but even in the short time that we have been at Beacon, their relationship has improved. Fight, argue, set boundaries, and make your intentions clear. Just because he can hear your thoughts doesn’t mean he has the same understanding that you do. You certainly don’t seem to understand him completely, and the connection works both ways. Perhaps he doesn’t realize just how much everything is bothering you.”

“But what am I meant to do if he’s just that much of an asshole?”

“Jaune, I have no idea. I’m trying my best here, but like I said before, I have no experience in this.”

“Ah. Right… sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m used to trying to figure out strange situations with Nora around, even if most of hers are less grounded in reality.”

“I appreciate it, Ren. There was… one other thing though.”

“Hopefully I can give you a more solid answer for this one then.”

“You see- the other day- Second told me- ugh.” Jaune stumbled over his words. “I was given some advice by my father. Since coming to Beacon I’ve tried to put it to use, but… Second seems to think that it’s not really working.”

“I can’t really comment on whether or not it’s working if I don’t know what the advice is or how you’re testing it.”

“...should I… give up on Weiss?”

There was a pause in the conversation.

“How exactly do your attempts to… what does that have to do with your previous question?”

Jaune threw his head back dramatically, running his hand down his face. “He was totally right wasn’t he?”

“Second Thoughts or your father?”

“Dad told me that ‘all you need is confidence’ and he’s a huntsman with a wife and too many kids to keep track of, so I thought that he must know what he’s talking about. So I’ve been… well, you’ve seen… but Weiss still hasn’t… I thought it was like a hard-to-get type of thing! As long as I was confident it would work out, but it hasn’t yet, and Second told me that I should give up on Weiss. That if I continue things will only get worse between us, and there could be a rift between our teams, and I don’t want to lose Ruby as a friend and I know the rest of you don’t really talk as much between teams even if we eat our meals together but-”

“Breath, Jaune.”

Jaune stopped, and after a moment Ren continued. “So. You are… interested… in Weiss. Second told you to give up. And now you want my opinion on whether or not Second is right. Do I have that all correct?”

Jaune nodded, and Ren looked like he had just bitten into a lemon. “Jaune, I am going to politely ask that you do not involve me in that.”

“I think your reaction tells me enough. Why don’t we just… pretend the conversation ended before I brought it up?”

“I think that sounds delightful. Besides, I believe our ‘guy time’ has come to an end.”

“What do you mea-”

His unfinished question was answered by the ginger of team JNPR tackling her partner from behind, sending them both sprawling to the ground. “Renny! I missed you! Did you miss me?”

Textbooks in hand, Jaune was on his way to class, walking alone in the halls. It had been a day since his conversation with Ren, and Second had still yet to say a word. At first, the peace and quiet was nice, but at this point it was starting to worry Jaune. “Uh, Second? Look, I realize that the whole… you definitely heard what I said to Ren and-”

It’s fine. I get it Jaune. I’m… a bit of a prick. I’ve been frustrated with being stuck in your head and it’s just sort of… what comes naturally to me. Ren was right. I didn’t realize how much it was bothering you. I’m used to… well, look, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ll try to tone it down, but don’t go expecting any sort of massive change right away.

“That’s…that’s great? Wow, I was kind of expecting a big argument or something, not for you to just…”

I can admit my faults. Plus, arguing with a kid just seems kind of childish…

“A kid? I’m not a five year old Second, I can handle it.”

You’re still a youngin’ on your way to class. That’s a kid in my eyes.

“So just because I’m-”

“Talking to yourself again? The first time I heard it, I thought it was funny. But now? This is just sad. They should really send you on the first bullhead back to whatever backwater you came from.” Their conversation was interrupted by a lone member of another team walking in the opposite direction.

Which one was this again? I don’t remember what name goes to which face… eh. Either way, this guy's chump, tell him to get bent.

“Haha…” Jaune awkwardly chuckled. “Cardin, right? I uh, it’s just my semblance is all, I’m not talking to myself.”

That’s not you telling him to get bent.

“It’s pretty awful that the staff seem to be playing into your delusions. It’s almost like they want to send someone who’s lost it to fight the grimm and never come back… oh well. Not like your team would be missing much anyway.”

“That’s…” Jaune didn’t know how to respond to that.

Kick his teeth in! Are you seriously about to let this jackass talk to you like that?

When the two huntsmen in training were a foot apart, Cardin knocked the books from his hand, laughing as he went on his way. Jaune only sighed as he knelt down to pick them up.

Did- did you just get bullied? And you let the bastard do it? What was the point of me setting up your training to start early if you’re still just gonna sit here and take it!

“Bullying? Haha, that wasn’t bullying, he was just… um…”

One of you is going to regret this interaction, Jaune, and it better be him.

Jaune could only hope that Second was right.

Chapter Text

“I’m sure that there’s something to be gleaned from his lectures. It must be… in a code of some sort! If you can just figure out what the cipher is, then all will be revealed and his position on the teaching staff will make sense.” Weiss tried to defend Professor Port, teams RWBY and JNPR having just been released from yet another riveting class with the man.

“And have you figured out this supposed cipher?” Blake questioned the girl, an eyebrow raised.

“W-well, no, but… if that’s not the case, then why is he even here?! It’s the only thing that makes sense! Or are you suggesting that the school has subjected us to his lectures as nothing more than a form of torture?” The white haired girl crossed her arms, daring anyone present to contradict her.

There is no code. You guys can sleep in his class with no repercussions if you feel like it. I have no idea why he’s employed here, except maybe as a joke of some sort.

“I hate to burst your bubble, Weiss, but Second says that he recommends sleeping through Port’s class.”

That is not what I said, but more power to you if it means us being out of it for that snooze fest. And you actually opposed Weiss on something! Nothing of importance, I guess, but it’s still progress. Love to see it!

A flurry of emotion crossed the Schnee’s face before she bowed her head in defeat. “Did I really come all the way here from Atlas for this…?”

“Of course not, Weiss! You came all the way from Atlas to be part of the super awesome team RWBY, huntresses extraordinaire!” Ruby was all smiles as she said it, hugging her partner from behind.

“Get off me, you dolt!” 

“But if I get off of you, how am I supposed to let you know how great it is that you came to Beacon?”

“Use your words like a civilized person! What is wrong with you?!” The two descended into nonsensical bickering as the rest watched on.

But the two teams weren’t the only ones who had been in Port’s class. Others were walking across campus as well, and Jaune was quick to notice Cardin, subtly positioning himself so that his team was between him and his totally not-bully.

Come on man, what are you doing? You just have to show him what’s what! He’s just a punk.

“Jaune? Is something wrong?” Pyrrha had apparently noticed as well, even if the rest of them were wrapped up in the argument between Ruby and Weiss.

“Oh, it’s nothing…” Jaune tried to play it off, but a talented actor he was not.

Just tell her that Cardin’s giving you a hard time! You’re teammates, partners, friends! She was totally cool with you having gotten your position here through illegitimate means, how badly do you think she’s gonna take this? You can trust her. Well, ideally you’d trust all of RWBY and JNPR, but Pyrrha is a good start.

“Is Second chewing you out for lying to me?” The redhead questioned.

“What? How could you tell?” his eyes went wide with shock.

“Jaune, you’re a terrible liar and whenever you listen to him you get this… faraway look in your eyes. It’s kind of obvious.”

“I really need to work on that…” Jaune quietly distanced the two of them from the rest of the group, slowing down just a bit. “I… kind of had a run in with Cardin recently, and now Second thinks I’m being bullied or something.”

“Cardin? I could see that, with the way he treats people…” A frown formed on her face. “I’ve not really had any experiences with bullying myself… has Second suggested anything?”

“He um… said I should tell him to get bent, and then kick his teeth in.”

And I stand by that. Cardin’s the type of guy that could use a good beat down, knock some sense into him or something. Certainly a much quicker resolution than what would normally happen.

Pyrrha’s eyebrows quickly raised. “Oh. I wasn’t expecting such a… violent response. Does he have any other suggestions?”

Well? Do you? Jaune thought to Second, what exactly do you mean by “what would normally happen?”

You remember that conversation in the cafeteria a while back, about the branching timelines and whatnot? Well, I’m referring to a timeline in which you never got me as your semblance. In that timeline, Cardin relentlessly bullies you for… weeks I think? And it only got worse after he overheard you confessing your forged transcripts to Pyrrha, which I avoided by forcing you to do it earlier and at a different time when he couldn’t eavesdrop, thank you very much. The bullying doesn’t get resolved until your upcoming trip to Forever Fall, in which you finally step up to him when he’s going to mess with Pyrrha and then save him from an Ursa. I guess you like, earn his respect or something? But it takes a whole lot more of you getting bullied to reach that point, and I don’t see the sense in letting that happen when you could just kick his teeth in right now. Yang would totally help you if you jumped him right this second!

Jaune mulled over that explanation for a moment before finally replying to Pyrrha. “I don’t think he’s going to be of much help for this one, unless I decide to go with the Yang style of conflict resolution…”

No, the Yang style of conflict resolution is to start a fight in a bar because one guy pissed you off, trash the whole place and everyone in it, and then act like you were in the right. I’m proposing that you fight a single guy. With your friends, but whatever.

Pyrrha looked over to the bully in question. “It is Cardin we’re talking about… perhaps it’s deserved.”

“Pyrrha I’m not going to start a brawl just to get him to leave me alone! Think of all the detention with Goodwitch…” A shiver went down both of their spines at the thought.

A sacrifice worth making if it gets this punk to straighten out.

“Well then… maybe during a spar? You probably have one coming up soon in combat class, or you could even request it.”

“You think that I could beat him in a spar?” He looked at her incredulously.

“I don’t see why not. His form isn’t very impressive for someone who actually had training before Beacon. You’re learning at a good pace. I don’t think that it’s a sure thing that you will win, but you have decent odds by my evaluation, so it’s worth a shot.”

“I guess you really think I could do it…”

“And if you don’t manage it, then we all go kick his teeth in.”

“Pyrrha, no!”

Pyrrha, yes!

“Qrow, you of all people know just how important secrecy is regarding these matters.” Ozpin found that once again, Second Thoughts' decision when he first manifested was causing headaches.

“I know that keeping this sort of thing on a need to know basis is your go to, yeah, but I’m kind of wondering when you decide that something should be shared. I’ve been doing work for you for what, a bit more than half of my life now? I guess I kind of assumed that at some point over those years you’d maybe think ‘wow, that Qrow guy is pretty reliable, semblance excluded. Maybe losing his team to this garbage means he’s entitled to know the full truth’ or something of that nature.”

“And you do know the truth. I do trust you Qrow.”

“Oh really now, is that so?” Oobleck interjected. “So if we were to ask Second Thoughts about this matter, he would not have any more details to give us? Now that I think about it, perhaps that is the true reason you’re so worried about that semblance. Afraid that he’ll go revealing your lies, Ozpin?”

“You would trust a voice in the head of one of our students over me? It has been in existence for a tiny blip of time, while I’ve known the two of you for years!” Ozpin’s voice was raised, losing his cool.

“I cannot say that I would take his word as fact, that would be foolhardy. But if Second were to lead us to hard evidence? What then? Am I meant to ignore the evidence in front of my eyes because good ol’ Ozpin has told me to trust him and then lied to me by omission?” Oobleck was glaring daggers at the man.

“Just get it over with Oz.” Qrow growled. “Rip off the band-aid. But I swear, if you kept something from us that could have saved Summer I’ll-”

“Don’t. You. Dare.” Ozpin had suddenly stood from his seat. “I can forgive many things, but accusing me of… I cannot forgive that.”

The room was silent for a beat.

“I’m sorry Oz, that was… that was too far… I just got heated and even the possibility that… I got emotional. My bad.”

Oobleck dialed back his aggressiveness, but having not been close to the woman in question, he was not quelled by her being brought up. “That does not change the problem. If this isn’t resolved there are going to be trust issues between us all. Severe trust issues.”

Ozpin breathed in deeply, steadying himself. “I had hoped it would not come to this… but there is one way that I can satisfy you. Unfortunately it will require us to hunt down the Spring Maiden.”

“And how exactly is this Spring Maiden meant to confirm for us that you have not kept any more important secrets?”

“By retrieving the Relic of Knowledge.”

“Oh no, however will I defeat the boy wonder and his imaginary friend!” Cardin jeered as he and Jaune made their way up onto the arena.

Goodwitch rolled her eyes, but said nothing about the boy’s childish remarks. “The spar will end when either of your auras enter the red or when one of you surrenders. You may begin.”

Cardin was on him immediately. Swinging his mace in an arch that seemed aimed to shatter Jaune’s skull, the boy didn’t move nearly as fast as Pyrrha did during training. Jaune side-stepped out of the way, placing his shield between them as he retaliated with a swipe of his own, his sword cutting through the air before scraping off of Cardin’s arm.

Huh. Maybe you do stand a chance. Getting your ass kicked by Pyrrha all the time is paying off even sooner than I’d hoped.

A quick glance at the display showed just how little damage that blow had done to Cardin, and the hope bubbling up inside of Jaune immediately died. This was immediately followed up by taking a mace to the gut, as Cardin had swung at him a second time while he was distracted. The poor boy went tumbling onto his ass, but quickly found his way back onto his feet, the maneuver ingrained into his muscle memory after having been shown no mercy when it was Nora’s turn to train him.

At least his mace didn’t hurt as much as Magnhild?

You’re not helping!

Another swing of the mace, but this one was caught by Jaune’s shield, deflected off to the side as he stabbed at a gap in his opponent’s armor. Cardin grunted, stepping back and preparing to take another crack at Jaune’s skull. Jaune side-stepped the attack once more, punishing the overreach with another swipe of his sword before backing away.

Now would be a great time for tips on how to beat him, or some awful secret that would freak him out, or, you know, anything useful at all?! Jaune pleaded with his semblance.

If I had something I would have told you! This guy is a chump and not worth your time, I don’t have any information on unimportant people like him. I think our knowledge of him might be about even. What you’re doing so far seems to be working though! He’s a big dude with a big weapon, he’ll never be as fast as your teammates and you can occasionally dodge their strikes!

As if on cue, Jaune side-stepped yet another swing of the mace, punishing it with a slice at his opponent’s neck. Cardin grunted in pain, shouting out “Would you stop dancing around already?!”

“You know, I’m pretty sure that if my opponent wants me to not do something, that means I should just do more of it.” Jaune did just that, creating even more space between them, moving around the arena and forcing Cardin to follow, the bulkier boy being forced to dance to his tune, getting more frustrated by the second.

“You won’t even fight me now? You’re just going to run away the whole time? You’re a coward!”

“I think you mean he’s winning! What, is someone upset that they’re gonna lose to vomit boy?” Yang shouted out from the stands. Both of the fighters quickly glanced at their aura displays, finding that her words were true. While Cardin’s blows did far more damage at once, he had barely touched Jaune, while the opposite was true for the reverse. It seemed that Cardin’s seeming inability to dodge meant that Jaune’s weak hits were adding up.

Did she really have to call you vomit boy though? That’s just rude at this point, it was only on that first day!

It seemed that Cardin had had enough of this, charging at Jaune like a bull. Jaune adjusted his footing, preparing to dodge out of the way of his swing. Cardin pulled his hand back, looking ready to break Jaune’s bones.

Is this moron really gonna try the same thing again? It hasn’t worked so far, I don- shit! That’s a feint!

Jaune wasn’t able to correct in time, sent flying back and tumbling on the ground as he moaned in pain. His aura would protect him from any real damage, but that didn’t stop a hit like that from hurting like hell.

I think you might be screwed. Told you that you should’ve kicked his teeth in with Yang.

I’m not done yet. Any ideas? Any at all?

Goodwitch would catch Pyrrha helping you cheat. Tiring him out sort of worked, but that’s done with how worn out you are. Can’t have Neo pretend to be you-

Who?

-you’re not strong enough for any of those ideas… hmmm. Well, I’ve got one idea I guess. It’ll either work or end very painfully for you.

I’ve got nothing else, so we might as well.

Jaune’s friends watched the fight with anticipation obvious on their faces.

“I really thought he could do it…” Pyrrha remarked.

“He wasn’t doing too bad for a while there, a definite improvement, impressive even given how little time we’ve been training him, but it was probably a bit much to expect that he would be able to defeat Cardin with that. Cardin may be… well, Cardin, but he does seem to have a lot more training than Jaune does.” Ren tried to console Jaune’s partner.

“What does he think he’s doing? That’s not kicking his teeth in!” Nora glowered at her leader as he dropped his fighting stance, looking much more casual than he should in the ring.

“Is he about to surrender?” Blake suggested.

They watched as Cardin ran at him, a cocky smirk on his face, seeming like he was about to get one last hit on an opponent that was done already. They watched as that mace swung through the air one last time, looking like it was about to crush Jaune’s ribcage from the side. As Jaune dropped low to the ground, collapsing his shield, before expanding it once more in between Cardin’s legs. A high pitched squeal was heard as the boy’s legs were forced to make room for the metal, stretching far, far beyond what they were used to. The mace flew out of his hand, and Jaune scrambled out of his way as Cardin went down, his hands shooting to his groin and his face scrunched up in pain.

“It looks like Cardin needs to work on his flexibility if he can’t handle the splits.” Yang had a smirk on her face.

The match was called, and Cardin crawled off the stage. Jaune opted to walk, picking up Crocea Mors on his way back to the crowd, an awestruck smile on his face.

“I can’t believe I actually won that! Second, what the hell kind of idea was that?!”

If your shield can get you stuck in a doorway, it can spread a man’s legs. One look at Cardin is all you need to know he’s not very flexible.

“Stuck in a doorway? I’ve never been stuck in a doorway.”

Correct. You’re welcome for that, by the way.

Their conversation was interrupted by congratulations from his friends.

“I believed in you the whole time, fearless leader!” Nora exclaimed with a wide smile and a pat on the back that might have been harder than some of his hits against Cardin.

“I don’t get it, why did Cardin give up after that? It was just the splits.” Ruby questioned the group.

“I’ll explain it when you’re older.” Yang pushed her sister down with an elbow on top of her head.

“Great job, Jaune.” Pyrrha's eyes were filled with joy. A bit quieter, so that the others wouldn’t hear, “I’d like to see him give you a hard time without phantom pain from that.”

I’m getting phantom pain, and I only watched it…

“And how did you come up with that move, Jaune?” Ren asked, clearly still cringing from watching that display.

“I can’t take credit for that one, it was Second’s idea.”

“Second helped you out then? He wasn’t a hindrance during the fight?”

“No… he was good. We were good.”

Perhaps, in a roundabout way, Second Thoughts could be considered a combat semblance after all.

Chapter Text

Things seemed to be going well for Jaune. He was making steady progress with his combat training, Cardin had avoided him since their little sparring “incident”, and today they were going on a field trip of sorts.

Or at least, things had been going well.

Dude, there’s gotta be some way to stop this. A pill or something?

Jaune wiped his mouth, standing back up as he walked towards his friends.

“You alright there, vomit boy?” Yang asked, a teasing smile on her face. The playful way she said it did little to hide the fact that she was keeping a healthy distance between them.

“I’m fine now, I just wish we didn’t have to take the bullhead here…”

Their conversation was interrupted by Goodwitch as she explained their reason for traveling to Forever Fall and everyone took their supplies. Teams RWBY and JNPR went off in the same direction to tap some trees, light conversation keeping them entertained. Jar after jar was filled with the purple sap.

Try to keep an eye out Jaune, there are grimm out here, and I’m not sure whether Cardin will try something or not.

Jaune glanced around, not seeing either. “Do you really think it’ll be a problem? I know that Goodwitch mentioned grimm but we haven’t seen any yet, and I think Cardin still feels your little trick whenever he looks at me…”

It’s pretty much a guarantee that there are grimm out here, the only question is whether or not it’ll be you and your friends that have to deal with it. As far as Cardin goes… honestly he might have given up already, but it never hurts to keep an eye out. I guess I’m just expecting it to happen because it’s what should be happening… hard to shake the feeling, even if I know things have changed already.

“Is something wrong, Jaune?” Pyrrha asked, pausing in her sap collection.

“I don’t think so, just Second warning me about potential threats with us being out here is all.”

“I doubt there’s much to worry about out here, with this many of us in one area we’ll likely spot any grimm before they can sneak up on us.”

“Still doesn’t hurt to have him keeping me on my toes. Can’t get complacent when there are grimm involved.”

“That’s true…” Pyrrha trailed off, a contemplative look on her face. “Does Second Thoughts ever warn you about things that are further out into the future? I know the branching timelines were brought up before, but surely there are some events that are common enough that they should be expected even with the different possibilities.”

Jaune thought for a moment. “Off the top of my head I can’t remember him doing that, no. He’s been more cooperative lately, but he seems fond of springing things on me as they happen… Why is that, Second?”

Well, it’s a few things really… but my major driving factor has been an effort to avoid changing you too much. In almost every timeline I’m aware of, you turn out to be a reliable sort of guy, and I’ve been a bit worried that constantly giving you the answers in advance would… hinder your development. My thought process was that if you only learn of the problems as they come up, you’d be forced to think on your feet, like you would even if I wasn't your semblance. Though I guess that’s sort of some flawed logic, isn’t it…

“I guess I can kind of see where you’re coming from… but we’re stuck together now, so I don’t really see any point in pretending that you’re not here to help me. Unless you’re planning to ditch me or something?” Jaune laughed, not paying attention to Pyrrha’s confused face as she heard only half of the conversation.

Haha, noooo, definitely not. You’re stuck with me now. But since it was brought up, I suppose I could offer you one piece of future advice for now. When team RWBY goes to the port to welcome students from the other academies, team JNPR should go with them. Would be a good idea to have you guys meet Penny and Sun earlier than scheduled…

“Penny and Sun? Who-”

“Jaune?” Pyrrha interrupted, “Would you care to share with the class what on remnant you’re talking about? Getting only your half of this is getting old really quick when you and I are the only two physically here.”

The blond startled. “Oh! Right, sorry about that.  I guess I’m getting kind of used to talking with him and I forgot to translate… subtitle? Interpreting? Ah whatever, you get my point.”

“Weren’t the two of you supposedly working on that? I seem to recall something about you communicating through just your thoughts to avoid this sort of thing. Or was that idea scrapped already?”

“No, it’s just… a work in progress. Every conversation I’ve had over the course of my life that wasn’t in a written format was spoken. It’s hard to adjust to this, it’s… foreign and new.”

“But isn’t it common for people to ‘talk’ to themselves in their heads?”

“It is, and I still find myself doing that sometimes, but talking to him is different from talking to myself. I’m not really sure how to describe it but there’s something that creates a distinction between them…”

“Interesting…” Pyrrha couldn’t expect herself to understand if even Jaune, the person with the semblance in question, didn’t understand it, but it was food for thought. “So what did he say then? You said some names, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, Benny and Sum.” Penny and Sun , Second Thoughts corrected. “Penny and Sun. Second says that when team RWBY go to the port we should go with them because it means meeting those two early.”

“So they’re people that we would eventually meet regardless then?”

“That’s what it sounds like, yeah.”

You should also up your training between now and then, so you’re prepared to fight the White Fang, Roman… is Neo at that one? I can’t quite recall-

Jaune dropped his jar, spilling his collected sap onto the ground and interrupting Second Thoughts.

“What?! What do you mean fight the White Fang?! Who are Roman and Neo?!” Jaune’s outburst was loud enough to catch the attention of the rest of the group and the task of sap collection was quickly abandoned.

“Who’s fighting the White Fang?” Blake was the first to rush over.

“Roman as in Torchwick?” Ruby was a close second.

“I knew I could count on our fearless leader to set us on the warpath!” Nora seemed to be the only one with a smile on her face.

This. This right here is why the talking needs to stop. Or at least no exclamations of shock…

Jaune could only sigh, resigning himself for being the intermediary in the interrogation that was about to happen. Right. We’ll work on it a bit more seriously from now on.

Ozpin could only dread the meeting that was about to occur. The first years had been on an outing to Forever fall when he had gotten a message from Glynda. Now he sat nursing a cup of coffee, Bart and Qrow waiting in his office with him, the three of them having a vague idea that this was likely related to Second Thoughts, but unaware of why exactly Glynda would demand that they be here so urgently. That sort of thing did not bode well.

“Do I really need to be here for whatever schoolyard drama is about to come up that elevator?” Qrow whined, sipping at his flask.

“I’m sure Glynda would love to hunt you down if you gave her a reason to, Qrow.” Bart adjusted his glasses.

“Point taken.” Nothing further could be said, because it was at that point that the elevator doors opened, revealing a very cramped situation for his students and the backbone of this school. Teams RWBY and JNPR walked out with Glynda leading them.

“Start explaining, Mr. Arc.” Oh dear . That was the voice that she used when something serious came up. He was going to need a lot more than just one cup of coffee…

The boy cleared his throat nervously, his eyes not focusing on any of them as he quite obviously was fed lines from his semblance.

“I would like to start this off with a few reminders for certain people in this room. First of all, Weiss may be a Schnee, but it is not fair to judge her for actions that she herself has not committed. Secondly, prejudice against faunus is to be frowned upon, even if you have had… unpleasant experiences with them in the past. Thirdly- what?” His audience stared as the boy debated with his semblance. “Thirdly… Blake is not to be left alone until the events explained today are over because she has a fanatical obsession with the White Fang?” He seemed especially confused about that condition. Strange. Was he not aware of the girl’s past? With how much the two teams interact, surely he should have been clued in by now, even without that semblance of his… though framing it as a ‘fanatical obsession’ was certainly worrying. Had the girl not truly left her past behind, or was she so guilt ridden that she felt compelled to stop any wrongdoings by her old comrades?

The confused looks from the rest of the students, barring Blake herself and her look of indignation, pointed towards the entirety of the group being unaware of the truth to any level. Perhaps the lesson plans needed to be updated if they couldn’t notice how her bow moved on its own…

“Moving on from that, making decisions for the future with lives on the line is stressful, so I will simply be giving you the information available to me and leaving you” he gestured towards the professionals in the room, “to actually come up with a plan of action, whatever that may be.”

Glynda and Bart nodded with approval, but Ozpin simply watched on. He was not about to trust information coming from Second Thoughts, but if the things mentioned were verifiable via secondary sources…

“I am unaware of any specific date for this occurrence. What I can tell you as far as timing goes, is that barring my interference, Weiss would have dragged her team out on one of their days off to scope out the potential Vytal festival competition arriving from the other schools. They would encounter one Sun Wukong and one Penny Polendina. Due to circumstances that I will not be sharing here in the interest of privacy, Blake ends up separating from her team and spending time with Sun instead. I cannot tell you if it is that night specifically, or just a night that follows after that, but Blake and Sun stumble upon Torchwick and the White Fang at the docks handling large amounts of dust. I will spare you the details, but in the end the criminals are repelled from the area by Sun, team RWBY, and Penny…. At the cost of a very large amount of property damage.”

While a few of the students had gained hopeful looks on their faces at the tale of their supposed future bravery, the mention of property damage had them wincing as they should be.

Ozpin set his coffee down for a moment. “I see. And is there anything else that you would like to share with us, Mr. Arc?”

It seemed that the semblance was done for now, as the boy shrank back under the gaze of the headmaster, no longer distracted with having to repeat so many words. “Ah, no sir! Honestly I’m surprised we got that much out of Second."

It was at this point that Glynda took over. “I cannot, and will not, punish you for actions that you have not actually committed… but let me be clear, here and now. If any of you ‘just so happen’ to find yourselves at the scene of the crime, you will wish that the punishment would stop at detention for the rest of your time at Beacon. Am I understood?”

The teenagers all nervously nodded, knowing better than to test the woman.

“Then you are dismissed. We will handle things from here.”

They quickly packed themselves into the elevator, leaving the staff, plus Qrow, alone in the room.

“So Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, eh? Can’t say I saw that one coming.” Qrow took another swig.

“Nobody in their right mind would have foreseen such a thing.” Bart nervously adjusted his glasses. “For either party to agree to such an arrangement… I can only imagine that there is a bigger fish lurking in the depths of this pond, silently making changes beneath our noses. A much larger fish, if they can manage something like this…”

“It’s always one thing after another, isn’t it? We had best get to planning. I won’t let this get in the way of the Vytal Festival.” Ozpin stood to prepare some more coffee. They were in for a long night.

Chapter Text

“This is absolutely ridiculous.” Blake complained.

“Is it though? Second Thoughts goes and drops a bomb on us like that, and adds the fact that you, specifically, need to have an eye kept on you? I for one think this is perfectly reasonable.” Weiss would not smirk. She was above such things. But, oh, was she tempted to.

“I seem to recall you being called out as well.”

“No, someone else was being warned against judging me for my family name.”

“That’s not the part I was referring to.”

“Now, now, Blakey, there’s no need to be all grumpy! You and I are gonna be the best of friends, attached at the hip even! Though you’re still behind Renny, nobody can come between the two of us.” Nora was all smiles, an arm wrapped around the faunus girl, threatening to snap her spine in half if she so much as thought about running off towards the docks.

“Yeah, Blakey.” Yang teased in a sing-song voice, “No need to be grumpy!” She barely contained her laughter. “At least we let you talk your way out of the kid leash.”

I’m kind of impressed that she managed to talk her way out of the leash without revealing why she’s so against it… 

There’s another reason? She went on a pretty long rant, I thought she covered everything she could think of , Jaune thought back.

Nah, but that’s her secret to tell, she’ll let you guys know when she’s ready I suppose. Though if Yang gets her going again I’m not too sure that she’ll hold another outburst in… say something distracting, no need to have her dealing with that quite yet.

“Any ideas on where our two mystery friends might be? I know Second Thoughts mentioned the docks, but with all of the students that are coming in I’m not sure how we’re supposed to single them out…” Jaune interjected.

“We could keep an eye out for interesting people and ask for their names!” Ruby chimed in.

“Yes, keep an eye out for the interesting people in the group of arriving huntsmen and huntresses. It’s not like they’re all meant to stand out or anything. We would be better off holding up placards with their names on them.” Weiss scoffed, but kept her eyes peeled all the same.

“Well he certainly looks interesting.” Pyrrha pointed the group towards one of the ships.

The group turned to look as a faunus that appeared to be their age jumped off of a ship, two of the workers yelling after him. A series of acrobatic flips and jumps found him running off the dock, being chased by two different men who had been on the shore.

“There is no way that a stowaway faunus who can’t even be bothered to properly button his shirt is important enough that we were directed to come here specifically for him.” Weiss scowled at the boy as he ran towards them.

“He’s coming right for us. Without Second’s forewarning, it’s entirely possible that he would have encountered team RWBY anyway. Perhaps he bumps into one of you or something along those lines. Is he our man, Jaune?” Ren asked.

Probably a bad idea to stop him when he’s running from the law right now, but we can at least get him to come back to us once he loses them. Repeat after me.

The blond faunus ran right up to the group, looking like he was going to pass them by when Jaune spoke up, gesturing to the girl beside him. “Hey Sun, Blake here is single.”

Sun’s eyes went wide as he stumbled, just barely managing to stop himself from falling flat on his face. He was not the only surprised one, with the rest of the group turning to Jaune, several with gaping mouths as the stowaway sprinted off, barely evading his pursuers. The chase rounded the corner, going out of sight before anyone spoke up.

“You- why-” Blake stumbled over her words, her face turning red with blush, “What was that?! You don’t know anything about my love life, you can’t just-”

Follow them.

“Come on, we’ve gotta chase after them!” Jaune didn’t hesitate to interrupt her, eager to escape the verbal lashing he was about to receive. When he ran off towards the street that Sun had turned down, the rest of the group quickly followed after. Just as he was rounding the corner, Second Thoughts spoke up again.

Sorry about this, by the way.

Sorry for wha-

It felt like he had collided with a truck. Not having expected it, he yelped in pain as he fell to the ground. The rest of the group caught up to him as he looked to see what he had run into. Or rather, who he had run into.

A girl? But it felt like I ran into metal…

“Jaune, you buffoon, you ran this poor girl over!” Weiss was quick to scold him. His friends looked at the ginger as she laid on the ground, not seeming to be making an effort to stand or even move.

“Salutations!” she called out, a smile on her face. The group looked at each other, all silently wondering what exactly her deal was.

“Are you… okay?” Yang tentatively asked.

“I’m wonderful, thank you for asking!” the stranger replied, still laying on the ground. Pyrrha walked up to the girl, offering her a hand… only for the ginger to stare, seeming as if she didn’t understand.

“Do you… need help up?” the champion hesitantly asked, only to be rebuked with a head shake.

“There is no need, I am combat ready!” The girl abruptly stood up on her own, ignoring Pyrrha’s offered hand and smiling at the group once more.

Ruby, both eager to get out of this awkward situation and wanting to  catch up with the guy confirmed to be their future friend, asked the stranger “Did you see which way the blond monkey faunus ran off to?”

“Indeed! The faunus had jumped onto the rooftops to escape the detectives pursuing him just before your group came around the corner. At his estimated speed and direction, assuming he stuck to the rooftops, he would now be approximately two city blocks away.”

“So we lost him then.” Yang sighed in frustration, choosing to ignore how this girl could apparently calculate that off the top of her head.

“Not necessarily,” Ren responded. “If she’s confident in her assessment, he would have escaped and is likely making his way back to ground level, if he hasn't done so already. With this many of us we could probably find him if we fan out and search. Though with Jaune’s little comment…”

He’ll find us, don’t worry about it.

If that’s true then why did you make me run after him and run into this girl?! Jaune questioned.

Why do you think?

“I have a feeling he’ll be the one to find us.” Jaune’s words brought back Blake’s blush as she was reminded of what happened. But before she could resume her scolding, Penny spoke up again.

“May I ask why you were in pursuit of that man?” The group looked at each other uncomfortably. How are you meant to explain that you were looking for a future friend as directed by a semblance when you saw him get chased off by the authorities without sounding a bit strange?

“We….” Jaune attempted to break the awkward silence, “uh, were hoping he would be our friend?” He cringed at the unsure way he said it.

“Your… friend?” The stranger asked, receiving hesitant nods in return. “That is… sensational! How great for new friendships to be forged!”

The strangeness of this entire interaction had many in the group feeling a growing sense of dread, their faces paling as they hoped their intuition was wrong. Blake, with Nora’s arm still wrapped around her waist, was the one to muster up the courage to ask “What’s your name?”

“My name is Penny! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

Teams RWBY and JNPR, sans Nora and Ruby with their strange ideas of what normal interaction looked like, gave Jaune a look.

“Why are you looking at me like I messed up?!”

Don’t worry, she’ll grow on you guys.

Watching through the security cameras, Ozpin watched teams JNPR and RWBY lead an unfamiliar pair onto campus. That new students were arriving was to be expected with the Vytal festival quickly approaching. A large number of teams were due to arrive today if he remembered correctly… but he normally made that sort of thing Glynda’s problem, so he wasn't entirely sure.

The woman in question cleared her throat to get his attention. “Do you plan to actually discuss things, or are you going to continue glaring at your screen like a child?”

“I still don’t see why we need a stupid meeting like this.” Qrow complained. “Seems the kids have found their little friends out by the docks, Blake and uh… Sun, was it? They’re here and not off hunting down the White Fang or whatever, so all the students are clear from the area and that means we go kick some ass tonight. What more do you want from me?”

“The topic of discussion today is not our upcoming meeting with the criminal elements in the city. Rather, the problem lies with the girl they’ve picked up.” Ozpin sipped his coffee, his gaze far off.

“I hardly see how our students befriending a young woman from another team presents a problem for us. We should be glad that they’re fostering good relations between the kingdoms!” Oobleck looked ready to fight anyone who disagreed.

“Were it any other student, I would be inclined to agree with you. But, seeing as she is an Atlas student, I… went fishing for information. It seems that Ms. Polendina is someone of significance, and not in a good way.”

Goodwitch rolled her eyes. “Do you expect me to believe that James of all people would allow someone to represent his school in the Vytal festival that hasn’t gone through background checks and come back spotless?”

“It’s not that she is hiding something from James, it is that he is hiding something from me.”

“Oh the horror,” Qrow deadpanned. “Good ol’ Irondick, living up to his reputation. Whatever shall we do. It’s probably just some garbage about keeping an edge in the tournament or something, who cares?”

“Have you informed the man of potential oddities concerning your own students?” Bart questioned.

“I have no idea what you mean.” Ozpin lied, clear for all to see.

“Here is a novel idea for you then. I suggest that any problems concerning the students that aren’t immediately life threatening… stay between the students! Revolutionary, isn’t it? Almost as if we have a fight against the White Fang and Roman Torchwick, at least , coming up and we should be focused on that instead of the friends our students make and whatever personal issues that they may have.”

“Agreed,” Glynda said. “I for one have better things to do than worry about the minutiae of the students’ personal lives. I shall see you all tonight.”

Two nights. They had sat through two whole nights of absolutely nothing, constantly on edge over a fight that never came, now going on three. Despite the fact that he wasn’t even properly read in on Jaune’s semblance situation, yet , Port had been invited to tag along for the extra manpower, and if Qrow had to listen to one more story the man had fabricated he was going to lose it.

“...and so I told myself, Peter you handsome devil, who cares if you’re the one left behind by the bullhead? Those women and children would surely perish if left here a moment longer, and there are only so many seats. Even if the reports are true, and there are 500 grimm on the way here- ”

“Quiet! It seems they’ve arrived.” Glynda shushed the man, her crop at the ready.

“Finally…” Qrow brandished his weapon, the others doing the same as they watched the bullhead come down. Out strode several members of the White Fang, followed by Torchwick himself.

“...just this once, I had wished for Second Thoughts to be wrong.” Bart mumbled, but Qrow was more focused on the number and positioning of the enemy. As Roman started barking out orders, they jumped down from their hidden perch, surrounding the criminals and blocking off their escape.

“You are under arrest,” Goodwitch started, “I will suggest that you come along quietly, lest we be forced to get a bit rough with you.”

“Yes, I’d like to make this quick. We do have a school to run in the morning.” Ozpin looked the most relaxed of the group, but the way that the White Fang members flinched back upon recognizing him made his attitude seem justified.

“You stupid animals, don’t just stand there! Get them!” The renowned thief raised his cane, firing off a shot and starting the fight.

I wonder if it was tonight. Wish I could have given them more solid information for the date…

Second Thoughts’ musings were drowned out by the whooping and shouting of Jaune’s friends.

“Can’t you take it easy on me?! I’m the new guy, come on!” Sun cried out.

“Never show your enemies mercy!” was Nora’s only response as she ruthlessly destroyed him, taking yet another win for the night. It was pretty impressive actually, how well she played the game while keeping an arm wrapped around Blake.

“Can you please let me go already? It’s been days! I can’t even sleep properly with how much you guys have been smothering me!” While Nora had enthusiastically taken to Blake-sitting duty during the day, she left the night to the girls’ teammates, the three of them on a rotation.

“Nope! Not until we get the all clear!” Ruby cheerily replied, shoveling popcorn in her mouth as she watched Nora destroy Sun, adding yet another win to her streak.

“I don’t see how anyone is meant to beat Nora, let alone the guy who’s never played this before.” Sun set his controller down with a sigh.

Penny might stand a chance. Actually she might crush Nora depending on… hmm…

“Do you wanna give it a shot, Penny?” Jaune asked. The newest girl in the friend group lit up at the question.

“Of course! It’s simply sensational that I’ve managed to make so many friends! To be invited to a game night is truly an honor!” While they were still getting used to a few of her eccentricities, Jaune could say that after spending a bit of time with her, he could see how they might have ended up as friends, even without Second Thoughts’ meddling. She was bright, cheery, eager to make friends. Something about her seemed a bit off… but she was entitled to her secrets. He hadn’t exactly informed their two newest friends about his semblance yet, so questioning her would be hypocritical.

Normally I would be all for you telling them right away, but I’m not sure how to go about it in a way that won’t end poorly.

End poorly? Penny seems like a nice girl, I just thought it would be awkward to drop that sort of thing on her right away before we even got to know each other. Jaune thought back.

It’s not so much that Penny would be a problem… more so that she… is very open with her… guardian? It’s hard to phrase this in a way that doesn’t destroy her privacy. But anyway, if he finds out about me without getting to know you first, well, he’s kind of an overprotective type, let’s say, and he happens to have a lot of power in Atlas. So in my opinion, we should ease her into it.

I… see? He can’t be that bad, right?

Second Thoughts was silent.

Well, what about Sun?

Sun is cool. He’ll have your backs. Mostly Blake’s, but you get what I mean.

Is he really that into Blake? He can’t be any worse than-

“What?!” Jaune was distracted from his conversation with Second by a shout. Everyone was staring at the screen, watching as their reigning champ lost for the first time. Jaune had never seen Nora lose at this game, but Penny…

“...it’s like we’re watching a TAS.” Ren commented, a modicum of shock actually managing to show on his ever unflappable face.

“What’s a TAS?” Pyrrha asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“Tool-assisted speedrun. The short explanation is that it’s using a computer to give perfect inputs, stuff that even a Huntsman’s reflexes couldn’t match.” Jaune answered. He thought he heard a laugh from Second, but it stopped so suddenly he wasn't sure if he imagined it or not. “Normally it’s for people trying to discover the fastest way to beat a game, but this… Penny is amazing. Beyond amazing even, I don’t think I’ve seen someone with this level of skill even among the people who do it professionally.”

As the match came to an end with an overwhelming victory for Penny, Nora seemed to be caught between shock at having lost for once, and a deep respect for someone more skilled than her.

“I adhered to your words from earlier, friend Nora! No mercy was given!” The cheerful smile on her face didn’t seem to match her words.

Nora’s expression became a bit frightening at that proclamation. “Somebody hold Blake, I need a rematch!”

You know, on third thought, maybe this was a mistake.

Third thought?

Well, I’m Second thoughts, so when I have to think again it must be a third thought, no?

Jaune’s heavy sigh was drowned out under the cheers and jeers of the group, while off in the distance an explosion rang out.

Chapter Text

Roman cursed under his breath.

He was used to being in the spotlight. Came with the territory of being the most well known thief in Vale. He took a bit of pride in his work, in his skill, and he made sure that the people were well aware of just how great he is.

But then Cinder had shown up. You didn’t make it in this line of work without knowing your limits, and he was well and sure that Cinder was not someone he wanted to cross. Strong enough on her own to be a real pain, and despite the image she tried to put on it was obvious that she had some sort of backer. She was strong, sure, but not strong enough to have taken the resources she had, and definitely not smart enough either for all she believed that she was some master manipulator. No, there had to be someone above her… And someone who could order a girl like Cinder around? He was even less interested in getting on their bad side.

So what was some extra thievery? Stealing was his specialty, and if doing it a bit more kept him alive for one more day, that was another day where he could try to figure out an exit plan. Not that he had managed to come up with much.

And as he eyed up the group surrounding him and the stupid animals Cinder had forced him to work with? It was looking like his time had run out. Port had easily dodged his shot, and the huntsmen were making quick work of all the worthless goons he had with him.

“My my, all of this for little ol’ me? Why, I’m almost flattered. Though I am curious as to how you managed to get enough advance notice on my location to justify this many of you coming out…”

It didn’t make any sense. Four Beacon staff, including the headmaster himself and his deputy, along with a fifth Huntsman who seemed vaguely familiar in all the wrong ways. This isn’t a group that would just have stumbled upon this. They should have been on the other side of the city, worrying about tomorrow’s school day. But who could have warned them? The goons he was working with didn’t get locations until just before they were needed. Everything was on a need to know basis, and he didn’t trust them as far as he could throw them.

“You need not concern yourself with our information source, Roman. Just give yourself up.” Bart looked resigned as he said it, even as he knocked out two “White Fang” members who were little more than civilians in cosplay with how little training they seemed to have.

A source they weren’t willing to reveal. Someone he could hurt then. Or at least, someone they thought he could hurt.

He had been betrayed, then. The only thing that made any sense was that Cinder or one of her other goons had pretended to be a “concerned citizen” and ratted him out, saying they had overheard he would be at this location. But for her to report him to the authorities instead of just killing him outright… Was this part of her stupid plan she wouldn’t share with him? What good was he behind bars? As he dodged and weaved and fired off Melodic Cudgel any time one of them got too close, he desperately tried to figure out the reason.

But he had nothing. He couldn’t make a lick of sense out of this situation. But he also didn’t have a way out of it, not with this many Huntsmen of this caliber here, and Neo off doing other work…

Well, if Cinder wanted him arrested, that meant he could at least live. But a master thief wasn’t going to get captured without putting up a hell of a fight.

Qrow was having a bad time. As the fight dragged on for longer than it really should have, he couldn’t help but wonder why they bothered bringing him along. With Glynda, Oz and Port working to disarm the White Fang members and the bullheads they had flying around, that left Bart and him to take on Roman. Bart seemed to be about evenly matched with the thief, so having a two on one should have been a piece of cake… were it not for his semblance. It seemed like every time Bart managed to get a good opportunity to take the criminal out, Roman would trip over nothing, allowing him to dodge by a hair’s breadth. Every time he fired off Harbinger, it would miss and hit the concrete below them, sending dust and debris into Bart’s eyes, or even his own!

“I know that thieves tend to be the slippery type, but this is just ridiculous!” He roared out, transforming Harbinger into its scythe form and swinging at Torchwick as Bart created an opening for him.

“If it’s too hard for you, you could always give up! Don’t be ashamed, you wouldn’t be the first to fail at catching me.” Roman had the gall to smirk at him, even as the sweat dripped down his stupid, smug face and he very obviously pushed himself as hard as he could, just barely escaping the blow.

Qrow tripped, stumbling into one of the many shipping containers and leaving him wide open for retaliation. Not one to miss such an opportunity, Torchwick fired at him, careful to angle his shot so that even if he missed he wouldn't hit the precious cargo.

But as Qrow hurriedly trying to deflect the shot with his weapon, the round just so happened to hit it at a perfect angle to ricochet into the shipping container, piercing the wall. He didn't even have the time to curse his semblance before the dust inside exploded, sending him, Roman, and Bart flying and drawing the attention of everyone for miles around.

The remaining White Fang had quickly surrendered after seeing the one trained fighter amongst them get ragdolled through the air and slam into a wall. The three men caught in the explosion were in rough shape, but it didn't seem to be anything life threatening thanks to their aura. They were being transported to the Vale Central hospital for a more immediate look over, but they would likely be released into the care of Beacon the following day. Or rather, later this day given how the early light of dawn seemed to be upon them. Port had volunteered to look after them and ensure Roman didn't sneak off somehow.

That left Ozpin and Goodwitch to clean up the mess and deal with the authorities. Glynda'a semblance made her invaluable for cleaning up a mess of this size, which meant Ozpin…

"Right. Another form." He accepted the paper with enthusiasm. Or at least, he hoped that he portrayed enthusiasm. He had long run out of coffee, and had not slept in quite a long time now, only to be bombarded with page after page of bureaucratic nonsense that the city was all too happy to push onto Beacon regarding the incident and Torchwick's arrest.

"Thank you for your work, sir. Torchwick has been a real thorn in our side." The officer looked apologetic that dealing with a criminal had taken the top staff of Beacon… but not apologetic enough to help with the veritable book of paperwork, scurrying off so he could pretend to look busy.

It was then that Glynda saw fit to join him again. "It seems that the last of it has been taken care of. This could have gone better… but I suppose this is a preferable outcome to our students being involved and Torchwick escaping."

Ozpin wasn't sure he could agree if it meant dealing with all of this… but he could always quietly slip it into Glynda's things later on, like he did with most of his work.

"Indeed. Though the lack of this 'Neo' character that was mentioned concerns me…" Had she simply been busy elsewhere? Or was Second feeding them lies? Only time could tell.

"Let's just hope that any other issues can wait until after the Vytal festival. It's going to be a nightmare as it is…"

Ozpin wasn't nearly so hopeful.

Once more, the two teams found themselves in front of Professor Goodwitch and the Headmaster. Having been called to Ozpin's office once more, they knew there could be only one reason for this meeting.

"Ms. Valkyrie, you may release Ms. Belladona." Goodwitch just barely managed to suppress her eye roll upon seeing just how they had 'kept an eye on' the girl.

Blake was on the other side of the room in an instant, all too eager to be free of Nora.

"So that means…?" Ruby looked hopeful.

"Yes," Ozpin replied. "Roman Torchwick has been captured, along with all White Fang members who were present. Because this is an ongoing investigation, I'm afraid I cannot share any more details with you on the manner of their arrest, nor related topics."

That was good enough for them. The group cheered, elated at the news, even if they hadn't really been involved.

"However…" the teams quieted down as Ozpin continued, "both Professor Oobleck and Qrow were injured in an explosion."

That put a damper on the mood rather immediately.

"They are expected to make speedy recoveries, but you will likely not see them out and about for the next few days. They are on strict orders of bedrest. If you wish… they should be open to general visitors tomorrow. Of course, Ms. Rose and Ms. Xiao-Long may visit their uncle immediately."

Before the sisters could rush out of the room, Goodwitch stopped them. "Just a moment, if you would. Before we let you go, we would like to know if there are any other pressing matters to attend to."

The whole room eyed Jaune.

Uhhh, got anything for me Second?

I suppose there is one thing…

"The next event of note would be the murder of a bookstore owner. The name is… Tukson, maybe? Something similar to that at least. Faunus, extendable claws like a cat. White Fang member looking for a way out, and it doesn't end well for him. That's all I can give you on that front… and outside of that, we've got some time to relax. I'll be sure to let you know when something else crops up."

"Less than expected, yet more than I wanted." Goodwitch sighed. "You are dismissed."

Sun and Penny had quickly integrated into the friend group of teams RWBY and JNPR. Sun had been spending quite a bit of time with them since the rest of his team had yet to arrive. Penny seemed to have a much more busy schedule, but was still spending what free time she had with the group.

Today was yet another day where the newest ginger in the group was absent. Sun was making obvious, and so far unsuccessful, attempts to get closer to Blake as the group traded jokes and barbs around a table in the cafeteria. The faunus girl was stonewalling his attempts, but he could occasionally get her to blush, and she had yet to seriously try and distance herself from him.

"Keep it up Sun, you'll make her crack eventually~" Yang teased the pair, having very much been enjoying the show so far. It was hard to tell if she was playing it up a bit to distract herself from her uncle's injuries, but all she and Ruby would say about it was that Qrow was doing alright and was hoping to be released as early as tomorrow. Apparently he was closer to the explosion than Oobleck, so their professor should be out of the woods even sooner if all went well.

Blake glowered at her teammate, but Sun laughed good naturedly.

"It's nice to know that I have the support of my fellow blonds." He gave Yang and Jaune a wide smile.

"Hey, don't drag me into this!" Jaune protested.

"Drag you into it? This is all your fault!" Blake looked half ready to hiss at him.

She kind of has a point, even if you were just listening to me…

"She's got you there, man." Sun's easygoing grin turned into a contemplative look. "But that reminds me… how did you know my name back then? I don't remember ever meeting you, and I'm pretty good with faces!"

"Ah, well…" the chatter at the table quieted down as they caught on.

What should I do? Jaune pleaded.

If you want to tell him, tell him. Like I said before, he'll have your back.

"...I would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself, but it's my semblance."

Sun's eyes widened. "Oh! I guess I should have expected something like that, but… what exactly is your semblance? I can't imagine it just tells you people's names. If you don't mind me asking! Sorry, I know the festival is coming up and a lot of people are keeping their semblances secret…"

"We call him Second Thoughts, or just Second for short." Sun only seemed more confused, but Jaune barrelled on before he could ask a question. "Long story short, my semblance is sentient. It talks to me, gives me advice, etc. Only I can hear it though, we interact through our thoughts, hence the name." He gave his new friend a moment to process that.

"Seriously?! That's pretty nifty… but how does that translate to you knowing my name?"

What? He just believed me? No asking for proof, no doubt?

I told you, he's a good guy.

"This is the abridged version, but basically Second can see a few versions of the future. We would have been friends, are friends, so he knew who you were."

"That is sick! So does that mean you already know who wins the tournament?! No, wait, better question," he glanced at Blake out of the corner of his eye. "Do we…?"

I'm not answering those.

"Sorry man, but that's not how it works. I'm sure that Second has some idea… but he's not exactly keen on telling me about it. It frustrates me to no end, but that's how it is."

And so yet another member was inducted into our secret society…

Are you narrating? Stop it, I'm trying to have a conversation here.

Spoil sport.

Chapter Text

It was hard to tell what the best course of action would be involving Torchwick. A supposed “master thief” who undoubtedly had members of the local law enforcement in his pockets along with whoever his mysterious backer was and this “Neo” person that had been mentioned briefly. There were too many variables at play, too many opportunities for the man to be broken out and back on the streets, or, if his capture was looked upon in a particularly unfavorable light, perhaps even killed to ensure his silence. For the moment, he was being held under a sort of house arrest/ witness protection scheme. Locked away in an available Beacon room with a team of fully fledged Huntsmen guarding him at all times. It was the best they could come up with for now, at least until the others were captured as well… or rather, that’s what the council had claimed. When even the slightest possibility of the criminal escaping was brought up, the cowards were all too eager to make him Beacon’s problem, not wanting to deal with the criticism that losing him would bring. They would not hear any complaints about the school not being properly fitted to house prisoners or that this could be a potential danger to the students. “You’re running a school for Huntsmen,” they had said, “Surely you’re able to handle one man. We have the utmost faith in your abilities!”

The whole affair was quickly becoming a massive headache for Ozpin and Goodwitch, to the point that the headmaster was seriously considering calling in Ironwood to hold the thief on an entirely different continent. The potential political fallout was not a hornet’s nest he was eager to poke at though…

“Maybe I should just retire or something.” Ozpin’s musings were interrupted by Qrow’s continued whining.

“I have already told you Qrow, the occasional mishap like this is no reason for you to hang up your weapon. It has been quite a while since I last took a day off. Even if this was medical leave…” Oobleck tried to reassure him, “Semblances are tricky things to control at times, and with one like yours… Well, these things happen.”

“Give it up, Bart, the man just likes to complain.” Glynda’s patience with the alcoholic had worn thin long ago, “He’ll be back in the field in no time, and then this will happen again, and again-”

“I do not! My complaints about my semblance working against me are perfectly valid!” The man in question cried out.

“Enough.” Ozpin put a stop to it. “Let’s focus on what we can do in the here and now. The information we got out of the White Fang members has amounted to nothing of significance, but Torchwick…” They eyed the door to his room, the two Huntsmen who were standing guard outside it pointedly ignoring their conversation, less they somehow draw the ire of Glynda. The team had graduated recently enough that they still feared her.

Qrow gave a heavy sigh. “So how are we doing this then? Good cop bad cop?”

“No,” Ozpin replied, “I will go in alone. Watch through the cameras, see if there’s anything you can pick up on.”

The decision was not a popular one with the group, but he soon found himself entering the room by himself with the others watching the video feed on Glynda’s scroll. Installing the camera in the room at the last minute had been a hassle, and a decision that really should not get out to the student body lest they start some unsavory rumors, but they really couldn’t afford to take any chances…

Roman’s eyes were on him like a hawk as he entered, watching him from his spot on the bed, laid back like he was without a care in the world. Stripped down to only a basic set of slacks and a t-shirt, it was odd to see the man without his usual get up, but the clothing he had been arrested in was currently sitting under lock and key along with his weapon. You could never trust that someone as experienced as him would not be hiding tools on his person.

“So the top dog himself has decided to grace me with his presence? And after being part of the group to bring me in as well. Why, if I didn’t know better I might think that you have some sort of ulterior motive here. Trying to get some alone time with me?” His tone was suggestive, but Ozpin had been playing this game for far, far longer than the man before him. He knew when he was being sized up.

“I’m afraid I’m only here to ask you a few questions.” Ozpin stayed standing, content to stay on the other side of the room. “Let’s start with an easy one, shall we? How exactly did you come to be working with the White Fang of all groups? Seeing you alongside them, why, even I was a bit shocked at that.”

