15

Chapter 15

I walked over to the door, catching sight of the two Atlesian Knights standing guard by team RWBY's room before I shut it, turning back to face my teammates.

I didn't want any interruptions until this conversation was had.

"You saw Mercury attack Yang?" Nora said, clearly confused by what I was saying. "But no-one else saw that."

"I know what it sounds like." I said with a sigh, rubbing the back of my head as I did so. "But that's what I saw. I mean it's not like this is the first time our eyes have deceived us, right?" I asked rhetorically, our fight with the parasol wielding Neo coming to mind.

Ren shifted, his posture contemplative. "Alright then, let's think this through then. What do we know?" He asked

"The match had ended and Yang was moving away. But then she turned away and attacked Mercury." Nora said frowning as she did so.

"Only I saw Mercury attack Yang, and Yang counterattack when she defended herself." I interjected a frown of my own on my face as I spoke.

"But no-one else witnessed anything like that, except perhaps Yang if her confusion was any indicator." Said Ren continuing on the train of thought.

"What do you think Pyrrha?" I asked, turning towards my partner, eager to hear her thoughts on the matter.

"Huh?" She spoke up, tired eyes trailing slowly towards me. "What were you saying?"

I raised a brow at that.

Jeez, whatever it is that's been throwing Pyrrha off her game it hasn't let up.

If anything she's even worse than she was before.

"Yang's match?" I enquired lightly, trying to remind her. "The one we've been discussing for the last five minutes? What do you think happened?"

Pyrrha shrugged non-committedly. "I don't see how whoever it was could have tricked that many people." She stated, poking a rather large hole in our theory. "I mean, almost everyone in the stadium, students, staff and civilians alike, not even beginning to include those watching the broadcast."

Ren exhaled heavily, a hand coming up to massage the bridge of his nose, while Nora thunked her head against her headboard, clearly unhappy with the conclusions that Pyrrha's words left.

I closed my eyes, pursing my lips as I thought over what we knew.

I mean Pyrrha was right.

I didn't want her to be at this point.

But she was.

I couldn't think of anyway for someone to trick that many people into seeing something else.

I mean it'd be far easier to…

My eyes snapped open as the thought struck me.

Now there's an idea.

"What if we're looking at this wrong way?" I speculated, drawing the attention of my team once more.

Nora cocked her head quizzically. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well…" I started, still reforming the theory with the addition of my latest thought. "What if instead of everyone else being effected, what if it was only one person that had to be effected?

Ren let out a sound of realisation. "Yang." He breathed, the same idea I had taking a firm hold within his mind. "If they made her see something that wasn't actually there, then all we would see would be…"

"Her attacking Mercury." Pyrrha finished, her eyes looking more lifelike than they had for days.

We sat there for a moment, thinking over this latest possibility.

It certainly made more sense than anything else we'd suggested so far.

"I can see the logic behind them tricking Yang, through whatever they did, but there's still a problem." Nora spoke up, dragging my attention back to the conversation once more. "Why would they want to affect Jaune?"

I blinked at that, going to respond before pausing, thinking about it.

Why would they want the illusion to affect me?

"They…wouldn't want that." I concluded, running a hand through my hair in frustration as I did so. "If the point was to make Yang look guilty, than they'd only affect her, not me."

"Or maybe they thought they were." Ren murmured, a hand grasping his chin as he mused, clearly having thought of something.

I gave Ren my full attention. "Care to elaborate?"

Ren shrugged. "Best guess, whatever it was that effected Yang was a semblance. My uncle once punched a man with his aura through me, but didn't hurt me at all." Ren explained, miming out the event as he did so. "So whatever it was that happened to Yang, it was set to her aura, which is why nobody else could see it because auras can't be the same as anyone else's."

"Except for mine." I muttered, my mind flashing back to that lecture Glynda had given me in the infirmary after my own spar with Yang. "My aura's already mimicked Yang's previously, even if it was only for a few moments."

"So when they were broadcasting on Yang's aura frequency as it were…" Nora said, her eyes lighting up as the pieces all fell into place.

"They were unknowingly broadcasting to Jaune at the same time." Ren concluded, nodding as he did so.

Well that seems to have the question of 'how' sorted out?

But why?

To win the tournament maybe?

Can you see someone going that far for a trophy?

Something else instead?

"Whoever it is that's doing this is either a strategic genius, or utterly insane." Ren reflected, clearly thinking along the same lines I was.

"Or both." Nora muttered darkly, an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face.

I heard the unmistakable sound of team RWBY's door opening and stood up, moving towards our own door to meet them, eager to tell them what we'd discovered.

I opened the door quietly to see Ruby finish shutting the door to her room, Blake and Weiss already outside in the hallway both looking more than a tad shaken up at the events that had occurred.

"This is a mess." Weiss remarked despondently, shaking her head as she did so.

"Oh something tells me I'm about to make it a bit more complicated." I interrupted, giving a casual wave as I leant against the frame of the door.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked immediately, something almost unrecognisable in her voice as she narrowed her eyes at me.

"We think Yang was set up." Ren said bluntly, causing the three girls from team RWBY to stare at us in shock.

"You…you do?" Ruby stammered at us, confusion clear in her voice. "But why?"

Letting Ren answer the girls' questions I walked past them, ignoring their exclamations when I grabbed the handle for their door and walked in, shutting it firmly behind me.

Yang looked up from where she was sitting on her bed, turning towards me. "I said I'm…" she said in a watery voice before her breath caught as she saw just who was standing in her room. "Jaune?"

She stopped, a hand going up to wipe away the tell-tale signs of tears, turning away from me as she did so. "Now's not really a good time Jaune."

Clearly it wasn't.

But leaving this to fester any longer than it already has is not going to help her.

"You saw Mercury attack you, right?" I asked, Yang starting my sudden question. "That's why you attacked him."

"How did yo…" Yang started, surprise in her eyes clear to see before she closed herself off again, the barriers coming down once more. "Leave me alone, Jaune."

"You turned and started walking away when he attacked you from behind, right leg outstretched with a leaping kick, left leg bent inwards." I continued, describing the event in as much detail as I could, trying to convey my sincerity to Yang. "Then you spun and met his attack with your own, which slammed him into the ground."

The blonde brawler of team RWBY looked at me with a poleaxed expression on her face. "I didn't tell anyone about it in that much detail." She murmured, quite clearly shocked.

"I saw it happen, Mercury attacking you." I dived forward, forcing the conversation onwards. "And while we don't know who did it, and that there's no way for us to prove it, we know it wasn't your fault." I finished earnestly, looking straight into Yang's lilac eyes as I said it.

Yang stared at me for a moment, her mouth working silently before I saw her eyes begin to tear up again.

Oh crap.

What did I do?

Did I say the wrong thing?

Before I could get a word in edgewise Yang lunged forward from the bed, her arms seizing me in a painfully tight hug as she buried her face in my chest, her shoulders shaking lightly as she sobbed.

I stood there helplessly, frantically thinking of what the heck I was supposed to do next in a situation like this that wouldn't make it far worse than it already was.

I paused for a moment before defaulting to the same general strategy that I'd used whenever one of the kids had latched onto one of my legs and cried much like this back at Freshwater.

"There, there." I said softly, doing my best not to convey just how awkward this felt doing to someone my own size. "It's alright. Everything's going to be okay."

I stood there, patting Yang's back comfortingly as the shaking of her shoulders began to cease, the light sobs dying down as well.

CLICK

I froze where I was and turned my head towards that regrettably familiar sound, hoping against hope that wasn't what I thought it was.

I fought the urge to let out a groan as I saw the source of the disturbance.

Standing in the door frame was Ruby, her scroll still up from when she was taking the photo, her silver eyes sparkling with mischief. Blake stood behind her, a soft smile on her face as she looked at her partner, all but ignoring me. While Weiss had one of the gentlest expressions I had ever seen on her face, a vast contrast in comparison to her usually severe public persona.

Ruby's scroll flashed again, another loud click sounding out, taking another picture of my no doubt gobsmacked face.

"I'm so sending a copy to dad." Ruby stage whispered, grinning as she did so.

I felt a cold shiver run down my spine.

If Qrow is any indication of what their dad is like, this could end very badly.

Yang stood up quickly, pushing away from me as she did so, an embarrassed red flush clearly visible on her face. "Ruby don't you dare!" Yang bellowed, diving after her sister who rolled out of the way.

"Why don't you make me sis?" The leader of team RWBY taunted, sticking out her tongue as she did so, running around the room, doing her best to keep the scroll out of her sister's reach, Yang comically scrambling after her.

I smiled standing up and quietly making my way out of the room, giving a nod to Weiss and Blake as I passed by them before shutting the door behind me.

They're going to be just fine.

And besides, my own team is in need of a little help too.

I mean Pyrrha's big match is only a day away!

