388 My OC Stash #88 - Aunt Salem by Selene Sokal (RWBY)

-This AU Jaune-centric fics are too enticing, it kinda reminds me of White Sheep by Cœur too which really helps me binge it easier~

Synopsis: The Arc family has for a long time prospered under the guidance of their esteemed matriarch, Aunt Salem. For a very long time. Seemingly ageless, she's been a part of their life for so long that they've all accepted it as just a quirk of the family. But when her favorite nephew announces his intention to become a Huntsman, Aunt Salem offers him all the aid she can provide.

Rated: T

Words: 19K

Posted on: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13658843/1/Aunt-Salem (Selene Sokal)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics/originals mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1-3 (exceptional)

Roman had come to terms with the fact that, in spite of his authority, his experience, his skills, and his reach, that he had almost no control of his life. Back when he was a simple pickpocket, he dreamed of becoming the Boss because he assumed it meant control. But as he climbed the ranks in the underworld, pulling off more daring heists and outwitting his rivals, he had learned that freedom was a delusion—everyone was under someone's control, whether they knew it or not.

Every step Roman moved up the ladder, he found it came with a bigger target on his back, but even worse than the enemies he made were the allies he acquired. Outside of Neo, his underlings, associates, and marks came with endless responsibilities, fires he had to put out. Actually, Neo came with lots of fires to put out. But underlings had to be managed, associates came for favors, and even those he was squeezing money out of didn't just fork it over for free—it was a full time job running extortion rackets.

Worst of all, he'd gotten big enough to get the attention of a terrifying pyromaniac who seemed to have no morality whatsoever and quite possibly was going to murder him no matter what he did. But Roman didn't back down. No, there was no true freedom in this life, but that didn't mean that the acquisition of power was a fool's game. He just had to stay on top of things to survive.

But this meeting was going to test Roman's ability because, for the life of him, he didn't know why the Queen Bitch herself needed an all hands meeting. And Roman really didn't like unknowns. He'd certainly been having some issues with their supply, but not so bad that he was expecting to get raked over the (probably literal) coals. The interception of the Fall Maiden had been a flop, but it had been one that 1) Roman had nothing to do with and 2) he'd already been excoriated for. And the issue with Little Red was… well, Cinder had her fingerprints on that nuisance enough to let Roman breathe.

Taking a seat with Neo, he glanced over to the little monsters Cinder kept in her entourage. They… didn't seem to know what was going on, which spared Roman their irritating smugness, but that also meant this was coming totally out of the blue. It was also odd that Her High and Mightiness hadn't arrived yet—she was punctual to a fault, something Roman respected quite a bit in the underworld. Her being late wasn't a power play, that wasn't her style. It meant something was wrong. Badly wrong.

As she entered the warehouse, Roman knew that it was a damn risky move to tweak the nose of a rabid dog, but he had to get some sense of what was going on.

But he was also a man who didn't get here by being cautious.

"So!" he proclaimed, theatrically, "It feels like we never get together anymore; when was the last time we had a nice family dinner, just the five of us?"

If he was a dead man, he was already a dead man; this might just help speed up the inevitable. Plus, seeing Greenie practically choke to hear his flippant tone would be a fine note to go out on.

"Enough talk," Cinder barked, an angry bark to be sure, but not "I'm killing you now" kind of anger, so Roman felt he could practically let out a sigh of relief. If a sigh of relief wouldn't end with him being set on fire and ruining his new suit. Plus all the burns and the pain and the death.

But the Queen switched to addressing the entire table, all business. "We have a matter of highest importance, sufficient to supersede all other plans, including the Dust plan, the Vytal plan, the Maiden plan, any and all plans are put aside for what is coming now."

A surprise for her little gremlins, who Roman knew were quite excited for all the murder and chaos the main plan had in store for Vale, adorable little sociopaths they were. They knew not to question their boss, of course, but a glance to Neo confirmed that he ought to keep probing because, even if Roman didn't like the whole "mass slaughter of the innocent" aspect of the plan, he knew that operations that abruptly changed course were always a problem.

"Hold up a sec," he raised his hand, "As I understood it, your original plan was the one and only plan, and I've risked a lot to get us this far. Problems happen, but-"

He was cut off with only a look.

"There is only one person in this entire world I fear, Roman, and she has ordered me to consider the task she has given me to be of more importance than my very life. I suggest you take a similar attitude, before you learn firsthand that there are worse fates than death."

Roman tried his best to look, at most, bemused by the shocking revelation that the Queen was taking orders from someone above her—after all, everyone was controlled by someone or something else, but from the way Cinder was talking about it, she was afraid. Not in the way Roman feared Cinder, but in the way Roman feared the sight of a tidal wave about to crash down on him. A fear of something total and absolute, a fear of…

It was the fear he knew from when faced by a horde of Grimm.

And that told Roman that now was not the time to fuck around and find out.

"What's the plan?" he asked, his nerves slightly on edge.

