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Chapter 15 – The Fall

March 26th – Morning

"Nora."

"Yes, Ren?"

"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise," Blake heard Ren say to their third friend as he sheathed (Or in his case sleeved) his weapons.

Nora considered this new information for all of a second before working it to her advantage. "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"

Walking up to them, Blake rolled her eyes at the friendly chatter. "But not together-together, right Nora?" she intoned with a smirk.

Instantly the smaller girl shrunk in on herself – as if that were somehow possible – and took on a heavy flush. "N-n-n-no! Of course not! Just together! Best friends! Uuuuhhh come on, Ren, we don't want to miss any of the good spots!"

As if he even had a choice in the matter. Nora grabbed his arm and dragged the bewildered boy along with her, shooting an annoyed glare at Blake for her teasing. For her part Blake just waved and sent an impish smile back, reveling far too much in Nora's embarrassment.

Were it anyone else Blake might have considered apologizing, but she knew Nora only stayed angry for as long as it took her to spot something shiny and distracting. Nora also knew she brought it upon herself, given the glacial pace she worked up her courage to so much as probe Ren about being more than friends. Was it really so wrong for Blake to take a little pleasure in teasing her friend?

Probably, but Blake didn't tend to lose any sleep over it. Speaking of, she'd slept in a little later than she wanted to, so Blake quickly keyed her locker open and starting taking out her gear. It wouldn't do well to be late to the very first test of the school year.

First came her mecha-shifting weapon Gambol. Instead of giving the weapon a thorough look over like she did yesterday, Blake simply ejected the clip and pulled back the slide to make sure everything was in the right place. Then she collapsed the blade and re-extended it to insure the gears were still working properly.

Next was Shroud, the cleaver that also acted as a sheath for her sword. It was only a single piece of metal, but Blake made sure no imperfections had manifested over the night. Satisfied her weapons were in peak condition, Blake combined them and placed the weapon aside for the moment.

Then last came her newest piece of equipment. The casual observer might have mistaken it for a backpack, but it was much too thin to carry anything. Not to mention it was almost entirely metal. Blake punched in her code into the keypad on the backside, and immediately there came an almost imperceptible hum even her advanced Faunus hearing struggled to detect.

Though it wasn't a carrying pack in the normal sense, it still slipped her around her arms like one, and Blake fastened it tightly to her back. Then she hefted her weapon and lifted it across her shoulder blades, though she did not have her ribbon in place to loop it around her front. Instead the weapon clacked against the metal pack, and when Blake withdrew her hand, her weapon did not succumb to gravity.

Blake smiled, glad the magnetic pack still worked as well as when she received it in the mail a few days ago. With this Blake could move with certainty knowing her weapon would stay in place, at least to a much better extent than when she only used her ribbon to secure it. She gripped the weapon and pulled it away a couple of times, just to make sure she could draw it easily. Blake still had to be careful, as her weapon could still fly off if it were swiped by a Grimm or she was sent tumbling, but she knew the magnetic pack still worked well in tandem with her normal movement, even the leaping acrobatics she routinely performed.

Lots of Hunters used magnetic clamps to secure their weaponry. Especially for those with larger weapons, it paid to be able to draw your weapon at a moment's notice without having to worry about it being caught on its sheath. As she recalled, Jaune used a clamp like that on his belt for his sword, which made sense considering the sheath also had to be pulled away in order for him to use it as a shield.

"This is ridiculous! I swear I don't remember having to count this high yesterday!"

I'm starting to wonder if I have some secret gift to summon Arcs when I think about them. Blake glanced over her shoulder to see Jaune coming her way, face marred with confusion as he stared at a slip of paper in his hands. Not paying attention as he was, Jaune could have walked straight into Blake.

Sensing eyes upon him, Jaune looked up and gave a little jump when he saw her. "Oh, Blake! Didn't see you standing there, sorry."

"Having trouble already, Jaune?" she asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah, kinda," Jaune admitted sheepishly. He started scratching the side of his head as he turned his gaze back to the paper in his hands. "I just can't seem to remember which locker was mine! For some reason I wrote down eight hundred and one, but there can't possibly be that many lockers-"

On a hunch Blake swiped the paper from his hands, turned it a hundred and eighty degrees, and re-slotted it back in his fingers.

"…Or maybe I wrote down one hundred and eight, and never thought to flip the number around," he realized. Jaune let out a weak little chuckle and gave Blake a strained smile.