I opened the door just in time to see Nora crash into the floor holding an oversized barbell, all the furniture in the room jumping into the air for a moment in response.

I sighed internally.

That's going to need fixing later.

And when the heck did Nora change into that outfit!

"Nora's right." I heard Ren agree and turned to witness my only male teammate in his signature 'do nothing to the cook' apron, something of a necessity when cooking for Nora. And apparently her father if the stories he told me were true. "You can't let your concern for Yang hold you back. You need to focus. You'll be defending the honour of Beacon Academy."

Pyrrha nodded, clearly taking this seriously. "Of course, I-"

My partner was cut off by Ren thrusting a glass filled with something I could only assume was supposed some form of liquid but seemed to have about as much in common with the subject as the Old Bastard's 'cooking' did with food.

"This blend of herbs and vegetables is filled with nutrients vital to your body's well-being." Ren said informatively, swirling the concoction around in the glass.

The green goop chose that moment to make a particularly unpleasant sounding 'blurp' as a bubble rose to the top of it.

Pyrrha looked as dismayed as I felt looking at it. "Oh, that's…" Pyrrha started, no doubt searching for a way to politely deny the no doubt disgusting tasting tonic before her.

Nora interposed herself between the two, examining the drink with a clear look of disgust. "Thank you? Ugh, that looks like slime from a lakebed!" Nora complained, recoiling away from it.

She wasn't wrong.

Heck it even was starting to smell like the slime from a lakebed.

"Algae contains numerous spectacular properties." Ren stated, not denying Nora's accusation in the slightest as he shielded the drink with his body as if he was trying to protect it from his partner's harsh words. "See for yourself."

Nora took one gulp from the goop before her face taking on a sickly green pallor that was remarkably similar to that of what she'd just ingested before she dove over to the nearest waste basket, retching loudly as she tried to get all the emerald sludge out of her mouth. Nora finally stood up still making noises of utmost disgust before she rounded on Ren, fuming. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" She shouted, still holding on tightly to the bin.

I caught sight of Pyrrha smiling, giggling under her breath at the antics of our two teammates. "Me?" Ren questioned, gesturing towards himself. "You're the one who's wasting perfectly good juice."

Ren and Nora continued arguing, gesturing dramatically as they did so but I tuned it out as I caught sight of Pyrrha's expression falling once more, the same conflicted look on her face that had been growing steadily more apparent since the her meeting with Ozpin.

Damn.

Looks like this isn't working.

I need a way to take Pyrrha's mind off things.

A way to calm her down.

Like…

I grinned.

Now there's an idea.

I walked up between my two arguing teammates. "I don't know about you guys but I'm feeling pretty hungry. How bout we all go to the fairgrounds?" I proposed, smiling at Pyrrha as I did so.

Pyrrha looked up at me and was taken aback for a moment before she smiled softly. "That seems lovely." She agreed, nodding her head.

"Ooh, and I can go win Ren a few more stuffed toys." Nora squealed, jumping up and down excitedly as she did so.

Well that's settled then.

I turned to Ren, a smirk on my lips. "Lead the way noble steed." I said, biting the inside of my cheek to keep my grin from spreading.

Ren glared at me for a moment even as Nora giggled before a smirk of his own appeared. "By your command, fearless leader."

I winced at that.

Touché.

Qrow didn't make a sound as he watched team JNPR make their way out, in all likelihood heading to the fairgrounds if their commentary was any indication.

Even so, he still had to actively work to keep from being spotted by them as they went by.

The blonde kid, as was typical of any of the Old Bastard's students was an attentive little brat, but thankfully as Qrow had underwent the same training with the additional seasoning of years of experience as an active hunter, he knew how to keep out of his sight.

The other boy wasn't half bad either, just as good as Tob's new student, maybe even better. The way he was constantly surveying his surroundings, with a subtlety that was hard to believe for a kid his age…

And it was also strangely familiar.

Qrow knew he'd seen that kind of thing before, but couldn't put a finger on what it was.

He frowned.

He might have to take a closer look at this kid later on.

But they weren't the focus of his attention right now.

Right now, his mind was centred on his niece, on his sister's daughter.

On Yang.

Qrow massaged the bridge of his nose, swearing silently.

Of all the things she had to inherit from his blasted sister, it had to be her unfortunate habit of stumbling head first into trouble.

Granted the situation wasn't quite as bad as it could have been.

The actions of blondie and his team had proved to be quite the stabilising factor for his dear niece.

Much like Taiyang had been for Raven, once upon a time.

He only hoped this wasn't a case of history repeating itself.

He wasn't sure if he could be there to help his brother-in-law to pull himself together again.

It was hard enough holding himself together and that was with the helping hand of alcohol holding himself steady.

He shook his head, clearing his mind of such dark thoughts as he made his way to the door leading to team RWBY's abode, plastering on his typical smirk with practiced ease.

Right now Yang needed him, so he was going to be there beside her.

But the instant he found out who was behind this blasted situation?

Qrow's smirk twitched slightly, the only sign of the unimaginable rage hidden behind the paper thin veneer.

Well, he was going to express just how very displeased he was about it.

I took a bite out of my cotton candy as I continued walking, keeping an eye out for where my wayward partner had wandered off to.

For a while there our little team bonding session appeared to be doing some good, Pyrrha almost seeming like her old self for a moment.

But when we went to go and buy some food she'd vanished, wandering off somewhere while my attention was on the old man behind the counter, Ren having already been dragged off by Nora to win 'him' some more stuffed toys.

It was an unspoken understanding among team JNPR that these toys seemed to transition from Ren's bed to Nora's through some form of dark unexplainable mystery.

That or Nora.

"Hey there partner," I greeted, drawing Pyrrha's attention towards myself from where she was sitting against the wall, giving a slight smile as I did so. I bent down, extending the hand holding her cotton candy in it. "It's no health juice but I can promise it'll make you feel better." I said with a slight laugh, still smiling as I did so.

Pyrrha stared at me for a moment, almost seeming to look through me rather than at me before she visibly refocused, acknowledging my presence with a soft smile. "Um, right. Thank you Jaune." She said almost as an afterthought, but she still took the cotton candy from my hand, taking a small bite out of it afterwards.

I let out a breath of relief internally.

Okay that's step one down.

Now all I've got to do is come up with a step two and I've got it in the bag!

I had to fight to keep the smile on my face from fading as I looked down at my teammate.

She was a mess.

And that was putting it politely.

It wouldn't have surprised me if she hadn't gotten any sleep last night. Whatever the heck had happened yesterday when she went off with the Old Bastard, it hadn't ended well.

And Pyrrha clearly was not dealing with it.

The straight forward approach clearly didn't work if last night was any indication.

So maybe it was time to try a different angle.

"Did you know that you were one of the first friends I ever made?" I said suddenly, Pyrrha blinking at me in surprise as I said it. "I mean Sun and I were kind of forced into becoming friends thanks to the Old Bastard after we nearly burned down half the town the first time we met, and I only really met Scarlet, Sage and Neptune because the kept having to drag him back to school." I let out a laugh at that, shaking my head as I reminisced of all the times the three had literally dragged a tied up Sun back to Haven. I moved forward to where Pyrrha was sitting, casually taking a place by her side.

"But you? I became friends with you all by myself." I said with a grin, winking at Pyrrha as I did so. "And ever since you've been my partner you've been there for me. Even when I've been kind of a dick at times." I admitted, shaking my head as I recalled some of my more embarrassing moments.

"Jaune it wasn't that…" Pyrrha started, sounding as if she was coming to my defence but I barrelled onwards, determined to finish what I was saying before the conversation could be derailed.

"So what I'm trying to say Pyrrha, is that you've always tried to be there for me, no matter what's been going on. And I can tell that there's something that's been bothering you for the past day or two. I'm not asking you to tell me what is." I placed my hand over Pyrrha's supportively. "All I want to know is if there's anything I can do to help?"

Pyrrha stared at me, her astonishment plain to see before it changed, melting away into something far more content, before she rested her head against my shoulder. I felt my eyebrow rise in surprise at that.

I did not see this coming.

"You're already doing it." Pyrrha assured me softly, her head still resting on my shoulder, moving slightly with each rise and fall of her chest.

I sat there beside my partner in silence, content to just make the most of the moment that was occurring right now, trying to make Pyrrha feel as comfortable as possible.

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting out a sigh of relief as I felt the cool afternoon breeze flow over me, the sound of the fallen leaves twirling through the air.

I felt Pyrrha shift from where she had been resting on my shoulder "Jaune…" Pyrrha started before hesitating uncharacteristically, trailing off without continuing on any further.

"Yes Pyrrha?" I asked encouragingly, trying to sound as supportive as I physically could.

I felt her pull out her hand from where it had been resting in mine and she sat up slightly, staring off at something in the distance away from me. "I don't know what to do." She admitted finally, still looking away from me as she did so.