The ginger rolled his eyes. “You know how it is. Everyone with plans needs cannon fodder and fall guys. The council throws citizens into Mountain Glenn, you throw impressionable students at the grimm, I throw White Fang at the cops. Or at least, that was the plan. Hadn’t exactly accounted for you lot to show up. How did you know I was going to be there?”

The mention of such a tragedy was a low blow, but Ozpin had faced loss before. But the look on the man’s face, the slight microexpressions made when asking the question…

Interesting. He has some idea of how he was found out, but he’s seeking confirmation. Obviously he must be thinking it a betrayal of some sort, but who?

“Now Roman, you and I both know that an information source that led to your arrest isn’t something I’ll be willing to share with you.”

“You can’t blame a man for trying,” he shrugged, obviously not having expected a straight answer.

“How about your benefactor then? Willing to tell me anything about them? I can’t imagine that you’ve gone down this route by choice, so if you’re being threatened…” He left the end of the sentence up in the air, but the implication was pretty clear.

Roman laughed. “Huntsman, headmaster, and comedian? I didn’t know you had so many talents!”

No dice on that front, but they could always try again later. There was one last matter that could potentially provoke a reaction. Of course, it couldn’t be guaranteed that he would even recognize the name. It could be that they used a different name when working with him, or perhaps they hadn’t even met yet. But it didn’t hurt to try.

“I see. Is it just as humorous when I ask about Neo?”

It seemed that was the right question to ask. Roman couldn’t quite clamp down on his initial surprise in time to hide it. He was quiet for a moment though. Contemplative.

“It’s a dangerous game you’re playing there, Ozpin.” For the first time since his capture, the man looked serious. “I would be careful of who you trust, were I in your position.”

Perhaps this interrogation would be fruitful after all.

Mercury knew better than to ask stupid questions.

Or rather, he knew there was a time and a place for them. When he and Emerald were alone? They were a great way to annoy her.

But now? When Cinder looked absolutely livid? The stupid questions could be left to her little lap dog.

“So… What’s the plan now? With Roman and Neo gone…” And hadn’t that been a kick while they were down? Roman gets caught like some chump and then Neo skips town on them as soon as the news gets out.

“Quiet!” Her eyes shone and her hands flared up. If it hadn’t been Emerald to ask, there would likely be a new scorch mark and a pile of ashes on the ground.

“I am thinking. We knew Roman was a worthless rat, but to think he would be captured like this…” Cinder starting her annoying rants was a good sign that he would live through the night. “Neo has likely infiltrated Beacon by this point, trying to keep a closer eye on him. Though with the amount of dust he had already collected… We move forward as planned.”

He had known that Cinder was crazy since he met the woman, but for her to suggest moving forward as planned when a key fall guy was imprisoned way sooner than he should have been? That was a new level, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

“The two of you will have to pick up the pieces he has left behind. I hadn’t wanted the two of you to be directly involved with the festival quickly approaching, but it would seem we have no choice. We’ll simply have to meet up with our final teammate when we arrive at Beacon and dole out some… corrective measures.”

Well damn. That wasn’t good… but at least now he would actually get to do something instead of just sitting around and pretending to be some goody two-shoes. Of course, she hadn’t brought up how, exactly, the huntsmen had found Roman, or what they were going to do to counter that, but if the two women with him weren’t going to bring it up, he wasn’t about to risk his neck.

“But rest assured, if the two of you are caught…” Her eyes fell to him, which, okay, fair, he wasn’t the one with the hallucination semblance, “I can assure you that you won’t be living out a quiet life in prison.”

Always the threats with her. Oh well. He’d just have to go relax by doing the same to someone else. Roman was supposed to be taking out some trash soon, wasn’t he? Some White Fang  traitor schmuck. That would be a good start…

“Tukson’s Book Trade, eh? Why, I do believe we’ve found the right place!” Port bellowed.

“Indeed it does. Why don’t you keep watch, and let me do the talking?” Oobleck replied.

Peter laughed. “Of course, of course! I’m more of a man of action myself, I’ll leave the boring details to you!”

The pair entered the store, Port hanging around the entrance, doing an awful job of looking nonchalant, while Bart walked up to the counter. The man behind it did not appear to be obviously Faunus, but if Second Thoughts was correct in that his trait was extendable claws, that was to be expected.

“Hello there, am I correct in assuming that you are the Tukson of Tukson’s book trade?” he began.

“Yes…” It was clear that he was on edge, though he put up a decent front. His demeanor would still appear open and friendly to any average customer who walked in, but Bart was trained for this sort of thing. “Is there something you need help with?”

“On the contrary, sir, it is I who would like to help you. My name is Bartholemew, but you can call me Bart if you would like.” He pulled up his school identification, showing that he was both a Huntsman and an employee of Beacon.  “Would you be willing to enter a witness protection program?”

The man chuckled uneasily. “Why would I need to do that?”

“Although I cannot share certain details, I have reason to believe that your life is in danger.” Tukson tensed up. Did he perceive that as a threat? Perhaps he was already aware that he was in danger then. “Please do not misunderstand me. I can understand perfectly well the reasons why some would have chosen to join the White Fang in the past. I can also understand why you would want to leave now, seeing what it has become. I am a firm believer in the idea that people can learn from their mistakes and become a better person. However, that will not be possible if your enemies are successful in hunting you down.”

The man seemed indecisive. Like the offer tempted him, but he wasn’t sure that he could afford to trust someone at the moment.

“Please. Let me help you.”

After a long moment of tense silence, Tukson sighed. “My things are already packed. Let me go grab my bags.”

“Wonderful!” Peter called out, having grown bored of watching the passing crowds. “Let’s get a move on then, the sooner we can get you to safety, the better!”

Not even an hour later, Mercury and Emerald would find Tukson’s Book Trade closed, and its owner nowhere to be seen.

“And how are my favorite nieces doing?” Qrow scooped Yang and Ruby up in his arms, surprising them with an attack from behind. Teams RWBY and JNPR had been hanging out with Sun again, eagerly waiting for the rest of the foreign teams to show up so that they could both spend more time with Penny and meet the teams of their new friends. It seemed like Penny had no free time at all these days, but that probably had something to do with the fact that her guardian had gotten wind that she was spending so much time fraternizing with foreign teams. Atlas had always seemed like an insular bunch…

“Aren’t we your only nieces?” Yang asked, forcing her way out of his grip.

“Exactly, favorite eldest niece.” He rested his arm on Ruby’s head before turning his gaze down towards her. “Favorite youngest niece.” Ruby stuck her tongue out at him.

Sun whispered to Jaune. “Wasn’t their uncle supposed to be some super cool huntsman?” Though Sun had heard a decent number of stories about the man after learning about his trip to the hospital, this was his first time seeing the huntsman in person.

“Supposedly, but I’ve yet to see him in action.” Jaune whispered back.

Qrow is cool. But he’s an uncle first, huntsman second. He’s obligated to be embarrassing around those two. Hold your judgment until you see him in action.

If you say so…

“Bunch of brats.” It seemed Qrow had overheard them. “Keep on talking. Those attitudes are gonna be long gone when I stomp you into the ground-” A shiver went down Jaune’s spine, “-by proxy of my nieces.”

“...what?” Sun was just as confused as Jaune felt.

“I trained them, so they’re a decent indicator of how amazing I am… at times. So when they beat you, it’s like I beat you by proxy. The Vytal Festival is fast approaching, you know.”

Yang rolled her eyes at his words. “What my super lame uncle means to say-”

“Hey!”

“-is that we’re gonna kick your butts and he somehow thinks he gets the credit for that.”

Nora was never one to back down from a challenge. “Just you wait and see, team JNPR is going all the way to the top!” She emphasized her point by climbing up on Ren’s shoulders, putting her above the rest of them physically, if not in the future rankings for the tournament.

“Please get down.” Ren’s pleas went unheard, and he visibility resigned himself to being used as a jungle gym.

“As if,” Weiss crossed her arms and looked down her nose at them. “Team RWBY is clearly going to win.”

“Can you really say that with her on their team?” Sun pointed to Pyrrha, “I’ll give it my all, but I don’t think my team is going to make it past her. I’ve seen her spars.”

Pyrrha blushed as all the attention was drawn to her. “I’m not that much better…”

“Yet even when you try to downplay it, you agree that you’re at least somewhat better than us.” Blake deadpanned.

All of this talk about the festival was getting to Jaune’s nerves. Although he had kept up his extra training and was making good progress, he was still obviously a handicap to Pyrrha in a team vs team setting.

I’m not gonna ruin things for the team, am I?

Nah, I think you’ve got a good chance in the Vytal Festival. Things should be pretty easy for a lot of your match-ups with Pyrrha in the field, at least until…

Until…? Jaune prompted Second to continue.

…oh SHIT! Jaune I need you to pass on a message for me. I had completely forgotten that with Qrow… will that still cause… Maybe I should… no, no, it’ll be fine. Worst case scenario we can just subject ourselves to some scrutiny I’ve been trying to avoid…

You know, you’re kind of scaring me with this.

It’ll be fine, I just need to make sure someone hears something.

“Uh, Qrow?” Jaune spoke up.

“Yeah? Don’t tell me our stupid semblances are sending me to the hospital again or something.”

“No, or at least, I don’t think so? Second says you should message you-know-who and tell him something about a queen having pawns?”

Qrow looked like he wasn’t sure what to make of the message at first. “But he already… wait. You mean him ? Why do I have to deal with him, can’t you just give us warnings instead of sending him cryptic bullshit and working him up into a frenzy? If you want me to say that then you know what he’s gonna do in response, right?”

Nobody in the group, including Jaune himself, could make a lick of sense out of what was being said. But it seems Second understood perfectly.

“He’s trying to stick to what he’s familiar with. The stupid response is necessary”

“What’s going to be necessary is me being blackout drunk to deal with that stupid-” Qrow’s words devolved into unhappy grumbles, but he pulled out his scroll all the same.

Are you sure that I shouldn’t be concerned about this? Jaune prompted once more.

…maybe. Honestly, getting drunk might be the appropriate response here.

Who exactly is he sending that message to?

You’ll see. All of Vale will see. The guy doesn’t understand subtlety.

Would it kill you to give straight answers?

Perhaps.

Chapter Text

“...Second?” Jaune managed to get the words out, his gaze drawn to the unusual view in the skies of Vale. He had gotten much better about not broadcasting their conversations lately, but a sight like this was enough to make him slip into old habits.

Yes, Jaune? His semblance replied.

“In what way is this necessary?” The blond didn’t even need to gesture towards the thing in question. Everyone within eyesight, and likely everyone who could see the phenomena at all, had their gazes locked on the small Atlas fleet landing on Beacon grounds. Or rather, small in terms of Atlas military, as the number seemed to be a bit much for visiting a school for huntsmen.

Look, I’m not exactly thrilled about it either, but it is necessary. But now that he’s here…

“Now that he’s here…?” Jaune prompted.

I’m not quite sure what to do. I’ve been thinking about the best course of action since… well, since I manifested as your semblance, really, but trying to plan this stuff out when lives are on the line is more pressure than I really care for.

“Why not just tell Ozpin what you know? It worked out with the stuff at the docks, right?”

It did, but… things are about to get a bit more serious than that. I could let Ozpin have a few warnings, sure. Locations, people to look out for… but at the end of the day, he’s not some all powerful being that can solve every problem thrown at him.

“Well… what if we told someone else then? It doesn’t have to be Ozpin.”

That just leads to the same issue again. People like Oobleck and your friends are more likely to take what I say at face value and trust my input, but they lack the power to accomplish much, at least not without many more problems popping up in their wake. People like Ozpin and Ironwood have the power to do a lot, but they’re paranoid and might not ever trust me, no matter how many of my predictions prove to be correct. Although trusting the voice in a student’s head is probably the unreasonable position to an outsider if I’m being honest with myself… and then even if we do convince them to listen, we can’t stop them from going far beyond my suggestions. Give them too much information and then we’ll find that I’ve got nothing left to give because they went and altered the timeline beyond recognition.

All of these problems can be resolved without warning, as can be seen by the timelines where you never get me as your semblance, but the endings of those stories aren’t exactly… happy. Not for everyone. Good will triumph over evil, the sun shines after a dark day, but that sunlight hits graves.

Jaune didn’t have a response to that. He knew the careful wording and caveats Second Thoughts had given in the past when it came to future knowledge, but to hear something like that when his predictions focused on the people around him…

I’m trying to do everything I can, Jaune. I want a happy ending for you guys. But I’m just a semblance trapped in your head.

“That’s… kind of heavy. I don’t want to even think about…”

I’m sorry.

The pair was quiet for a long while, though any passerby would only see a single student staring at the airships. Eventually, Jaune broke the silence.

“I think we should try Ozpin.”

Can I ask your reasoning?

“I’ll admit that a lot of what you say goes over my head, but if I’m understanding correctly… Normally we run around trying to solve stuff on our own, don’t we? And not everyone makes it. Even if going down this route might cause new problems, ones that you aren’t familiar with… it’s like you said when I tried asking about the future before, right? Leading me to every solution would stunt my growth or something like that. No reward without the risks.”

…I see. I suppose I am your semblance at the end of the day. If that’s your decision, I’ll stick with it. Let’s head to Ozpin’s office. Though we should probably send an invite as well..

“...I’m afraid that I can’t allow you to leave just yet. It seems our business has not concluded.” Ozpin called out as Ironwood turned to leave his office.

“What else is there to discuss? I believe we made our positions quite clear.”

“I’ve just received word that my biggest headache as of late has deemed you worthy of joining in on the suffering.”

“I don’t have time for your riddles, just-”

The general’s words were interrupted by the elevator door opening, two students walking out, though neither seemed all too happy to see the men already present. A Beacon student, blond and timid. An Atlas student, ginger and stiff. Ironwood raised a brow at the pair, while Ozpin seemed ready to drown himself in coffee.

Jaune chuckled awkwardly, sensing the tension in the room. “H-hey there, uh, General Ironwood, sir?” He threw up a sloppy salute, obviously unsure of how to address the man.

Ironwood wanted to roll his eyes, but he wasn’t about to let his guard down when the boy had walked into this meeting with Penny at his side. “At ease. I’m afraid that I don’t know your name, young man.”

Jaune’s sweaty palms fell to his sides. “Jaune Arc, sir. We were hoping to speak to you about some… security issues we’re aware of.”

That was a good way to get the general's attention, but Penny’s follow up threw him off.

“We were? I am afraid that I do not understand, friend Jaune. I have no memory of such a thing. You simply contacted me and asked me to meet you at the elevator. Are you feeling alright? I’m told that head trauma can sometimes cause memory problems.”

“When Mr. Arc says ‘we’, he does not refer to the two of you Penny.” Ozpin interrupted, fighting off a sigh. “He means himself and… his semblance.”

“Are you suggesting that his semblance is a separate entity?” Ironwood asked, doubt obvious on his face.

“In a manner of speaking. Would you care to explain for our guests, Mr. Arc?” Ozpin rubbed at his brow, already feeling the headache coming on.

“Well, um,” despite having explained his situation several times now, Jaune still found himself nervous about making these claims to the top dog of Atlas, even if he knew them to be factual, “My semblance is like… a voice in my head. Like how some people think of their conscience? Except instead of helping me tell right from wrong it’s an entirely different person. Different personality, memories, abilities. We call him Second Thoughts.”

Ironwood found himself nodding along. “Perhaps not the strangest semblance I’ve seen in my time, but certainly a unique one… however, I fail to see what this has to do with any potential security issues, or why Penny is here.”

“I’ll, ah, be relaying Second’s words now,” Jaune seemed hesitant to do so, but continued speaking all the same. “ General Ironwood, allow me to begin by stating that I wholeheartedly wish for us to work together in reaching a peaceful future. That said, I expect many roadbumps in our relationship due to the nature of our abilities.”

Ironwood almost cut the boy off there, but the resigned look on Ozpin’s face made him reconsider. There’s not much that a mere… first year? Could know about what he was capable of.

“I am aware of your semblance, Mettle. A passive ability, it would not be surprising if many didn’t consider it a semblance at all. It allows for a strengthened resolve, swift action, being able to put your emotions to the side. Or at least, that’s my understanding of it. It makes you an ideal leader. It also makes you more susceptible to paranoia

You’re probably asking yourself how I know such a thing, given that we have never met before. The answer lies in my own abilities. You see, I am… let’s say “vaguely aware” of the future surrounding Jaune. I am familiar with several timelines, some of them branching, some of them parallel to the one we’re in currently. I won’t bore you with the intricate details for now, but the important thing to note here is that knowing the future, or at least, a few possible futures, means that I am privy to many details which are not exactly public information. This includes various state secrets, the ongoings of several criminal elements, personal details, etc.”

Second gave the man a moment to process that, the other occupants of the room remaining silent through the interaction, even if Penny looked like she desperately wanted to ask some questions. But Ironwood wasn’t focused on her.

“...and I suppose you have some method of proving such a bold claim? It’s not every day that someone walks up to the general of Atlas and declares that they know state secrets, you know.”

Jaune turned to Penny, but his expression made it clear that this was at Second’s behest. “ Penny. We are friends, are we not? Or rather, you and Jaune are, though I hope I can be included in the future. Jaune has decided to trust you with the secret of my existence, would it be alright for me to reveal one of yours to him?”

“I…” the girl seemed like she wanted to agree, but she looked to James for permission. It was not granted immediately.

“You don’t share all of your knowledge with your…host?” His tone was obviously skeptical.

“ I do not, and please do not call Jaune my host. It makes me sound like a parasite.” Jaune made an odd expression at that sentiment. “I believe that suddenly becoming aware of many of your friends' secrets is not a very good approach to making those friendships long lasting. Much of what I could share with him, he is not prepared for. Much of it is made up of events that I hope do not come to pass. And beyond that, my knowledge of the future does not update with every change that is made. Reveal too much, change too much, and the knowledge that I hold quickly becomes useless. If we were playing a game of chess, and I was certain that I knew your next 20 moves, would it make sense for me to change my entire game plan to account for the position at the end? Of course not. You can react with each turn. You must instead slowly lead your foe into the optimal positions, slowly making your plays, watching how they adapt to every change in the battlefield. Blindly moving your pieces to counter moves far away and not yet made only serves to let your enemy know that something is amiss.”

Ironwood considered his words, before giving Penny a subtle nod.

“I agree to the sharing of my secret.”

“Thank you very much Penny. You’re very human, you know. I’m quite impressed with your father’s work. You are perhaps even more human than some who qualify by their flesh and blood.” Although the words came out of Jaune’s mouth, it was clear that they confused him. “ You’re the first artificial person. A robotic body, but a soul all the same. A word of advice for you, it would be wise to inform Pyrrha, at a minimum, of your constitution, lest we run into any unfortunate accidents.”

Ironwood had quite a bit to say to that, but Ozpin beat him to the punch.

“That would indeed be unfortunate, Second. I dare say it would end in tragedy should a student with a polarity semblance go up against a student of inorganic nature, not knowing the truth of the situation. If only the dear general here would have been so kind as to inform me of the fact that one of his supposed students was secretly advanced weaponry in disguise.”

“ Penny is as much a person as you are, Oz. Keep your problems with Ironwood's methods separate from how you view her.” 

James would not allow himself to be distracted, even if the boy was seemingly in shock at the secret he had just revealed.

“I’ll admit that I’m impressed.” He said through gritted teeth. “Are there any other state secrets that are no longer secret? Or perhaps you’d like to explain why this isn’t just a mind reading semblance, peeling the information out of my brain?”

“If it’s important, it is probably best to assume that I know about it. Though, like I said before, I don’t exactly go around throwing sensitive information to the wind. As for the second question, perhaps you would like a demonstration?”

“I believe one is in order, yes.” Ironwood was practically glaring at them at this point.

“Calm down, James, his information has already proven reliable.” Ozpin cut them off, knowing better than to cast his own doubts with the students in the room. “Roman Torchwick was captured because of it. Speaking of which, since you brought your flying prison with you, I have a favor to ask.”

“Your favor can wait. Prove it to me, Arc.”

“Jaune isn’t the one proving anything, but I suppose I can overlook your attitude. If, instead of being aware of the future, I was instead prying the information from your mind as you suggest, then I would not be able to provide information that those who have interacted with me are not aware of, correct?”

“That cannot be confirmed, but I will admit that it is unlikely a semblance of that nature has a great range.”

“Then using the information available to the staff here, you will be able to confirm that I have had no interaction with Headmaster Lionheart of Haven. However, if you confront him properly, you will discover that the man is a coward and your enemy.”

“Now, hold on Second.” Ozpin interrupted yet again. “Surely you must be mistaken there. Leo is one of my most trusted-”  

“I am unsure of when he becomes a turncoat. It could be that it has not yet happened, it could be that he has been at it for some time now. I can only speak of certainty when Jaune is directly involved, and he is not due to visit Haven for a while longer yet. But at some point, he is approached by the enemy, and made an offer that he does not refuse. In exchange for his life, he sells out Mistral’s huntsmen. The minions of the queen see to it that they are swiftly taken care of, conveniently falling left and right to the grimm, or at least, that would make for a good cover story, wouldn’t it?”

Penny seemed horrified by the accusation, and the old men in the room seemed disbelieving.

“Believe me or don’t. The information is in your hands now. I will ask that you decide quickly whether or not you will at least attempt to act on my information, however. With Roman’s arrest, the butterfly effect will likely start to take its toll rather soon. The next event of note is coming up rather quickly, and the way that I know of it, Roman should have been involved. I can only hope that his arrest did not lead to your missing paladin being moved to a more secure location, general.”

Nobody said anything for a moment, the tense silence leaving Jaune even more nervous than before.

“Well…” Jaune let out a frantic, nervous, laugh, “I think that’s our cue to go find our friends, isn’t that right, Penny?” He grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards the elevator. “You guys know where to find me if you have questions!”

He pressed the button rapidly, hoping to get out of there quickly. Sure, he had been the one to decide on doing something, but that didn’t make confronting two of the most powerful people in the world any easier!

“Please don’t have questions!”

The doors closed on the students, leaving Ironwood and Ozpin alone.

“...I think I see what you mean about the headaches, Oz.”

“I’m afraid it only gets worse from here.”

Chapter Text

Winter considered herself lucky.

She had fully expected that annoying drunkard to accost her as soon as she landed. Perhaps even drag her into a “friendly spar” for all of the students to see. Yet she found herself able to easily walk through the grounds of Beacon, many students making way for her as soon as they recognized who she was. Of course, it was hard to tell at times whether that was due to their respect for her, having reached her position through merit, or whether it was due to her last name.

But it mattered not. She had duties to attend to, and the thoughts and opinions of huntsmen in training ranked far lower in importance.

It was odd though, for General Ironwood to have requested her presence already. Surely his discussion with Headmaster Ozpin couldn’t have gone that poorly… right?

She cast any doubts aside as she knocked on the door to the General’s temporary office. If there was a problem at hand, she would face it as she would any other. “Sir, Specialist Schnee, reporting.”

“Enter.” With permission granted, she opened to the door to the sight of General Ironwood methodically searching through files, his brow furrowed. Never a good sign. Closing the door behind her, she marched up to his desk, standing at attention.

The man finally looked up at her, rolling his eyes. “At ease, Specialist.”

He could roll his eyes all he liked, she was not going to slack off just because the two of them were alone. “You requested my presence, Sir?”

“There’s been a development. A few developments, really, but they’re all centered around one person.” He pulled up a picture of a Beacon student, as indicated by the school uniform, who on the whole looked unremarkable. “Jaune Arc, first year student, leader of team JNPR. He decided to interrupt my meeting with Ozpin so that he could ‘speak to me about some security concerns’. He claims that his semblance, referred to as Second Thoughts, is both sapient and capable of telling the future to a limited extent.”

Her thoughts on such a claim must have been clear on her face because the General quirked an eyebrow at her. “My thoughts exactly. A sapient semblance, with an entirely separate personality and set of memories, while unheard of, is something I could begrudgingly believe. The same for the future vision aspect. But both of them at once? I suppose we don’t truly know the limits of semblances, but it is a hard pill to swallow.”

Indeed it was. Perhaps a cover story for a semblance of a more sinister nature? Her musings were interrupted when the General continued. “The problem is that Ozpin is vouching for his claim. It seems he doesn’t entirely trust the boy, but the claims so far have proven true. Supposedly, the knowledge gleaned from his semblance is how they managed to capture Torchwick. Speaking of which, remind me to make accommodations to hold him prisoner. It seems Vale is playing politics and the man is being held on school grounds.”

“I’ll see to it right away, Sir.” Not a surprising development, but a disappointing one nonetheless. She only hoped that transferring custody of the criminal into their hands would not be as annoying as it usually was. “Should I also have our team begin research into Arc’s background?”

“Of course, best to play it safe.” But as those words left his mouth, his face seemed to age. The look of a man having to deal with too much. “And if we are to play it safe… we should also investigate the information that this supposed ‘Second Thoughts’ decided to share with me.”

“Sir?” It was not often that Ironwood allowed the weight of his position to show, even when it was just the two of them.

“He alleges that Headmaster Lionheart is knowingly sending huntsmen to their deaths.”

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed.

“That is… a rather serious accusation Sir. What do you plan to do about it?” Such a thing was unthinkable, really. A headmaster throwing away the lives of those who protect humanity? Preposterous.

“I’m going to have him monitored. I would like to be able to laugh such an accusation off, but… on the off chance that there is even a shred of truth to it, I cannot simply ignore it. It is my hope that nothing will be found, and I can safely call everything else that the boy has to say delusions, but the truth of the world is rarely so kind.”

Before Winter could even properly process that, the General continued. “And then there is another matter that the boy mentioned. He claims to know where our missing Paladin went. Or at least, where it should be? He mentioned the butterfly effect and didn’t give any specifics at the time, but I think one of us will need to sit down and pour over the details with him. An opportunity to recapture our technology and prevent criminals from using it should be something we leap at.”

“Of course, Sir. But… if he is able to help us recover the Paladin, wouldn’t that point towards him being truthful? That would mean there’s merit to what he says about Headmaster Lionheart.”

Ironwood gave a long sigh. “Yes, yes it would.”

Something odd was going on.

She wasn’t sure exactly what it was, or who was behind it, but when Cinder found out? She was going to enjoy burning the source of her recent problems to ashes. How did the saying go? Once is chance, twice a coincidence, thrice a pattern?

Cinder didn’t believe in coincidences.

Roman being captured was one thing. The man enjoyed flaunting his exploits out in the open, and he wasn’t particularly skilled. It was an inevitability that he would be apprehended at some point, so she had chalked it up as simply a failure on his part.

But when Emerald and Mercury returned from their first attempt at cleaning up Roman’s mess, only to tell her that the loose end had escaped their grasp? That was twice now that her plans were interfered with by an outside source.

It wasn’t that she particularly trusted either of her henchmen to be reliable, but even they should have been able to kill some worthless White Fang runaway.

And so as she walked through the halls of Beacon, two members of her “team” at her side, she found herself inspecting every person they passed. Subtly, of course, she wasn’t some amateur. It was tiring, having to spend so much time pretending to be some schoolgirl, looking for signs of deception among other schoolgirls, but it was only natural to assume that the pest ruining her plans would be somewhere around here. Not many people would be able to get Beacon staff involved in Roman’s arrest, after all.

They passed the corridor holding Roman. Walking directly past his room would arouse suspicion, and with multiple guards they couldn’t rely on Emerald’s semblance, so they were stuck with quick glances as they went through the intersection of the halls.

Two huntsmen. Young, no more than a year or two out of Beacon. Trying to take their job seriously, but bored out of their minds so their attention was lacking. Adding them to the two huntsmen patrolling the area and doing a lackluster job of keeping a low profile made for a full team. It would be easy to kill all four of them… but not while they were surrounded by people with combat training. And of course, there was no way that a single team was watching him 24/7 if the lot of them were keeping guard at once… There would need to be more investigations into the security measures. Shift changes, total number involved, when they were most lax. Roman was hardly worth the effort, but she would need to secure his freedom, or at least give the illusion of it, in order to get his little assistant to help with her plans.

Neo’s semblance really was far too useful.

Though if you knew how she ticked, the things that motivated her… you could deduce things, even if your eyes couldn’t see the truth. Neo was devoted to Roman for some odd reason. She used her semblance to change her own appearance quite often. She would be investigating Roman’s security as well, hoping to break him out and escape like the rats they were.

Cinder let herself smirk as she walked up to a short girl in the hall.

“There you are. I was beginning to think that our final teammate had run away on us. That would be just awful, wouldn’t it? It’s good to see you again.”

The girl’s true eye colors surfaced briefly as she gave up on her facade.

“Let’s catch up, shall we?”

“I’m just saying, it wouldn’t hurt to have another set of eyes on the White Fang. Torchwick was already captured and the average member in this area is going to be either a fresh recruit or someone with little experience. It’s not like we’d be in any actual danger!” Blake pleaded with her friends.

“I had thought Second’s warning to be an exaggeration, but the more I hear you speak about the White Fang, the more justified I feel in having subjected you to being Nora’s prisoner.” Ren replied with a deadpan expression.

“Prisoner?! She wasn’t my prisoner, we were just temporary besties!” Nora’s input on the matter was ignored.

“What dimwitted reasoning could you possibly have for trying to go after those criminals when you were explicitly told to stay out of it? I am not about to subject myself to Professor Goodwitch’s wrath because you felt the need to insert yourself into the situation!” Weiss berated her teammate.

“While the White Fang is currently labeled as either a criminal or terrorist organization in most jurisdictions, this was not always the case. Accounting for friend Blake’s age, it is likely that she was involved to some degree with the White Fang before they began using more violent tactics. The behavior she exhibits indicates that she feels some level of guilt for her past, and at the same time does not see the current iteration of the group as the “true White Fang”. Perhaps she wishes to clear the name of the organization, believing them to be framed for the recent incidents?” Penny suggested.

The idea sounded so outrageous that the whole group had turned to look at her, missing how Blake had frozen up.

“Penny, why do you think Blake was involved in the White Fang? There’s no way she used to be involved with them, they wouldn’t let a human join!” Ruby protested, intent on defending her teammate.

“Human? Friend Blake is clearly a faunus. She has cat ears under her bow, she shares a last name with the previous leaders of the White Fang, not to mention the physical resemblance. She must be related to them somehow, if not their daughter. It’s logical to conclude someone who grew up in that environment would be involved with the White Fang. Obviously she is not an active member, or Headmaster Ozpin would have rejected her from Beacon, but to say that she was never in any way involved would be statistically unlikely at best.”

“ That’s her secret?! It’s been driving me crazy and I missed something so obvious!” Jaune’s face smashed into the table as he lamented his failure. “I’ve seen her bow move! I thought it was just the wind or something!”

I have no idea how the lot of you are this oblivious. I guarantee you that the staff knows, along with Sun. For the entirety of the Beacon student body to miss that is kind of sad really.

You knew! You could have told me!

After the reaction she had when you first revealed me to her? Are you insane?

“Secret? Oh no!” Penny looked devastated. “I am so sorry friend Blake, it was just so obvious to me that I hadn’t stopped to consider-”

She didn’t get to finish her apology. Blake was gone in an instant, clearly not having been ready for the truth to be revealed in such a fashion. Her team wasn’t far behind her though. “Blake, wait, let’s talk about this!” Ruby cried out before the last of team RWBY disappeared from view.

“Should we… go with them?” Pyrrha hesitantly asked. She clearly wanted to help, but wasn’t sure if she would be welcome right now.

Leave them be. This was bound to happen eventually, they’ll sort things out on their own even if it takes a few days. But if Penny feels like doing big reveals, now would be a decent time for her own.

“Maybe that should be a team RWBY issue. I’m sure they’ll be fine, Pyrrha.” A hand on her shoulder reassured her. “But if we’re exposing big secrets… there’s something else you guys should probably know.”

“Does it top that? Oh, wait, don’t tell me, Second is actually your twin brother, and he’s been inside you all this time, you’re actually conjoined twins!” Nora was never one to let others put a damper on her mood.

“Um, no?” Jaune looked desperately to Penny, hoping to stop Nora before she went on a tirade of crazy theories.

“The secret is mine, actually.” Penny seemed nervous, but a nod of approval from Jaune kept her going. “Pyrrha, I must ask that you do not use your semblance on me during any spars.”

“Oh! Penny is actually a robot! Top secret Atlas tech, sent to infiltrate humanity!” Nora chimed in once more.

“Nora, stop, this might be serious.” Ren chided her.

“Well, actually…” Jaune started.

“I was not sent to infiltrate humanity, per say, I was sent to learn to be more human and ensure there were no problems with my design.”

Ren and Pyrrha were struck speechless, but Nora was jumping for joy. “Aha! I was right!”

“We’re never going to hear the end of that, are we?” Jaune sighed.

Probably not.

It was then that Sun decided to join them, a blue haired guy at his side. “Hey guys, this is my buddy Neptune! I didn’t miss anything exciting, did I?”

Jaune and Ren looked resigned. Penny seemed apprehensive. Nora was… Nora. Pyrrha looked at her hands with what might be fear.

“...I totally did, didn’t I?” the monkey faunus asked his teammate.

“You totally did.”

Chapter Text

“So, just to be clear, I’m not under arrest, right?” Jaune asked nervously.

Sun had been introducing team JNPR and Penny to his friend and teammate Neptune, who had done pretty well as far as first impressions go. He seemed like a cool dude, though perhaps too cool. Being near him made Jaune feel a teensy bit inadequate, but it was probably a lot better than it would have been at the start of the year.

That had been interrupted by Winter Schnee of all people marching up to him and “requesting his presence”, though it felt disingenuous to refer to it as a request. Who would say no? That would feel like an admission of guilt, and he didn’t even know what he was being accused of!

Well, that’s not entirely true. He did sort of just drop some pretty heavy future knowledge on General Ironwood and then just walk out of the meeting. It was probably safe to say that this meeting was related to the previous meeting. But what if they tried to lock him away for espionage?! He wasn’t sure what sort of proof they needed for that, but it didn't seem like it would be hard for the general of all people to be able to lock him up with lacking evidence. He wasn’t cut out for prison life! Sure his aura would probably prevent him from getting shanked or something, but that was only against the general prison populace. What if there was some sort of secret prison for huntsmen only, separated from the average people who wouldn’t stand a chance if there was a confrontation? Or maybe he would get locked in solitary confinement, left to slowly go insane. Would he ever see his family again?

Could you stop catastrophizing please? I’m fairly certain she just wants the location of the missing Paladin. Second Thoughts interrupted.

That’s easy for you to say! This is all your fault anyway! If not for you I could be hanging out with my friends, not worrying about whether I’d ever see sunlight again!

Jaune, relax. There are plenty of ways for us to prove that we didn’t commit espionage.

Such as? Jaune demanded.

Well for one there’s the explanation I laid out for Ironwood. Knowing the unknowable is pretty good proof in my eyes. We could also rub a magic lamp and ask the genie inside, or go looking for a truth telling hill.

Now you’re just mocking me!

Maybe a little bit, but those are also legitimate answers that you just don’t understand. They’ll make sense eventually, probably, and then you can think back and go “oooh, I get it now” and hate me for not being more clear. It’ll be funny.

In what way is that funny?!

Fine, it’ll be funny for me. I have to get my laughs somehow.

Winter sat down across from him. It felt a lot like he had been called to the headmaster’s office, except a lot more cramped and instead of the threat of expulsion it was the threat of jail time. Was this long drawn out pause supposed to intimidate him? Put him on the back foot and make him more likely to crack?

“No, you are not under arrest.”

She’s suppressing a smirk! She knows exactly what she’s doing. What’s with Schnees and being smug bi-

“Great! But, um, should I have a lawyer present or something?”

“That won’t be necessary, you’re here voluntarily and can leave whenever you please. I can’t exactly keep you captive in a place I have no authority over.”

It’s a trap! Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law! Never talk to cops without a lawyer present! Does a specialist count as a cop? Actually I’ve just realized I have no idea how the legal system works here, do you have the rights I think you do?

Jaune must have looked ready to leave, because Winter spoke up. “Look, I’m just trying to get any information you might have about the Paladin you mentioned to General Ironwood. In the wrong hands it could cause quite a bit of destruction, and I’m sure we’d all rather that be avoided.”

“Right, um, give me just a second.” Jaune replied.

Well? What am I telling her?

Honestly I don’t know how reliable my information is. Roman should be the one who has it, but, well, we have Roman now. I can only assume that it would be in the same area, since it hasn’t been long since he was apprehended and there aren’t many places you could hide something that big, but this info should probably be taken with a grain of salt. Also, my sense of Remnant geography is very much lacking, so all the information I have location wise is largely based on landmarks. Basically, there’s a club run by a man referred to as Junior, real name Hei Xiong. Yang is familiar with it if you need more information to locate it. If you leave his club in the direction opposite of the freeway, there should be an area with warehouses. The Paladin is being housed in one of the warehouses as tall as a two story building, big enough for a White Fang recruitment meeting. Or it should be housed there, anyway. Like I said, can’t be certain Roman’s arrest didn’t change that. I imagine the warehouse is either abandoned or owned by some shell for either Roman himself or the White Fang because there was nothing else stored inside.

Jaune relayed the information as Winter took detailed notes. “And that’s all of the information you have? It certainly helps to narrow down the search area, but to be honest I was hoping for a bit more.”

She could always send team RWBY out to investigate if she thinks so little of her men. I can guarantee that those girls will find it, especially if you put Blake in charge. Though I would be ready to shell out a lot of cash for property damage and a PR campaign trying to fight what gets broadcast on the news.

“Second’s future telling ability is limited, that’s all I can give you right now.” Jaune answered.

That’s not what I said.

I’m aware, shut up.

“I suppose I’ll have to take what I can get. Thank you for your time Mr. Arc, we’ll be in touch.”

I was afraid she would say that. Jaune bemoaned.

What’s wrong with keeping in touch with Winter? Sure Weiss is never gonna work out, but Winter is an attractive woman. They’ve got the same genes, surely you can see it!

Shut. Up.

“Now, I hope you understand that because we are aware of your past, and because we are protecting you, we would like to ask a few questions in regards to what we are protecting you from?” Bart asked. The faunus sat in front of him gave a heavy sigh.

“I figured as much, but I’m not sure what all I can tell you. I wasn’t particularly high up in the chain of command, so the information I got was minimal.” Tukson answered.

“That’s quite all right. In actuality what we’re hoping to get most likely reached your ears in the form of rumors and gossip rather than direct orders or anything like that. We will be asking about those as well, of course, but we’re not as worried about what the low ranking members are getting up to.”

“Rumors and gossip? What sort of stuff are you looking for? Most of that was over surface level complaints and the like, nothing that I imagine you’re interested in hearing.”

“Well, I imagine you along with the other members were quite surprised to see Roman Torchwick getting involved in your activities. Or perhaps I should say that the White Fang were getting involved in his activities? Yet even then something about it doesn’t add up quite right. It is our suspicion that there is another party at play here, someone behind the scenes either forcing or manipulating those involved to cause this rather odd cooperation. Do you know anything about that? Anything at all, even if it inevitably ends up being a wild goose chase.”

“Someone pulling the strings there? Hmmm. A lot of what went around was just whining about having to work with the smug punk, though I can’t say I disagreed. The whole thing just didn’t make sense to me. To any of us, really. Whoever made the call was higher up in the command chain, but I couldn’t tell you how far. Some said it was Taurus, some said it was Khan. But even then for them to suggest working with Torchwick seems out of place. I could see either of the two offing him if he even said it off-handedly.” Tukson ruminated for a moment before continuing. “Actually… now that I think about it, there was one weird thing going around. It was a while back, but I wanna say there was something about an illusion based semblance? One of the guys walked straight off a loading dock and fell on his face, but when they started to make fun of him he kept going on about how there was definitely another few feet before the edge and some green haired chick smirked at him right before he unknowingly stepped off. A lot of people wrote it off as an excuse because he was embarrassed, but I can probably count the number of green haired people I know on one hand, and to my knowledge none of them were there that day.”

Oobleck studiously kept a record of his explanation, nodding along the whole while. “I see. A green haired individual with a potential illusion based semblance. I find that even the strangest rumors have a basis in fact somewhere down the line. Thank you very much for your cooperation.”

“For all I know, she could have been the one that they were gonna send to kill me. Assuming the rumor is true, it would make for a pretty nifty trick for assassinations. It’s no skin off my back if she gets what’s coming to her.”

Emerald sneezed as they continued their infuriating game of charades.

It would be so much easier for Neo to simply type the information they needed, but she enjoyed being intentionally difficult and Cinder had ordered Emerald not to kill the brat.

“The first shift change happens at 8 in the morning?” Emerald guessed, rewarded with Neo jumping up and down with excitement. Lots of jumping.

That was easy to say when she wasn’t the one dealing with it though! First Cinder said she has other business to take care of and ordered her to get the necessary information from Neo. Which was fine! Emerald was perfectly happy to do whatever Cinder needed. Anything she wanted, Emerald would make sure it happened.

“Three guys and one girl on the next team?” A wrong answer. Neo turned around, as if pouting. Emerald didn’t particularly mind if she stayed that way.

But then Mercury said something stupid about her being able to understand Neo better since they both had illusion related semblances and ditched her! The nerve! It was bad enough having to listen to his often intentionally wrong interpretations of what Neo was trying to say, but without him here to take some of the attention…

“The other way then? Three girls and one guy?” Neo jumped for joy again, a big smile on her face. A very distracting… smile.

Neo had gotten… creative, with her torment. It seemed like she was actually putting thought into making herself somewhat understandable now, but that didn’t help at all. Not when she was portraying herself as Cinder with her semblance. Cinder in the Beacon uniform. Or at least, that seemed to be the inspiration. This version was… revealing. Very revealing. She wasn’t sure if it would be better for this to end immediately, or if it never ended.

Wow. They recovered from that a lot faster than I thought.

Jaune was a bit surprised as well, especially accounting for the reaction they had seen yesterday. Yet here they were, at the lunch table once more with RWBY, JNPR, and now three additional friends.

“Okay, wait a minute.” Neptune looked at the group in confusion. “So you’re telling me, that this entire school year, not a single person has picked up on the fact that you’re a faunus? No offense guys, but is there something in the water here?” The Beacon students at the table blushed in shame, some more than others.

“Hey! That just means my disguise was effective!” Blake tried to defend both herself and her classmates.

“A bow over your ears was effective? The one that moves? I’ll admit that it’s not as obvious as Sun’s tail, but come on.”

“It’s not our fault!” Nora exclaimed. “How can we be expected to notice her bow moving when she’s got something much more distracting?”

It was Pyrrha’s turn to be confused. “What’s distracting about Blake?”

Yang had a wide grin on her face. “You haven’t noticed? Why, of course it would be the bella-”

Blake slapped a hand over her partner’s mouth, her face as red as a tomato. “No! Bad Yang! We do not call it that! We don’t refer to it at all!”

“I am afraid I am not understanding either. What is it that we are not meant to refer to friend Blake? I would hate to upset you again!” Penny asked with the best of intentions.

“If you don’t want me upset then stop talking about it!”

Ruby’s face lit up in recognition. “Oh! Is this about the thing with-” only for her partner to silence her with a hand over the mouth.

“Stop it, you dunce! I do not want a repeat of that conversation!” Weiss glared at the youngest member of the group.

“Why must you cause chaos everywhere you go, Nora?” Ren lamented.

“It’s in my nature, I can’t help it!”

Jaune overheard Neptune whispering to Sun. “I don’t get it man, why is everyone freaking out?”

“You’ll figure it out when she leaves. But back off! Bro code man, I was here first!”

I’m kind of lost too,  Jaune thought, did I miss something important?

Figure it out yourself. Actually, don’t. I’m already dealing with enough here and I don’t need to be worrying about the morals of such a thing on top of it all.

Why can’t you just tell me?

You’ll find out when you’re older.

Chapter Text

Ironwood idly scrolled through the reports he had been receiving while waiting for Winter to return from her latest mission. Nothing concrete yet, his investigators hadn’t been at work long enough to gather any evidence that would definitively decide things one way or the other, but what information had been sent to him was not exactly good news.

A much higher than normal number of huntsmen weren’t responding when reached out to. Now, that’s not to say that they were dead. A huntsmen not being able to respond was a somewhat regular occurrence, actually. Whether that be because their scroll had been broken, or even just ran out of battery, while out in the field, or because the area they were operating in just couldn’t get a strong enough signal to patch the call through. The test of whether or not these people were still alive came down to how long they went without being able to establish contact. No mission lasted forever after all, and they would be visiting the city of Mistral proper, or at least some place with a connection, once their job was complete. How long that took depended on the details of the mission, but typically no more than a few weeks at a maximum. Only time could tell what the actual numbers were, even if waiting was painful.

The worrying factor was that Leonardo’s behavior wasn’t giving them much hope. On the outside, he was the same as he had always been. A good man, one who could be trusted with the future of Mistral and its huntsmen, as well as the secrets Ozpin had shared with them. However, through methods of questionable legality, it had been discovered that behind closed doors he dropped that facade. The short analysis the investigative team had sent painted the faunus as paranoid. Hiding away as often as he could, acting like he was afraid someone would jump out of the shadows at him.

This didn’t confirm that he had some terrible secret, like had been suggested by Arc and his semblance. It could be that in his old age, the pressure of being headmaster was getting to him. Not everyone had years of experience in military leadership, or past lives and memories that they could rely on in times of hardship after all. It would be quite unfortunate, and might suggest the need to remove him from his position regardless, but at least in that case he wouldn’t be a traitor to humanity.

But the rest of this report would have to wait. A message had just come through that Winter would be arriving in a moment. The notes were put away, replaced with those pertaining to both the Paladin situation and Jaune Arc as a knock sounded out through the room.

“Sir, Specialist Schnee, reporting.”

“Enter.” As Winter walked in the door, his eyes went to her face, trying to glimpse how her mission had gone. A mission like the Lionheart investigation left no choice but to communicate digitally, even if that was not the most secure method of reporting in, simply because of the distance. But when a covert operation was being conducted on foreign grounds and he could have the report made directly to him with no paper trail? It would be foolish to take a risk when it wasn’t necessary. “Give it to me straight, Specialist, this isn’t a time to stand on ceremony.”

The woman before him allowed a strained smile to slip through her reserved demeanor. “The Paladin has been recovered sir. It took us longer than we hoped to find the exact warehouse it was being stored in, but it was guarded surprisingly lightly. Only six White Fang on the premises, all of them apprehended and currently awaiting interrogation.”

Ironwood allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. That was one of their major problems taken care of, and it had even been discrete. The best outcome they could ask for, really. “Good. That’s good…” It also opened a huge can of worms. “The reports on the other investigation have come in. Nothing conclusive, but it’s not looking good.”

They both knew what that meant. How it painted a boy and his semblance in a much more flattering light. “How do you want to proceed from here, Sir?”

It took the General a moment to gather his thoughts. “Suppose we take what we’ve been told about his semblance at face value. I do not think the level of suspicion that Ozpin gives is warranted, but I also don’t think we can take the word of Second Thoughts to be infallible. The boy has said as much himself. It wouldn’t hurt to get what information we can out of the… pair of them, but it would be best to treat it the same as any other informant’s word. Any tip offs that we’re given should be thoroughly looked into before any other action is taken, barring that which is on a time crunch. And even then, for someone who claims to know the future to give information that needs to be acted on immediately is suspect behavior.”

“Of course, Sir. On the topic of Arc and trust… there is also his friendship with Penny to consider.”

“...I don’t think there’s a need to take any action on that front. Interacting with other students is good for her, and we’ve not been given any reason to interfere so far. That could change in the future of course, but for now… we’ve got other things to be worried about.”

It was times like this that Bart wished Huntsmen were more organized as a group. You could never be sure of the total number in existence at any given moment, whether that be because they weren’t being trained at an official academy or because they had died and this fact not yet discovered, and while information was shared to some degree it rarely got down into the specifics unless the person you were looking into happened to be someone of note, or you were on good terms with the staff at a huntsmen school they might have gone to.

Hours upon hours of independent research had gone into searching for a green haired girl with some manner of perception manipulation. Because without the registered name of a semblance, it could be incredibly difficult to pinpoint and find it in any sort of database, not that record keeping was particularly well done in the first place when it came to these sorts of things.

Was it really illusions? What sort of illusions? Visual at the very least given the description Tukson had passed on, but did it stop there? Could this person alter your other senses as well? What if it wasn’t simply tricking your brain into sensing something that wasn’t there, but genuine reality manipulation? Or even both? Could she only affect one person at a time? Everyone within a certain range? If it included multiple people did all of the people affected see the same thing?

When you had this many questions, and the names of semblances were often vaguely referential to the actual ability, it left trying to search for a person with only a description of their semblance basically impossible.

The fact that it was someone with green hair helped, but not as much as one might hope. While Tukson might have only ever met a handful of green haired individuals, that didn’t exactly account for a large portion of the population being made up of people he had never met. A query for people with green hair had left Bart with quite the list, even when it was cut in half by the assumed gender of the perpetrator. Though perhaps he shouldn’t discount the men from his search. Many assumed Lie Ren to be a woman at first glance, after all.

He may have more luck if he just went and asked Second Thoughts for his input. But given the fact that getting information out of the semblance was a struggle on its own, along with Jaune being a first year student who really shouldn’t be worrying about these sorts of things…

Perhaps it was his pride, but Bart felt the need to accomplish this on his own. Even if it meant going through the entire list, name by name, and doing some research on them.

“I suppose I should start with the A’s then…”

Cinder was all too happy to let Emerald deal with getting information out of Neo. The tiny girl was infuriating at the best of times, and there were more important matters to attend to. Even if the execution of this investigation was just as irritating at times.

“No way, are you serious? I never would have thought…” For a master of manipulation such as herself, this was child’s play. Perhaps a bit too literally.

“Yes way! I didn’t believe it either at first, but when we did a little investigating of our own, that’s my team and I by the way, we totally saw Goodwitch giving Ironwood the look . I’d put money on them being off-again on-again lovers. Separated by their jobs at different schools and an ocean of distance, seeking each other’s embrace when they finally see each other again… it’s kind of romantic, don’t you think?”

Cinder had already forgotten the girl’s name. Clearly not worth remembering if this was the sort of information she would be getting out of her. She would have to move on to the next one, it would seem.

But in a school? Rumors were the best source of information. Any event of note would be spread like a wildfire through the student population, and perhaps even the staff. Someone who was getting audiences with the headmaster? That would be picked up on, even if for the wrong reasons.

It was just a matter of finding someone who thought that sort of thing was the juiciest sort of gossip. Outright asking about it could give her results faster, but it may also lead to rumors about her spreading around. Better to passively soak up information if she was going to be operating right under the nose of the enemy.

It had better be anyway, if she was going to suffer through any more of this.

“Yes,” she smiled to blend in with these buffoons, “but that’s nothing, have you heard about-”

Roman was starting to get worried. All this time and still no contact from the outside? Surely he hadn’t been mistaken. Cinder definitely wanted him to get captured, right?

But a night turned into a day. A day turned into a week. Time kept passing with no communication at all. Not even from Neo of all people! That was the most worrying part, truthfully. If Cinder and her little goons just happened to forget about him, honestly that wouldn’t be a bad thing. He could quietly slip away and never have his name enter her thoughts again.

But that was only possible if Neo helped him escape!

He knew for a fact that she wouldn’t abandon him. She had to be plotting something. But security in this place must be impressively tight for her to not have slipped through the cracks yet. Surprising, for a school of all places, but on the other hand this was a school where they trained the students to fight and throw their lives away for the “good of humanity” or some nonsense like that…

And then something had changed. He didn’t exactly get updated on news from outside while he was being held prisoner, but obviously something must have happened if Atlas punks were escorting him through the halls today. It was the first time he had been allowed to leave the room they’d stuffed him in!

Were they shipping him off to Atlas? That didn’t make sense. All of his crimes, the publicly known ones at least, had occurred in Vale. But as he looked out a window and saw all the Atlas airships, it started to make sense. Don’t want the criminal kept in your school? Throw him in the brig!

Actually, that statement didn’t make much sense at all. Was it even called a brig if it was on an airship vs a normal seafaring one? What was his life coming to?

But that short trip was when he got his sliver of hope. As they walked him outside, and up the ramp of the airship, he caught a crowd of students watching the show. Most of them seemed like typical brats, but a few were familiar. A brat who had gotten in his way a while back, Cinder's little lackeys… and a short girl whose eyes seemed to change colors for a brief moment.

No dice on Cinder having forgotten about him then. But Neo being with her lackeys at least meant that things were going to plan.

He just hoped the smirk on his face seemed in character.

“So, friend Jaune, who will you be asking to accompany you to the dance?” Penny asked, a wide smile on her face.

“The dance?” Jaune looked up from his comic book. It was just Penny and team JNPR for the moment, with the others having been busy with planning said dance and/or keeping Blake out of trouble.

That’s not an answer, Jaune.

“I’m, uh… I don’t know.” He admitted with defeat on his face. “Who are you going with?”

“I shall be attending the dance with two Atlas soldiers!”

Team JNPR stopped to stare at the robot girl. “I’m sorry, did you say that you were going with two soldiers?” Pyrrha hesitantly asked.

“Indeed, friend Pyrrha!” Penny replied, obviously seeing nothing wrong with her declaration.

Eh. She’s a robot, that’s normal from her perspective. If she’s happy that’s all that matters.

“I’ll be going with Renny!” Nora proclaimed, despite nobody having asked. “Not that we’re together-together or anything, but I just figured since it’s a dance and all and the two of us are partners and-” She was cut off when Ren muffled her with a pillow and a sigh. Eager to get the attention off of him and his ginger “not together-together” partner, he turned the question to Pyrrha.

“And what about you? Have you been thinking about asking anyone out?” He not so subtly nodded towards the blond of the team. Not that Jaune noticed, too worried about who he should be asking himself.

“Ah…” The redhead nervously giggled, her face getting dangerously close to matching her hair, “You know how it is…”

Would you look at that? Two partners without a date to the dance. What a coincidence. If only there was a solution to the problem.

What? No way, it’s Pyrrha. She has to have all sorts of guys asking her out.

Did she say that? I certainly didn’t hear it, and you know what they say about assumptions. For all you know, nobody has asked her out.

He must have been making a face, because Penny asked “Is something wrong, friend Jaune? Oh! Perhaps friend Second Thoughts has something to say!” The girl was strangely enthusiastic about being friends with a semblance stuck in someone else’s head.

“He’s just being dumb. There’s no way that Pyrrha Nikos of all people hasn’t had anyone ask her to the dance.” He scoffed at such a ridiculous notion.

“Well, actually…” but before Pyrrha could respond herself, Penny decided to chime in.

“It is highly unlikely that anyone has asked friend Pyrrha.” She said matter of factly. “Due to her social status and title of ‘invincible girl’, along with the low self esteem of many in this age bracket, I estimate the odds to be 99% in favor of friend Pyrrha not being asked to the dance at all. People are likely to find the idea of asking her out intimidating, and irrationally conclude that she is ‘out of their league’.”

Pyrrha reluctantly agreed. “That about sums it up…”

“Oh.” To say that Jaune was surprised would be an understatement. “Well in that case…”

A brief flicker of hope flashed across the faces of the rest of team JNPR.

“...I guess we’ll both be going to the dance alone.”

Jaune, you moron.

Chapter Text

“Not that I don’t appreciate this, but what made you offer?” Neptune asked. Right foot, left foot, back and-

Jaune hissed as his foot was crushed under his dance partner’s.

“Sorry!”

“No, it’s fine.” He reassured Neptune. “I’m used to it, even if your foot comes down a lot harder than any of my sisters’ ever did.” The two of them started again, trying to perform a simple waltz. “But to answer your question… Second told me to? I didn’t really get an explanation, but he said it would be a good idea to have someone teach you how to dance, and with all the practice that I have under my belt I’m just the logical choice for the job.”

