Checkers - (RWBY/SI)

[Hyles]

Checkers

Synopsis:

Waking up as Jaune Arc won't be a problem if I survive a school of reckless teenage superheroes, understand the Arc family before they find me, and stop a world-ending plot from an immortal mistress. It seems easy enough.

'Thought Bubble'

"Speaking/Dialogue"

*Sound/Action*

[Message/System]

Author Notes:
Hi SV, this is my first time posting here. I am new to all of the writing stuff other than Questing, so I apologize if there are some errors in grammar. English is not my first language, but I try my best to make it right.
This story is something I want to try and it's all in good fun. Hope you enjoy.

---

Chapter 1: Head

Hard.

That's my only thought for 30 minutes after I woke up, ignoring the panic attacks and existential dread. It is an interesting situation I find myself in touching something so... crass.

So... abnormal, rough, and unbelievably hard.

It's impossible to imagine that in my lifetime, counting the previous one, I would achieve this impossible dream. A dream that every man envisions. A dream that wrought pure envy and wrath from every male individual that has caused havoc in my previous world.

Wars were made, plagues were unleashed, and lives were lost.

This... thing I touch gracefully with my soft hands. Such tenderness is required by only a cat's touch, which I am gifted on this fortunate body. I am fortunate to live a second life to have this gripped in my pulsing hands.

"I serve my life to protect you," I whisper these words to the treasure of this unseen gift.

To my rock-hard abs.

"Snap back to reality" I immediately get myself up from bed to check my surroundings once more. I am in a worn and torn room with a foul smell which I can assume is the equivalent of alcohol. There is wallpaper tearing off either by the scratches on its previous occupant, which is not physically me, or the lack of care by the owner of this... room? Motel space? I haven't checked the status of where I am physically...

But I know who I am by the white armor I am wearing.

I take my steps carefully to the bathroom, as I need to wash my face. It's a good habit to rinse yourself after waking up, as it removes the pesky tired feeling in your bones to start a new day with a smile!

*SPLASH*

Dark blue.

That's a color that I should have… expected? Unexpected? I don't know what I should expect when you are dragged into a possible world that you have known as a series and fan works made by various creators that are deemed to be… outrageous.

"This entire situation is… outrageous." I speak for the first time, and my voice is… higher than expected. Am I that young to sound this boy-ish? I touch my blonde strands at the flickering lights as I try to take in the look. "Not long enough to go for a wolf-cut, but not short enough to be a bob-cut. .."

Then I touch my cheeks and squish them. It's strange to feel your face, talk with your own words, and look with your own eyes. This weight and feeling from it is new, but old to me. Is this what the future hero feels like? To have a body of a young boy who will naively walk down on the path of righteous heroism to the role he shouldn't be. To be the knight who will lose his love and perception of the world of what it means to be a hero.

To be a hero… for EverAfter.

Yet as I look into those eyes, I do not see that hero. There is no bright shine of optimism that will make him walk the innocent bloody path. There is no smile of the young boy who will flirt and play the guitar on the selfless confidence he brings to himself. Instead, I see blue melancholic eyes staring at me…

"As if I am the biggest idiot thinking I will be one." I spoke my thoughts out loud, and the voice didn't change much.

*SPLASH*

Splashing myself with water wouldn't help my psyche, but it helps my body to wake up a bit. It's good to know my dread is a reality, and I should probably be thinking about important questions about myself. Questions like do I keep the same Aura and Semblance? Or is that going to be changed?

"I hate it that they never fully explain that shit." I mutter to myself as I wipe the water off my face. That's important because if I do keep it, there are some funny ways you can do with Aura Amplification. However, it has implications for Aura and its connection to the Soul.

Wait, does it mean I will vomit every tim-

*RING RING RING*

Then a ringtone interrupts my thoughts. It sounds familiar so I try to follow where the sound is coming from. I went through the pillows and blankets until I found it under the bed. When I saw it, I thought of making sure my first step out of this room was to make a call…

"Ew…" A call to room services because the floor is very crusty.

I hold a white rectangular device that has a gold diamond in the middle, and it vibrates on every ring it makes. I recognize that this is a… Scroll. It's not surprising when a sci-fi genre actually shows mundane but impressive technology. With a press in the middle, it reveals a holographic screen to me.

[BEACON ACADEMY IS CONTACTING YOU…]

And it's not a salesman reaching out for my car warranty.

"Fuck." I blurt and my mind races into different thoughts. First off, why? Why am I being called? Is this about my transcripts? Did I ever send my transcripts? If not, is it now? Do I need to start lying now to get myself into Beacon? What if it didn't matter and they knew? But what if they don't know, but they want to check me?

'Okay, breathe. I need to breathe.' I inhale a gulp of air, then exhale.

As much as I have these thoughts in my head, I don't have the answers now and this stupid device won't let me go through the home screen like an old iPhone. I can only make the most of what I know and just… wing it. Whatever my fate is, I can't hold it off for a minute even without knowing what's on the other side.

So, I comb my hair to make myself look good enough if the caller or instructor wants to do it on video. I can only hope it's not Goodwit-

"Good morning Mister Arc." An alluring voice calls out of the device. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch, the Head-Deputy Mistress of Beacon Academy, and I am contacting you about your transcripts."

I silently scream with so many derogatory words I know to sum up this jinx.

"Good… afternoon Miss Goodwitch." I was able to check through the Scroll's home screen through the call minimizing itself. As much as I want to mentally strangle who made this feature, I keep my face neutral just in case the call is being recorded through… wherever this thing's camera is. "I hope you don't find trouble before school starts?"

Miss Goodwitch laughs audibly through the Scroll. "The only trouble I find is the paperwork for the enrolling initiates. Though, I congratulate you for being accepted into our academy. Headmaster Ozpin has commended your achievements on your time in Vacuo."

"I… thank you?" Bollocks. On one hand, I am already accepted into a prestigious school without going through some hoops to convince them. On the other hand, what in god's name is in those transcripts? It has to be over-the-top to get a mention from the wizard even if it's legitimate or illegitimate, I want to know how ridiculous I look through their eyes.

"Sorry, I am confused why… am I being called?" I emphasize on the confusion, even though I am thinking of a different topic, there has to be a reason why the second-most important person in Beacon is calling me.

"Even with the acceptance from the Headmaster…" She pauses, whether it be for dramatic effect or she's thinking her words, it's working on my poor anxiety. "Your accomplishments, your time in Vacuo… I have questions for them, in person."

How.. in the literal fuck did Jaune pass through this? Surely they would have caught him as a fraud at that point, but by Goodwitch?! Out of all the people that Jaune bypasses metaphorically, Goodwitch? This… this must be the moment before he got figured out. Or is this after? Fuck me, why did you put me into this situation Jaune?

"If you have questions… you can ask them now, you know?" I clench my jaw a bit as I sit down on the bed. With the device open, I go through its files to search for any document related to the transcripts. "Unless I did something… bad?"

"It's not about your current status, Mister Arc." Her voice calls out to calm me, but my fingers fidget on the possibilities. "I am referring to the… history you have encountered."

"History…?" Yup, this is the moment where he got found out.

"Every person we have met and accepted into our institution has faced a great set of challenges, and all of those challenges took a great amount of time to recover." Goodwitch's tone slowly turned into something… sentimental? Soft? "However when I received your transcripts, I was surprised at how much you have witnessed."

I keep my mouth shut as I let her… elaborate more about it. This could be a test or a bluff that I might get caught for. It's best to play the naive card until I find the transcripts.

So the silence became a minute…

Then two minutes…

Then five minutes…

"Your.. study in Knightfall Academy." She says quietly that I almost missed it. She emphasizes it as if this means any… significance to me. Sadly, neither me nor the former me would have any so I continue giving her the only logical answer I can give.

Silence until I find the transcripts.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

*Cough*

"..."

"I see that… you understand what I mean. I apologize for… bringing up any unsettling memories, Mister Arc." Goodwitch sounds apologetic, but I do not take her word until I actually see any actual empathy. I was able to find family photos and messages, but I couldn't find the file drive button on this device unless he kept it in the conversations..? Surely he can't be that dumb-

"Mister Arc, can I ask permission to open for a video call?" Goodwitch asks.

"Uhm… " Wait, so the camera wasn't on? Or is it on and she wants to see if I was pretending this entire time? Fucking hell, it's difficult to tell what's what when there's a secret plotline to consider in this world. I brush my hair up and try to think about the pros and cons of this.

If I don't accept, it'll look hella suspicious if they don't know. But it also means that they do know, and not accepting it could be a way to judge my "character". But if I accept it…

"...Why, Miss Goodwitch?" I ask with the shakiness in my voice. My heartbeat pumps loudly in my ears as this could be the deciding factor of how I live in this world. I could have adventures on the grandest scale to fight fantastical monsters and cool weaponry but at the expense of literally...

Dying again.

I am not naive to say that this body is good enough. Plot armor be damned, I am a different person living in the face of someone who isn't supposed to be there. Accepting this could help double down what could get me in, or all of this doesn't matter and they just wanted to check on me.

But it doesn't ignore the fact that Jaune Arc is the weakest person on the team.

Yes, he has a great Semblance and Aura but the experience is lacking so much. That what made him great in the EverAfter is time. If he spent the same amount of time as everyone else in Beacon, he would be on the same level as everyone else.

Except I do not have that time, nor this body does.

All I have is a prayer that I have gained the same amount of luck as this man's shoes and that I follow the same plotline. But it wouldn't be possible, as my presence here could already trigger the butterfly effects. I may not be pinned on the tree or maybe Weiss Schnee won't get that scar, but the changes I have just for… not being Jaune Arc are already-

Even if I follow all of it, and I do follow all of it, there's still...

Salem to deal with…

…

Oh god, I am going to die.

Even if I run and hide, the world is going to end. I remember how they tried and failed. Failed to do anything cohesive. Failed to do anything with Atlas and the Winter Maiden's power. All of this wouldn't matter because I don't know how it ended. No matter what I do, there's no way I can-

"Breathe with me, Jaune" Then a gentle voice interrupts me. "In... and out..."

I follow her lead, breathing in and out as my racing heart begins to slow.

In… and out…

"That's it… it's okay, I'm here Jaune." Her voice calls out and I look out to the source.

And I see emerald eyes staring at me.

Her blonde hair sways with its spiral braid, as she breathes deeply. Her white blouse shows a window of her chest, with the cloak unattached laid flatly behind her as she exhales. Her glasses reflect on the Scroll light before her, as her background is an office filled with papers and stationary tools on the desk.

But my eyes couldn't let go of how… she's here… physically here.

And wow, she's gorgeous. The animation did not do her justice.

"Wait… how did you…" As I gain my senses, I realize that the video is open…

"You open it yourself, Jaune." She smiles warmly at me, and I feel something warm crawling up to my face. "I was surprised you opened it yourself before you answered, but when I see you are shaking… I had to assume you did it accidentally during your… attack."

Oh… "shit. L-look I'm sorry that I did-"

"No, it's okay." She interrupts me. "Do you have medication near you?"

"Medication…?" I am confused, but then I catch on to what she meant by that. "I… uhm… uh…"

"So you don't have anything prescribed to you?" She looks down and I hear something being written down from her. As she writes, I lay down in bed because I am stumped on what has happened now. I already deviated from what could have happened to Jaune, and now I am being written on some medicine that only I could need. Jaune Arc wouldn't need this…

Or does he? At this point, I am already wearing- no, I am Jaune…

It's just… how much do I want to continue following this… dream of his?

"Jaune, are you still there?" I bring the Scroll to my face as Goodwitch calls out. "Ah, do you need… time to rest? I can still call you again if you need time to recover. I'll send you a text on the list of clinics that can diagnose your symptoms that are approved by Beacon Academy, and since you are accepted as an Initiate for the institution, Beacon Academy will cover the costs-"

"Why are you doing this?" My mind couldn't fully process what is happening now. Did Jaune ever go through this? I mean, maybe? He has to, but… I would imagine he would just fumble and just look sheepish like the naive guy he is… Maybe that's how he got in. He was naive to her…

Wait…

What if… I am in an alternative universe?