"Something tells me we aren't talking about the tournament anymore, are we?" I asked neutrally, waiting for Pyrrha to provide a bit more context to her statement.

I saw Pyrrha look up, clearly thinking about what she was going to say. "Do you believe in destiny?" She asked me finally, the tone of her voice making it clear that this wasn't a throwaway question.

I blinked, surprised despite myself at the seemingly random question that Pyrrha had asked me.

Destiny?

What the heck have I stumbled into here?

"If I had to say, then I suppose it would depend on how one would define 'destiny'." I said carefully, doing my best not to give away how intently I was observing Pyrrha at this point.

Pyrrha sighed as the wind picked up again, the rustling of leaves being blown across Beacon filling the air. "When I think of destiny, I don't think of some predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather…" She faltered, mid-explanation seemingly unable to think of the words that could properly encapsulate what she was trying to convey. "Some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life."

I felt a brow raise at that. Not exactly what sprung to mind when I thought of destiny but something tells me now's not the time to debate metaphysics. "Okay, destiny as a lifelong goal, sure why not?" I asked rhetorically, gesturing for Pyrrha to continue on with her explanation.

"Well…" Pyrrha began, clearly still finding difficulty in wording her response, clearly trying not to say something in particular, "What would you do if something came along that you never expected? Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?" She asked me, the once hesitant words now flowing out uncontrollably.

"What's standing in the way of your destiny?" I asked confusedly, unsure as to what she could be possibly referring to.

But Pyrrha was continuing on, barrelling forward without stopping to answer my question. "Or what if you could suddenly fulfil your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?" Pyrrha asked me, her eyes wide, her breathing becoming more and more panicked as she went on.

I placed a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, trying to reassure her. "Pyrrha just try and stay calm, you're not making any sense."

Pyrrha brushed my arm aside, standing up from where we had been leaning against the wall as she did so. "None of it makes sense!" She exploded, venting now, her eyes showing she was only inches away from tears. "This isn't how things were supposed to happen!" She finished, her arms clinging at herself desperately as she moved away from me.

I sprung up after her, my mind working frantically on what the heck I was supposed to say now to make this better.

I was at a loss.

Everything I'd tried to do thus far had seemed to only make things worse at this point.

"Pyrrha please! I'm sorry!" I said desperately, trying to calm her down. "I'm just trying to understand what's going on."

Pyrrha started speaking, still facing away from me as she did so. "I've always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress, to protect the world..." She stopped, giving a loud sigh as she did so. "And it's become increasingly clear to me that my feelings were right. But..." Pyrrha turned around to face me, her arms no longer crossed and hanging loose by her side "...I don't know if I can do it." She said finally, something I could only identify as fear of…something…in her voice as she stared at me.

Okay Jaune, how are you going to take this?

Let's try and stay positive?

"Hey don't beat yourself up." I said, smiling softly. "I don't know much about destiny, or saving the world, but I do know you Pyrrha. And if you really think you're going to save the world? Then I know you're going to do it. Because once you dedicate yourself to something Pyrrha, you can do anything." I finished, extending a hand towards her going to continue you on about how her team would always be there with her when she recoiled away from me, looking at my hand as if it was a rabid deathstalker more than anything else, tears welling up in her eyes.

I felt something inside me shatter internally as I caught the sound of Pyrrha letting out a sob, her hands coming up to cover her face.

Okay that didn't work.

What the heck have I done now?

"Pyrrha?" I asked hesitantly, stepping forward slowly as I did so, trying not to scare her away.

"Just stop." I heard my partner's voice muffle at me, the words almost indecipherable through her hands.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" I apologized, trying to fix whatever it was that I had done to set this off.

"STOP!" Pyrrha shouted at me, and suddenly I was flying through the air, slamming into the wall behind me with an 'oof' all the air in my lungs rushing out in an instant.

My head rang like a bell, the back of my skull having cracked into the wall during my unexpected flight. But for some reason I hadn't fallen yet.

I forced open my bleary eyes and through the haze of what was beginning to feel like a concussion I spotted something black surrounding my chest piece of armor. And Pyrrha, her hand extended towards me.

Had Pyrrha…

Just used her semblance on me?

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out in shock and then I was falling, the force that was pressing me against the wall vanishing in an instant and I crashed into the ground with a thump, biting off a groan as I did so.

That's going to leave a mark.

I forced my head up, trying to find Pyrrha to see her staring down at me, seemingly horrified by what she had done, tears now freely streaming down her eyes. "I'm…I'm sorry." She stammered at me, still crying as she did so.

And then she was gone, sprinting around the corner.

I raised a hand after her, trying to call out, to stop her from running away, only for a cough to escape instead. That unexpected throw hadn't done any favours to my lungs, and I was still feeling more than a little winded.

"Jaune!" I heard Nora's voice cry out and suddenly she was before me, Ren by her side, helping me up to my feet. "What happened to you?"

"Pyrrha happened." I said shortly, wincing as I got to my feet. That stung.

Ren eyes widened in shock. "Pyrrha did this?"

I nodded stretching out as I did so, biting back an oath as a new pain made itself readily aware to me.

As much as I wanted to run off after Pyrrha, I knew there was no way I was going to be catching her as I was now.

Besides.

I had something else that had to be done as well, especially after what had just happened then with Pyrrha.

"Ren do you still have the complete list of rules and regulation for the Vytal Festival Tournament?" I asked suddenly, looking up to stare straight into Ren's eyes as I did so. "I'm going to need them."

Ren stared at me for a moment, silently before he bought out his scroll and with a few deft manipulations sent the document over to mine. "I think I might give it another read myself." He commented dryly, the look on his face making it pretty clear that he knew what I was thinking of.

"I'll go get some tea!" Nora said brightly, springing off towards the kitchens to grab us some provisions for what was sure to be a very long night.

It was dark now, the sun having well and truly set and the moon and the stars up and sparkling away in the night skies, but Ren and I were still toiling away in the dim light of Beacon's library.

Nora was in bed, Ren and I having tucked her in when she fell asleep at the desk mid-page, snoring away as she did so.

But still we fought on.

The way the rules for the tournament were written was archaic, to say the least, looking more like something out if a high profile legal suit rather than a fighting tournament. All excessively wordy prose that had me reaching for a thesaurus half the time.

I honestly had no idea why on Remnant people would have chosen to make these words so excessively formal. Why it took them the equivalent of three pages worth of text to state that you couldn't attack someone before the match started instead of simply stating 'you can't attack your opponent before the match starts' was beyond me.

I rubbed at my tired eyes, fighting off a yawn as I did so.

We'd been at this for hours now, still with no luck at finding what we'd been looking for.

And if we didn't find it soon…

"Finally!" Ren exhaled quietly, slapping the large leather bound book down onto the desk in front of him. "Found it." He declared, a tired grin on his lips.

I pushed myself up from my chair, circling around so that I was behind Ren, looking over his shoulder at the page in question. "You're sure?" I asked, my eyes scanning the damn near indecipherable text, looking for the passage that had been our goal these past few hours.

Ren's hand moved forward, a finger tapping on the passage in question. "Positive." Ren assured me, smirking slightly as he did so.

I briefly looked over the passage and let out a sigh of relief, the tension draining out of me.

Oh thank the heavens.

That's one problem solved.

Now then, only thing left to do is make use of it.

I pulled my scroll from my pocket, my thumb swiping through my contacts list before stopping, the call starting near instantaneously.

The call only rang once before the person at the other end picked it up, somehow still up even though it was as late as it was. But before they could get a word in edgewise I spoke up, stalling whatever greetings they could have said. "You and me need to talk. Right now." I said firmly, conveying just how serious I was about this talk.

There was silence for a moment before the voice at the other end spoke up, telling me to go ahead.

And so I started talking, explaining the reasoning that had led to me taking this path, with Nora and Ren agreeing with me as well as the rule which allowed it, thus causing me to have to ring them as soon as possible.

The voice at the other end was silent for what seemed to be a very long time before replying. "Consider it done, Jaune my boy."

And with that Peter ended the call, leaving Ren and I staring at each other as we fought the urge to simply collapse at the desk asleep instead of making it to our respective beds.

Well it was done.

No taking it back now.

Did I think that I'd made the right decision?

I honestly didn't know.

I knew that if I didn't do anything I definitely would have regretted it.

Let's just hope it's enough.

But enough thinking.

I mean after all.

I've certainly got a big day ahead of me.

Tob sat silently in his wheelchair, watching the sleeping forms of the children he'd spent the last few years of his life raising. With them he'd been nothing more than a grumpy, cantankerous, old cripple.

And they'd still been some of the best years of his life.

He didn't want to give that up.

He didn't want to stop being Tob.

He didn't want to be the hero once more.