"A VIP is arriving. He will be attending Beacon Academy, and we are to ensure his safety while he is attending the school, as well as to ensure any and all of his needs are met. Anything he says or asks for is to be considered as though they came directly from me, and I cannot stress enough that if anything happens to him, or gods help us all, he voices his displeasure to my employer… death will not be an escape. Not for any of us."

That was not anything Roman was expecting. At all. Well, imminent death and new depths of horrors had been pretty much his day to day ever since he first met up with Wicked Bitch of the West, so he couldn't really be that surprised to hear there was more of it. But to learn that Cinder was afraid of this going wrong… that was very much new.

"And he will be arriving to meet with the five of us tonight."

"How- how soon?" Legs asked, clearly unnerved, to Roman's quiet delight, by the fact that he was now effectively the personal servant of a teenage boy.

"Now," Cinder replied, as Roman heard the doors opened and he saw the latest figure he was now in hock to, looking to all the world like a clueless tourist instead of his looming execution, but from the way his psychopath of a business partner stiffened, Roman knew damn well any fear he didn't have for this gangly blond dweeb was a mistake on his part.

Which, really, was exactly how Roman's life was going, wasn't it?

A few weeks before Roman's meeting with Cinder, there was a very different meeting happening far off in rural Vale.

Jaune Arc had come back home from a long day in the vineyards. Supervisory work, just talking, inspecting things, none of the hard labor he enjoyed, the kind that he could lose himself in, like when he brought in the harvest alongside his family and community. And the kind of work that reminded him that he would be leaving for the big city soon, away from the quiet and tranquil places of his home to a city that never slept.

Or, he supposed, he'd be going to Beacon not Vale, so he'd be removed from the city… but that simply reminded him that he really didn't belong in either. His forged transcripts had gotten him admitted, but… well, Jaune didn't want to think about that. He'd gotten in. He'd make it. He had a strong arm, the family sword, and confidence. He could do this, he was sure!

As he stepped into the door, he went to the bathroom to wash some of the dirt off his hands and the sweat off his face. It might not have been physical labor, but he'd still been outside in the Valean sun and this summer had been quite intense. Fortunately, not enough to damage the grapes—if anything, Jaune was hopeful for the season—but enough to make Jaune struggle in the day to day work.

"Oh Jaune!" he heard his mother call from the sitting room, "Auntie came by to visit! Come in, say hi!"

Jaune quickly dried his hands. He knew to hurry, but he also knew to make sure to do a quick check in the mirror and ensure he looked presentable. A visit from his Aunt was a big deal, a bigger deal than most any family member stopping by, and… almost certainly tied to his rapidly approaching trip to Beacon.

After all, she was something more than a family member.

"Aunt" Salem wasn't his father or mother's sister, or a great aunt, or even a family friend. She was… she was something more mysterious than anything anyone else's family had. For one, she looked like she hadn't aged since Jaune's oldest memories of her, or, according to his parents, in anyone's oldest memories of her. As far as Jaune knew, she had just always been around, the perpetual "Aunt" to the Arc family, always to be treated with great respect and listened to. For another thing, he also knew that Aunt Salem had powers. Some of it, he knew, was just his big sisters teasing him, saying that she could command the Grimm or she could turn into a flock of bats, but Jaune definitely knew that ordinary people couldn't make it stop raining because she had no intention of seeing one of Jaune's Little League games get canceled while she was visiting.

Stepping into the room, he couldn't help but smile to see his Aunt sitting primly next to his mother. Yes, she was a possibly immortal family member with magic powers, but she was also the same Aunt Salem who cheered for him at those Little League games, who'd been a part of his life since he was a baby.

"Hey Auntie Salem," he said, waving to her.

She was a regal looking woman, her posture always as prim and precise as a queen's. Next to her mother, her long, blonde hair and light blue eyes made them seem almost like they were sisters—but all the Arcs kind of looked like that, enough that Saphron and their mother looked kind of like sisters.

"I heard you were going to Beacon," she said, standing up and approaching him.

Something about her tone of voice, slightly sad, almost regretful, made Jaune nervous. Did she know? About the transcripts?

She raised her hand to stroke Jaune's cheek. "They grow up so fast..." she said, wistfully to his mother, "It feels like it was only yesterday that he was crawling up on my lap, eager for stories..."

Jaune blushed. Aunt Salem's stories, full of wicked kings and bold heroines who confronted corrupt and evil gods, had been a highlight of his childhood. When he was little, he would monopolize his Aunt's time, hoping for candy, but even more so, the stories, which, when he got older, morphed into lessons learned from her directly. It was from his Aunt that Jaune resolved to become a Huntsman—to be a better kind of Huntsman, one who actually lived up to their creed and protected the weak and downtrodden, rather than blindly carried out the orders of the powerful.

But his Aunt looked at him, her eyes seeming to scan right through him as she assessed what words of wisdom he needed to hear. Finally, nodding, having looked into his soul, she said, "Not everyone you meet at Beacon will be good to you, and many who might seem good are never to be trusted, but… I suppose you've made up your mind?"