My eyes widen and I jump out of bed to find the nearest window to check every person walking down the sidewalk or the surrounding buildings to see if I am in some messed-up reality where everything I know doesn't make sense. I mean it already doesn't make sense now, but I swear to the Brothers if I have to bring protection on wherever I go-

"Jaune Arc!" Then I remember the Scroll in my hands. "Are you alright? Did something happen in your location?!"

"I… uh…" I see people walking down the streets with colorful hair as if I am looking at a comic convention or party coming up. Seriously, each person I see on this sidewalk has different bombastic hairstyles and it's difficult to tell which one is the main character. I see yellow mohawks and green curly hairstyles, and there's the one dude with an oversized white trench coat who looks-

"Jaune, please step away from the window." Then Glynda's voice calls out… to beg?

I look down at my Scroll, and I see her walking out of her office in some hallway that I don't recognize while her camera shakes. I am confused about why she would call out like that, when I am just dangling on the window to see if-

Oh.

I slowly pull myself back away from the railing, and sit down on the floor to calm down the lady that could possibly… cause more trouble to myself than Jaune has done in the first Volume. Or is it the right time for her to go out? Since there's the robbery thing going to happen-

No, get a grip Jaune.

"Sorry… I… I just have a lot on my mind." And it's a lot to process. It's not like every once and a while you wake up after being…

Dead.

As I say that, the camera shakes less but Goodwitch keeps walking on down the hallway. "Mister Arc, I will send an ambulance to your location based on the area I have seen in this video call. I apologize if it intrudes on your privacy, but as a faculty member of Beacon Aca-"

"No, no, no!" Fuck! This is going to deviate the timeline further! "There's no need to do that! Please, I can assure you that I won't be jumping out of any random building! It's just…"

Her pace doesn't slow. If anything, she seems to be moving faster. "Mister Arc, your behavior is extremely concerning. Your eyes dilate out of focus, you don't respond to my explanation, or rather, you don't hear what I just explained. These symptoms require me as an educator and your future facilitator to ensure your well-being. It is the responsibility and duty as part of Beacon Academy."

I run a hand through my hair, frantically trying to think to stop her. Did I miss something from Jaune Arc? There was nothing that explained why he was a student. Only speculation and theories that he could be connected to something bigger but it was never explained.

Everything was never explained well, so… I can only do the same for her.

"Miss Goodwitch, I really... appreciate the concern, I really do. But I promise you, that this isn't… necessary." I strain my voice and sit down to beg her. "I just… thought so much. So many… possibilities, so many things that could happen to me just from… being accepted. I still couldn't believe that I am here, Miss Goodwitch. Here I get to talk to you, and think about my future… it's just…"

I pause a bit and think about what to say.

Because what is there to say to make her believe me without breaking anything?

Tell her that the mission she fought for is for naught. This game between a divorced couple has no end in sight, other than the insight that maybe, we can use the Everafter to do something about it? Or the fact that I am just a random person inside a person who's conning himself into an impossible dream?

"It's… too much." I lay down again, and look up at the ceiling to calm down.

I try to slowly breathe again to not overthink all of this. To not think so much about what can happen, but it is the only thing I have to help me survive in this world. To survive on a body that is not equipped to fight other teenage superpowered humans. To survive against monsters that can smell my fear. To survive the bloody shadow war against an immortal mistress with a ticking time bomb from the actual gods.

All of this is too much.

I look back at the Scroll, and I can see her already outside of the building on what looks like she's heading towards a helipad. Or is it a runway? Either way, she's not stopping her tracks while she glances back at the camera.

"Jaune, there's no shame in needing help. Whatever you've been through, whatever you're dealing with, you don't have to face it alone." She says as she continues walking. "I have seen your transcripts, the history of what you have experienced, the Black Horde Incident, and your… situation with your family. You should not be deterred from accepting help when they're there for you."


I bite my lip on how tempting it is. To hear and see how genuine she is, she must have been devastated when Beacon fell. To pick up the ashes and debris when everything has gone to ruin. Despite how much I knew her from a strict persona, I feel warm to know she truly cares…

Even with the manipulation of the wizard.

"But… I am just an Initiate Miss Goodwitch." I try to think. Think why is she pursuing so much for Jaune Arc? This… can't possibly be just the transcripts… "I never expected you would… do this for me… Surely, you don't just do this… to everyone?"

Goodwitch briefly looks away from the camera. Either she's looking out for an aircraft to ride or avoiding the question, I see her… contemplate the question.

"We make exceptions." Her emerald eyes keep away from the camera as she walks around the area. "There are times when a student's accolades or status must be accommodated and adjusted to the curriculum to be able to learn from the academy. While it can be deemed unequal to some of the Initiates, the purpose of the adjustment is to teach what no other institution can teach to students like you."

"To teach you the reality of being a Huntsman. Atlas teaches the principle of uniformity, Haven teaches the zeitgeist of hunting Grimm, and Shade teaches survival of the fittest. All of them have their benefit to learn, but Beacon stands tall as the greatest academy due to our vision to teach every aspect of it. For all To be a protector of humanity." Her eyes look into the camera, and it stares straight into my eyes. "And you, Jaune Arc, have understood that principle first before everything else."

"W-what…?" No, Jaune doesn't know any of that. He's a fraud who got lucky to get in… unless…

I look around the room, and I find the object I was thinking of. With all of this effort she is pulling through, all of this talk she is giving to stop me from this half-truthful mental attack, a thought comes to me. Well, two thoughts. Either this is one hell of a test from Ozpin…

Or… Jaune… did all of that.

If he really did all of that, even though I don't know what he did, I might have a chance.

A chance to survive, a chance to go on an adventure with skills I can rely on my back. A chance to have something fall onto safely when I have so little time to build a plan against this devastation that the creators of the show couldn't think of one.

A chance to save this world.

I walk towards the object on the floor, as it lays still while the sun shines on it from my window. The steel reflects its light with its golden trims glowing an orange light around the floor, which mesmerizes me. For my entire life, I have never seen an object glow like that.

To think of Crocea Mors as a beautiful weapon surprises me. No wonder he keeps this around.

I hold onto its grip, and I slowly pick it up as I am surprised at how… light it feels.

This has to be a sign. A sign that I have a chance to live through this death world. If he did all of that, then I must have inherited his strength and endurance to do all of it. Even with my weak mentality, just knowing that I have this power would calm me.

I raise the sword over my palm to test this thought. To test that I have power literally in my hands.

The noise around me deafens with my heartbeat only in my ears. My eyes are glued on my palm waiting to be cut open to tell me my possible fate in this world. As I have this sword on me, I keep my mind open thinking what Aura is. Aura is the manifestation of one's soul or at least from what I understand it.

In… and… out…

If my soul can activate it, or at least this body allows me, I will be happy for it.

But… wouldn't that mean it just… won't work?

If my soul is inhabiting this body, if it is my soul, wouldn't that mean I just… replace the Aura? This could mean I replace the very broken Semblance that Jaune could have to protect himself. To protect his friends and allies that would try to save the world for…

Even with this possible strength, he gained… even with his rock-hard abs…

If Jaune did all of it, then what I have known about this world… is practically useless.

And in that moment of hesitation, I loosen the grip and the sword drops on the floor.

I have already fucked the future just from being here. With no Aura Amplification, it will be nearly impossible for me to replicate it. To have a genuine belief in protecting your friends when my top priority is to survive, will just give me a different Semblance when I get to manifest it. And if he did actually do all of it, what I have foreseen will not-

I grip my head with my two hands to just try to stop.

To stop thinking all of this, all of this fear and doubt in my head swirling on what I can or cannot do. My thoughts keep asking different questions and possibilities about what could happen and what didn't happen. To try to live in an absurd place where people can just jump off buildings and fight monstrosities like a Tuesday afternoon when I barely have a lick of experience of just holding a gun.

I am way more useless than Jaune.

"Jaune, are you there? I am already on the heli-carrier to pick you up. Jaune, please respond to me." Goodwitch interrupts my thoughts again, and I see the Scroll lying on the floor. I must have dropped while going for the Crocea Mors, or was it when I was overthinking again?

I shake my head and pick up the Scroll again while I walk towards the bed. "Sorry again, Miss Goodwitch… I just…"

What excuse can I say? At this point, she probably saw me holding the sword earlier. I couldn't think of any words at this point as I flopped onto my bed. My frantic thinking and pacing after just… dying earlier really sets a bad image of me to her…

"It's okay, Jaune. Just… keep the camera on you and I will head to your location. Please know that I am here for you. We may have just met now, but I have known your mother and father for a long time now. I wouldn't want to think what Jessica feels, even if she…" Goodwitch pauses while she rides onto the aircraft.

"She…?" I repeat her words, as I wonder what she meant by that. I keep the call open while I go back to the messages in the device which I press on the latest message. At this point, I have no energy in me to resist or dissuade her away from going to me. My mind is just tired from thinking about everything as I open the first message bubble on the application.

[You blocked Mom - 3 Days Ago]

Then my neurons fired up.

[Mom: I can't believe what you have done, Jaune. After everything we've been through, how could you just leave like that? Your father is furious you took the heirloom away, but we can still talk this out. Please Jaune, please come back home. - 3 Days Ago]

I immediately tap another message bubble, as I feel like an idiot for not checking them now.

[Claire: Jaune, what you are doing is reckless and stupid. I know you wanted to be like us, but you have to understand being a Huntsman is not something you can learn immediately. Please come home. - 3 Days Ago]

[You blocked Claire- 3 Days Ago]

[You blocked Saphron - 3 Days Ago]

[You blocked Myrtle - 3 Days Ago]

[You blocked Sabrina - 3 Days Ago]

[You blocked Mari - 3 Days Ago]

[You blocked Mori - 3 Days Ago]

[You blocked Iris - 3 Days Ago]

All of this thinking, all of this panic about the future could have just been answered if I just checked my Scroll properly. I immediately tap the next message as my eyes flicker to the message from "Dad".

[Dad: You have not just hurt me and your mother, but also the pride of the Arcs. I have forbid you from training to be a Huntsman for it is my wish for you to live peacefully as a man. A man who can pride himself on being happy in Ansel. But instead, you have spit that pride for your selfishness to be something that can only desecrate you forever as a man. - Last Night: 10:39 pm]

[Call initiated - 10:42 pm]

[Call ended - 10:59 pm]

[You blocked Dad - Last Night]

'Holy shit, I'm a fraud!' I want to say those words out loud but Goodwitch is keeping an eye on me. It's good to know I am in canon in some way, but it still doesn't remove the fact of how she's reacting to me. Whatever she's thinking, this truly has to be a test or she really thinks those transcripts are real.

"Jaune, what are you… reading?" She asks carefully while she glances back and forth to the camera to something I can't see through the Scroll hologram. With how she's talking to me, it's time to test it out.

"I'm just... reviewing some old messages," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "It's nothing important."

Goodwitch's brow furrows slightly. "Jaune, given your recent experiences, it's understandable to feel overwhelmed. Especially considering what you've been through without the protection of Aura. While I may not know Knightfall's curriculum after the… Black Horde incident."

She pauses as she looks at me, waiting for me to react something to that event she mentioned again. Assuming this is related to how the "Academy" I went to my supposed "experiences" in my transcript, I nod slowly with a slight tremble on my lips.

Gosh, I never knew I could do that. Is this me, or is Jaune's body reacting well like that?

"With the fall of your academy on that day, you must have taken so much time applying what you have learned. The merit of keeping your Aura locked while learning in a dangerous environment in Vacuo has proven from where you are now. However, trading the ability to be hidden completely from Grimm does not justify your mental health after you have witnessed it." She then opens the door behind her, which reveals the rooftop of a building she's on. "Jaune, please tell me which floor you're on."

"You're here already?!" I get up from bed with my eyebrows raised, thinking this… conversation is too short for her to arrive so quickly.

"Beacon Academy has access to its private aircraft for emergencies." She answers casually while she goes through a door leading to the stairs. "It is not the latest model from Atlas, but it's enough to travel quickly to any city of the kingdom."