But the instant the opportunity presented itself, he'd all but thrown himself on top of that sword.

He sighed quietly, one hand massaging the bridge of his nose.

Lilith would have beaten the crap out of him if she was still here.

Her smirked slightly.

She would have beaten the crap out of all of them.

Even Oz.

But she's not here anymore.

And if life had taught him anything, it's that sometimes it doesn't matter what you want.

What matters, is what needs to be done.

And this right here?

Needed to be done. Pp

He heard the door crack open minutely, and he lowered his hand from the bridge of his nose, one eye observing Peter through the gap in the door.

Without making any visible sign of moving, the chair whirled on its axis without a sound before rolling towards the door, which swung open and shut behind Tob without anyone touching it.

Tob looked up at Peter, the two of them staring at each other silently before they were moving, making their way to the Grimm Studies classroom that also doubled as Peter's office.

Peter walked up to the golden bust of himself that Tob and Jaune had gifted him for a birthday years ago, and made use of a function that Jaune was not aware of. Moments later he returned, two glasses filled with a sweet fortified red wine. "Port's Wine." Tob had snorted as he gave it to him.

Peter had a laugh or two himself.

It was an old joke.

But it never seemed to die out.

"Not quite where we expected we'd turn out, hey old friend?" Peter remarked, taking a small sip of the wine as he did so.

Tob raised a brow at that. "What, as old farts actually enjoying wine?" He said dryly, taking a drink of the elixir in front of him with a pleased sigh. Oh that was good stuff.

"Well there is that." Peter admitted, his wide grin just visible beneath his moustache. "But I meant more along the lines of you running an orphanage, and me being a teacher."

"True enough." Tob agreed, shaking his head exasperated. "I mean you hated teaching!"

"Not as much as you loathed children." Peter countered, cutting Tob short before he could gain any more steam. "I seem to recall you once referring to them as 'smelly little gremlins' if my memory's correct."

Tob paused for a moment, clearly searching for the memory in question. "Sounds about right."

"Knock, knock." A voice called out from the doorway, the two of them turning to see Geppeto poking his head through it. "Sorry, I was late, lost track of time." He apologised with a shrug, wiping what looked to be grease off one hand onto his perpetually stained lab coat.

"Better late than never." Peter welcomed him, gesturing for the inventor to join them.

Tob watched Geppeto drag a chair over to sit in, before fixing a particularly flat look on his face. "Anything you mind telling the class about your daughter's fighting style?" He asked dryly, swirling his wine as he did so.

Peter chortled at that. "I must admit, a bit on the nose don't you think old boy?" He asked with good humour, pulling a glass and filling it with 'Port's Wine'.

Remnant's leading expert on lost tech laughed sheepishly, one hand going up to rub the back of his head. "Well you weren't using it anymore, and I knew it worked." He said defensively before a smile spread across his face. "I even added a few more swords to make it better."

Tob grunted. "Just because there are more swords doesn't make it better." He said mulishly, giving Geppeto a gimlet eye.

"Ah, that's where you're wrong. More swords makes everything better." The tinker said sagely, nodding his head before all three of them started laughing.

At that the ball really started rolling the three old huntsman drinking and reminiscing, laughing and cackling as they retold old adventures and journeys, most of which they'd undertaken together. But before long the night was nearing its end, the last of 'Port's wine' almost gone, the three of them down to their last glass.

"So," Peter spoke up, directing his gaze to the wheelchair bound huntsman. "What are you planning to tell Jaune?" He asked finally, the mood of the room taking a turn for the serious with a single question.

"The truth. Don't have any choice now." Tob said bluntly, staring into his glass as he did so.

"He's manifesting then?" Geppeto asked, looking for clarification.

"We got lucky the first time. He wasn't aware of it. But this one?" Tob frowned heavily. "He do it at will."

"In all likelihood he could do the first one again if he was aware of it." Peter speculated, thinking back to the first incident.

"And the fact he is manifesting means our time is almost up." Geppeto added, a hand coming up to run scratch his chin as he did so.

There was silence for a moment, the three old comrade's simply enjoying each other's company as the night came to its end, before Tob coughed, clearing his throat. "Could I ask a favour Peter?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Six words which have never failed to strike terror in my heart." He remarked idly before gesturing for the wheelchair bound man to get on with it.

Tob coughed again, seemingly embarrassed. "Do you recall when I gave you my old combat gear, before I 'retired'?" He asked, trying to sound as if this was an everyday question.

Peter made a show of thinking about it hard, resting his chin on a clenched fist as he pondered. "Would this be the gear that I stopped you from throwing in the trash all those years ago, only for you to make me promise that I would throw it into the incinerator the instant I got back to Beacon?" He inquired innocently, observing Tob's reaction out of the corner of his eye.

Geppeto hastily muffled his snickers as Tob glared at him.

The Old Bastard winced. "Yes that would be the one." He confirmed, feeling his cheeks reddening as he did so, his eyes darting to the other side of the room.

Blast it.

What the heck was he supposed to wear now?

Something was telling him his casual attire wouldn't cut it.

A loud clunk filled the room and Tob turned back to see a briefcase placed before him, a slight grin on Peter's face. "You didn't really think I'd throw it away did you?" The teacher asked, one bushy brow arching up as he did so.

Tob let out a grunt that could have almost been a laugh. "I should have known." He said ruefully, running one hand through his hair as the other placed the wine glass on the desk, grabbed the suitcase and hefted it into his lap.

He clicked open the locks and the case popped open, revealing the clothing within. Despite himself he felt a soft smile come to his face.

Hello old friend.

"Need a hand?" Peter asked idly, indicating with his glass at the clothes in the briefcase.

Tob idly gave his friend the finger. "Piss off." He said eloquently, Peter chortling in response. "If there's anything in this world I'm not in need of Peter," Tob's wine glass floated into the air, both of his hands still holding onto the wine glass. "It's hands."

I closed my eyes, luxuriating under the water flooding down from the showerhead above me, feeling the aches and pain as well as the last of the fatigue faded away under the water beating down.

Nothing beats a nice shower to start off the morning.

And it was certainly morning. The sun was only just beginning to crack over the horizon when I'd made my way out of the dorm room, Pyrrha still sleeping fitfully, the covers thrown off her during the night.

Ren was already up, washed and dressed.

He was going to be there in case the message came early.

I twisted the tap, the shower shutting off as I stepped out of it, grabbing the towel I'd set aside for myself to dry off.

I knew that I should be feeling something right now.

Nervous.

Excited.

But the only thing I felt right now was calm.

Incredibly calm.

And despite that, the only thing I could compare it to was the calm before a storm, the kind that would have ripped trees cleanly from the ground back at Freshwater.

Not much I can do about that now is there?

May as well just get changed and get this over wit…

I found my train of thought derailing suddenly, at the sight of something in the corner of my eye and I stopped mid-movement, directing all of my attention towards it.

I walked over to the mirror, turning my back towards it before craning my neck over my shoulder to look into it, to see if what I'd seen was actually there.

I felt my eyes widen in shock.

Well I'll be.

My scar.

The brand that had once spread over all of my back.

It was gone.

Well, almost.

There were a few patches near my shoulder blades.

But even those were cracking, a clear sign that they were on their way out as well.

I reached around, my hand scrabbling to touch my back and the unbelievably smooth skin that was now there, a complete contrast to the blackened brand that had been there for as long as I could remember.

It was a…odd…feeling.

As ugly as the brand had been, it had been a constant throughout all those years, a clear part of my self-image.

And now, it was almost gone.

It felt…freeing, I suppose.

Almost natural.

The sound of my scroll ringing filled my ears and I turned to see it vibrating madly atop the bench I'd left it on.

"Hello?" I answered, not looking at the caller id in my haste to answer before the ringing had ended.

"If you're quite done trying to drown yourself laddie, it's time to get a wriggle on." The dry caustic tone of the Old Bastard drawled out of my scroll. "The airship's leaving in five minutes, and I'm not waiting."

I paled at that, scrambling to get the rest of my gear as I looked at the time on my scroll, swearing silently as I saw what time it was.

How the heck did it take that long?

"Laddie?" Tob's voice questioned through the loudspeaker on my scroll as I fought to put my legs through the holes in my trousers without falling over in the process.

"I'll be there in a minute!" I called out, pulling my jumper over the top of my shirt, hurriedly strapping my armor into place with one hand as I pulled my shoes on one at a time with the other.

Thank you ambidexterity.

"Not that laddie." Tob said with a loud sigh sounding through the speaker. "I just want you to know…I'm proud of you." He said finally, the tone far more serious than I was expecting it to be.

I blinked.

The Old Bastard was by no means someone who handed out praise lightly.

Too much of a risk of giving you a swelled head, he explained to me once.

I could count the amount of times he'd said he was proud of me before on one hand.