“Right…” Neptune was still trying to come to terms with Second’s existence, having only been informed recently. “Well, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth and all that. I don’t know what I would have done without you offering…”

Made a fool of himself and others. Second Thoughts chimed in.

Not now, I need to focus. At this rate I’ll need to use my aura to protect my feet from these dance lessons.

“...but I am a bit confused. Why are you teaching me a waltz? Seems like something you would need for a fancy ball rather than a school dance.”

“Because you’re Weiss’ date,” and hadn’t that stung? Seeing Weiss so easily accept his offer after he’d been told to move on…

Stop moping over it, you’ll have a date too.

Who?!

That’s none of my business.

“...and she’s also helping to organize the dance. Yang will probably fight her over it, but I’m certain there will be at least one song of a more… traditional variety, and that she’ll want to be on the dance floor for it. Most of the attendees will probably use it as an opportunity to grab some punch, which means less people on the dance floor, and more eyes on you two. Being somewhat decent at a waltz will serve you better than more time spent on more modern dances. If you were bringing literally anyone else, the opposite would be true.”

“You have a point there. I’m still surprised that of all the people that could have taken over the prep for the dance it was Yang and Weiss. Their plans have to be polar opposite, don’t they?”

“That was probably the reason for it. With the two of them having such different visions, they’ll have to compromise, and so we don’t have to worry about either extreme. Weiss won’t let Yang turn it into a night club, and Yang won’t let Weiss turn it into a gala.”

“Pitting them against each other? That’s pretty clever…” The two young men fell back into their dance routine, with only the occasional blunder from Neptune. “Speaking of dates to the dance though, who are you going with? I don’t think I’ve heard yet.”

“Ah…” Jaune hesitated before chuckling nervously. “I’m actually going alone. Which, you know, not ideal or anything, but it’s not like I’ll be the only one.”

Cough. Moron. Cough.

Really Second? You know it doesn’t have the same effect when you say cough instead of actually coughing.

My point stands.

“Seriously?” The bluenette looked at him incredulously, stopping their dance practice. “Why would you be going alone?”

“W-well, who am I supposed to go with? I mean, obviously teams RWBY and JNPR will all be there, so I can dance with my friends, but as far as a date goes…”

“You could ask one of them? Sun is going with Blake, I’m going with Weiss, and Nora and Ren are… well, they’re Nora and Ren. But aren’t the rest of the ladies dateless? I think I heard something about Penny going with some Atlas soldiers but I’m not sure how accurate that was…” Penny was always a straightforward sort of robot girl, but her grasp on social interactions was spotty, so knowing when she had misunderstood something was a struggle at the best of times. “But even assuming that’s true, that still leaves Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha as potential dates.”

“I mean…” Jaune paused to consider Neptune’s suggestion. “I guess you’re not wrong about them being available, but are they really options for me? Ruby is a great friend, but she’s got that little sister vibe, and I think Yang might kill anyone who so much as implied that they were interested in Ruby in a way that wasn’t completely platonic. Yang still calls me vomit boy on occasion, so I’m not sure if she could ever see me in that sort of light-”

“Vomit boy?” Neptune asked, only to be ignored.

“-and Pyrrha… well, she’s Pyrrha! I can’t say I completely understand the whole tournament hype thing, I barely recognized her from a cereal box and that was after her fame was pointed out to me, but I’ve seen the way guys look at her. She doesn’t have a date yet . I can’t compete with most of the guys in Beacon, let alone all of the guys who are here for the festival.”

Neptune considered Jaune’s rebuttal. “I guess you’re probably right about Ruby. I wouldn’t want to get on Yang’s bad side either. But I think you’re selling yourself short when considering the others. You’ll never know if Yang, Pyrrha, or Penny will say no until you try. I get that it’s nerve wracking. If you can keep a secret, I was sweating bullets when I asked Weiss. But getting rejected isn’t the end of the world. And if you still don’t like your chances, there’s always girls from other schools! Just because Sun and I didn’t ask any of the girls from the other academies doesn’t mean that there aren’t any available.”

He’s right, you know. Who knows? Maybe one of them already has a crush on you.

Who would have a crush on me? Jaune asked in disbelief.

I’m not telling you that. But Yang’s teasing is playful, Pyrrha is overly nice to you, and Penny… well, you know how she is. None of that is a clear sign that they’re into you, but you at least know that they don’t dislike you. Going to the dance isn’t asking their hand in marriage, you could frame it as a one time thing and see how well things go.

“...I guess I’ll have to give it some thought. There are still a few more days until the dance…” His feet began to move again, guiding Neptune along. “But don’t think I missed what you were doing! Distracting me with my own problems doesn’t mean you’re getting out of waltz practice, and if you keep stepping on my feet then I’ll have to return the favor. Maybe that’ll hammer the muscle memory into you!”

Neptune whimpered.

Qrow hated missions like this.

Stuck roughing it in the woods when civilization was only minutes away because he didn’t want word of his presence making it to the target. Lionheart, guilty or not, would undoubtedly have a pretty decent information network going in the area, even if that just meant everyone he spoke to idly telling him things. All it took was one person to visit the bar he would inevitably end up at and then Leo would be hearing something like “The drunkest huntsmen on Remnant is back in town”. You have a little too much to drink one time in a Mistral tavern…

So instead of getting drunk in a bar, he was stuck sipping on his flask while resting against a tree.

Though perhaps having something easy to complain about was a blessing. Two days of monitoring Leo while transformed, and nothing concrete had turned up. Was the guy a bit off? Yeah. Was it enough to be suspicious? Also yes. But those things in and of themselves were not a crime. He didn’t know the guy on a personal level, but nobody wanted the headmaster of a school for huntsmen to fit the rap sheet that he’d been given.

Of course, nothing having turned up yet wasn’t proof of innocence. It was possible that he had become aware of the other investigators and decided to let things cool off until they went away. Atlas talked a big game, but even those picked out for covert ops like this had that definitive Atlas air about them. They could never blend in quite right, and if Qrow had spotted them, it was likely that the locals had as well. Good ol’ Irondick took his responsibilities seriously, and Qrow could respect him for that much, but Oz really needed to talk to him about not sending obvious spies into the lair of a potential follower of Salem.

But dealing with problems that cropped up like this was all part of the job. Not that Oz paid him for this, the stingy old fart. The least he could do was give his go-to guy a lifetime supply of booze…

Taking one last swig out of his flask, he transformed, taking flight to start another of his regular scouting runs. As he soared above the academy, keeping an eye out for where Lionheart had wandered off to, he found himself considering his second objective for this mission.

Not letting Second Thoughts and his own semblance land him in the hospital again.

“We really have to stop meeting like this.” Jaune awkwardly chuckled, trying, and failing, to defuse the tension in the room. He had once again found himself called in for a meeting with visitors from Atlas, though the fact that both General Ironwood and Winter Schnee were present this time made him understandably more nervous. He found himself sat in front of a desk, Ironwood across from him, and Winter stood off to the side. Both of them were giving him stern looks that made him feel like he was about to be in a whole lot of trouble.

But what did I even do?!

How should I know? They’re military, maybe they’re just always like this. Or they want something from you, and want to seem like they’re in a position of power so you’re more likely to agree? I don’t know a lot about business dealings, but I’m pretty sure it’s a standard negotiation strategy.

What could they want from me though?

Uh, information? Anything they get out of me has to go through you. Relax, this might be a good thing! They have all sorts of stuff to bribe you with, you should take it.

I don’t think that-

“Perhaps. Though at the rate things are going, I’m doubting that these meetings will stop any time soon.” Ironwood replied. “Before we really dig into things here, I want to cover a few points. As a citizen of Vale, and student of Beacon, it is not within my legal authority to take any official action against you.”

Why does it sound like he’s about to blackmail you?

“That said, our investigations have turned up some troubling information that I will give you a chance to explain.” He set a stack of papers in front of Jaune, giving him a moment to look at them. But there was no need to go through the whole thing. Right on top were his transcripts. His forged transcripts.

Oh. Wait, can he even do anything with that? Ozpin already knows and I’m sure the rest of the staff has been made aware by this point.

“I’m… not sure what you want me to say here.” Jaune hesitantly started.

“Admitting to the forgery of your transcripts would be a start.” Winter cut in.

Admit to nothing!

“However… in light of your recent attempts to assist us in our investigations, I am willing to… overlook a few minor issues. So long as our relationship remains in a positive light, I will not bring this to anyone else’s attention.”

Interesting. They must not know that Ozpin already knows then. Trying to blackmail us with material that doesn’t actually matter is a bold strategy, he’s got guts. Maybe we should give them a bit more information to make them think they’ve got something over you?

Is that really a good idea? I don’t like the thought of Atlas trying to blackmail me!

Relax, there’s information they should have anyway with the dance getting so close.

“I-In that case, on a totally unrelated note, Second believes it would be a good idea to increase security on the night of the dance. Specifically for the CCT.”

“The CCT? What reason would someone possibly have for taking down our communications on the night of the dance?” Winter asked.

“Someone intent on causing a panic.” The General answered, his mind already racing with plans and strategies. “What sort of forces are we looking at?”

“Second says that it’s a single person, but that they won’t be taking down communications.”

“Just one person?” Winter raised a brow. “Then either our men need their training doubled, or this is a particularly skilled individual. Huntsman level at the least… and on the night of the dance…”

Ironwood pieced it together at the same time that Winter did. “They would be able to slip into the tower, accomplish whatever their goal is, and slip back among the mass of the crowd at the dance, entirely undetected until it was already too late. Arc, are you telling me that there is an enemy force hidden amongst the students?” But before Jaune could answer, the man was already moving on. “In that case it can’t just be a single person, people would notice if something was off about one teammate in particular… it would have to be an entire team. One person commits the crime, while the others stay in plain sight, creating an alibi for the whole team.”

“Give us a name, Arc.” Winter demanded, leaning over the desk like she was ready to beat it out of him.

“That’s all I know! This is just how Second is, straight answers are extremely rare!” Jaune held his hands up in surrender, barely able to keep up with them.

“Focus, Winter.” Ironwood barked. “He’s given us all the information we need to form a solid plan. It can’t be Atlas or Beacon, Oz and I wouldn’t miss something like this. Shade is a possibility, but given what we’ve learned about Lionheart-”

“It would be a Mistral team, slipped into the group without much fanfare because the headmaster himself approved it.” Winter finished his thought.

“Arc, if there’s no other information Second is willing to give us, I’ll ask that you leave so we can get to work stopping this.”

Jaune was all too happy to make it their problem.

Chapter Text

“Something about this just feels… wrong.” Blake commented.

“What does?” Weiss asked. “Having a Schnee pay for your dress? Get over it, I already said I was paying for everything and that is final.” The white haired heiress held up two dresses that to any normal person were definitely the same color, but she was adamant about the fact that one was an eggshell white, while the other was snow white. Most everyone else had stopped listening when she started going on about how the one that was supposedly eggshell didn’t quite work for her skin tone, but that she was worried the supposedly snow white one would “wash out her hair”, whatever that meant.

“Not that, I’m all for draining the Schnee bank accounts-”

“Hey!”

“-but I think… maybe it’s the fact that we’re here shopping for dresses while the White Fang and whoever else is out there doing who knows what.”

“Come oooooon, already.” Yang groaned. “Second Thoughts was right about you. White Fang this, White Fang that. The staff at Beacon stopped whatever was going on at the docks, Torchwick got captured, and judging by the smug look I saw on Ironwood’s face the other day, I have a feeling that there’s been more good news that we just haven’t been told about. What more do you want?”

“I don’t know about that last one, Yang.” Nora butt in with a sing-song voice. “Rumor has it that Ironwood is actually in a good mood because he finally replaced the stick up Goodwitch’s-”

“Nora!” Ruby cut her off, her face half as red as the dress she was holding. “You shouldn’t gossip about stuff like that!”

“Worry not, friend Ruby. General Ironwood is used to such rumors.” Penny didn’t seem to fully understand why dress shopping was so important to the others, but she was happy to be included. “I’m certain that he would be relieved, in fact! If people are gossiping about a supposed interest in Professor Goodwitch, that means they aren’t gossiping about him and Ms. Schnee!”

“ Excuse me?! ” Weiss almost dropped the dresses in shock. “What sort of rumors are you referring to?!”

“From the information that I have gathered, it would seem that many people in Atlas are under the impression that General Ironwood is Ms. Schnee’s father. It is obviously false, as Ms. Schnee’s parentage is a matter of public knowledge, but people continue to propagate the lie all the same. I find the situation very confusing.”

Where just a moment ago Yang had been bemoaning the eccentricities of her friends, she now wore a cheshire grin. “Her father, eh? Did they perhaps say that she called him daddy?”

“ Yang Xiao Long! How dare you even-”

But Weiss’ tirade was cut off with a simple “Yes, exactly!” from Penny.

That broke the heiress. “You mean… everyone thinks my sister… that can’t possibly be true, can it?”

“The older, experienced man takes the beautiful young woman under his wing, makes her his second in command…” Blake poured fuel on the fire. “I can see where the idea came from.”

“You do?!” Penny lit up with excitement. “Please tell me! I’m sure that General Ironwood and Ms. Schnee would be delighted if I were able to tell them where the rumor came from!”

“I think we should go back to Blake’s obsession with the White Fang!” Pyrrha desperately tried to course correct, just as red in the face as Ruby.

“What’s there to talk about?” Nora asked. “You know I’m always ready to break some legs, but it seems like the situation is under control. Jauney and Second give the teachers information, the teachers take care of the problem, everybody is happy. If Blakey wants to get into trouble herself though, I’m open to being second best buds again!” She held her arms out for a hug in a manner that somehow came across as threatening.

“No!” Blake immediately backed away and ditched any ideas about potentially seeking out the White Fang for herself. “That won’t be necessary, we’ve got a dance to prepare for, why would I be getting myself into trouble?” She finished it off with a nervous laugh.

“I’ll make sure to save a dance for you!” Nora giggled.

“Why did I let myself get dragged here?” Ruby lamented.

Pyrrha couldn't blame her, because she was starting to feel the same.

“...and why , exactly, is the timeline being moved up?”

“Because someone thinks they can outmaneuver me, Adam.” The seductive voice on the other end of the scroll replied.

“You mean that because of your incompetence, my men will have to pick up the slack.”

“It is not incompetence ,” but he knew he had struck a nerve all the same, “I am simply adjusting the plan in response to recent issues.”

“Like your pet clown getting himself and my men arrested?”

“Like someone knowing of events before they happen. I am currently looking into the who and how of the matter, but Ozpin and Ironwood have gotten exceedingly lucky with the tips they have been receiving recently. Either the General’s little lap dog back home has suddenly found his luck based semblance to be far more powerful than it was, or someone has developed a form of clairvoyance.”

“Of course. It’s impossible that your poor planning and liberal use of the most well known thief in Vale have come back to bite you, they must know the future. You’re simply too intelligent and cunning for  to be the case.”

Though he said it in a sarcastic manner, Adam knew that Cinder actually thought that way. Even for a human, the level of arrogance that she possessed was astounding. If not for her current usefulness, he would have rid himself and the White Fang of her influence long ago. Though the important factor was that it was current. It would not always be this way, and as soon as that day came, he would stop her whining permanently .

He could hear the grinding of her teeth. “Just get it done.”

She hung up on him before he could mock her further.

Though her concerns did bring up an interesting question. What would he do against such a semblance? It would depend on the exact mechanics, of course, but even if it was only able to foresee one event every few months it could still cause significant problems in the right hands. The thought of Atlas having such a power hidden away made his blood boil… but there was no need to be concerned.

After all, it was just as he said. The truth of the situation was infinitely more likely to be a failing on Cinder’s part.

And if that semblance did somehow exist?

It would be as simple as killing a single person.

“If he’s causing problems, wouldn’t it be easier to just get rid of him and put someone else in charge?” Mercury asked as Cinder angrily ended the scroll call.

“And who would replace him? Are you volunteering to go to Mount Glenn? Oh wait, I forgot, Adam was sent there because Roman got himself captured and we’re limited to operations that can be excused as a trip into Vale.”

Mercury was tempted to roll his eyes, but he valued his life a bit too much for that, so he held up his hands in surrender. “Point taken.”

“Besides,” Cinder continued, “with the current state of things, I don’t have high hopes of that part of the plan going smoothly regardless of how it is altered.”

“Then why tell Adam to get it done faster?” Emerald asked, always eager to listen to Cinder monologue her genius plans.

“Because what we lack right now is information on the enemy. The only rumors going around at the moment are about love lives and some first year student having gone insane. If we cannot get what we need from others, then our search for knowledge must take an experimental approach. Moving the dates that things are set to occur on, swapping out the people intended to carry out different plans, disregarding one target entirely in favor of another. Every little change that is made, and the reaction that is given to these changes, gives us a more clear picture of what we’re up against, and this in turn allows us to better counter it. Permanently , if all goes well. Of course, there are some events that cannot be moved due to circumstances beyond my control, but those are few and far between.”

So all of her previous plotting, and the time Mercury had wasted listening to said plotting, had been wasted because she was tossing it out the window.

Lovely.

“What do we think of team SSSN?” Ironwood asked.

“I would think that Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias’s continued friendship with teams JNPR and RWBY indicates that they should not be included.” Winter answered.

“Perhaps. Unless it is a matter of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer?” he countered.

“A possibility, but I find it unlikely… although, bringing them up does give me an idea. If Jaune, and by extension Second Thoughts trusts them, perhaps we could have them point out more likely candidates? They would know better than us which teams are suspicious.”

“Denied. Based on what Penny has shared, the two of them are very friendly, and thus would be unlikely to suspect their classmates. And with Wukong being a faunus and so friendly with the Belladonna girl… I don’t hold high hopes for his views on Atlas authorities. Besides, I would not move resources around based on the hearsay of a group not already actively searching out the enemy. We wouldn’t want any false positives distracting us.”

“That’s true…” As Winter flipped to the next Haven team in the stack, she couldn’t help but sigh. “Is this really the best way to go about this?”

“We don’t have a choice. We’ve done what we can to prepare for the night of the dance, but I would rather stop the attack entirely than catch them in the act.”

“We could bring in more reinforcements so that nobody can even get close to the CCT rather than our current plan of stationing extra huntsmen inside of it.”

“That would only make it obvious that we expect them. They would call off the attack if the forces visibly present didn’t match their expectations.”

“Is that really true though? They chose this night for a reason. Delaying them this one time could deter them from trying it at all, or at least any time soon.”

“Perhaps.” The General looked over the papers before him, taking in all the information. “Let’s go over the plan from the top then. Taking another look wouldn’t hurt.”

Are you sure this is a good idea? Jaune nervously asked Second Thoughts.

Why wouldn’t it be a good idea? I thought Neptune got you to see sense.

I don’t mean asking her to go with me, I mean doing it so… halfheartedly.

Jaune, while serenading a girl and offering her flowers is generally considered to be a romantic gesture, I will find a way to punish you if you try that right now. You don’t have the voice for it, and you don’t even know how you feel about her. I thought we agreed on the whole “let’s just go together and see how things work out” idea? This is just testing the waters. You don’t have to date afterwards. Maybe she even rejects you.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Jaune grumbled mentally.

That’s just life. I can’t confirm one way or the other, even with the things that I know.

Can’t or won’t?

Both. I legitimately do not know how she will answer, but even if I did I wouldn’t tell you. That would be super weird. Do you really want the disembodied voice in your head playing matchmaker with a bunch of teenagers? That would be creepy.

Weird maybe, but how would it be creepy? You’re not even a year old, why make it out like you’re some old man?

I’m not an old man but I am older than you. In my mental age, if nothing else. Now stop stalling and do it, she’s noticed you and is staring.

Right. Well, here goes nothing I guess.

“Would you do me the honor of going to the dance with me?”

Chapter Text

“You’re too tense. At least pretend to relax.” Ironwood chastised Winter with an easygoing… not quite smile on his face, and a glass of, surprisingly not spiked, punch in his hand. How odd. Even the punch at Atlas ended up spiked every year, and it was clear that his own students had much more discipline than Ozpin’s. Perhaps it was simply too soon in the night.

With the music from the dance being kept at a somewhat reasonable level, the pair were able to keep their voices down and act like they were simply enjoying the atmosphere. Not that they were actually involved with the dance at all, but slinking around just outside of the doors meant that they could be “supervising”, or at least interpreted to be doing so by the students.

“Apologies, Sir.” Winter checked to make sure that no students were conspicuously lingering just within earshot before continuing. “I just don’t like being so far from the action.”

“Neither do I, but we do what we must. With our presence in Beacon being common knowledge, some would find it to be suspicious if we were not in attendance. On top of that, being so clearly out in the open like this gives off the impression that we have no worries for the night, emboldening any potential criminals to commit whatever crimes they may with us out of the way.” Of course, they had a pretty good idea of what crimes might be committed tonight. Ironwood wasn’t going to throw all of his trust behind Arc’s semblance just yet, not without a few… okay, a lot more assurances that both the boy himself and the semblance within him were trustworthy. But so clear a crime? With the time, if only generally, and the location known in advance? It would be foolish to not investigate a tip off like that, regardless of the source.

“I just worry, I suppose, even when I know that I should not.” And, realistically speaking, there wasn’t any real cause for concern unless the information given to them was entirely inaccurate. A single person breaking into the CCT would mean they were strong enough to subdue all of the Atlas soldiers guarding it, both inside and out. While the average person, or fellow servicemembers, might be worried by that, it was easy to tell that the criminal in question would be a huntsman or huntress.

The solution to the problem?

Bring your own, and more of them.

During one of the many trips that their soldiers were making in and out of the area, a team of Specialists had been brought to Beacon while dressed as common rank and file. They were some of the best at what they did, and a mission like this was right up their alley. At this very moment, the group was hidden away within the CCT, waiting for the front doors to be breached. As soon as the criminal entered, they would be captured and thoroughly investigated.

And they would be captured. Someone who could convincingly pretend to be a student couldn’t be of too high a skill level unless they happened to be amazing at acting as well. Purposefully hiding your skills could only take you so far. Muscle memory would shine through at the very least. However, this didn’t account for semblances. With how varied they were, you never knew what to expect unless you had prior knowledge on your foe. Would the infiltrator have a semblance geared towards combat, like Winter’s? Or perhaps one that influenced everything around them, like that drunkard Qrow. With how little information they’d received from Arc and Second Thoughts, they had to prepare for something as crazy as instantly killing anyone they touched.

But no matter their semblance, a single person couldn’t hope to stand against an entire team of Specialists, and that was just until the calvary could arrive and completely surround the CCT.

The pair tried not to stare at the tower, lest someone catch on, instead directing their focus inward towards the dance.

“It feels wrong, to cast suspicion on students like this.” Winter remarked as her eyes scanned the students. Though they suspected that anyone who had infiltrated the student body would find themselves among those from Haven, it was hard to tell school of origin at an event like this. The two of them knew every student from Atlas, of course, having been involved in nominating them for the Vytal Festival along with the fact that they had been growing familiar with them since the start of the semester. The rest of the schools however… sure, they had spent practically every moment between the warning from Second Thoughts and now investigating these students. Pouring over the information they had to see if they could piece together who it might be. But even with the limited number who had come for the tournament, there were still a lot of students. They could study all they like, but there was no way that they’d remember every face, especially when the uniforms and outfits with that special huntsmen flair were replaced with suits and dresses.

“Indeed it does, but we will do what we must to ensure the safety of the people. It’s what we signed up for, even if this particular case is unpleasant. On an unrelated note…” The General hesitated, “...do you know why your little sister is glaring at me?”

When Winter spotted Weiss in the crowd, she found herself just as confused. The younger Schnee girl was standing with Neptune, apparently her date for the evening, but every time the boy turned away from her to chat with someone else Weiss would turn to Ironwood and glare daggers at him before acting like nothing had happened when Vasilias turned back to her, the blue haired boy none the wiser. When Weiss caught on to the fact that her older sister was staring at her, she suddenly blushed bright red before dragging her date off to the dance floor.

“I haven’t the faintest idea…”

I’ll admit that things didn’t go how I expected, but at least you got a date in the end! Pyrrha certainly looks happy with how things turned out!

And she did. Her smile was radiant and she seemed ecstatic to be his date for the dance. Several boys, along with a handful of girls, were glaring at him jealously as his hands found her hips.

Yes, and I’m happy about that, I really am, but you could have told me that Pyrrha was the one who was into me!

It seemed so obvious in hindsight, and her reaction to being asked made it crystal clear that it was her who Second had been hinting at in the past. He should probably apologize to Ren and Nora for putting them through that…

But she hadn’t been the first one he had asked.

We’ve been over this! I can’t just guide you through everything, Jaune. What if this timeline had already diverged from what I knew? What if I told you that Nora loved you, only for you to ask her and create one of the most awkward situations I’ve ever had to witness when she was forced to point out the fact that her and Ren have their… whatever it is?

I wouldn’t have asked Nora, everyone knows what’s going on there!

That’s not the point! I just used her as an example, but it could be any of them. I didn’t want to be trying to guide your love life… and especially not if I did a bad job at it!

But look at what happens when you don’t guide me!

You get a date to the dance, like I promised?

Well, yes, but I also embarrassed myself by getting rejected by a robot!

The Atlas soldiers “dancing” with Penny were still giving Jaune weird looks. It seemed not everyone thought of the girl as more than a machine, and since their commanding officers had informed them that Jaune was in the know…

Think of all the jokes they’re going to be making about me, Second! I’m already a laughing stock half the time, I can’t keep adding on to the list of things people insult me for!

But do you see Penny as “just a machine”?

No, obviously, or I’d not have asked her to the dance!

Well then that’s all that matters. If they want to call you a-

I don’t need to hear it again!

Well it doesn’t matter! That’s just their opinion, and if they can’t see that Penny is more than just the sum of her components, then that’s their problem. Besides there’s nothing wrong with being attracted to an android, it’s more common than you think.

How many androids do you know?!

“You had me worried, you know.” Pyrrha interrupted their thoughts. “Nora offered to beat some sense into you for me,” she joked, before her expression turned to one of concern, “She didn’t, right? Don’t tell me that’s why you asked me.” With someone like Nora, that was a legitimate concern.

“No, no, that was all me.”

You’d have gone alone if it weren’t for Neptune and I.

I’m not telling her that though!

“What made you change your mind? When you talked about both of us going alone, I thought…” That he didn’t like her. Not just that he had no interest romantically, but that going with her was worse than going alone. Did it make sense? No, but people are great at jumping to the worst case scenarios when it comes to this sort of thing.

“I think… I might have been making a bigger deal out of the dance in my mind than it really needed to be. Someone talked some sense into me….”

“Second Thoughts?”

“I talk to more people than just Second you know! Other people can give me advice!” Jaune pouted.

Pyrrha giggled. “I know, Jaune. But you do get an awful lot of it from Second.” she teased.

“How can I not? He lives in my head, I have to hear his advice whether I want it or not, and if I don’t listen to it I can’t even lie about it.”

“Hmmm. Is he giving you advice right now?”

Maybe don’t bring up the fact that you got rejected by Penny first.

“Nope. Just you and me.”

At least she was nice about letting you down easy. And she even agreed not to tell anyone! That’s a win in my book.

Will you shut up?!

Fine, fine, I’ll leave you it.

Blake would never admit it, but she was actually having a good time.

Sun was… an interesting guy. It was hard not to find him interesting when their first interaction was the blonde just barely avoiding literally falling for her. Though really, that was just the start of it. She could admit that he was good looking, and with how he walked around with his top open all the time, he seemed to be well aware of it. Plus he was just… generally a good guy, as far as she could tell. Add the fact that Second Thoughts had drawn their attention to each other, which might very well mean that something would happen between them in the future….

She was still hesitant to trust a semblance that claimed to know their secrets, but she could see why a future version of her might be interested in the monkey faunus. She wasn’t going to throw herself at him, by any means, but he had respectfully asked her to go to the dance with him. Why shouldn’t she say yes? It might not go anywhere, and she was still trying to come to terms with… her past… but a night of fun couldn’t hurt. Especially with how hard the authorities had been cracking down on the White Fang. It made her wonder, though. If not for Jaune and Second Thoughts, would they be going after them so thoroughly? With all of the warnings that had specifically called her out, acting like she was some loose cannon ready to take on the entire group on her own…

“Should I be concerned that your eyes are on the other blond guy in the group? Is it the hair? Don’t tell me I need to watch my back for your partner as well.” Sun teased.

Her displeasure with his teasing must have shown because he laughed.

“No. I just wonder about him sometimes…”

“In what way?” Sun questioned. “I’m assuming it has something to do with his semblance?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Jaune’s a great guy, but Second Thoughts is probably the most interesting thing about him. Not that he’s boring or anything, I’d still be friends with him with or without that semblance, but… it’s kind of crazy to even think about.”

“I know what you mean. Jaune is… acceptable company when he’s not getting Nora to babysit me.” Coming from Blake, that was high praise. “I can’t help but think-”

“Is something wrong?” Sun turned to look at his fellow blond and his redheaded date. The two were dancing, but Pyrrha had a concerned look on her face.

“I don’t know… he saw someone in the crowd and suddenly startled, or at least that’s what it looked like. Maybe Second said something to spook him? It can’t be that big a deal if he’s back to dancing already.” But was that really the case? Or was she trying to convince herself of that?

“Must be…” They could only act if Jaune gave them a reason to. “Come on, let’s get a drink. I’m pretty sure I saw someone spiking the punch.”

The dance came to a close, and the students went back to their dorms.

The same could not be said of the General and his men.

“You’re certain nobody even came close to the CCT? It’s possible they somehow got wind of the fact that you were stationed inside and decided to turn back.” The General demanded.

“Positive, Sir. Anybody that left or entered the dance late was monitored, and we’ve had eyes on the perimeter the whole time. It seems we were overly cautious tonight.”

“...Good work tonight. Thank you for your report, you’re dismissed.”

As the Specialists went back to their bunks for the night, Ironwood found himself thinking over all of the possibilities. Second had seemed certain that something would happen tonight. Perhaps he and Winter had jumped to conclusions when they started looking into students as potential traitors, but that seemed to be the path he had led them down… Could it be that they were lied to? Unlikely. It would be the height of foolishness to lie to the General of Atlas, especially given the fact that no reports had come in of anything happening tonight. Perhaps it was something of a more subtle nature, but he wanted to believe that this wasn’t Second Thoughts covering up something else.

That left the possibility that the information was simply inaccurate. It wouldn’t be the first bad tip-off he’d received in his time, but given the track record that Second Thoughts was quickly racking up, it was strange for something this important to have been completely off. Why was the info bad, then? James still struggled to wrap his mind around the intricacies of alternate timelines and branching possibilities. The general concept was understandable, sure, but trying to plan for the possibilities it presented was a whole other ball game.

No, with how certain Second had been, this was likely a surprise to him as well, though that would have to be confirmed in the morning. In that case… had their foe caught on already? A string of successes for those upholding the law meant a string of failures for those trying to break it. It was possible that they had been cowed by their seeming ineptitude, or even that they were trying to dig out a rat amongst their ranks. Not that they would find one. Maybe the perpetrator in this event was someone unrelated to the previous incidents… In the worst case scenario, they were aware of Second Thought’s existence, or at least the presence of a semblance with predictive abilities. Changing a plan that had previously been set in stone, and with Second having no way to compensate for that…

This was about to get messy. But he was used to not having future knowledge in his repertoire. If anything, this meant that the ball was back in his court.

The fog of war was more familiar than not.

Chapter Text

This doesn’t make any sense! How could the CCT not get attacked? It’s vital to their plans and I haven’t changed that much… have I changed that much? I mean, yeah, Roman got arrested, and some White Fang got captured, and the Paladin and Tukson and…

Second.

Damn. I guess I have changed a good bit, haven’t I? And after all that talk of not wanting to interfere too much…

Second!

But what set this off? Was it really something I did? Besides the whole Tukson being alive thing, all I did was speed up the timeline on a few things. It all would have happened anyway. Did I misremember? I guess if I was working off of bad information that could have done it, but…

Second Thoughts!

No, no, that can’t be it. This is still so early, there’s no way I remembered it incorrectly. Then… Maybe things were off from the start? Was this not the canon timeline? I guess the whole being Jaune’s semblance thing is a pretty big deviation, isn’t it? There’s no telling if that was the only change that happened even before I manifested.

Hey!

It can’t have… it definitely isn’t my fault. There’s no way. I only hinted at a few things, I didn’t-

Jaune banged his head against the wall. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, and he might end up with a nasty bruise from how hard he did it, but Second Thoughts finally stopped thinking. Team JNPR hadn’t even been awake long enough to go to their first classes for the day and Second had already worked himself up into a frenzy.

“Jaune?! What are you doing?!” Pyrrha worriedly grabbed him, pulling him away from the wall and inspecting his forehead. “Why would you…” The poor girl was too confused by the sudden action to coherently reprimand him.

“Sorry Pyr.” He gingerly prodded at the spot he had hit, wincing at the contact. He may be used to getting bruised and battered after all the training he’s been doing, but that doesn’t make it sting any less when it happens. “Ever since last night Second has been… driving me crazy, I guess. He… predicted something would happen last night, and it didn’t come true.” Despite his worries, he wasn’t sure that the General would appreciate him telling people about a potential attack on the CCT, especially since it hadn’t actually happened. “He was worried once he figured that out, but now he’s really freaking out. Bad enough that I’m getting what I assume is his full stream of consciousness, like he used to complain about getting from me.” Although Second had complained about having to listen to his “teenage boy thoughts”. Hopefully Jaune wouldn’t have to worry about the reverse…

This isn’t the time for that Jaune! This is bad! Very, very bad!

“You’re saying that your future telling semblance, which, until this point, has been perfectly accurate, was incorrect for the first time?” Ren asked.

“I guess so? I mean, General Ironwood was supposed to be taking care of something last night, and I’m not sure that he’d want to give me the details of how that went, especially so soon. I’m not sure how Second even knows.” Ironwood and Winter had said something about the culprit slipping into the crowd after, so it’s possible that Second had seen them, but that didn’t really mean anything. Couldn’t they have been seen after returning from a successful crime? Jaune didn’t know how long it was meant to take, but it had been pretty well into the night when Second suddenly startled.

Because that smug bitch didn’t look like she had just come back from a successful mission! She’s so full of herself it would be all over her face, but instead she was looking around in suspicion like… like she was trying to find someone…

“Last night… is that why you started acting off part way through the dance?” Pyrrha asked, a frown on her face.

“Yeah. I tried to ignore him the best I could, but I can’t exactly cut him off on my own. Not completely, anyway.” He felt a bit guilty about only giving Pyrrha half of his attention, but there wasn’t much that he could actually do about it.

“If Second started freaking out at the dance, then he must have seen someone unexpected! Do I finally get to break someone’s legs?! If General Ironwood is involved, they must be someone on the wrong side of the law!” Nora exclaimed with a wide smile, always one to look at things in a positive light.

“If General Ironwood is after them, then they’re clearly not someone we’re fit to go after ourselves. We’re only first years, Nora.” Ren tried to be the voice of reason.

I’m not sure who to support here. She definitely should have her legs broken, as well as her face, but throwing yourselves at her as you are now…

Second devolved into another storm of muttered worries, and Jaune could only sigh. Classes were going to start soon, and he had to survive the school day before he could worry about anything Second Thoughts brought up.

Or rather, that had been his plan. The chime of the intercom system drew their attention, and then they heard Ozpin’s voice. “Jaune Arc, to my office please.” His face paled as the message ended and his teammates all turned to him.

Are you ready to join me in my panic yet?

When Jaune left the elevator and entered Ozpin’s office, he was met by quite the crowd. The headmaster was there, of course, being the one to have called for him and also the owner of the office they were standing in. But alongside him were General Ironwood, Winter, and Professor Oobleck.

Though perhaps “alongside” is the wrong word to use for the situation at hand. There seem to be factions at play here….

General Ironwood and Winter stood side by side, both of them standing ramrod straight off to the left of Ozpin’s desk. Professor Oobleck was opposite of them, off to the right, but he seemed nervous, twitchy… or maybe that was just the caffeine in the coffee he was sipping. The man always seemed to have too much energy. Ozpin was behind his desk of course, sitting in his chair and doing a good job of pretending to be relaxed.

Jaune walked up to the desk nervously, not knowing what to do with his hands, who to look at, what to say. “So… you asked to see me?” He managed to eke out while his eyes darted between the powerful people in the room.

“Indeed we did Mr. Arc. I suspect you already know why that is?” Ozpin replied.

“Well, not entirely, but it probably has something to do with Second Thoughts, right? And how he…” Jaune swallowed nervously, “...how he was wrong.”

I wasn’t wrong, I just… well… circumstances changed!

“Could we skip the song and dance?” Oobleck spoke up. “I can understand why you might think this meeting necessary, but we have already established the fact that Mr. Arc here has tenuous control over his semblance. To accept that any sort of ‘future vision’ might be perfect is to accept that free will does not exist. Frankly, I’m surprised that we managed to make it this far before there was some sort of deviation from what Second Thoughts expected.”

I’m not sure if I should be offended that he didn’t believe in me, or relieved that he didn’t expect too much.

“I agree.” Ironwood said as Winter nodded along beside him. “While having an information advantage over our foes was a welcome reprieve, none of us are unfamiliar with having to work things out ourselves. Really, we should be glad that we reached this point before we became complacent and falsely assumed that Second Thoughts could solve all of our problems.”

You can’t solve your problems on your own though. It all comes crashing down…

“Be that as it may,” Ozpin held a hand up to halt any further interruption, “There are still questions that must be asked. The first of which would be whether or not this was actually the first case of Second Thoughts being incorrect, or if it was simply a matter of miscommunication. Being that the only method of contact we have is through Mr. Arc, it is possible that we have allowed a different wording than what was intended to cloud our judgement.”

“Mr. Arc has already said that Second Thoughts was wrong.” Oobleck said, exasperation clear in his voice.

“I would hear him confirm it then, just to be sure.” Ozpin pressed.

What a prick. Him and his attitude…

“Yes, it was definitely Second’s prediction that was wrong. He was certain that the CCT was going to be attacked during the dance, and you would have been able to tell if that had happened.”

“I see. And do we have any ideas as to why this event did not transpire as predicted? I cannot see what differentiates it from the others, and the only one of those that has yet to be confirmed is the situation with Lionheart.”

Does Ozpin not listen or is he intentionally being obtuse?

“It would be because of the butterfly effect, would it not?” Winter finally spoke up.

“Almost definitely, but I believe that Ozpin is trying to find a more specific answer than that. What specifically might have caused this to change?” Oobleck answered.

“Our running theory was that the string of issues Second Thoughts has been involved with in some way or another were all related. “ said Ironwood. “Granted, this was speculation on our part and not something that Second Thoughts laid out specifically, but it makes the most sense in my eyes. It’s only natural that a string of failures would result in a more cautious approach going forward. Were we off the mark on that one?” the General turned to Jaune.

That’s… they’re correct in their assumption. That much is safe to say I would think. Is it though? I thought it was safe before and look where that got me. They’re probably onto us by now, plotting to have us disappear in some sort of “training accident” or something. Or maybe they’ll deem our elimination more important than their cover and just go for it…

“Second agrees that they’re related.” Jaune relayed, opting to ignore what he hoped was merely paranoia.

“And what of our assumption that the one to break into the CCT is posing as a Haven student? We did get a bit carried away when the possibility crossed our minds…” Winter added.

“Excuse me?! You mean to tell me that you believe a criminal with the capability of corralling both the White Fang and Torchwick has been posing as a student and you didn’t immediately share such a suspicion? Please tell me that they’re wrong.” Oobleck pleaded.

Well? Jaune thought to his headmate.

…Second?

His semblance didn’t answer.

Second, we kind of need an answer here. Weren’t you just freaking out over all of this? How are they meant to help fix it if you don’t talk to me!

“Mr. Arc?” Ozpin prompted, a brow raised in question. “Is everything alright?”

“Second…” Jaune said hesitantly, giving him a moment to break his silence. “Second won’t say anything…”

“Truly? I was under the impression that you couldn’t get him to stop talking.” Oobleck questioned.

“Normally, yeah, I think he likes to feel included in conversations or something, but he’s just… not responding to me.”

Ironwood frowned. “Perhaps this is another case of him clamming up when we want answers. If he won’t respond to that question, then what about different information? The names of those involved? The next possible attack? Even if it doesn’t pan out, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared for it. Just knowing areas of interest or future targets would help build an idea of what they’re after. With the Vytal festival quickly approaching and the possible, if not probable issues in Haven-”

Ironwood’s words faded into background noise as Second Thoughts finally said something.

…I can’t do it.

Done with your silent treatment, Second?

I’ve already messed it up.

Messed up? Second, just tell them what they want to hear so they can fix things.

I’ve already altered the timeline too much. I had it all mapped out and I screwed it up on inconsequential things. I should have just waited and let things play out.

What? I think stopping the White Fang and Roman Torchwick is kind of a big deal!

“Jaune!” someone shouted, but when he tried to focus on them, he couldn’t. He hadn’t even noticed the change, distracted with Second Thoughts, but something was wrong all of a sudden. His hearing felt muffled, his vision started to blur, his body felt numb, and when he tried to speak he found that he couldn’t. The room seemed brighter though, like something was glowing.

It’ll be all my fault.

His legs gave out from under him, but someone caught him before he could hit the ground. The motion brought his own body into view, revealing that he was the source of the glow.

“It’s draining too rapidly! We need to-” The words became too muffled to hear the rest.

I’m sorry, I don’t want anyone to die. 

There was… someone else there. In front of him. Someone he didn’t recognize through the blur and the bright light… were they glowing too?

But I’m not good enough.

The last sensation he felt before it all faded to black, was that of a cold hand grasping his.

Chapter Text

Jaune was dreaming.

Or at least, he assumed so, because what else could this be?

Huge skyscrapers surrounded him, the glass and metal that made up their exteriors reflecting light from the setting sun. The road he was on seemed to stretch on forever, filled to the brim with cars. The sidewalk he found himself standing on was just as filled, people everywhere for as far as he could see. All of them in a hurry, all of them willing to push and shove him out of the way until he stood up against the building behind him. Car horns and shouting, the smell of food wafting out of nearby shops, so much of it seemed familiar, even if he didn’t recognize the city he was in.

Yet at the same time, so much of it was unfamiliar. He didn’t recognize these buildings, and the architecture was foreign. The cars slowly passing by weren’t of any make or model he knew of. Nothing was terribly odd about the people… except that not a single Faunus was present. It was possible that any Faunus present just had traits that weren’t obvious from his viewpoint, but that seemed unlikely. The smell of food was mingling with something he didn’t recognize at all, enticing and awful at the same time.

But what really set his hair on end was the moon. Framed perfectly by the buildings stretching out into the distance, the moon was visible even though night had yet to fall. That much could be considered normal. But the moon was full. Whole. A single circle in the sky instead of the many shattered pieces that it should be.

This is… strange. He thought out to Second.

There was no response.

Was that normal? He couldn’t recall. Most of the dreams he had slipped from his memory as soon as he woke up, and he wasn’t the type to keep a dream journal or anything like that.  It was possible that Second had never been part of his dreams, that he had this conversation with himself every night. Dreams rarely made sense, and if he was asleep he wouldn’t expect his semblance to be able to hear him. Maybe he could though? The thought of Second being forced to endure every thought he had during his dreams was a bit scary. Best not to think about that and just try to enjoy a totally normal dream.

Except, he was lucid dreaming, wasn’t he? That was odd as well. Or he thought it was, anyway. Being aware of the fact that you were dreaming, able to change the dream, was something people actively tried to do. Or so he had heard.

And if he was able to control the dream, why stay here? Beyond the moon being whole and the foreign location, it wasn’t that interesting. Just a normal day in the city, with none of the intriguing or exciting hallmarks associated with dreams. What to dream of though… maybe winning the Vytal festival? Winning a fake version of it might help his nerves in regards to the real one that was fast approaching. Jaune focused his thoughts, trying to wipe away the cityscape and replace it with what he desired. His eyes closed while he concentrated, and when they opened again, the bustling city was gone.

But it wasn’t what he was going for, either.

A field stretched out before him. Far in the distance, the edge of a forest could be seen, but everything between was tilled soil and small crops sprouting out of the ground. He wasn’t sure what was growing, having not grown up on a farm, but there were probably millions of green leaves before him. The sun shone high in the sky, obscured by mild cloud cover. Turning around revealed a dirt road, framed on either side by deep drainage ditches filled with wild flowers. Off in the distance was an old farmhouse and a couple of barns with a single car parked outside.

“So. Not able to control what I dream, though I could change the setting…”

A lone figure walked out the front door of the farmhouse and towards the car.

“What a weird dream…” With nothing better to do, he gingerly stepped over the loose soil to the edge of the field where the ground was more solid before making his way towards the farm.

“Jaune!” Nora shouted.

Team JNPR, minus their leader, burst into the infirmary. Or rather, Nora burst in, with Pyrrha right behind her, and Ren walking in a moment later with concern on his face both for Jaune and his team’s lack of decorum. With only one patient currently present, their target was obvious, even if he was obscured by the doctor checking his vitals. Before they could make it to the blond, however, they were stopped by Professor Oobleck.

“Hold on just a moment! I understand that you are concerned, but your team leader is currently being looked over and I can give you answers without you crowding around him.”

Nora looked ready to ignore him and jump towards Jaune anyway, but Pyrrha held her in place. “What happened? I thought he was in a meeting with the headmaster!” the redhead demanded.

“That’s… what we’re trying to figure out. I’m afraid that we’ve been left little to go off of.” Oobleck nervously took a sip from his thermos. “Jaune was indeed in a meeting with Ozpin, along with myself and a few others. We were discussing his semblance when he suddenly spaced out… not in the usual way he does,” Bart clarified, with all of them having seen Jaune’s eyes go out of focus when he was talking with Second Thoughts, “but in a more concerning fashion. He looked like he was about to faint. Luckily, we noticed and I was able to catch him before he hit his head on the ground, but it would appear it wasn’t just a fainting spell.” He turned back to get a look at the boy before continuing. “Just before he fell, he lit up like a fireworks display. In all my years, I’ve never seen someone’s aura flare to that degree… It was like everything he had in him was being expelled from his body at once. Luckily it stopped when he had roughly ten percent remaining, but he still hasn’t woken up and we’re not quite sure of when he will.”

“What makes you think he won’t just sleep it off? His aura should be recovering if he’s unconscious.” Ren pointed out.

“ Should be recovering, yes.” Oobleck agreed. “But for some reason, his aura is not being allowed to stray from its current level. Every time it recharges even a single percent, he starts to glow again, and it’s gone as quick as it came. It never drops below that level, so the current hypothesis is that Second Thoughts, either intentionally or subconsciously, is keeping him there for some reason.”

“And you’ll have no way of knowing until he wakes up…” Pyrrha concluded, concern and distress obvious in her expression.

“Correct. We’ll keep him here, keep him safe, but Jaune’s semblance is a marvel on a normal day. We don’t know what we’re working with here, and any rash actions may only harm him.”

“There has to be something we can do!” Nora pleaded, though she kept her tone relaxed and light hearted, like she was only complaining of boredom. It wasn’t enough to fool any of them.

“As soon as we figure out what we can do for him, it will be done, rest assured. But semblances, even one as strange as Jaune’s, are a part of us. It may not make sense to us now, but perhaps he will come out of this scare better than he was before.”

When he reached the farmhouse, the figure he had seen before was still there, leaning against the car. But unlike the busy crowds in the city, the figure was… indistinct. Blurry, almost. He could feel a headache coming on when he tried to look at them for too long.

“Uh… excuse me? Could you tell me where I am?” He called out, not sure of what sort of answer to expect, but it didn’t matter because he went ignored. The figure stayed still, staring out into the fields, not acknowledging his presence at all.

“Right then.” He sighed. “Did someone drug me or something? I don’t remember any dreams being like…this. Maybe I should try another.”

Jaune closed his eyes, focusing once more on changing the dream before suddenly, he was sitting.

He was in a car this time. Sat in the passenger seat, with what seemed like the same figure from the farm driving. They were still blurry, so it was hard to be certain of that, but they… felt the same, in some strange way. He knew they were the same person, but he didn’t know how he knew that.

The only noise was that of the car going down the empty road. They seemed to be on the outskirts of a settlement around the size of his hometown. “I wonder how they’re all doing without me…” He hadn’t exactly told his family that he planned to get forged transcripts and run off to Beacon. He should probably tell them that he isn’t dead or something…

But the homesickness took a backseat as he noticed a large difference between wherever this was and his own home. The edge of the settlement gave way to endless fields of crops. Not a wall in sight, no guards, no defenses against the creatures of grimm. Now that he thought about it, hadn’t the farm from before been the same way?

The driver suddenly took a hand off the wheel, tapping at a… scroll? It didn’t look anything like the one he carried around, but he wasn’t sure what else it could be. Music began playing out of it. Something upbeat, maybe a pop song, but he couldn’t understand the words.

He blinked, and the world changed again.

“An incident like this does not cause the world to stop turning, Bart. We have other duties that we must attend to.” Gylnda tried to be gentle about it.

“I understand that, I do, it’s just…” Oobleck tried to gather his thoughts. “I’m not saying that I refuse to leave Beacon, I would just appreciate having an assignment that is more local. I’m not the only one capable of supervising a mission into Mountain Glenn.”

“You’re not the only one capable of looking after Mr. Arc, either. I realize that you’ve become… invested in him, but your skills would do more good guiding a team in Mountain Glenn than they would waiting for him to wake up.” A reassuring hand on his shoulder, and a gentle smile.

“I suppose I have become invested in him. Perhaps too invested…”

“Now Bart, don’t-”

“No, Glynda.” Oobleck cut her off. “You’re right. I’m the man for the job in regards to Mountain Glenn. Some time away from all the excitement will probably do me some good. Has the attending team been decided yet?”

Goodwitch looked like she wanted to talk more about his dedication to his students, but with a sigh she answered his question. “Not quite. There was talk of sending team RWBY for it, but James has been giving pushback on that. As if he has any say on the matter…” she grumbled. “I don’t know who he thinks he is, coming in and acting like he can tell us how to run our school. And Ozpin actually gives him the time of day! Regardless… I expect in the end Ms. Rose and her team will be the ones sent.”

“I see. It should make for an interesting expedition, if nothing else. I suppose I should start packing my things then. You never know what awaits in a place like that.”

Mercury strolled into their dorm with a confident smirk on his face.

“Did you hear the latest gossip?”

“Are you talking about the rumor that your inflated ego is just you compensating for something?” Emerald asked, not looking up from her scroll.

“Wow, you’re a comedy genius. When did you come up with that one?” He rolled his eyes.

“Oh, about two days ago. I figure it’s probably making the rounds and it’ll get to you soon.”

“Wait, you really-”

“Children.” Cinder interrupted. Their bickering stopped immediately. “From the look on your face when you walked in, I trust that you have some actual news?”

“Of course I do. Someone has to get results.” He not so subtly jabbed at the mint haired girl. “Apparently there was a bit of a situation in Ozpin’s office, and a student got rushed to the infirmary.”

“Oh?” A dangerous smirk found itself on her lips. “I take it this is the ‘Jaune Arc’ that was called there earlier?” She had been keeping careful tabs on anyone who got an audience with the headmaster, though she had not yet had the time to look into this one.

Mercury leaned against the wall as he continued. “They’ve got the infirmary under watch at the moment, so I wasn’t able to confirm that yet, but it seems like a safe assumption to me.”

The smirk dropped. “We do not deal in assumptions , Mercury. I want the facts. If we don’t know the truth of the situation that will mean precious time wasted chasing after a false lead. Go. Confirm it.” When Emerald let her satisfaction with his failure show on her face, Cinder added on “You too. Ensure that he gets it right this time.”

“Y-yes ma’am!” The girl all but jumped off of her bed and ran out the door, eager to please. When Mercury shut the door behind them, Cinder found herself alone.

“Jaune Arc… could you be the one I’m looking for?”

Chapter Text

They were in what looked to be a classroom now. Mostly barren, a simple rectangular room with a few posters on the walls, a giant board at the front by the teacher’s desk, and rows of individual desks with the seats attached to them. Not the sort of layout he had grown used to at Beacon, but recognizable all the same. It was just Jaune and the blurry figure. What was it about this person? They’d followed him through every dream besides the first one. Or maybe… had they been in the first one as well? It’s not like he would have noticed a single indistinct figure among the crowd.

“Who are you? What are these places?”

Of course, there was no response. The figure just sat in the classroom with him, maybe waiting for a class to start? They would be waiting a while if nobody else had shown up yet. And that was assuming other people would show up at all. Curious Jaune walked to the door of the classroom, opening it to see out into the hall.

But there was no hall. Beyond the doorway, there was only darkness. A pitch black that looked like it might go on forever. Jaune tentatively put his foot through the doorway, testing to see if there was a floor past that point, even if he couldn’t see one. His foot went deeper than it should have. Not wanting to risk falling through the void for the rest of his time asleep, he pulled his foot back and closed the door.

When he turned back to the figure, they had a notebook in their hands that hadn’t been there before. While the figure and their clothing was too blurry to make out, the notebook was crisp and clear. With nothing better to do, he took a peak at it.

But just because he could see the writing didn’t mean he could understand it. The writing was nonsensical, looking more like a random string of letters and spaces than words, much less coherent sentences.

“You know, if you’re going to follow me into every dream, you could at least talk to me or something.” Jaune told the figure.

But the dreams were of unfamiliar places. And the figure was always present.

“Maybe… you’re not following me, but I’m following you? That would explain some of it, but then I have to wonder how that would work. How would I be inside someone else’s dreams?”

Obviously that couldn’t be his semblance. It was in no way related to what Second Thoughts had shown to be capable of so far. He knew their potential futures, not what they were dreaming of at that exact moment. Somebody else’s semblance, maybe? He hadn’t heard of anyone having a semblance that put you in someone else’s dreams, but maybe it was only recently discovered, or even the first time it was used.

Even then, it would have to be someone within some sort of range. It would be insane for a semblance like that to show him the dream of someone outside Beacon. And who would be having dreams like this? Everything about them seemed… alien, in a way. Foreign beyond what he knew of the other kingdoms. Like he was…

Jaune took another look at the figure. “I’m learning things I couldn’t know with someone else as a proxy. That’s a bit too similar to be a coincidence, isn’t it?”

He still couldn’t make them out. Nothing about the figure in front of him was identifiable, yet at the same time, he thought he had a good idea of who it was.

“Are you… Second Thoughts?”

“I don’t know about this. It doesn’t seem right to be going off on a mission like this when Jaune still hasn’t woken up yet. What is the rest of team JNPR going to do? It’s not like they can just go out as a three man team… right?” Ruby worried as her team gathered their things and prepared to head out with Professor Oobleck of all people. Sure he was a huntsman, but couldn’t they have gotten someone… interesting?

“Letting your own skills atrophy because you wish to rest on your laurels won’t do him any good, Ms. Rose.” Oobleck reminded her. “Believe me, I feel much the same as you do, but there are times in life where you cannot let your emotions cloud your judgement. It is normal to worry over your friend, healthy even, but do not allow that worry to paralyze you.

As for team JNPR… unfortunately their mission will be postponed until Jaune has made a recovery. They were offered the option of joining another team on their mission, but were understandably more interested in being nearby just in case their leader wakes up soon. Who knows, though? Some of these missions will be a bit lengthy, it’s entirely possible that he wakes up tonight, and they’re able to go on a shorter mission, back before even we return!”

Blake raised a brow at his positive outlook. “Do you really think that’s possible?”

“Possible, yes, of course! Probable… it’s hard to say. But negativity will only draw the grimm, and if he’s managed to stay in the same state for this long then I have every reason to believe that it’s only a matter of time.”

“Stop worrying so much, I’m sure he’ll be fine in no time and back to being a nuisance.” Weiss complained, eager to get on with their mission.

“Oh please, you just want access to Second Thoughts so you can ask whether there’s any truth to what Penny said about the rumor with your sister and Ironwood.” Yang teased.