"You should really calm down, Jaune," she informed him. "It's just a test, and it's not like you're some civilian who got in here on accident."

"I know, I know," he sighed, putting the paper away. "It's just nerves, you know? A big test like this, I get worried that I'm not going to do well."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Jaune," Blake assured him. Then she quickly glanced side to side to see if anyone could overhear them, but the only other initiates nearby were the Ruby and Yang sisters, and they were engrossed in their own conversation. She leaned toward Jaune and said, "Although, I've heard if you really do want an easier go of things, it might be best to head toward the North side of the Emerald Forest."

"North side of the forest?" he echoed, clearly confused. When it took too long for him to take the hint, Blake growled a bit and furrowed her brow at him, purposefully twitching her ears slightly. Jaune caught the movement and only then did his eyes widen as he realized her hidden meaning. "I, uh, yes, the North side you say. Sounds like a good idea if I do say so myself."

Blake rolled her eyes and turned back to her locker. "I'll be seeing you later, Jaune. I hope you do well in the initiation."

"Yeah, um, same to you, Blake." Jaune moved around her, toward the far end of the room where the higher number lockers were. Blake discreetly watched him go, seeing Jaune pull out his Scroll and bring up a compass application.

There was a sad frown on her lips as she went back to her locker, pulling out various equipment like extra ammo clips and a spare ribbon. She didn't like doing that, lying to his face and forcing him to lie back to hers. Only in the privacy of her thoughts would Blake admit she had sort of missed the blonde goofball, and she wished their reunion didn't pose as much of a threat.

The thought had occurred to Blake in the dead of night a little under a month ago, and afterward she hadn't gotten much sleep. Jaune would more than likely be overjoyed to see her again, and if people saw them being chummy the very first day at Beacon they'd assume Jaune and Blake were longtime friends.

But then Ren and Nora would ask why Blake had never mentioned him before. They and others might ask how a girl who supposedly came straight from a foreign land to the city of Vale knew a boy who lived just outside it most his life. According to Blake she had lived most of her life on the outskirts of Mistral, and that lie was already strenuous enough given Ren and Nora had come from the same kingdom.

If anyone doubted her story, then they would start to doubt Blake. They would question where she really came from. They'd question who she really was.

They'd question what she really was.

You could only offer up so many lies before they started to collapse in on each other. Which meant for her own safety – and Jaune's safety – she had to pretend yesterday was the first day they ever met. Only one lie meant to circumvent a multitude of others.

Despite the ruse's necessity, Blake still hated it. She'd been looking forward to seeing Jaune again, to see a familiar and friendly face. Once they were officially in Beacon and things started to settle down, Blake vowed to make it up to him in some way. It was the least she could do repay Jaune, given how quickly he'd caught onto her plan and gone along with it. Others might have been surprised to see he could be so astute and react as quickly as he did, but Blake was not one of those people. She knew Jaune wasn't as simple minded as he looked.

Satisfied she had everything she might need for today's test, Blake closed her locker and made for the exit. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the Schnee heiress talking to another student, and didn't that make Blake bristle with annoyance. What in the world was Weiss Schnee doing at Beacon and not Atlas Academy, or not living it up in one of her mansions? Blake wanted nothing to do with the girl and resigned to staying away from her as far as she possibly could.

Naturally, that's when Jaune chose to approach her. "You know what else is great?" he asked in response to whatever the Schnee said. He leaned on her locker and did his damnedest to come off as suave as he said, "Me: Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."

"You again?" the heiress groaned. Blake shared in the girl's annoyance, as for whatever reason Jaune had apparently become smitten with the Schnee the moment he laid eyes on her. Blake could understand the attraction on a physical level, as all Schnees were known for their almost ethereal beauty. It still didn't help her to understand how anyone could fall for such a vile person.

For some reason the Schnee's incredibly familiar companion was quick to circle around Jaune and introduce herself. "Nice to meet you, Jaune."

"Yeah yeah," Jaune dismissed as he shoved her – shoved Pyrrha goddamn Nikos – aside to get to the Schnee. Blake halted in her tracks and her eyes went wide from shock, giving up all pretenses she wasn't spying on their conversation.

"So, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me yesterday," Jaune went on, striking poses he must have thought looked manly.

The Schnee face palmed. "You have got to be kidding me."

"No, don't worry, no need to be embarrassed," Jaune assured her, missing the point by a country mile. "So, I've been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me could make a good one. What do you say?"