With room to spare.

So why the heck was he saying it now.

Sounding like that?

"Are you…" I started, pausing as I tried to think of how to properly word this. "Are you okay?" I asked in the end, concerned at this out of character action.

"I'm fine laddie." Tob said briskly, ending that conversation right there. "And now you've only got three minutes so I'd highly recommend kicking your arse into high gear."

And with that the call ended.

But I didn't have time to contemplate what could have been meant by Tob's earlier words.

I grabbed my scroll and slid it into a pocket before drabbing my vial satchel in one hand and Candidus Mors with the other and start sprinting towards the landing pad.

I had a plane to catch.

In the little known dive known as the Crow Bar, Qrow sat at the counter of the bar, drink in hand as he waited for the tournament to start.

But his thoughts weren't on the fight to come.

They were focused on his niece, who was probably still holed up inside her room.

After some bastard had tried to frame her.

A crack formed with an audible snap in his glass and he forced his hand to release it, nodding apologetically to the barkeep when he turned to investigate. The man behind the counter only rolled his eyes, long since used to worse antics from the seasoned huntsman that was one of his regulars.

Suddenly sound exploded out of the speakers, the tournament's jingle playing loudly as the symbol of the Vytal Festival tournament appeared over a blue background, before transitioning to reveal Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port sitting in the commentary box.

"And welcome back to what is sure to be yet another day of exciting bouts, here at the Vytal festival tournament." The doctor began, adjusting his spectacles as he did so.

"Right you are Barty," Peter Port chortled, beaming at the camera as he did so. "The remaining matches of the finals have yet to take place but we're sure to see some exciting action between the remaining huntsmen and huntresses."

"Indeed." Oobleck agreed, nodding slightly as he did so. "But before today's matches take place we have two important announcements to make."

The screen shifted and suddenly the mugshot of that rookie wonder kid from Mistral, Pyr-what's her face was on the screen.

Qrow shrugged. He wasn't the best with names.

"Firstly, it seems miss Nikos of team JNPR is being substituted from the match, leaving the team's leader Jaune Arc to take her place."

"Now as miss Nikos has yet to compete in her first match this is still a perfectly legal action to take according to the Tournament's charter." Peter elaborated, clicking his fingers as another picture replaced the girl with the blonde kid he'd seen earlier.

The one who'd been comforting Yang.

Tob's student.

"Secondly, for the remainder of the matches we will be introducing a referee onto the field to help better evaluate the two fighters." Oobleck stated, a question mark appearing where the picture of the 'referee' should have been.

"But we won't be introducing them until the first match of the day." Peter apologised before he looked up, a gleam in his eyes. "But I will tell you one thing. You won't want to miss it!"

"All right, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!" Oobleck said cheerfully, the screen transitioning to reveal the spinning roulettes that selected who was to fight next, the sound of them spinning rapidly filling the room.

"It looks like our first fighter is…" Peter started, waiting for the roulette to come to a complete stop and reveal the first combatant to be selected. "Penny Polendina from Atlas!" Peter stated, loud cheers being picked up from the crowd in the process.

Qrow felt a brow raise at that. Polendina?

Since when had Geppeto had a kid?

Well ones thing for sure, whatever weapons that kid has on a scale of one to ten are in all likelihood going to end up being 'very yes'.

Geppeto did not hold back when it came to his creations, neither grasping the concept of subtlety or overkill in any way, fashion or form.

"And her opponent will be…Jaune Arc from Beacon!" Peter finished dramatically, the roars of the crowd being audible through the broadcast.

Oh?

Now this will be interesting.

On a tech based viewpoint, Penny's got this by a mile.

But any student of the Old Bastard is both cunning and ruthless in equal measures when it comes to a fight.

And out of it to for that matter.

It was sure to be one hell of a fight.

"Can I have some?" A young voice asked excitedly beside him, and Qrow closed his eyes and counted to three slowly, supressing the urge to murder with the ease of a professional.

"For the last time kid, no." Qrow drawled out, lifting the glass away from Natsu and making a show of drinking the whole thing before upending the empty glass. "Now drink your juice."

Natsu growled defiantly. "I don't want juice!" He argued, slamming his hands on the countertop.

Qrow raised one eyebrow, his gaze narrowing as he glared down at the mischievous little faunus child.

The husky faunus quailed. "But I do now!" He answered, retreating from the bar to take his seat in one of the booths that were currently stuffed to the brim full of Tob's brats, all eagerly awaiting the match to come.

How the hell had the Old Bastard managed to talk him into playing babysitter anyway?

Qrow thought back and shuddered.

Oh yeah.

That's why.

He heard something explode at one of the booths behind him, the kids shrieking and flailing all over the place.

"Tucker did it!"

"No I didn't!"

He looked up to see the barman staring back at him, the look on his face making it quite clear that this was going to be coming out of his tab.

Qrow bit back a curse.

Okay then, Penny.

I'm fighting Penny.

On the plus side I actually know about this fighter.

On the negative side that makes me acutely aware of just how screwed I am at this point.

Makes use of eight floating swords that she controls through some means, usually directing them through some form of gesturing with her arms.

Is capable of pulling a flying bullhead out of the air with pure strength.

Has the ability to fire green mega death lasers that can cut through bullheads like a hot knife through butter.

And, let's not forget, has yet to be so much as touched by any of the other teams throughout the entirety of the preceding fights.

So just think of it as fighting someone as strong as Nora and terrifying as Pyrrha at the same time.

Well, this is certainly set to be interesting.

Or painful.

Probably painful.

I shook myself, mentally preparing myself for what was sure to be by no means an easy battle as I made my way out towards the arena floor where Penny was already waiting.

"Wait a moment! Jaune!" A voice called out, one I had heard before but couldn't immediately put a face to.

Now who would be trying to talk to me now?

I turned to see Geppeto, Penny's father standing there behind me, still dressed in the same outfit I had seen him in last time although his lab coat appeared to have gained some new stains since then.

"Hello there Geppeto," I greeted, nodding my head towards him. "How can I help you?"

Geppeto grinned widely at that. "Oh you already have Jaune." He assured me with a chuckle, still grinning as she did so.

I felt my head cock to the side almost entirely without my consent.

What on Remnant was he talking about?

"It's good to see my daughter find such fine friends." He admitted freely, his reply taking me aback slightly.

That came out of nowhere.

Before I could try and say anything myself, he turned and was walking away, a hand raised to say goodbye. "Best of luck to you Jaune. You and Penny go have fun."

I stood there, bemused by the whole situation before shaking my head.

C'mon Jaune, head in the game.

Let's do this.

I walked out of the corridor that led to the arena and the crowd let out a cheer, surprising me with the intensity behind it.

I mean if it was Pyrrha sure I'd expect it.

But me?

I shook myself lightly before I made my way up to the center segment of the arena, Penny already there waiting for me, bouncing excitedly much like Ruby did when she was waiting for cookies.

"Salutations, Jaune!" Penny greeted me, her excitement still clear to see and hear as she spoke. "Now this is a surprise!"

I shrugged my shoulders with a smile of my own. "Good to see you too, Penny." I replied, returning the greeting.

I heard the sound of the speakers crackling to life again and turned to view the primary screen that displayed both Peter and Doctor Oobleck.

"As our first match is about to begin, it's time for our referee to make their appearance!" Oobleck started, his words at their typically blistering pace. "Why don't you make the introductions Peter?"

I watched Peter nod, stand up slowly from his seat at the commentator's desk and pick up the microphone in front of him.

And then he started shouting.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I PRESENT TO YOU, A LEGEND OF OUR TIME!" Peter's voice boomed throughout the arena, the crowd's excitement rising even further with his bombastic speech.

A legend?

What are they getting Ozpin to referee?

While I can't deny that would be no doubt awesome, it's also rather doubtful.

"THE MAN WHO ENTERED THE DARK CONTINENT AND BOUGHT IT TO ITS KNEES!" Peter's introduction continued, and at that titbit the cheering got even louder, some people clearly having understood who he was referring to.

I was not among them.

Someone was actually dumb enough to go to the Dark Continent willingly?

And lived to tell the tale?

Sounds like a bonafide badass whoever they are.

"THE GREATEST HUNTSMAN ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET!" Peter pronounced, the crowd's cheering almost deafeningly loud.

The greatest huntsman?

Really?

They actually called someone the greatest huntsman?

Should I have heard about this guy?

Everyone else seems to have heard about him.

"THE ONE, THE ONLY," Peter continued, one arm gesturing dramatically towards the centre of the arena, the floodlights snapping on with blinding intensity. "ALAN QUATERMAIN!"

The crowd's cheers were silenced for a moment.

And then they returned, twice as loud as they were before, the roar so loud it was almost as if the coliseum was shaking from the force of their cries.