I walk up to the door and look at the door number while keeping the Scroll away from it. I think about whether or not to delay her from coming here. To get more time to think about what I can say, what I can do to… to…

To what? She's already here, which means all of the future events are going to fly away with the butterfly effect. I still don't know if she truly believes all of it. The damn wizard has layers under layers under layers of secrecy that even if she doesn't know, he could know. He's the one who accepted it.

"Jaune!" Then a voice calls at the end of the hallway and looks towards where it comes from.

And I see emerald eyes looking at me with worry, as she closes a device on her hand. Her blonde hair sways each step getting closer to me, with her purple capes following her rhythm. Her face is elegant under the flickering hallway lights, while her white shirt and black pencil skirt reveal her curves. Even with a face looking at me with concern, I have only one thought in mind.

'Wow, now I see why people like MILFs'

I drop my Scroll, and I hear no sound of it dropping. As I hear no sound, I look at it to see it floating with a purple glow around it. Mesmerized to see a Semblance like that happen before me.

Then I feel a hand on my shoulder, and another one on my forehead. Goodwitch is looking at me as if I might drop dead without her watch. Then again, I looked like I might go a suicide dive with the window and the sword earlier… so I did something not just to calm her down, but to keep me sane.

I hug her immediately, and I embrace myself on her shoulder.

She feels warm and surprisingly soft. To think this person could cause a hailstorm of destruction with her tenderness, I could just melt and just stay there for this moment. With my head snuggled into her neck, I feel her hands embrace back.

And we hold that silent embrace for a while.

I don't know how many minutes have passed, but it feels nice to have someone hold onto you. After knowing that I am physically disowned, she's probably the only person I can latch onto.

Or is it? There's Ruby, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora to consider, but it's not set in stone on how much I change things just from being here. Goodwitch is not supposed to be here given how she interacted with Jaune from the show, and having this familial connection, well technical familial connection…

"Can… I call you Auntie?" I whisper to her ear, as this thought comes to me.

"Jaune I…" Goodwitch looks taken back at my sudden words. "I… only knew your parents when I was a student. I haven't kept in touch with them for a long time, but we did talk…"

It's funny to see the stoic woman surprised at the random question. Imagine that one day you become an aunt just because a crazy guy asked you to. I almost curled a smile when I said the next few words out of my mouth.

"You're the only one I have left." I push it further with a strain in my voice. It's a half-truth with how alone I am with this knowledge, but I need to see if guilt-tripping her works. Because if it does…

It means she actually believes it.

Stupid? Yes, but I need to survive.

"Jaune I don't-" As she tries to refute, I look at her with sadness. Sadness is not from what happened to me physically, but what happened to me earlier before this. Before all of this madness I have conjured in my mind, I think about what I will miss. Thinking about my mom because I miss her greeting me at home with her cooking whenever I come back from school. Or my brother whom I call dip-shit every time we play whatever console game we can buy from the game store.

All of that is gone.

And there's dad…

I…

Then I feel her hand wipe the tears away from my eyes, as I think about everything I will miss. Her emerald eyes look at me with sadness as I have expressed through my face. She hugs me closer and whispers into my ear.

"Just… don't call me that in public." She strokes my hair as she says that.

I can't believe it.

"R-really?" I blurt out what's genuinely in my head. "You're... You're not testing me, right?"

Goodwitch looks at me with her eyebrows raised at me, but then she lowers them with a look of… sadness? "Jaune, if I were testing you, I wouldn't have gone through the effort to bring a Valean aircraft nor turn this call into a meeting. What you've been through... it's beyond what most seasoned Huntsmen experience in a lifetime. The fact that you're here, still standing, still trying... it speaks volumes about your character."

I stare into those emerald eyes, searching for any hint of deception.

Yet her face is a canvas of emotions.

Worry etched in the slight furrow of her brow, compassion in the gentle curve of her lips, and... a flicker of admiration? To see all of this genuinely… it unsettles me. How can someone who has taught so much, who held so much firepower, easily accept this lie? I…

Before I think any further, I just bury my face deep into her shoulder. It doesn't matter, if this is how she sees it, then I accept it. I accept that whatever I did, and what she sees, I accept it because I need someone. I need someone to help me with all of this.

As we stand there, locked in this unexpected embrace, I feel calmer with the scent of lavender and old books coming to me. It reminds me of home, even if my home no longer exists anymore. With my heart rate slowing down, I feel the tension in my body melting away under her warmth.

I look stupid, or cringe.

Yes, definitely cringe.

I open my eyes, and I see Goodwitch's face with her eyes closed with her fingers stroking my hair. To feel this warmth from her, makes me feel… safe. As she keeps doing this, a question bubbles up in my head. A question that… I really need an answer to this. With all of this stress and panic in my head since I got here, I need anything to help me.

"How do you do it?" I whisper to her while I nudge back into her shoulder. "How do you carry on when you know things... terrible things... that could change everything? When the future seems so... overwhelming?"

The words tumble out, each one laced with a double meaning she couldn't possibly understand. I observe her face carefully, my heart pounding as I await her response. This... this could be the lifeline I need in this impossible situation.

Then she opens her eyes, searching through mine with an intensity that makes me want to look away. But I hold her gaze, silently pleading for some wisdom, some guidance in this mad world I've found myself in.

"Jaune," she begins, her voice low and thoughtful. "The burden of knowledge and experience is often heavier than any physical weight we carry. But remember this, they are tools to us."

She lets go of me and places her hands on my shoulders with a pause, carefully choosing her next words. "The Headmaster would say to trust in your teammates, to trust the people you will protect and follow to become stronger. However, sometimes... sometimes the key isn't in sharing everything at once."

She walks to the doorway and I am surprised by her words. "I understand it will take time for you, but you have to remember what you know and experience, it is something you can use. You can use it to present pieces of that knowledge, whether to take advantage of it or manipulate it to the people you know, it is beneficial to make the most of it and express it."

"W-what..?" She's… asking me to… use people? "Why…?"

She leans at the door frame, and I wait for her response. She pulls out her riding crop on her side and just… looks down on it. "Because that look on your face when you ask me that question, reminds me of someone. Someone who I trusted for a long time, but yet, they never give that trust back…"

I walk up to her as she says her piece. My mind thinks of two people in mind of who she is referring, but I am focused on one person because asking me to manipulate what I know…

"I was patient. As each year passed, I listened carefully to what they said. Not the words that he gives, but the intent behind it. I trusted them fully, but even when the dangers we had faced, that trust was never reflected. They always keep their goal in mind, and their dreams to keep. I sympathize and… follow that dream as well. However, after so much time has passed, I realized the person would never give the same trust in return." She holds onto the weapon as she explains. Through her explanation, I know who she is possibly referring to.

Ozpin.

"I'm… sorry about… your friend." I walk up to her while keeping that genuine emotion intact, while I process this. The fact that this is a hint to Ozpin's shadow schtick still going on like in canon, I need to do something with it. "But why… Why are you telling me this?"

"I am explaining that I can wait, and you should at least express your burden." She holsters the riding crop and looks back at me.

And I flinched at her eyes, the same warm eyes were now replaced with the cold tiredness. The dullness replaced what was the shine on her eyes, with something I could see someone resign their fate. Removed from reality like… I was earlier when I was on a call with her.

"I can wait because it's humane for us to move on in our ways. It's not something I can force you, but I can try to help. Help you to find the support you need, help you find your path and strength to get over this burden you have. But I know and see that sometimes that help can't be done but with time. And I am used to waiting with time." She looks away from me and pushes up her glasses. "But when you do it on your own, just remember to express that burden in honesty. For so many people I have met, honesty to yourself is one way of understanding your burden and the answer to it."

Honesty… to myself?

"So you're saying that... I should cope in my way but... keep an open door?" I processed the words that she said. I thought she would say something cliche, but the fact she hinted about her secret organization with Ozpin makes me... respect her more.

A teacher for her students first, before being a super spy for the old man.

"If your... paranoia continues, yes." She pulls a napkin out of nowhere and places it on my face. "Blow, please."

I almost ask why, until I feel something wet on my nose.

*PFFFT*

"I didn't expect my day to start becoming an... aunt, of all things." She wipes my face, and I take the napkin to clean myself from any embarrassment from her.

"And I didn't expect my aunt's first advice is to try lying, of all things" I respond that comment back at her as I finish up. "I thought you would say something about the power of friendship, or therapy will help me overcome my internal struggles."

"The bond between friends can help create better memories, and Beacon outsources its therapeutic doctors and psychologists from the best of the kingdom, but I believe you already knew that." She makes a gesture that plucks the napkin away from my hand in the air with her Semblance. "When you asked me the question, I know the answer you are looking for is more... abstract. Hence, I told you what I believe is similar to what you are searching for."

"What do you think I am searching for?" I blurt out the question with how amazed I am at her consideration.

"You are searching for peace with what you know." She opens the trash bin with a gesture, and she flicks her finger to throw the napkin into the bin. "Because to find such peace is difficult, even for me. What I have said was one way of finding peace for yourself... and maybe others in your way. That's why I told you to be honest with it."

Then her emerald eyes stare into my dark blue eyes.

"Because I believe being honest makes things easier to understand yourself and the burden you carry."

Honest... to find an answer? To be honest, that would create a lot of chaos. I would run a muck using what I know to exploit the world and the characters because I want to live. I am desperate enough that I will sell to the Schnees about Menagerie if I am given enough time to just package Blake Belladonna into a gift back to her family...

Which... when I think about it... is pretty funny.

"What if... my honesty might cause some... mischief?" I walk away from Goodwitch, and I see her concern returning to her face. "Not in the way you think!"

"Explain what... you mean?" She crosses her arms and raises her eyebrow at me.

"Let's say... that I don't want to wear this armor!" I take off the white armor, which shows a... bunny logo on the black hoodie that made Auntie giggle a bit.

"Okay, but why?" She covers her hand to hide her laughter, but her cute smile still shows underneath that hand.

"Because it's been uncomfortable and impractical!" I raise my hands on the bunny logo to make her snicker. "I'm going to rely more on my Aura than just... tanking it out like any other knight."

"But you are one due to your..." She pauses and realizes what she's about to say with a frown reaching in.

"But I ain't one, and I don't want to be one." I kick the chest plate to interrupt the mood swing, but the kick bounces the armor in the air and jams into the ceiling. We look at it in awkward silence before dropping back to the ground, but Goodwitch catches it mid-air with her Semblance.

"I would not call that to be mischievous, Jaune." She lowers it down gently on the ground. "I agree that your... status will no longer require you to follow the tradition, but it does not warrant any cause of delinquency. In actuality, I agree a change to your routine would help you adapt better to Beacon."

"But that's Step 1 of my mischief!" I raise my index finger to her face, then jump to the bed. "Step 2 is to dress nice! I always want to try to dress like some people around the place. Nothing too ridiculous, but something eye-catching! A suit and an overcoat to make me look serious, and professional like yours. Except for the cape, I might accidentally trip myself with it."

"I have a tailor I can recommend but we need to check your allowances first." She raises the bags on the floor with her Semblance and places them on the bed with me. "Your financial situation could still be submitted for a scholarship program for the academy if you are under the requirement limit."

"Wait, Beacon has a scholarship program?" I look at her with surprise. There was no mention of the academy having one... unless it's just the show not elaborating on the damn worldbuilding coming into effect.

"Of course, we give chances to excellent students in their craft who cannot afford the Initiation fees into the academy." She pushes up her glasses once more. "It is a standard all of the private academies abide by, however, I can understand you may not have heard of it due to your stay in Vacuo."

I nod at her for I definitely stayed at Vacuo before getting here. I should probably check if I have a bank account under my name. Even after getting disowned, who knows this clumsy fool might actually save some money before getting here? I don't remember seeing him being poor... so there might be a chance of stability.

"But I still don't see the point of this being mischievous." Auntie Goodwitch interrupts my thoughts as she lifts objects around the room to find stuff I may miss.