He wanted the Schnee heiress of all people on his team? Did he not know the kinds of atrocities her family inflicted upon the Faunus? Then again he did just brush off Pyrrha Nikos like she was no one, so in all likelihood Jaune probably didn't even know who he was talking to. Blake took back her previous thought: he really was as simple minded as he looked.

"Actually, I think teams are comprised of four students each," Nikos chimed in, seeming to be completely unperturbed at being ignored.

"But of course!" Jaune agreed, sidling up to the redhead without delay. "Well, play your cards right, hotstuff, and you can end up partnered with Weiss on the winning team." He pointed at himself to indicate his team would be the winning team, just in case Nikos was a six year old who didn't know how to pick up on subtext.

The Schnee, sensing her hold on the strongest potential student of their year weakening, dashed in between the two of them and pushed them apart. "Jaune, was it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Not in the slightest, Snow Angel." Blake could immediately tell the Schnee did not like the pet name. Blake also immediately decided to bring up the nickname at every avenue she could.

"This is Pyrrha Nikos."

"Hello again!" the girl said with a cheery wave.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum," the heiress informed him smugly, like she had the right to boast about the achievements of her would-be partner.

"Never heard of it," Jaune replied without a care.

The Schnee let out a scandalized gasp. "She's won the Mistral Regional Tournaments four years in a row, a new record."

"The what?" Jaune asked. It was only the single most important competition for Mistralian Hunter students in training, an event which was normally broadcast all around the world. Blake felt the need to revise her thoughts even further; Jaune was even more simple minded than he looked.

"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal box!" the Schnee exploded, waving her arms violently. Apparently she'd reached her quota of dealing with woefully ignorant people for the day.

Jaune gasped in realization. "That's you?!" Seriously, that was the connection he made? "They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

Blake couldn't believe what she was hearing and seeing. Either Jaune didn't watch much of any TV or he had an extremely bad case of being a shut in, because the idea of him not knowing who Pyrrha Nikos was is baffling to her. During her time in Mistral Blake could hardly go a day without hearing something about the prodigy. She was a national treasure. The kind who created sensationalist scandals that news networks loved to eat up when she decided to study in Vale rather than Mistral.

And despite all that, Nikos looked positively pleased to find someone who had no idea who she was.

Whatever the Schnee next said finally got Jaune to see reason, who slumped and lamented how it wasn't his place to ask Nikos to be on his team. But instead of taking the out, Nikos crossed over to Jaune and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader."

Blake narrowed her eyes at the action. Faced with a boy who all but insulted her to her face, Nikos' response to give him a compliment? She knew nothing about Jaune Arc, for justifiable reasons, and yet it appeared she was willing to give him several benefits of the doubt. Blake had never thought much of the regional champion, simply thinking of her as yet another pompous human celebrity who likely didn't deserve their stardom. That mental picture was not jiving with the girl she saw before her now, as Nikos was going out of her way to ingratiate herself with someone she'd never met or heard of before today.

It didn't sit well in Blake stomach. She didn't like it, not one bit.

Her dark musings were cut short at the sound of a weapon being activated. Though she saw it coming, Blake didn't have a chance to warn Jaune before a red spear lanced through his hoodie and carried him several meters away. She noticed the Schnee mouth the words 'Thank you' to Nikos, so Blake surmised the redhead had skewered Jaune in order to spare the heiress from his awful attempts at flirtation.

The Schnee stormed past Jaune where he'd fallen without a word, but Nikos was all smiles as she collected her weapon. "It was nice meeting you."

Jaune returned the sentiment glumly, and Blake finally took her cue to leave as well. She left Jaune to the care of his other new friend, Ruby Rose. Now there was a girl Blake wouldn't have minded being on a team with. Though she was younger, Ruby seemed like an honest and committed Huntress. Then again anyone would have been a preferable option over Weiss Schnee, even Yang Xiao Long, though Blake hoped it wouldn't come to that.

As she walked, Blake kept an eye on Pyrrha Nikos. Another student she wouldn't have hated being on a team with, possibly as Ruby's partner. But something about the Mistral champion rubbed her the wrong way, given how she reacted positively to Jaune's bumbling ignorance. Humility and friendliness shouldn't have been seen as suspicious traits, but not when they were coming from world renown celebrities normally borne to arrogance, and not when Blake was the one judging them. Nikos was up to something, and Blake had a feeling it had to do with a certain noodly blonde.