"Who?" I asked blankly, drawing a total blank on whoever this Alan person was supposed to be.

I'd never heard of him before in my life.

And I'm guessing he's more than a little well known if the way the arena was carrying on was any indication.

"Me." A voice called out from within the blinding light and suddenly a figure was there, steadily becoming more visible as I acclimatised to the light.

I knew that voice.

There, sitting in his wheelchair, dressed in some kind of semi armoured hunting attire I'd never seen before was The Old Bastard, smirking broadly as he looked at my no doubt gobsmacked expression. "Something the matter laddie? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Cinder cursed vehemently under her breath.

Him.

Of all the people, it had to be him.

Cinder raised her scroll, speed dialling one of only four contacts on the list.

Emerald picked up before the first dial even finished. "What do you want me to do?" She asked, her professional tone betrayed by a waver of fear in her voice.

"Pull out, we're abandoning that strategy." Cinder commanded, masking her disappointment as she did so. But she knew the plan was no longer viable.

If he was there?

He'd see through Emerald instantly.

And then he'd kill her.

If she was lucky.

"Yes ma'am." The green haired thief responded, knowing better than to question any of her decisions at such an important juncture.

Cinder pursed her lips.

Well played Ozpin.

Still had an ace up your sleeve.

But no matter.

She may not be able to 'make' the perfect moment, not with him in play.

But she could still wait for one to present itself.

"Alan?" I asked, staring at Tob as I did so. "Your name is Alan?" I questioned again, utterly confused by this turn of events.

"Aye, laddie." Tob…no, Quatermain agreed, one hand coming up to scratch his beard as he did so. "But if we're going to be perfectly honest, I prefer Tob myself."

His hair was pulled back tightly, held out of his eyes by a ponytail revealing his wickedly sharp eyes to the world, the scar on his face easily visible. He was dressed in fine armour, thick brown leather with chainmail pauldrons strapped to his shoulders, more chain mail visible threaded through his leather vest and what seemed to be a number of belts strapped across his shoulders. Both his hands were encased in thick leather gauntlets that clearly seen quite a bit of use over the years but were still in serviceable condition.

I could see the armour extended down to his legs as well but the perpetual blanket that was placed over his lap hid them from sight.

I laughed at my mentor's words. "Well, you never really did look like an 'Alan' to me." I agreed nodding my head. "You always seemed like more of a 'Dick' to me, you Old Bastard."

"That's the Old Bastard to you, brat!" He roared back at me, waving a fist as he did so.

We glared at each other heatedly, even as I felt a smile tug at my lips in the process.

Glad to see somethings don't change.

"Right then you two, rules of engagement." Tob spoke up, his chair wheeling forward to take a position between the two of us. "You fight till either ring out, knocking your opponent's aura levels into the red or surrender. If I say stop fighting, you stop or I will express how thoroughly displeased I am with you all over this arena. Clear?"

"Crystal." I replied, nodding at Tob in acknowledgment.

"I understand completely sir." Penny responded brightly, snapping off a sharp salute as she did so.

The Old Bastard looked like he was fighting the urge to massage his brow so hard right now. Trust me on this, I'm a seasoned pro at the many stages of 'I am too old for this bullshit' that the Old Bastard displays.

"Fighters ready?" Tob asked, turning to face us each of us to ensure we were properly prepared for the match to come.

I drew Candidus Mors out of its sheath, before extending it and sliding my left arm through the straps to hold it in place.

Penny's smile widened and suddenly there was movement behind her, her signature swords floating behind her back with no visible movement on her part.

Here's hoping that doesn't mean she can control them all without having to move her body or this fight just became a heck of a lot harder.

Tob, apparently satisfied that the two of us were ready and his chair began retreating away from the centre of the arena, no longer between Penny and I.

"Three, two, one, BEGIN." Oobleck's voice announced from the speakers, all but sprinting through the countdown.

The instant the countdown finished I sprung forward, my shield up and at the ready as I barrelled towards Penny.

Penny didn't hesitate, the floating blades whirling around her as she made a series of movements with her arm before the six blades were sent soaring towards me.

I kept moving, using my shield to block the first sword, amazed at the sheer power behind the blow.

Whatever she's having I'm betting Nora grew up on the same stuff.

I batted another blade aside before sliding beneath the rest, seeking to close the distance between Penny and I as quickly as possible.

I was getting closer, not even half a dozen steps from Penny when I heard the sound of something whistling through the air behind and dove to the side, rolling to my feet as three of my opponent's gloating swords slammed into the floor of the arena, the remaining three diverting their flight to follow me.

Clever girl.

Looks like they don't need to be near her for Penny to readjust their direction.

I shifted my shield, swinging it into position as Penny slammed the swords that she directed with her hands against it with horrific force, the strongest purely physical blow I'd felt in the entirety of the tournament.

But if sparring against Nora has proven anything, it's that even if your opponent possess more strength than you do, that doesn't mean that they can't be blocked.

If you've got the right foundation anyway.

And my foundation?

The blow clanged loudly against my shield but I didn't move much at all, my legs holding firm on the arena floor as I grinned back at Penny around my shield.

Rock solid.

Now within striking distance of Penny I engaged, my sword slicing out to attack, only for a quick gesture from Penny causing the blow to be blocked by one of her swords, the remaining five following soon after.

Then I was defending against what seemed to be a tornado of strikes, each swing heralding not one attack but eight, the remaining swords mirroring the actions of the leading one and slamming into my shield or sword with bruising force.

If it wasn't for the three on one first strike matches I'd had with my team I would have no doubt been knocked out by the first engagement of blows, but my reflexes hadn't failed me.

Yet.

C'mon Jaune, fight back, seize the momentum!

Just got to get the timing right.

Not yet.

My shield drifted to the left to block the final blow of the current flurry before shifting low to the right for the next.

Now!

I seized the opportunity, stabbing forward through the split second window that followed after her first strike, her other blades unable to do anything but follow the path already set by the first.

I've got her!

CLANG

Two of the floating blades blocked my thrust with a perfect cross guard, Penny sliding back slightly from the force of my attack. As I felt my eyebrows rise in shock, Penny countered, her counterthrust blocked awkwardly by my shield sending me skidding backwards.

The roars of the crowd exploded once more, cheering joyously at the fierce exchange.

But my attention wasn't on them.

It was on trying to figure out what the heck just happened.

I mean, did she just block me, mid-attack?

How did she do that?

My eyes flicked down and caught sight of Penny firmly gripping a sword in each hand, clearly having used her hands to alter the course of the blades.

Clever girl.

Well, there goes that plan.

So not only are her attacks powerful and plentiful, but she can switch to defence instantly with her hands while her floating swords attack independently.

Albeit with nowhere near as much speed or force as when she was directing them with her hands, otherwise I would have never have been able to react in time fast enough to block.

"Your reflexes are very fast Jaune." Penny praised me, smiling brightly as she did so. "This is truly quite fun!"

I bit back a chuckle at her seemingly innocent cheer, something that seemed wholly unsuited for the battlefield yet seemed to be more than an able fit. "Your one to talk! I think your one of the toughest opponents I've ever had." My grin widened. "Doesn't mean I'm ready to give up just yet though."

Penny smiled widely in response and with a flourish of her weapons dived forward, both weapons driving back to deliver a mighty blow.

I leapt forward to meet her, her two swords meeting with Candidus Mors in a fierce clash.

The intensity of the fight only got faster, and I was speeding up alongside it.

It felt like a mad combination of sparring with Peter, first strike with Pyrrha or Nora and DDR with Ren.

Each move flowed into the next, not allowing myself to hesitate for even a moment, knowing that Penny's blades would be there to strike me if I did.

I batted aside two swords with my sword, spun past Penny's following slash and all but backhanded her across the face with my shield, her head rocking backwards but still stubbornly staying in the fight.

And that's something else I'd noticed during the fight.

Penny's movements, her attacks, her defence, her counters.

They were all perfect.

Each one identical to the last.

I weaved my head to the side of the sword that was trying to stab me in the back of the head before I sent my sword smashing into Penny's side, her arm coming up to protect her chest as she was sent to near the edge of the stage.

And all too easy to predict if you'd seen it more than once.

And this was far from the first time I've fought a dual sword user.

And compared to him?

Penny's got a lot of catching up to do.

Penny stood up straight, her expression serious as she thrust her arms out to the side, bringing her swords back to gather around her.

Alright Penny, what have you got planned this time?

I blanched as I saw the swords fold into guns, remembering just what those things could do to a fully armoured bullhead, let alone me.

I bit back a yelp as I rolled to the side, a beam of green energy lancing out from one of the guns to fly through the air I was once occupying. But I couldn't stop moving yet, forcing myself up and sliding to the side as Penny opened fire with the rest of her guns, leaving me ducking and weaving all over the arena.

Okay Jaune, focus.

Laser.