It was a real question. Jaune knew she wanted to hear the truth in his voice, not an answer that would please her, and, well, he had. "I have," he said, feeling as resolute as he had the day he'd summoned all his courage to put his application in the mail. "I want to be a Huntsman. The kind of Huntsman… the kind that you could be proud of."

"Jaune, Jaune, Jaune," she sighed, looking deep into his eyes, "You've always been my favorite nephew," a statement that very much startled Jaune. There had surely been many, many generations of Arc men who had been Aunt Salem's nephew that he had evidently been measured against. "And I always knew you had the family's heroic spirit… the life of a viticulturist was never for you. But… it's hard for me to accept. It's such a dangerous path to be a Huntsman, a place where you'll find the Grimm are hardly the monsters you need to fear most. Jaune..." she paused, for the first time in Jaune's life seeming, almost, hesitant, "I would only ask you to accept a boon from your Auntie, so she doesn't have to worry so much for your safety..."

"I… thank you, Aunt Salem."

She laid a hand on his shoulder and whispered something in a language Jaune didn't recognize until suddenly… Jaune felt a potent flash inside him, a surge of inner light that made him gasp as he felt like he could do anything, like his body weight nothing, lit it was more than just confidence but, rather, like all possibility inside himself was unleashed. It was a truly remarkable feeling, and Jaune looked to his Aunt with wonderment.

"I have unlocked your aura, my nephew, and I have granted you a Semblance that I… believe will aid you in your time at Beacon," she explained, and Jaune realized… Jaune realized there was a redness in her eyes, like she was holding back tears as she gave him a sorrowful look. "Please… for your Aunt, please stay safe out there, my dear Jaune."

Jaune gave his Aunt a tight hug. "I promise," he whispered to her.

"And please," she whispered back, almost too low for Jaune to hear, "please don't wait to give your poor mother some grandchildren, you're legally able to get married now and Saphron's made the both of us so happy with Adrian, but he's all the way in Mantle and she'd love to be more active with a darling little grandbaby."

Ah yes.

Of course, of course, his Aunt wouldn't let a moment like this end without one of her perpetual reminders about bringing in the next generation of nieces and nephews for her.

"A granddaughter would mean so much to your poor mother... and myself, as well."

With a stifled laugh, Jaune just hugged his Aunt back and made sure to promise he'd get himself a girlfriend while there.

Chapter 2

Even though she lived a rather spartan lifestyle, Pyrrha was still impressed by how much stuff she had to bring with her as she packed up to head to Beacon. Running down the checklist, it was hard to imagine that her whole life was contained on this sheet of paper, but, well, Beacon was going to be where Pyrrha would enter the next great stage of her life, competing no longer on just the Kingdom-wide stage, but truly facing down the best in the world, seeing how she compared to the finest Huntsmen alive.

Her mother stepped into the room, and Pyrrha realized, as she followed her mother's eyes, how empty her now packed up room felt. And how real her imminent departure was.

It was a sorrowful note, even as excited as Pyrrha was to step away from her old life in Sanctum and Mistral and face a new adventure far off in Vale. Her mother had raised her all on her own, after Pyrrha's father had passed, and now Pyrrha was leaving her with an empty nest.

She didn't hesitate to return the hug as her mother enfolded her into her arms. "I'm so, so proud of you," she murmured.

"I know," Pyrrha replied, hoarsely, feeling a surge of emotion come over her.

"You've always made me proud..." but then her mother seemed to stiffen her spine a little as she loosed herself from the hug and forced herself to keep it together as she looked Pyrrha in the eye. "Just… remember where you came from, Pyrrha. And never forget, you have a home here, no matter what happens. And you can always come back here for help or advice or anything you need! And remember... your accomplishments are not just for you, they're for-"

"The glory of our Queen Salem," Pyrrha interrupted her mother with a laugh, the familiarity of the phrase giving some levity to break the situation's weight. "I know mom, I've been practicing since I was a child to honor our culture and traditions. I'll make you, and all of us, proud. I promise."

Her mother wrapped her back in a tight hug, and Pyrrha struggled not to let the emotion she was feeling get the better of her. While so many of her fellow competitors fought for selfish, personal glory, Pyrrha knew that this was worth more than any of that. All victory gained for the self was hollow and empty. Pyrrha had learned how the champion's life could be a lonely one, the level of dedication it took to excel so consistently had a tendency to drive away people who might get close, and success brought an endless tide of false friends and manipulators.

But Pyrrha had something more than the glory of a tournament victory. She had purpose, she had community. Even if it was all in secret, in underground meetings held only in the most secure locations, Pyrrha knew that her efforts to succeed as a competitor was part of a greater plan. She performed so that, one day, when the True Queen of the World would reveal herself in her glory, Pyrrha would be in position to welcome her return to Remnant.

But as her mother released her from the hug, she looked away. "Well… there's more to it. You see..." for what might be the first time in Pyrrha's life, her mother looked… uncertain. "I received a notice from… Mr. Rainart. A request from the Queen. Herself."