Blake wouldn't let that distract her, though. She already knew who Jaune's partner was going to be.

Mid-Morning

Of course I'd get stuck with the very last spot in line, Jaune lamented. Apparently he'd waylaid himself, Ruby, and her sister long enough that they were among the last students to make it to the cliff side where their initiation test would begin. Jaune now stood on a metal platform of sorts, the last one of many all arranged in a curved, single file line, indicating where everyone would have to stand, for whatever reason. Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch stood in the middle, with the students somewhat surrounding them to both sides.

His spot doubly sucked because by being all the way to the right meant he'd be starting off the furthest South in the Emerald Forest. If Jaune wanted to traverse over to North side, he'd have to wade through a whole lot of forest and whatever students were spilling out into it. He still had no idea whether they were supposed to seeking each other out to form teams or facing off against each other to prove their mettle, but either way anyone else could prove to be an obstacle standing in between him and Blake.

That is, assuming he hadn't misinterpreted what Blake had said to him earlier. Jaune had surmised their initiation test would be held in the expanse of Emerald Forest before them, and judging from Ozpin's warning about it being filled with Grimm, Jaune didn't think any part of the forest would be 'easier' than the rest. Blake was one of the smartest people he knew, so Jaune didn't think she actually believed her own words. That meant she had specifically told him about the North side of the forest to act as a waypoint where the two of them could meet up.

Now would that mean they could join up as partners if they found each other?

"That being said," Professor Ozpin interjected into his thoughts, "the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

Oh, well, that worked. Or maybe not for everyone, like Ruby Rose who sounded like she just had her entire world shattered.

Half listening to what the Headmaster said next, Jaune subtly (As much as he was capable of) leaned out to look down the row of students. There were quite a lot of them, probably more than sixty if Jaune were to take a headcount. Jaune's side was populated with more people he recognized from the last day or so, Like Pyrrha Nikos, who gave him another cheery wave before turning to listen to the professor again. Apparently she was some kind of celebrity, and she was nice too! No matter what happened in today's test he hoped they could grow to be friends.

Jaune had to look even further past Pyrrha to find Blake, standing about three quarters of the way down. She looked small and unassuming, nestled as she was between several much larger and more imposing Hunters. But Jaune knew she was twice as skilled over anyone else here, barring the professors, and maybe Pyrrha if his Snow Angel was to be believed.

Whether she sensed another's gaze or had been anticipating him looking to her, Blake turned to him as well, amber eyes meeting blue. Jaune tried to match her determined gaze and sent her a nod, and Blake returned it. The plan was set then. All they had to do was make sure they were the first people to see each other after landing, and Jaune was certain Blake would have no trouble…

Wait… landing?

Jaune raised his hand when Professor Ozpin asked if there were any questions. "Yeah, um, si-"

"Good!" the Headmaster went on unheeded. "Now, take your positions."

A tremor of confusion passed through the students, several of them looking between each other and trying to figure out what the man meant by 'positions.' A few of the more impatient ones, like Yang, simply drew their weapons and got into fighting stances.

"Uh, sir, I've got a question," Jaune tried again. "What exactly do you mean by-"

He was cut off by the sound of whirring motors, though he wasn't alone as the loud noise actually made every student assembled jump in surprise. Before anyone could even think to ask what it was, there was the sound of something large and metallic slamming into place, followed closely by a long, terrified scream. As one several dozen heads snapped up to see the boy who'd originally been standing at the Northern end of the line sailing through the air, tumbling end over end as his limbs flailed about, toward the Emerald Forest.

Everyone gathered finally realized what Ozpin meant by 'landing.'

One by one in rapid succession, students were flung from their newly realized Launch Pads in the most outlandish form of mass murder Jaune had ever seen. The first few to go went with about as much decorum as the first boy, but by then the students still remaining had enough sense to prepare themselves for violent take off. Jaune found Blake's wide amber eyes once more, and he got the impression she might have been internally screaming before her launch pad ejected her into the unknown.

"So this whole 'Landing Strategy' thing," Jaune said with a surprising amount of calm given the situation. By now more than half of the students had been launched. "Did you hand out parachutes or something for us?"

"No, you will be falling," Professor Ozpin informed him without worry. "And you will be using your own Landing Strategy."