"That's just the foundation work." I get off the bed to let her lift it. "Step 3 is where the fun begins."

Auntie looks at me with a soft smile on her face. "Okay, what will that be?"

I smile back to her, as I feel her warmth. I can't believe she did all of this to help me, even if it is a lie within a lie because of the weird shit that happened earlier. But to see her trying her best to help me and comfort me...

I said the next words with the hope she still will because she's the only one I have right now. The only hope I hold is to find peace in this world.

"What is your favorite fairy tale, Auntie?" I smile as her eyes widen.

---

Ozpin sips on his favorite coffee mug as the elevator dings by the end of the room. He was waiting for his assistant to return after a sudden incursion to a location in Vale. She has not responded to his messages for an hour, so he waits for what she has to say for herself.

After all, she just went to the location of Jaune Arc.

And she appears before him, he can see the expression of her face to be... anger.

"OZPIN! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!" She shouts at him, but he remains calm as he expects this outcome. He predicted this would be one of the many outcomes he would face if his assistant discovered who had accepted. He has argumentative points ready to rebuke her, to reason with her emotional state that what he accepted will contribute to the cause of the chess game.

"Glynda, what will you accuse me of this time? I have signed the papers for-" He ignores the anger with a casual tone to dissuade the intensity from her.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT OZPIN!" However, she interrupts him with a slam of her hand on his table. "YOU ACCEPTED AN INEXPERIENCED BOY INTO OUR ACADEMY! THE RECKLESSNESS YOU HAVE SHOWN HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH!"

"Now, now Glynda." Ozpin puts down his mug and gestures to her to calm down. "You have to understand what I see in Arc, is the potential to be greater than what he can be."

"TO GET HIMSELF KILLED!" She shouts at him with her Semblance throwing his mug into the glass window behind him. "Do you have any idea what the consequences will do to him?! The damage you will cause will be irreversible!"

"If we conduct the Initiation and his stay in Beacon carefully, we can mitigate and possibly avoid such damages to Mister Arc." Ozpin stands up and walks to his mug unbroken by the throw from Goodwitch. "Glynda, I have already planned his safety before he arrives here. Be rest assured that he will not find any harm."

"Find any harm?" She scoffs at him. "The fact you have not told me before accepting him and planning for this is a breach of the well-being of the students..."

Her eyes narrow at him. "It is not what we agreed on when I joined you."

"This? This is what breaches your trust in me?" Ozpin picks up the mug and glances back at her. "Glynda, you have known and witnessed the costs of maintaining the agenda. The sacrifices of our comrades, the secrets we keep, and the incidents we look away."

"And the costs we owe are paid with the living." She quotes him unsurprisingly given that they had this conversation a few times in his eyes. "But the cost you're asking for, this is too far. You are dropping a boy into a place he has not seen. Are you pushing the risks over a potential you see? What is even the potential you seek? Just like how you saw STRQ's before their graduation?!"

Ozpin's grip tightens on his mug as Glynda's words strike a chord. She's right - the sacrifices they've made, the lives lost, have all been in service of his grand plan against Salem. And now, he's brought in this inexperienced boy, Jaune Arc.

"Glynda, you know as well as I do the stakes we face," Ozpin says, his voice tinged with weariness as he turns to her. "The Queen's forces grow stronger with each passing day, and we need everyone we can get to turn the tide."

He sets the mug down, his gaze meeting Glynda's with a rare intensity. He knows what he refers to is not the Huntsmen they have in Vale, but rather their group. They have faced a heavy loss with the Fall Maiden losing half of its power recently. With Qrow and the others occupied, they need to bring in more members to lay more... groundwork for their network.

Hence, Jaune Arc is a perfect candidate for it.

"What I see in Jaune Arc differs from Team STRQ, Greta, and even ourselves. His character shines the brightest to see more than what we have faced. He may have a background equal to the Roses but, his genuine kindness and his drive to commit to any situation given to him is what makes him acceptable to Beacon. As every student needs to learn grit through our courses, Jaune has embodied that value through what he has written in the transcripts. He is what a Huntsman should be." Ozpin says tactfully to Goodwitch. It is what Ozpin believes after reading Arc's transcripts.

Of how bold he is to submit fraudulent documents to the prestigious academy with no background, Ozpin respects the young boy trying. He looked into how the Arcs were doing before he rejected the transcript, as he would follow any protocol for these documents.

However, when he looked into it, he found something interesting... thing about them.

'If I had not checked into them, I would not have seen how valuable Jaune is if I had accepted him.' He thought as he remembered that day of research.

After saying his piece, Ozpin stares at Goodwitch who looks down at his table with her face hidden by the shadow over her and her hair strands falling over her.

He knew Glynda that despite the many tragedies, she had always ultimately deferred to his judgment. Her loyalty to their cause, their shared burden, has kept her grounded even in the darkest of times. After all, they've weathered countless storms together, and she knows the importance of their mission against Salem.

Worth more than a single life of a person.

"You... disgust me, Ozpin." she spits, her words laced with venom as she lifts her head with emerald eyes staring daggers into his.

Ozpin's eyes widened slightly, taken aback by the sheer vitriol in her tone. He had expected her to push back, to argue, but not with such raw, unbridled disdain. He predicted this as one of the outcomes to happen but...

He is disappointed in her for not sharing the same perspective with him.

"Glynda, I understand your concerns," Ozpin tries to interject, "but Jaune Arc represents a chance for us to-"

"A chance?" Glynda interrupts, her voice rising. "A chance? You would gamble with the life of a boy who has already endured unimaginable trauma, overlooking all of it for his KINDNESS?!"

Wait, what?

Ozpin opens his mouth to respond, but Glynda continues her tirade.

"That poor boy, Ozpin. The horrors he faced at Knightfall, the scars he carries and you seek to exploit that, to thrust him into the very heart of our struggle against Salem?" Her eyes blaze with fury. "Have you no shame? No decency left in you?"

No.. no, that can't be. Ozpin is utterly bewildered. Knightfall? Where is this coming from? Jaune's falsified transcripts have Knightfall Academy written as one of the institutions he enrolled in but its destruction has made it nearly impossible to verify the boy's acceptance into the academy.

The only evidence to verify was a Huntsman signature under "Jane Shepard", who died a day after it was signed. This is a common sign of blatant forgery under cases of forged documents.

""Glynda, I'm afraid I don't understand what you're talking about," Ozpin says, holding up a hand. "Jaune Arc has no-"

Glynda's eyes narrow dangerously as Ozpin tries to interject. "Don't you dare try to downplay this, Ozpin!" she snaps. "I saw the boy with my own eyes. The trauma, the suffering he's endured… it's written all over his face!"

Ozpin opens his mouth to respond, but Glynda barrels on. "And you want to toss him into the fray against Salem? Against the very forces that destroyed his previous academy?" Her voice drips with scorn.

She slams her hand on his desk again, causing the remaining mug to rattle. "This isn't about your little chess game, Ozpin. This is about a child who has already been through hell, and you want to send him back into the fire!"

Ozpin holds up a hand, brow furrowed. "Glynda, I don't believe you understand the full context here-"

"Oh, I understand perfectly well!" Glynda cuts him off sharply. "You saw an opportunity, a pawn to be used in your grand scheme, and you snatched him up without a second thought!"

She steps closer, looming over him with righteous fury. "That boy is broken, Ozpin. He needs healing, not to be thrown into the jaws of death!" Her voice cracks with emotion. "How can you live with yourself, condemning an innocent to such a fate?"

And before Ozpin says a word, Goodwitch quickly walks away in fury without a word injected from the Headmaster. He couldn't call out to her, even after she entered the elevator with confusion stunned in him.

…

He looks down on his mug with bewilderment, confused as to why his assistant… believes this boy… this kind boy to… go through so much. Surely, she checked the transcripts as well… right?

Right..?

Ozpin runs his hair with his hand, as he feels a chill climbing up to his spine. A feeling that he has not felt for a long time. A feeling that he may have… mistaken the situation beforehand. A grave mistake that he missed through his actions and his inability to do… proper paperwork correctly.

'By the Brothers, I have to find the document again through the acceptance pile.' He thought as he knew where the paper was…

It's just that Beacon accepted 1,392 Initiates to the academy, and they do all of it manually.

The Headmaster groans with no coffee mug filled to down his pains of mundane bookkeeping.

 

[Weinerspeil]

well gosh diddely darn this is intreasting as heck

 

[ptbptb]

It's just that Beacon accepted 1,392 Initiates to the academy, and they do all of it manually.

Click to shrink...

Is Beacon just a LOT bigger than in the anime, then?

 

[jason1stlegion]

hahahahahahahaha

...

I wonder what fairy tale Jaune is referring to?

 

[catsweeb]

This seems super interesting, also the idea of a good looking Jaune in a suit is one I never thought of. He radiates such smol bunny energy that I forgot he could probably absolutely pull off pretty boy energy.

 

[Hyles]

'Thought Bubble'

"Speaking/Dialogue"

*Sound/Action*

[Message/System]

Beta-Reader: Lurkeromakeanon

Author Notes:
Sorry if it took a while, I had a roadblock on mapping out the emotions for this. Trying to write from a different person's perspective is interesting when they only know one-side of the story.

I appreciate feedback to see what I can improve on.

---

Chapter 2: Qué pasa

Have you ever been in jail?

It's a reasonable question to ask as I scratch my cheek while reading over the Scroll. I wonder how Team RWBY somehow didn't land in some equivalent of a jail cell or solitary confinement after the things they-

Oh wait, no they did. I keep forgetting Atlas was a damn thing, but I can't still shake it off on how they get away before Atlas. We are talking about property damage, disruption of investigation, terrorism-

Oh and speaking of terrorism, if my timeline is right, Blake and Adam should be hijacking a train in the Forever Fall. Unless they did that already…?

I scratch my cheek again and I open another tab on my Scroll. After getting some sleep, my thoughts are no longer scrambled like a conspiracy nutjob. I gained some sense on what I can do about the situation, but before doing all of that, I need to double check everything about Remnant.

Which means I have to read everything.

I am talking about news, history, controversies, educational articles if that's even available on the Internet. I have to be certain that the world I live in is the same from what I remembered on the show. Or at least any bare resemblance of it.

And what I have read about is very interesting.

For instance, Kuroyuri is a village destroyed not just by the Grimm ambushing the walls, but through the lack of funding from the Mistral Council. It was huge news back when the village fell as it was the only few villages in Mistral that have the proper connection to its kingdom. The village was an important agricultural exporter, so it makes sense why people started investigating the downfall. Eventually, they did imprison some political figures…

But it makes me wonder if Lie Ren's story about Nuckaleeve still follows.

Because if the important villain is not only Grimm, would that make the daring not-so couple vigilantes in this world? I mean while the articles didn't mention their names, it did mention the Ren family as deceased which confirms some parts of canon.

Besides that, there's some weirdness going on.

Remember my comment on educational articles on the Internet? For one, it's never explicit. It's always about "It's from the soul" or "It's just a Huntsman thing" whenever I try to search up education jargon about them. Yes, there is a definition for it on this world's wikipedia but it just simply states:

"Aura is the manifestation of one's soul and can be used for a wide range of abilities. The specific abilities and their strengths differ from individual to individual and are dependent on a number of factors, such as experience, training and innate skill."

You would think to yourself, 'Okay, that's cool. Now I know Aura.'

But except you don't because when you start digging what Aura is in-depth, there are so many explanations that are straight-up contradicting.

I am talking about videos of people or former Huntsmen teaching you Aura breathing control techniques because they say Aura is innate in one's body. Or people posting and arguing over discussion forums on how difficult it is to keep up Aura control because it is not a passive forcefield around you.

Or better yet, there's an Aura Chant Generator if you're one of the unlucky few who's too unwilling to come up one.

I close my Scroll as I scratch my cheek in irritation, literally. I can't tell if the lackluster expansion of the show is taking in-effect on reality, or I am just plain dumb to not have my reading comprehension raised. The latter implies more about myself, the former terrifies the fuck out of me.

So, self-depreciation here we go!