Laser.

Dodge, dodge.

Laser.

Laser.

Dodge, dodge.

Laser, l-oh crap, sword!

Block!

The dance began anew, all the more frantic than it was before with lances of green energy criss-crossing the stage even as two swords intermittently zoomed across the arena attempting to pierce me.

I swore internally as one blast of green energy came a bit too close for comfort, the skin on my left forearm feeling like I had third degree sunburn.

Got to stay close to Penny.

If I give her too much distance, then I'll be a sitting duck to her ranged attacks.

I ducked under one laser, charging through the next with the help of my shield before I moved past one sword as it zoomed past me, curving as it did so.

Dodged it.

Something caught me around the chest and I was yanked off my feet, sent hurtling through the air without any visible sign, before I was sent skipping like a stone across the floor towards the arena's edge.

I contorted, slamming my blade into the ground to act as an anchor, slowing myself to a stop inches before the edge.

The crowd gave off a roar at my recovery, excited that the fight was not over yet but I wasn't focusing on them.

What the heck had just happened?

Something yanked me up, and it wasn't the swords or one of those laser blasts.

So what the heck was it?

Some kind of telekinetic semblance?

I mean Goodwitch has one, so it's possible.

Wait.

I'm forgetting something.

Back at the docks, when I first saw Penny fight…

My eyes lit up.

"Now that is one heck of a trick." I said with a grin as I brought myself to my feet, Penny watching cautiously from the other side of the arena, steadily making her way towards me at a measured pace.

Penny smiled cheerfully. "My father came up with it." She admitted freely, the weapons behind her shifting into their bladed forms once more.

Okay Jaune, you know what she's doing now, that's one step.

The next step would be countering it.

I faked forward, Two of Penny's blades soaring through the air like arrows fired from a crossbow in response towards me.

Can't block them.

Instead of dodging left or right I dropped, sliding underneath the attack was the two swords whooshed overhead.

Candidus Mors drew back, ready to unleash my attack and I saw Penny's arms shift minutely into a defensive stance.

Pity I wasn't aiming for her.

I lashed out, my sword striking out at the near invisible cables trailing behind Penny's weapons. The attack connected and an ear-piercing shriek rang out, like nails on a chalkboard that rang painfully in my ears.

But the cable stubbornly held strong, my attack not enough to sever it cleanly.

The again, I guess I should have figured such an obvious weak-point to be reinforced.

I flipped back shield moving into place once more as I blocked a barrage of laser fire from Penny, harrying me across the arena floor.

This isn't working.

As her weapons are all but attached to her I can't exactly disarm her, and she's too strong to risk slugging it out in extended close quarters combat, especially with her rock solid defence.

I'm going to need something big to break through that.

But I can't see her letting me make a Morningstar round to do that, like the last match.

C'mon think, what's something she's not going to see coming?

My eyes widened slightly as a thought struck me, as I caught sight of the old bastard in the corner of my eye.

What was that saying you used to tell me old man?

If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid?

Well then.

Have I got a stupid idea for you.

I collapsed my shield with a flick of my wrist strapping it by my side as I pulled a vial from my tonic pouch at random, yanking the cork out with my teeth as I awkwardly rolled out of the way of three laser blasts.

Alright then.

Stupid idea time ahoy.

I bought the vial to my mouth, putting half the vial's contents inside before I threw the vial like an improvised projectile at Penny.

Penny dodged the unbalanced missile with ease, the blade in her hand flashing up to block my follow up strike with my sword. And then her free hand thundered into my stomach with devastating force, all the air whooshing out.

Just as planned.

Penny recoiled backwards as the tonic I'd been holding in my mouth splashed onto her face, her hands coming up instinctively to wipe it out of her eyes.

Let's see how well you fight without your sight.

It was a crude tactic, one that Sun had used on me during our first encounter as children with a glass of water.

But it had worked.

And that's all that mattered.

I ruthlessly exploited Penny's lowered guard, seizing Candidus Mors with both hands, weaving past Penny's half-blinded attack to land the best blow I'd landed on Penny to date, the orange haired eccentric soaring through the air before she crashed onto her back a few moments later.

The buzzer sounded and the roars of the crowd exploded, even as I fought to not collapse myself, my limbs quaking with exhaustion, my breathing heavy and near frantic.

I cannot believe that worked.

"An excellent match Jaune." I heard Penny's voice say brightly, causing me to damn near jump out of my skin. "A very unconventional tactic." She extended her arm out to shake, the spirit of good sportsmanship.

I turned and smiled, reaching a hand out to take her own before I stopped. I felt the color in my skin fade to gray as a well of nausea build up inside me. "Penny your arm." I whispered, horrified at what I had done.

There was a massive gash in Penny's right arm, my last blow apparently having blown straight through her aura and damn near removing the limb in a single blow.

How the heck was she still conscious, the blood loss alone should b…

I felt my mind seize up slightly as I took a closer look at Penny's arm, the panic that had been gripping it falling to the wayside as I took in something truly unbelievable.

Penny's arm wasn't bleeding, because it didn't have any blood.

Or bones.

Or nerves.

It was metal.

With frayed cables sticking out the end of the hole, sparking green electricity the same color as the blasts of energy that had been fired from Penny's weapons.

Penny's eyes turned, looking away from me to see the massive laceration in the arm by her side and a look of horror appeared on her own face. Her free hand clutched at it desperately, almost as if she was trying to hide it from sight.

But it was too late.

The crowd was reacting now, nowhere near as angry as they were with Yang in the previous match but still horror-struck, clearly perturbed by what had just occurred.

Okay Jaune.

Calm down.

It's okay.

It's not a flesh and blood arm, it's just a prosthesis.

Perfectly normal, just a bit of work fixing it up and I'm sure Penny will be right as rain once again.

I felt the arena begin to lower back down to the floor, the spotlights still clearly illuminating both Penny and myself.

I could see Peter and Oobleck talking, saying something that was lost in the noise of the crowd when they suddenly vanished, their faces on the screen being replaced with a new scene. All the screens now glowed an ominous red, like freshly spilt blood with a black queen chess piece in the center of the screen.

I felt a frown forming almost unconsciously across my face.

What the heck was going on here?

"This is not a tragedy." A woman's voice declared firmly, her voice echoing throughout the arena. "This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than men." The mysterious woman said derisively, almost amused as she spoke.

There's no way on Remnant this is supposed to be part of the Tournament.

Why the heck haven't they shut off the broadcast?

Unless, they can't shut it off.

"Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both.

"They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here?" She asked rhetorically, the question hanging in the air. "One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly assaulted by another's student. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference."

Suddenly on the screen, images began to appear, schematics and designs for an incredible of weapons, the likes of which I'd never seen before with all of them taking on a very familiar shape with their finished product.

If that wasn't enough there was the project's designation emblazoned on the top of all the sheets.

Prototype Encephalon Neo-Yeager.

Prototype Encephalon Neo-Yeager.

P.E.N.N.Y

Penny wasn't a girl with a prosthetic limb.

She was a machine, Atlas' attempt at creating an artificial huntsman.

And by the looks of it they succeeded.

"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, now this?" The woman asked the crowds, disapproval seeping through her voice with every syllable. "Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honour and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither."

I paused for a moment my mind easily grasping that she was referencing Yang's actions in the earlier match against Mercury.

I felt my fist clench tightly.

The one where she'd been tricked into attacking a defenceless opponent.

Well, I guess I just found out who was behind it.

Although this was far beyond anything that I imagined to be possible.

I ignored the person who had hijacked the broadcast for a moment, making my way over towards Penny.

I could worry about the implication of this later, Penny needed help now.

Android or not, she was still my friend, still the same girl who listened to old fables with joy and was practically bursting from the seams with joy.

"Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the Tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets. Or perhaps this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces." The woman's voice continued on, her tone almost hypnotic as she mused. "Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves."

I scowled. I didn't agree with a single thing she said, but I couldn't deny how charismatic the woman was. She didn't explicitly say anything at times, but her unsaid implications were all the more convincing than any of her words could have been.

"Penny!" I called out, drawing her attention away from the screen. "Penny are you alright?"

"Jaune?" Penny asked, her perpetually happy look conspicuously absent, replaced with one that was filled with a great deal of fear, as if she was scared of what I might say. "What are…Why are yo…" She stopped and started, seemingly unsure as to what she should ask in a situation like this.

I ignored her, crouching down to examine her wounded arm, moving my hand to help steady it.

Jeez, what the heck am I supposed to do here?

My medical knowledge is pretty limited to begin with but I'm pretty sure it doesn't cover prototype combat droid repair.

"Are you alright?" I repeated, looking away from the wound to look into Penny's shocked eyes. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Penny stared down at me incomprehensibly. "Why are you still here?" Penny whispered, disbelief filling her voice. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

I raised a brow at that. "Why on Remnant would I be afraid of you Penny?" I asked rhetorically, shaking my head at her question. "And I'm here because you look like you need some help."