Pyrrha's eyes went wide at that. She had spent a summer training under the great Hazel Rainart, an incredible honor, not just in how much she'd learned from the master, but in knowing she had the attention of someone who attended to Queen Salem personally. But Master Rainart was only a man—to know she had earned the Queen, their Goddess's personal interest almost made her heart stop beating.

Her throat, she realized, was suddenly dry as she asked, "What… what would our Goddess have of me?"

Nodding, her mother relayed to her the instructions. "At Beacon, you will rendezvous with a pair of cult agents, codenamed Stormflower. They will be looking for you and will introduce themselves as such. They will give you more specific instructions, but… the Queen has requested that you serve as the bodyguard for someone... precious to her. I don't know who he is, but… Queen Salem evidently considers him to be a man of… the highest importance."

That wasn't in question. If Queen Salem thought he was important enough to deserve Pyrrha's protection, Pyrrha's only question was what she had to do to live up to her Queen's expectations. "I will protect him with my life and my honor," she replied, resolutely.

Pyrrha suddenly found herself enveloped in another tight hug, this one strong enough to almost knock the wind out of her. But she didn't mind, not when her mother's voice was just bursting with so much happiness as she said, "This is the greatest honor our family has ever received, and I couldn't be more proud that it came to you. I know you will bring honor to the Nikos name, that even our Blessed Queen will hear of your accomplishments."

"I'll make you proud, mom," she whispered back into the hug.

"I know you will," she said, and Pyrrha struggled to keep the tears from flowing, "You always do."

"Agent Lotus—psst—this is Thunderbolt, come in Agent Lotus, over—bzzt."

"Agent Thunderbolt, this is Lotus, we are not on a radio and you do not have to represent static," Ren replied without looking up from his book, "Also, it might be unwise to be using our code names so casually while we're in public."

Nora rolled her eyes. "But they're so cool," she protested.

Ren briefly looked up from his book. "It's a bad idea, Nora."

"Well!" she huffed, "Uncle Tyrian said I was your commanding officer for this mission, and-"

"Ms. Fall said Victory's our immediate superior."

Nora rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but until we rendezvous with her, your cute butt belongs to me, Agent Lotus!"

Suddenly, Nora realized there was a girl in a red cloak with wide silver eyes next to her. "I'm sorry, but… are you two secret agents?" she asked in an eager, squeaky voice.

"We absolutely are!" Nora proclaimed before Ren could stop her.

"Wow!" she replied, in genuine excitement. "Are you infiltrating Beacon for Mistral? I mean, cause your outfits are totally Mistralian and… oh no, is that racist? I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"Nope!" Nora cut her off, "We're infiltrating for an even cooler and more secret conspiracy than any Kingdom's government! It's gonna knock your socks off once we reveal ourselves to-"

Suddenly, a confident, powerful-looking girl with a big head of blonde hair and biceps that made Nora really excited to start punching, rounded the corner. "Oh, there you are, Ruby! And hey, you're already making friends!"

"They're secret agents!" The girl, Ruby, eagerly informed Yang, "They're infiltrating Beacon and it's a conspiracy!"

"We are not secret agents," Ren replied offhandedly, still not looking up from his book. "Secret agents don't tell everyone they're secret agents."

"Oh, yeah," Nora said, putting a finger to her lips, "I guess we're just regular agents then. But it's still for a really cool conspiracy!"

"Come on Ruby," the blonde girl said, rolling her eyes, "though I get the feeling you'll have an easier time fitting in at Beacon than I thought."

She and Renny had the perfect double act. Nobody took what she said seriously, so she could hide in plain sight as they both covered for the other effortlessly. Really, was there anyone who'd meet the two of them that would catch on to the fact that Renny always lied while Nora only told the truth?

As the airship docked, she knew they had two priorities to achieve. First, to rendezvous with Agent Victory (and, sadly, pass on command, though, it was to a super-cool warrior princess type!) and then, to get a visual on their target: code named Sauvignon.

Sauvignon. Nora was excited to meet him. With a code name like that—Renny said it was Old Valean for "savage," which was crazy—she was sure she'd recognize him on sight, but like a lot of badasses Nora had met in her loyal service to Queen Salem, maybe he hid it on the inside, looking like anyone until it was time for the knives to come out!

Ren had a picture of him with a detailed description and his name and all that, but Nora much preferred the mystery of knowing that someone Queen Salem herself had ordered them to protect could be anyone on this airship! Like that girl with the hood who- wait, she did know it was a guy. But it could still be any non-Renny boy on the airship! Maybe even that blond guy who'd ran into the bathroom to throw up!

Nora liked that option—she really hoped that guy was Sauvignon! Maybe he was just bad at flying to compensate for the way he could utterly dismantle his enemies! Yes, that was almost certainly what was going on!

Of course, it was much easier to spot Victory while they were disembarking. After all, who didn't know who Pyrrha Nikos was? Nora and Ren had been living in the wilderness for the past few years with Uncle Tyrian and even they could recognize the crimson-haired warrior goddess standing like she was imperiously above all of them.