"At least the White Fang is still the White Fang." I mumble and sit up on my bed.

Well, her bed really.

You see, after yesterday, I may or may have not admitted a lot to Auntie Goodwitch. Or should I drop the Auntie after what she did to my poor face? Either way, I did what I had to do due to my poor fragile mind waking up from literal death and processing of existing in a deathworld.

And let's say that… we have a very… very… long conversation.

*Knock knock*

"Speaking of the witch…" I look at the blonde woman coming with brown paper bags in her hand. She stares at me with her cold emerald eyes, which to be fair, I understand. It's not like everyday you meet a possible student only to be told that the entire world is a freaking cartoon show.

She puts down the brown bags on the table next to the bed, but she still keeps her eyes on me. I don't know what's on her mind after the conversation, but I know it's not something light given on its implications.

Especially when I told her how it all happens…

…

Or…

I think I did…

…

Look, when you're emotionally stressed out, you don't just simply blurt out everything in the right order-

"You haven't taken any ointment from the cabinets, why?" Goodwitch interrupts my thoughts as she unpacks the brown bags. It's food wrapped in plastic containers, which I am grateful for because I haven't eaten since I woke up. It's evening and a day has not passed yet. I only got enough rest from what happened earlier so…

I think she's still… angry? Disappointed? Whatever negative word that throws at me because she's not giving me any chances after what I told her.

"I… uhm… I don't know if I should since it's… your room" I scratch my cheek again, and I am right about it. After the very, very long conversation, she dragged me out of the crappy motel I was in and straight up placed me in her apartment. She said it was out of obligation to monitor my status as I am still an Initiate for Beacon Academy.

But we both know it's because of the implications from the very, very long conversation.

She flicks her wrist, and a purple Aura surrounds her hand to pull out a cabinet drawer next to her. The mirror cabinet behind her shakes, but it floats out a bottle of I assume to be the ointment she was referring to. As the bottle floats towards me, Goodwitch's hand flicks once again.

*SWOOP*

Only for the bottle to hit my face

"Ow! Fuck! Puta! That hurts! Why did you throw it at my face!" I clutch on the right side of my face where my cheek was itchy earlier, which is now itchy and hurting from the bottle throw.

"To observe if you're applying what is "true" in your own words." She says casually as she brings out the food containers on the table. "You have to understand, I am still baffled by what you told me earlier."

"You could have done anything but that!" I respond back at her, while I read on the back of the bottle for instructions. "Seriously, I thought we called a truce on that."

"A truce that is agreed until we can prove your words that you are either a student that requires psychological treatment with a Semblance of future foresight…" She sits down on a small chair as she tears open the food container.

*SCRRCH*

Loudly.

"Or a person from a different reality who took over the body of the former Jaune Arc…"

Which is true, as I rub the ointment on my red cheek. She takes the other food container while she still keeps her eyes on me. Ever since she walked into the room, she has not once looked away from me.

And I can understand that.

*SCRRCH*

"Or you're an agent of Salem."

I look away, as the reasoning is logical.

How do you deal with someone who proclaims that they know your enemies movement to the point of specific location and time? Some people will take it for granted, but others would think something suspicious is going on. It's a valid understanding that one does not simply know where and when specifically. Then again, we are living in a world where people can gain powers from a personality gift basket, however my transcripts says I don't have any and it doesn't argue the point…

The point when you have an enemy that lived for centuries.

"I'm still surprised you know that she lived long." I look at the food she opened up while I rub the ointment on my face. I remembered that Qrow and Ironwood don't have the best reactions when learning dear ol' Salem is immortal. But that's just a part of Oz's nature of keeping things half-said.

"The Inner Circle has been established since Salem's presence is known to Remnant." She picks up the container and uses her Semblance to gently place food in-front of me. "It is our duty to combat her forces to put an end to her influence with the Grimm."

"And I guess that's all what Oz said to you?" I take a munch on the food. "You kwow, for a gwoup of secwec-"

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Goodwitch sternly calls me out. "I am already tolerating this, at least act like your age when you're trying to convince me"

I swallow a piece, as I can't believe I am being lectured by this woman on decency. It's not decent when you eat as you talk, yet it is when you slap a young blond man's face that lasts a red mark? I get that it's probably from what I said from the very, very long conversation, but I am feeling really whiny from all of this.

"As I was saying, for a group of secrecy, you have a weird way of trusting things. Then again, I can't imagine how much you believe what the great wizard said due to magic bullshit he pulls off. Because from knowing you, you're not the type to believe in fairy tales." I roll my tongue as I feel a bitter taste in the meal.

"Yet you told me through a fairy tale." She responds back, as she has not touched her food. "Ignoring your comment on magic, do you understand the implications of what you're saying? The weight of the knowledge you claim to possess?"

I sigh, putting the fork down to get some water to wash the bitterness. "Look, I get it. It's a lot to take in. Hell, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it myself just from reading through the damn Scroll. But surely, you have to believe what I said is true. If we have enough time, we can go to Forever Fall to prove that-"

"-The White Fang will hijack a train and camp in Forever Fall." Goodwitch continues my sentence, which surprises me that she remembers that. "The resources to find the radical group in the forest will not be done within a day due to the size of the location. Even with the description you provided where they will take-over, the time to find the location will be questioned by the Headmaster."

"Even if you are hypothetically correct on your prediction, taking that action is not advisable from… your ramblings on the time deviation." She then throws me a bottle that I catch immediately. "That is for the bitter taste in your mouth."

"Bitter taste- Wait, did you just poison me?!" I stand up as I shout at her, feeling my heart racing. The trust I thought we are… Well, not building but at least some form of it, crumbles before me. "Okay, I can understand if you lock me up or slap me again for all the shit I said. But Jesus Christ, poisoning me?! What's wrong with you?!"

Goodwitch raises an eyebrow, seemingly unfazed by my outburst. "I did not poison you, Mr. Arc. Or whoever you claim to be."

"Then what the hell was that?!" I demand, gesturing wildly at the bowl of food I just ate with the bottle in my hand rattling in each shake.

She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "That was a test. I sprinkled Plant Dust into your food, the most digestible type of powder Dust for non-Aura citizens that has no effect over your body. Only-"

"Effects? Effects, my a-"

"Continue that, and I will send you straight to Ozpin." She snaps at me with a glare. "I am already overextending my trust to you just from letting you stay in this apartment. To let you claim any prediction and accusation towards the organization I have worked and committed to protect Remnant against the embodiment of evil. For me to believe any claim you say to be true, I have to conduct tests to verify your statements."

I open my mouth to protest, but she cuts me off with a raised hand.

"And before you argue more, you need to understand this." Her emerald eyes bore into mine, filled with a mixture of frustration and... desperation? From sensing that, I keep my mouth shut and I sit back down with bitterness still lingering in my tongue.

"Before we met, my goal was to rehabilitate you from the incidents mentioned in your transcripts. Incidents that can affect heavily even to the most experienced Huntsmen." She punctuates her point as her eyes keep staring towards me. "When I first read the transcripts, I thought it was the most ridiculous document I had ever read. But if it has the Headmaster's signature, I have to verify and review for it is my duty as the Headmistress."

"Hence when I saw your panic attacks during our call, it proves what was written to be true."

"But it wasn't." I snark a bit, though I now understand why she did all of that earlier. In that context… I can see why she had to fly this far to get me. Now that… that makes me feel very guilty because whatever was written on the transcripts, it must have made me look like a PTSD victim or something after what happened earlier.

"Yes, until it wasn't." She pushes up her eyeglasses. "It was too good to be true to accept a student who has faced the destruction of their Academy through a horde of Alphaeus, known for manipulating a person's mind upon contact."

"Wait, wait… Alphaeus?" I open the bottle and put a pill into my mouth, which is surprisingly sweet. "So, you thought I was some guy who faced monsters equivalent to Mindflayers?"

"Mindflayers?" She tilts her head at me, and I realized that this is a different world so my references don't make sense to her. Wait, what would that mean if I say this word…

"You know, octopus-looking monsters with tentacles on the mouths that can mentally torture or rizz you out of nowhere?" I keep my face controlled to not cringe what I just slipped on that sentence. The year right now is 2010 in this world, so I am wondering if this parallels the… culture from my old life.

"Alphaeus are Grimm that have tentacle limbs that cause such mental effects, but I do not understand what you mean by… rizz?" I keep my face controlled when she says that. "But going back to my point, for you to admit this tangent you have told me earlier, you have to sympathize with my position to process the information. I thought I understood what you felt when we first met, but after what you have said…"

But then, Goodwitch sighs deeply with glasses taken off from her face.

Her emerald eyes, now unobscured, meet mine with a mix of weariness and resolution.

"I do not trust you, Jaune."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut.

Of course, that makes sense. I should have expected this. I really should have expected this. Who would believe the words of a madman that just spout timeline bullshit. I grit my teeth, swallowing back the desperate urge to scream, to beg, to prove myself somehow.

But what proof could I offer that wouldn't sound like more ravings of a lunatic, or feeding on that paranoia I am Salem's pawn? I try to think of any possible way that I could just say to her, but all I can think of is something gnawing in my chest.

This hollowness.

This feeling I felt earlier, when I thought of… my family.

Fuck, don't think about it.

I can't break down now. I still have a chance. A chance to say something that proves something. Something that can dissuade any of her fears. Any paranoia that I am not part of Salem.

I look at her, and her eyes make me shudder.

Her emerald eyes sharpen without her glasses, yet the room light shines on how angry she is. Her eyebrows narrow with barely contained fury, as her fingers slightly twitch while holding her glasses.

Goodwitch... the supposed woman to be my lifeline. The one person who might understand, might believe. After all of that talk of honesty and doing it my own way…

Looks at me like I'm a strange-

No, a threat.

"The Spring Maiden! Think about the Spring Maiden!" I hold my hands up to protect myself as I blurt the words out. "Raven is the Spring Maiden, so it doesn't make sense why! She's too old to have one after leaving the group, unless she killed the maiden after leaving or she had it while she was in your group!"

"So it means Ozma either lied to you about the Maidens or kept the Spring Maiden a secret from you or I have no fucking clue what the cut-off for inheritance-"

"30, it's 30 Jaune." She interrupts me as I still keep my hands up from whatever happens to me. "You have already said earlier at the motel."

And in that moment, silence hangs heavy between us. My heart pumps loudly as I wait for the inevitable from her. Is she going to shout at me? Is she going to bring me to Ozpin? Questions like these swirl in my head as I wait for each second ticking from the alarm clock.

Until… she sighs at me.

"What you just said is what troubles me the most, for the entire day." She looks away as she puts a hand on her chin and flicks her other hand to open the door, to reveal a bottle of wine and glass floating together towards her. "The implications of the Maidens… I understand your point but not as a prediction, but how it aligns with the situation between the previous Spring Maiden… and the current Spring Maiden."

"...How so?" I lower my hands down as I try to relax my body. Her eyes are still tense, but she's not narrowing her eyebrows at me with fury.

She pops the cork out of the bottle with a flick of her hand, and gently pours the wine into the glass…

…

And I silently wait…

…

For her to pour the wine…

…

Very…

…

Slowly…

…

Okay, this has to be retaliation for what I did on the call-

"Because Summer Rose was the previous Spring Maiden." She says it swiftly and drinks the glass.

…

…

…

"What." the fuck. My shock just blurts out- "Who's fucking idea was it to give a person named Summer with powers that says Spring? I get the naming scheme with Cinder Fall because of Fall, and Winter Schnee for Schnee- I mean Winter. So, you would think that Spring would be like I don't know, Goodsprings from the-"

She raises her hand, and I immediately shut up to let her finish her glass of wine.

After that, she pulls out a string from the back of her head which unfolds her hair bun into a burst of blonde hair falling around her. She lets the wineglass float while combs herself to straighten it, to even out the mess… as I am mesmerized to see it happen.

I… didn't know both of her side-bangs were curly.

As Goodwitch finishes combing her hair, I can't help but notice how different she looks with it down. It's a strangely humanizing moment, at odds with the tense atmosphere. She sighs deeply again, with her shoulders sagging slightly as if under an invisible weight.