"But why are you helping me?" Penny asked again, almost desperate for what I might say in response.

I looked at Penny, perplexed by her train of thought. "That's just what friends do, I guess." I answered with a soft smile, remembering my first conversation with Penny after the incident at the docks.

Penny stood there, stunned into silence as she stared at me but as much as I wanted to focus on my friend, I could hear whoever was hijacking broadcast working their way up to their finale.

"So I ask you: When the first shots shots are fired... who do you think you can trust?" With that final question the broadcast cut off, the screens now filled with harsh static as the crowd murmured worriedly in the aftermath of the unsettling words.

But then a new sound filled my ears.

One that filled my heart with dread.

A loud wailing alarm echoed around the arena, everyone in the stadium looking up in horror as the screens began to flash orange, the word 'CAUTION' emblazoned across them.

That alarm only sounded because of one reason.

Grimm attack.

A big one.

Just like it had been in Vale when the White Fang breached the tunnel from Mountain Glenn.

Just like it had when the Grimm had pierced the outer defences at Freshwater.

"Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner." An automated voice spoke calmly over the speakers, the tone of the voice clearly selected in an attempt to maintain calm among the civilians.

It did utterly nothing as the crowd descended into anarchy, panic ripping through them as they fled from their seats, making their way towards the docking bays that were the only way back down to solid ground from Amity Coliseum.

And I was honestly having a hard time blaming them.

Threat level nine?

That was the kind of threat that didn't just attack a city, it consumed it.

I can't even recall the last time one happened outside of the Faunus Civil War, when tensions were at their highest between the two conflicting sides, the chaos and torment of the battlefield drawing a torrent of Grimm that assaulted both sides and nearly wiped them all out if not for their last minute unification against the common enemy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please. There is no need for panic." The voice of General Ironwood appeared out of the speakers, the headmaster from Atlas clearly trying to regain some semblance of order to this situation.

A harsh screech filled my ears and I looked up to see a giant Nevermore more than twice the size of the one team RWBY had killed during initiation dive towards the arena only to be halted by the domed force field that surrounded the arena. The monstrous bird let out an ear-aching screech of indignation and began savagely attacking the force field that impeded it, loud booms sounding out after each impact.

Oh, I'd say now is a very good time to panic.

I grabbed Penny by her good arm, all hut dragging her as I started running for the exit of the arena.

It was time for us to get out of here.

I needed to get Penny to her father so he can fix her up.

"Come on! We need to go!" I shouted, trying to make sure I was heard over the wailing of the alarms and the screams of the crowds.

"JAUNE!" I heard Pyrrha's voice scream at me and I turned to face her, seeing her frantically gesturing up at the force field, a look that seemed to transcend worry clearly present on her face.

I went to look up, trying to see what it was that Pyrrha was pointing at.

Something blurred above me and suddenly I was flying, the sound of an explosion filling my ears as I was sent sliding across the arena floor. I lost my grip on Penny during my impromptu flight, unable to see her as I tried to regain my footing.

I got up groggily, one hand coming up to clutch my head but still keeping a fierce grip on my weapons, ready for the threat of the Giant Nevermore that was…

Currently in front of me.

Half of it anyway.

The front half of the Nevermore's corpse disintegrated rapidly even as smoke rose from the crater that had once been its other half.

What the heck had just happened here?

Did something else attack the Nevermore?

Suddenly the smoke shifted, the wind that was once held back by the force field blowing it away to reveal what was within it.

I swallowed.

Now that's a big mech.

Whatever this thing was, it was bigger than those Atlesian Paladins' I'd seen around Vale recently. It was humanoid, two large arms and legs attached to an obviously mechanical torso with a glowing orb within the chest piece that I could only presume to be its power source.

It had no obvious weaponry that I could see, no giant swords or guns but then again when you're as large as that, you generally don't need one.

On its chest something was written in big blocky letters as if a giant stamp had been pressed against it, resting just below the glowing orb in its upper torso.

"P-01s" I read aloud, taking in this utterly enormous machine in front of me.

Oh and then there was the fact that it looked like it had gone ten rounds with a natural disaster. The thing was by no means pristine, covered in dings and dents, even large gashes revealing complicated machinery hidden beneath it.

It looked like giant mechanical knight, complete with elaborate helmet and armour, a thin horizontal slit serving as a visor for the mechanical giant, darkness hiding whatever was within it.

SCANNING

The mech spoke suddenly, a clearly artificial voice akin to an answering machine even as a red beam of light extended from its visor trailing across the battlefield with tremendous speed.

Guess it's looking for more Grimm to fight.

Speaking of, I need to find Penny. Something tells me it's time we got out of here, and I'm not keen to leave her alone missing an arm.

The red light was shining in my eyes and I stopped with a curse, throwing up an arm to help shield me from it.

"Not a Grimm, you stupid thing." I muttered, still looking for Penny as I did so.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: JAUNE ARC, LOCATED

I stopped where I stood, an ill feeling creeping its way up my spine.

No.

Come on.

You've got to be kidding me.

It's the middle of a Grimm invasion, my luck cannot be this bad.

I turned towards the massive knight just in time to see the thin strip that served as the 'eyes' of the machine glow an ominous crimson, lifting up both its arms to point in my direction, palms facing me.

And suddenly in a moment that seemed to stretch on forever, the light from the visor revealed what had been emblazoned on the robot's forehead.

My breath caught, my eyes bulging as I finally realised where'd I'd seen it before, why I'd felt so uneasy around it.

Stamped across the robot's face was a symbol, the black almost but not quite fading against the dull grey of the machine's metal skin.

The Empty Heart.

PROCCEDING WITH OBJECTIVE.

Two previously unforeseen holes appeared, one on each hand of the robot.

And then there was fire.

My shield came up and I hid my body behind it as best as I could as what seemed to be a river of flames sought to engulf me, my shield arm growing steadily more uncomfortable as the fight drew on.

It had only been moments and sweat was already pouring down my face, my feet sliding across the arena floor as I tried and failed to keep myself from moving.

And despite all that, the thing I was truly focusing on wasn't the fact that I was being attacked.

It was what was attacking me.

Giant, red 'eyes' and a great deal of fire.

This thing was there on that day.

The last time I saw my mother, before I washed up on the shores of Freshwater some days later.

In the corner of my eye, I saw the one of the fists break off from its attack with flames the obsidian hand clenching into a mighty fist before cocking back to strike me.

It launched forward as if it had been shot from a cannon and I braced unable to move under the barrage of flames.

This was going to hurt.

Something boomed behind me and the fist was knocked back, the knight staggering backwards as if it had been rocked by a great force, the fire suddenly cut off as it did so.

I rolled backwards, shaking my arm out as I did so as I flicked an eye out to where the sound had come from.

Tob sat in his chair, a thunderous expression on his face, wheels coming to a stop beside me. "You all right laddie?" He asked, eyes still on the mech, casually chambering a new round into his hunting rifle 'Matilda' as he did so.

Where the heck was he hiding that thing?

"I'll live." I grunted, still feeling the heat from when I had been underneath the torrent of flames, turning my attention back to the titan staring down at me with its baleful gaze.

Suddenly the knight twitched, twisting to the side in a movement that seemed impossibly fast for something so large, its hand lashing out to snatch something out of the air.

Clutched tightly within its fist was Penny, clearly struggling to get the mighty digits to loosen and free herself from its grip.

I went to surge forward when something yanked me back, Tob shaking his head minutely from my side. "Patience, laddie. Fools rush in." He cautioned me, even as he blasted a descending Nevermore's skull into nonexistence with a perfectly aimed shot.

Suddenly the arena was filled with the sound of gunfire, the knight's armour becoming littered with sparks, the hands of the attacking Atlesian Knights retracted to reveal whirring miniguns in their place. Looks like they're starting to get their act together, the Knight almost seemed as if it was trapped within a waterfall of bullets such was the sheer amount of rounds littering the ground.

With about as much as the same damage I noted morbidly, the knight all but ignoring the barrage from the AK-200's.

My eyes were drawn to the orb on its chest as it began to pulse, and with each pulse what seemed to be veins of energy lit up underneath the 'skin' of the knight, the lines of power extending further with every passing second.

Oh that does not look friendly.

The orb stopped pulsing, now shining with the same crimson light that suffused the Knights form, one of its mighty fists drawn back as if it was going to strike something.

PUPPETMASTER PROTOCOL INITIATED

The knight plunged its fist into the ground and there was an explosion of red light, expanding in all directions from the epicentre of the knight as if it was some tsunami made of lightning.

I moved in front of the Old Bastard, my shield upraised, trying to block the majority of the damage of the blast, bracing myself for the pain to come.

…