“I most certainly do not! I don’t know who you think you are, Xiao-Long, but if you think I’m going to let you-”

Yes, this will certainly help to get my mind off things. Bart thought to himself, allowing Ms. Schnee’s tirade go in one ear and out the other. It’s good to see that there’s some balance to the team. Though I wonder…

“Are you perhaps referring to the rumor that the General and Specialist Schnee are… in relations?”

Weiss froze. “Do you know something?!” She looked mortified at the possibility that there might be something to it, but too curious to not want the answer.

“Why, it’s not my place as a member of Beacon staff to be engaging in gossip.” Though Gylnda would certainly be happy with him for directing the rumor mill towards James having a “possible relationship” with Winter instead of the one that usually circulated pertaining to James and herself.

Bart hid his smirk behind his thermos as Weiss started to panic.

Yes, a wonderful distraction for a few days.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. Since he had discovered his semblance, he had been learning all sorts of odd things. Or at least, odd things that Second Thoughts decided to share with him. But how did Second Thoughts know these things? Did he just come into existence as Jaune’s semblance knowing all of these things? That seemed like a lot of information to take in all at once for someone who seemed so human. Jaune wasn’t sure how anyone would stay sane if they came into existence with who knows how many timelines crammed into their head all at once.

Maybe this was how it worked though? He saw different future possibilities in his dreams. It would explain why he was so cagey about sharing things. If he hadn’t dreamt of a scenario yet, he wouldn’t know about it. Maybe framing it the way he had been so far was an ego thing? “Yeah, I’m super impressive! I know all sorts of stuff, I uh… I just can’t tell you yet!” It was a bit childish, but it would be an explanation that fit the pieces he’d seen so far.

But if his hunch was correct… then what were tonight’s dreams? Everything was so different from what he knew

Maybe this is what Second meant by alternate timelines? He had sort of assumed it’d be stuff like “In this timeline, my forged transcripts got rejected by Beacon” or something along those lines. But for the moon to be whole, for there to be no grimm in sight…

Maybe… maybe it was still an alternate timeline, but the change happened further back. Wayyyy further back. A timeline where the moon never shattered, a timeline where grimm never existed, a timeline where humanity was actually safe.

Wouldn’t that be something?

Of course, it didn’t exactly help with Second’s future telling abilities. A timeline so far deviated from the one they were currently living in wasn’t great for helping plan for the future, was it? Was this what it was like every night? Dream after dream after dream that had no bearing on reality, or at least the one they knew? That might explain why Second’s advice seemed so sporadic at times. Nothing for weeks, and then suddenly a few things pop up at once.

Maybe if he changed the dream enough times, he could see something useful with his own eyes! It would be amazing to see a version of himself that wasn’t so… him. Second had once said something about most versions of him turning out to be pretty reliable, hadn’t he? Surely if he went through enough of Second’s dreams he could find one of those!

Jaune closed his eyes, and changed the dream.

“So what’s your plan?” Emerald asked.

“My plan? Walk inside, blind them with my charm and good looks, ask the name of the injured guy and leave.” Mercury answered, a cocky smile on his face.

Emerald waited for him to continue, the duo walking down the halls towards the infirmary.

He didn’t.

“That’s it?! You call that a plan?!”

“What? I like to keep things simple.”

At first Emerald had feared that being sent along with him had been a punishment from Cinder, but it looked like he was genuinely too inept to do this sort of work. She should have known…

“Or, if you’d like to not be on Cinder’s bad side for either failing or exposing ourselves to these morons, you could go in with an actual plan?”

“Fine, fine.” Mercury rolled his eyes. “What do you want me to do, fake an injury or something as an excuse to be there?”

“Who said you’d have to fake it?” Emerald smiled sweetly at him.

“What do you mean by- wait- don’t!”

NPR were watching over their leader in shifts, when they were able to anyway. At the moment it was Ren’s turn.

Personally, he didn’t see the merit in keeping a constant guard over him, but when both of his conscious teammates had asked him to do so, he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. So here he was, sitting at Jaune’s bedside, reading a book to pass the time. The school… nurse? Doctor? He wasn’t really sure of her qualifications, but either way she was sitting at a computer in a connected office, typing away and presumably looking into what they could do for Jaune.

That’s when they got their first visitor of his shift. Or rather, visitors?

A darker skinned girl with green hair alongside a paler boy with silvery hair and some nasty bruising on his face that looked fresh.

“Oh dear, what’s the story here?” The nurse asked the pair.

The boy glared at his partner, opening his mouth, but not quite fast enough.

“Training accident!”

He glared at her harder, but didn’t correct her.

“And it went through your aura?” The nurse asked in disbelief.

“I… wasn’t paying attention.” he managed to get out through gritted teeth. That definitely wasn’t the full story. “I’m just here to have you check for a concussion or something. Maybe get an ice pack, I can already feel it swelling…”

“Give me just a moment to go grab one for you then.” She told the boy before walking back into her office.

With nothing to do but wait, the bruised boy turned to Ren. “So what are you two in here for?”

It probably wasn’t a good idea to tell two strangers much about the situation, but he didn’t want to be rude. “Semblance mishap.”

“Oh? An actual mishap? Or a mishap ?” he glared at his partner again while doing finger quotes, who only rolled her eyes.

Perhaps it would be best not to pry into that can of worms.

“An actual mishap. Jaune hasn’t had his semblance unlocked for very long.” As he spoke, he could have sworn the girl… well, he wasn’t sure what she did. For just one moment, something about her seemed… off. But when the boy continued as if nothing had happened, he dismissed it as a trick of the light.

“Good luck to him then, some are more of a pain than others.”

“Indeed they are.”

Chapter Text

Dozens of dreams. Maybe even more than a hundred, but he hadn’t exactly thought to keep track, and the sheer number of them left him struggling to remember all he had seen. Over and over, Jaune changed the scenery, hoping to get a glimpse of something useful. It was always something different. A location that he didn’t know, a scenario that didn’t make sense to him. Not a single time did he see something that resembled home.

But the current dream was different.

He had been burning through dreams at a decent speed by this point, pausing only to check whether there was anything interesting going on before changing it once more. 

He didn’t know what had changed. What might have caused this. But the blurry figure, whom he presumed to be Second Thoughts, had finally deemed him worthy of interacting with.

They were in what Jaune could only assume was a home office. About the size of his bedroom back home, furnished with only a desk covered in a handful of knick-knacks, a single office chair, and a computer. His dream companion had been typing away, but he hadn’t bothered to check what was being worked on, having long ago come to the conclusion that he wouldn’t be able to make any of it out.

Just as Jaune had decided to move on, something struck his face.

“Ow!”

It didn’t actually hurt, but it certainly surprised him. Until this point, it had been like he was simply an outside observer. There was no need to be terribly observant when everything here would vanish in an instant, never to be seen again.

Looking down, he discovered that the projectile had been a pen, which was now lying on the floor. His blurry friend still had their hand outstretched, obviously having been the one to throw it.

“What was that for?” Jaune asked.

Instead of a verbal response, he received a rude gesture in return.

“I didn’t even do anything!”

The blurry figure waved him over, pointing to the computer screen.

“I can’t read anything in these dreams, what’s the point?” He complained, but complied with the request anyway. On the screen was a blank document, the text cursor blinking in wait. “An empty file? Very interesting, glad you decided it was worth throwing a pen at me for.” Jaune snarked.

Jaune you idiot.

It wasn’t in his head like it normally would be, but seeing the words typed out for him felt all too familiar.

“That’s new. So I was right then? You’re Second Thoughts?”

That’s the only thing you’re right about. As usual.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

It means you’re quick to make assumptions. Now stop changing things so much, it’s giving me a headache.

“Oh. I guess I should have expected that there would be a drawback to changing it so much…” He had gotten so preoccupied with these dreams that he hadn’t stopped to consider that because they were related to Second Thoughts, it might put a strain on his semblance.

They’re not dreams.

“Wha- but I didn’t say anything!” Jaune tried to defend.

We’re too close. It’s like when you first unlocked me, but worse. I can’t not hear your thoughts right now.

“Well how do we stop it then?!” Jaune panicked, having once again gotten used to his thoughts being safe.

Not sure. Wake up I guess? Though that might be difficult. I think I put you into a coma.

“A coma? I thought we were just asleep!”

And I thought I told you that those weren’t dreams.

“Then what are they?” Jaune questioned. “It’s not like anything I’ve ever seen. Wait, no, back up a second, Second.” That sounded weird, didn’t it?

It did, but not much we can do about it.

“Would you stop that?!”

Sorry.

“I-ugh. The important part was the coma, not the… not dreams . Why are we in a coma, did something happen?”

You don’t remember? I guess that explains why you’ve been so calm with all of this. I was surprised when you came into this without panicking over your last conscious moments… though it’s probably for the best this way. I wasn’t exactly at my best before this…

“Is that why you’ve been ignoring me all this time?” Jaune asked with a pout.

I wasn’t trying to ignore you, I was… look. I’m not doing too hot. The long and short of it is that I might have… well… it might have been a panic attack of sorts? I’m not entirely sure, but that’s my best guess at the moment.

“You had a- you’re capable of having a panic attack? How- no, why?”

Apparently I am. If you don’t remember that happening… what’s the last thing that you do remember?

“The last thing I remember?” They had gotten called to Ozpin’s office… there were more people than he expected… Second’s prediction had been wrong…

Right. That’s… I was wrong.

“Yeah? And? I get that it must have been disappointing, since it was your first time and all, but I’m wrong all the time and I’m still doing okay. Or, I think I am…?” Now probably wasn’t the time for self doubt….

You’re doing fine, Jaune. As well as can be expected, anyway. I just… there’s a difference between you making a mistake and me making a mistake.

“Because you can see possible futures? You warned us from the start that the butterfly effect could mess things up, I don’t see why you’re being so hard on yourself.”

Do you remember why I’ve been so worried about changing it? About letting people know what is to come?

“Uh…” Jane thought for a moment, trying to recall the information. “It was when Ironwood got here, right? Something about people either being too weak to make change or too powerful to keep the timeline steady? And something about sunlight and graves I think…” Not that much time had actually passed, but it certainly felt like it had been a while since then.

That was the jist of it, yes. But it seems you haven’t thought about it very much. I might have said it in a sort of poetic way, but I was being literal. Graves, Jaune. People are going to die.

“Well, doesn’t everyone die eventually? We’re all going to get old one day, and this is a dangerous line of work and all. Ozpin is pretty old, I don’t imagine he’s got too many years left in him…”

That’s… actually a mature way of looking at things? But Ozpin has far too many years left in him, and I meant in a more immediate sense. People are going to die soon . People you care about.

“Oh.” There wasn’t much else that Jaune could say to that. Being a Huntsman had always seemed like a glamorous thing, even if it was dangerous. But even with him knowing that, he had thought it would be years before someone he knew died, and that it would be someone he had only gone to school with or something…

“When you say people I care about…” Jaune was afraid to ask, but if Second was this worried about it, then it must be something he should know.

It’s not a guarantee. Nothing is, apparently. I hadn’t realized I’d changed so much, but it still… Second Thoughts took a moment to compose himself.

Pyrrha is the most likely to die.

Jaune froze. He wasn’t able to think after hearing that, let alone react.

She doesn’t have much time left. Or at least, she normally wouldn’t.

“What do you mean normally ?! Are you saying there’s something we can do?!” Jaune shouted desperately, his eyes darting between Second and the screen.

I don’t know. The timeline changed.

“That doesn’t help me save her!”

Do you think I don’t realize that? Do you think I’m calm, Jaune? We’re in this situation because I had a panic attack over it. Because I’m only slightly less lost than you are. I don’t know what I’m doing. I know a few possible timelines that are all looking like they’re drifting further away from the one we’re living in. Ever since I manifested as your semblance I’ve been trying to find a way out of this mess, because that’s what it is. The story of your life is never filled with sunshine and rainbows, Jaune. It’s one of hardship, struggle, and often grief and loss. There are a scattered few that turn out to not be so bad, but those are few and far between, and they were impossibilities before I even manifested. I was unceremoniously dumped into your head without any forewarning, left to try and pick up the pieces and make moves in a game that has been in motion for an inconceivably long time. Knowing the future the way that I do gives meaning to my existence, but it also places a heavy burden on it. I hold the power to save so many people, to prevent so much tragedy, but I…

Beyond my future knowledge, I’m nothing special. I’m just… a guy, Jaune. Less capable than you were on your first day in Beacon. How would you feel if instead of accepting your application like normal, you had shown up to Beacon and they asked you to be the Headmaster out of nowhere? You would be scared, out of your depth, feeling like a fish out of water, I’m sure. That’s how I feel right now. But you know something? I’m actually sure of it. I’ve seen a timeline where that happens Jaune. Well, I suppose you were a teacher before becoming Headmaster, but I think my point remains. You were frightened and lost, but somehow that situation is one of your better timelines. It plays out more like a comedy than anything dramatic…

But I’m not you . I’m not some protagonist here to save the day. I don’t have it in me to become that. When push comes to shove, where you brave the storm and stand taller after it clears, I fall hard, and I don’t stand back up.

I had some small semblance of control before. I knew what was coming, planned for it, countered things before they even happened. But now that I can’t do that? I am terrified . I’m not good enough to do this job, Jaune, but you guys are stuck with me. I can’t deal with this pressure.

I’m worthless.

As Second Thoughts finished typing, and Jaune finished reading, a silence returned to the room.

“You…” Jaune trailed off.

“You’re not worthless, Second.”

Fine. Not worthless. Detrimental, which is worse. I’ve got you stuck in a coma.

“No!” Jaune’s fist slammed down on the desk. “You may be an annoying jerk sometimes, and secretive, and maybe without your future knowledge you won’t be as useful as other semblances, but you’re not worthless, or detrimental-” he saw Second’s hands reach for the keyboard again “-and you’re not whatever other stupid thing you’re thinking of typing up either! You’re… my friend. And my friends don’t get to call themselves things like that.”

Will you be able to say the same thing if one of your friends dies while you’re like this? After I put you in this state?

“Stop thinking like that! It won’t come to that!”

You should expect the worst Jaune. That’s what I do. If you always expect the worst, you can only be correct or pleasantly surprised. It leaves no room for disappointment.

“But you don’t think like that!”

I just told you that I do.

“You don’t act like it! You made plans that got Torchwick captured, helped Ironwood, and helped me stand up to Cardin! You didn’t roll over and act like everything was doomed before! You made jokes and trash talked and… I… you made me care about you! You’re my semblance, you’re a part of me, and I’m not going to sit here and listen to this garbage about a part of myself just because one little thing didn’t go to plan!”

I already told you, Jaune. This is serious. It’s jmnhbytgrvf

“Stop typing!” Jaune grabbed the keyboard, Second’s hand dragging across it with the movement, before tearing it off the desk and threatening to throw it at the wall… but didn’t quite go that far with their only method of communication at the moment.

“I don’t care about your pessimistic attitude. You’re my semblance, and we’re a team, whether you’re willing to admit that or not. I’m not going to roll over and let my friends die just because you don’t think you’re up to the task of saving them.”

Jaune glared at Second, daring him to indicate otherwise, but the blurry figure in front of him seemed to accept it, or at least give up on fighting him.

“Now, you’re going to tell me what you know, and we , as a team , are going to come up with a way to stop all of this bad stuff from happening. Got it?”

Jaune waited to get a nod of approval from Second, even if it took the semblance longer than it should have to agree. Only then did he return the keyboard.

You… you’re right.

I suppose… if we make the decision together… it’s a bit like a firing squad, isn’t it? I don’t have to bear the full burden, because I can’t tell if my actions caused the death. That might make it easier…

Not an analogy Jaune liked, but if it got things moving, he would take it for now.

I have a lot of things I should tell you. You deserve to know everything. What this is, where we are, my past and our possible futures. 

His past? How could he have a past?

But if the future is changing… some of it will have to wait.

If my memory of the timeline is correct, it should be about time for team RWBY to visit Mountain Glenn, and that’s a disaster that we can probably help with, but only if we manage to wake you up soon. There’s also the threat in our midst.

This is the abridged version of what I know about Cinder Fall.

When Emerald and Mercury concluded their report, a smile was brought to Cinder’s face.

“Good. Very good. Meetings with Ozpin alongside a sudden visit to the infirmary for problems with a recently discovered semblance… you’re certain that you read his medical files correctly?”

“Of course, Cinder!” Emerald eagerly responded with a nod. “I used my semblance on his teammate while Mercury talked to him so he wouldn’t notice my snooping. Even if they see me checking in any security footage, they’ll see that his own teammate didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“Second Thoughts… a fitting name, I suppose. I’m sure they’ll all be having second thoughts when we bring their lives crumbling down around them. It’s a shame that there weren’t more details on its capabilities, but I suppose knowing that there is another mind inside of him will have to be enough.”

“It’s not like it’ll matter much when he’s dead.” Mercury chimed in, and for once, his quips did not annoy her.

“No, it won’t.” It wouldn’t be terribly hard to see the boy fall victim to an “unfortunate accident” before the Vytal festival.

Soon the thorn in her side would be removed, and all would become right in the world.

Team RWBY, supervised by Doctor Oobleck, as they had been corrected, found themselves wandering the ruins of Mountain Glenn, killing Grimm left and right but not finding much of importance beyond that. It was shaping up to be a rather boring trip all things considered.

But then the ground started to shake.

“Woah! Is this an earthquake?!” Ruby shouted in surprise.

“Highly unlikely!” Oobleck responded. “This area is not near any major fault lines. It would have been rather poor planning to place a major city in such a seismic hotspot, though many would argue that matters not when it lacks the natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders! However, the ground does indeed appear to be shaking. How peculiar.”

“If it’s not an earthquake then what is it?!” Yang yelled out.

“Are we safe here? These buildings could all come down if it gets more intense than this!” Weiss worried.

“No, this…” Blake hesitated. It was much more powerful than she had ever felt, but if the ruined city was in such a poor state, and if the source was big enough…

“Is there a subway track under the city?” She asked. She may regret her time in the White Fang, but apparently it was good for something. She had spent more time on and around trains than the average person.

“A subway track beneath the city? That’s… genius!” Oobleck exclaimed. “Of course, it all makes sense now! There is indeed a subway beneath the city, quite an elaborate system in fact! Created in order to carry citizens safely from the new territory into the main Kingdom, the citizens of Mountain Glenn used the subway system and the massive caves they had cleared out for it as a safe haven, cut off from the surface as they saw the writing on the wall! The city has not had any upkeep since its fall, obviously, and so it would stand to reason that the barrier between where we are now and the caves holding the subway has weakened considerably in that time! Why, it’s entirely possible that the ground we are currently standing on is about to collapse from the stress, plummeting down to the floor of the cavern!”

Taking in what their mentor had just said, the group quickly started moving, running until the ground directly beneath them wasn’t shaking so much.

“This area feels more solid, but… are you suggesting that someone is using a train in this deserted city?” Yang doubted. “Why would they do that?”

“That is the question! The entrance from the Vale end is sealed shut, so it remains a mystery to me.”

That’s when the weakened ground finally gave in, leaving several gaping holes within their sight. Luckily the spot they had moved to was safe, but there was one such collapse close enough for them to see into the cavern.

Peering over the edge from what she assumed to be a safe distance before anyone could stop her, Ruby was the first to see the cause of the collapse.

“Uh, guys? I think we have a problem.”

“I would recommend against getting so close to a recent cave in! At least wait for the shaking to stop!” Oobleck warned, moving closer to pull her back. But then he saw it as well. “Oh dear. That is indeed a problem.”

Their vision was limited by the angle they were watching from, but it was hard to miss the giant tail end of a train gaining speed. It was also hard to miss the many White Fang watching from the side as it left towards Vale.

“Does anyone have a signal on their scroll from here?” Oobleck asked hurriedly, his words even faster than usual.

None of them did.

“Ladies.” Oobleck said with more gravitas than they had ever heard from him. “I apologize for the sudden change of plans, but it would appear that we have a train to catch.”

Chapter Text

Pyrrha was trying to distract herself while she watched over Jaune, but she was doing a poor job of it. Every moment that passed without him waking up seemed like an eternity, and it was eating away at her. What had gone wrong? Could she have done anything to prevent it? The answer was likely no, but logical thinking rarely helped to clamp down on negative emotions like this. She looked over his sleeping form again, hoping that he would surprise her. That he would wake up with a smile and crack some stupid joke or… or something ! She just wanted her partner back, even if he hadn’t been “gone” all that long.

His eyes fluttered.

“Jaune?!” she jumped out of her seat, at his side in an instant.

“Pyrrha? I need to…” he trailed off, his eyes out of focus when he opened them fully. She wasn't sure if that was simply him talking with Second Thoughts or if it was medically relevant. He looked around the room, disoriented. “I’m… right… Where is everyone?”

“Ren and Nora are probably back in our room, just give me a moment and I can call them over.” She went to pull out her scroll. “You had us worried sick, Jaune! What happened? Oh, wait, I should get the nurse first and make sure-”

His hand clamped down on her wrist.

“Pyrrha. Where is team RWBY right now?”

“Team RWBY?” She didn’t see how that was important, but he looked serious. “They’re away on their mission right now, almost everyone is.”

He wrenched himself out of the bed, the medical equipment hooked up to him going haywire as it was unplugged. But she saw what the last reading was for his aura.

“Jaune, what are you doing?! Your aura is only at twenty percent! That’s an improvement from what it was, but clearly you’re not rested enough to be-”

“Pyrrha.”

Dumbfounded, she just nodded, waiting for him to explain.

“Get Ozpin. Or Goodwitch, or… actually, get everyone you can. We need to go.”

“Go? Go where, Jaune?! You’re not well enough to be running off without at least getting looked at first!”

“We need to get to Vale. Team RWBY is in trouble.”

Despite the timeline having been moved up by several days, Adam had seen to it that the plan went off without a hitch. With a few modifications of his own, of course. Cinder would never find out, so long as things appeared to be the same as she expected on the Vale end of things.

Really, what did she think was going to happen? “Yes, of course, Ms. Fall. I’ll send my men on a train rigged with explosives and headed straight for a blocked off section of Vale so that they can die in the crash, be killed by the grimm, or get arrested at the other end.”

He wouldn’t be surprised if some of the newer, weaker Vale recruits went along with such a thing. Or rather, that they would not think about what happens to them after they get on the train. Perhaps it was for the best that the clown had been arrested. He was the one originally in charge of setting this plan off, and Adam was certain that the fool would have no problems with sending members of the White Fang to an early death for no reason.

He supposed that it didn’t really matter now. His part was done, the train was taking off towards the city, and now all that was left was to leave this ghost town for greener pastures.

Or at least, that had been the plan until gunshots could be heard around the corner, yells echoing through the cavern. It was to be expected that a few grimm would be attracted to all the commotion, and the rumbling of a train depot in use for the first time in a long time had opened up a few holes in the roof of the cavern. His men really should be better about handling a handful of grimm, but he could save chewing them out for after he saved their lives. His hand fell to Wilt’s hilt as he started to approach the gunfire.

But it would appear the gunfire was going both ways. His men were running towards him, fleeing some unknown enemy, both sides trading fire. Who though? What sort of fool would think to investigate Mountain Glenn at all, let alone when he just happened to be doing this? The timing was suspect.

Perhaps Cinder’s little theory had some merit to it… or she had set him up for this from the start. How convenient that they would appear just after the train had set off, a time that she had changed only recently? He had done his part, and now she was tying up loose ends? She definitely seemed the type.

A Huntsman he had been warned about certainly would fit that bill. He shouldn’t have met Oobleck until their later plans went into action, and that was if they happened to cross paths in the chaos. But a concerned student tipping off one of the staff members about a rumor they had heard… her little lackey had an illusion based semblance, didn’t she? Fake a Faunus trait and it would be all too believable that they had been approached by the White Fang themselves.

Someone of his caliber might be a bit of a concern, though that really depends on who he had with him for backup. Had the entire calvary been called in? Trying to stop the train before it took off and conveniently drawing them all away from the crash site?

As he approached the fight, the rest of the Huntsmen group finally came into view. A shrimp of a girl who was abnormally fast didn’t concern him. A blonde bimbo would likely be a cakewalk as well. Was this just a first year team? How insulting that they would think that would be enough. Especially with how frail the third-

-was that a Schnee?

Perhaps he had assumed too quickly. It seemed that Cinder had sent him a gift. One Schnee head, served on a silver platter. He would enjoy this.

But assuming victory when he hadn’t even looked at the last team member would be a foolish mistake. You could never know what sort of abilities they might-

He came to a stop.

His hand fell from Wilt.

“...Blake?”

“That’s ridiculous!” Goodwitch complained. “What reason could they possibly have to do such an outrageous thing?!”

“I can’t say the actions of terrorists always make sense to me, but us not understanding it doesn’t mean that we can risk ignoring it.” General Ironwood answered as they got on the ship. Staff and students aplenty were joining them, both on the Atlas fleet and the bullheads owned by Beacon. Anyone that was available was pouring in, eager to answer the call for assistance.

“I’ve already sent out an alert to anyone in the immediate area, but we should make haste.” Ozpin added. “We’ve no idea how badly this could go.”

“Arc didn’t say?” Winter asked him, having only just caught up to the group.

“His semblance has proven to be unreliable, don’t become dependent on it for details.” Ironwood answered her. “But from what he told us, the problem in this situation is that apparently Torchwick is meant to be the one in charge of this operation. That doesn’t exactly match up with the fact that he’s currently in our custody. With the White Fang doing the grunt work, there’s no reason to think that it wouldn’t happen, but we have no clue who would be leading it. All we know is that things played out in a similar manner, with Oobleck leading team RWBY off to Mountain Glenn. None of them can be reached by scroll right now, which is odd, even with how far out they should be. It’s possible that we’ll all look like fools and nothing will happen, but that’s not a risk we can take.”

“Where exactly are we headed, sir?” The pilot called out to them as they began to take off.

“Well, Ozpin?” Ironwood looked to him. “You’re probably the only one present who knows the subway layout off the top of your head.”

“A small park with a stage in the center, an area that lies directly in the path of the old subway line…” There was only one spot that really fit that description, and Ozpin shared it with the man as they flew towards the city.

“Let’s hope that we can make it in time.”

Cinder glowered as her subordinates followed her towards the bullhead. “How could they have done this? I changed who was in charge of it, I changed the date, Arc is in a coma, and yet still we’re being called out for a likely grimm breach within Vale ?”

“Maybe Arc was a red herring?” Mercury suggested.

“He could have woken up. A warning like this would see them up in arms quickly.” Emerald countered.

Neo was silent, as usual.

“We’ll just have to head there ourselves and investigate. Perhaps the fool responsible will out themselves and have an unfortunate accident in all the chaos. This Arc will pay whether he is the one responsible or not, if only for wasting my time.” She considered her teammates and their capabilities. Neo’s semblance would be more useful with so many people present, but she couldn't’ discount the possibility of betrayal. This would be an opportune moment for Neo to out her to all the Huntsmen present.

“Emerald. If the opportunity does arise, you will be responsible for making sure our actions are not seen.”

“Yes ma’am!” Emerald preened, likely having figured out that she held the most of her trust in the group. “I won’t let you down!”

“See that you don’t.”

“There’s no need to down all of them!” Bart shouted to his charges as they shot at the retreating White Fang. “We need only clear a path to the train! We cannot allow them to delay us, lest we be left behind and unable to stop it!”

The final barrier between the tunnels and Vale proper was not that far from the surface. If it got up to full speed and crashed directly into it, it would not be good. And that was assuming that the thing hadn’t been filled with some sort of explosive! The many Dust robberies prior to Roman’s arrest could be unrelated to this, but if even a small portion of it was on board when it hit the end of the tunnel…

Of course, it was at this pivotal moment in time, when civilian lives could very well be at risk, that one of his students’ past reared its ugly head.

He didn’t look behind him, too focused on the objective, but he heard Blake gasp. “Adam?!”

Oh dear. And if the state of the young man he could see between them and the train was any indication, the problem was directly in their path. Even with the half mask over his face, his shock was clear.

“Ms. Belladonna! There are lives at stake here! Please save any personal issues for after the crisis has been averted!”

He hoped she would listen, but he was well aware of how stupid children could be at times.

The young man in front of him shifted his stance, apparently recovered from his shock. He hated moments like this. What was the correct play? Deal with the criminal himself and send the girls after the train? Bypass the boy and go for the train himself, hoping that the students would follow uninterrupted? Take him out as a group and then hope the train is still close enough to catch up?

Any one of those choices could very well mean the deaths of innocent people. But in times of crisis, decisions had to be quick and decisive.

“Ms. Rose! Go ahead of us! Catch that train and do what you can to stop it!” She was the fastest by far, and trying to keep pace with the rest of them was only slowing her down.

“What?! I can’t leave you guys behind, what about all the White Fang?!” She shouted back at him.

“We’ll be right behind you! Now go! If someone doesn’t stop that train, civilians will die!” She was the heroic type. It felt wrong to try and manipulate her with her sense of duty, but what he had said was at least true.

“Is that really a good idea?!” Her sister shouted, likely not feeling comfortable with sending their youngest member off on her own. But by then it was too late. A blur of rose petals had passed him by, and in an instant they were boarding the train. It was really picking up speed now, they had taken too long getting down here. Ruby gave them one last guilty look before running for the locomotive.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the final car. If they didn’t get on that train now it was going to leave them behind. Hopefully Ruby would be able to stop it, but he didn’t exactly hold a lot of hope that a fifteen year old would know how to safely stop a train on their own.

“Ms. Schnee! A speed boost would be appreciated if you can manage it!” he pleaded. He hadn’t seen how far she could push her glyphs yet, and truthfully he didn’t know if she could manage to use it on all of them at once, but he sincerely hoped that she would be able to pull it off.

“Leaving already?” the White Fang member called out to them. “And we’ve only just been reunited! It’s good to see you again, darling.”

Wonderful. Simple recognition was bad enough, but they had to run into his student’s ex-lover of all people?

“I guess I should have known that you’d run away again. That you’d become a coward .” he spat the word out. His sword was unsheathed as he prepared to take them on. “You betrayed the White Fang. Betrayed me! And for what? To play Huntress? To run around with a Schnee ?!”

“Adam, no! I-”

The glyphs sprung to life beneath their feet, and the group was launched forward. Adam shifted his blade, preparing to use their sudden momentum against them and slice them in half. But who was the target? The boy didn’t seem to be looking at him, and being in the front of the group Bart quickly passed him by. He transformed Antiquity’s Roast mid-air, firing upon Adam’s back, hoping to distract him, but the flames did nothing against his aura.

Yang had been just behind him. Bart watched on in horror as he flew towards the train. The red blade flicked forward, ready to bisect the blonde brawler.

But he shouldn’t underestimate his students. Even at these speeds, Yang was able to use her gauntlets to redirect herself in midair, launching herself clear over the blade and out of Adam’s reach.

Blake and Weiss were next. So close together that he wouldn’t have time to slash twice. Would he target a single one of them or attempt to cut them both down with a single stroke? His back hit the train, distracting him for a moment as he found a foothold. When he looked back up, the girls had passed him by, shock on Weiss’ face and tears running down Blake’s. Adam had turned towards them, a black figure dissipating behind him. Blake’s semblance? Had she managed to distract him?

“I’m sorry Adam!” Blake cried out, her voice raw and her face a mess.

“You will be!” He made to chase after them, but with them having barely caught the final car, and the lack of a speed semblance on his part, left him trailing behind as the train sped off down the tracks.

“Blake, are you okay?” her partner asked as the group made their way inside the car.

“Who was that guy?” Weiss added.

“Now is not the time!” Bart regretfully interrupted. “We can get emotional about it once the train has been stopped! Follow me, let’s hope we can catch up to your team leader!” He ran through the cars, hoping they would keep up with him and that they weren’t too late.

He would not allow Vale to become a second act of the fall of Mountain Glenn.

Chapter Text

“Am I the only one weirded out that there’s nobody to fight here?” Yang asked the group as they moved between train cars.

“It’s definitely strange,” Blake answered, though her voice was wobbly and she was wiping tears from her face. “Normally I would think it’s some sort of trap, but if Adam is…”

Not wanting his student to fall back into hysterics, Oobleck took over the explanation. “If the White Fang members were all off of the train when they sent it on its way, then there are a few possibilities. The first, and the one I find most unlikely, is that we interrupted their boarding process and they deemed trying to stop us more important than getting on it themselves. It would, of course, have made much more sense to get on the train before it started moving, but I find myself questioning the intelligence of anyone who would send a train barrelling towards a barricade underneath Vale. There’s also the possibility that-”

His words were cut off as an explosion echoed down the subway tunnel from behind them.

“Oh dear, have they decided to pursue us?” At the next doorway between train cars, instead of passing into the next one, Oobleck stopped to climb on top, gazing down the tunnel. He watched as the final car detached from the rest, slowing for a moment before erupting in a violent explosion. A hole was torn through the roof of the tunnel, and grimm started pouring in.

He climbed back down, turning towards the girls in his charge. “Would any of you happen to know how to defuse a bomb?” he asked.

Their faces paled at the implication, before the lot of them turned towards Blake.

“Well? Can you do it or not?” Weiss demanded.

“No! I do not know how to defuse a bomb! Why would I know that?!”

“Ex-White Fang member, bombs presumably planted by the current White Fang…” Yang pointed out. “Didn’t you only leave them just before the school year started? If anything it’s weirder for you not to know.”

“Enough!” Oobleck interrupted. “While such a skill would have proven useful, if nobody is capable then that’s just how it is. As it stands,we must assume that every car holds an explosive of some sort.” He started making his way through the train cars once more. “We will get to the locomotive, detach the cars behind it, and stop it before it can hit the seal at the end of the tunnel.”

It was then that Ruby returned to the group, running through the train cars from the opposite direction. “We have a problem!”

“We have lots of problems! Why is the train not slowing down? Did you not engage the brakes?” Weiss shouted back.

“I can’t! They’re broken!” Ruby answered, panic in her voice.

“Broken how?” Oobleck asked.

“When I tried to use them it just made a grinding noise without slowing down at all! I don’t think we’ll be able to stop the train!”

“I suppose that explains the lack of White Fang on board.” Oobleck hypothesized. “They know there’s no way to stop the train, and without that possibility there’s no reason for them to put themselves in further danger.”

“There’s gotta be some way to stop it!” Yang pleaded.

Oobleck grimaced. “I’ll check the braking mechanism myself, but we might only be able to do damage control.”

“Uh, Adam?” one of the new recruits spoke up. Braver than most it would seem. Nobody else wanted to talk to him after realizing this was the first time he’d seen Blake since her betrayal. “Shouldn’t we uh… chase after them or something?”

He had followed after the train for a brief moment, caught up in his anger, but there was no point. The plan would either work or it wouldn’t, and Adam no longer cared.

Cinder… that fool had definitely set them up. How like her to plant that seed of doubt just before betraying him? She hoped that he would be killed, captured, or fall victim to paranoia based on a semblance she had made up.

He would not be gotten rid of so easily. But if she no longer wanted him working under her? Well, he was all too happy to oblige with that desire.

She wasn’t the only one who could scheme and plan. She wasn’t even particularly good at it.

“No,” he finally answered. “Pack everything up. We leave as soon as possible. It’s time for a change in plans.”

The surprise at that answer was clear, even under the mask, but his subordinate immediately hopped to work. “You heard the man! Start packing everything up!”

The cavern became a hive of activity once more as Adam mulled over the possibilities.

What to do next…?

The last of the civilians in the area were being evacuated, and a large crowd of Huntsmen, both those in training and professionals, stood tense, waiting for something to happen. Some of them looked doubtful. Nobody wanted to be the one to say something, but he could tell that they were wondering why so many had been called in for what was looking to be a false alarm. Seconds went by, then minutes, all of them ready to react at a moment’s notice.

The more experienced members of the group played it off well. Where the students present knew on an intellectual level that appearances mattered, that looking calm in the face of oncoming danger would decrease the negative emotions in others, and thereby lessen the number of grimm, they didn’t truly know it. Not on a deep instinctual level. Not yet. Port and some of the Valean huntsmen were trying to ease tensions by cracking jokes, but an event like this made that job a bit difficult. Huntsmen were used to acting . Swooping in, killing the grimm, saving lives. Even creeping through the brush outside the walls of the city would be more comforting than being told to wait in place on the chance that the grimm may appear.

A glance towards Mr. Arc showed that he appeared just as, if not more nervous than the other students. He had insisted on being brought along, even if his low aura made everyone question the wisdom of that choice. Though with Ms. Nikos as his partner and so many huntsmen surrounding them, Ozpin highly doubted that any danger would come to the boy.

Ozpin’s scroll went off, startling them all. A cat faunus leapt into the air with fright, causing his team to laugh at the poor soul.

Ozpin quickly pulled it out, answering it immediately when he saw that it was Bart. They must have finally gotten a signal from the CCT. Where the square they had set up in was quiet, Bart’s end of the call was loud, the background noise almost being enough to overpower his words.

“We have an emergency! I need you to-”

“Is it the train?” Ozpin interrupted.

“The- how did you-? Ah. Mr. Arc is awake then?”

“He is. I’ve gathered everyone I can to the spot where the track is blocked off. I take it there’s no hope of stopping the train before it hits?”

“No.” Oobleck replied, speaking even faster than normal. “I give it roughly one minute before our arrival! We were able to leave the White Fang behind, but the brakes won’t work and we have a rather large horde of grimm following behind us! Getting off the train will see us overwhelmed by their numbers, so I’m afraid right now my best plan is to have Ms. Schnee shield us in ice and brace for impact!” There was a shout from one of the girls, he couldn’t make out who. “The barricade is in sight. I’ll see you in a moment.” The call ended before he could get another word out.

“Everyone ready yourselves!” he shouted out for those on the other side of the square. If he had thought things were tense before, the confirmation that it was about to happen saw the group coiled like springs. All was quiet for a moment before the sirens began to blare, alerting the entirey of Vale of the danger.

Then the ground erupted in a violent explosion of concrete and rubble. The pieces that flew high into the air were caught by Glynda’s semblance before they could land on anyone, but it still wasn’t a pretty sight. A train car could be seen peeking just above the ground, and Bart and team RWBY were strewn about, obviously not having taken the impact very well.

“Get them out of there so we can seal-” but his cries were interrupted by the grimm. Half of a King Taijitu forced its way through, brushing some of the rubble aside and making room for more to follow. Plenty of Ursai, Beowolves, and Creeps crawled out, while Nevermore took to the air. He even spied a Death Stalker or two.

It was a massacre.

With so many huntsmen present, it took only moments for a veritable slaughter to commence. Bullets rained down on them, semblances fired off, and by the time that team RWBY was up and walking, ready to fight alongside them, most of the grimm had already been culled.

Glynda used her semblance to seal the breach and soon it was just a matter of cleaning up the stragglers.

“I’d say that went well, didn’t it?” Ozpin turned towards Glynda and James, the three of them having not even broken a sweat.

“Compared to what it could have been, yes it did,” James replied. “Which is why I’m confused about you still-”

“STOP HER!” a cry rang out.

With the situation seemingly under control, Jaune wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. But he couldn’t. He was too focused on pretending to be normal. On not letting his eyes drift towards a certain group. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to hide the fact that he now knew .

What are we supposed to do? Just walk up to Ozpin and say “Hey that’s the lunatic that’s behind all of our problems recently”?

I don’t know. Second replied I mean, that might be the right play here? But at the same time, she’s got a team with her who aren’t afraid to kill everyone here and can use illusions against us. We could take her out, but how many people would die because they came here expecting to fight grimm, just to get caught up in the crossfire?

There’s nothing saying we have to take her on right now, but it couldn’t hurt to let them know as soon as possible, could it?

You have a point, but we don’t know how Ozpin, or anyone really, would react to that information. Imagine how Ruby would react if you told her. Instant fight, then and there. Ozpin and Ironwood might be more calm and collected, but consider just who it is we’re pointing out to them.

Then what? We just let her walk free? Even knowing what we do?

Look, if you’ve got a solution to the problem, I’m all ears. I’ve been trying to juggle all of this since you unlocked me and I’m not exactly an expert on the matter.

I… right. Sorry. It’s just… frustrating.

I’m well aware. If I had hair it’d be going white from the stress.

There’s got to be some way to-

“STOP HER!”

Even with Weiss having shielded them with her ice as he had asked, they hadn’t come out of the crash unscathed. He hadn’t gotten a chance to check the girls for injuries yet, but they were at least standing now. He could feel the nasty bump forming on his head from where he’d hit it, even if he’d had his aura up the whole time.

How lucky were they that Jaune had woken up while they were gone?

The number of grimm present, and if the locals had not been forewarned… no, best not to think about that. Things were going well.

As Glynda started to seal the breach behind him, he took a moment to look over the crowd helping to suppress the grimm. Quite an impressive turn out. The vibrant outfits that huntsmen were known for were an assault on his eyes, especially with so many clashing colors next to each other as they chased down the remaining grimm, but he could handle that so long as everyone was safe. Blondes and redheads, bright blue hair right alongside bright green… green hair…

That was important, wasn’t it?

How was it important?

Perhaps he had hit his head harder than he thought.

Yes, that must be it. He should be focused on the grimm, there were still a decent number around.

But as he turned his head and focused his gaze elsewhere, something flickered.

That couldn’t be right. Had he damaged his eyes in the crash? Perhaps he should refrain from turning his head so quickly.

Or maybe it was a semblance? There were quite a few unfamiliar faces here, he wouldn’t know every semblance in the crowd. Curious, he looked back, and wouldn’t you know it, there it was again. That flicker. Or maybe it was more of a shimmer? He watched for a moment more, but he didn’t see it again. Not till he looked away.

That can’t be right though. What sort of semblance would only activate as he looked in a certain direction? He took another look, but this time out of the corner of his eye. No shimmer. What was different? Playing “spot the difference” while in the middle of a grimm attack was probably ill advised, but a nagging feeling in his gut told him to continue. Something about this was important. He had noticed something. What had set him off on this… the green hair? His gaze found her once more, but something was different. Where before she seemed calm and relaxed, now she looked like she was straining, even though she was not in combat.

Green hair. Changing vision.

The illusion based semblance he had been hunting for.

But why now? Why here? What was she trying to stop him from seeing? It was only when he looked in a certain direction. Could she only affect people looking in a certain area? Was she limited by the number of people she could affect? Having to constantly switch targets as their gaze fell in a certain spot would explain the strain on her face. But what was there?

A dying grimm, impaled on Pyrrha’s blade. A few professional huntsmen. Some of his students alongside those from other schools. Jaune.

Jaune?

Why would he be here? He couldn’t have woken up too long ago and he thought it wise to be out of bed with presumably low aura? His team surrounded him, keeping their eyes outward and scanning for approaching grimm.

Another student was approaching him. Black hair, a confident smirk, Haven uniform. Stopping for a casual chat during a grimm attack? His team hadn’t noticed her, too focused on the chaos around them to care about a human. He turned towards them fully. The girl shimmered out of existence.

That wasn’t good. He had no idea what their plan was, but he was likely the only person who had noticed. If the illusion user was struggling already, it would be impossible to hold everyone here under her spell, wouldn’t it?

As loud as he could, Oobleck shouted out. “STOP HER!”

Cinder’s confident smirk turned into a scowl at the shout.

How many times now?

How many times had her plans been ruined?

Roman captured, the White Fang traitor escaping her lackeys, Atlas recovering their precious paladin, having to rethink all of her plans just for Adam to fail her and the breach to be over almost as soon as it started with no casualties that she could see? And now she couldn’t even handle something simple as removing the problem under the cover of Emerald’s semblance.

Well, if her cover was blown, and the source of all her problems was right in front of her…

She might as well go through with it before making her escape.

Her blade sang as she gave up all pretense of subtlety, lunging for Jaune’s back.

She would not allow him to interfere again.

Chapter Text

When Jaune turned at the sound of the shout, it was too late.

Cinder shimmered into existence, and was far too close, though he could only see her out of the corner of his eye. Her blade was quickly coming in to gut him. Would the measly amount of aura he had left protect him? He doubted it, not when she was going to get a clean slice like this. There was a reason that spars stopped before their aura ran too low. A powerful enough strike would shatter it, and the sharp edge would slice through him like butter.

His friends, though they surrounded him, were too far away to stop her. A ranged attack would just bounce off of her aura, and melee would take too long to intercept her strike. Beyond that, they weren’t prepared to defend against such an attack. They had come here in a rush at Jaune’s direction, prepared to fight grimm. They hadn’t been warned of an assassination, that Cinder might try to kill him. Perhaps Ruby, with her semblance, could have been fast enough to help, but caught off guard and on the other side of the plaza, there wasn’t much hope for that.

Desperately trying to hold on, to give his friends time to save him, Jaune gathered the scraps of aura he had and pushed them to the fore, hoping it would be enough as he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

His aura flashed between him and Cinder.

She must have cut right through it, because he felt the blade pierce his side.

“ FUCK! That hurts!”

…wait. What?

Jaune could feel the blade, and the blood finding its way out of the wound.

But far from the skewering that he had expected, it was barely more than a papercut. It stung, for sure, but he would take this result any day of the week.

“What the fuck?!” two voices overlapped as their brains caught up to the situation.

Cinder on one end of the blade, holding it by the hilt, her mouth agape as her swing was stopped in its tracks.

Jaune on the other end of the blade, its edge clean through his hoodie and shirt, embedded in his skin but going no further, similarly dumbfounded.

Between them, suspended in mid air by the blade impaling him, was a small… boy? It was hard to tell with them facing Cinder. They were bathed in the glow of aura, and… entirely blue?

Where had they come from? There was nobody there just a moment ago and now-

“ Some help would be appreciated! Impaled on a sword right now!” the child shouted.

So shocked were he and Cinder, that the many people around them were finally able to act in his defense.

Cinder was flung away from him and into the crowd of huntsmen as Professor Goodwitch’s Telekinesis took hold, her blade being left behind as it was torn from her hand.

Though he wanted to focus on the woman who had just tried to murder him, the child who had probably just saved his life was a more pressing concern. Without Cinder to support the sword’s weight on the other end, he was worried that the child would fall to the floor, but it seemed that his scariest instructor had it covered because they stayed motionless, just floating there. He pulled himself back to give someone who knew what they were doing room around the kid, letting the blood drip from his cut more freely.

“Oh my god!”

“We need a medic!”

“Jaune!”

“What is a kid-”

Cries rang out all around him as his friends and those with medical knowledge converged on him and the child, the voices blurring together and becoming indistinguishable.

“Jaune! Are you alright?!” Nora flung herself at him, only stopping herself from actually crashing into him at the last second.

“Nora, he’s bleeding!” Pyrrha pulled her back to give him space.

“It doesn’t look that bad, I don’t think the blade got too deep.” Ren reassured the girls as he inspected the cut, though even he sounded worried to Jaune’s ears.

“Yeah, the blade was stopped by…” Jaune started, looking over to the group now surrounding the child. It looked like they’d been lowered to the floor, with Goodwitch and Winter knelt down alongside some huntsmen he didn’t recognize, blocking their view of his savior and hopefully preventing them from dying.

“Where did they-” Pyrrha’s words were cut off by an explosion from the direction that Cinder had been flung to.

As the group turned towards it, they could see Port flying through the air, covered in soot and smoke wafting off his body as he laughed heartily, bringing an axe down in an overhead swing as he fell back towards the ground.

They probably had things under control over there.

Their distraction gave Ruby enough time to make it to them in a blur of rose petals. “Ohmygosh Jaune are you okay?! I thought you were still in the infirmary!”

The rest of team RWBY, along with Doctor Oobleck, caught up to her at that point.

“I only woke up a bit ago, but when I heard that you guys were already away on your mission…”

“I very much appreciate the save, Mr. Arc!” Oobleck thanked him. “However, you should not be out and about in your current state!” He pushed the students away, inspecting Jaune’s injury for himself. “She barely cut you?” He asked in amazement. “When I noticed the illusion and that woman coming for you, I thought…”

“I save you from a grimm invasion, you save me from an assassin… I guess that makes us even? ” Jaune replied with a smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “But now I owe some random kid… did any of you see where they came from? It was like they just appeared there or something!”

“That child did just appear.” Weiss informed him. “From the angle I saw, it seemed as if they teleported there, with the blade lodged inside of them from the moment they arrived.”

“The kid definitely showed up in the blink of an eye. Too fast for a speed semblance.” Blake chipped in.

“Are we even sure that it was their semblance that put them there?” Ren mentioned. “I suppose they looked old enough that someone could have unlocked their aura, but what sort of child would willingly put themselves in the path of a sword?”

“Are we just gonna overlook the fact that they’re blue ?” Yang asked.

“Yang! Since when were you a racist?” Ruby chastised her sister.

“ Blue people aren’t a race!” Yang defended.

“What if they’re a faunus?!” Nora shouted.

“What sort of faunus trait would make you entirely blue ?” Weiss doubted.

“I know a chameleon faunus who can become blue, but that’s not her default state…” Blake supplied.

“We could just ask them?” Pyrrha suggested.

“A marvelous idea, Miss Nikos.” Oobleck said as he took a step back from Jaune, apparently satisfied that the cut was nothing major. “Provided they’re alright of course. A child that small…”

It didn’t need to be said that being impaled by a sword wasn’t good for your odds of survival, but the reminder brought their mood down again.

“Mr. Arc!” Goodwitch shouted. “Would you care to explain?”

His friends made way for him to see the blonde professor.

“Explain what?” he asked as he approached her.

Winter looked towards him in suspicion, but she and Goodwitch both took a step away from the child, revealing them to Jaune and his friends.

“ What did you do, you bastard? I’m tiny! This is an outrage!”

Now that the adrenaline from almost dying wasn’t running quite so rampant through him, he realized that the voice was all too familiar.

Staring up at him from what must be just over half his own height, was a tiny, blue version… of himself? The gaping wound that should have been there was nowhere in sight, and as far as he could tell, he was looking at a ten year old version of Jaune Arc.

“Ohmygosh it’s mini Jaune!” Nora pounced, wrapping the child up in a death grip one might generously call a hug.

“ Would you stop that?! You’re gonna pop me like a balloon!” the boy protested.

Everyone around them looked between the two boys, taking in the similarities, even if the differences were striking.

Jaune wasn’t sure what to say, but he managed to squeak one word out. A simple question.

“...Second?”

This could not be happening.

This could not be happening!

Even as skilled and amazing as Cinder was, escaping from this many huntsmen was proving to be… problematic .

With how often their attacks were missing, Emerald was clearly trying to make up for her utter failure , but they were far too close for comfort. What was Neo doing?! She risked a glance back as she ducked under a thrown spear, looking for the little brat but seeing nothing but that fat lunatic .

What sort of madman asks their allies to blow them up? She wasn’t eager to find out. His sleep inducing lectures must have been a ploy of some sort.

But the lack of pint sized menaces indicated that her suspicions were correct. Neo had seized the opportunity to throw her under the bus, and would try to find a way to break Roman free on her own.

That fool would pay for betraying her.

When she saw Ozpin of all people out of the corner of her eye, she changed directions. He would pay for stealing what was rightfully hers, but that would have to wait until after she had acquired the power of the Fall Maiden.

This led to her running towards some buffoon with his shirt wide open. While she could admit that he was easy on the eyes, his stupid grin infuriated her. And then two glowing yellow clones appeared at his side, reminding her of the little nuisance that had stopped her from killing Arc. Did this pathetic vermin dare to mock her? He would pay for that.

The number of people she needed to get revenge against was really adding up rather quickly.

No matter. She would escape. She would show these morons that she was their better.

Her scroll started to ring.

Having an inkling of who would think to call her now of all times, she refused to answer it.

It answered on its own, with the speaker volume turning itself to the max.

“Oh dear! How dreadful! Is the amazing Cinder Fall in a bit of trouble?” the voice on the other end mocked, though it was hard to hear it over the gunfire pinging off of her surroundings and aura.

“I don’t need your help, Watts .”

“Are you certain about that? Why, I just couldn’t help but worry when I heard that the grimm sirens were going off in Vale! Had dear little Cinder’s plan gone just as she wished? Or was it falling apart around her ?”

“Do you have nothing better to do than spy on me? Surely your genius would be better used elsewhere?”

Her attempts at mocking him back were undermined by a blade sailing past her head.

“Ohoho! That was a close one!” Watts laughed, letting her know that he was watching her every move, though that was always a safe assumption when it came to him. “Are you certain that you don’t need my help? I know that your feeble little mind might struggle to comprehend things like this, what with your failure to implant the virus at the CCT, and your little errand boy getting arrested, and-”

“I have not failed at anything!” She turned down a side street, escaping from the view of most of her pursuers, but finding that a decent number were still hot on her tail. Some girl with a speed semblance closed in on her, but she was dealt with easily enough by smacking her weapon away with Scorching Caress active, leaving the girl yelping and jumping back as the lump of metal began to melt in her hands.

“So you say, and yet I have the feeling that our master would not be so eager to agree with your assessment. It would truly be a shame if I had to report both your failure and your capture to her.”

“And yet here you are, prattling on!”

“Of course, of course, my most sincere apologies. Ah, on your left, by the way.”

She dodged to the right and watched as the spot she would have been in went up in a small explosion.

“Hmmm. It seems my generosity has run its course.” Watts said in the most condescending tone he could. “Perhaps if you beg for my assistance, I might deem you worthy of my pity.”

Not far from her, she could see the end of the evacuation area. Traffic was running normally, the mindless masses going about their day as if nothing was wrong.

She was going to have to add yet another person to that vengeance list.

“-and I want all escape routes cut off! She is not to escape!” James barked into his scroll as he chased the assassin down on foot. He hoped that the others would be able to save Jaune and the child, but he was of more use going after their attacker than he was trying to give medical aid. Though as the chase continued, and she somehow managed to keep evading them, he wondered if he would have been better off grabbing a bullhead and commanding from the air.

He wasn’t sure why, but it seemed that just about every shot made against her was missing. Every once in a while they’d get a lucky hit in, but it was as if everyone’s aim was off. What was her secret? Did she have a luck based semblance like Clover? Something that allowed her to alter trajectories? Maybe something relating to illusions?

Rounding a corner to find a student with burn injuries and a disfigured weapon put a damper on those theories, but with what he knew…

His knowledge on the maidens was spotty at best of times because of Ozpin’s paranoia, but it was a possibility that this was the same person who had attacked Amber. Was it possible for her powers to have transferred partially? Obviously with Amber still alive, if only just barely, this woman wasn’t the Fall Maiden in full, but maybe it wasn’t all or nothing. A sliver of the maiden’s ability as well as her own semblance…

It was either that or her accomplice was within the group chasing after her. His knowledge on the local huntsmen wasn’t great though, and accusing random students in a situation like this would not be a good look. Best to capture the one actively fleeing and take things from there.

But she was nearing the edge of the evacuation area. A few of his men and Knight units were dropping down from a bullhead just before an intersection where life was continuing like normal, as he had ordered, but he wasn’t sure they would be enough. They weren’t exactly fit for going up against huntsmen.

“Sir, we have a problem.” One of his men reported.

“What now?” They had successfully repelled a grimm invasion of the city. Was it really too much to ask for a break after that?

“Electronics in this sector of the city seem to be going haywire. Some buildings look to be losing power and I’m currently looking at a traffic light where every signal is showing green.”

Timing like this was suspect. More interference? Glancing towards the road just past where his men had set up, he winced as two cars crashed. It didn’t look like anyone had been injured, but his soldiers were distracted, and the escaping huntress…

“Did she just create a bow out of thin air?” He shouted to one of the huntsmen joining him in the chase.

“Why, it sure looked that way! It’s been quite some time since I’ve had to put up such a chase for a vixen like that!” Ironwood was confused by the comment, but it all made sense when he turned to get a proper look and realized it was Port next to him.