For a moment, neither of us spoke with the silence heavy on unspoken words.

I try to open my mouth to break the silence, as the intensity kills me. I want to know what she wants to say, but her emerald eyes lock onto mine. There's a flash of... something in them. Uncertainty? Resignation? Before I can decipher it, she speaks with her voice quieter than before but no less intense.

"I told Ozpin a half-truth about your acceptance, omitting the wild claims you've made."

…

"What…?" I… I look at her widely on suddenness. Goodwitch, as a character, is strongly loyal to Ozpin. The man may have hid away a few important secrets from his group, but Goodwitch is not someone that can be shaken easily. She is the literal right-hand woman for him in the earlier volumes.

For her to say that…

"I will not spare you any detail, as I have already expensed my emotional outburst between you and the Headmaster." Her eyes narrow again while she takes a sip of wine. "I will not apologize for any test I have done to you so far, and the many more I will do."

"Why? I g-get it, but, if you don't trust me after the shit I said, why did you lie to him?" I exasperate while I open up the bottle again to get some sweetness in my mouth.

She facepalms with her hand, and I give her space to let her… recollect. I am stunned that she admits that… or is that a test? A test like earlier with the food and-

She then holds up her hand in a closed fist, and it slowly glows in purple with a pulsating rhythm. I stare at the hand to see what she's… trying to say. She held that position for a minute, as I feel sweat coming from my forehead. Her eyes didn't move since the beginning of the conversation…

Until she closes them, then the room glows.

"Ozpin,"

She raises her finger.

"Salem,"

And another finger, as objects floating steadily to the air.

"The Maidens,"

And another raises, with the bed carrying me up from the floor.

"Lionheart"

With all four fingers stretched out, her thumb holds close to her palm.

"And especially, the Relics."

And the room shakes in purple.

"These five points are what made me consider your words because, despite… every logical part of my mind screams that this is madness, that you're either psychologically delusional or a plant from Salem, I cannot ignore the signs." Her voice cracks slightly, revealing a hint of the turmoil beneath her stern exterior.

"The signs that I'm risking everything for. My career, my integrity, potentially the safety of Remnant, on the minuscule chance that what you're saying is true. Because if it is true…"

"It changes everything." I continue her sentence while I hold on to the bed tightly.

Her emerald eyes look at me with the bare truth of who it is behind them. The truth of the power shaking in the very room I am in. The intensity and experience bottled in green orbs reflected by the material light shining upon it. At this moment, I am reminded of the world I live in…

People like her can just kill me in a snap.

"Let me ask this question Jaune Arc, are you unstable, an imposter or… a pawn?"

And I need to answer that question now.

…

Fuck me, if only there's a lie dete-

…

I facepalm myself immediately as I remembered something.

Or rather, remembered someone.

I look at the emerald eyes again, but with a bit of certainty in my mind. Because if I need to prove something, in a world where I might be already mucking it up just from existing. I need to do what needs to be done before I die a second time.

A second time, where I need to live honestly for myself… and probably for Jaune.

Because I owe him at least.

"Before I say that, how much did I tell you about… Happy Huntresses?"

---

Robyn Hill is a bit tired.

She's no stranger to late nights from her time in Atlas, or the rendezvous activities she has done with her team. She is willing to do at any time to protect and serve for the people she has trained for.

Yet it is weird that she has to arrive in Vale as early as possible.

Early, as in 2am.

She carries her bag from her seat while she contemplates how it all started. It was a contact through Fiona, her friend and secretary of the team while everyone was preparing for the next campaign in Mantle. They have started out with a few successful events, but there were other… failures they faced.

Failures littered with the hands of the families.

The Schnees, the Marigolds, The Glass… their companies and agents have sabotaged their events on multiple occasions to minimize their influence on Mantle. Voices to repair the heating systems, or the disrepair of establishments within certain areas of the city. Even just calling for basic necessities for the poor has caused problems from these families.

Robyn grits her teeth remembering the time when the Schnee Dust Company destroyed their vehicles on their charity drive-by event. It was an event when the Happy Huntresses accumulated all of the donations from different sponsors and people to help Mantle citizens.

But when the vehicles were destroyed, the sponsors ridiculed them for stealing the money with the SDC being the loudest voice. The company pushed out statements to news media about the failed event that even when they caught the saboteurs connected to SDC, it was too late.

Their reputation was tarnished.

It was a lesson Robyn learned on the importance of image.

Hence when Fiona told her that they received a message from Glynda Goodwitch, the Headmistress of Beacon Academy, for a request of her assistance specifically in exchange of a word to James Ironwood for the Happy Huntresses…

She had to accept it.

However, there's a peculiarity in the request…

"Thank you for flying with us, Miss Hill" The flight attendants bow to her, and Robyn bows back formally. She walks out of the aircraft while she pulls out a document from her bag.

The transcripts of Jaune Arc.

It is uncommon to deal with situations related to Huntsmen students, Robyn once took such cases when she graduated from Atlas. Sometimes they were investigations into cheating allegations to any misdemeanor the academies suspect the students for.

Yet, this is a first for her to deal with something psychological.

Especially, when she has to get out of a VIP jet to be in Vale.

She looks around the airport she landed on, and it's a private location considering the lack of aircraft vehicles taking off from runways. She sees a car driving up to her, and it's a newer model from Marigold Motors company. As it drives up to her, she remembered May once talking about her life as an heir to the family. It was one of the many stories that made her create the Happy Huntresses as not just an alternative for the companies creating these conditions…

But as a path to freedom from it.

And today is just a step to accomplish that goal.

"Miss Hill, I am here to drive you to Madam Goodwitch's location." A man lowers his windshield, and she sees a middle-aged man. She guesses he's in his 40s with no Aura training based on his stance. She has been trained to tell a person's body language from Atlas' curriculum and her work on the field, so she does not feel the threat of getting into the vehicle.

As she gets in, she opens the document once more. It took her 4 hours to get into the kingdom, therefore she took that time to read the document carefully.

And… she doesn't know what to make of it.

Jaune Arc, currently 18 years old and an applicant to Beacon Academy. He was listed under the "Special Listing" program due to his accolades and experiences before applying to the academy, exempting him from undertaking any mandatory exams before counting as an Initiate.

Or that's what is written on the document.

Robyn scratches her eyebrow as there are a lot of things listed on the transcript that bothered her, but it is the fact she was given an academic transcript of a student that makes her concerned on what she is needed for.

The need for her Semblance, Lie Detection.

Robyn reads the accolades and experience portion carefully, as she couldn't believe that this person went through… all of that.

All of the Fall of Knightfall academy.

Fallen academies are not common but they do happen if they are placed in locations where the strength of the Huntsmen and Huntresses cannot withstand the Grimm population in a long period of more than 5 years. It is the policy she learned when she took her assignments to different academies such as Shade Academy, where they keep a network of communication observing the defenses in the frontiers of Vacuo.

However, Vacuo is a kingdom where it is common for a fallen academy to happen.

What makes her bothered is the fact of how it fell.

The Alphaeus…

She shivers thinking about that Grimm species. It is mandatory for each Academy to know their catalog of Grimm species, and most of the institutions focus on species living in their own Kingdom. But Atlas Academy dedicated their classes for all students to know all the types to be prepared for any situation…

'And it was one of the reasons why I have a coffee addiction' Robyn remembered the many nights of memorizing each category of Grimm for the exams she took. It was a cram season for every student involved that reached a point where there was a caffeine trafficking system.

That she was definitely not involved in any capacity.

She has graduated and has her own organization, so there's no need to do any of that… Except when Fiona uses her Semblance to limit her drinking cups, so she has to do other methods of finding cups of-

Robyn coughs to herself to dissuade any thoughts about the caffeine debacle. Back to the document on her hand, the fact this boy survived the Alphaeus horde is a feat on its own. She may not have faced this type of Grimm, but to see your own teammates succumb to the control of the Grimm?

Only from a single touch?

She… wouldn't know how to react.

What makes it worse is that if the victim is controlled under the Alphaeus, the infection can be spread through the victim. Which is why Knightfall fell faster than other fallen academies, as it was a cascading effect throughout the entire academy and its population. Robyn tries to imagine what it would be like in this student's shoes.

To imagine what he had seen on that day, to see your teammates and friends just become mindless puppets killing your classmates.

She can see why he was exempted.

But she can also see why all of this is too much.

There's a saying between Huntsmen and Huntresses.

If a Hunter boasts so much of what they caught, what they caught is probably nothing.

It was a cynical yet perceptive observation about their dangerous profession. Those Huntsmen and Huntresses who managed to survive for decades, facing off against the monstrosities of Grimm, were either truly exceptional warriors honed to perfection or… skilled liars who fooled everyone around them.

And Robyn understood the sentiment all too well.

A Huntsman's work can attract all manner of people, from selfless heroes driven to protect the innocent, to charlatans more interested in the prestige and paychecks than the sacrifices required. Too many young hopefuls entered the academies, stars in their eyes about fame and fortune, only to wash out when they experienced the grueling reality.

Unlike her, who came to Atlas to make a change.

To risk everything, to put their lives on the line again and again. Robyn doesn't forget that. It was why she took such pride in the Happy Huntresses, a band of people who had proved their mettle through years of thankless service, eschewing the spotlight to focus on the gritty work of safeguarding their region.

They all didn't do it for the acclaim…

But because it was the right thing to do.

So, when you have a document that says a person who has gone through so much. Who had to face the horrors, and pushed through with it? You would think that this someone is to earn her respect. And she would…

Yet, Beacon Academy needs her Semblance for this.

And she would be angry at this Jaune Arc, if that were a normal case.

A normal case, if it weren't for Ozpin's signature already accepting this student.

She… she wouldn't believe Ozpin, one of the Greatest Huntsmen in Remnant, to be fooled easily by a document alone. If they required her Semblance that deceived one of the best Huntsmen the world can provide, then there is something wrong here.

Something bigger is at play.

She eyes over the experiences Jaune has done. From what it is written, he took a year break in Mistral to… take assignments. Specifically, in the areas between the different villages in the Anima continent. However, this does not take her mind off from what she read about Knightfall Academy.

Knightfall has barely any information to be searched on. It has its dates and deaths, but the records kept within the academy have been destroyed. Which leads the reports on basic student population to be inconclusive, as the academy doesn't hold any technology to keep it on a cloud database.

Robyn closes the documents and pinches her nose, as she's irritated by the details surrounding the situation. She could take the request on face value, as the favor to the Happy Huntresses would benefit them… Yet she couldn't get her head around this case. She reevaluates the information in her head while she looks out to the lights bypassing on her car window.

'Okay, a student is accepted by Headmaster Ozpin with transcripts that equate to an outstanding Huntsman pupil. So outstanding, that they survived a horde of Grimm which decimated their entire academy with little information after the incident. Anything I could find about the survivors has led to no mention or evidence from the Vacuoan subnet…' Robyn thinks, and she thought of one possibility in her mind.

'Unless… he's the only survivor from the fall.' Robyn opens the document and looks at the picture of the blonde man. 'This could explain the lack of information and articles mentioning no survivors from the fall, as his transcripts stated he stayed in Anima after the event.'

She can imagine it. A lone wanderer who ran away from his fallen academy due to what he has seen. He tries to cope with it by going through village to village, finding an answer to his past. The past he tries to run away from, when he realizes that he needs to face it.

To face it, and avenge his comrades by being the Huntsman that they taught him to be.

As all that time he has with them, will be faded away if he does not complete his journey to be one.

'Sounds like something out of a movie.' She thought to herself, and she sees that she has now arrived at the location. She thanks the driver and she walks out of the car with the conclusion fresh in her mind. It could explain why they would need her Semblance, as if he is the only survivor available, then verifying at least one part of the events to be true would verify the most transcripts written about him.

However, there is one slight issue to that theory.

"Good morning, Miss Hill. I apologize for the urgency of your assistance, but I am grateful that you accepted my request." A blonde woman walks up to her, and she raises her hand.