"Yeah, right." Of in the distance behind the professors he could see a multitude of weapons fire and Dust explosions fill the sky as students desperately tried to mitigate their fall.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yang don sunglasses just before her launch pad went off, and Ruby gave him one last smile before she too was gone. A second that lasted an eternity passed, and only at the end of it did Jaune realize he had one more question.

"So what exactly is a Landing StrateGYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

This is not good for my motion sickness, was the only coherent thought running through Jaune's mind. Just as well since for the second day in a row his light breakfast was threatening to become intimate with his mouth once more. Through sheer force of will and terror Jaune forced it down, instead trying to focus more on the wind screaming in his ears or the blur of colors passing through his eyes as he tumbled through the-

Okay that wasn't helping his motion sickness either. But spinning about as he was, it was nigh impossible for Jaune to get his bearings. The forest could be below him and not even a second later it would appear to be above him. Despite his panic Jaune knew he wouldn't be staying in the air forever, and if he didn't act quickly then the ground would help him with his orientation problem. Permanently. Jaune still had no idea what a Landing Strategy was, so instead he ran through what he did know, as scattered as his thoughts were.

Cooking? No, for obvious reasons. Outdoor Survival Training? Closer, but that all came with the assumption you weren't a red smear on the ground. Swordsmanship? What, am I gonna fight gravity and bend it too my-

Wait! Gravity! Physics! All objects are constantly accelerating toward the ground because the planet has way more mass than anything else, which means what goes up must come down. But you don't rocket into the sky, stop suddenly, and immediately go back down at the same speed as when you went up. You slow down first, stop, and then start to pick up speed in the opposite direction, so that means…

At the highest point of his flight arc, Jaune focused his Aura and flung out his hand. A shining golden wall appeared just under his outstretched form, and Jaune landed on it with about as much force as if he'd fallen out of a chair.

However, as a testament to how Jaune only got a C in Physics, he neglected to account for his horizontal velocity as well as the vertical. So rather than safely landing on his Hard Light Barrier like he thought he would, Jaune instead skidded off the platform like a skipping stone against water, and his descent simply began anew.

Thankfully, while the act did not stop Jaune, it did buffer his momentum. Jaune flew through the air at a more moderate rate now, and he had more control over his faculties. With newfound clarity he sent out another Barrier, which he again bounced off of, but then Jaune was prepared to immediately dispel that one and create another in his path. Only needing to repeat this process once more, Jaune finally came to a stop on a platform of golden hexagons just large enough to carry his body lying down.

Move fast, Jaune! You know how much these things drain your Aura. The thought kicked him into gear, and Jaune quickly got to his feet. The first thing he noticed was that the students still in the air were getting much further ahead of them, seeing as how they had cool abilities and weapons to give them bursts of speed. Not wanting to be left behind, Jaune set about 'running' after them, which meant hopping from one Barrier just large enough for his foot to another.

Focusing half his attention on not tripping while hundreds of meters in the air, Jaune tried to take stock of the students in the process of landing like him, most of them to his left but not all of them. The launch pads seemed to have flung students in somewhat odd directions rather than straight lines, and as they implemented their Landing Strategies they managed to criss cross each other even more. Jaune tried to shift his focus away from the ones who lacked subtly, creating explosions to break their falls or altogether smashing through trees because they couldn't be bothered. No, he was looking for something with far less pomp and circumstance…

There! Dipping in and out of the tree line as she swung from branch to branch, Jaune could make out a vaguely white, black, and purple shape. Blake had already landed but she was still moving at a breakneck pace, aiming more toward the center of the forest. Jaune followed suit and adjusted his own midair path.

Something twanged in the back of his skull, making his teeth grit. Even though he was doing his best to keep his Semblance use expedient, Hard Light Barrier still ate away at his Aura, and already he could feel it approaching the fifty percent mark. He was still some distance away from Blake, but he knew he'd be no use to her if his legs were smashed up, or worse.

Instead Jaune ended his game of high stakes hopscotch and let gravity claim him once again. Only this time he was more prepared, and Jaune threw out an angled Barrier he slid off of, followed by another as he got lower. With these Jaune was able to mitigate his descension while also pushing himself forward somewhat.

As Jaune slid from Barrier to Barrier he tried to keep his eyes on Blake, but she'd disappeared beneath the trees. From there Jaune guestimated what her intended direction was and aimed accordingly. Besides, it was more than likely Blake had taken note of his descent and was moving toward him now. The thought brought a giddy smile to his face. His friend was down there, waiting for no one but him, and he had every intention to meet her there.