They were helpless to watch as she took out the Knights with a single arrow each, knocked out his men, or at least he hoped they were just knocked out, vaulted over the crashed cars and disappeared from sight into the mess that the traffic had become.

“Does anyone still have a visual? I need callouts!”

He waited impatiently for his men to report.

“Negative sir, we’ve lost her.”

Chapter Text

“I don’t want excuses, I want answers!” James demanded before calmly setting his scroll down. That is to say, he chucked the thing across the room and watched it shatter before wincing with regret.

While Ozpin appreciated the sentiment, he doubted that the answers they wanted would come to them. Atlas soldiers and huntsmen alike scurried around the affected area with Winter at the helm, assisting the local authorities where they could in cleaning up the mess left behind in the escape of their foes. The students had been sent back to Beacon with Peter and Glynda, and he hoped that the woman would be able to keep them calm and under control after such an event.

Meanwhile, James, Bart, and himself were in a secure area on James’ prized ship, the only ones still at the scene who know the full extent of things.

“While not quite the manner I would have gone about it, perhaps you have the right idea.” Bart suggested as he looked to the shattered remains of the scroll. “The chaos caused in the city would suggest that someone in their group is far more capable with electronics than we would have previously suggested… assuming this is not simply something else you have kept from me?” He looked pointedly at the wizard.

“This was a surprise to me as well.” Oz confirmed.

“In either case, having delicate communications in the presence of electronics may not be wise. We know not if this is a case of someone being a competent hacker or if the interference was the result of a semblance we are unaware of. After the events today, I would say that underestimating the odds of such a possibility would be… foolish, to say the least.”

“Then what would you have us do?” James asked. “Lock ourselves away in a broom closet or something? There aren’t many places on this ship that are completely devoid of electronics.”

Ozpin did not like the look on Bart’s face.

“This is ridiculous.” James complained.

“You’re not the one with a robotic elbow jammed into your gut, old friend.” Oz reminded him.

“The sooner we complete this discussion, the sooner we can get out of here!” Bart barked out, a mop handle obscuring his face.

It turns out that janitorial closets aren’t meant to occupy three people, especially when one of them is James’ size.

“What do we know then? Other than the fact that this Cinder Fall is obviously an agent of the queen, and attempted to kill Mr. Arc.” Ozpin asked.

“It is more than likely that the entire team is in on it.” Bart supplied. “I do not have the entire Haven student body registry memorized, but at least one other student in the school uniform was involved. It would make more sense for them to be teammates than for them to be split apart when you consider how difficult hiding their covert operations might be.”

“Which one? I hadn’t seen anything until you shouted.” James asked.

“Green hair, dark skin tone, some sort of illusory semblance. I had gotten a related tip off some time ago that referred to her, but it was only in that moment that I pieced it together. The details given to me were scarce, and I had falsely assumed that because she had openly associated with criminal elements, she would not risk integrating herself into the student body.”

“You had information about her and didn’t share it with us?!” James glared at him. “What were you thinking?! If we had that information we could have discovered these rats before they caused any damage!”

“I was thinking that my source being an ex-White Fang member would cause problems, General. ” The professor glared back, though you could hardly see it through the glare of his glasses. “Even if I could convince you , personally, that it was a valid tip that should be investigated, the same could not be said of the men who work under you. I was not willing to risk the safety of someone willing to help us when I believed the threat to be further into the future. And Ozpin….” he turned to the headmaster, “I’m still pissed at you and your secrecy. Had I known that things would happen so quickly, I would have shared the information with you two regardless, but it seems we were all caught flat footed.”

“Oh, so when we make the assumption that the ones after the CCT were from Haven and don’t immediately share that information, it’s reason to throw a fit, but it’s just fine for you to do the same?!”

“It’s not the same! I had no reason to think that the illusionary semblance was hidden among the student body! All I had to work with was the fact that they had green hair! Winter, on the other hand, explicitly stated   that you thought our foes to be among the Haven students! There wasn’t reason to suspect that my target and your own were the same people!”

“Gentlemen!” Ozpin attempted to knock his cane against the floor as a makeshift gavel, but only succeeded in knocking over some cleaning supplies. It got their attention all the same, though, so he would take it as a victory.

“Throwing blame around is not going to help us,” he continued. “Bartholemew,” he gave the professor a pointed look, “would you please explain why you are certain it was this girl?”

Bart adjusted his glasses, jabbing Oz in the gut with his elbow in the process, not that he seemed to care. “...I had thought myself to be suffering a concussion or some similar affliction at first. I turned my head and saw a… flicker? Shimmer? Whatever the case, something was off about my vision, and being that I had just survived a rather nasty train crash, I thought bodily harm to be the most likely cause.”

Oz saw James calm down, gaining a more business minded focus as he listened.

“However, when it happened again I noticed that it occurred when I was looking in a certain direction. My deductions were slower than I would have wished, but I concluded that the illusory semblance that I had been searching for was right in front of my eyes. And what reason would that be for other than to hide something from me? That’s when I noticed Cinder. Based on the effects I had observed, I assumed that drawing more eyes to the scene would be too much for the semblance to handle, and luckily my hypothesis was proven correct.”

The other men turned contemplative, considering the information shared with them.

“And what about on your end, then? After Mr. Arc was attacked…” he trailed off for a moment. “Well, I saw to him immediately, hoping to administer what aid I could, but as you know now that wasn’t necessary. The last I saw of the girl was her being flung away by Glynda. What happened next?”

“She proved to be… more slippery than we would hope.” James answered. “I’m not entirely sure of how she managed it, but she managed to get past us. Perhaps if Glynda had been focused on her and not… no, that’s not fair to her. What’s done is done.” The general took a moment to clear his thoughts, and Ozpin picked up on the explanation for him.

“It would seem that while this illusory semblance is incapable of hiding something, or rather some one , from many eyes at once, the girl is quite adept at using it to confuse people. Now that I’m thinking back on it, someone matching the description you gave was part of the chase… I hadn’t thought anything of it at the moment, what with so many joining in.”

“I had worried that might be the case,” James joined back in, “but I thought it more prudent to pursue Cinder. She superheated the weapon of someone who caught up to her, but I wasn’t sure if that was because of her own semblance or if she was the one who injured Amber.” He turned to Ozpin. “Is it possible for someone to partially gain the Maiden’s powers?”

“I’m afraid that even I do not know the details in that regard.” He answered regretfully. “Your contraption is the first of its kind. All previous Maidens found that their ends were rather swift, the power transferring instantly. Amber’s death has been prolonged by a great degree, but she is still dying nonetheless. We’re in rather uncharted territory here.”

“Regardless of Cinder’s Maiden status, I’m afraid that I’m not quite following on the matter of the illusionary semblance.” Oobleck interrupted. “I was able to break through it by having everyone look at the same target, and if I’m not mistaken the whole group in pursuit of Cinder would have been looking at her. What do you mean when you say she is ‘adept at using it to confuse people’?”

“I had lost track of her myself, having found myself at the back of the group chasing after her, but I overheard a conversation or two that might explain it,” Ozpin answered. “Apparently the illusionary semblance was being used on people at random, or so it seems. They would see her in one spot, line up a shot, only to suddenly see her meters away from where she was only a moment ago. Unsure of which was the real Cinder, they were forced to either guess, or attempt to line up a shot that hit both.”

“I was never affected by it myself, so perhaps the girl was aiming for people who had better ranged options,” Ironwood continued. “I know that some of the shots landed, but it evidently wasn’t enough to trip her up. By the time I had cottoned on to what was happening, she was already nearing the edge of the evacuated area, and we all know what happened there.”

Ozpin sighed. “Unfortunately, we do. I instructed Glynda to pull up the Haven records and relay the identities of Cinder’s team to the search crew, but I expect that they’ll be long gone by the time people know to look for them. Perhaps we sho-”

A loud ringtone from the other side of the door interrupted him.

“...that is probably important. Gentlemen, if you would?”

A mess of tangled limbs fumbled over each other as they squeezed themselves out of the closet, Ozpin managing to reach his scroll on the last ring.

“Hello? I’m dealing with a bit of a situation at the moment, so please make it quick.”

“ A situation, eh?” the slightly tinny voice on the other end replied. “ So did your situation cause my situation? Or am I just dealing with my semblance again?”

“What’s happened, Qrow?”

“ We’ve got a headmaster in custody. Irondick’s men are watching over him right now, but the locals aren’t too pleased to see that. Some support would be appreciated. ”

“You arrested Lionheart?! What sort of proof do you have?” Ozpin demanded.

“ These Atlas goons aren’t very good at the secret part of a secret mission, so I’m pretty sure he realized the jig was up. We’ve got way too many huntsmen that have been out of contact for too long, and then just a bit ago the bastard freaked out. Not sure what spooked him just yet, but we stopped him before he could run for the hills. Had more than just the basics packed and ready to ship out, despite the fact that he’s not scheduled to be going anywhere for another two weeks. ”

Ozpin did not want to believe it, but the picture being painted… he could only lament the lack of sleep that he was sure to experience in the coming days. “Just… don’t let anything happen. James and I will sort things out with the staff there and the councils.”

“ Will you be able to? I’ve not gotten any news about what’s going on over there, but you don’t sound happy. ”

“There have been… some developments…”

“...and if I hear a single word about any sort of nonsense that the lot of you get up to, there will be consequences .” With her word laid down as law, Professor Goodwitch shut the door, leaving them alone in team JNPR’s dorm.

“...she scares me.” Sun admitted.

“She scares all of us.” Ruby agreed.

Jaune’s team found their room at a much higher occupancy than it normally was. Professor Goodwitch had wanted everyone who knew about Second Thoughts in one place so they could be dealt with in one go once the rest of the staff returned to Beacon. However, she had more pressing matters to attend to until that happened, and didn’t trust a group of so many children to not get into trouble if left alone in one of the staff offices.

Hence, all eleven students who knew the full details were crammed into a single dorm room.

“I don’t get why she couldn’t just leave us in a lecture hall or something, this is a bit cramped. Are we really that untrustworthy?” Neptune questioned.

“The records indicate that-” Penny began, only to be interrupted by Blake with a hand over her mouth and panicked “We don’t need to get into that! Besides, uh, that’s way more interesting! Let’s talk about that!”

She didn’t need to point. Everyone knew what she was referring to.

“ That ? Really Blake?” the small blue child rolled his eyes. “Rude. If that’s how it is then maybe we should talk about the time that-”

Second Thoughts quickly found his mouth covered as well.

“Hey! Be nicer to Jaune Junior!” Nora cried out.

Everyone turned to look at her.

“Jaune Junior? Really Nora?” Ren deadpanned.

“Yeah, I don’t know about that one,” Yang made an iffy gesture with her hand. “If we’re going with that sort of thing, then Jaune the Second sounds better to me.”

Second pulled Blake’s hand off of his mouth. “If you call me either of those things, but especially Yang’s terrible pun, I will reveal your deepest darkest secrets in retaliation.”

“Why don’t we not do that,” Pyrrha tried to mediate, “and instead focus on… well, you know…” she hesitantly trailed off.

“Oh what?” Second asked with a brow raised. “Me being here in the flesh?” His gaze fell towards his body, poking and prodding at his clothes. “Or maybe not flesh. Am I just made of pure aura? Maybe it’s a shell and I’m hollow…”

Nora reached out, as if to test that theory, but he slapped her hand away.

“Or did you mean that I’m a fucking smurf?”

That got him several strange looks, but Neptune was the one brave enough to squeak out “Uh, what’s a smurf?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Second dismissed. “But I’m tiny and blue for some reason, and it’s all your fault!” he poked a finger into Jaune’s gut, too short to reach his face in a manner that didn’t exaggerate his tiny stature.

“My fault?! How is this my fault?! I still don’t know what’s going on!” the blond defended himself.

“I don’t know yet, but it’s your semblance, so I’m blaming you for this!”

“Perhaps your current appearance was caused by Jaune’s lack of aura? If he barely has any left, then there wouldn’t be much to construct your form from. I don’t know what it’s reading at now, but last I heard you were at a steady ten percent during your coma, Jaune.” Weiss suggested.

“I don’t want to hear anything from you, Miss Skeptic. Or should I call you Miss Fool?” Second thoughts dismissed.

“You-” Weiss turned red, “What did I do to deserve this sort of treatment?!”

“You did dismiss Second Thoughts as Jaune having schizophrenia…” Blake reminded her.

“You what?! Not cool, dude!” Sun gasped.

“It was an unbelievable story at the time!” Weiss tried to defend herself. “I moved past that a long time ago!”

“Past mistakes aside, her theory has some merit to it.” Ren tried to get them back on track as he looked at Jaune’s scroll over the blond’s shoulder. “His aura is at fifteen percent right now. Do we know where it was when you woke up?”

“It was at twenty percent. I don’t know how I missed it rising back up, but when he woke up it had doubled from when I last checked it.” Pyrrha was clearly chastising herself for her lack of attentiveness in her partner’s time of need.

“Pyrrha, you guys didn’t need to be watching over me all the time. It’s not like I was going anywhere.” Jaune tried to console her.

“On the contrary,” Second corrected. “Cinder tried to kill you. She’s insane, but trying it in front of so many people suggests to me that she knew you were the source of future knowledge. Any guesses as to where she got that information from?”

“Are you saying the bad guys got into Jaune’s medical records?” Ruby asked worriedly.

“Current data indicates that a semblance of an illusory nature was at play during the assassination attempt,” Penny provided. “With that in mind, the possibility that they used it to listen in on any conversation pertaining to Second Thoughts should not be overlooked.”

“Nah, my money is on a visit to the infirmary. Emerald’s semblance is limited by the number of people she can affect at a time, and it looked like you guys were taking shifts. It would have been easiest to do it then. Did any of you get any odd visitors? Specifically a girl with green hair, or her partner with silver hair?”

In an uncharacteristic show of emotion, Ren’s eyes went wide. “Yes… I thought I saw something strange about her, but the guy didn’t react at all so I assumed I was mistaken… so it was my fault that-”

“No!” Nora shook him. “It’s not your fault, Renny! If anything it’s all of our faults for not being more careful! You don’t get to just blame yourself!”

“I think we all should have been a bit more concerned when Jaune suddenly found himself in a coma…” Yang added. “But, wait, you knew who these people were? Why didn’t you say anything Second?!”

“Yeah! If you know who they are… you said one was named Emerald, right?” Nora asked with a dangerous look in her eyes. “Who are the others? I'll break more than just their legs for daring to hurt our amazing leader!”

“Hey, that’s not a bad idea! It’s just one team, right? We could totally take them on if we all went after them!” Sun joined in.

“No. You’re not going after them.” Second flat out refused.

“Why not?” Neptune demanded. “I know we’re not exactly best buds or anything since Sun and I are from a different school, but we’re just as willing to fight at your sides!”

“It’s too dangerous. You guys aren’t ready for it.” Second gave a terse explanation.

“Being a huntress is dangerous, but we’re all here learning to do the job, aren’t we?” Ruby rebutted with determination obvious in her eyes. “We should go after them!”

“You’re all here…” Second turned to look at her. The dramatic look he might have been going for was ruined by his appearance, but his words did the trick. “Is Summer here, Ruby? She had the same attitude, didn’t she? Look where that got her.”

Few people in the room recognized the name, but Ruby’s wide, moist eyes and gaping mouth told them enough.

Yang, predictably, turned to anger. “You bastard! I don’t care who you are, you don’t get to talk like that!” She looked ready to pound him into the floor.

“Oh, I’m sorry Yang,” the mini Jaune mocked. “I was just operating under the assumption that you might want to keep your arm. You never take very well to the fact that it has to be replaced by a prosthetic.”

“I- wha-” the blonde brawler didn’t have anything to say to that.

“Second!” Jaune glared at his doppelganger. “There was no need for that!”

“Are you sure about that Jaune?” Second asked. “I know I haven’t been entirely forthcoming with you yet, but you know what’s at stake more so than the rest of them.”

“Is there…. Something we should know?” Pyrrha asked, her eyes darting between the two with obvious worry.

Jaune sighed. “Probably. Though even I don’t have the full picture yet…” he grumbled.

“That can wait,” Second dismissed. “I don’t want to give the explanation twenty times and the big shots are gonna want to hear it too.”

Nobody was quite sure what to say after that.

But Penny, with her sometimes inhuman way of thinking, broke the ice once more.

“If friend Weiss’ theory about Second Thoughts’ size correlating with friend Jaune’s aura levels is correct, then theoretically speaking, would pumping more aura into him allow Second Thoughts to grow beyond his default size?”

Nora, desperate to see smiles on everyone’s faces again, latched onto the distraction with all her might. “Does that mean we can make mini Jaune into big Jaune?! Let’s get him even bigger than that giant Nevermore from initiation!”

Uneasy conversation returned to the group as they danced around the secrets held within the small figure that resembled their friend.

Chapter Text

A tense silence filled the room.

All eyes were on a single figure. The smallest one present, and also the one with the most… distracting… appearance.

Nobody wanted to be the first to speak. The students, out of fear of what General Ironwood, or even worse, Goodwitch , would do to them if they said something inappropriate.

The experienced huntsmen and huntresses, not knowing the best way to address the figure before them. Friend or foe, equal or subordinate, person or semblance.

In the end, it was Second who broke it.

“You know, this whole ‘super serious tense moment’ thing we’ve got going on right now is kind of ruined by the fact that I look like this.” He gestured vaguely to his entire body. “Can we skip to the good part already?”

Ozpin took a sip from his mug of coffee, and Ironwood narrowed his eyes at the boy. Man? Whatever Second counted as, which, with their second in commands not wanting to place themselves at the fore, left Bart to be the one that led things off.

“Of course,” the doctor adjusted his glasses as he spoke. “Why don’t we start with our last discussion then? That seems to be where things went off the rails. It seems so long ago now, but if I recall correctly we were discussing the error in your predictions when Jaune had his… incident? I presume that you were somehow involved in that.”

“You would… not be incorrect.” Second couldn’t meet his eyes. “There was… a bit of an incident, and I believe myself to be responsible for Jaune’s trip to the infirmary.”

“You believe?”

“Well I’m not a doctor of any sort, and my expertise is hardly the medical field, but the timing is… suspect. Jaune collapsed when I was in the midst of… well, it was probably a panic attack.”

Oobleck quirked a brow. “A panic attack? Over the details of the future I presume? Or perhaps it was at the fact that your abilities were being called into question for the first time…”

“Well, you see…”

It had been a long time since Ozpin had felt so caught off guard. A few hundred years, at the very least. The last war hadn’t been something he wanted , but it was something that took time to build up, that he could see coming and attempt to prepare for. No, it had to have been that time with the chickens…

Ozpin hid his shudder with another sip of coffee.

Recent events felt too sudden. There was too much, too fast, almost all of it unexpected, and almost all of it related to the… child in front of him.

He did his best to listen to the group catch each other up on recent events, but his mind wandered elsewhere. Glynda would fill him in on the important bits afterwards.

But the details of the attack, or rather attacks , he supposed, weren’t of great importance to him.

Much more concerning was Second Thought’s appearance. First and foremost was the fact that he had appeared at all. On the bright side, it ruled out some of the concerns that had been brought up earlier in the school year. The more that he considered the information available to him, and the explanations the group were receiving at that very moment, the more obvious it became that the threat of a mind reading semblance was all but moot. If that was the truth behind Second’s future vision, he would not have allowed his host to come so close to death. Not when there were much less dangerous methods of outing one’s foes. Second’s size being related to Jaune’s aura levels was something that would need to be tested for confirmation, but it seemed to be a sound hypothesis. Once that was confirmed, and he was fairly certain it would be, the possibility of it being someone else’s semblance, used exclusively on Jaune to influence him, was no longer valid. And even if they couldn’t confirm that in particular, his resemblance to his host was a good indicator as well.

Theory after theory fell to the wayside as new information was presented. That should have made him more comfortable. Should have eased all of his doubts.

But the boy was blue.

It was technically possible that it was merely a coincidence. Aura was a fickle thing, and the colorations varied quite a bit. A glance at Mr. Wukong’s records had shown the boy's semblance to involve clones of himself that appeared to be made up of golden aura that didn’t look solid, but certainly felt it. Ms. Belladonna’s allowed her clones that fit her appearance to a T, assuming she has not infused them with dust, but they are mere shades, serving as naught but distractions.

Second Thoughts could be a middle ground between those. A more solid appearance than Sun’s clones, but lacking the proper coloration of Blake’s.

But then how did the future knowledge fit into things?

They had still not gotten an explanation on that front, and Ozpin found himself wondering if they ever would. Or perhaps it would be better to ask if he ever would. He had not forgotten his first “meeting” with the semblance. To be greeted not with a hello, but with the phrase “secretive little parasite” was not something he expected to forget for at least a few millennia.

As rude as the phrasing was, he could not entirely dismiss the words as incorrect. Knowing his secrets, knowing future events, the physical appearance…

It was not hard to draw correlations between Second Thoughts and the spirits housed within the Relics. The semblance was far too similar to Jinn, even if there were rather important differences. Where Jinn knew all , could speak only of that which already was, and was forced to reveal at most three answers per era, Second Thoughts only knew much , could speak freely of potential futures, and could answer questions as he saw fit. The differences in function were important, but their essence was much the same. If and when anyone in the room met Jinn, he would not be surprised if they thought the two of them to be related.

He wasn’t sure what to think of that himself.

Could those blasted brother gods have interfered with things once more? Had this been an inevitability, something they had planned for all those years ago just to blindside him now? Or was he to take the entire situation as coincidence? He had been alive for a very long time now. So many possibilities had played out in front of him. Statistically, it would make sense for him to see something so odd eventually , he supposed.

There was a way to find out for sure.

One question had already been used, and he may have promised one to his associates, but that left one more. And if that one didn’t satisfy him… well, Bart and Qrow would get over it eventually if he used the second as well. Perhaps that would be best, even. It would be hypocritical of him, certainly, to use one question to delve into Second’s secrets and then deny them the opportunity to do the same to him.

But Second Thoughts seemed to agree with him on at least one thing.

Complete honesty was not always the best path to take.

As the explanations of the events leading up to this meeting came to a close, it seemed that Ironwood’s patience had run thin. Did he feel a bit guilty glaring at what looked to be a child? Yes. Was he willing to do it anyway to ensure the safety of innocent civilians? Yes.

“I think it’s high time you stopped dancing around things, Second. You no longer have Jaune to hide behind, your attempts at keeping the timeline on track are proving futile, and problems are starting to crop up faster than we can deal with them. Ozpin and I will soon have to deal with whatever mess Qrow and Leonardo have left in Haven, the White Fang have just released grimm into a populated area of Vale, our enemies are acting with impunity, and we still have to deal with the Vytal Festival. To be frank, I’m of half a mind that the entire event should be cancelled.”

“It’s not… well…” Second hesitated. “Okay, maybe it is that bad. Trying to balance all of this stuff has been driving me crazy.”

Ironwood could well imagine. Dealing with all of this at once was driving him up a wall, and he was quite used to stress given the scope of his duties. Placing that burden on a child… or not a child? Either way, even if he was warming up to trusting that Second Thoughts had their best interests in mind, the way that the semblance was going about things was foolish. You couldn’t place that entire burden on yourself. Ozpin had Glynda helping with Beacon, and those in the know to help with everything else. He himself had Winter as his second in command, and almost every combat capable person in Atlas behind him because of his positions.

“Exactly. Why don’t we start simple? What is the next event that you’ve been planning for?” Taurus running the Mountain Glenn operation instead of Torchwick, as it supposedly was meant to be, probably had an effect on things. The same was true for Fall and her underlings being outed when Second clearly expected them to maintain their cover. But having a clear target to focus on in the meantime would help with prioritization.

“Well, next up should be the Vytal Festival. Had things gone differently, I might have agreed with you on the cancellation, but… I think the changes that I’ve made, intentionally or not, have ruled out the possibility of that event going the way it’s supposed to.”

“Would you care to explain why the Vytal Festival going on as intended is a bad thing?” Glynda asked, her eyes narrowed. “I have put a considerable amount of time into ensuring that everything will run smoothly.”

“Yes, we put quite a lot of effort into planning the event.” Ozpin nodded behind his mug.

“We?” Oobleck looked to the headmaster, confused. “What do you mean by that? Glynda planned the whole thing, just like she does with everything.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, Bart.”

Glynda looked ready to strangle them both, so James pressed Second again.

“I would see her question answered, if you would.”

“Maybe I phrased that poorly,” he corrected as he took a step away from the Beacon staff in the room. “It’s not that the festival itself going the way you planned is a bad thing, it’s that the timeline playing out as it would without interference would be bad. Your efforts make for a wonderful Vytal Festival, Professor Goodwitch, you should be proud of yourself.” Glynda looked mollified by that response so obviously meant to appease her, and her colleagues knew better than to say anything about it. Though the whispers between the students were concerning… but only one of them belonged to his school, and she was already holding military secrets, so he didn’t really care. They could be someone else’s problem.

A harsh glare from Winter shut them up anyway. “And what is this fate you claim we have avoided?”

“Ah, well…” was all Second managed to get out at first, making James worry that they were in for another round of the semblance clamming up when it came to the important details.

That worry coming true probably would have been better for his blood pressure than what they were told next.

“...you know, just uh, Amity being attacked, Beacon falling, the loss of the Fall Maiden as well as lots of civilians, soldiers, and huntsmen, which sort of includes multiple people in this room.”

You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed as they tried to parse whether that was a poor attempt at a joke or not.

Deciding to use it as an opportunity to continue uninterrupted, Second pressed on. “You see, that CCT attack that never happened was supposed to be Cinder uploading a virus that Watts had created-” Ironwood’s frown deepened in recognition of the name, “-and their plan was to use Emerald’s semblance to mess with fighters while they were being broadcast live across all of Remnant. Make them act brutally, or at least appear that way to the crowds. Then, through some shocking event like Pyrrha tearing apart Penny with her semblance-” he ignored the gasps of the students, “-or the White Fang setting off a bomb in the stadium with no prior warning-” Nora grabbed Blake, “-they would cause some sort of mass panic. The virus from earlier is used to broadcast the chaos everywhere and prevent it from being stopped, adding to the negativity. At the same time, grimm that the White Fang had snuck onto Amity would be released-” more gasps, “-the White Fang would attack both Amity and Beacon itself-” the Beacon staff’s eyes hardened, “-and Torchwick would be released from captivity by Neo. Now on board the most important ship in the fleet in the middle of a chaotic attack, this leaves the duo open to infecting all the Atlas bots with another virus-” the general and his specialist looked livid, “-which has them turning on humans instead of the grimm. Cinder makes it to the basement in the middle of the transfer process-” he almost thought he saw fear on Ozpin’s face, “-killing the Maiden, Ozpin, and then the next Maiden shortly after. Yang maybe loses an arm, Ruby maybe kills a fucking dragon by using her eyes for the first time, Beacon maybe falls, and everything sort of spirals out of control from there. The actual details vary a lot from timeline to timeline, as far as who dies and how much damage is actually done, but the attack itself is usually set in stone with timelines that are similar to the one we’re in currently.”

Second gave them all a second to take in the severity of the situation before switching to a lighter tone.

“Luckily, I think that’s been pretty much prevented? Cinder and her crew have been run out of town, I doubt Adam will be willing to work with them after hearing how the breech went, none of the Atlas tech has been infected, and really I think the biggest single threat outside of Salem is Neo, but, and hear me out here, there’s actually a fairly decent chance that we can get Torchwick and Neo working on our side, stripping our enemies of one of the most dangerous people working for them. Sure, Hazel will be annoying to deal with, and Tyrian is pure nightmare fuel in my eyes, but still. As much as I was panicking before, things have actually worked out pretty well so far now that I think about it…”

Ozpin took a deep, loud sip of his coffee. He might have even emptied the mug.

“...why don’t you run that by us one more time. Perhaps with more detail?”

“Should we really be here doing this when all of… that was just revealed to us?” Jaune asked.

“There’s not much that we can do.” Ren reassured him. “It’s quite a list of things to consider, but as far as action is concerned, we’re limited as students.”

“Quite right!” Doctor Oobleck agreed. Especially when, having recently been inducted to the little secret club himself, he knew that Second had not revealed everything he could. The topic of the Maiden was danced around, and no further magic was discussed, meaning that he had not wanted the students involved in that quite yet. Bart was of the same mind, but with things as they were, he wasn’t sure how long that would last… “As students, and first years at that, those sorts of things are beyond the scope of what you’re expected to handle. You should be focused on training, growing stronger, forging bonds with your teams.”

“And if we may have to face threats like that…” Pyrrha added on, “then you really need to understand the full capabilities of your semblance.”

“Once you and Second know what you’re doing, we can just have him turn into a giant monster and crush our enemies!” Nora added with a cartoonishly evil laugh. “Problem solved!”

“Nora, how do you expect that to work?” Second asked flatly.

“We just pump Jauney full of aura, duh!”

“And how do you plan to do that? Do one of you have a secondary semblance that I’m not aware of?”

“Nope! We’ll just have to find someone who does!”

“Nora,” Ren decided to step in, “I think Second is trying to say that a semblance like that doesn’t exist.”

“Correct.” Second nodded. “Not in this timeline, anyway.”

That piqued Oobleck’s interest. “Are you suggesting that in an alternate timeline, someone Jaune knows does have such a semblance? Or are you merely indicating that it is theoretically possible?”

“Not somebody Jaune knows , but Jaune himself.”

“Wait, really?” Jaune sounded surprised. “It’s sort of weird to think about having any semblance that isn’t you…”

“Yes, really. Aura Amp is a semblance that would have done as the name implied. Boosting the aura of yourself and others, increasing the rate at which aura can heal wounds, amping up other people’s semblances…” Second seemed lost in thought as he listed off the abilities of this supposed alternative semblance.

“A semblance like that does seem like it would fit you, Jaune.” Pyrrha chimed in with a smile.

“You’re stuck with me though, so forget about any other busted semblances you might’ve unlocked.”

“Busted semblances? Aura Amp sounds useful, but I don’t see how it could be overpowered.” Jaune prompted, hoping to hear more about how awesome he could be.

“As interesting as that topic has the potential to be, we are here for a reason, boys and girls.” Oobleck reminded them.

“Aren’t you the one who brought us down this tangent?” Ren questioned, but the doctor pointedly ignored him.

“So! Second, what is it that you can do now? What differs from before, when you were trapped inside Jaune’s head?”

Second looked down at his small blue hands, flexing them. “Well… I’m not sure if this form is hollow or solid, but it certainly feels solid. My senses feel pretty normal, but my eyesight is better than I expected…”

“Oh? So you’re already well accustomed to physical sensations? I presume that you shared them with Jaune, but I’m unsure of why you would think your eyesight should be worse.”

“...no reason.” There was clearly more to that, but it could wait for another time. “I’m not sure why I’m still this small though. Jaune’s aura should be recovering normally, right? And if my size is based on his aura reserves, shouldn’t I grow as he gets it back?”

“An interesting point! Mr. Arc, what are your current aura levels?”

Jaune pulled out his scroll, checking the reading. “It says thirty percent, sir.”

“Definitely increasing at a normal rate then, and yet you’re still this size. Why….” Oobleck closed in on Second, poking, prodding, and inspecting every inch of the semblance he could.

“Would you cut that out?!” Second tried to slap his hands away, but the doctor was quite fast, dodging every swat.

“Could it be…” Pyrrha spoke up, drawing the doctor’s attention, “that they have two different… I guess you could say ‘pools’ of aura, that are just reading as one on Jaune’s scroll?”

“Elaborate, Ms. Nikos.”

“Well, when Jaune was attacked, the sword cut him, right? That would mean he had no aura defending him, even though he definitely wasn’t out, and Second had just manifested.”

“You’re saying that my form is made up of whatever aura Jaune has at the time, leaving him defenseless, but any that he gains after my manifestation goes into protecting him like normal?” Second asked, receiving a nod in return.

“An interesting hypothesis! Let us test it. My apologies, Mr. Arc.”

“What are you apologizing-” Jaune let out a pathetic yelp as Oobleck suddenly struck him, but managed to stay on his feet.

“It seems there is some merit to your idea! I definitely struck his aura, and yet if it was present when Cinder attacked him, the sword should not have cut him as it did. And there should be a rather easy method of confirming it as well!”

“We beat them up until their aura breaks?” Nora suggested with both hands on Magnhild, which she definitely did not have on her just a moment ago.

“I suppose that could work if we went about it properly,” Oobleck’s words had Jaune and Second subtly inching away from the group, “but I was thinking that it would be easier to simply put Second back into Jaune’s head, have him manifest once more, and measure the difference in size. If it’s proportional to the difference in aura, then we have our answer.”

“I like that idea!” Jaune and Second shouted out together.

“Brilliant! Let’s get to it then, go ahead and bring Second back into your head, Mr. Arc.”

“Right… um… how do I do that?”

“...I suppose I should have expected that.” Oobleck seemed disappointed, but not surprised.

“He’s just here now! It’s not like I’m actively working to keep him present!” Jaune tried to defend himself.

“What did you do to manifest Second in the first place?” Pyrrha asked. “Maybe you just need to do that in reverse?”

“What did I do?” Jaune asked himself. “I remember panicking when I saw the blade coming at me…”

“I think you pushed your aura towards her? And then I manifested between the two of you. With a sword skewering me…”

“But pooling your aura towards the area you expect to get struck is normal. I spent weeks getting that down, but I don’t remember ever trying to pull the aura back into me.”

“Maybe instead of trying to pull it back inside of you, you could try focusing on letting it flow around you like normal. Let it diffuse throughout your body like it’s meant to.” Ren suggested.

“I guess I can give it a try…” Jaune closed his eyes to concentrate.

Nothing happened. The group stared, switching their gaze between Jaune and Second, waiting for something, anything.

Apparently deeming the attempt a failure, Second spoke up. “Am I supposed to feel-”

But his sentence was left unfinished as he suddenly disappeared from sight.

Nora frowned. “Awww, I wanted to smash him back into Jaune…”

“Maybe some other time, Nora.” Ren patted her shoulder as Doctor Oobleck stepped up to Jaune to inspect him.

“Well? Was our hypothesis correct? Is everything back where it should be?”

Jaune blinked slowly before nodding. “Yeah, this… huh. I guess we hadn’t realized it before, but while we were separated we couldn’t hear each other’s thoughts.”

“An interesting observation!” Oobleck scribbled it down, having pulled a notebook out at some point when they weren’t watching. “Let’s give the reverse a go, then. Try manifesting Second’s physical form once more.”

Jaune concentrated, and like before it took a moment before any results were bared, but eventually Second popped back into existence, looking a few inches taller and more like a twelve year old than the ten year old appearance from before.

“I think we can call the experiment a success!” Pyrrha cheered for them.

“I’m still short, though. And blue.” Second pouted.

“I’m sure that can be solved by letting Jaune’s aura recover fully,” Oobleck reassured the semblance. “More importantly…”

“Would you stop that?!”

Oobleck had struck Jaune once more, this time not being stopped by the boy’s aura.

“Oh relax, it was just a light tap. Really we should be doing this with a blade to see if I can cut your skin…”

Jaune promptly stopped his whining.

“Maybe we should just move on to the next test?” Pyrrha tried to save him.

“Yes, yes, time is of the essence. Hmmm. I suppose the next thing to test would be your combat capabilities.” The doctor looked towards Second.

“And how are we testing that?” Second replied with a hint of fear in his voice.

“Why,” Oobleck gained a devious smirk, “I do believe our resident demolitions expert had requested the opportunity to… how was it put… ‘smash you back into Jaune’? Your task shall be to prevent that from happening.”

Second Thoughts whimpered as the hammer came towards his face.

Chapter Text

The future had always seemed so simple to Ruby. She was going to become an amazing huntress, save all sorts of people, look cool doing it, and make sure to always come back home.

She loved her mom, and always would, but her loss had only made it that much more clear that she needed to come home every time.

Even when the reality of Jaune's semblance had been revealed to her… was it rude to refer to him like that? Maybe she should just call him Second Thoughts, even in the safety of her mind. Or was it safe? Jaune's thoughts weren't safe when Second was in his head…

…not important. Or, potentially important, but she could worry about it later.

What mattered now was that while Second's future telling abilities hadn't worried her, his latest predictions definitely did.

The headmaster dying? Penny torn apart? Other deaths that Second had been weirdly evasive about? And, while not as bad as death, her sister might lose her arm!

Obviously Second had been doing everything he could to help prevent that. The headmaster, and the teachers, and Ironwood… even uncle Qrow was helping!

But she wanted to help, too. No, needed to help.

She'd thrown team RWBY into intensive training after the big meeting. It seemed like everyone who wasn't able to do something immediately had thought to do the same. Professor Oobleck had gone with team JNPR, Sun and Neptune had gone to find the rest of their team, and Penny had said something about getting upgrades, which really interested her, but she'd held herself back. Penny could show her the awesome upgrades later, but right now…

Right now, dripping sweat and exhausted, Yang had her "I'm worried, but pretending that I'm not" face on. She didn't see it too often these days, but back when their mom's death had still been fresh…

Yang wasn't taking the news well, even if she'd refuse to admit it. She didn't think that Weiss and Blake were either, but she hadn't known them for anywhere near as long as she had her own sister, so reading their tells was a lot harder. Curse her lacking social skills…

But it would all be okay! She was Ruby Rose, huntress in the making, and, if she had heard Second correctly, potential dragon slayer?!

Using her semblance to her advantage, she was easily able to get cleaned up from their team training session first, sneaking off to find Second Thoughts while the others were hitting the showers.

It wasn't exactly hard to find him. Or at least, to find Jaune anyway, since teams RWBY and JNPR hung out together all the time, and the thought of Second being away from Jaune just felt unnatural. It seemed that they had just gotten out of their own training session, with Oobleck trailing behind the team, and Second looked grumpy…? Concerning, but this was important! He could be grumpy later!

"Second!"

Her blue friend startled as she ran up to him. "Could you not appear out of nowhere?! Jeez…"

"Do you really have room to be saying that?" Jaune teased.

"Shut up, I saw you jump too!"

Behind them, Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "Was there something you needed, Ruby? If you don't stop them now, they'll never stop."

If Pyrrha was able to say that after a single training session with Second present, she worried about how much the team had actually accomplished during it. But that was a team JNPR problem.

"Yes! You kind of skipped over it when you were explaining all the future stuff, but…" Wait a second. "Did you get taller?!" That wasn't fair! She had finally escaped the cruel fate of being the shortest in the group only for Second to sprout up in just a few hours?! She still had a bit of height on him, maybe, but if he was growing at this rate then it wouldn't matter! He'd be taller than her by the end of the conversation! Ruby frowned. "Stop growing, right this instant!" She could see team JNPR, and even Oobleck, smirking behind him. Traitors! The whole lot of them! But as egregious as Second's new height was, it wasn't why she had come here. "Actually, forget that for now. I was hoping to hear more about the whole dragon killing thing you mentioned…? I don't really get what you meant about using my eyes. Are you saying I get laser eyes or something? They must be super powerful if they can kill a dragon, which sounds awesome, but like, do I lose an eye and get it replaced with a mechanical one or something? Laser eyes sound cool, but I like my eyes as they are, and I'm not sure if-"

"Ruby." Second interrupted her. "Breathe. If you ask all these questions at once I'm going to forget at least half of them."

Right. Slow things down a bit. She could handle that. Especially since it gave her a moment to savor the fact that she was taller than Second. At least while it lasted…

"To cover what I actually got out of that, though," Second continued, "Yes, I have gotten taller. Your eyes… honestly your best bet for information would be Ozpin. I don't actually know that much. There's some old lady who would be a good mentor, but I don't know where she lives, and I'm probably remembering her name wrong. Calabara, Balaclava…" He thought for a moment before shaking his head in the negative. "Yeah, I don't know."

He didn't know?! What was the point of bringing it up then?! Just to tease her with the potential of laser eyes and then rip it out from under her?!

"What I can tell you, is that it's to do with your eyes as they are now. Silver eyes. They're some sort of magic mumbo jumbo that's like… I don't know, an anti-grimm weapon? Your eyes can flash and kill them."

"Are you perhaps talking about 'Silver-Eyed Warriors'?" Oobleck interrupted.

Second blinked. "Uh, yeah, actually. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Ooh! Ooh! Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Ruby zipped right past Second and up to the history professor. For once he was actually talking about something interesting!

"Hmmm, if memory serves, they were supposedly an ancient lineage of legendary warriors, said to have felled whole hordes of grimm with just a glance."

"And?! How do I use it! This is going to be amazing!"

"I have no idea." Oobleck took her dreams and shot them right in front of her.

"W-what?" Was everyone going to do this to her?! She wanted answers!

"That's all the information I have. I only vaguely recalled an old fairy tale, it's by no means a historical account. Perhaps I could find where I read about it if you gave me some time, but I highly doubt that it will contain any information you would find useful. When I read it initially I assumed it was the same as any other fairy tale. Mostly fiction, but perhaps serving some sort of educational or entertainment purpose."

"B-but… my laser eyes…"

"Relax, Ruby" Pyhrra placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Second said that Headmaster Ozpin would know about them, you can just ask him."

"And if he doesn't, we can beat the answers out of him!" Nora proclaimed.

She heard a whimper behind her.

"No, Nora." Ren denied her. "You've already traumatized Second enough. We don't need to do the same to the headmaster."

She didn't have time for Nora's antics! "Does anyone know where the headmaster is then? Is he still in his office?"

"I'm afraid that you'll have to wait if you're getting your answers from him, Ms. Rose." Oobleck went back for her dreams for a second time, double tapping them like she had so many times in those zombie games. "I believe he has already left for Haven to deal with the situation there."

How was a girl supposed to use her super awesome laser eyes if nobody could give her answers?!

"Yes, councilman Anders. Yes. I'm aware. There's no need-" Qrow watched Oz bite back a sigh as the council continued to chew him out over the scroll. Heh. Serves the bastard right for making him come and deal with this mess.

"James, surely you, at least, can see reason!" His latest headache whined. "I have an image to uphold! I'm sure this is all just one big misunderstanding, but if things go on like this then there will be chaos!"

"I sincerely hope that this is a misunderstanding that we can all be embarrassed about afterwards." Jimmy Irondick reassured him.

Leonardo sighed, seemingly thinking that he'd won over the general already.

But Mister Uptight didn't stop there. "I genuinely want that to be the case, because the alternative is that you're a traitor to humanity, your kingdom, your school, and us on a personal level. That you're responsible for the deaths of countless people through your action, be that directly with the missing Huntsmen, or indirectly through the civilians they could have saved."

The headmaster of Haven looked much more worried after that.

Oz walked up beside him. "You had better hope that there is more than circumstantial evidence here, Qrow, or a lot of people are going to be very unhappy."

It went unsaid that Oz would be one of them. Not that he could blame him, what with him having trusted Leo for years, decades even. But Qrow was pretty damn sure that he'd gotten this one right, even if Jimmy's men had screwed the pooch on the execution.

Atlas never had known the meaning of "subtle". Where he had been able to investigate in his avian form, checking things out right under the noses of everyone in Haven, those morons had stuck out like sore thumbs since the moment they arrived. And with a criminal underworld as prevalent as Mistral's… well, Atlas soldiers snooping around wasn't exactly something that would go unnoticed, even if they had gone about things properly.

The ones Irondick had brought with him didn't seem half bad though. Trace ops? Base ops? He hadn't bothered to actually listen to the introduction, but it must've been something like that. Anything that came out of Jimmy's mouth went in one ear and out the other if he could get away with it, and wouldn't you know it? He was getting away with it right now. Standing back, letting the newcomers take over, and enjoying a relaxing sip from his flask was something he was more than happy to do.

He could feel Oz glaring at him though. Maybe he'd gone on for longer than just a sip…

"They're dead, Oz," he started. "The official story is that they're all out on missions, but they've been gone for too long. I looked into the ones that I knew personally, just to find that they'd all but disappeared. Unpaid tabs, long overdue rent…" He took another sip to cool his nerves. "If it had been one, maybe two teams, I could understand. Stuff happens out in the field." Summer came to mind. "But we're talking about dozens of teams. And with the lack of investigation on Haven's part… I've half a mind to start investigating the other staff members as well. It's weird that he's been getting away with it for so long."

Oz was silent for a moment, staring at Leo, who had gone back to pleading his innocence to Jimmy. "That is… concerning. Very much so. We will look into it immediately." Good. At least he was being taken seriously. The whole alcohol thing hindered that sometimes…

"However," aaaaaand there it was. "That is not going to be enough for the councils. We need something more direct, or the council of Mistral will see us removed and the relationship between kingdoms strained. That is not an acceptable outcome."

How like Oz to rain on his parade.

Luckily, a distraction made itself apparent when a bookshelf suddenly rolled to the side, revealing a secret passage. "I've found something!" One of Jimmy's men called out.

"Good work, Clover." Jimmy nodded to the man before turning back to Leo, who had suddenly gone extremely pale. "Would you care to explain? I don't remember this being here the last time I'd visited. Though, like you said, I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding." He all but growled the words.

Ozpin, meanwhile, had walked to the now open doorway, leading the group as they started to walk down the hidden path. Jimmy kept his prosthetic hand wrapped around Leo's wrist as he dragged him along.

They didn't have to walk far. Floating at a dead end just around the bend was a grimm. Not one he was familiar with, but it was rather obvious what this meant.

"A seer." Ozpin's voice was almost concerning. Faint, disbelieving. "I see. Would someone please take a picture?"

Evidence for the councils, he supposed. He didn't look to see who snapped one, but one second he heard the tell tale click, and the next Oz's cane had popped the thing like a balloon. His jaw was set like his teeth were grinding, and his eyes seemed distant and unfocused.

"What's your explanation for this, Leonardo?" James asked, looking ready to crush the coward's wrist right then and there.

"I-I, well, you see…"

Not exactly the happy ending he'd been hoping for, but at least this meant he could stop sleeping in the woods.

Assuming his semblance and Oz allowed him some peace and quiet, that is.

Chapter Text

"...while the masses are left with many questions. Both the huntsmen academies as well as the councils of the kingdoms involved have declined to comment beyond informing us that an investigation is currently underway and that as things stand, the Vytal festival is to go on as scheduled. Obviously they would not have arrested beloved Haven headmaster Leonardo Lionheart without some sort of evidence, but whatever they have has not been shared with us. What will the future of Haven look like? Will this affect the performance of their students participating in the festival? Rest assured, when the answers become available, you will hear them here first. This has been Lisa Lavender-"

Second Thoughts changed the channel, switching it to some inoffensive cooking show.

With Sun and Neptune as the team JNPR tagalongs at the moment, such a news story made things a bit awkward.

"I don't understand, why would they arrest headmaster Lionheart?" Pyrrha asked, seemingly just as confused. "I know I chose Beacon over Haven, but I still thought he was a good man."

Ah. Right. Sometimes Jaune forgot about the fact that she was from Mistral.

"I'll admit that when they mentioned a situation in Haven, I did not suspect that they meant the arrest of their headmaster. I would not think ill of him either, but I suppose appearances can be deceiving." Ren chimed in. "Though the timing is a bit suspect. Would you two happen to know the reason for his arrest?" He turned towards Jaune and Second.

"Well, um…" Jaune struggled to find the right words, worried about the reaction the Haven students would have.

But Sun rolled his eyes. "Relax, man. It's not a big deal." His partner turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, it is a big deal, but only in the general wow this is news sense, and not on a personal level. Haven isn't like Beacon. We've been in the same room as Lionheart maybe… three times?" He looked to Neptune for confirmation.

"Eh, three or four sounds about right." The blue haired boy made an iffy gesture with his hand.

"Right, and that's not one on one conversations or anything. That's a few times where he spoke to the whole student body. We're not like you guys and team RWBY, constantly getting pulled into the headmaster's office. Though maybe that has more to do with how weird your teams are than the schools themselves," the blond teased.

"It's definitely weird to hear that our headmaster got arrested," Neptune continued, "but it's more in the sense of worries about what it means for the team than any sort of close relationship with the guy. Personally, I always thought he was a bit of a weirdo. Always looking around like he thought something was gonna jump out of the shadows at him."

"That's because he was worried about that." Second Thoughts decided to explain. "He was being blackmailed. Or at least, I assume that my prediction was correct, given the arrest and all."

"Somebody was blackmailing the headmaster of a huntsmen academy?" Nora asked, doubt clear in her voice. "What sort of dirt do you have to have on a guy like that? Oh! Do you think we can get dirt on Ozpin to get out of homework?!"

"The threat was murder, and that won't work on Ozpin, no." Second dismissed her idea.

"But who would be strong enough to make him fear for his life? He's constantly surrounded by some of the strongest people in Mistral, plus all of those students!" Pyrrha questioned.

Jaune clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Nope! No more!" He shook his head. "I have had enough excitement in the last few days. The most capable people for the job are already investigating, and I'm happy to leave it in their hands. We have our own problems to worry about without getting involved in that."

"Our own problems?" Ren prompted him to continue.

"Weren't you paying attention to the news, Renny?!" Nora jumped up excitedly. "The Vytal festival is still on! We've got to plan for how we're gonna kick their butts!" She pointed at the two members of team SSSN.

The boys smirked. "You think you're gonna beat us?" Sun taunted, a confident look in his eyes. "You wish!"

"Sun, I appreciate the confidence, but we've got Pyrrha Nikos and I vaguely know the future." Second reminded them.

Their confidence wavered. "...if you'll excuse us, I think we're late for a team strategy meeting." Neptune grabbed his leader by the collar, dragging him out of the room.

The footsteps clanking with every step were enough of a warning for him to make himself look presentable. You didn't get a rep like he did without being stylish, after all.

Seeing the general himself was a bit of a surprise though. "Interrogating the prisoner" had been delegated to the Schnee bitch for quite some time now. Maybe that last comment he made about helping her de-stress by replacing the stick up her ass with something else had finally broken her? The thought brought a smile to his face.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked the imposing man.

"There have been some developments relating to your case." The slight frown indicated that the general wasn't happy about them, which was probably good news for him.

"Well? Are you going to share these developments or do you think mean mugging me for the nth time is going to finally break me?"

The general took a moment to respond, though Roman wasn't sure if that was some intimidation tactic or genuine frustration.

"Details of your plans and… previous employment have been uncovered."

"Previous employment? Come on now, you and I both know that I look out for number one. There's no room for an employer!" He laughed at the idea.

"Really? Then you won't recognize the name Cinder Fall?"

It was only years of working in the underbelly of Vale that allowed him to keep a poker face. What the fuck had that lunatic done now?!

"Can't say it rings a bell."

It was clear that the general didn't believe him. "I see. Well, in news totally unrelated to your case then, I thought you might want to know that after a failed assassination attempt, involvement in a grimm breach of the city of Vale, and a host of other crimes, Cinder Fall and her associates have been set to priority number one for law enforcement in every kingdom. Her whereabouts are currently unknown, but we believe her to be hiding alongside Atlas traitor Arthur Watts."

He had never heard of a Watts before, and that frightened him just a tad. Dealing with Cinder was bad enough, but if she was hanging around with some other crooks…

Well, that either meant that she'd found a suitable replacement for him, in which case he was screwed, or it meant that she wasn't the top dog like he had assumed before now, which was just as worrying, if not more so, but for different reasons.

"In light of the…" Ironwood forced the words through gritted teeth, "possibility that you were coerced into your latest actions by such a heinous criminal, we are floating the idea of being… lenient with your punishment. Provided you can agree to some stipulations."

Cinder being on the loose meant that she was still a threat to his life, but he could at least hear the bastard out, if only to watch him squirm at the thought of lighter sentencing for "big bad Roman Torchwick".

"Oh? Go on, I'm listening."

"In exchange for the assistance of both you and one…" He cringed as the name left his mouth, "Neo Politan…"

The more that the general spoke, the higher Roman's eyebrows rose.

It sounded like his early arrest wasn't actually part of Cinder's plan. And if this deal was legit…

Well, as long as it served his interests, perhaps it was time to look for new possibilities.

This would not be the first time he had been forced into this role. There were worse positions to be in, he supposed. At least here, stuck in this box next to Peter, he was not tasked with ensuring that every little detail behind the scenes played out just as it had been planned.

That did not stop him from worrying though.

There were the typical worries, like whether or not he would slip up and say something he shouldn't while being broadcasted all over Remnant. Or, in a more likely scenario, that Peter would do such a thing, and he would be expected to cut it off before he did too much damage to Beacon's reputation.

There were also the not so typical worries. Like the possibility of Second Thought's prediction of a disastrous Vytal festival coming true. The scenarios that had been laid out for them were something he was very much keen on avoiding, but the problem was the number of variables involved. Second might have had a point when he noted that the timeline as he knew it had been altered enough that the festival could go on without interruption. But who said that outside influence was required for things to go poorly? Just because Cinder's plans had seemingly been foiled didn't mean that nothing could go wrong.

An unfortunate reality of the White Fang is that there was no concrete method of stopping them in advance without some sort of gross overreach on their part that would only exacerbate the divide between the Faunus and baseline humans. They could keep an eye out for suspicious activity, but were largely left to do little more than react to any issue that might pop up.

"It seems we have another astonishing bout ahead of us, wouldn't you agree professor?" Peter asked him.

"Doctor." He corrected his colleague for what must be the thousandth time. "And yes, Peter I think this is shaping up to be a very close match-up!"

Glynda would probably kill him if she found out, but he allowed his mind to drift as Peter went over the "first time watching the Vytal festival?" spiel once more.

There was the Roman situation to worry about. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about that one. With the way that Second had explained it, it sounded like there were two possibilities for the thief. Side with Jaune in some capacity… or die. Granted, what "siding with Jaune" meant specifically seemed to vary by quite a bit, but it didn't paint a picture he liked.

While he would very much like the man to pay for his many crimes, none of them went nearly so far as to be deserving of something like the death penalty. And while none of them had any plans to end his life, would ignoring the knowledge they had been given and leaving him to his fate not be endorsing his death in some manner? Ethics never was an easy subject, but he felt that if the choices for Roman were "join or die", he was obligated to do what he could to make the thief's redemption a reality.

And yet, it was almost entirely out of his hands. He held a position of authority… but only within the school. He did not lead a military power like Ironwood, he did not have a seat on the council like Ozpin, and the ability of huntsmen to preside over such matters typically ended at apprehension. Sentencing was outside of his wheelhouse. Thus, his involvement in the matter was limited to petitioning Ironwood. It was not a position he liked to be in, but it was his current reality.

"...why, I tell you, when I was a young lad I could have taken on both teams at once! That's not to say that they're not giving a great showing, this is probably one of the most impressive fights we've seen so far, but I was simply that amazing! And let me tell you ladies… I've only improved with age!"

In a way only someone as practiced as him was able to, Oobleck let Peter's words fall away into background noise.

There was also Jaune and Second to worry about.

Team JNPR had not yet made their debut in the festival, but he found himself both agonizing over it and eagerly awaiting it. He had strongly recommended that Jaune simply handle things on his own for the tournament. Both because the short amount of time the duo had gotten to practice separately had not been enough to adjust to a proper fighting style, and because limiting information on their capabilities would be a wise choice with the enemies they had made.

There was also the other matter…

Second did not know how to fight. At all. Watching the semblance move around was like watching a teenager who had just hit a growth spurt and wasn't quite sure of how long their own legs were. It seemed that while he had been a passenger to all of Jaune's training since his manifestation, that didn't translate to actual capabilities for himself. Not that he could be blamed. If Bart had been trapped inside someone's head with seemingly no escape, he probably wouldn't be terribly interested in noting down the exact mechanics his host's body was using at every moment either.

All he could do for now was watch, wait, and try to guide them towards a better future.

"...reminds me of the time I fought off fifty Beowolves on my own! It was just last week, and I had nothing but my bare hands…"

But perhaps he should be more focused on controlling Peter. Glynda was surely ready to murder them both already, but saving the broadcast now might downgrade his punishment from something brutal and torturous to a swift, painless death.