Robyn shakes it with a practiced smile.

And Glynda Goodwitch returns the polite smile back.

The issue being that the request solely came from her behalf, not from Beacon Academy.

'What is your involvement, Goodwitch?' Robyn thought while she followed the blonde woman to a warehouse. The area she is in is surrounded with different types of warehouses, which she assumes the location is a private sector landscaped for transportation services. As they walk inside the building, she sees lights have been opened for everything to see.

"Have you thoroughly read the document I sent you?" Goodwitch asks while they keep walking under the bright lights. Robyn considers answering it directly with subtext, but it may lead to complications as she sees… the target of her request.

For Jaune Arc leans back in his chair with wires attached on his bare arm. He is sitting right next to a machine that she recognizes, a manual lie detector. It's been a while since she saw this type of device. She remembered researching different lie detectors when she discovered her Semblance as a young girl, fascinated on how machines diagnose a person's emotion frequency when they lie.

"I have, and you want me to verify correlations to the transcripts?" She answers back to her as they get closer to the blonde man. The only thing setup within the warehouse is the chairs and table for the… session to use her Semblance.

The question would be if this will be a session of verification… or interrogation.

"Is that natural?" Jaune calls out to them, and Robyn sees he smiles at her. "Ever since I got here, I am surprised to see people dye their hair. Well actually, it makes sense that people still do. Having natural pink hair would be a travesty-"

"From what I requested of your organization, your role is to assist the inquiries regarding to… Mister Arc." Goodwitch interrupts Arc's monologue. "He has agreed to partake in this task with consent and knowledge of your capabilities."

As they get closer to him, Robyn notices the man's features. His hands have no calluses, but there is muscle definition underneath his clothing by how he moves. He smiles at her, as if… he recognizes her? He could possibly know her through an agreement with Goodwitch, however when she looked into his eyes.

Light doesn't reflect on it.

The dark blue orbs stare at her in a melodic trance, as it focuses every movement she makes towards him. Left and right, they keep staring at her. Contrasting to the bright smile, as they do not show any emotion behind them. Any sign of what he could be thinking about her… or this situation.

It's as if he's… tired. Tired from living.

This makes her believe this man is no ordinary person.

"So when you hide in the snow, do you just keep all of the clothes white or do you try to match it with your hai-" The man tries to ask, but Goodwitch interrupts him.

"Don't be disrespectful, Jaune. She flew from Mantle to be here-"

"I would need to cover the entirety of my body" Robyn interrupts Goodwitch, as she's curious about him. "Solitas does consist of snowy environments but it's best to camouflage every part of my body to match the location. It is a general rule for us to survive, but I assume you have already known that… unless you wrap yourself except your head?"

She points at his hair, and he laughs at her. She's surprised at how… cheerful he is. But it could be a psychological sign for what he has experienced… However, she's not an expert on mental illnesses. She could only make the most of reading a person's body language, a skill she is proficient in, especially for her plans on Mantle.

"I don't believe you." He said with a jest, and she's confused on w-

Ah, she sees what he's trying to do.

She puts both of her hands in a clasp and pours her Aura into her hands. As they continue to walk, she notices Goodwitch watches her closely. Probably to analyze her if what she said… is true.

Which it will, as her hands pulsate lilac Aura to signify her Semblance has activated.

"I will be spotted if I camouflage everything except my hair." She says with confidence.

And her hands turn green, signifying what she said is true.

"Wow, I… expected that." He smiles but she sees him awkwardly scratch his head with his free hand. "But I never saw you do that."

'Never saw me do… that?' Robyn processes his words while she unclasps her hands. She glances at Goodwitch who is already settling into her chair behind the machine. She considers how much she is known between the two individuals-

"You have stated that if an individual tries to believe their version of… "truth", it will still count as lying if they are aware of the actual truth of the matter?" Goodwitch asks her while she configures the device. Robyn sits down and thinks about her question. She has dealt with civil cases where she was the mediator for them, and she knows what Goodwitch meant about the concept of perspectives.

"It depends on the situation, but generally speaking…" She glances at her, and Jaune by how they listen to her explanation. "We will always know the nature of our own truth. It is our soul's acknowledgement even if we don't know what we believe to be true."

Jaune and Goodwitch stare at her quietly.

Jaune looks dumbfounded on what she said, while Goodwitch gives her an eyebrow on the explanation she gave. With a sigh from Robyn, she knows she has to explain with an example.

"An example would be… this case I had when I was a student for Atlas Academy" She leans back as she recollects that time when she discovered something… interesting about her Semblance. "We were investigating a farm where it kept being broken in. The trespasser kept stealing cattle, plants, and any object that signifies as food. When our team came to investigate, we were able to follow the trail where the trespasser came from…"

"And we discovered it was a boy, a boy living with wolves that have all of their Aura activated."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Jaune interrupts her story. "You're telling me that you can activate an animal's Aura?"

"It is uncommon for a person to unlock Aura for creatures, but they do Jaune" Goodwitch answers his question. "It seen for some pet owners, but they only do it if they train their pets to be guard animals or-"

"Or they live in an environment where Grimm detection has hardly any difference between being an Aura and Non-Aura user." Robyn finishes Goodwitch's explanation. The stigma of Aura users is still prevalent up to now, given how everyone views the… influence of having Aura.

To ability to protect yourself, in exchange to amplify your negativity to the monsters.

"Miss Hill, please continue" Goodwitch tells her, and Robyn nods to her as she recollects her memories once again. She'll ask him later about his knowledge about Aura.

"When we found the boy, we tried to reprimand him without any damage. But… we had to take down one of the wolves, because we were surprised at how strong they were. My teammate, May Marigold-"

She notices Jaune's slightly widened, as if he recognizes that name.

"-has a gash on her torso from it. Thankfully, none of us were majorly hurt and we were able to take the boy to the social services. When I was tasked to question how the boy got into contact with the wolves, I discovered a quirk about my Semblance."

She remembers it well. The boy was crying and shouting at her on how she took his home away from him. She felt sympathy for him but she knew that if they just kept him there, who knows what would happen to him? How will he survive against the Grimm lurking around the area?

As much as she could believe him, it's a cruel fate to just leave him alone in the snow.

"I tried to question him, but he only screams that he is a "wolf " to me. But each time he did…" She looks at the two. "It only flashes red on my Semblance."

"So he doesn't believe he's a wolf? Like a coping mechanism of sorts" Jaune asks, which is ironic considering their current situation.

"No, he actually believes he is a wolf." She clarifies to him but Goodwitch looks at her with skepticism, which Robyn starts to elaborate more. "It took social services months of rehabilitation for him to be asserted to an orphanage. I check up on him every month to be sure he was taken care of, and each time I did, I always ask that question."

"Which only lights up as red…?" Jaune continues for her, and she nods at him. "So, are you trying to say that no matter what we believe, our soul knows the truth?"

"In a way, yes." Robyn answers, understanding the broadness of the topic. "Our souls seem to hold a deeper truth than what our conscious minds might believe or try to convince themselves of. It's as if the soul retains every piece of information we've ever encountered, even if we don't consciously remember it."

Goodwitch leans forward, her interest piqued. "So, you're saying that even if someone genuinely believes a falsehood, their soul would still recognize the truth?"

"In my experience, yes," Robyn confirms. "But it's not infallible. The soul needs to have encountered the truth in some way. Like you heard it, seen it, or experienced it. A passing glance wouldn't be enough, as it needs to be something the person has mindfully registered at some point in their life."

Jaune furrows his brow, processing this information. "So... if someone had amnesia, for example, your Semblance might still detect the truth they've forgotten?"

Robyn nods, impressed by his insight. "Yes. I had a case when I interrogated an amnesiac about an inheritance dispute, which led to confusion with my team on how he knew about the content of his will when he explicitly said he didn't. At first, we were certain that he lied to me during questioning but we worked around it by getting an answer of who he thinks the inheritance belongs to…"

"And it was the same case that led you to be banned from partaking in any civil dispute." Goodwitch states it and Robyn is surprised at how she knew about that. "It was your last assignment before you graduated from Atlas Academy, was it not?"

"Uh… yes." 'How did she know that?' Robyn thought as she knows Goodwitch is not allowed to have any access to Atlas Academy's archives. It's a law agreed between the kingdoms to prevent any advantage taken between academies, unless…

"I have told you if you fulfill the request, I will put the favor of your organization to General Ironwood on your… current propaganda." Goodwitch answers her with her emerald eyes staring at Robyn's. "I wouldn't have sent that request before… understanding your organization first."

'Ironwood must have given her the information' Robyn thought while she kept her eyes on Goodwitch. It is no secret that Atlas has been keeping an eye on the Happy Huntresses' operations. She and her team have faced their agents a few times in different disputes but currently, they are in the legal boundary of operating their events.

But she is not unfamiliar to Ironwood's tactics of keeping them in line.

"Well… now you know her story checks out, can we do the thing?" Jaune interrupts the tense moment between Robyn and Goodwitch as he asks Goodwitch to stand down, or indirectly standing her down.

But emerald eyes continue to stare at her, and Robyn tries to keep up. However, the emotion and weight behind her eyes makes Robyn feel a chill crawling up her spine. She has faced a few people in her life that try to command her with a look. Arrogant heirs, corporate businessmen, she has faced different types of people that try to belittle her and her group.

But this… this is someone who is judging her.

Judging how wrong she is.

And Robyn does not stand for it-

"Ladies! Hello?!" Jaune shouts at them and she looks at him to see him standing up with an unimpressed look at them. "Look, I get that you two may have some problem with what she has done."

He points at Robyn, referring to her work as part of the Happy Huntresses. And as Robyn tries to say something, Jaune walks Goodwitch while tugging the wires on his arm. "And you are trying to gauge if she's legit. But I think we have already established that her Semblance is working, so if you want to throw each other like some gaga, at least let me get some popco-"

"Jaune, please sit down." Goodwitch interrupts him, which Jaune speedwalks back to his chair.

'...Gaga?' Robyn is confused about the word he had said, when she sees him smirking at her… She is confused why he would be proud about saying… baby language, but it could be a part of his psychology to be different from Knightfall, or maybe it's some Vacuoan slang she might not have heard of.

Then a piece of paper is pushed to her on the table from Goodwitch. "You will ask these questions from the paper, and only from the paper. Do not deviate nor change the wording of the inquiries to Jaune. Is that clear?"

Robyn reads the questions and it… surprises her.

"...Clear." She answers as she eyes on the questions. To think she flew all the way from Mantle for this, is not what she expected for an immediate request. She grabs onto Jaune's hand, and it pulsates the same lilac color representing her Semblance activating.

*Click*

Then Goodwitch clicks something on the device from her end. "You may begin now."

"Are you Jaune Arc?"

She asks the first question, and the man looks… confused? Distraught? His face expresses stress on his eyes and lips. The micro-movements on his eyes signify the rapid thought process while his lips tremble, indicating the effect of the question. For a simple question to cause this much effect towards him makes Robyn curious on what this meant for him.

Identity crisis? Self-doubt? Robyn can only assume until the man answers.

"Yes" Which he did, and the lilac color turns green. Robyn glances at Goodwitch to see her analyzing the data from the device, and glances back at her with a nod. Indicating the device does not detect any discrepancy-

"Ask that question again." Jaune interrupts them, and Robyn is confused on why he requests-

"Are you Jaune Arc?" Then Goodwitch asks the question again.

"No" Jaune answers with a smile on his face.

Robyn looks to them in confusion, on why they need to do that. The Semblance already shows that he was telling the truth, unless this is a sample question? Robyn stares at the color to see it turn red…

Yet, it turns green as well.

"W-what?" Robyn is in shock. Her Semblance has never caused this effect before, as paradoxical answers cannot happen. Only his Soul knows the truth, so why did it allow two contradicting different answers? "Why… how… Goodwitch, what is the meaning of this?!"

She looks at the blonde woman who sighs at her, and stares at Jaune who shrugs at the both of them. Robyn wants to ask a question, but she's not sure if she can interject her own inquiries.