A gunshot went off somewhere to his right, and then Jaune's plans – much like his momentum – went sideways.

One second he was just upon the tree line, the foliage starting to become clearer in detail. The next it felt like something snagged his hoodie, and that foliage turned into a blurred mass of green moving to his right. Jaune made to yell and got a mouthful of twigs and leaves in reply. Branches snapped and bit at his arms and legs as he sailed through the canopy. Then with a loud smack that almost jostled more than a few bones out of place, Jaune finally stopped when he slammed into a tree.

Jaune blinked blearily as he tried to get a bearing on his surroundings. He was most certainly in the Emerald Forest now, surrounded by the tall green trees that gave it its name. But the trees looked shorter than he thought they'd be, as if Jaune looked up he could clearly see their tree tops. Although come to think of it, even though his now rather sore back was pressing into something rough, Jaune felt fairly certain he wasn't actually laying on it. It felt more like he was standing up, but that didn't make sense since his feet weren't touching anything.

Something like dread filled his being, but after being flung through the air Jaune wasn't really feeling up to being fearful at the moment, so instead he sighed with resignation and looked down. Sure enough, the rest of the trees stretched out far below him, though now at least Jaune wasn't so high up to fear breaking several bones upon landing. Speaking of which, why wasn't he on the ground yet? Old horror movies passed through his mind and Jaune patted himself down to make sure he hadn't been impaled by a tree branch. But no, wooden spikes covered in viscera weren't poking out of him. So then why was he still floating there?

Jaune thought he could faintly hear someone yelling, "I'm sorry!" through the woods, and for some reason that prompted him to look up again. Only then did Jaune see what he had missed before. Sticking out of the very same hole it had created in his hood earlier this morning was a long scarlet and bronze metal lance, ornate in its mechanical design. One of the weapons of Pyrrha Nikos.

That was odd. Why had Pyrrha skewered him again? Had she been attacked by a Grimm, thrown her spear at it, and aimed so badly she launched it far into the air where it would catch Jaune's hoodie? The scenario seemed highly unlikely, even to Jaune.

Figuring out the 'why' wasn't his biggest problem, however. That would be getting down, preferably before some Grimm spotted him and decided he looked like a tasty treat all strung up nicely and what not. So Jaune grabbed the spear sticking into him, gave it a tug, ignored the voice in the back of his head that sounded like Magenta's complaining about innuendos, and pulled. And pulled again. Then gritted his teeth and pulled even more.

"Gah, stupid thing!" Jaune cursed, trying with all his might to dislodge the weapon and failing horribly at it. The spear was really stuck in there; Pyrrha must have put a lot of force behind that throw. Then again Jaune really wasn't at the best angle to pull it out, so even if Jaune were a lot stronger than he was now it probably wouldn't have helped much.

Rustling from down below caught his attention, and fearing a Grimm had found him Jaune looked down. To his infinite relief it was only the Snow Angel, pushing her way through some bushes. She looked up and caught sight of him, appearing quite unimpressed with what she saw. Not that Jaune could blame her, since he was the one stuck nailed to a tree.

Still, their eyes met. Did that mean they were partners now? She wasn't Blake, sure, but Jaune wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. With what little dignity he still had left worth salvaging, Jaune waved to her with a nervous smile.

Weiss stared at him for barely a second before turning around and marching straight back the way she came, leaving Jaune to let his arm drop with a frown. From his vantage point Jaune watched Weiss stroll back to Ruby Rose, who he hadn't noticed before, walk past her, and grab Ruby's hood to pull her along. Weiss mumbled something sour, but it only made Ruby throw her arms up and cheer.

"Hey, wait, come back!" Jaune called to them in panic. The hoop skirted partners either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. Jaune groaned and said, "Who's going to get me down from here?"

"Jaune?" He looked down to the new voice calling his name, surprised to find Pyrrha Nikos standing at the base of the tree. She stared up into his eyes without reservation, though she did look a bit nervous. "Do you… still have any spots on your team?"

"Very funny," Jaune harrumphed, crossing his arms and looking away like he was offended. It was only a show though, and it looked like Pyrrha saw through it easily given the way her smile only grew. Jaune smiled back, happy to at least see a friendly face.

So, partners with Pyrrha Nikos, huh? Again, not his first choice, but not one Jaune felt the need to begrudge. From one conversation Jaune could tell she was nice and good hearted, and she humored his terrible jokes, so that was a definite bonus. Jaune felt he was pretty lucky to have her as a partner.