Chapter Text

The camp was a busy place. Tents were being torn down, supplies packed up, and orders spread among the masses. It would seem chaotic to any outsiders, but even with all the fresh faces present it was a controlled chaos. They were practiced at quickly packing up and moving along.

Of course, it helped that many had simply gone home. Not everyone was keen on straying too far from Vale proper, and he wasn't so desperate for men that he would force those sorts of people to come along. Besides, that would be bad for morale, and things were dicey enough as is.

The fools who thought they knew better than him weren't subtle about their whispering, though it was hard to tell if he was intended to hear it, as a slight against him, or if they were really stupid enough to believe the distance far enough and their voices low enough.

"...can't believe this shit. We were right there! Sure those humans ruined the plan with the train, but the festival was our chance to show them that they're not as safe as they think!" One of the morons complained.

"I don't know. I mean, I heard that the plan with the festival was that one bitch's. You know, that hot human? Legs for days, gorgeous face, and don't get me started on her-"

"Would you stop that! I don't want to hear about your weird obsession with some human woman," the first idiot interrupted the other. "Besides, if it was a human's plan, why were we going to do it in the first place? That doesn't make any sense."

"Rumor has it that a few humans offered Sienna something in exchange for our help with attacking the festival."

"What could a bunch of humans possibly offer the White Fang?"

"How should I know? It's just a rumor, I don't know if it's even true."

"Well then what's the point of-"

Adam tuned them out as they descended into pointless bickering.

He was surrounded by idiots. He hadn't exactly been keen on working with Cinder and her lot before, but they hadn't exactly had a choice. They had shown themselves to be… threats to the White Fang, and he had agreed to work with them on the basis that it would prevent the lunatics from culling the White Fang's numbers.

Things were different now, though. The bitch showed her hand and betrayed him, and on top of that he finds out that she outed herself to the huntsmen in Vale, whom she was supposedly meant to be blending in with until her plans really kicked off?

Someone who was known by name and face, forced into hiding, would have a difficult time getting the upper hand on the White Fang once more. And while he could support the concept of instilling fear into their human oppressors, there was little point in following through with her plan that undoubtedly benefited her much more than it did the White Fang if she no longer had the ability to back up her threats.

The "enemy of my enemy" may be someone he was reluctantly willing to work with under duress, but if they were floundering on their own, then they would serve as a lovely distraction while he abandoned them. Let the humans chase after Cinder. It would just mean that his job would be all the easier when he came in to pick off the survivors of that battle.

"-and I'm telling you! If that's your type then why not Sienna? She's hot! Do you have a… thing for humans or something?"

Or maybe he would pick off his own followers for the crime of being so obnoxious. Only time would tell.

"...was barely into my monthly allowance." Weiss sighed, dejected. The heiress and her team were sat at a food stall as team JNPR approached them.

Shit. I knew I was forgetting something.

Forgetting what?

Eh, it's too late now. Family drama with the Schnees, nothing we can do about it. For now, anyway. Just focus on the tournament.

Jaune was inclined to question Second Thoughts further on the matter, but Pyrrha, kind soul that she was, decided to step in.

"Maybe I can help?" she chimed in, pulling out her card.

The two teams quickly found themselves digging into a hearty meal, but good food wasn't enough of a distraction to keep conversation from flowing.

"No Second today?" Yang asked as she slurped down some noodles.

"Second is always here," Jaune answered. "He's just not here here. Didn't want to risk any weirdness with our match coming up."

The last time the two of them had been separate was when their combined auras were equal to one hundred percent of Jaune's capacity. What would happen if Second was manifested any longer was still a mystery, and Oobleck had very firmly suggested that they leave any experimentation of that sort for after the tournament. He was in fighting condition at the moment, and they didn't want to risk that for information they could just wait a few days to gather.

"Fair enough." Yang shrugged before going back for more noodles.

"Awwww, I wanted to see Second Thoughts fight though!" Ruby complained.

"Eh, he's not very impressive." Nora immediately dismissed.

Even if it's true, she didn't have to say it…

Stop whining.

"Second may not be with us physically, but he's with us in spirit," Ren added. "What he may lack in… physical prowess, he can make up for in the information department."

Weiss donned a calculating expression. "Are you suggesting that Second Thoughts has revealed the weaknesses of your enemies?"

"Not quite." Pyrrha denied, a fond smile on her face. "With Cinder's team out of the tournament, a new one has been substituted in, and obviously that changes how things will play out."

"He could still tell you about semblances that haven't been revealed, as well as the details of the arena types that have yet to be used." Blake probed.

"Hey, back off already!" Nora shouted in faux anger. "Second is my teammate to exploit!"

Rude.

"Rely on," Ren corrected.

"If he can't turn into a giant version of Jaune and crush our enemies-"

"You'll just crush them with Magnhild anyway."

"-then we're at least keeping the super secret information to ourselves!"

"You already have Pyrrha on your team! An information advantage on top of that isn't fair! Share with us!" Ruby complained.

What do they think this is? They could have gotten the same info I have by just scouting out the competition properly ahead of time.

"I'm not that far ahead of you guys!" Pyrrha denied. "Everyone has just as much of a chance."

Even the shop owner gave her a disbelieving stare at that one, and he wasn't even part of the conversation.

Do you think she actually believes that? Or is that just her attempt at being nice about it?

"Jaaauuune," Yang called out to him in a sing-song voice, despite the fact that they were sitting so close to each other, "Come on, you know you want to share a little bit of information with us." The blonde leaned forward, drawing attention to a specific area.

I shall not be tempted by the feminine wiles of a teenager. Back, you foul beast! Back I say!

Jaune's quickly waning willpower was saved by the familiar voices of their professors over the speakers.

"Would team JNPR please report to the battle grounds immediately." Port politely reminded them.

"Yes, like they were scheduled to. Several. Minutes. Ago." Oobleck not so kindly reminded them.

"Oops! Guess that means you're out of luck!" Nora gloated as she picked Jaune up, tossing him over her shoulder.

"Wha- Nora?!" Jaune's complaints went ignored.

"Maybe you'll have better luck pulling that on your next opponents, Yang, but these two have some butt to go kick!" The ginger quickly ran off with their leader in hand, leaving the rest of team JNPR to follow behind.

Yang frowned. "Do you think Second would be more inclined to fold to me or Blake?"

"Team RWBY will not stoop so low as to attempt seducing Jaune's semblance!" Weiss growled at the girl before storming off after JNPR.

Yang rolled her eyes. "You're just mad that I didn't include you!"

"Uh, Yang?" Ruby nudged her sister. "I think your partner is mad that you did include her."

Blake was indeed frowning. "I thought we agreed to not discuss that which you are referring to."

"It's for the team, Blake!"

After the disaster of Cinder's failed breach, things had been tough for Neo.

Sure, part of that might be her fault. If she had played along a bit better, then Cinder might not have blown her cover. Neo might still be in one of those Beacon beds, surrounded by students who served as walking, talking piggy banks with how freely they carried cash around for her to steal.

Instead, she had been spending her nights holed up in one of the safe houses meant for escaping a safe house. The backup for the backup. It was probably the only place she and Roman had that was completely off of Cinder's radar, if only because they never went to the place. It was spacious enough for a single person, but…

Never going there at all meant that any food that had been left behind had gone bad, and there was a severe lack of ice cream.

Conditions like this were practically torture in her eyes.

But she still held firmly that it was all worth it. The look on Cinder's eyes as it had all come crashing down around her… she would savor that for a long time.

Only problem was, now she was well and truly on her own.

Roman, moron that he was, still hadn't escaped his cell.

Normally getting him out would have been easy. Use her semblance to disguise herself as one of the Atlas soldiers, sneak onto the ship and kill a few people, free Roman and get out. Simple stuff.

But Ironwood was apparently much more paranoid than the Valean police she was used to dealing with. She wasn't sure if it was always like this, or if he'd somehow been tipped off to her abilities. Cinder had been complaining about someone knowing her every move, but Neo wasn't keen on jumping to conclusions like that. Either way, all soldiers needed to give verbal responses to questions before they could get anywhere near where Roman was being held, which was a hard thing to fake as a mute. Despite how amazing she was, she didn't like her odds when she would have to fight off the entirety of the Atlas forces on her own.

There had to be some weakness in their system, though. Some sort of flaw she could exploit. Today marked yet another scouting mission for her, exploring the area around the temporarily grounded airship while disguised as one of the many faceless soldiers, though maybe it could become something more. The Vytal festival had started, and a few of the soldiers were distracted with watching the live feed instead of doing their duties when they thought nobody was watching.

But before she could develop any plans involving that, she witnessed a peculiar sight.

General Ironwood, a frown on his face, walking side by side with Roman down the ramp of the ship. Her partner in crime was not only free to move his limbs as he pleased, not a restraint in sight, but he even had Melodic Cudgel in hand and a smirk on his face.

"Ah! Neo!" He called out to her.

The general startled, a hand reaching for his weapon out of instinct, before he restrained himself with a sigh. As his eyes followed where Roman was looking, he glared at the nearby soldiers for not noticing a stranger in their midst. "Ms. Politan…" he said, earning a frown from both her and Roman.

"That just sounds wrong. Call her Neo, you weirdo." Roman tutted.

The general's eyebrow twitched.

"Neo, then," he corrected himself. "If you would kindly stop plotting to infiltrate my ship, and join us?" she could hear him gritting his teeth from where she stood.

Obviously, she hesitated, but Roman had been the one to point her out. He wouldn't do that while knowing she was his only hope of escape, right?

"Come along, Neo," the thief reassured her. "It seems we're moving up in the world!"

Huh. Not the jailbreak she'd been expecting, but she'd take it.

Chapter Text

"Player one wins!" A deep voice boomed out from the speakers, flashing lights dancing on the screen.

"Oh come on!" Ruby complained, much to the amusement of her smirking uncle.

"What's this? I thought you said you were going to kick my butt?" He asked in a teasing tone.

"You're an old man! How could I have lost to you!" She lamented, hanging her head in shame.

"Wha- I am not old!" He tried to defend himself, ignoring the fact that his hair was starting to gray. "I'm just not a pipsqueak like you! I'll have you know that I'm still young and awesome!"

"Yeah, right." Yang sarcastically agreed. "Is that your excuse for being an eternal bachelor?"

"I'm a busy guy! I just got back from a mission and this is how you treat me?"

"From the sounds of it you weren't even fighting grimm! You were just hanging around Mistral, probably getting drunk. Again," the blonde brawler deadpanned.

"First of all, I was not just hanging around Mistral getting drunk."

His nieces stared at him with obvious disbelief.

"I was doing other things too! You two should have some more faith in your amazing uncle! I was on a top secret mission, gathering information on human targets. That's way more dangerous than a bunch of grimm, you should be impressed!"

"I don't know, that sounds way more lame than killing a bunch of grimm." Ruby casually dismissed.

"See, but there's the kicker. When it comes to grimm, you can just kill them and be done with it. It's easy, I've killed thousands, maybe tens of thousands of grimm in my time. I could do it in my sleep!"

The girls rolled their eyes at his bragging.

"Humans though? They're not mindless creatures you can just hack and slash and shoot at. It's hours upon hours of recon, and then the actual confrontation comes and you have to fight someone who could be even smarter or stronger than you are… unless you're me, of course, because I'm the best."

"So you had to fight Haven's headmaster?" Yang asked.

"That is not something I can comment on at this time," Qrow dodged the question, "but I'm sure that all of your questions will be answered when Oz and good ol' Irondick finally get the councils to stop throwing paperwork at them."

"Should you really be calling General Ironwood that?" Ruby hesitantly questioned.

"What? You think he's gonna do something about it? I could take him in a fight, easy."

"Oh really?" Yang goaded him on. "Wow Uncle Qrow, you're pretty amazing. I can't believe you're strong enough to take on General Ironwood and the entire Atlas fleet which would come after you once you mopped the floor with him. I can't wait to go tell all those soldiers how you really feel, maybe they'll-"

"Woah, woah, woah there, firecracker." Qrow shoved a hand over her mouth. "There's no need for all of that."

"But Uncle Qrow," Ruby spoke up once more, "If you can't tell us about the secret mission, how are we supposed to know how awesome you are!"

Qrow was no stranger to the manipulations of his nieces though. "I can't tell you about the mission itself… but I can tell you a bit about what I got up to in Mistral. I wasn't spending every hour of the day working on that, and I got up to a bit of mischief in my free time."

"Ooohhhh! Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Ruby begged, stars in her eyes.

"I took a little trip to a tavern, and as soon as I walked in the doors I knew the place was dangerous. Gang members, common crooks, crooked huntsmen…. You name some sort of low life, they were there. One wrong move would've sent the whole place into a brawl that resulted in more than just black eyes. The floorboards were starting to rot in places, boots stuck to the floor because of all the spilled alcohol, some of the lights were flickering on and off…"

Though she wasn't as eager for "story time with Uncle Qrow" as her sister, he could tell that even Yang was being drawn in. It was good to see that he was still as good of a story teller as he'd always been.

"I had to keep my wits about me as I moved further in, trying to make my way up to the bar. You see, the types of people that hang out in a place like that have a bad tendency of spilling secrets once their lips are wet, so being right in the middle of the action is a great way to pick up on things people don't want you to know. But once I finally got my seat, I discovered something I wasn't prepared for at all. Something that I knew I couldn't hope to stand up against…" He trailed off, teasing them with suspense.

"Well? What was it?!" Yang impatiently demanded.

"It was… the length of the barmaid's skirt! You should have seen how short that thing was!"

His nieces groaned in displeasure as he laughed at their disappointment.

"Ugh! You are so lame! I wanted action, not a story about you chasing skirts!" Ruby complained, pounding on him rather weakly with her fists.

"Oh, there was action alright." He replied with a grin.

"GROSS! Go be lame somewhere else, I need to prepare for the next match…" Yang started pushing him out of their room.

"Fine! Fine…" he held up his hands in surrender. "You win, I'll get out of your hair. Be sure to kick butt out there, I can't have any of my drinking buddies thinking my niece is anything less than kickass."

She slammed the door shut on him.

"Tch. What a brat."

He took a swig from his flask, but before he could descend into thoughts about how his nieces were much nicer to be around when they were smaller and idolized him, his scroll went off.

"What do you want?"

"If you could make your way to my office, please? We've got some things to discuss." Oz's voice answered.

Figures. Can't even enjoy the Vytal festival as time off… If Oz kept this up, he really needed to start paying him overtime. Or, you know, at all.

When Roman walked into the room, he was, understandably, a bit confused about the sight before him.

If his info was correct, and he knew that it was, he had just been escorted to a very high profile meeting. Ozpin, headmaster of the school they were currently in, sat behind a fancy desk with Glynda Goodwitch, his assistant and, he assumed, booty call at his side.

When he stopped walking, Ironwood continued past him, stopping next to Winter Schnee, who, if rumors were to be believed, was his assistant and booty call.

Roman himself stood next to Neo, who, if rumors were to be believed… would brutally murder him even with all of these witnesses if he continued any further down that line of thought.

But while three powerful men and the wonderful women who supported them were present… that left an odd one out. Some blonde doofus who might be a first year at best, stood next to what Roman could only assume was some sort of clone semblance. The blue color was a bit odd, but he'd seen similar semblances before. That did leave the question of why a semblance like that was active right now though…

"Are you gonna make me fight a kid or something?" he asked as Neo put a hand on her weapon in preparation for a fight.

"Well that's just rude," the blue one snarked back at him. "After all the trouble I go through to get you released, this is how you repay me?"

Interesting.

Not only did the semblance talk instead of the boy, which wasn't something he'd seen before, but the boy was claiming to be the one responsible for this little deal? He waited a moment, noticing that the adults in the room could only sigh, not bothering to refute the statement… which meant there was truth to it?

But before he could question that any further, he was distracted by the elevator doors opening once more. Turning around, he found someone who fit in a lot better than the boy.

"What, did you get started without me?" Qrow Branwen asked, taking a sip from a flask.

"It seems that you are on time, for once." The Schnee snarked at him. Must be a bit of history between the two, he could use that…

"This is going to be painful enough as it is," Goodwitch interrupted their little spat, "I will ask that you two not act like students so we can get this over with."

The Schnee flushed in embarrassment, but Qrow only laughed, leaning against a wall off to the side.

"Cute," Roman cut in. "Now, the dear General over here informed me that I'm looking at both my past crimes being forgiven, and quite a hefty paycheck if I go along with whatever little plan you've cooked up. Would someone like to inform me of the details? You obviously need me if you're being this generous, but I'm not dumb enough to blindly accept."

"That is not what was being offered!" Goodbitch complained, but she obviously wasn't sure if she should be mad at him or the General.

"Indeed it was not." Ironwood glared at him.

"Well it's what's being offered now." Roman replied with a smile. "There is no way that the people in this room would have agreed to what was already offered if you didn't think the situation dire, and if that's the case, I think you're lowballing me. Consider this my counter offer."

That sent every person in the room with a stick up their ass into a tizzy. Qrow just took another sip, the boy looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, but the semblance…

Was he imagining things? Or did that semblance have emotions of its own? Because the blue version of the kid looked incredibly amused. He had assumed it to be a puppet of some sort, but now…

The sound of a cane hitting the ground brought everyone's attention to Ozpin.

"Perhaps, Mr. Torchwick, we should discuss what it is we want from you before you start giving counter offers."

"We've already offered far too much!" Ironwood complained. "You cannot be considering-"

"Nothing has been agreed to yet, James." Ozpin tried to placate him. "I am merely suggesting that everything be laid out on the table before the specifics of the arrangement be hashed out."

Ironwood begrudgingly accepted that.

"Second Thoughts, if you would give your… sales pitch?" The old man looked towards the blue semblance.

The blonde cringed as his blue counterpart started speaking. "Now, Roman, Neo, you can call me Second Thoughts, and as you've no doubt realized by now, I am indeed a semblance, but I am also fully sapient! Amazing, I know, feel free to applaud."

Neo, the little shit, actually started clapping, but Roman simply raised a brow. "Oh really? From where I'm standing, this looks more like some fucked up puppet show."

"Trying to peek behind the curtain already? Come now, you and I both know that a good performer never reveals his secrets… it's bad for business!"

Visually, the only thing going for this little act was the fact that this supposed "Second Thoughts" was blue, but Roman would admit that he played the part quite well. "Well if you're not willing to reveal your secrets, then I'm afraid we're at a bit of an impasse, aren't we?"

"On the contrary! While I like to hold my cards close to the chest, I'm more than willing to spill secrets about you!"

Roman wasn't so sure he liked this act anymore.

"For my first trick," the semblance began, "I had you locked away!"

"You had me locked away? That's not how I remember it."

"Indeed, I was not present. I left that up to my lovely assistants!"

Qrow looked like he had swallowed a lemon. "Before you get any ideas, I am not wearing a dress as your stagehand."

"How dare you put that image into my head, Qrow." Second Thoughts deadpanned. "Anyways, moving on! While I was not actually there, I was the mastermind behind the encounter. Surely you had questions about why the group ran into you, no?"

"Perhaps," Roman agreed, not wanting to give too much away.

"You might have thought that it was a matter of Cinder betraying you, or maybe you thought her plans had simply been moved up without her informing you. However, given recent events, which I'm sure you've heard of in some form or another, I think it's quite clear that things aren't going quite how she expected them to. It was actually me who informed them of your location."

"I see. And you expect me to believe that some sort of cloning semblance is also perfect for information gathering?"

"Why is that so hard to believe? Neo's semblance is bullshit as well! Overactive Imagination allows her to create physical illusions, but she practically teleports with it! You can't tell me that she's just making herself invisible and running away or something, there's nothing physical about that!"

He saw Neo stiffen out of the corner of his eye, and found himself doing the same. This kid knew a bit more than he should.

"But I guess I'm misleading you if I don't correct you," the blue brat continued. "It's not so much information gathering as it is having a pretty vast wealth of knowledge implanted into my head at the time of my unlocking. I know all sorts of wacky things! Did you know that your most likely future, had I not involved myself anyway, was to be eaten by a Griffon during Cinder's attack on the Vytal festival? It would have been awful! All that hard work, that talent, that potential! Wasted! And then you leave poor Neo behind to go after a pointless attempt at revenge… I mean really, you get eaten by a Griffon and she blames Ruby of all people just because she was in the area? If anything Cinder should have been blamed because it was her stupid plan…"

Looking around the room, Roman could tell that he wasn't the only one who was lost.

The blonde elbowed his semblance. "You're rambling, get to the point, Second."

"You didn't have to hit me to get my attention… Where was I? Oh! Right! Second Thought's second trick!" The semblance walked up to Neo, and Roman watched as her grip tightened on the handle of her umbrella.

"Woah, woah!" he held his blue hands up in surrender. "There's no need to threaten me! I just wanted to give you a bit more evidence, that's all, I'm not gonna touch you."

He leaned in close, whispering to the short girl, and Roman didn't know what he said, but it was obviously something pretty big based on Neo's reaction.

She didn't kill him! Didn't stab him… didn't even hit him!

Neo!

Instead, once the kid backed up, she just turned towards Roman and gave him a thumbs up and a smile.

Honestly, he was kind of impressed. Terrified, but impressed. He'd have to ask the kid for some tips. "Alright, you know some things you shouldn't. That's nice and all, but what does that have to do with our little deal?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Second replied with a smile. "You see, I like you two. I think you're interesting in all the right ways. And, with my vast wealth of knowledge and all of that, I've come to the conclusion that, at least for you, Roman, you have two possible futures. In one possibility, you die. The causes may vary, but it's pretty set in stone that you don't make it out alive. The other possibility is that you work with him!" He pointed to the blonde bozo. "And since I'm his semblance, that means working with me! Makes sense, right?"

"Right…" It didn't make sense at all. Was this a logical deduction? A future vision sort of deal? Or was he being threatened? Not what he'd expect out of "team good guy", but given his past work history he'd come to expect that sort of thing. "Work with me or die" was how he'd ended up with Cinder, after all.

"I've lost you. Okay then! Let me make this simple for you. You hate Cinder. We hate Cinder. The bitch stabbed me, you know. Not exactly a way to get in my good books. I'm proposing that you assist us in making what's left of her life quite miserable!"

"You certainly have my attention, but even with the recent developments regarding her, you do realize that we were following her orders for a reason, right? I'm not about to throw my life away trying to go after her when I could just as easily not do that, but also live. I hate to say it, but she's stronger than me and Neo combined."

"Hmm. Right. I had considered that…" He locked his focus on Neo, eyeing her up and down. That was concerning for a variety of reasons, but hey, it wasn't his funeral, so Roman didn't stop the brat. "Neo… I know this is rude to ask a lady, but how old are you?"

Roman didn't know why her age was relevant, but it seemed the important people in the room did.

"NO." Ironwood barked out. "I will not allow it! Are you insane?!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Jimmy for once. That is not happening." Qrow added on, putting away his alcohol for the first time since entering the room.

Ozpin, however…

"...why?" He waited for the initial outbursts to calm before continuing. "Knowing what you know… why are you suggesting such a thing?"

"Well, look, obviously it's not a good idea, but it's the least bad of several terrible ideas in my eyes. Who else are you thinking of?" He turned to the drunkard. "Do you want your nieces to deal with that Qrow?" And then to the Schnee, "What about your sister? Are you nominating her?" Back to Ozpin before continuing once more. "I think everyone who knows what I'm on about is aware that Pyrrha is who you're hoping for, but that's because you're lacking options. Winter is out because Ironwood wants her for something else, and everyone else is too old for it. Neo is a viable candidate!"

Roman wasn't sure if the topic they were dancing around was something that he and Neo should be avoiding like the plague, or something they should greedily be gunning for.

But one glance at Neo showed that she was interested.

It seemed his fate was sealed.

Chapter Text

"Winter, would you kindly escort these two out of the room so that we may discuss these matters in private?" Ironwood ordered through clenched teeth.

"Woah there, not so fast!" Torchwick interrupted. "I think Neo and I are actually quite interested in what you have to say about this. I have no idea why her age would get you all so up in arms, but I think we're entitled to know if it's a matter of our safety! I can't keep my gorgeous face wrinkle free if I'm left worrying about what you lot are hiding from us."

"It's none of your business, you scoundrel!" Goodwitch glared at them, slapping her black riding crop into an open palm.

"It is our business! Cinder liked to keep secrets from us as well, and look where that got us! I may not have the same stage presence that I did in the past, but I'm done playing second fiddle!"

Neo frowned at him.

"I mean I'm done playing third fiddle!"

She smiled, satisfied with his correction.

"The General has ordered that you leave, and you will do so." Winter demanded, marching over to them to act as their escort as commanded.

"Um, excuse me?"

Everyone turned to Jaune, who had been very quiet for the meeting thus far, causing him to shrink back even further.

"I, ah, also don't know what's going on? But if it's as important as you're making it out to be, and you're… considering having these two work with us," his bafflement at that decision was obvious despite the fact that it was his own semblance that had suggested it, "then doesn't it make sense for them to know about it? I can't say that I trust an infamous criminal or-" he shivered as he and Neo locked eyes, "her, but if you want them to risk their lives going after Cinder…"

"There's my boy!" Second Thoughts patted him on the back. "Look at you, you're growing a spine! Soon enough you'll be trash talking Cinder!"

Jaune paled at the thought, remembering how close the woman had come to killing him, but Second Thoughts continued on.

"I do think he has a point though. If these two are working with us then the only real way that they can assist is in dealing with matters that aren't exactly in the public eye. Unless you're thinking of taking them on the Beacon staff as well? I think Roman could do very well in motivating the student body through bribes, and so could Neo through methods that frighten me."

Before Ozpin could even open his mouth to respond, Glynda glared at the man. "If you so much as consider that for a nanosecond I will hand in my resignation immediately."

Ozpin paused for a moment. "Of course not, I would never do such a thing." The headmaster then turned to Second. "And while I can see your reasoning, I cannot agree. We can simply focus their efforts elsewhere."

"Really? And how is that supposed to work?" Second Thoughts asked in a disbelieving tone. "Cinder is a petty egomaniacal lunatic. Even before I manifested, she believed that the thing we're dancing around was stolen from her-"

"Stolen from her?" Qrow interrupted. "That's rich coming from that-"

"Qrow!" Ozpin silenced the alcoholic before addressing Second Thoughts once more. "Anyone doing the things that she is must be crazy, but that has nothing to do with whether or not two known criminals can be trusted with highly sensitive information, let alone what you're suggesting."

"So you're just going to not warn them about some of the biggest potential threats out there?"

"You say that as if you know details about multiple." Ironwood spoke up.

"I know details for all but one of them, but even then I could make a few inferences about the last. And I can tell you right now that at least two of them are very real threats to our lives. All of our lives." Second gestured to the two thieves in their midst.

"Then could you not just tell them who to avoid?" Ironwood suggested.

"We're talking about people who could easily go toe to toe with any of you, even without the big secret. I don't think holding up a mugshot and saying 'run from these people' is going to do much."

"So it's a weapon of some sort then? Must be with the way you're talking about it." Roman interrupted. "Well why didn't you just say so! If that's the case then Neo and I can just go steal it!" Neo nodded in agreement. "What's a weapon have to do with Neo's age though?"

"Silence!" Winter drew her rapier, pointing it at Roman's neck, only to find Neo's blade at her own. Before Second could even blink, every weapon in the room was pointed at someone else.

The semblance sighed. "You guys are so dramatic."

"Dramatic?" Ozpin asked, his staff pointed at Neo, but his eyes on Second. "Perhaps. But you have yourself to blame. Things were not nearly this hectic before you manifested."

"Puh-lease." Second rolled his eyes. "If not for me you'd be… how far into the tournament are we?"

Nervously, being the only person in the room who hadn't thought to bring a weapon with him to the meeting, Jaune answered. "Uh, the singles matches? Yang's match is starting soon I think…"

"Yang's match… right then. If not for me-" the semblance reiterated as if he hadn't just ruined the moment, "then you'd have like, a day left before Cinder killed you."

Several people in the room frowned at that.

"You said you have information on all but one of them?" Qrow broke the strained silence.

"Yeah?" Second Thoughts raised a brow at the seeming non sequitur.

"Then would it be possible to… seek advice on the matter?" Qrow carefully phrased his question.

"No." Ozpin immediately answered, but Second Thoughts ignored him.

"Seek advi-" It took him a moment, but Second's eyes widened as he caught on. "I mean… it wouldn't be easy, but it's certainly possible. Provided the right incentives are given and uh.." He not so subtly glanced at Ozpin, "...that certain people stay far away."

"Can I get a guide for all the subtext and hidden meanings in this conversation?" Roman asked. "I'm normally pretty good at reading between the lines with Neo's conversational skills, but this is pushing it."

The girl in question pouted but didn't refute him.

"No." Ozpin repeated himself. "No, no, and no."

"Wait, what parts are you saying no to?" Jaune asked, trying and failing to keep up with the conversation.

"All of it."

"As loath as I am to admit it, Qrow's idea does have some merit…" Ironwood hesitantly added.

Ozpin took a long sip of his coffee, clearly displeased with how things had played out. "I was willing to entertain the idea of using them against our enemies, but you're pushing things too far, Second. I think it would be best if we adjourned this meeting."

"We are expected to make appearances at the festival soon, if only to the political class…" Glynda backed him up.

"Fine." Second sagged. "But don't go thinking that this is an excuse to do something stupid. I'll warn everyone to not accept sketchy offers from you, old man." he squinted at the headmaster before dragging Jaune towards the elevator.

"Is nobody going to tell us what's going on?" Roman tried once more, looking at the people around him.

"You'll find out soon enough, Roman." Second Thoughts told him as the doors opened. "Just remember," he added as he and Jaune stepped inside, "your options are to die… or to side with him." He pointed to Jaune before the doors closed and the elevator sent them back down.

Nobody was quite sure if that was meant to threaten Roman… or Ozpin.

As Ozpin and Glynda made their way to Amity Colosseum, he found himself contemplating the meeting.

Turning foes into tools at your disposal was a method that he'd used in the past. A child of a bandit tribe was one of his most trusted Huntsmen at the moment after all. Even Salem employed the method, turning members of the human race which she worked to destroy into agents furthering its downfall.

Roman Torchwick was a known entity to him, and while not overly powerful, he was an interesting character that Ozpin wouldn't have a problem with using as a pawn. Neopolitan… he had some concerns with her, but so long as her scope was limited, he'd rather the girl be on his side than against him.

So Second Thoughts suggesting that the duo be saved from a cruel fate and be put to use? He had been all too happy to agree. But to suggest that Neo become a Maiden? Even if it would be partial until Cinder was dealt with, that was asking for far too much. She very clearly was not loyal to any cause but her own, and perhaps Roman as well. She could not be trusted with even the knowledge of the Maidens, let alone the power.

"...Sir…" Glynda hesitantly began, that all too familiar look of concern on her face. She always got like this when the potential for student harm was there.

"Yes, Glynda?"

"Perhaps… perhaps Second Thoughts had a point."

That was not what he wanted to hear.

"And which point are you referring to? I certainly hope you're not about to suggest that Miss Neopolitan become the Fall Maiden."

"No! No, of course not. It's just…" she paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "Who are we going to offer that burden to? The age requirement makes things difficult, but the thought of forcing that upon one of the students when the one who put Amber in that state is not only still out there, but possesses part of the power already…"

"Have we not already discussed this at length?"

"That was before all of this nonsense, and you know it." The hesitation was buried under her usual sternness. "When we talked about Pyrrha we didn't know things were going to get so complicated. We knew that the danger would be there, but not that it would be so immediate. I agreed with your initial assessment under the presumption that Pyrrha would have years to grow stronger under our tutelage. She is strong for a first year, impressively so, but she is still just a first year. She is not ready to dive headfirst into the mess that we've left for the next generation. None of them are."

"You think that the disaster Second Thoughts outlined had not been avoided? That Beacon will fall and the students will be forced to handle things on their own while I… adjust?"

"Beacon will not fall. I… we will not allow it. But Beacon standing does not prevent those fools from coming after her anyway. She would not have the full power. She would not be weak, but she would also not be strong enough to handle the worst if it were to come to pass."

"But then who else is there?" Ozpin countered. "Amber will not last forever, even with the technology lent to us. We are running out of time, and Salem has chosen to show her hand once more. It is not that I want to burden a student with the responsibility, but that I have no one else to turn to."

"I know that you don't want to, I just…" Glynda adjusted her glasses. "...I don't know. I hate this. I feel so powerless. I want to shoulder the burden myself if only to save them, but that's not even an option…"

"I know, Glynda. Just focus on the festival for now. We may not have the luxury of taking things slowly, but it is not something that needs to be decided at this very instant, either."

He had other things to worry about as well.

The Relic of Knowledge currently sits at two questions remaining. He had not seen the need to inform the others, given his intentions… but the information Second had revealed was concerning. Second knew who the Spring Maiden was, she was quite strong even without those powers, and it was someone who had a strong… dislike for himself, personally.

Those characteristics narrowed the list down quite a bit, and he didn't like the picture that was being revealed.

Using the questions for himself might prove trickier than he had anticipated.

Chapter Text

Jaune was making his way to Amity alone, walking through the halls of Beacon and towards the area where the ships bringing people on and off the colosseum were stationed.

Well, as alone as he could be, anyway.

You know, I thought that having a physical form would mean that I want to be my own person at all times, but honestly? Making you do all the boring stuff like walking around is kind of nice.

You do realize I could just expel you from my head right now, right? Jaune reminded Second Thoughts

But you won't, because I'm amazing and you love having me as your semblance.

Do I really?

Of course.

Where is all this confidence coming from? Ever since you manifested, you've been… different, somehow. I'm not really sure how to put it into words.

Me? Confident?

Exactly my point! Before you were sort of a smug, pretentious jerk-

Rude

-but you also spent a lot of time worrying about who we could trust, and what would change the timeline, and just had a general sense of… anxiousness, I guess? Like you were constantly paranoid that the other shoe was about to drop.

I would have appreciated you wording that in a nicer way, but I guess you're not exactly wrong.

Well, how am I supposed to word it?

I don't know, just nicer! I have feelings too, you know!

Riiight. Jaune rolled his eyes. But anyway, my point is that now, you… well, it seems like the anxiousness has sort of gone away and now you're just a smug, preten-

I get it! You don't have to repeat it. I'm an ass… I thought I was improving though! We had our little heart to heart, didn't we? Have I really not gotten any better about that?

Well… I guess you have improved a little bit, at least when it comes to talking to me, but with how crazy things have been lately…

I've been slipping into old habits, haven't I? Shit.

Jaune frowned as he stepped onto the bullhead, several of the other passengers giving him strange looks as they watched his expression change constantly for no apparent reason.

Well, it's not so much that you're being as rude to me. It's more… maybe it's because you can finally interact with other people? On your own, I mean.

What do you mean by that? Second asked.

Well, after the whole Breach and Cinder thing, and my- I mean our friends, Jaune corrected, were talking about maybe going after her… did you really have to bring up Ruby and Yang's dead mom?

I… well… it did the job, didn't it? They stopped trying to plan their little suicide mission.

You can do that without bringing up their dead mom!

I was going through a lot at the time! I'd just manifested for the first time, there was the panic attack, you'd seen some stuff you shouldn't have, I just wanted to keep them safe!

I still don't think it was fair of you to do that, but even if we ignore that example, then how about… just casually telling everyone that Pyrrha would kill Penny?

Was it casual? I was going for more of a "big reveal" vibe with that whole explanation.

That's too big of a reveal! We haven't all had much time to hang out with the Vytal festival going on, but think about how awkward Pyrrha is going to feel around Penny from now on! Every time they see each other, she's going to think "What if I had killed you?" or something like that.

You… may have a point there…

Once the festival started, I started thinking that maybe you had calmed down a bit. Outside of your response to Yang's… teasing… all you really did outside of small talk was give us information on our opponents. But then we go to that meeting and you start doing it again!

What did I do wrong in the meeting? It was a sales pitch! I was trying to sell Roman and Neo as allies rather than enemies, and potentially a very good ally to have with Neo. I'm capable of pretending to be sure of myself in situations like that.

Second. Jaune managed to deadpan within his thoughts. You were acting like you were old friends with one of the most well known criminals in Vale. Even if it was an act like you're saying, I'm not sure that you can just call that "being sure of yourself."

You agreed with me in the meeting!

I agreed that they should know what they're getting into if their lives were at stake, I wasn't giving a general agreement to everything you said!

Well you should! I was making solid points!

You threatened Ozpin!

No, I threatened Roman!

Threaten him with what?! I know everyone in that room views me as some goofball kid in over his head at best-

You did forge your transcripts to get in…

-but I'm not a complete idiot! Roman doesn't have options, Ozpin does, the threat was directed at him.

You can't prove that.

It's not a matter of proving that! The point I'm trying to make is that you're threatening people at all! I know you have your problems with Ozpin or whatever, but I happen to think he's a good guy. And if you're trying to get Roman to work with us, then I don't see the point in threatening either of them. And I really don't see how you went from so worked up and anxious over everything that you had a panic attack strong enough to knock me out, to so confident in your decisions that you're willing to threaten people when it doesn't look like things are going your way.

That's… hmm…

Talk to me, Second. What happened to "you deserve to know everything"?

You don't have to throw my words back at me like that. I just… it's easy to say that things will change, but actually doing it is something else entirely. I guess maybe… when I realized how poorly worrying over everything was working out, I might have overcorrected?

What do you mean by that?

I mean, trying to analyze your own behavior is kind of an impossible task because you're always justifying things to yourself, but I guess now that you've pointed this all out… maybe I've been trying to bury all that anxiety with… well… everything you've been complaining about. Plus, you know, I'm just sort of generally an ass.

My dad did tell me that "all you need is confidence", but I don't think this is quite what he meant, Second.

Yeah. Probably not.

The two settled into a slightly uncomfortable silence as their flight up to Amity finished and Jaune stepped off of the bullhead.

I've never been good with people, Jaune.

Yeah. I think calling someone a parasite on your first day of existence is probably a good indicator of that, Jaune joked.

My first… yeah. Anyway, feedback received, I'll try to be better about it. Let's hurry over to your friends already before they kill you for missing the singles matches.

Emerald was having a very bad time.

"She'll win, of course. She's one of his friends." Cinder remarked, eyes glued to the screen as they watched the blonde bimbo duke it out with some loser she didn't recognize in the singles rounds of the Vytal festival.

"Are you really still obsessing over that child?" Watts asked, exasperation clear in his voice. "Come now, Cinder, we all know that you're but a simple minded buffoon who can't accomplish anything on her own, but you really ought to give up on this little fantasy of yours. Do you really think that if this all-knowing semblance you keep harping on about existed, that you would have escaped with your life? I could very easily kill you, and though I am not quite at that level, I am far closer to being omniscient than this boy."

The creep was waxing his mustache. Again. He seemed to be as obsessed with his appearance as Cinder was becoming with Arc and his semblance. Not just his physical appearance, mind you, but the overall view people had of him. He had to look his best at all times, if only to make his supposed "genius" shine even brighter in the eyes of the "lowly masses".

But given how harshly security had clamped down in the area, the only "lowly masses" that were forced to watch the trainwreck were her and Mercury.

"Quiet, Watts. You making yourself useful for once in your life changes nothing." Cinder snapped at him.

Watts was, admittedly, very skilled when it came to hacking and whatnot, but there were enough living soldiers around at the moment that they couldn't really risk going out in public.

Being trapped in a tiny safehouse with these three was quickly driving her insane.

She loved Cinder, would do anything for her, but… even if Arc had been the source of their problems and failu- setbacks, even Emerald was getting sick of hearing how "everything is his doing!"

"Of course, what was I thinking!" Watts rolled his eyes. "Perhaps I should have let the big bad first year student spell your doom! Watch out, Cinder, he might be planning your downfall at this very moment!"

Arc and Second Thoughts knew which safehouse she would stay in, so they'd been forced to swap between three at random intervals, their next destination literally being chosen out of a hat.

Arc and Second Thoughts knew which escape route out of Vale they would use, so they needed to hide within the city… despite the fact that it was crawling with people looking for them.

Arc and Second Thoughts knew what box of cereal they would eat out of in the morning, so she'd been tasked with stealing some from the neighbors in case it had somehow been poisoned.

None of it made sense. Cinder had become paranoid. But the fact that the Haven headmaster, who had apparently been working for Cinder's… group… for some time now, was ousted at the same time that they had been? Well, that certainly didn't help make Cinder see things clearly.

And to top it all off, she hadn't been given a chance to properly rest since the Breach.

Ensuring Cinder's escape had been torturous. She didn't think she'd worked her semblance that hard since… well, ever really. Constantly switching targets, trying to track who would attack Cinder next, putting in just enough effort to make a difference while trying to keep herself from passing out from exhaustion…

She had practically been a walking corpse by the time Watts had bailed Cinder out.

And then, of course, since they were on the run and she had the only semblance useful for disguising them…

Well, at this point she didn't think she was too far off from seeing some hallucinations herself instead of casting them on others. Only difference was that the ones she experienced would be due to sleep deprivation and being utterly spent.

Sitting beside her, Mercury leaned over to whisper. "If those two kill each other, what happens to us?"

Part of her wanted to kill him right then and there for even mentioning the possibility of Cinder's death.

The other part of her wondered if their deaths would mean that she would finally get a full night's sleep.

It wasn't often that she took the time to watch something like this.

But she was curious.

In the seclusion of her tent, none would dare to bother her. Getting close enough to a major city so that she could actually get a decent reception had a few of them on edge, but she could just head towards the nearest village after this and all would be forgotten.

It's not like she needed to spend much time on this. One fight would be enough.

She watched as punches flew, gunfire rained down in an attempt to create some distance, aura flared to protect the brawler.

She could really do without the oaf rambling on about nothing, but with how poor the video quality was and all the buffering she had to sit through, having the co-host's insights on the fight was necessary to keep up with the flow of the battle.

Not that it lasted very long. Really, it was over quite quickly after it started.

As it should be.

Though the target of her interest had won their fight, she turned off the broadcast. She didn't need to see the rest of the tournament.

The girl was strong, for her age at least, if that footage was anything to go by.

Just not strong enough.

Chapter Text

When the Vytal festival came to a close with about as much pomp and ceremony you could expect from this sort of event, Jaune heard a sigh inside his mind.

Everything alright, Second?

Yeah, I just… actually getting through the tournament without anything going wrong feels a bit wrong. Like, I'm glad that it happened, you know? No Cinder, no White Fang, no curve balls… But even with the way things had worked out before this, I kept waiting for something to pop up that I hadn't expected and screw us over.

Well, it's a bit late for anyone to try something now.

Jaune turned towards Pyrrha, seeing the wide smile on her face as she held up the trophy, all of their friends gathered around as they made their way away from the crowds of fans and well wishers.

Team JNPR had won.

It felt a little surreal to think about, what with his initial being front and center. Him, Jaune Arc, winner of the Vytal festival.

Sure, he would readily admit that it was all thanks to Pyrrha that they had achieved that much. He liked to think that JNPR's great teamwork had gotten them through the team rounds, but after that point… well, as much as she might hate the attention that came with the title, she was the invincible girl.

No way she was gonna lose to other students. Legitimate ones, anyway, Second remarked.

But she would lose to illegitimate ones… Jaune's mood fell a bit at the thought.

It didn't happen, Jaune. We prevented it. Vytal festival went off without a hitch, Beacon still stands, and you guys have years of schooling left before you have to go out into the world and risk your lives beyond simple grimm culling. Hopefully.

Did you have to ruin it at the end?

I'm a pessimist at heart, I don't know what you want from me. Just enjoy the fact that your team won. Quite an accomplishment for someone who faked their way into Beacon, or at least it is in my eyes.

Maybe it was. Not that many people knew that tidbit of information. To think he'd been on the winning team after stealing Crocea Mors from home and running off without even having his aura unlocked…

Maybe I should contact my family….

Second Thoughts didn't respond to that errant thought, unusually quiet for a moment.

The cheers and cries of his friends distracted Jaune from that fact.

"It was a lucky shot! I swear, the next time it's just you and me, I'm gonna wipe the floor with you!" Yang growled, but everyone could see the playful smirk she was trying to suppress.

"What's that? I can't hear you from the highest spot on the podium!" Nora replied,a cocky grin on her face.

"Nora, we're not in the arena anymore and they didn't even have a podium. We just stood in the center while they did their photo shoot." Ren tried to bring his partner back to reality.

"Then I require that one be provided!" Nora pushed on. "It can go next to my throne when I'm crowned as Queen."

"Queen of what?" Penny inquired.

"Queen of Beacon, obviously! I did just win the Vytal festival." Nora bragged.

"You didn't even do the singles matches yourself!" Ruby argued.

"Neither did you, Rubes." Yang reminded her sister. "Are you ready to give me all the credit for getting as far as we did?"

"I- well-" Ruby stammered before giving up.

Blake rolled her eyes. "If anything, wouldn't Pyrrha be the one who gets that position? She's the one who won the final fight."

Pyrrha blushed. "Me? Queen of Beacon? There's no need for all of that, I really didn't do anything all that impressive…"

"Pyrrha Nikos." Weiss frowned at her with disapproval clear on her face. "You just won the Vytal festival in your first year. This isn't a tournament in Mistral anymore. You proved yourself on the world stage. You should be proud of yourself."

"Seriously," Neptune lamented, hanging his head in shame. "You kick all of our butts and then act like it's not a big deal? What does that make us?"

"Ah, no! That's not what I meant!" Pyrrha panicked.

Sun elbowed their blue haired friend. "Knock it off, Neptune. Our performance was pretty lousy."

"It's not my fault we got the water match!" Neptune tried to defend himself.

"Neptune's phobias aside," the trident user winced at Blake's dismissal, "You really should be proud of yourself. I would really appreciate if you took half of Weiss and Yang's ego for yourself."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" The two shouted at their faunus teammate.

"I believe friend Blake is implying that the two of you have over inflated egos." Penny explained.

"I think they already knew that Penny, they're just upset about it." Jaune finally joined in.

"I see! Thank you for informing me, friend Jaune!"

"You're being too quiet, fearless leader!" Nora reprimanded him. "If Second is going to distract you he should at least come out and say it to the rest of us!"

Does she think I'm shit talking or something?

"Ah, no, it's not Second's fault. I'm just… in shock I think? I don't know what I'm going to do when my family finds out that I'm on the winning team…"

And he would find out. Even if this wasn't his father's sort of thing, somebody back home would surely congratulate one of his family member's on his success. It was only a matter of time.

Maybe winning would make them overlook the whole theft and lying and running away thing?

…

Probably not, but he could dream at least.

But as his musings about his own family faded into the background and he looked back to his friends, it seemed that his words had some mixed reactions.

You're not the only one with some family problems.

Luckily, Sun decided to save the group's mood. "You can worry about that later! We've got the winners with us, it's time to party until we drop!"

"Hell yeah!" Yang whooped, giving her fellow blonde a high five.

With how stressful things had been lately, that was probably a good idea.

I wonder if I can get drunk? Second pondered.

Nevermind. It was probably a bad idea.

An hour later, the group was high on life. Stuffed inside team JNPR's dorm, they found themselves enjoying drinks, of the non-alcoholic variety, food, stolen from the school cafeteria, and a bracket tournament of their favorite game that Yang had challenged everyone to in order to "regain her honor" or some other nonsense.

She was losing to Nora instead of Pyrrha now, much to her chagrin.

This was the scene that Qrow walked in on when Penny opened the door for him.

"Greetings and salutations, Mr. Branwen!" She said with a smile. "Have you come to harass your nieces? I'm told that bachelors such as yourself often try to fill the void in their life left by having no children of their own with-"

"That's enough of that." Qrow shut her up by shoving his hand over her mouth. "Damn kids these days…" he grumbled as he walked into the room. "Oi! What do my nieces think they're doing, slacking off right now? You made me look bad by losing and then you think you can just play some games?"

"Uncle Qrow you're embarrassing us!" Ruby whined.

"Shut up Uncle Qrow! It was a lucky shot! I'll kick Pyrrha's ass, and then your ass!" Yang growled.

The drunkard smirked. "I'd like to see you try."

"Oh? Does a new challenger approach? I'd love the opportunity to stomp you into the dirt!" Nora taunted him.

Qrow laughed. "You'd be the one getting stomped. I might just have to take you up on that. But first…" His eyes scanned the room, finding his very blue target talking to the woman of the hour.

"Congrats on your win, kid." Pyrrha didn't seem to know how to handle being referred to that way by the huntsman. "I'm gonna have to steal your friend for a few moments, though."

That got everyone's attention for a moment.

"Relax! I just got a couple questions for him, I'll give him back in five minutes tops!"

"If I'm gone for more than three, call the police and tell them a bad man who reeks of booze took me away." The little shit said as he walked towards the door.

"What did I do to deserve this?!" Qrow tried to defend himself.

"Oh, just something a little birdie told me."

Only the blond brat the semblance belonged to seemed to understand that remark, the rest of them playing it off as some sort of weird joke.

"I really don't get paid enough to deal with kids anymore." Qrow lamented before leading Second Thoughts out into the hall.

Once the door closed behind them, Second's expression grew serious. "What do you want? I already told them to ignore any offers made to them by strange old men. Though I suppose I'm not sure if they'd count Ozpin in that category."

Qrow frowned, but didn't respond to that comment. He didn't exactly like the idea of one of the kids being cursed with the burden of becoming a Maiden either, but Second's idea of making Neo one was even more outrageous in his eyes.

"I don't trust my nieces to not be listening in, let's go for a walk." The scuttling on the other side of the door indicated that he was correct, so the pair began to wander the halls of Beacon, making sure to avoid anyone that might overhear their conversation.

"Back in that meeting…" Qrow hesitated for a moment. He'd been following Oz for so long at this point. Followed his orders because the man knew best. Doing something like this…

It made him feel uneasy, but he needed answers. "...we had talked about getting information."

"We did." The blue boy raised an eyebrow at him. "You want to know who to go to then? Huh. I really thought you would have deferred to Ozpin on that…"

Qrow really didn't want to have that conversation. "Look, can you tell me who I'm looking for or not? You said it wouldn't be easy, but that it was possible. I could probably get Jimmy on board if it's necessary."

"Eh, you'd probably have better luck if it was him requesting it rather than you. He might have to bribe her as well."

"Bribe her? That's… eh, I'm sure we can figure something out." He wasn't exactly keen on that sort of behavior, but if it meant getting the Spring Maiden to work with them, he'd do it. "So who is it then?"

Second hesitated. Qrow didn't like the look on the kid's face. "You're not gonna like this."

"I don't have to like it. I just need to know."

"Keep in mind that something could have changed, what with the shifting timelines and whatnot. Or actually… now that I think about it, to have it at the age she does, she'd have to have had it for quite a while now, so unless she's dead…"

"Would you spit it out already?" Qrow demanded.

Second stopped his rambling. "Fine then. But if you want to blame anything, blame your shitty semblance."

Why all the caveats? How bad could it really be? If she could be bribed then obviously it wasn't someone working for Salem, so Qrow really didn't understand what could be so bad about having to work with this person.

"It's your sister, Raven."

Ah. That explained it.

"Fuck my life." Qrow complained as he reached for his flask.

"Your life is doing a great job of fucking itself, Qrow."

He was going to need another drink. "Any chance that the kids have some alcohol in there? Beer? Spiked punch? I'll take anything right about now."

"I'm afraid not, but you could take out your frustrations by demolishing them in whatever game they're on now."

It wasn't a drink, but it would have to do. Not many sources of that in a school, or at least, not many that would be willing to share with him. "I think I'll do that." The two began making their way back to JNPR's dorm.

"Fair warning though, don't let them goad you into going up against Penny. She's banned from competing against anyone because of her whole… situation."

Her situation? What was Penny's deal again? He couldn't keep these damn kids straight with how many of them were running around.

Oh well, he'd figure it out.

Chapter Text

With the Vytal festival done and over, James and his men didn't exactly have reason to stay in Vale. Or rather, they didn't have any reasons that they could give to the public.

Though Cinder and company were still on the loose, people would expect the Valean police forces to handle that with the assistance of Huntsmen like Qrow. Atlesian soldiers continuing to patrol the streets now that there wasn't a festival to protect… Well, the council of Vale hadn't exactly said as much, but he wasn't oblivious, and it wasn't hard to tell that the people wouldn't take kindly to their presence much longer. Allowing him to stay would reflect poorly on the council in the eyes of the public.

Public opinion was a fickle thing, and while he wouldn't let his decisions be commanded by it, it was something that he had to take into account with every action.

It was as he was filling out some paperwork to officialize the whole withdrawal back to Atlas that he was interrupted by a man he'd much rather avoid.

Two knocks.

Not on the door, but rather on the one window in this room. Knowing quite well who of all people would knock on his window instead of just requesting an audience with him like a normal person, he was reluctant to acknowledge the fact that he had heard it. It might be considered… or rather, it was definitely petty, but after everything he'd had to deal with during his stay in Vale, he thought… no, he hoped that he had earned the right to a reprieve from the local alcoholic.

Two more taps against the glass.

With a sigh, he put his paperwork away, taking his time with it before eventually, sluggishly, opening the window and letting the impatient bird inside. The bird promptly turned into a man before his eyes, one who was glaring at him.

"Why, exactly, did you deem it necessary to contact me like this?" he asked before the drunkard could complain.

"Hmmm, why would I do this…" Qrow put on a pretentious thinking pose. "Maybe it was just to piss you off? That seems in character, doesn't it? Maybe I just wanted to get your panties in a twist."

James' deadpan stare was enough to make him drop it.

"Fine, you bastard. I know you heard me the first time, by the way!" He pointed at James accusingly. "But I came this way because I got some information that probably needs to be kept hush hush."

James raised a brow. "And you couldn't just have everyone meet you in Ozpin's office like usual? Unless…" his eyes narrowed.

"Unless Oz is the one we're keeping it from." The man took a swig from his flask, his discomfort with that point obvious on his face.

"And why would we do that?" It wasn't as if he was immediately opposed to the idea. He made it known quite often that he didn't approve of every decision that Ozpin ever made, and the man had a tendency to be… controlling. It had worked on him for a while, back when he'd first been brought into the fold, but there were only so many times you could pull the "I'm a wizened old wizard, so I know better than you young whippersnappers" card before it started to get old. If Oz could keep secrets, why couldn't they?

The odd part was that Qrow, perhaps the second most loyal to Ozpin behind only Glynda herself, was the one to suggest keeping something from him. As far as James could recall, this was the first time he'd seen it happen.

"You know why. And that's why I'm here talking to you." Another swig from the flask before he returned it to his hip. "I went and talked to the kid."

"Which kid? I'm not sure if you've noticed, but we happen to be at a school right now. There are lots of children."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Second Thoughts. Are you really gonna turn this into a song and dance routine?"

As he suspected then. It would be quite hypocritical of him to deny Second Thoughts his personhood while he touted Penny as a person himself, but he could never be sure of the thoughts of others.

"Is this about what was said at the last meeting, then?" James really hoped that Qrow wasn't about to espouse the benefits of making a criminal the next Fall Maiden.

"It is," Qrow nodded. "I got him to tell me who the Spring Maiden is."

"Really?" Second had been a lot more forthcoming with information lately, but this was a welcome surprise! "Who is it then? Will we be able to open the vault?" But perhaps most importantly, "Why is this the moment you choose to defy Ozpin's orders?"

The last question brought a frown to Qrow's face. "Because this one doesn't make sense. Why say no to using the questions? At a bare minimum, it's obvious that Salem is trying to make some big moves and information on that sort of thing would be good for us. But beyond that…" He hesitated for a moment. "Back when Oobleck first got brought into things, just after Second Thoughts was unlocked, there was a bit of an argument. Things got kind of heated. Oz told the two of us that we could settle the trust issues between us using the Relic. Said we would hunt down the Spring Maiden to get it and everything. If he's willing to say all of that, why is it that when we have a lead, he suddenly decides to say no?"

"He agreed to that?" James was shocked. Beyond the sudden change in attitude on the subject of the Relic of Knowledge, the fact that he had offered it at all was… surprising, to say the least.