And, damn, looking as fine as she did, Nora couldn't blame her for flaunting it!

She and Ren allowed the various gawkers to file past her, far too intimidated to actually speak to the champion, but they knew the password.

"Excuse me," Ren said, his voice low, "but I believe you might be able to help me, you see, I don't recall how to claim my weapons after I checked them? Two machine pistols, called Stormflower, if the weapon type makes a difference."

Upon hearing the codeword, a smile crossed the Invincible Girls' face.

"Oh, I know where we can go to… find it. A pleasure to meet you, by the way—I'm Pyrrha Nikos, though some call me the Goddess of Victory. And you are?"

"NORA VALKYRIE!" Nora loudly announced, throwing handfuls of confetti she had packed for just this occasion. "And this is my Renny Bear, Ren!"

As her comrades recovered from her sudden outburst, Nora smiled broadly. She was so excited to work for Agent Victory!

"Anyways," their new boss coughed, "if you two could… follow me."

Walking with Pyrrha, Nora felt like the belle of the ball! Everyone was looking at them, and, yeah, probably not great for cool secret agents, but Nora was a specialist in Overt Ops, trained by Uncle Tyrian in being loud and boisterous and distracting everyone else by just living life and having a good time! Let everybody look at them; they'd be so distracted by Nora, they wouldn't even realize what they weren't supposed to see. And soon enough, they had broken away from where the people were.

Under Nora's cover, Ren was giving Pyrrha the 4-1... what was the last number? Eh, she'd remember it later.

"Our target is code-named 'Sauvignon,' which I believe is Old Valean for savage, which gives us some guidance to what sort of man we're dealing with. His actual name is Jaune Arc, of the Arc family—their lineage is sacred, quite possibly the literal blood of the Goddess. The Field Commander of our Queen's Valean operations tells me that, while our Lady has… gifted him with some protection, the exact form it takes is unknown and, by her assessment, he will need both a bodyguard and personal trainer."

Pyrrha nodded, smartly. "Simple enough. Is there a plan in place to ensure that the four of us end up on the same team?"

Ren paused a bit at that. "Beacon uses a… fairly… bizarre admissions policy involving, apparently, every admitted student being flung into the woods by a catapult. I don't… I don't know. It's just how they do things here. But your task will be to track down Sauvignon and ensure that you are partnered with him-"

"I would recommend preparing a call in advance," Nora helpfully butted in, "Renny and I are using a sloth call for it."

Ren continued, as though Nora hadn't said anything, "And then grabbing the same chess piece as the two of us recover from a ruin within the forest."

"Obviously, the Castle!"

Pyrrha's mind seemed to be whirring like an overcharged hammer mechashift engine as she took in the information. "Get to the target before anyone else, grab the Castle chess piece, and then exfiltrate. Simple enough. Now—are we to get in touch with Sauvignon before we begin initiation or are we to observe from a distance?"

"We're to maintain distance, until-"

KA-BOOOOOOOM!

Ren and Pyrrha whirled, while Nora was left confused by the sudden explosion. Usually, she was the one who blew things up at random, this was a completely unexpected situation where-

Oh no! Little red hood girl was the one who was exploded or did the exploding! Another plus in Nora's book, of course, but she looked rather miserable as a bunch of girls just yelled at her for some reason. Nora resolved to help pick her up, give her some reassurance that no matter how many times you get exploded, you still matter!

But before she could march on over and give that advice, it turned out that there were still some heroes in the world of men (a very rare sight, in Nora's experience!) as the guy who was throwing up on the flight over reached down to help her up out of the crater. Good for him! Nora knew that vomit boy was a trustworthy and-

"That's..." Ren's voice trailed off, "That's our VIP. That's Sauvignon."

Oh boy! It was vomit boy!

Chapter 3

Jaune idly shuffled through the locker room, trying to remember where his gear was. It'd be one hell of a thing to get this far and then… fail because he couldn't find his sword, shield, or armor before Initiation! How would he explain that to his family? Or, he shuddered, to his Aunt?

But while looking, he happened to see Weiss—the white haired girl who had been… less than enthused about meeting him the previous day—who was talking to a red-haired girl who looked really familiar, but he just couldn't place it. Well, Ruby and Yang had been talking about teams this morning, and Jaune really couldn't spend all day just awkwardly lurking in the background, so he might as well introduce himself!

Remember what Auntie Salem told you… Girls want confidence and… and remember what Ms. Fall told you—if you start using pickup lines on random students, you'll get your eyes torn out of their sockets with a rusty fork.

Boy, that had been a… surprisingly intense conversation she'd had with Aunt Salem's friend in Vale. Jaune had thought she'd just be telling him about, like, what restaurants were good and what places were tourist traps, not… handed a loaded pistol and an emergency escape plan "should your cover be blown." But… Aunt Salem was a strange and powerful woman, so it only made sense her friends were also somewhat… intense.