Then Jaune noticed something else thanks to his position, and the sight had him snapping his gaze away as the heat rose in his cheeks. "Uh, Pyrrha, do you mind getting me down? Because from up here I can kinda see down your shirt."

"Oh!" Pyrrha jumped in realization, her own face taking on just as much color as his. She half turned away from him, likely thinking it would obstruct the view even though it really didn't. "Yes, I, um, perhaps we should go ahead and get you down. It will only take me a few minutes to climb up to you."

"But we're on a timer and that'll take too long," Jaune pointed out. "I don't suppose you have some cool Semblance trick to retrieve your weapon from down there?"

"I, well, yes, I could, but then you would fall."

Despite himself the explanation actually made Jaune laugh. "It's not that far a drop, Pyrrha. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"If you're sure…" If anything it was Pyrrha who sounded uncertain. But she took his advice and raised her hand toward her weapon. Jaune saw a thin sheen of black energy cover the spear, and with apparently no effort Pyrrha withdrew it from the tree, and the weapon floated back down to her hand.

Gravity didn't waste any time reasserting its presence. "Watch out!" Pyrrha yelled as she watched him fall, holding out both arms like she was going to catch him. Jaune appreciated the gesture but rolled his eyes at it all the same. Instead Jaune copied what he did naught a few minutes before, summoning a slanted platform beneath himself to slide down on, angled just enough to break his fall but not stop him completely.

Jaune only needed to do that once more before he landed on the grassy ground, barely even needing to bend his knees at the impact. Jaune held out his hands and gave Pyrrha a grin. "See? Totally fine?"

Pyrrha's emerald green eyes were wide in surprise. "Y-you weren't actually falling before," she realized.

"Well, I guess I was, but I was just doing it with more control," Jaune allowed. "I guess from a distance my Hard Light Barriers aren't all that easy to see, huh?"

"No, I never saw them at all," Pyrrha shook her head, giving him a pleading look. "I saw you falling you falling and just assumed you were in trouble without thinking. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry for helping me?" Jaune repeated, surprised to see Pyrrha so bent out of shape over it. "Pyrrha, I'm not going to begrudge you for wanting to help someone. I do that all the time whenever I can. It's not like you could have known what my Semblance was or what it did."

"No, I suppose not. Still, I'm sorry for overriding your test like this. I wanted to let the chips fall where they may, but it would appear I wouldn't even hesitate to take that opportunity away from others."

"Pyrrha, it's fine," Jaune sighed. Sure, by sticking him to the tree Jaune would have been at the whims of whoever found him first. But the only person to do that was Weiss Schnee, and she had already randomly found another person to team up with. "Finding my partner was still a stroke of luck either way, and I know there are a lot of people that I'd still pick you over if I had the choice."

Jaune meant it as a compliment, and it appeared Pyrrha also construed it as such. For some reason his words made Pyrrha's eyes widen and the red return to her cheeks, which she tried to hide from him when she spun about, hands clenched in front of her sternum.

"That's very kind of you to say," Pyrrha told him with a half-smile.

Such a strange girl. Weiss had said she was some kind of champion, but she didn't act like the celebrities Jaune saw on TV. If anything she looked nervous to be meeting Jaune, like she was worried he wouldn't accept their partnership. The very idea was baffling to Jaune; who wouldn't want to be partnered with Pyrrha Nikos?

"Well, what do you say, partner?" Jaune asked her, rubbing his hands together. "Those relics aren't going to collect themselves, right?"

Pyrrha nodded and turned back to him with a bright smile. "Yes, that sounds grand. You lead the way."

"Alright then." Jaune was a little taken off guard Pyrrha would so easily defer leadership to him. She probably saw him playing around with the compass on his Scroll earlier, so she must have thought he'd have a better idea of where to go.

"We should be heading in this direction," Jaune said, pointing the way he meant as he started walking. Unbeknownst to him Jaune was actually pointing more North-East, toward a small mountain in the distance. If Pyrrha knew this, she didn't say anything as she followed along.

As they walked, Jaune let a grimace befall his features since Pyrrha couldn't see. He was glad to have Pyrrha as a partner, he truly was. It did nothing to alleviate this mood knowing Blake was not so fortunate. She'd been the one to come up with the plan, and Jaune did his best to see it through, but it appeared life loved to get in the way of them both.