"I thought it was odd too, but I suppose at the time I just wrote it off as him making a genuine effort to patch up relationships…"

And Qrow, ever loyal to Ozpin, had left it at that, hoping that the situation had resolved itself. But still…

Had Ozpin brought up the Relic because he thought that he had to? With how much information Second Thoughts has, perhaps he thought that the semblance might steal the loyalty of those he trusts out from under him. Offering more than he normally would in an attempt to keep them trusting him…

But that was just speculation. It wouldn't be rational to act as if his idle thoughts were fact. More pressingly…

"You still haven't told me who it is." James frowned. Qrow had probably been putting it off for a reason…

"Yeah… about that…" Qrow grimaced. "According to Second, it's my bitch sister. Getting her to cooperate will be a bitch and a half. He said she might be open to a bribe…?" He trailed off at the end, clearly suggesting that the bribe would be his responsibility. Which James supposed was fair. He likely had much more to work with than Qrow, given his positions in Atlas.

"Raven Branwen?" He asked to confirm. "If I recall correctly… she is the leader of a bandit tribe."

Ozpin brought her up occasionally, but it had always seemed more like idle wishing that she would return than any real expectation that it would happen, so James had stopped paying attention to reports on failed attempts to re-recruit her.

"That would be her." Qrow agreed morosely.

"...isn't your sister past the age required to become a maiden?" He was fairly certain that was the case, but as the cogs started turning in his head, he found himself hoping that he was wrong.

Qrow seemed to pick up on his line of thought, hesitating before answering "...yes."

"I see. So let me see if I have this straight. Your sister, a woman who you have known all your life, a woman who you visit semi-regularly with recruitment pitches…" Qrow seemed to shrink back with every word. "...has been the Spring Maiden for years, and we are only just now finding out because Second Thoughts decided to inform us of that?"

"Well… when you put it like that…"

James took a deep breath, hoping that his semblance would let him stay cool and collected.

"I see. Well, Qrow, that is good to know. Thank you for sharing that information with me. I have some things that I need to take care of with more immediacy than that situation, so please get in contact with me once you've located the tribe's current whereabouts and we can figure out where to go from there."

"Uhhh… right. Seeya, Jimmy." The coward quickly turned back into his avian form and flew out of the window as fast as he could.

Sometimes he wondered what Ozpin had seen in that man and his sister. Because whatever it was, he was certain it was gone now.

So, I'm almost afraid to ask, but what was the deal with your warning everyone to not accept offers from strange old men? Jaune asked his semblance as team JNPR cleaned up the mess that had been made of their room from the celebration. The coward had retreated back into his head once the possibility of having to do some work had come up.

Is that not just good advice? I know your family has some strange life advice they gave you, but surely you heard "Don't take candy from strangers" or something along those lines. You never know who's out to get you.

Isn't that normally advice given to small children to keep them away from predatory old men? Jaune sighed as he tied a garbage bag closed.

Yes. And?

…and we're huntsmen and huntresses? I don't think we really have to be worried about that sort of thing anymore.

Just because you don't have to worry about being taken away in an unmarked white van doesn't mean that there aren't dangers still out there.

Riiiight. How about you give me an actual answer this time?

Fine. It's related to the thing I was saying we should use Neo for.

Ah. You said that Ozpin wanted Pyrrha for it, didn't you? I'm not sure that I would consider Ozpin to be a predatory old man, though…

Pyrrha accepting the offer is what leads to her death in quite a few timelines.

Jaune paused in his cleaning, very much distracted by that line of thought.

…Does Ozpin know that it would kill her?

He doesn't know that it would kill her, no, but I suppose at the same time I don't know that it would either. Perhaps in this timeline things would work out just fine. But everyone who knows what's being offered knows that there are risks involved. That's why I suggested Neo. Nobody besides Roman and I would particularly care about something bad happening to her, so I thought that offering her up would be something they might consider. I don't get why her being a criminal is such a big deal. They want Raven back, and she's a criminal…

Who?

You'll meet her soon enough. Probably. Maybe don't mention her name until then though…

Is this like a Penny and Sun situation?

Not… quite. Look, my point is, Ozpin will probably try to dress it up as some great responsibility or whatever, and tell whoever he ends up offering to that it's for a worthy cause. It's not a guarantee that the recipient would die, but it's a very real possibility.

Jaune forced himself to get back to work, not wanting his team to worry about him.

Then… what if we didn't give him the opportunity to?

What do you mean?

Well, this thing that he's trying to offer up, you know where it is, right?

Jaune. Are you suggesting what I think you are?

I'm not suggesting anything! I'm just… spitballing ideas… You can't just tell me this stuff and expect me to sit around and do nothing while my friends are at stake!

I'm not saying you should! I was just a bit surprised. You realize they won't be very happy with us if we do that though, right?

I'd rather that they be mad at us than put my friends in danger.

Huh. Not bad, kid. Well in that case, here's what we can do…

Chapter Text

Roman wasn't sure what to make of his current situation.

Forced to work for some crazy bitch who would throw him away like a broken toy as soon as he stopped proving himself to be useful. Captured in what he thought to be just an ahead of schedule part of her plan, because she wasn't the type who liked people knowing what was going on. Held captive for much longer than he was used to, as he normally would have bribed his way out of a normal prison long before that point. Released from his cell because some kid's semblance asked for it…?

That last part is probably where his life had really gotten off the rails. The rest of it was unpleasant, but someone bigger and stronger than you calling the shots was just how things worked in his field.

Now, though? He wasn't sure what side of the law he was on. He wasn't even sure if he was a prisoner or not.

Sure, Ironwood had brought him out of that dinky little cell on his ship. But they hadn't released him back into Vale. Instead, he and Neo were being lodged in a room in Beacon… like he had been when initially captured. He wasn't locked inside anymore, which was nice. Being able to properly stretch his legs was a pleasant change. Being able to see his… well, whatever Neo was again, that was nice as well.

But several key figures with authority seemed quite displeased with the fact that he was "free", and thus he was confined to Beacon and informed that interacting with the students in "illicit" manners would result in "severe" punishment…

It's not as if he could really go anywhere else, though, even if he could easily sneak out. Neo's semblance would make getting out of the school easy, but with Cinder still on the loose, and likely very upset at the moment? No thanks. He was a fan of living, that was why he'd been working with her in the first place. And based on what had been said in that meeting, she wasn't working alone, even excluding the kids who followed her around. He'd done some research on the "Watts" fellow they'd mentioned, and then promptly decided to avoid scrolls for the foreseeable future.

He didn't need some lunatic who would work with Cinder seeing what sort of stuff he looked at online. He may enjoy putting on a show, but he wasn't an exhibitionist.

Still, though. Even with all of that nonsense running through his mind, there was one mystery that stood out, and Neo wasn't letting him forget about it.

The mimed gestures she kept repeating throughout their not-quite-incarceration were getting old at this point. She wanted to look for the secret… weapon? Tool? Whatever was being hidden from them.

If he was being honest with himself, he agreed. Something that would have the big shots of Remnant so instantly shutting down the idea of Neo getting it would certainly be something worth having.

It's a bit hard to search for something like that if you don't even know what it is, though. It was clearly something that Cinder had been after as well, if Neo's accounts of her recent activities were accurate, and yet she hadn't been able to locate it either. And that bitch actually knew what to look for! The shape and size were pretty important details. Qrow's scythe was much harder to conceal than Melodic Cudgel. Was he looking for something hidden in a secret room or something in the false bottom of a drawer? Was it something that needed to be hidden at all, or was it sitting in plain sight because nobody would recognize it for what it truly was?

He was brought out of his thoughts as Neo kicked him in the shin. The duo were tucked away in a corner outside of the building, expecting their room to have been bugged and the school full of cameras. This was one of the few spots on school grounds that at least appeared to lack surveillance to listen in on their conversation.

"Shit!" He hissed out in pain. "Was that really necessary?"

All he received in return was a vicious grin.

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess I knew the answer to that already. What do you want?"

The all too familiar series of gestures was made yet again.

"I don't know what to tell you, Neo. This place isn't exactly small! Do you have any grand ideas on where to find it?"

His partner in crime made a very inappropriate gesture that he could only assume was meant to refer to the "head"master.

"Ozpin? What, like his office or something?" he guessed.

She nodded in agreement.

"I don't know… I suppose as far as random guesses go, it's not a bad one, but the only way up there is the elevator. You'd be hard pressed to sneak in without him noticing."

She frowned at him, but seemed to accept that he had a point.

"I don't know much about the old man, but he seems the type to be a bit paranoid. Wouldn't surprise me if he gets some sort of alert or notification every time the elevator gets used. If it just makes a noise in his office, we could scope the place out when he's not in it. But if he gets a notification on his scroll, we'd be screwed."

She made the gesture for Ozpin again, and then pointed to him before moving her mouth like she was speaking.

"You want me to talk to Ozpin?"

She nodded with a smile.

"Why would I… hmmm… him being notified about the elevator wouldn't matter if it looks like it's being used normally. If I go up and talk to him, and you come up with me but stay out of sight… you would get the opportunity to scope out his room without the headmaster being any wiser…"

She clapped as he explained her plan, like he was some little kid who'd answered a question correctly at school. Damn brat…

"That could work, but it also brings up other problems. How are you getting out? Or do you think that you could find and take it in the time it takes for him to kick me out of his-"

Their conversation was interrupted by a familiar set of twins. Or, not twins? The blonde moron and his semblance.

"Do you have any idea how long it took us to find you?" The blue one complained.

"Hours, I hope!" He decided to prod. That singular meeting hadn't been enough for him to get a good grasp on the semblance. The boy it belonged to was some goody two shoes like Red, he could gather that easily enough, but for a manifestation of the kid's soul, Second sure acted differently.

"Hilarious." The doofus rolled his eyes. "Can we just get this over with?" His eyes darted around and he shifted nervously. Interesting. Was the goody two shoes bending the rules, perhaps? Maybe even breaking them….

"Quit complaining, we're only doing this because you wanted to."

Doofus looked like he wanted to argue that point, but decided to bite his tongue for now.

"So," Second Thoughts continued, "Now that we've found you, would you two be interested in continuing the conversation that Ironwood and the others so rudely interrupted?"

Roman and Neo subtly glanced at each other. The timing of this offer was suspect, given what they were just discussing. Was there a hidden camera in this spot after all? Though he supposed there had been that claim to knowing all sorts of things that he shouldn't…

He could consider the possibilities later. It seemed that now was the time for secretive plotting and backroom deals. Perhaps his life was going back to normal?

"I suppose we wouldn't be opposed to that." He answered with a cocky smirk.

"Great! Now, how good are you two with operating experimental machinery?"

"What sort of machinery? Is it something like the Paladin, then?" He fucking hoped not. He'd gone and gotten his hopes up, but something like that wouldn't make much of a difference in fighting Cinder.

"Not exactly, but being familiar with advanced Atlas tech certainly wouldn't hurt for this."

He looked at Neo again. She seemed as confused as he was.

"Look kid, why don't you just tell us what it is we're going to be stealing?"

Doofus winced.

"Woah there," Second held up his hands in protest, "Who said anything about stealing?"

Roman rolled his eyes. "I figured it was implied given that we're," he pointed between himself and Neo, "involved, and there's also how guilty your friend looks."

"Well… I wouldn't call it stealing, more… borrowing for an unspecified period of time without permission. I'm sure Ozpin will have it back in his hands eventually. That'll just be when Neo can't make use of it anymore."

"Make use of what?" He demanded an answer with a bit more impatience in his voice this time.

"Aren't you supposed to be a showman, Roman? You can't tell me that you wear that outfit because it's comfortable."

Neo, the little traitor, mimed a giggle at that.

"Don't bring my fashion sense into this. I won't have someone dressed like either of you insulting me on that front!"

"Fine, fine,you're very fashionable. I'll tell you what we're after, but this isn't exactly a simple grab it and get out sort of deal, alright?"

Finally. He didn't like having things kept from him. It was bad for business, and bad for his life expectancy.

"So it's something big then? I suppose something we could just slip in our pockets and run off with would be too simple, wouldn't it?" That made sense, he supposed. It scared the General after all, and he had some pretty big guns.

"I'm not sure how to describe the size… Let's just start with this. Have you ever heard the fairy tale about…"

Ozpin was woken up from his sleep by an alert on his scroll. Normally, he wouldn't be terribly worried. There had been many cases in the past where some troublemaking students decided to get up to some mischief in the night. Covering his office in wrapping paper, filling it with live animals, trapping his drawers to set off stink bombs… he had seen his fair share of pranks, some harmless and some not. Students would always be students.

Now, however, he had more to worry about than just students. If they were going to keep Mr. Torchwick and his assistant under lock and key at all hours of the day, there would have been no point in releasing him from his cell in the first place. He had hoped that, in a manner similar to Qrow, their past was something they'd be willing to leave behind if something better was presented to them.

Jumping out of bed, he quickly made his way towards the elevator, sending a message to Glynda while he was enroute.

What was the reason for this, though? Assuming that he was correct about the who, the next question would be the why. Were they trying to search his office for the "weapon" that they had falsely assumed the Maiden's power to be? Had Cinder told them about the Relic? If she'd said anything about it, there was no guarantee that she would mention the vaults as well, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for a pair of thieves to assume he kept it in his office.

There was another possibility, however. One that had a hint of dread gnawing away at him. The alerts only told him that the elevator was in use. It didn't say which direction it was going. Having something like that in the system would be a good way to alert someone like Watts of the basement's existence.

Surely Second Thoughts had merely suggested Neopolitan idly. It could not have been a serious suggestion. A joke, a gaff, some friendly teasing that was poorly taken on their part! Even if Second Thoughts had decided to lead them into the basement, it would take too long for them to complete the process, wouldn't it? They'd never seen the machinery before. Second's information was good, but he wasn't omniscient. He wouldn't know how to operate it.

He ran a bit faster as he tried to reassure himself of that.

When he finally hit the button to call the elevator, every second that it took to reach the ground floor was agony.

It was taking too long for it to have been called from his office.

Why would Second Thoughts want Neopolitan to be the Fall Maiden? Even if he understandably did not want the students to suffer, any random woman off the street would be a better choice than someone like Neo! What information was he missing? What secrets did Second Thoughts know that made him believe this to be the right course of action? He so desperately wanted to hunt down Jinn for answers like these, but he needed time to plan things out properly. There were too many moving parts right now. Things had grown so complicated in the recent centuries…

The door opened and he stepped inside, immediately sending it to the basement. Part of him wanted to just destroy the elevator and reach his destination in a free fall. It would be faster. It would also alert the whole school that there was a basement when it crashed into the cave floor in the dead of the night. He couldn't afford that. If worse came to worst…

…if the worst came to past, then he would simply have to force another transfer. Either by James' machine…

…or the way it had been done since the first Maidens came to an end.

Jaune was sweating profusely.

He never did things like this. He'd been explicitly told that Neo wasn't supposed to get this… Maiden's power? He was still trying to wrap his head around Second's explanation. It seemed crazy, but here he was, watching as Neo stepped out of the machine.

They'd done it. Jaune didn't really understand any of it, but the… lady? Corpse? Person that was in it when they got down there… they had just transferred her aura into Neo. She kind of looked like shit as she stumbled out of it, but Jaune wasn't about to say that.

It had been his idea after all. Well, Second's idea, but he would be the one punished for it, he was certain.

He couldn't believe he had broken the rules like this… Second had tried to reassure him by reminding him of the running away from home and the forged transcripts, but that had just filled him with even more guilt.

He wasn't even supposed to be at Beacon, and this would be the excuse needed to expel him. Or worse, to call his parents and tell them what he'd done!

Dealing with an angry Ms. Goodwitch was bad enough, but if he had to deal with her and his mom?

He'd be forced to go back home, to be some loser who would never amount to anything. His friends would probably try to fight for him to stay, but he couldn't hold back two great teams of huntsmen and huntresses because of his mistakes.

He had done this so that they would be safe, after all. They needed to live their lives to the fullest in his stead.

"Jaune, I don't even need to hear your thoughts to know you're freaking out." Second interrupted his panic. "Calm down and lets get out of here. Maybe we got lucky and nobody noticed!"

"It's a bit late for that, kid." Roman cut in, supporting Neo as she stumbled. Why had she stumbled? Was there a problem with the transfer? "The elevator left already. I think it's coming back down now." The thief's tone wasn't normal. He seemed… serious. Resigned, maybe.

And he was right. Though there was a distance between where they stood and the elevator shaft, in the silence of the basement the sound of the elevator reaching their level felt deafening.

The four of them watched as the doors opened, and Ozpin stepped out. He carefully regarded them, slowly walking towards the transfer machine.

"I see I am too late," he calmly began. "Would someone please explain to me why this is happening when it was expressly forbidden by not only myself, but every responsible person who was in that meeting?"

Everyone in the group turned to Second.

"Ah… because Jaune is secretly a student at Salem's school for grimm hybrids and this is all part of his cover to keep you from discovering that your star students are his harem of grimm girlfriends in disguise?"

That made Ozpin pause, if only for the audacity of the lie.

"No?" Second weakly chuckled. "Well… shit."

Chapter Text

Ozpin recovered rather quickly. "Is that your idea of a joke? I'm afraid that I don't find it humorous." The headmaster began walking towards them once more.

"Well, an alternative timeline, actually, though it must have deviated from this one a long time ago…" Second nervously replied.

"Would you shut up?!" Jaune hissed at his semblance. "You're not helping!"

"Perhaps you have the answers I seek, Mr. Arc." Ozpin's piercing gaze turned towards him. "I understand that Seconds Thoughts has a rather large degree of autonomy, so I suppose I cannot blame you for all of the actions that he takes, but you're involved personally in this matter."

"W-well…" Jaune stammered.

What could he say to that? He had been involved. Second may have been the one to suggest it initially, but he'd been the one to actually set things in motion here. Hiding behind Second and saying "he made me do it!" probably wouldn't get him very far.

Should he lie and say that he misunderstood somehow? Or maybe that Roman and Neo had broken in on their own, and he and Second were here to stop them… Or maybe Roman and Neo had been the ones to coerce them into this?

Ozpin was the headmaster though. He was an old man who had been through a lot. And based on his explanation about his past with a mind inside his own, it was probably safe to say that he had something like two lifetimes of experience. Wouldn't that make him better at spotting lies from a student? He hadn't known about Lionheart being a traitor, but who would expect something like that…

Excuse after excuse raced through his mind as Ozpin got closer and closer to them. Second tried to take up a relaxed stance, but he could see how tense his semblance was. With Neo still recovering from the transfer process, Roman had pushed her behind him, apparently intent on shielding her from any sudden attacks. He had a white-knuckled grip on his cane.

Were things really about to come to blows? He didn't want to fight the headmaster! They might not see eye to eye on everything, and sure he had sort of… well, no, he definitely just snuck behind the man's back to do this, but that didn't mean he wanted to fight!

Hoping to defuse the situation, even if just a bit, Jaune chose to go with the truth.

"I don't want my friends to die."

Ozpin didn't stop walking this time, though he did slow down as he grew closer and closer to both the machine and the group. Not that it mattered much. Jaune had never seen the headmaster in a fight, but he highly doubted that an experienced huntsman would lack a ranged option. He seemed to be the only person around who did, really, since Crocea Mors was just a sword and collapsible shield…

"Understandable. But why is it that you think this would have any effect on that? If anything, I would think that this harms the odds that your friends are unharmed. You've just given power that you don't understand to a violent criminal."

"Hey! We're classy, saying it like that lumps us in with all the common thugs on the street!" Roman argued.

"Is my description incorrect? Is she not both a criminal and quite violent?"

"You lot haven't even seen her fight!"

"But am. I. Wrong?" Ozpin slowly drew the words out.

Roman frowned, but didn't rebut this point any further.

Ozpin finally came to a stop mere meters away from them. "Well, Mr. Arc?"

"I might not know much… or really anything more than the bare basics about Neo," Jaune admitted, "but the little that I do know is that Cinder is probably pretty pissed at her. She's here instead of with Cinder, and she's not trying to kill us after all."

"Not being aligned with Cinder any longer does not mean that she is someone we can trust. Roman Torchwick is a notorious criminal and by all accounts she seems to be his right hand."

Roman smirked at that, but wisely stayed silent.

"Why is her being a criminal such a big deal?" Second spoke up. "You brought Qrow and Raven into Beacon, and they were criminals. One of them still is!"

"The details are different, you can't compare them so easily-" Ozpin began, but Second interrupted him.

"Why not?! They're from a tribe of bandits! You took in two people who were used to a life of pillage and plunder, who lived with a mentality where the strong rule over the weak, and you put them into your star team!"

"They were children when I found them, raised in a manner such that they did not understand their actions were wrong. And I have no clue what you're on about with this star team nonsense."

"Am I honestly meant to believe that? You recruited Ruby years in advance because you wanted to make use of her eyes. Can you honestly say that when you found Summer that you weren't just as eager to get her under your thumb? But you can't just throw something so precious to the wolves, you have to set up a team around them! I'm sure it's just a coincidence that Ruby ended up with the Schnee heiress, the daughter of the founders of the White Fang, and her sister on her team. The same way that Summer ended up with the two poor souls you saved from a life of banditry. One who just so happens to have one of the most useful semblances in existence, and her brother who you turned into one of your strongest advocates. You just gave Qrow and Raven the ability to transform into birds on a whim, it definitely had nothing to do with who their team leader was!" Second's voice had grown louder and louder as he ranted, but he took a deep breath and lowered it back down before continuing. "I'll admit that I don't know of any angle involving Taiyang, but that doesn't change anything. You have a habit of finding promising students, people who you want to take over the fight in the next generation, and grooming them into the perfect pawns for you to use."

Neo and Roman made disgusted faces and took a step back. "We may be crooks, but if that's what you lot get up to, we want no part of it!"

"Not like that!" Second quickly corrected. "I just mean that he pushed them down the right path for them to be good at the jobs he needed them for!"

Ozpin frowned. "I would ask that you more carefully consider your phrasing in the future. You cause me quite enough problems already, I don't need any scandals of that sort popping up on top of it all. As far as your other points go… I will maintain that your accusations are baseless, but even if they were true, all you're doing is making an even greater case for my argument. Raven has abandoned her duties as a Huntress. She abandoned her family. She has gone back to banditry and now uses all the time we invested into her education and all the skills that we passed on into preying on the weak. Qrow has grown into a reliable man, and I trust him with many things now, but who are you to say which of these two paths Neo will follow?

It is a possibility that she will clean up her act. That she will become both a model citizen, and a model Maiden, using the powers gifted to her to bring good into the world.

But I believe it to be far more likely that she will not. I do not know her personally. I cannot speak in detail to her character. But I must assume the fact that, much like her partner in crime, her number one priority is herself and not those around her."

Neo happily nodded along, standing a bit straighter and seemingly starting to recover from the transfer.

"What's wrong with that?" Jaune asked.

Ozpin sighed. "Mr. Arc, I do not know how much Second has told you about the situation, but surely you can see why someone so selfish cannot possibly be considered a viable candidate for the Maiden's power."

Jaune's eyes narrowed. His hands balled into fists. "You want someone selfless then. Like Pyrrha." His voice was clipped, anger simmering beneath the surface.

"You never did deny that, did you?" Roman agreed. "I don't see the angle, though. Isn't the Nikos girl too much of a goody-two-shoes to be dealing with this sort of thing?"

"Well excuse me for wanting such a power to be in the hands of someone who would think of others first. I happen to believe that they are less likely to abuse the power." Ozpin snidely remarked.

"Was she selfless?" Roman pointed to the girl still inside the machine. Amber lay still, stuck in a stasis that left her unmoving. Or perhaps dead. They hadn't exactly had time to check before Ozpin showed up.

Ozpin's jaw tensed. "Amber wa-" he caught himself, "is a wonderful person, and I will not hear you besmirch her name."

Roman held his hands up in surrender. "I'm not saying that's a bad thing! Not everyone is cut out for a life of crime, and this fucked up world would be a lot more depressing if not for the few good people in it. I'm just saying that it doesn't make sense to have a person like that take on this power. Good people are too trusting, and if what Second told us about the girl was true, that's how she ended up in a box. If you have a power that transfers upon death, it makes more sense to be jaded and distrusting, doesn't it? You might not like that, but logically it makes sense. With the facts that I have, anyway…"

"Do you think that I want to force this responsibility onto a student?" Ozpin replied calmly. Jaune got the feeling that it was just an act, but it was impressive. The headmaster looked ready to invite them to afternoon tea rather than kick their asses. He must have a lot of practice with this sort of thing… "Do you think that if I had other options that I would not take them?"

"You have other options!" Jaune yelled. "Why does it have to be Pyrrha?! Why my friends?!"

"Because there are limitations to it. If she were able, Glynda would gladly take it on herself."

"And because she can't take it, your next choice is a first year?! We've only just started at this school! Do you think all of the Huntresses who have already graduated are such bad people that they can't possibly be considered?"

"That is not what I am-"

"What about the third years? Or the second years, even? Is that really so crazy to consider?"

"Pyrrha won the Vytal festival. She has shown herself to be more than capable of defending herself. Though if you're resorting to lengths like these, I suppose that any attempts to impart this responsibility onto your friends will be met with rather poor reactions…"

"They're kids, Ozpin." Second reminded him. "You're talking about a group of seventeen year olds. Ruby is only fifteen, but I doubt you'd consider her because of her eyes…"

Ozpin just stared at them for a moment. Or maybe he stared through them. It was a bit hard to tell what was running through his mind. "I understand the point that you're trying to make. If this is how it is… then I shall simply have to look elsewhere for candidates."

Jaune's body sagged with relief.

"That does not, however, mean that I am suddenly okay with what you have done here, or that I will allow her to remain a Maiden. I cannot trust her."

Neo pouted.

He turned to Roman. "If this is what you plan to do with the limited amount of freedom granted to you, then it seems you cannot be trusted even to the limited degree that I initially believed."

Then, towards Jaune and Second, he continued with "If you two believe that this is the right way to go about things, then you shall be dealing with Glynda until she can get it through your heads that you are incorrect."

Finally, he turned to Neo. "And you… you will be giving up the Maiden's power. You have already stolen it, and I am not sure what would happen to Amber if we attempted to simply reverse the process. Therefore, you will be kept under lock and key until we have found a suitable replacement for you."

The sound of the elevator moving again drew their attention.

Ozpin put on a pleasant smile. "It would seem that my reinforcements have arrived. I will ask that you all comply," he said pointedly towards the short sadist, "because as you have seen for yourselves, the Maiden's power does not make you invincible."

This hadn't gone the way that Jaune had hoped it would, but he did get Ozpin to agree not to force the Maiden's powers onto his friends, so…

Mission accomplished?

Chapter Text

James loved his kingdom. He'd sacrificed much for it, and planned to do so going forward for as long as he could.

What he didn't love was paperwork. Especially when it was for kingdoms that were not even his own.

But it was necessary to cross every "t" and dot every "i". Especially in matters as important as these. Signing his name on the line at the bottom of the page, he added it to the pile before slumping back in his chair with a sigh.

"Is that finally the last of them?" He tried to keep himself dignified, but that may have come out as more of a whine. Luckily, Winter was the only other person in the room.

Ever the face of the utmost professionalism, so long as Qrow wasn't involved, anyway, she quickly snatched up the stack of papers, double and then triple checking his work in a time that he was impressed with. "It would seem so, sir. Shall I see that these are delivered to the Mistral Council myself?"

He hated to waste the time of such an important figure on being a delivery girl, but if Leonardo was a rat, there was no telling who else might be waiting in the rafters for the perfect chance to strike and cause even more problems. "That would be appreciated. Thank you, Specialist Schnee."

The press releases would be someone else's problem, but as far as he was concerned, this would be the end of Atlas' involvement in the arrest of previous Haven Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart. The bastards had made him fill out paperwork for conducting his investigation without informing them, despite the fact that their loose lips would have ensured the knowledge of the investigation made it to the target far too early. They made him fill out paperwork for the installation of a new headmaster, despite the fact that it was something that very well could have been handled internally by the school. Should have been handled internally. Really, with how much they had given to him, he was fairly certain that the vast majority of it was just bullshit paperwork they had thrown at him for making their lives harder and making them look like fools. Somebody else points out serious problems with your kingdom like a traitor headmaster? Obviously you should answer by passive aggressively doing everything you can to inconvenience them.

But he had been forced to "play nice" if only to appease them. Let them think that they had gotten one over on him. International relations have always been a tricky and annoying game…

He took small comfort in the knowledge that he likely wasn't alone in this suffering, but then he remembered that Ozpin was a lazy bastard and had likely forced Glynda to do all the paperwork for him.

At least it was all over now though. He might need to keep a closer eye on Leonardo's replacement, if only to ensure that a repeat performance wasn't in the works, but by and large, he was finally free.

It really was too bad that one task ending only opened him up for the next one.

"Of course. Shall we move on to the next item on your agenda?" Winter asked as she placed the pile of papers into a folder.

James bit back a sigh. "Remind me of what came next?" If he recalled correctly, he needed to meet with the staff of the academy, go over some plans for the next council meeting, pay a visit to Pietro…

"The search for the Brawnwen tribe and your plans for it, sir."

Ah. Right. That mess…

At least he could take solace in the fact that it wouldn't require a meeting or more paperwork.

"I assume that Qrow will be looking into it as well," he made sure not to point out how her professionalism dropped for a moment, a frown crossing her face and her left eye twitching at the mere mention of the man's name, "but I'm not sure when he last tried to contact his sister. It would be best if we could dedicate some resources to the matter…"

"...but because we have just finished unpleasant dealings with the council, they may be averse to us launching yet another operation on Anima." Winter finished the thought.

Many would think that attitude ridiculous, being that the kingdoms couldn't exactly lay claim to entire continents, what with Vacuo and Vale sharing Sanus. It's not like one measly Kingdom and the Huntsmen that inhabit it could wrest control of the wilds outside of the cities from the grimm. If that were true, the many settlements outside of city walls wouldn't be able to evade taxation and laws the way that they did now.

But at the same time, he could understand the worry. He would get antsy if Vale suddenly, and without informing him or the rest of the Atlas council, were spotted among the snowfields of Solitas. Why were they there? Why hadn't they said anything about it? Were they planning something nefarious? It wasn't like they could say the truth, and even the convenient lie of "hunting down bandits" wouldn't work because they'd either have to pretend to be incompetent when they didn't take care of the Branwen tribe, or they'd have to actually produce results to back up the lie and thus piss of Raven, the person they were seeking to request aid from.

Even if they claimed the investigative team as rebels acting on their own, that bore far too many similarities to the White Fang hiding among the innocent populace of Menagerie, and that was a rabbit hole he very much wanted to avoid.

"We could send a huntsmen team?" Winter suggested after he spent too much time thinking and not enough time responding.

"Who could we trust to keep quiet about it though?" A typical huntsmen team would have questions about why they were hunting down a tribe of bandits when they could be going after grimm closer to settlements instead. Especially when it wasn't even to bring them to justice, but rather to locate and report back. Really, if she was suggesting this, there was only one team she could be thinking of…

"I was thinking the Specialists could handle the matter, sir." She confirmed his suspicions.

"And are you suggesting that you would be personally involved, Specialist?"

"I would be willing to lead the team, sir."

That wasn't a horrible idea. He trusted the Specialists with a lot, but they'd yet to be brought into the details of the shadow war. Really, the only reason Winter knew as much as she did was because he planned for her to succeed Fria, but having someone on the mission who was in the know and could adapt to changes without needing to report back would be nice. And if she was already heading that way to deliver the paperwork in person, a legitimate reason like that would help to keep their cover...

"There's a problem with that plan. Especially after what happened with Leonardo, Ozpin is going to be suspicious if anyone who might have learned of the Maiden's identity suddenly disappears from where he can see them. The whole point of this is circumnavigating him, so we can't afford to draw his suspicion."

That was when his scroll went off, Ozpin's name prompting him to answer immediately.

"What's gone wrong now?"

"Why do you assume that something has gone wrong?" Ozpin answered his question with a question.

"Because all of the recent chaos, except Leonardo, has been centered around Vale and your school? Because I know better than to expect good news out of a random call from you? Because if it was you calling to brag about finishing the Mistral paperwork before me, you would have started shouting about it as soon as I picked up? I finished first, by the way."

Perhaps it was childish, but he had to take what little joy he could out of that slight dig before Ozpin got the chance to rain on his parade.

Ozpin swore under his breath. "Really? It's just one thing after another today… well I suppose I should just get it over with then. I was rather rudely woken up far too early in the morning by an acquaintance of ours, you see, and I am quite displeased at the moment."

As Ozpin explained the situation, James found a growing urge within him to break his desk in half so he could vent some frustration.

Allowing Neo to gain the power of the Fall Maiden, even if incomplete, was foolhardy at best, and malicious at worst.

But as Ozpin ranted on and on… his anger cooled, and another thought occurred to him. Quickly grabbing a pen, he wrote a message to the Specialist in the room, and she was out the door with nothing more than a quick salute.

He wouldn't be able to know Second Thought's intentions without talking to him, but it would seem that through his very questionable actions, he had become the perfect distraction. He doubted Ozpin would be paying much attention to Winter's, and perhaps even Qrow's, whereabouts if he was busy trying to think up a way to fix the mess he was dealing with right now.

And of course, a very important call with the esteemed Headmaster Ozpin was the perfect excuse for putting off some of those awful meetings he had scheduled as well…

Perhaps he should thank Second after punching him in the face with his robotic hand the next time he saw him. That should get his feelings across.

Jaune tried to make himself look small as Ms. Goodwitch paced back and forth, giving him the nastiest glare he'd ever been on the receiving end of.

"...and I just can't believe that you would do something so foolish." She informed him for what must be the dozenth time. "I'm not sure that the school is capable of inflicting a punishment severe enough for what you've done."

He'd tried explaining himself, but she'd not taken kindly to that. She seemed to accept, even agree that Pyrrha shouldn't have to be shouldered with the responsibility of becoming a Maiden… but the replacement he had found was apparently so unacceptable that she had half a mind to have the new maiden practice her powers with him as the target until she dropped from exhaustion.

"Expulsion is not enough. That would allow you to escape the consequences of your actions. I'll not have you doing some cushy office job while we have to deal with the mess you've made."

He'd tried apologizing, but he'd been informed that his apologies meant nothing to her when he'd gone out of his way to directly disobey orders from her and the headmaster.

"No, no that's definitely not enough… you deserve something cruel and unusual…"

His combat instructor slowly stopped pacing back and forth in her office, and he dared to hope that his first detention of what he assumed would be many with her might be coming to an end.

"Arc." She suddenly focused back on him, her eyes narrowed into hateful slits.

"...yes?" he hesitantly responded.

"Your father is a huntsman, is he not? I know that family name."

Jaune didn't like where this was going.

"...he is, yes."

A devious smirk slowly started to cross her lips. "Does your father happen to know that you are attending this school based on forged transcripts?"

He heard a wince next to him, and he dared to look to his partner in crime before answering the teacher.

Ms. Goodwitch had been ignoring his semblance, apparently even more infuriated by his actions. To the point that she could barely even stand to look at him, thus opening Jaune up to the brunt of her relentless scolding.

"I will take that as a no." Ms. Goodwitch continued.

The one solace that Jaune had was Second's inability to dematerialize on his own. He could at least force his semblance to suffer with him.

And maybe, if he was lucky, his semblance would distract his dad enough that the man might not kill him.

Chapter Text

"Is he…. Okay?" Ruby hesitantly asked as she sat down for lunch.

Team RWBY found themselves joining team JNPR at a table once more, but the sight of their blond haired leader pressing his face into the tabletop instead of eating or arguing with Second Thoughts was a bit strange.

Her sister rolled her eyes. "I know Ms. G is a bit of a hard a-"

Weiss slapped a hand over the blonde's mouth with a glare. "Ms. Goodwitch may be a bit of a… disciplinarian, but it cannot be so bad as to leave you like this, Arc." Figures that Weiss would downplay just how horrible detention with Ms. Goodwitch must be. Had she ever even been in detention? Not that Ruby had ever been the sort of student to suffer through it either, but she'd had to go with her dad to pick Yang up from detention before, and that was bad enough!

Jaune had been tight-lipped about the reason for his detentions, but apparently it had something to do with him slipping out of team JNPR's room late at night and was somehow related to the revocation of the resident criminals' "free roaming privileges". Nobody was exactly upset about that last part, with Yang even offering their friend a fist bump in congratulations, but it would be odd for his current mood to be over a pair of thieves he barely knew.

It seemed Jaune was still not in a talkative mood though, as he simply groaned, not even bothering to look at them.

"Our fearless leader is just exhausted from sneaking out in the middle of the night to clear the Emerald forest of grimm again!" Nora exclaimed. "You should have seen him getting back to the dorm, he was covered in blood and guts and he had a crazed look in his eyes, like he was ready to slaughter them for even longer but had run out of prey!"

Ren sighed. "Nora, none of that happened. He stayed in our dorm with a haunted look on his face until he fell asleep. Besides, grimm don't leave blood and guts behind when you kill them."

His comments went ignored by Nora as she stuffed her lunch down her throat.

Pyrrha cleared her throat to draw their attention. Poor girl. It must be tough being the only sane one on the team. At least Ruby could be happy that her team was…

Was…

Hmm. Her team wasn't sane either, were they? Maybe she and Pyrrha could do some bonding over having teams full of crazy people!

"Jaune is just… a bit concerned about a certain aspect of the punishment he's receiving." The grimace on her face showed that she was worried about it too.

"Is it not just the detentions?" Blake asked between bites.

"Well, it seems that she has decided to… inform his father." She looked at her partner with pity clear on her face.

"And?" Yang looked between the two of them. "My dad got called about my 'lack of discipline'," she rolled her eyes and added air quotes, "all the time. It was never that bad."

"Yang, I don't think most people have the benefit of their uncle working for the school and being the one to call their parents." Ruby reminded her sister. She'd gotten teased in the past over that. How she must be getting special treatment from Uncle Qrow. Shows what they know though, the only 'special treatment' that she and Yang got was Uncle Qrow embarrassing them all the time…

It seemed like there might be more to the situation, but Pyrrha looked hesitant to share any more with them. Luckily, that was when Second Thoughts appeared with a flash of light.

The blue semblance glared at Jaune. "Why do I have to explain this? This is completely unrelated to me!"

She couldn't make out the groans that Jaune replied with, but apparently Second could.

"I mean yeah it's my fault you're in detention, but you're worried about the consequences for your actions taken before I even manifested!"

Jaune made a rude gesture that her dad and Yang told her not to repeat.

Second rolled his eyes and accepted that he was the spokesman. But he hesitated, a hint of fright clear on even his face.

Just what could have them so worked up about Jaune's dad coming?!

"You see…" Second began, "The problem with Mr. Arc being informed of the detention, is that he probably doesn't know that Jaune is attending this school."

The rest of the group, excepting Pyrrha, didn't know what to make of that if the look they shared was any indication. Though Blake was mysteriously pale…

"What do you mean by that? Surely any parent would want to know what school their children are attending." Weiss frowned.

Blake got paler.

"Well, I don't imagine your father was very keen on you coming here Weiss, but he would have had some idea that you were going to pursue this path before you came here, right? You had to pay for your tutors, and set aside time for those lessons…"

Weiss frowned at the mention of her dad. Apparently he had cut off her cards, which was why they'd declined during the Vytal festival. Ruby had been doing her best to be supportive, but Weiss kept insisting that she could handle it herself, keeping details to a minimum…

"That would be correct. However, it doesn't answer my question."

Second nodded. "The point I'm getting at is that you spent some time preparing. The circumstances for each of you coming to Beacon are different, but it's not exactly odd for you to be here. Well, most of you anyway."

Blake's face was as white as Weiss' hair now. Did she need to see the nurse?

"Jaune, on the other hand," Second continued, "notably did not spend his time preparing. One might say that he was very much the opposite of prepared for life at Beacon. I think just about anyone other than him would conclude that stealing the family heirloom weapon, running off to Vale with no training at all, getting forged transcripts, and taking the entrance exam without any aura would be suicidal at best."

The table was silent for a moment.

With Jaune still face down on the table, they all slowly turned to Pyrrha.

The champion fighter gave them an awkward grin. "I unlocked his aura and he's been training really hard?"

She probably meant for that to be reassuring, but it came out as more of a question of whether or not that would make up for the many problems with what they'd just learned.

Ren sighed. "Honestly, that explains a lot."

"You went into initiation without any-" Nora started off with a scream, but luckily Ren managed to silence her before she went revealing Jaune's secrets to the whole cafeteria. She quickly pulled her partner's hand off of her mouth before continuing. "Only our fearless leader could do something like that!"

"Are you insane?" Blake asked, disbelief clear on her face.

"Woah there, I don't think you have much room to talk," Second frowned. "His brand of insanity is just a bit different from yours."

"I didn't rush into a grimm filled forest with no aura!" Blake scowled, pushing on the point.

"You didn't, but I have a feeling that if your parents were getting called, you might feel about the same as he does right now."

Blake froze, the color draining from her face once more.

Ruby wanted to ask what that was about, but Weiss slammed her hands down on the table, demanding attention. "You used forged transcripts to get into an institution as prestigious as this?" Part of Ruby was worried about where her partner was going with that line of thought… "Once the staff finds out they could have you expelled, especially if they're already this mad at you!"

Ruby let out a sigh of relief. Weiss had really come a long way since the start of the school year…

Second rolled his eyes. "Do you really think they don't know the transcripts were forged? If they didn't know as soon as they looked at them, they definitely know now. No way they wouldn't have looked into his past once he unlocked me."

"And they just accepted that?" Yang asked, not upset but definitely surprised.

Ruby flushed as Second pointed at her. "Look at your team leader and tell me that they care about how things are supposed to be done. I can't say I've read the rulebook, but I'm pretty sure a 15 year old being admitted isn't standard."

Ruby found herself laughing nervously. "I guess I'm just that amazing…?"

Nora nodded with the utmost confidence. "You definitely are, but Jauney is even more amazing! You at least had training before you got accepted!"

"I've been making sure he gets caught up!" Pyrrha defended her partner.

But if he'd gone from no training at all to a bit below Ms. Goodwitch's standards in such a short time, Pyrrha must be a really good teacher… Maybe she should get in on that…

"Though the path Jaune has taken to reach this point is… concerning and ill advised, he has made it here all the same," Ren spoke up. "He has been doing well so far, and if the staff settled with detention and calling his father, then I doubt they'll do anything more drastic. I'm afraid I'm lost as to why his father coming is causing such a…" he looked at his team leader's rather pathetic state, "...adverse reaction. He'll likely be upset about the stolen weapon and what I assume to be running away from home without no contact for months, but shouldn't we be expecting relief when he finds out that Jaune is fine?"

"Well, I think most parents in that sort of situation would definitely be relieved to find out their kid is still alive and well," Second pointedly looked at Blake for some reason, "but Jaune comes from a long line of huntsmen. Crocea Mors belonged to some ancestor of his and has been passed down through the generations. They have a family crest they still use. And yet Jaune, who clearly has the desire to be a huntsman, came to Beacon with forged transcripts, no training, and basically no knowledge of aura. Why would that be?"

Pyrrha's eyes widened. Guess even his partner didn't know about this part…

"Are you saying that his father didn't want him to become a huntsman?" The redhead asked.

"I can't say that for sure, but it's been true in other timelines, and I think it lines up with the evidence in this one. Well Jaune?" He prompted, poking at the blond.

For the first time since she sat down, Jaune finally pulled his head up.

He looked… well, not terrible, but… she could tell he hadn't slept well.

"That's about right. Dad… didn't exactly approve of my plan to become a huntsman."

Ruby couldn't even imagine it. All of her life she had wanted to become a huntress, and even after her mom had died her dad and Uncle Qrow had been super supportive of her dream! She didn't know what she would have done if they'd told her no and she'd been forced to figure it all out on her own…

But beyond that… she didn't really know what to say. Obviously Jaune was worried about how his dad was going to react to the news. Would he give in and be supportive now that Jaune had actually made some progress? Would he demand that Jaune come home with him, wherever home was for them? That would split team JNPR apart! Jaune could just say no, refuse to listen to his dad, but…

As someone who was down a parent, could she really suggest such a thing? There wasn't a day that went by where she didn't think about her mom. Yeah, there was a big difference between a big argument causing a rift and what had happened to Summer Rose, but… family was just as important as a team. Ruby's team basically was her family. Literally in Yang's case, and a bit of a dysfunctional mess with Weiss and Blake, but she loved them all the same.

She couldn't imagine a scenario where her dad told her it was him or team RWBY, but with the way Second had laid things out… Jaune might have to make an impossible choice.

"We're not gonna let that happen!" She declared.

The rest of the group stared at her, Seconds mouth open and his eyes annoyed.

Had she interrupted him? She had sort of gotten lost in her thoughts. Oops…

A blush crept up her face, but she forced her way forward. "If your dad has a problem with you being a huntsman, then we'll just have to change his mind!"

Jaune gave a half-hearted grin. "Relax, Ruby. Who knows? Maybe he's relaxed a bit since I last saw him. I'm sure he'll come to scold me for getting detention, and for stealing Crocea Mors, and for getting forged transcripts…" the further he went on listing things, the more the hope in his eyes faded. His grin looked forced. "Anyway, I'm sure it'll all work out." He awkwardly laughed.

She wasn't convinced though. Turning towards Jaune's partner, she made sure to give Pyrrha a determined look.

Pyrrha looked confused, but her fellow normal person definitely understood what she was trying to say without words!

They were going to make Mr. Arc accept Jaune as a huntsman, whether he liked it or… well, they'd make him like it!

Probably.

She hoped…

Chapter Text

Winter wasn't sure what she had been expecting from a bandit camp.

As the airship touched down a few hundred yards from the edges of what she could only assume to be the Branwen tribe, she found herself wondering about the specifics of how such a group operated.

When she'd been told that this "tribe" were a group of bandits that pillaged towns on the frontier for a living, she had assumed that they would be highly mobile, setting up in tents for a single night before moving onto the next location. Perhaps they would stay in one area while they scoped out potential targets. A group that never stuck in one place for long would be harder to track down for the authorities, harder to anticipate for their next victims. That was the modus operandi that made the most sense to her.

But the sight before her… didn't quite fit that.

As they had flown overhead they had seen tents, yes, but they weren't typical tents that were designed for ease of movement. These tents were large, with leather walls instead of the thin fabric the commercial ones used. Instead of thin metal rods supporting them, these used giant bones. Or perhaps it was wood carved to look like bones? She didn't know what sort of animal would produce them after all. Only a grimm could have bones of that size, and they would dissipate along with the rest of the creature once it was slain.

Of course, the odd tents would be less of a hindrance to a nomadic lifestyle than the giant walls. The walls weren't solid, far from it, really, with how many gaps there were, but they were still a sight to behold given that they were made out of giant tree trunks. Sharpened to a point on top and dug deep into the ground at odd angles, the bandits had somehow collected what must be more than a hundred logs that were three… maybe even four times her height. The largest gaps between them were haphazardly covered with large metal sheets that they had gotten from who knows where…

Though as she disembarked from the airship and started walking closer, she found that the metal was suspiciously similar to the material used in the airship she'd just left. They'd either found a downed one that was attacked by a nevermore, or they'd downed one themselves…

Either way, the camp she saw before her was in no way something that befitted the nomadic lifestyle she had suspected. This was the work of weeks, perhaps even months of labor depending on how many bandits laid within the walls.

So they liked to stay in one spot for a good while, and yet nothing had been done to stop them. Was this yet another example of Leonardo's treachery? Or perhaps, being that this is where Qrow and Raven originated from, Ozpin had seen fit to leave the criminals alone until they became an even greater nuisance. He had to have known more than most about this group after all…

She supposed the truth of the matter would be revealed eventually.

"Specialists." Her voice was stern and commanding. "I will be approaching the target alone. You are to remain here and be prepared for combat and retreat if things go south."

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am!" They responded with a salute before fanning out around the airship.

They probably weren't happy with those orders, allowing her to wade into unknown territory on her own like this, but orders were orders. They'd complain to each other once she was out of earshot, but they'd not compromise a mission they knew scant details of.

But what was she to do? All of this secret war business had become a game of whispers. Ozpin had the full truth and told those he trusted some portion of it. Those people knew a partial truth and told those they trusted with a portion of what they knew. Winter knew that she was a tertiary source of information, and if she were being honest with herself, she feared that telling them what little she could of the situation would only lead to questions that she couldn't answer. A commander couldn't afford to appear incompetent.

So she walked into the belly of the beast alone. Or perhaps it was more fitting to say that she was about to kick the hornet's nest? She could see the bandits swarming, obviously alarmed by the fact that an airship with Atlas markings had just landed outside.

A group of five of them met her at the gate, weapons at the ready. None of them were impressive, in regards to the weapons and the bandits. Simple revolvers and shotguns with knives crudely attached in some hands, large machetes in others, but nothing that could compare with a mecha-shift weapon. Of course, that didn't mean that they were useless or something she should dismiss, but it did mean that there would be no surprises. Not from this group, anyway. Other than their questionable state of dress, that is. Some wore boots that obviously came from different pairs, if not by the color then by the fact that one was ankle length and the other went to the knee. Some wore a single leather glove, or ripped, bloody jackets, or a single pauldron for protection.

Being that they were bandits, she wasn't sure if this welcoming party was meant to be their best, or if this is simply what the group had decided to throw at her in a distraction as the others prepared.

"Stop right there! I don't know who you think you are, but you've got some balls on ya if you think you can just waltz up here on your lonesome!" A man shouted from the front of the pack. He held a revolver with a knife strapped to it, his blonde hair in a mullet.

Winter stopped, her hand on the hilt of her sword. "I am seeking an audience with Raven Branwen." She calmly informed them.

That caused a stir.

"She wants to talk to the boss?"

"How does she know the boss' name?"

"The boss will be pissed if we fuck this up!"

A voice cut through the others though.

"Quiet!"

Winter watched as a young woman walked out from the gate, passing by the welcoming committee to face her head on. Short brown hair, tan skin, and a cocky smirk on her face. There was no weapon at her side though, so why would she be so confident? A combat oriented semblance perhaps?

"Why do you want an audience with the boss, Schnee?"

Winter ignored the way that the girl all but spat her name, as well as the gasps from her compatriots. Had they really not recognized her? Surprising, but she supposed that people who lived like this had little reason to know what the Schnee family looked like.

"I'm afraid that this is a private matter that needs to be discussed with her directly."

"And I'm supposed to just take your word on that? Let you just waltz on into our camp and meet with the boss like this?" The girl sarcastically remarked,

"Was I meant to call her secretary beforehand?" Winter sniped back. Something about this girl reminded her of Qrow in all the wrong ways. Were her problems with the man because of his background? Was Raven just going to be a female Qrow she actually needed to ingratiate herself to?

The girl just smirked at her.

"I like your attitude. Follow me then." She turned back towards the gate, walking into the camp. "Just one thing to keep in mind, Schnee. The tribe values strength, so if you're weak? Well…"

The girl didn't finish her thought.

Hadn't she gotten enough ominous warnings from dealing with Second Thoughts?

Winter resigned herself to the idea that this was going to end poorly as she followed behind, isolating herself within a camp of criminals.

A group of special operatives peered around the corner, keeping an eye on their target at all times.

"Ruby, your elbow is digging into my side!" Weiss hissed.

"Shhh! Focus on the mission!" Nora reprimanded her.

"Is this really necessary?" Blake asked.

"Oh so this is when investigating things personally suddenly doesn't matter…" Second mocked.

"What are you even talking about?" Yang turned the semblance, confused.

"I'm talking about… huh… I guess she's actually been pretty well behaved in this timeline, hasn't she?" The bluest among them looked at Blake as if he was suddenly seeing her in a new light.

"Why are you here at all, Second?!" Ruby demanded answers. "Shouldn't you be with Jaune? Giving him moral support or something? He's all alone out there!"

"You know, if this is meant to be a secret spying mission or something, you're doing an awful job on the secret part." Their target loudly remarked, making Ruby flinch back.

"This might be a crazy idea, but perhaps we should allow Jaune to sort out his family problems on his own?" Ren suggested. "I think it would be quite hard to have an honest conversation about something personal like this if I knew all of you were watching from around the corner. Plus we're getting some rather concerned looks…"

Indeed, the rest of the student body was giving the group a wide berth as they passed by. In a school full of huntsmen and huntresses, oddities like this weren't exactly uncommon, but it was still strange to see two full teams of people trying to peer around a corner at once.

"We need to support our team leader!" Pyrrha barked. She seemed just as investigated in the reunion of father and son as Ruby was.

Ren wisely chose to give up on his protests.

That was when the latest bullhead from Vale arrived, and they saw Jaune tense up as the passengers disembarked. Their eyes scanned the group, wondering which one could be their friend's father.

There were some third year students, some Beacon staff that they vaguely recognized, team CFVY, and-

"Oh." Blake quietly gasped.

A giant of a man was walking towards them, a firmly neutral expression on his face. Short blonde hair, clear musculature, and a resemblance to their friend made it easy to guess that this was Jaune's father. Although… he was dressed rather plainly, in just some blue jeans and a black t-shirt, with a sword that looked even more simple than Crocea Mors hanging from his hip. If not for his size, there would be nothing flashy about him that screamed "huntsman!" like everyone else in the field.

Everyone held their breath as he approached, stopping just a few feet in front of Jaune.

"Son."

Jaune swallowed nervously. "Dad."

There was a very awkward silence.

"Why don't you introduce me to your… friends?" Mr. Arc turned to look at them, his eyes narrowed like he wasn't sure if they were friend or foe. At least until he saw Second, anyway. Upon seeing his son's rather blue doppelganger, his eyes widened a tad, softening, but that was the only visible reaction.

"R-right! Uh," Jaune gestured for them to stop their pathetic attempt at hiding.

Ruby must have seen fit to save the boy from his floundering, rushing forward in a flash of rose petals. "Hi there! It's so nice to meet you, Mr. Arc! I'm Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY!"

Mr. Arc rose an eyebrow at the team name being the same as hers, but he didn't say anything.

"This is my partner Weiss-"

"Greetings." Weiss gave a curtsey.

"My sister Yang-"

"Yo." Yang gave him an easygoing smirk.

"And her partner Blake!"

Blake did not give a greeting, leaving an awkward pause before Pyrrha decided to take over.

"We're team JNPR," she began with a practiced smile for the media. "This is Nora and Ren-"

"Do you want to arm wrestle?!"

"It's nice to meet you."

The man took Ren restraining his partner in stride.

"And I'm your son's partner, Pyrrha Nikos," the girl added nervously.

Mr. Arc gave her a knowing grin. "His partner, eh?"

Pyrrha's face erupted into a blush.

"It's nice to meet you all…" but his gaze didn't fall on them. "But I'll admit that I'm most curious about you."

Second Thoughts stepped to the forefront, a reassuring smile on his blue lips. "Howdy! I'm Second Thoughts, your son's semblance. It's nice to meet you, Nicholas."

Mr. Arc frowned.

"My name isn't Nicholas. It's Aurelius."

The smile on Second's face vanished.

Chapter Text

"...Aurelius?" Second repeated, looking very lost. "I… I see… sorry about that then! I must have gotten you mixed up with someone else…" The semblance forced a laugh out. A very obviously fake laugh.

This was awkward.

How in the world could Second know so many secrets, but then get something as basic as a name wrong?! Pyrrha could feel the second hand embarrassment eating away at her. It was like she was just becoming a household name again and had mixed up the names of her sponsors…

Mr. Arc paused for a moment, before apparently deciding to push past it. "It happens. So you're…" He didn't seem to know what to make of the situation. Had nobody told him about Second Thoughts beforehand? It had been odd enough for them to see, and they'd had warning… Pyrrha couldn't imagine how much of a shock it must be for Aurelius.