Mr. Torchwick seemed nice enough at least! Jaune hadn't even realized he was the guy who'd gotten him the forged transcripts in the first place. But he'd been really nice and helpful on the whole "here's what you need to know about Vale" front, and Jaune was hoping to take him up on his offer to get lunch together some time. But he'd put him up in a really nice hotel for the evening and made Jaune feel very welcome, and Jaune especially liked his… well, he wasn't really sure what relationship Mr. Torchwick had with Ms. Politan, but she was really nice, especially when he let her know he could sign!

His first day at Beacon had gone surprisingly well, aside from… the flight. He'd met Ruby, who was very nice, Yang, who was… hard to read, and Weiss, who was a little… brusque. And carrying explosives. But with Ruby and Yang clearly having a family conversation that Jaune knew to butt out of, Weiss was the only person Jaune kind of knew so far, so he might as well say hi and try to make a better impression than he'd made the night before.

And maybe he'd get introduced to Weiss's friend, the tall, red-haired girl who looked so familiar to Jaune he was kicking himself he just couldn't place where. She wasn't Valean, that was for sure, but outside of comic books, Jaune didn't really know that many people from the wider world. The perils of a provincial life, he supposed. But she looked nice, and Jaune just had to be confident! And to not forget what Ms. Fall had told him, with the whole rusty fork part!

After all, as his mom always said, a stranger's just a friend you haven't met! Or as Aunt Salem put it, the unknown can always be an asset to the ambitious!

"Hi there!" he announced to the two of them, "I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc, short, sweet-"

"How wonderful to meet you, Jaune!" the redhead replied, with… surprising eagerness. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos, of Mistral. Have you, by chance, put any thought to whose team you were planning to be on?"

Jaune just… blinked in surprise. As did Weiss. Between the two of them, their eyes communicated that neither of them knew what to make of this moment. "I… guess?" he answered, lamely, "I mean, I wouldn't mind if a lovely lady such as yourself," shit shit shit abort you idiot rusty fork, rusty fork! "were to be interested in-"

"You wouldn't mind being partnered with Pyrrha Nikos?" Weiss suddenly exploded, "Don't you know who she is?"

Jaune looked at Pyrrha in horror. Oh hell, he knew he had recognized her from somewhere! "...No?"

"She graduated top of her class in-"

"That's not important," Pyrrha smoothly interrupted as she stepped closer to Jaune, placing herself between him and Weiss, "What matters is, you're looking for someone on your team, and I can assure you, I believe we could make an excellent team. I do hope you would be open to partnering with me. I'm sure we can have..." she gave him a long look, "a very good time at Beacon together."

Weiss just gave the two of them a scandalized look that Jaune could tell had an equal measure of disbelief as it did incredulous fury that, evidently, Pyrrha hadn't been quite this positive towards being on the same team as her. Or… forward about it. Which made Jaune feel even weirder because, really, he'd only just shown up with forged transcripts, and, frankly, Weiss would probably make a much better partner than him.

Which made Pyrrha kind of scary. Kind of a lot scary. Especially with the way her eyes... yeah, Jaune was getting uncomfortable.

Fortunately, a loudspeaker announced that it was time for them to head to the cliffs which broke off this intensely awkward conversation, leaving Jaune to hope that maybe the rest of his day would go more normally. Oh, and that he'd pass initiation… oh hell, he had to find his sword!

The mission was going well. Very well.

Particularly for Pyrrha.

Pyrrha truly believed in their Immortal Queen and the inevitability of her reign over Remnant, the first step of ushering in an age of peace and prosperity, saving them all from the corrupt and wretched world of the Kingdoms. She believed because she felt it was her destiny to play a role in one day bringing balance to the world. But she also believed in Salem because of the community she had found in the underground world they existed in, where the secrecy forced them to closeness, and the taboo criminality of what they did created a space where even Pyrrha could open up. Salemism had been so good to Pyrrha and she was delighted to be an instrument of her Queen's divine will.

But to wrap up the entirety of her faith into a single package and to make that package a cute boy?

Oh, you better believe that Pyrrha was a believer!

Yes, she might have just had to pin Jaune to a tree to get him to survive Initiation, but Pyrrha wasn't about to question her Goddess's judgment. Her scrumptious Sauvignon was Salem's Chosen, and so it didn't matter who he might be where Pyrrha's order's were concerned.

Cutting through the forest was quick work—Pyrrha had been trained in more skills than what might be expected from most Tournament fighters, owing to being part of an illegal underground cult—and she was making excellent progress ducking through the woods in the direction of Jaune. She had two priorities—first, to always ensure his safety, second, to ensure she was his partner so she could better protect and train him. And on that note…

She heard someone cutting through the brush, clumsily. They were moving parallel with Pyrrha's direction, and so she knew that they were on course to encounter Jaune. Not good—she could probably outpace them, but she knew the forest was opening up ahead—if they made eye contact, that was a critical mission failure.