"Confusing amirite?" Jaune smiles at her. "At least we know that your Semblance is working in some way."

"Please proceed to the next question." Goodwitch tells Robyn to continue, but Robyn looks back on what just happened. As the white hair woman paused for an answer, Goodwitch returned the stare with a raised eyebrow. "Do you wish to prolong this evening, or do you want me to cancel this session?"

Robyn slightly scowls but stops as she glances at Jaune. If the first question causes this effect… then the second question might help her understand what is going on.

"Have you ever willingly or unknowingly acted under the influence of any entity that opposes the kingdoms of Remnant?"

Now, this is definitely referring to Alphaeus. With the document given earlier, she expects a yes from him. To have a contradiction happened earlier, maybe the psychological aspect of Jaune has affected his Soul… yes, that could be possible. The Grimm has some properties that are still being researched, and the Alphaeus are one of the least researched-

"Yes." Jaune answers confidently, and it checks well with the incident. He must have at least contacted Grimm during fall, and it could explain the contradiction earlier. Grimm research is still a hot topic between academia from her experience, as there are still properties being discovered on how they can counteract the Grimm… and use them to their benefit.

However, her expectation breaks as the lilac color changes color to red.

'He… lied?' Robyn looks at the man with skepticism. Did he run away the moment the incident came? It could prove her theory on Jaune being the last survivor, but it doesn't explain why he has a contradicting answer earlier. Her Semblance asks the Soul for the truth, and when the truth gives two answers…

"Even if I try to admit it for your sake, I am telling the truth." Jaune leans back more onto his chair, as his body expresses… relief? A sudden shift of movement while he smiles at Goodwitch could mean something has happened before Robyn arrived.

"Miss Hill, please proceed to the next question" Goodwitch however, ignores Jaune and asks her to continue. Robyn looks at the next question, and senses pressure coming from the two blondes. The pressure from her emerald eyes directed into the blonde man, as his dark blue eyes stared back at her.

Something… something had definitely happened between these two.

Robyn clears her throat and asks, "Can you verify what you have told Glynda Goodwitch earlier in the afternoon to be true?"

"Yes," Jaune answered immediately, his eyes never leaving Glynda's. "I've been saying that from the start."

Goodwitch's gaze remained stern. "Have you? Because I recall quite a bit of hesitation on your part."

"I wasn't hesitating because I was lying," Jaune shot back, frustration creeping into his voice. "I was trying to figure out if I should even tell you everything at all!"

Robyn blinked, her confusion growing. "Wait… what do you mean by everything?"

Jaune groans and runs a hand through his hair, as he glances at Robyn. "Look, it's complicated, okay? I didn't want to just dump everything on her all at once. I needed to be sure it was the right time."

"And you think this is the right time?" Goodwitch asked, her tone sharp.

"Is it ever the right time to drop a bomb like that on someone?" Jaune retorted, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

Robyn's eyes darted between the two, trying to make sense of what she was hearing. What exactly did he tell her? She wondered, feeling more and more like she was intruding on a private matter. The way Jaune and Glynda were speaking to each other, it was almost like-

'No, that can't be it', Robyn thought, though the idea was starting to take root in her mind. 'But then again, they're both acting so… personal.'

Glynda took a deep breath, clearly struggling to maintain her composure. "Jaune, you know how important it is for me to understand the full scope of what you're dealing with. How am I supposed to help you if you're not completely honest with me?"

"I have been honest with you!" Jaune insisted, his voice tinged with desperation. "But this isn't something I can just… say outright! I've been trying to protect you-"

"Protect me?" Glynda echoed, incredulously. "From what?"

"From the truth!" Jaune blurted out, and then immediately winced as if he'd said too much.

Robyn's heart skipped a beat. 'Oh no… they definitely have something going on.'

Glynda's eyes softened, just slightly, as she watched Jaune struggle with his words. "Jaune, you don't have to protect me. I'm not some fragile flower who's going to break at the first sign of trouble."

"I know that," Jaune muttered, looking down at the floor. "But that doesn't mean I want to burden you with everything. It's my problem to deal with, not yours."

Robyn could hardly believe what she was hearing. The way they were talking… the concern in Glynda's voice, the way Jaune was trying so hard to shield her from something, it was almost too much. 'Are they really…?'

Robyn cleared her throat again, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "So, just to be clear," she said, glancing at the next question on the list, "you're saying that everything you told Glynda earlier was the truth?"

"Yes," Jaune said firmly, though his expression was anything but confident. "Everything I told her was true. I just… didn't tell her everything all at once."

And the Semblance glows green, confirming his word.

Yet Glynda's eyes narrow. "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"I'm not trying to make you feel better!" Jaune replied, clearly frustrated. "I'm trying to be responsible! You have no idea how hard it is to carry all of this by myself!"

Robyn's eyes widened as she took in Jaune's words. 'Oh wow. He's really laying it all out there, isn't he?' And from the look on Glynda's face, she wasn't sure if the woman was about to cry or slap Jaune across the face. Or both.

Robyn suddenly felt like she was watching a scene from one of those romantic dramas Fiona loved so much. The ones where the couple would fight passionately, only to make up in the most dramatic way possible. Before the tension could break, Robyn looks down on the final question and hesitates.

'This is going to be awkward.' She thinks to herself as she slowly braces herself on the trainwreck she rides upon.

"Why did you want Glynda Goodwitch to be your aunt?"

The question seemed to hang in the air, heavy and awkward. Jaune went pale, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, while Glynda remained silent, her expression unreadable.

"I-I… What?" Jaune finally stammered, looking completely flabbergasted.

"Answer the question, Jaune," Glynda said, her voice firm but not unkind. There was a subtle undercurrent in her tone, something that made Robyn think this question wasn't just for the sake of the lie detector test. It was something Glynda genuinely needed to know.

"I mean… it's a valid question, right? Given the circumstances?" Robyn, already feeling the regret of asking, tries to defuse the situation.

Jaune looks at Robyn with his eyes wide and panicked. As if he's going through a meltdown. "That's… that's not something I-I mean , why would you even-"

However, Goodwitch's gaze didn't waver and stares down into him. "You said it, Jaune. Now explain why."

Robyn sinks into her chair as she holds onto his hand, practically wanting to disappear. She hadn't signed up for this. All she had to do was verify some truths, not get entangled in whatever emotional mess was happening here. She should've brought Fiona with her, at least she can navigate this-

*BAM*

"Why?! I'll tell you why!" Then Jaune snaps, as he slams the table.

"It's because I'm alone!" His voice cracks with raw emotion, and Robyn flinches at the intensity. "Alone in a world that's not mine! I woke up today in a mirror to a face I don't own! A stranger that I barely recognize if I didn't have adrenaline pumping in my fucking veins."

Then the lilac color turns green, bright green.

"What makes it worse is that I literally do not have anyone!" He pulls out his Scroll and lays it in front of them. "My family disowned me, I don't have any friends that recognize this ugly mug and the people I have talked to after being here are you and this human lie detector! So yes, Glynda Goodwitch, I want you to be my aunt because you're the only one who's even tried to understand me. The only one who's cared enough to listen when no one else will."

He looked down, his voice trembling as he continued. "I don't expect you to get it. Hell, I don't get it half the time. But you…" he gestured weakly at Glynda, "you're the one person who's looked past all the bullshit, who saw me when I felt like I was invisible. And yeah, maybe it's pathetic, maybe it's desperate, but I need someone, anyone, who's willing to stand by me. Even if it's just because you're obligated to be my teacher."

And bright green color steadies on Robyn's hand, and she's agape on what he just said. She has no words to say. Just watching the blonde man tremble and grip on her own hand as he sits and looks down on his knees.

"I.. I don't want to be al-"

And Glynda Goodwitch hugs him immediately, and he lets go of Robyn's hand.

Robyn watches the two hold onto that embrace, as she hears muffled cries from the man. She leans back into her chair to process what she just heard and witnessed. It's not what she expected, but beyond it. She didn't know Jaune was…

So fragile? So broken?

She thought she was coming to evaluate a cocky, traumatized Huntsman, not someone who was barely holding it together. This was beyond anything she could have imagined. And Glynda… Robyn had always respected her as a strict, no-nonsense Headmistress. But this? 'Is she… mothering him? Or… something else?'

The more Robyn thought about it, the more the scene before her began to take on a different light. 'Wait. This isn't just about Jaune being alone, is it?'

She tried to shake the idea out of her head. It was absurd, right? But the way Glynda held him, the way Jaune had just poured his heart out to her. The kind where the mentor and student reveal they've been in love all along, but duty kept them apart. Or where a tragic backstory comes to light, drawing them closer together.

'By the Brothers, if Fiona hears a word about this, she will not stop asking about it.' Robyn's mind races as she continues watching the two blondes. Her thoughts swirl in a confused mess as she tries to piece together what little she knew. 'No way. Could this be some… forbidden love situation?'

But as Glynda finally pulled away from the hug, smoothing down Jaune's hair with a tenderness that almost made Robyn blush, she saw something else in the older woman's emerald eyes.

"Miss Hill, thank you for your assistance. I will… handle things from here."

Robyn blinked, pulled from her spiraling thoughts by Glynda's composed voice. The Deputy Headmistress had pulled back from Jaune, her posture once again that of the stern, unflappable figure Robyn had always known her to be. But there was still a softness in Glynda's emerald eyes as she looked at the young man, her hand lingering on his shoulder.

Robyn shifted on her feet, feeling the tension in the air thickening as she prepared to speak. "Right, uh… about that favor, Glynda…" She trailed off as Glynda's emerald gaze snapped to her, and Robyn suddenly felt like she was under the scrutiny of a very angry, very powerful Huntress.

Glynda's eyes narrowed just a fraction, and Robyn instantly regretted bringing it up. 'Oh no, bad timing, Robyn. Really bad timing.' But she was already in too deep to back out now, so she forced herself to continue.

"I mean… you did say you'd put in a word with General Ironwood for the Happy Huntresses," Robyn said, her voice growing more hesitant with each word as Glynda's expression grew more severe. "Just, you know, making sure that's still… on the table?"

For a moment, the warehouse was deathly silent. Robyn could feel the weight of Glynda's glare pressing down on her, and she wished she could shrink into her jacket and disappear. Then, to her immense relief, Glynda let out a slow breath, closing her eyes for a moment before nodding curtly.

"Yes, Miss Hill," Glynda said, her tone clipped but not unkind. "I will honor our agreement. You have my word."

Robyn's shoulders relaxed a fraction, and she gave Glynda a grateful nod. "Thank you, Headmistress. I… appreciate it."

Glynda's eyes softened again as she turned her attention back to Jaune, who was wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Now, if you'll excuse us, Jaune and I have much to discuss. I trust you can see yourself out?"

Robyn didn't need to be told twice. "Of course," she said quickly, turning on her heel and heading for the door. But just as she reached the exit, she paused and glanced back at the two blondes one last time.

Jaune was looking up at Glynda with an expression that was a mix of gratitude and something deeper, while Glynda's hand remained on his shoulder, offering silent support. The sight made Robyn's heart do a strange little flip, and she couldn't help but wonder what the future held for them.

Shaking her head, Robyn pushed the door open and stepped outside into the cool night air. 'Okay, I am definitely not telling Fiona about this. Ever.'

 

[Kryptonian Steel]

Ok, I'm hooked, MORE!

 

[catsweeb]

I love how cursed Robyn's perspective is of this situation. I hope that this trend continues and everyone thinks that Jaune somehow is just that suave in his confused trauma.

 

[Omniext]

that's cursed, but also incredibly funny
glynda & jaune: that's not what's going on
someone else who eventually gets in the know: but it is one hell of a smokescreen

 

[unident_individ]

This is really good, and I don't just mean the part where there were hardly any grammar issues or non-colloquialisms, I mean the story premise, the characters, relationships, all of it. More, please!

 

[Momontoro]

I must say this has been an experience to read so far. Like I know it's a joke but I also hope it sticks to the found family motif instead of Good-Arc ship. The young aunt May to Tom Holland's spiderman.