"Second Thoughts, your son's semblance." Their blue friend reminded the man.

"...right. That's uh… I've never heard of a semblance like you before." The way that he looked at Second made it obvious that he doubted the explanation, but with so many people here to back up the claim, what could he do?

Ruby was suddenly between Jaune and Second, a hand on each of their shoulders. "Yep! Second is one of a kind! Jaune is really something special to have unlocked a semblance like him!" She somehow managed to say it all with a straight face, but even Nora was cringing a bit with how thick she was laying it on.

"Right…" Mr. Arc gave her a strange look that Pyrrha couldn't quite put her finger on. "Well, it was nice meeting you all, but I think my son and I need to have a talk."

Ruby didn't move, and the rest of them were too invested in the trainwreck in front of them to be the first one to walk away.

"...alone." Mr. Arc added.

"Right! Of course!" Ruby agreed, as if she hadn't already known that. Pyrrha watched as the girl whispered something to Jaune before grabbing Second's hand, dragging him away. The rest of the group found themselves reluctantly following her, leaving Jaune to walk off with his father alone.

Once they rounded the corner, and her partner and his father were out of sight, the group rounded on Second Thoughts.

"What was that?!" Yang demanded.

"Moral support! We have to protect Jaune!" Ruby defended herself.

"Not that, you dolt!" Weiss facepalmed. "Though if that's what you consider moral support, then we might need to have a discussion…"

"I think she means the fact that Second got his name wrong." Blake drawled, her eyes narrowed at their blue companion.

"Oh! Oh! Don't tell me!" Nora interrupted. "Let me guess, that's not Jaune's real dad, it's actually a new kind of grimm that's moving his body around like a puppet! You gave him a fake name as a test to see if you could trip him up into revealing the truth!"

"Nora, if that were true then why would Second let Mr. Arc walk off alone with Jaune?" Ren gently tried to reason with her.

"Well duh, he wants to give Jaune his moment for an epic showdown to get his dad back!"

Pyrrha cleared her throat. "Nora, why don't we just let Second explain himself? I'm sure there's a very good explanation for this." She looked to Second, an eager, if forced, smile on her face.

There was a good explanation for this, right? He hadn't just blurted out a random name? She couldn't help but follow Nora's example, at least in the privacy of her own mind, and start theorizing. Was Jaune adopted? Nicholas could be the name of his biological father, which would be what confused Second. That was… perhaps a tiny bit plausible? Surely there was something that made sense…

The look on Second's face wasn't very reassuring though. It was some cross between having just bitten into a lemon and worrying whether you had left your front door open when you left the house.

"We… may have a problem. Possibly. Maybe."

"That is not a good explanation, Second." Pyrrha gently reminded him. Her jaw was not clenched at the moment, thank you very much.

"Well, look. You remember how my knowledge works, right?"

"You supposedly get to see alternative timelines while focused on Jaune. That was a decent explanation for knowing stuff about us as his friends, but it doesn't explain why you don't know his dad's name," Blake pointed out.

"Unless you lied to us…" Yang added, fists clenched.

"Woah there!" Second held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't lie! Well, I guess you might view it as a lie, but it wasn't intended as a lie. That was just the best way I could think to explain it to you!"

"A half truth then? Or perhaps some sort of corporate messaging that legally is considered the truth even if it misleads people?" Weiss suggested, clearly not impressed.

"There's no need to jump to conclusions like this," Ren stepped in. "Second has made a mistake of some sort. This isn't the end of the world, nor is it an indication that he has tried to mislead anyone. We should let calmer heads prevail, and listen to what he has to say before we start interrupting after every few sentences."

"Thank you, Ren." Second smiled at the boy appreciatively. "I am currently working on a way to explain everything to you guys, and Jaune, and everyone else involved, in a way that can prove the validity of what I say beyond a shadow of a doubt. And by that I mean I have other people looking into it, so I'm not entirely sure when it will happen. Hopefully soon. But for now, perhaps looking at things from a different perspective might help." Second paused for a moment, thinking over how to phrase things. Well, that or working up a lie, but Pyrrha liked to think that he wouldn't. "You know that my knowledge is limited, but maybe it would help to frame the way that I interpret the things that I do know. You could think of it like… a story. When you watch a movie about a hero, the story is about the hero as they are during the events of the movie. You can watch as they grow and change throughout the movie, the people they interact with during it, and you probably get to learn a bit about their background, right?" He paused, waiting for them to nod in agreement. "What you don't get is a long and elaborate detailing of their lives before the story begins, unless it's somehow relevant to the plot. In some stories you might see the hero's family for a few scenes at the beginning of the story. In others, they might not get mentioned at all during the story. It's not their story after all. It's the hero's. Does that make sense?"

"Does your method for revealing everything involve bringing us to your doomsday device and monologuing like a villain before trying to destroy the world, giving us one last chance to save everyone?!" Nora exclaimed, clearly excited about the prospect.

Second frowned at her. "No."

Ren clamped a hand over her mouth before she could start again. "I believe that we are fully capable of handling any wild truths you may hold, so long as they are the truth. Is it truly necessary to make us wait for a proper explanation and instead feed us these metaphors?"

"Well, look," Second began, "I kind of told Jaune he'd get all the info he wanted out of me, but then we had the craziness with Cinder… and the Vytal festival… and the stuff we got in trouble for… honestly, I've been waiting on this confirmation for a long time, and I think I'm actually close to getting it now. But I need that confirmation. If someone tried to tell me what I would have to tell you, I wouldn't believe them. Or at least, I wouldn't just take them at their word, and my word is all I have."

"And how long are you expecting us to wait for this confirmation?" Yang asked.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure?" Second hedged. "I sort of pointed a few people in the right direction, but I don't know how long it will take for them to arrange something…"

"Guys," Pyrrha found herself saying. "Second is Jaune's semblance. The manifestation of his soul. We can trust him, can't we?" The rest of the group agreed, though with varying levels of enthusiasm on their faces. "That said… I still don't understand the metaphor you were trying to use, Second. I can follow along with timelines being different stories, that's simple enough, and I suppose it's true that not all stories are going to talk about the protagonist's parents… but you follow Jaune in every one of these stories, don't you? And yet you thought Mr. Arc's name was Nicholas and not Aurelius. How could he have different parents and still be the same person?"

"Well, that's what I'm trying to work out, and why I'm a bit concerned," Second answered.

"Do you have any ideas?" Pyrrha prompted. "Maybe we could figure it out if we work together."

"Well…" Second hesitated. "In some of those stories, the circumstances are completely different, and yet you guys are still present in some capacity. You're constants. It might be a timeline where Beacon is a magic school, or one where Jaune gets kidnapped by an evil queen and forced to serve her, or one where the grimm are supernatural beings that normal people can't see… but in every one of those stories, you guys are still there. You're as consistent as gravity. That's not to say you're in every timeline, but you're in every timeline that I've seen. It doesn't matter if your families are the same, I've seen timelines where Jaune's mother is different, but he's still Jaune in the end."

"So Mr. Arc could be a completely different person in each of the various stories if we follow that logic," Weiss concluded. "If we take that at face value, it doesn't explain why you assumed one name over another. Shouldn't the possibility of his name being Aurelius be equal to the possibility of it being Nicholas? It seems foolish to just assume that it would be one over the other, or any other name for that matter."

"W-well," Second stammered. "Actually, you could say that Nicholas is more heavily weighted! I see that name a lot in the timelines that do include Mr. Arc to some capacity. Aurelius… have I heard the name Aurelius at all?" Second paused for a moment. "I mean there's one that comes to mind but I don't think Jaune has anything to do with stoicism…"

Pyrrha heard Ruby whisper "I don't get it," and when she turned towards the girl she saw Blake sighing next to her.

The faunus spoke up. "So you're saying that Mr. Arc's name being Aurelius is a variable that is completely unaccounted for. You stupidly assumed that just because one name is common that it would apply to this timeline as well."

Second winced. "Stupid is a strong word, but that's basically correct, yes. I'm sure everything will be fine though. It's just a name, it's not like that's reason to assume all sorts of things will be-"

Pyrrha watched as Second disappeared mid sentence.

Ruby gasped. "That's the signal! Jaune must be in trouble!" The girl promptly disappeared as well, but at least this one left behind a trail in her wake as she used her semblance to hunt down their friends.

"Do we really think this is an emergency?" Yang asked. "He's with his dad. He's probably just getting chewed out. Maybe Mr. Arc wants to meet Second or something."

The group stared at each other for a moment, before silently following after Ruby.

It didn't hurt to check, but Pyrrha was sure Yang was right. What was the worst that could be happening right now?

"If it goes poorly, just bring Second back to your head and we'll come save you!" Ruby whispered a bit too loudly before dragging Second away with her.

Jaune wasn't sure what she thought they could save him from. It wasn't like his dad was going to kill him. Well, not literally anyway.

Probably.

He hoped.

"Let's take a walk," his dad suggested. It was really more of an order, with the way that the man placed a firm hand on his shoulder and started tugging him away from prying eyes.

Jaune didn't know what to say. Should he apologize? Beg him not to make a scene or try to drag him back home? Act like he had done nothing wrong? Unease roiled in his gut, so he stayed silent.

His father didn't take him far, just off to a small patch of trees for a bit of privacy. They just stood there for a moment, not saying anything, the awkwardness growing between them. Eventually though, his dad broke the silence.

"Do you-" was all he got out before he paused. "I want to-" he tried again. A few more stutters and stammers were forced out before he gave up on whatever he was trying to say.

With a deep sigh, he started down what was obviously a different train of thought. "So you're a team leader? Assuming the team naming convention is still the same, anyway…"

"Uh, yeah." Jaune forced the words out. "Yeah, I'm the leader of team JNPR."

"They seem like good people."

"Yeah, they're… they've been great."

What was this? Was his dad just going to make small talk? Not talk about any of the important things? Not even the reason he'd been called by Ms. Goodwitch? Jaune wasn't exactly eager to move on to any of those things, because it was going to suck, but every moment it was delayed was a moment he had to dread it, and in a way that was almost worse.

"And this… Second Thoughts… it's your semblance? Pretty unique one. What does it… do? Doesn't seem like a typical cloning semblance to me."

"He," Jaune corrected. "Second is… his own person, really. Has his own personality, his own memories. He started out as just a voice in my head, the whole… blue version of me thing is pretty new, actually."

"His own person?" His dad looked to be struggling with the concept. "So what does he uh… what sort of semblance is he? He good for information gathering? Combat, maybe? If he's his own person he'd have to learn how to fight I imagine, but you-" He cut himself off before he could say any more. Before he could talk about how his son had apparently learned how to fight.

"He's…" Jaune hesitated once more. Should he really get into the future vision stuff right now? "He's good for information." That was true, if vague. "We tried a bit of combat with one of the professors, but that didn't go too well…"

"Huh." The further this conversation went, the more obvious it became to Jaune that his dad was out of his element. "Well… maybe I can help with that."

Jaune stared at his father. He wanted to help with that? Why would… but he… "You want to help Second with combat?"

"Sure." His dad nodded, looking more sure of himself as he thought over the idea. "Not everyday you get to meet the manifestation of your son's soul. He's sort of like family, in a way, right? I should get to know him. Teach him a thing or two. Call it family bonding or something. Do you have a way to call him over? Or do we have to hunt him down before heading to the training rings?" He clapped a hand down on Jaune's shoulder, a smile on his face.

"Uh, I can just bring him back into my head and then pull him out again." Jaune informed him, trying to fight through the whiplash and confusion of the situation. How had he gone from wondering if his dad would kill him to this?

"Really? That's a neat trick. What's the limit on that? How far can you do it from?"

"Oh, uh, I'm not really sure-"

"Try it then!" His dad interrupted. "See if you can do it from here. You need to know the limits of your semblance after all. Consider this part of the training."

Jaune focused, and after a moment he was no longer alone in his head.

-different from… Did you really have to pull me back mid sentence?

I'm panicking! Jaune defended himself. He didn't have a freak out or yell at me or anything! He wants to meet you and do some training!

"Now that is freaky." His dad leaned in, staring into his eyes. "Are you talking to him right now?"

"Uh, yes? It worked from that distance…"

"Interesting." His dad stood straight up again, grabbing his shoulder and leading him in the direction of the training arenas. "Is everything still in the same place? Been a long while since I've roamed the grounds of Beacon. Didn't think I'd be coming back…"

Jaune? Is your dad normally like this?

No! It's weird and freaking me out! I don't think I've ever heard him be this talkative!

Well that's… worrying. And you said he wanted to train me?

He said he wants to teach you a thing or two. Do some "family bonding", whatever that's supposed to mean. What do we do?!

It's your dad, Jaune! You're supposed to know!

Aurelius began to whistle as he lead them away, and for some reason that felt all the more wrong.

…Second?

Yeah?

…do you think that maybe my dad has been replaced by some sort of grimm? Maybe it's wearing his skin like a suit, and that's why he's acting so weird…

Second didn't respond for a moment.

…fucking Nora.

What?

This is her fault, somehow. Remind me to get revenge on her for willing this into existence.

Chapter Text

As Jaune faced his father in an arena open for teams to practice at all hours of the day, he found himself slowly accepting the fact that his father had not been turned into a grimm puppet, but was in fact just acting strange.

Very strange.

"It's no Crocea Mors, but it does the job pretty well." His dad said as he pulled his new blade from the scabbard on his waist. The sword looked like it belonged in his hand. Like it was an extension of his body. It was like training with Pyrrha all over again, and those initial feelings of inadequacy that he thought he'd gotten over started to well up once more, compounding on the awkwardness of the whole situation. "Come on then, bring him out and we can get started."

Any random passerby might consider it normal. Just a father wanting to spend some time with his son. But to be acting like this with these circumstances? It was like he had lit the fuse on a firecracker but no explosion had followed. Was it a dud? Or would the slightest disturbance set it off now?

Do I really have to do this? His semblance whined.

This is not a normal reaction to the situation! You can act as a meat shield when he finally decides to flip out on me.

There's no meat in me, how can I be a meat shield?

Jaune knew that his semblance was right, but instead of admitting to a small error in phrasing, he forced Second out of his head, his blue friend appearing at his side.

Aurelius looked him up and down, inspecting him to a degree that made Second fidget uncomfortably. "Doesn't look any different from what I'd expect…" The man muttered. "I've seen a handful of semblances like this in my time. You two know anyone with cloning semblances? Might make this easier if you have something to base your knowledge off of."

"Blake has one-" Jaune began.

"The Faunus girl, right?" His dad interrupted.

"Uh, yeah?" Jaune hesitantly continued. "Our friend Sun has one too, but he went back to Haven after the Vytal festival and I didn't really get to see it in action very much…"

"Haven, eh? Shame what happened there." Aurelius' eyes gained a far off look for a moment, but he quickly snapped back to reality. "But two examples is a great starting point! You probably know Blake's semblance better, so let's start there. How does she use it in combat?"

"She uses her clones as distractions," Second answered for him. "Something to draw the eye, and hopefully enemy fire, while she gets out of the way. She can also… imbue them with dust, I guess? I'm not really clear on the details for that part."

"That's an efficient use if the clones are on the weaker end," Aurelius praised. "Have you two tried anything similar?"

Jaune and Second shared a look.

"I may have… taken a blow intended for Jaune once," Second explained, majorly downplaying Cinder's assassination attempt. "But I can't say that I'd be eager to just tank hits. I may not have flesh, blood, and nerve endings, but getting attacked is still… unpleasant." Jaune watched his counterpart shiver, probably remembering their last attempt at training. Nora really had been way too eager to put him to the test…

His father frowned, but nodded. "You don't necessarily need to just take the blow in order to distract your foes. Once you're out in the world, most of the combat you see is against grimm, and they're not exactly expert strategists who will target your weaknesses. For most of them, just being present would be enough to make the job easier. What about the dust? Tried that out yet?"

"No, we haven't," Jaune answered. "I'm not sure how it works for Blake, and I don't have any idea of where to begin with testing it on Second. Plus with how expensive dust has been lately…"

"I might have an idea or two," Aurelius assured them. "Do you have any dust we can use? I'll give you its value in Lien, don't worry about that."

Jaune wasn't sure why his father would ask that after he'd just explained that he hadn't been using dust.

Until he realized that his dad was looking off to the side and subsequently heard a squeak.

"S-spying?! I'm not spying! No spying here!" A familiar, panicked voice cried out.

Aurelius sighed, but as a father of seven daughters, he knew how to handle one young huntress. "That's odd. I don't recall accusing anyone of spying…"

As the blushing leader of team RWBY came out of her apparent hiding spot in the bleachers and tried to defend her actions to his dad, Jaune and Second shared another concerned look.

His dad wanted to try incorporating dust into Second, and the weapon nut Ruby was getting involved?

Jaune's mind went back to the first day of Beacon, the explosion that had gone off near the airship drop off point, and he had a sinking feeling that this was going to end in an explosion that was far too close for comfort. The only addition that could make it worse was if Nora showed up, and if Ruby was already here…

"Hey, why don't we get started already? We're burning daylight!" Second hurried them along.

Maybe if they rushed they could use up all the dust and move on to something else before the ginger arrived.

As Winter was led into the largest tent of the bandit camp, she found herself bewildered by the design choices. Transitioning from the lavish halls of the Schnee manor to the utilitarian rooms of the military had been jarring when she was younger. Learning how the average civilian decorated their homes had done the same the first time she visited a fellow soldier at their house. But this was still… bizarre.

The many criss-crossed rugs draped across the floor made sense at least. Something relatively soft for their feet to rest on when a carpet was out of the question. But the giant feathers hanging from a huge… what was it even supposed to be? She thought it vaguely resembled a dream catcher, some superstitious nonsense a few far flung villages clung to, but the shape was different from the designs she'd seen and what sort of bird were the feathers even meant to be from? The only thing that size would be a Nevermore, and these weren't even black! They were a striped pattern of 2 different shades of grey. Had the Branwen tribe discovered and slaughtered the last of some hitherto unknown species to fit their strange aesthetic? It would explain the bones she had seen earlier as well…

But that was when she noticed a grandfather clock against one wall of the tent.

For what possible reason could a bandit tribe have need of a grandfather clock? It was big, bulky, and probably not all that accurate. Even if they avoided the use of scrolls to prevent being tracked down, a watch would make much more sense than the behemoth of a time piece in front of her.

There was an actual treasure chest in one corner of the room, a barrel of what she could only assume was alcohol of some sort, and a huge map of Remnant that seemed to be made of leather on the wall opposite the clock.

The discussion hadn't even begun yet, and Winter felt a headache coming on from dealing with the Brawnwens.

This was Qrow's fault somehow…

Though with her surroundings properly cataloged in her mind, she should probably focus on the new face in the room.

Red eyes tracked her every subtle movement, the intent to kill lurking just beneath the surface.

"Well this is a surprise," Raven remarked with a casual smirk on her face. "What's the matter? Did old man Oz finally kick the bucket? Can't imagine any other reason someone like you would be here."

"Headmaster Ozpin is alive and well, but I fail to see what that has to do with me. I serve Atlas, not Vale."

"Of course. I'm sure that Ironwood has suddenly developed an interest in me after all these years for reasons totally unrelated to his dear friend Ozpin." Raven rolled her eyes.

"May I suggest that we cease these games and get to the reason for my visitation?"

"I'll be turning down any offer from Oz, but feel free to state your case so you can tell your masters that you tried and your failure is all big bad Raven's fault."

Winter's eyes darted to her guide. "I'm afraid that I require more privacy than this if we are to continue." She knew nothing of this girl, and the less people involved the better.

"Vernal stays. I get that professing your love to a beautiful woman can be intimidating in front of a crowd, but if you can't handle a bit of pressure you're not good enough for me."

The girl, Vernal apparently, snickered as Winter frowned.

While this was vexing, her experience dealing with Qrow over the years had left her well prepared for such crass remarks. "This is about rather sensitive matters, and I must insist on privacy."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "Hmm. So you've been trusted enough that they started to spoon feed you scraps of information then? Hmph. Anything you know, I know and then some, and Vernal does as well. She probably knows more than you do."

Winter grit her teeth. "I highly doubt that she is aware of everything, and I see no need to involve-"

"What is it then?" Raven interrupted. "Salem? The Maidens? The Relics?"

Winter's eyes widened in surprise at how casual the woman was being about it all.

"Get over yourself," Raven reprimanded her. "You're not the first one to be let into the secret club, you won't be the last, either. Spit it out already so we can be done with this and you can go back to living in ignorance."

If Vernal already knew, then there was no point in dancing around it. "We wish for you to open the vault of the Spring Maiden."

Raven didn't react to those words, but Vernal tensed.

"...is that so?" Raven slowly drawled. "And what makes you think that someone in the camp is capable of such a thing?"

"Our information source is not something we're willing to share at this time."

"And why not? Clearly it's not a very reliable one if you're trying to open that vault in particular. Perhaps I should have the vault opened for myself so I can find out? I'm sure dear old Oz would love that, wouldn't he? Although…"

Raven paused for a moment, a cruel grin stretching wide over her face. "...you're not working for Oz at all, are you?"

How could she possibly have gleaned that from this short conversation? Winter hadn't been that obvious, had she?

"You can relax," Raven continued. "I'm not exactly the poster child for playing nice with Oz, now am I? I can't fault you for going behind the bastard's back."

Could this be a trick? A method of lulling her into a false sense of security, trying to get her to open up about her true intentions? She shouldn't divulge anything she didn't need to, not now. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You're not fooling anyone. If you truly know Ozpin, and I do, it's not hard to see that he isn't behind this. He would never allow someone else the mere opportunity to use the questions. He would insist on being present for the Relic's removal from the vault, and he wouldn't entrust a job like this to one of Ironwood's lackey's. He'd send my idiot brother instead… or maybe team STRQs replacements…"

Winter wasn't quite sure who Raven was referring to with that last remark, but she supposed it didn't matter. "Why do you think that?"

"Because the only way that Oz can get people to trust him is to keep them in the dark," she all but spat the words. "The Relic threatens that. First he refuses to tell you it exists. If you find out, then he tells you it can't be accessed. Someone at the point you've reached… well, I'm not sure what sort of lies he's cooking up right now, but I wonder…" She paused for a moment, thinking. "Oz's house of cards isn't far from crashing down, is it? He'll stack them back up once it falls, but I imagine he'll be pissed that he needs to start from scratch."

Winter didn't know how to respond to that. How much did Raven know compared to her? How much of what she was saying was true as opposed to her own musings fueled by her dislike of Ozpin? What was safe to talk about? She needed to convince her to open the vault, but what was truly necessary to reach that goal?

As Winter's thoughts swam, Raven walked over to a low lying table, taking a seat on a cushion. "Vernal, fetch us some tea. I think the Schnee and I have some things to discuss."

Chapter Text

Second groaned into the ground, laying face down and not moving a muscle. "I give up. Recall me already, my muscles are so sore."

"Do you even have muscles? I'm pretty sure you don't." Ruby doubted.

"...If I say yes, will you take pity on me and stop this nonsense?"

"Nope! We still need to try the gravity dust!"

"Why, though?" Second groaned, finally lifting his head to look at the girl. "None of the others worked, I've just been shocked, burned, frozen, exploded-"

"If you spent less time complaining, we would have been done already." Aurelius called out from his seat in the stands next to Jaune. Then, in a hushed tone, he asked his son "Is this really your semblance? For a manifestation of your soul he seems…"

"Apparently." Jaune shrugged. "I don't really get how he can be so lazy, either, but if he's not my semblance, I don't know what he would be."

Aurelius laughed. "No, the laziness makes sense for your semblance. It wasn't that long ago that your mother had to force you out of bed at noon, you know. You'd have slept days away if we let you."

"I wasn't that bad!" Jaune squawked.

"You are that-" Aurelius cut himself off before they could get back into old arguments. "You… you were that bad. You're… different now."

Was he different? He wasn't sure. Sure, he was a team leader now. He had won the Vytal festival, even if most of the work there was on Pyrrha's part. He'd killed grimm with his own two hands and stolen sword, and gotten into all sorts of trouble that his family probably didn't think him capable of…

Father and son ignored Second's yelp as he suddenly found himself launched across the arena, smacking straight into Nora and bowling her over as she walked in.

"How… how is she?" Jaune nervously asked.

"Who? The ginger? What was her name… Nora? Couldn't tell you yet, but getting caught off guard like that is something she'll need to work on."

"No, not Nora, I mean…" Jaune hesitated, but he couldn't take it anymore. His dad's strange behavior had been eating away at him, and while testing things out with Second had served as a decent distraction that he had welcomed for a short while, he knew it wouldn't last. If his dad wasn't going to start things off… well, he would have to.

"Mom. I was sort of surprised that she didn't come too, actually. Give me the good cop, bad cop routine. Or bad cop, worse cop, maybe…"

His father took a moment to think, and the pair of them watched as Second was launched across the arena once more, but this time from getting whacked by Nora's hammer rather than some gravity dust going off.

"Do you…." Aurelius began, and Jaune realized it was the same way he'd tried to start the conversation before. "Do you hate me?"

"...What?" Jaune was lost. Where had that come from? After everything that he had done, after his dad had been called to Beacon because Ms. Goodwitch was getting sick of him and Second… "Shouldn't you be the one who hates me?"

Weiss had handed Second a training rapier as the rest of his friends joined in on trying to train his semblance. Or at least, act like they were interested in that, pretending to be helpful, meanwhile they were probably trying to listen in to his conversation with his dad. Again. Though with the distance between them, he thought only Blake might be able to since she had faunus ears. Actually, did they give her enhanced senses at all? He didn't think he'd ever asked and just assuming felt like something she might scold him for…

…and here he was trying to accept distractions again. Though the pause before his dad's response probably meant that he was the same…

"You're my son, Jaune. I could never hate you," Aurelius finally said. "You upset me, and at times disappoint me, but I could never hate you. But this? All of…" he vaguely gestured to Crocea Mors, his friends, and then everything around them, "-this? I can only imagine it's because you despise me. That I messed up somewhere." His dad kept his voice calm and level, but there was a pressure underneath it. Some sort of strain. Like he was holding back, likely because his friends had shown up again.

But what he was saying didn't make any sense. "Wha- I don't…. How could you think that I hate you?" He stopped paying attention to the way Weiss was practically treating his semblance like a piñata, focusing all his attention on his dad.

"Because I woke up one day and you weren't there." His dad looked him in the eyes, and Jaune was shocked to see that his eyes were moist. His voice was still as firm and unwavering as ever, but… had he ever seen the man cry? "Because you left without a word, some of your things missing, and Crocea Mors as well. It's been months, Jaune. We looked everywhere for you. Asked everyone we could. But nothing ever turned up. We didn't know if you'd eloped with some girl we didn't know, or if you were hurt and in with a bad crowd, or if you were even alive."

Jaune thought his mouth might be hanging open, but he couldn't tell. He was in shock. He'd never seen his father so upset before.

"And then one day someone finally tells me they've seen you. That you're in the fucking Vytal festival of all things. I didn't know what to think. For a while I thought that they had simply mistaken someone else for you. Some other blonde kid. But when they showed me the footage and I saw Crocea Mors… well, I was elated that you were alive and well, but I had to ask myself why. Why had you suddenly disappeared and run off to Beacon? I couldn't make much sense of the how, either, but that was less important. Why hadn't you said anything to me? Why didn't you call to let us know you were safe? I assume you got a different scroll at some point, because our calls never got answered. Why would you be in front of the world and not call to invite us to watch, or even just tell us about it? Why… just-"

His father suddenly snapped, his hand forming a fist as he turned and punched the seat next to him, his aura flaring as the seat dented, leaving a fist shaped imprint behind. Breathing heavily, he took a moment to compose himself, not looking back towards Jaune.

It took Jaune a moment to realize that the arena had gone silent, and when he looked at his friends they very quickly went from watching him with concern to their "training" once more. An explosion broke the silence as Yang used Ember Celica's dust to propel her fist towards Second's gut, which his semblance took with a groan.

He didn't know what to do though. Wasn't sure how to respond. But he had to say something in response to that, so he just opened his mouth and let the words flow out. "N-no, dad, I don't hate you, I just- I needed to prove myself!"

"What do you mean, prove yourself?" His father asked as he looked back at him. "I never needed you to prove anything, and I know damn well your mother didn't spout any nonsense like that either."

"You didn't have to say it. I know you never expected anything from me and I wanted to prove you wrong."

"What are you-"

Jaune didn't let his father finish. "After Saphron moved out I saw the way you and mom looked at me. I heard your little whispers behind my back."

"I don't-"

"Always talking about my future and how you have no idea what Jaune is going to do," Jaune mocked in a terrible approximation of his mother's voice. "You both thought I was a failure, that I had no future. Saphron is the golden child, moved out and married with a kid, and then it's my turn and you both look at me like you don't think I'll accomplish anything."

His dad almost made to interrupt again, but Jaune barely paused to take a breath. "You're always sooo proud to talk about our family's heritage, how we come from a long line of amazing warriors, how Crocea Mors has been in the family for generations." Jaune looked to the heirloom on his hip. "And then when it gets to me, suddenly I'm not good enough to pass it on to! You never trained me, you never talked about what being a huntsmen is like… My partner had to tell me what aura was during initiation! A descendant from a long line of amazing people and when I got here I didn't even know the basics! I had to-" Jaune's voice hitched as his emotions got the better of him. "I had to do something to prove that you were wrong. I wasn't going to be the failure you expected me to be. I… I did it in a stupid way. I made a lot of mistakes. But I did it with my own two hands. I thought… I thought that if I went out and did it all on my own, you would finally start to believe in me."

Generations upon generations of expectations, and his father hadn't even tried to help him live up to them. Jaune wasn't sure why. Was his dad expecting one of his younger sisters to take up Crocea Mors? Maybe they'd get training. Maybe they already were, now that he was out of the way…

Down on the field, Second was already blue, but if he was made of normal flesh and blood, he probably would have been black and blue. Pyrrha was trying to teach him to use a sword and shield, but his poor attempts at mimicking her posture led to hit after hit from Ren getting through. The boy was going easy on him, but it was still completely one sided.

His father waited for a moment. "Are you done?"

"...yes."

Aurelius wiped a hand over his face. "You take after me in all the worst ways, don't you? Must be that Arc blood flowing through you to make you this foolish."

Jaune almost made to defend himself, but he stopped when he saw the faraway look on his dad's face.

"When your mom said she had no idea of what you were going to do, she didn't mean that you had no options. She meant that you hadn't told her. You never told me, either. We may be your parents, but we're not mind readers, Jaune. You were always so… I'm not sure how to describe it. Apathetic? Wishy-washy? One week you'd be talking about becoming a musician, the next you'd be planning to make comic books. It was always just whatever had caught your fancy for the moment and never any real, tangible plans. You were never serious about anything."

"You could have-"

"We could have what, Jaune?" His father cut him off. "Maybe it would have been smart to sit you down and have a serious conversation about your future, but we thought we had more time. Parenting doesn't come with a guide, you know. It's figuring things out on your own, and I guess… Maybe after Saphron made things work out by herself, maybe we just assumed you would turn out fine. Or if you were struggling, that you would talk to us instead of just disappearing in the middle of the night."

His dad carefully removed Crocea Mors from his hip, holding up the sword and shield in front of them, his thumb brushing over the family crest. "I… I wanted to let you figure things out on your own. Take a more relaxed approach. You complain that I never trained you, but did you ever ask?"

"I told you I wanted to be a huntsman!"

"Just like you told me you wanted to be any number of other things. If you've made it here at Beacon, you must have realized how far behind you are compared to the rest of the students by now, right?"

"What, you want to rub that in now?" Jaune found himself glaring.

"How long ago did you decide to become a huntsman, Jaune?" His dad ignored it like he was just a pouting child.

"Since you first told me about them! Since you told me what you do!"

"No. I didn't ask how long ago you got a vague idea that you might maybe become a huntsman. I want to know when you well and truly decided to do this. To make it real. To take it further than all of your other idle fantasies. When did you start training? When did you start really working out? When did you… well, I'm not even sure how you got into Beacon, but when did you make that happen?"

Jaune… wasn't sure. He'd started planning things out… maybe a month or two before Beacon? Looking back, that wasn't that long ago. And all of his friends had been training for years…

"That's what I thought," his dad took his silence as an answer. "Jaune… did I ever tell you why I became a huntsman?"

"I… no?" Jaune wasn't sure what sort of point he was trying to make with that question.

Aurelius placed the hilt of Crocea Mors in Jaune's hand. "My father gave me this weapon. He told me that as an Arc, I had a duty to uphold. That generation after generation before me had been warriors, and I needed to do the same. There was never a question about it. My opinion never mattered."

His father let go, and Jaune felt the weight of the sword.

"It was a heavy weight on my shoulders, a burden that I had to carry," his dad continued. "Being a huntsman is a respectable, well paying job. It's allowed me to provide for my family and save the lives of others. I never minded the job itself, but I've always resented my father for forcing it onto me. I didn't want to do the same to you. I wanted you to decide things on your own, whether that meant taking on this mantle, or doing whatever else you thought would make you happy."

"So you… you would have…"

"If you'd shown me that you were serious about it, I would have trained you, Jaune. I might have told you to wait for at least a solid year of training before you ran off to Beacon though, even if that put you at a weird age for it…"

Down in the arena, Ruby was running Second through the intricacies of her sniper rifle. One of them pulled the trigger, and the knockback sent the scope right into Second's eye, making him cry out.

"...though maybe that's not as big of a deal these days," his father finished.

Jaune's mind was a mess. After everything he had done, everything that had kept him up at night, all the mistakes he had made, his dad drops that on him?

"...so it was all for nothing?"

His dad pushed him gently to get his attention. "Does that look like nothing?" He said as he pointed down to the arena and all of his son's friends. "To my eyes, it seems you've gone and accomplished quite a bit. When I look at all of these people so intent on eavesdropping-" Blake's face turned red, having been suspiciously uninvolved in Second's training up until now, "-I can't help but think that you must have made some great friends. And I watched your fights in the Vytal festival. You weren't half bad. I… I'm proud of you Jaune. The lazy boy I knew suddenly grew up when I wasn't looking."

Aurelius wrapped his arm around him, pulling him into a hug. Jaune hoped that their fake training would distract his friends from the fact that he was full on crying now as he hugged his dad back.

"I-I'm sorry, dad. I- I shouldn't have run away," he choked out.

"You shouldn't have." His dad held him tight.

"I should have called, and told you I-I was okay!"

"That's right." Aurelius gently patted him in a reassuring manner.

"I shouldn't have forged my transcripts and lied my way into Beacon!"

His father suddenly went still. "...what?"

Oh. So Ms. Goodwitch hadn't told him that part…

"I- um." Jaune quickly tried to wipe his face clean of the tears and snot. "What did Ms. Goodwitch tell you to make you come here?"

"Not much." His dad suddenly sounded suspicious. "What should she have told me?"

Before Jaune could answer, there was a scream, and suddenly he wasn't alone in his head.

Your friends are fucking monsters. Keep Nora away from me!

I- what? Jaune hadn't recalled him. Not intentionally at least. How are you back here?

"Sorry!" Pyrrha shouted to him, a blush on her face. "I think we ran through all of Second's aura!"

"I told you we could smash Second back into Jaune!" Nora exclaimed. "I just wasn't hitting him hard enough the last time!"

Doctor Oobleck was grading papers in his office when a black bird started to tap at the window. Standing up from his desk to open it, he watched as the avian suddenly transformed into a drunkard.

"Can't you just knock on the door like a normal person, Qrow?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

Bart noted that for once, Qrow's hand was not on his flask. What a peculiar sight. "What do you want from me? I have a very busy schedule, you know."

"Well," Qrow started as he leaned against a wall. "They say the early bird catches the worm, but apparently if you just wait a little bit before running off, other people will get the worm for you."

Bart stared at him.

Qrow sighed. "What, are you too good for idioms?"

"I have no problem with idioms, but rather, the idiots who butcher them. Would you mind informing me of what you're trying to say?"

The drunkard rolled his eyes. "I just got word from Jimmy. They worked out a deal. The vault is gonna be opened a week from now."

"Hmm. Good. And we're certain that Ozpin is none the wiser?"

"As certain as we can be. I haven't seen much of him lately, but I guess Torchwick and his sidekick are keeping him occupied."

That wasn't ideal, but it would have to do. Bart really did not appreciate having to be deceptive about all of this, but when needs must, he supposed.

"Now we just have to figure out how to split the questions between us. Or more likely, which questions we can agree on as a collective."

James would want to be involved. Obviously he and Qrow were going to be involved. He hadn't asked for details once he learned that the Maiden was Qrow's sister of all things, so he wasn't sure if she would want in on it. And of course there was Second to consider, the boy that came with him…

And that was just if they could keep things under wraps.

This was going to be a stressful week.

Chapter Text

There had been a lot of yelling involved once Aurelius figured out why Goodwitch had gotten ahold of him. While Jaune was by no means a fan of that development, he could at least appreciate the fact that there was no longer the constant build up of anxiety over the upcoming verbal thrashing. If anything, it had been good to have something familiar after the rather… emotional discussion between the two of them.

Getting yelled at for doing dumb stuff is familiar? Second inquired.

I wasn't thinking to you.

Then think quieter! I thought we had this figured out already, but now I have to deal with awkward thoughts about your reunion with your dad? I mean, I'm happy for you, congrats and all, but I let you two have your little moment because I didn't want to be involved, and it's kind of hard to keep it that way if you're over here constantly thinking about nothing else.

Jaune frowned. You're my semblance, my problems are your problems.

That made Second pause. …You're not wrong, but I was thinking more along the lines of "Hey, here's how to not die." or maybe "Hey, did you know so and so has a crush on you?"

Wait, you're going to tell me who has a crush on me?

No, but now you're focused on something else, right? Though now that I'm thinking about the subject again, I might be able to do some meddling now that I've got a physical form. I couldn't exactly talk to people about potential feelings for you while I was stuck in your head.

"Is he- er, are they really always like this?" Aurelius looked to his friends.

"No!" Jaune answered, but he went ignored.

"Ehhh," Nora made an iffy gesture with her hand, "It's been happening a lot less lately because they can talk to each other like normal people now, but it was constant before we got blue Jaune."

Is that all I've been relegated to? What a sad day this is, Second lamented.

"Blue Jaune?" Ren questioned. "Isn't the whole point of Second Thoughts having a name to use it?"

Nora folded her arms in a defiant manner. "Blue Jaune will regain name privileges once he can best me in combat!"

"Nora, Jaune can't beat you in a fight, how do you expect Second to?" Yang reminded the ginger.

Ouch, harsh! You just gonna take that?

She's not wrong… Jaune admitted.

"I'm still convinced that he can turn into a giant! Once we get him to the size of a Goliath we can have a real fight!"

Here we go again…

"A giant?" Aurelius raised a brow.

"Second's size is dependent on the aura available to him when he manifests," Pyrrha explained. "Less aura means he looks like a younger Jaune, and there's a theory that giving him an excessive amount will make him bigger. We hadn't tested it yet because of the Vytal festival…"

"And the fact that it doesn't make any sense," Weiss added.

"Don't say that Weiss!" Ruby whined. "Think about how awesome it would be to have a giant Second Thoughts wielding a giant scythe!"

Why does she think I'd use a scythe? The logical choices would be a sword so that we can use each other's weapons easily or something that isn't just a blade so we have more variety.

Jaune mentally sighed. You're asking why Ruby of all people wants you to use a scythe?

…Fair point.

"She's right," Blake agreed. "If his size depends on how much aura Jaune has when he manifests, then the biggest he can get is normal Jaune size. Anything bigger would require Jaune to have that much aura in the first place."

With Weiss and Blake, two of the group's resident bookworms, even if Blake's interests weren't of an academic nature, agreeing on the point, the rest of them were ready to accept that, even if Nora was bummed out.

But none of them had years of experience as a huntsmen under their belt.

"While I'm not sure that this particular hypothetical would be terribly useful, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it," Aurelius countered. "Semblances can evolve over time. Back when I was a student, I knew a student who's semblance was completely unrecognizable if you compared what she had while coming into Beacon to what she had when leaving the school. If I'm understanding correctly, it seems Jaune's already has at least once. There's nothing saying it has to stop there. And even without that, it could simply be a matter of control. There's no guarantee, but maybe with practice they could exchange aura between them freely. At the end of the day it is all Jaune's aura, right?"

"Yes!" Nora cheered. "Giant Second, here we come!"

He has a point with semblances changing, I guess. I'm an obvious example. But for it to be something completely unrecognizable? That seems like a bit much.

Spurred on by Second's curiosity, Jaune decided to ask. "How did their semblance change? Maybe it could give me some ideas."

Aurelius hummed. "Well, I never really knew her all that well, we were in different years and didn't really interact all that much, but from what I remember… I want to say the rumor was that her semblance was originally just some minor electricity generation? The upperclassmen would complain about her using it to explode their dust cartridges on them." The man laughed. "Of course, at the same time they complained, they were wishing she would go back to that. Not being able to rely on dust during a fight with her was a whole lot easier than trying to get to her through a storm."

"You mean like a thunderstorm?" Pyrrha suggested. "I suppose that is quite an upgrade from minor electricity generation, but it sounds like it's just a direct upgrade, not something that's completely different."

"Well, that was part of it, yeah, but it didn't stop there. I don't think anyone would have been too surprised if she eventually started throwing around lightning strikes. But then one day, or so the story goes, anyway, I wasn't there, she suddenly whips up the nastiest weather you'll ever see. Hurricane winds, lightning strikes left and right, hail the size of golf balls pelting the ground… The headmaster was pissed when he saw the damage to the arena," he laughed. "I remember seeing the aftermath and vowing never to get on her bad side."

That almost sounds… Second began.

…almost sounds? Jaune prompted him to continue.

Well, I suppose it could just be a normal storm semblance, but the lightning, wind, and ice… if he brought up fire, I'd be sure that he was talking about a Maiden.

Ozpin really thought that having an eternity of experience, a good portion of it involving working at a school, would have him prepared for dealing with an unruly young lady.

Though as he massaged his temple, hoping that his migraine would go away, he found himself wondering if unruly came anywhere near an apt description of her. And lady was probably incorrect as well. She was a woman, yes, that was a concrete fact since she had stolen the power of the Fall Maiden, but back in his day the term referred to social standing as well, and it was clear that she was nothing more than a menace.

"Roman, I am kindly asking that you do something about this situation."

Roman took a drag of a cigar that Ozpin wasn't sure he wanted to know the origins of. "You think I'm capable of doing that? Nice to see that you have such a high opinion of me, but there's no controlling Neo. Even before the whole, you know," The thief avoided reminding him directly of the incident in the basement, "she did as she pleased. Trying to keep us here isn't going to stop that. Well, it'll work on me, but…"

Neo just smirked at them cruelly, twirling her umbrella in her hands.

The umbrella she used as a weapon. That had been confiscated from her. That had been locked away in a room on the other side of campus, far from the locked and guarded room he had left her in.

It was becoming a bit of a pattern.

The incident in the basement had made him a bit… emotional, and his thoughts had gotten a bit rash at one point, but once he'd calmed down, he had realized what an unfortunate situation he truly was in.

Neo having stolen the Fall Maiden's power was a terrifying prospect, as he was coming to learn, and he still firmly believed that the correct course of action would be to shove her back into James' machine and drain it out of her.

But there were a few problems with that plan at the moment. The most pressing of which was who to give it to. His plan had been to give it to Miss Nikos, and he still thought that in a vacuum she would be a rather ideal candidate, but it had been made clear that she was not an option. That left them with many possible choices, but at the same time too few.

Yes, there were a good number of young huntresses who were technically viable candidates, but he, along with those in the know on the matter, hadn't approached them initially for a reason. They were all lacking in some form or another. He would have to go down the list again and try to find someone who would be good enough, as harsh as that sounded.

If only Raven hadn't run off to her tribe, she was strong enough that he felt she could handle it…

But past mistakes would not suddenly undo themselves if he found himself in a tough spot. Beyond his regrets with Raven, that was being made obvious by his dealings with the crooks in his school.

"I suppose I just assumed, didn't I?" Ozpin sighed. "The common perception is that you are the master thief, and she your…" the words sidekick or henchman came to mind, but he wasn't keen on seeing Neo's reaction to them, "...associate. Though I suppose it's clear now who wears the pants in this relationship."

Neo smiled in approval while Roman guffawed.

"It's not like that! I am a master thief! I was a big shot before I even met Neo! You can't take that away from me!"

Neo rolled her eyes and Ozpin barely stopped himself from doing the same. "Then perhaps you should prove that to me by, oh, I don't know… keeping her under control? I have quite enough problems to worry about without her running around and creating more. When I say that you are being kept under lock and key, I place you under lock and key, and then I discover for... What is this now, the fourth time?"

Neo held up five fingers.

"The fifth time," Ozpin corrected, "that not only has she escaped her room without the huntsmen guarding her even noticing, but that she has acquired various contraband before waltzing into your room like she owns the place."

"How is that my fault?" Roman defended. "It just means you need better guards!"

If only that were possible. He had no doubt that if not for Second's interference, Neo would have broken Roman out of James' airship on her own, and that was one of the most secure places on Remnant. The Vale prison would do no good, and with how easily she was evading some of the best huntsmen he could get to do such a menial task…

Honestly he found himself starting to understand Second Thought's position on her being the Maiden. It was rather impressive, what she was able to accomplish, and unless his senses were failing, she wasn't even using the Maiden's power to aid her.

But he still couldn't allow a criminal with questionable allegiances and a fondness of disobeying him to hold it.

"Back to your room, Miss Politan. Let us not have this conversation for a sixth time."

He was growing rather tired of this, but the forces at play left him no choice but to deal with it for a while longer. Neo was fond of turning his hair even greyer, but she would not risk Roman's life with Cinder still out there. And he was sometimes tempted to strangle the little monster, but better an annoyance that he knew than to send the Maiden's power to places unknown or knowingly put it into someone who couldn't handle it.

Neo left Roman's room with a smirk on her face and a pep in her step.

He'd have to do this again within the week.

Chapter Text

As the training wrapped up for the day, a panting, sweaty Jaune looked up at his father from his spot on the ground.

He felt like he should say something. He just wasn't sure what.

Even if they'd… talked about things, there was still a good amount of awkwardness in the situation. They were getting along relatively normally at the moment, but what came next? His dad just goes home and everything is back to normal?

Yes? Second Thoughts suggested. What, do you think you're supposed to hate each other or something? You're father and son, things got a little heated but he seems calm now. I don't really know what counts as a normal baseline for him, but what I've seen so far seems like a normal parental relationship to me.

Jaune wasn't quite so sure of that though. But I ran away from home, and I caused all this trouble, and he was so upset about-

Jaune, look. Second interrupted him. I know you feel really guilty, but this isn't entirely your fault. You have some culpability for the situation, sure, but he fucked up too.

But I-

No. Listen to me. I'm not omnipotent or anything, but I'm fairly certain that running away from home isn't a spur of the moment thing. I didn't listen in on your conversations, and frankly I don't want all the details, but I suspect that there were lots of signs leading up to it that should have been noticed. I'm inclined to believe that if he'd focused more on you, like a responsible parent should, that the situation wouldn't have been so messy, Second Thoughts gently chided. However, even if this is maybe edging into territory that's best avoided, I don't think it's something that needs to become a huge wedge between the two of you. I don't know anything about Pyrrha's home life, but your situation is probably the best out of everyone else in this little group. If it's not dead parents, then they're negligent, or maybe they abandoned the family completely, or maybe they're trying their best but seriously struggled at a few points along the way. Well, I suppose there is one other exception there, where your friend is a moron who needs to patch things up with their parents, but even then I'm confident that they could have a solid relationship again if they just tried.

Who-

I'm not spilling their secrets. Though maybe I should push them on that when I get a chance… anyway, the point I was trying to make is that while this is a rough patch, you can get through it with relatively little trouble and go back to loving each other like normal. You already got past the hardest part, even if it wasn't something you intended to happen.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to seeing that," Aurelius interrupted, still put off by the silent communication with the voice in his head.

Stop framing it in a way that makes you sound like a schizo.

Shut up, Jaune cleverly rebutted.

Aurelius continued on, ignorant of their thoughts. "It's getting pretty late though, and I need to get back to the hotel I booked in Vale."

That made Jaune pause. "You're not going back home?"

Aurelius laughed. "It's the first time I've seen my son in months and you think it's over just like that? No, I'll be back tomorrow and maybe we can train some more. Besides, I'm not the only one you need to talk to. The rest of the family will be making the trip too, I just convinced them to let me go first, figure things out in a less chaotic fashion."

Jaune paled.

I take it back, Second corrected. You have not made it through the hardest part.

"Relax." Aurelius rolled his eyes. "I'll talk to them, make sure things don't get too out of hand when they show up. But your mother has been worried sick, she won't be able to calm down until she sees you with her own two eyes. And your sisters… well, they still refuse to admit it, but they were plenty worried, too."

His mother being worried, he could believe, but Jaune wasn't sure that his sisters actually cared. That was something for him to worry about later though. For now, he stood up, before hesitating. Should he-

Aurelius wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. "I love you, son. I'll see you tomorrow." With a pat on the back, Aurelius walked off, leaving the arena and probably heading towards the airship docking area.

"That was so sweet!" Ruby cooed.

Jaune groaned as he was reminded of the fact that his friends had involved themselves in the entire ordeal.

"I'm glad that you were able to make up with your father," Pyrrha smiled.

Nora whispered something to the girl with a smirk that had her face turning as bright red as her hair, laughing as the invincible girl squeaked.

Huh. I wonder what she said? Not often that Pyrrha blushes like that…

I have some ideas, but you're on your own for this one, Second replied.

"I'm more interested in meeting the rest of the family." Yang redirected the conversation. "You have a ton of sisters, right?"

"Yeah, seven of them. I doubt Saphron will come though, she's busy with her family in Argus."

"Eight children?" Weiss shivered. "Your parents must be insane. Even the concept of one is frightening, but that many…"

Blake smirked. "Well, maybe Mr. Arc is just-"

"Nope!" Jaune interrupted her. "I don't need to know what someone who reads the sort of stuff you do thinks about the subject. My mind is clean and I'd like to keep it that way!"

Good, Second Thoughts affirmed. I don't need any of that getting sent to me by mistake. I'll be scarred for life.

Blake flushed. "What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Please, Blake, everyone knows about your little stash." Nora laughed. "You can admit that you're a degenerate, we'll still love you even through all the judgement!"

"How do you-" Blake's face was aflame as she struggled to get the words out.

"Yang told us." Ren explained, throwing the blonde under the bus. "But perhaps we should leave any potential gossip alone for now. I've no doubt that we'll get our fill and then some with six of Jaune's sisters coming to meet us."

Jaune ignored the way that their faunus friend was trying to strangle his fellow blonde as he realized what he was in for. The reunion with his family was going to be bad enough, and now he had to worry about what embarrassing stories would pass between family and friends?

Any ideas on how to stop that? He pleaded with Second.

A few, but they all involve danger and disaster, which we should probably avoid.

I was afraid of that…

"So what's the plan?" Qrow asked before taking a swig out of his flask. "Even if my bitch sister agreed to open the vault, it's not like we can just waltz on in there like we own the place. What did it take to get her to agree, anyway?"

"The terms of the agreement include you not learning those details," Winter remarked. "As for our cover for the operation, Lionheart's arrest conveniently gives us a good opportunity."

"The lazy bastards in the Mistral Council saw fit to involve me rather heavily in the paperwork side of arranging a new headmaster for the school," Jimmy continued. "The entrance to the vault is supposedly somewhere in the same building as the headmaster's office, so the running idea is that while I pay a visit to the new headmaster, that leaves a period of time in which nobody else in the school will want to disturb us, and I can keep him occupied."

"Hold on, you don't know where it is beyond somewhere in the same building?" Qrow probed.

"No," James deadpanned. "Oz never saw fit to mention that to me. And it seems that he never informed you either."

Irondick had him there. He'd viewed Oz's secrecy as a necessity for so long that he hadn't really stopped to think about important info like that…

"Although it might be more accurate that we don't have confirmation of its entrance. You were there the last time I was, Qrow. Doesn't a particular spot come to mind?"

Qrow thought back to Leo's arrest. The building had been pretty fancy looking, but there hadn't been too many spots to hide secret entrances. If Jimmy's boy scout had already found the hidden Seer behind the bookshelf…

"The statue?"

"That's what I'm thinking," Jimmy agreed. "The mechanism to open it will have to be discovered through trial and error, but I think I can keep him distracted long enough. Part of me wants to bring Clover and put his semblance to use, but I'd rather not involve him in things like this…"

"If we're considering semblances, is it really wise to allow him to come along?" Winter verbally jabbed at him.

"Hey!" Qrow frowned. "That's not… hmm… yeah, that's pretty fair, actually." He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve a semblance like Misfortune, but that was the hand he had been dealt in life, and he had to play with it.

"There's also Raven's willingness to cooperate to consider," Winter added. "We hadn't discussed who would be involved in the operation, but I have a suspicion that she would not welcome his presence."

Qrow took another swig. "Much as I hate to say it, you're probably right on that front. That bitch wants nothing to do with me. But if Jimmy is distracting the headmaster, and you don't want me there, who else could we bring? I don't think sending you down to the vault alone with her is a good idea."

"Do you think I can't handle her?" Winter narrowed her eyes.

"Stand down, Winter."

Goody two shoes stood at attention when her handler gave the order. Qrow didn't bother to hide his smirk.

"It would be the height of foolishness to believe that any one person could fight her on their own should she turn on us," James continued. "Even without the Maiden's power, what I've been told of her semblance…"

"It's a real bitch to deal with," Qrow agreed. "She could portal out of there any time she wanted, bring the entire tribe to fight along with her, push you through and dump you on a different continent… Though I doubt she'd try that last one, too much of a coward to risk whatever is on the other end coming through."

"And yet there isn't another option," Winter sighed. "Involving more people is a bad idea, and the only people who are already involved will be trapped at Beacon. We cannot expect Doctor Oobleck to suspiciously take a day off from teaching to visit Haven, and that's to say nothing of bringing Second Thoughts along."

Having to work in the shadows really sucked.

"If she is unwilling to work with you directly, then we'll just have you stationed nearby, Qrow. Far enough away that she can't be too bothered by your presence, but close enough that you could intervene should something go awry."

"She'll be able to tell that I'm there through her semblance…" Qrow rebutted, "but I guess that's about as good as we can get, given our working conditions." A heavy silence fell over the room for a moment as they considered what they were planning to do, but Qrow broke it as another thought crossed his mind. "You given any thought as to what questions we should ask?"

"Of course we have, do you think us fools?" Winter demanded.

Qrow smirked. "You sure you want me to answer that question?"

"We've come up with a few," Ironwood interrupted before they could descend into squabbling, "but I think it would be best to discuss things with Second before deciding anything firmly. There's not much point in asking for information that he could give us freely and waste a question."

"Not to be rude to the kid, but what makes you so sure we can trust him?"

"Well," James replied, "I suppose that will have to be one of our questions, won't it?"

Chapter Text

As things wound down for the night, and Jaune found himself worrying about seeing the rest of his family, or most of it at least, for the first time in quite a while, he found that his semblance was quite useless on the matter.

You know all sorts of stuff, why don't you know how to handle this? Jaune found himself asking.

I got your dad's name wrong, Second Thoughts deadpanned.

Well- yeah, Jaune mentally stumbled, but that doesn't mean that you don't know any of my sisters! You know me and all my friends and all the secret stuff with Ozpin and them!

I suppose you do have a point there…

Exactly! Jaune eagerly agreed, So help me out here!

You mentioned Saphron, right? As in Saphron Cotta-Arc, wife of Terra Cotta-Arc? They have a… actually I'm not sure if that's happened yet, maybe I shouldn't get into that part…

Yes! See? Jaune ignored the hesitation to share future information, latching onto the bit of hope that he had. If you know one of my sisters then what's to say that you don't know the others?!