Glancing at the student, he seemed to be a gaudily dressed man with some kind of ridiculous guitar-chainsaw thing that immediately told Pyrrha that the young man was not nearly deserving to take Pyrrha's spot as Sauvignon's partner. The idea was blasphemy itself, and it curdled in her mind to imagine it. Action had to be taken. Now.

The school had surveillance in the woods, Pyrrha knew that before she was even thrown down here, but with Master Rainart's teaching, it was child's play to pick the cameras out. A little bit of Polarity and… down went the camera. Excellent, it would give her the perfect window to do this.

Akouo came crashing down on the student's head. It wouldn't kill him, just knock him out for a little bit. Aura would have him back on his feet even before the cameras came back on. Master Rainart would be quite proud of her efficiency, but he'd also tell her not to rest on her laurels. She needed to keep moving.

Fortunately, he wasn't far. Pyrrha knew where she'd pinned him with Milo, and she knew just as well how to cross terrain like this in a hurry. Even before her training with Master Rainart, she practiced in the woods of Mistral with other cultists, training for what to do if the authorities ever caught on to them, and she thought of her present mission like it was just one of those drills. A Brother was down in the field, and she had to rendezvous and secure him before anyone else got a chance. Pyrrha loved these drills. It was the one place where she could truly cut loose and not hold back, using all the tricks at her disposal. Didn't have to play clean like she did when it was a tournament, and the feeling was liberating.

Breaking into a clearing, she saw her sweet Sauvignon suspended from a tree trunk. Heaven's blessings, he was cute. One look, and Pyrrha knew that she had found what she was looking for.

Not in a romantic way, of course—that would almost certainly be blasphemous to assert herself to Queen Salem's own Chosen!—but, if he was interested… well, Pyrrha would, of course, carry out any task he put before her, or any way she could serve his needs. Any way at all.

Stepping into the clearing before the tree, she immediately pledged her eternal devotion and servitude to him as she helped him down… well, not quite so overtly.

"Hello again!" she said with a cheerful wave to her pinned protectee.

"Oh, Pyrrha," he sighed in relief. "I was worried a Beowulf would get me!"

Pyrrha had speared him higher on the tree just to avoid such a circumstance, but Jaune didn't need to know that. Especially because it was also to keep him from moving away from her. Best not tell him that before he no longer had a reason to want to get away from her.

"Need some help?" she asked, activating her Semblance as she pulled out Milo from the tree. Jaune made a sudden cry as he fell, but Pyrrha dutifully caught him in her arms, briefly cradling him and feeling the rough texture of his muscles… especially how tight his cute little butt was!

"Um… Pyrrha?" he asked.

"Yes Jaune?" she replied, dreamily.

"Will you… let me down?"

"Of course, my l- Of course, Jaune."

Setting him down she made a point to cut a half-pose, the sort of carefully constructed look she'd been taught to be making whenever she was on camera but not in combat. The kind where she looked good, but in a way that also looked accidental, like she wasn't really trying, she just happened to look like a supermodel as an aside. Though with Jaune… it didn't seem that necessary.

Pyrrha knew she was gorgeous, she had enough creepy websites to confirm it. She had no doubt she cut a radiant figure in the clearing, her crimson hair glowing in the sunlight that filtered through the glade. Her sun-dappled skin was on display, and she was flaunting every asset she had to make sure she was… pleasing to her Goddess's Chosen.

"I… uh…" he stammered, inarticulately. Good, Pyrrha was confident she was making a good first impression. "I guess we should… be going to go get those relics, huh?"

"Please, Jaune," she said in a breathy purr, "Just lead the way."

All of Ren's life was lived in a state of balance. Not only in embracing the misunderstood darkness in a world choked with hypocritical light, but in times like these, in the Emerald Forest, where Ren balanced his quiet, gentle side with these opportunities to delight in being a ruthless killer.

A King Taijutu briefly stood in his way, but Ren's blades easily sliced the creature open. Regrettably, it had to be a quick kill—he was on the clock after all—but it was satisfying to feel Stormflower in his hands, the pressure against the scaly armor until he found the exact right point to press with his aura, the body of the serpent suddenly giving way to his blades. A shame they didn't bleed, but he'd likely have opportunities for that later.

After that, reaching Nora was easy—she wasn't exactly a hard person to find, especially when she had full permission to use Magnhild however she wanted. Also kept other interlopers away, fearful of being partnered with the woman firing grenades while bellowing a sloth call. The two of them together commandeered an Ursa, as Uncle Tyrian taught them, and from there, it should be smooth sailing to Sauvignon and Victory. For once, it was Ren who wanted to hurry, to directly see how good Victory was. He'd seen her Tournament tape—who hadn't—but Uncle Tyrian had told him not to count that worth anything. She'd been trained by Hazel Rainart, and according to Tyrian, there was a dirty fighter hidden beneath her precise Tournament-sanctioned moves. Whether or not she was a killer, Ren didn't know, but she was a fighter already good enough at seventeen for the Goddess's attention: she was good.

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy!" Nora cried, "That's them, Renny, and they're being chased by a big monster!"

A Deathstalker. Hmm, that'd be a tough fight for new students… but a good chance to get a feeling for Victory's talents as well as a chance to show off… perhaps, earn a bit of Sauvignon's favor? Victory was to be his personal assistant, but surely, Sauvignon would want a bro… it wouldn't be bad to get in good with the Chosen as early as he could...

"Nora," he whispered, "switch to student mode, downplay your abilities, don't let Sauvignon know how good you are-"

"Awww," Nora pouted.

But Ren knew how to sweeten the deal. "Just don't aim," he advised, and Nora immediately cheered up.

For whatever reason, Sauvignon wasn't a Salemist. And he was to be kept in the dark about the True Faith and, more importantly, that he was protected by agents of the Goddess. A reasonable choice, in Ren's opinion, to help give him a sense of normalcy. But still, they had to play down that they were anything other than ordinary students, and not just to keep the faculty off their tails.

They rushed to the chessboard, Ren "distracting" the Deathstalker with a few carelessly aimed shots as Victory escorted Sauvignon to the ruin. A nod to Nora told her to grab her piece as well, and then Ren was off to rally with the rest of the group, trading pot shots along with Victory to keep the Deathstalker at bay.

"Do you... have a gun?" he asked Sauvignon, hoping his question wouldn't be taken as impertinence.

"Ummm... No?" he answered with an awkward shrug. It... didn't take a trained assassin to notice that Sauvignon, while holding the favor of the Queen of the World, was not familiar with the weight of his sword and shield. This... might be a problem.

But there'd be time for that later. A quick glance confirmed that Victory had grabbed a castle, and so did Nora (and he was relieved to see it was the same color as Victory's, just as they'd practiced). Ren noted that there was also another group here, a future team of four girls—including the SDC heiress and the two who had been around Sauvignon on the first day. An interesting group, but they split off quickly to deal with a Nevermore that was chasing them. Ren, though, made a note of them; he had a suspicion he'd see more of them later. For now, though, all that mattered was the four of them and a giant scorpion.

They broke away from the ruin to try to find a spot to calibrate just how much difficulty two professional assassins and a virtuoso of violence should have with an elder Grimm. Nora was wildly firing Magnhild, and Ren joined, their shots having little effect on the creature's armor. It hurt him to play dumb, but-

KA-PINCH!

A bullet whizzed through the air and lodged deep in the Deathstalker's tail. Ren shot a discreet, but harsh, glare towards Victory, her rifle still smoking from the shot.

"Sorry," she mumbled, quietly. Evidently, the Invincible Girl wasn't used to missing.

But Sauvignon hadn't noticed. At least, he hadn't noticed their deception.

"Pyrrha!" he gasped, "That's it! You and Ren, focus fire on the stinger to get it loose, Nora-"

But Ren wasn't listening. Ren wasn't sure he could listen, because suddenly, something came over him. Something… religious.

Ren had never met the Goddess in person. Uncle Tyrian had, however, and he described the first time he looked upon the Godhead with his own eyes, he felt such a serene state of purpose, it was like the world became quiet and a blinding light filled all he could see. His senses failed as only the singular reality of their Goddess's divine perfection commanded his mind.

That was what Ren felt right now, with Sauvignon's command echoing in his ears: focus fire on the stinger.

Nothing else mattered—Ren's eyes saw with more clarity than ever before, his hands were steadier, as the two of them fired round after round, effortlessly blasting the stinger free. Ren was an expert marksman with Stormflower, he trained religiously (and quite literally so, as a devotion to his Blessed Queen), but he had never shot so well before!

As his senses cleared, Ren blinked in surprise, only to hear Nora's warcry, somehow louder than ever before as she bounded forward and smashed the detached stinger through the armor… with force enough that the stinger was irrelevant, the entire creature buckled under Nora's swing as she bashed it into bits.

They hadn't… they weren't supposed to have used their skills to their fullest, that was their… their orders...

Ren realized that everything he had assumed about the mission was woefully incorrect. He had thought of Sauvignon as a VIP, as an ordinary young man who held the Goddess's favor and needed to be protected. But he wasn't. He was so much more. He was the Chosen of a Goddess, and her Sovereign Rule of the world entire belonged to him, too. His orders were divine commandments, enacted upon the world.

There were no words for it, nothing more than pure, religious awe. Ren struggled not to genuflect, to show his devotion publicly, as the residual energy of his command still coursed through Ren's veins, like leftover adrenaline. Victory seemed to be overcome with a tremendous blush, her face flushed, breathing heavily as Sauvignon whooped in joy at the success of his plan. Nora was… also whooping in joy as she continued to bust apart the disintegrating remnants of the Deathstalker.

Her devotion was always more… more like Uncle Tyrian's kind of worship.

But in that moment, feeling the touch of divinity itself, Ren knew that he would do whatever was commanded of him, even up to the gates of Hell itself, in his service to his Goddess's Chosen. Even to the point of doing to the unthinkable.

He looked to Jaune and gave him a big smile. And to show the sincere depths of his commitment, he even laughed.