Still, Jaune wouldn't feel too bad for Blake. Even if they weren't going to be partners now, Jaune had no doubts Blake couldn't find someone else willing to partner up with someone so strong. Maybe they could even end up on the same team still?

It took a second for Jaune to realize he was alone as he walked. Confused, he paused and looked around to see Pyrrha had stopped as well a few paces back. She had on a worried frown as she glanced over her shoulders, hands on her weapons.

"Something wrong?" he asked her.

"I don't know," Pyrrha confessed. "I thought I felt a dark presence watching us."

His hand fell to his own sword hilt. "Grimm?"

Pyrrha didn't say anything for a moment while she continued to search. Then she shrugged, turning back and saying, "If it was they would have attacked already. The feeling's gone now so it must have been nothing. Maybe I'm just feeling some jitters because of the test."

"It is a pretty big one," he agreed. "Come on, we don't want to lag behind."

"Right." Pyrrha nodded and jogged to catch up, and then the two were on their way again. As they walked Jaune glanced over his shoulder, but all he saw were trees and leaves.

Eh, it was probably as Pyrrha said; nothing out there to worry about.

Late-Morning

Bitch.

Blake didn't normally think herself be a vain or petty person. She tried to go about her life as calm and unaggressive. She would curse unfortunate setbacks just like any other person, but Blake did her best not to dwell on the more minor inconveniences.

None of that stopped her from glaring at Nikos' back for as long as she dared while the redhead walked away with her partner.

With a scowl Blake turned away from the partners and forged her own path through the forest. More than anything she had to stay a step ahead of any Grimm she'd attract with her dark mood being as she was now.

Of course Jaune would be the reason her plan fell apart. Blake was disappointed in herself for actually being surprised. Jaune only had to barely even know there was a plan at all for things to careen out of control. He just had to go and ingratiate himself with Pyrrha Goddamn Nikos of all people.

Things had been going so well too. Since she was able to land first, Blake was able to keep an eye on Jaune throughout his descent while she moved through the tree tops. She knew the relative area where he would land, and Blake was able to make it there first, waiting for him to arrive.

Her first hint to something being wrong was how long Blake was forced to wait. All around her she could hear the other students touching down and engaging Grimm, but there was no sight of Jaune. She knew it didn't take that long for something to fall, even if they were using a special Semblance to mitigate their descent.

Perched up in tree branches, Blake was starting to wonder if Jaune was stalling and scouting out the area from above the tree line, when down below she spied Pyrrha Nikos sprint past her position at a break neck pace. That was only her second clue, but Blake had always been a quick study and sped after the champion.

Despite her natural agility, Nikos had the advantages of a head start, long legs, and a forest floor being unusually clear of trappings like vines and overly large shrubbery. Blake had been able to catch up to her, but by then it was already too late, and from where he was stuck up in a tree Jaune was already staring into Nikos' eyes.

A shrewd part of Blake actually admired the duplicity. Incapacitating a fellow student to ensure they couldn't wander off and leave them hanging as they waited for you. If Blake were more of a morally loose person she might have considered the idea herself. But she hadn't where Nikos had, capitalizing on her mistake.

And now Jaune was out of her grasp. While much of the blame lied with Blake for not anticipating such an outcome, it was still much easier for Blake to aim her hatred at the scarlet haired harpy. And at Jaune, since this was partly his fault too. Sure, it might have been weird for him to hold a hand over his eyes and pretend no one else existed until Blake showed up, but he could have at least tried to stall for time. Mordant had been right; put a pretty girl in front of Jaune and saying no to her was the last thing on his mind.

All of which meant Blake was now shit out of luck. Jaune had been the only person she'd felt comfortable being partnered with, and with Ren and Nora assuredly pairing up it left Blake with no other option than to seek out a stranger. She did not like unknowns, and assured as she was in her plan in being partnered with Jaune, Blake hadn't felt the need to truly evaluate any of the other prospective students in the initiation.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was the Schnee, but Blake would rather turn herself into the authorities before she let that happen. Then there was Ruby Rose, who seemed like a nice enough girl, but from what she heard while chasing after Nikos, Ruby had already been paired with the Schnee. Blake pitied her, she truly did.

Blake paused a moment to hide behind a tree while she waited for a few other students to pass by, a group of heavily armored and extremely loud mouthed human boys, laughing at each other's racist jokes and smacking their shoulders because they were 'bros'. The four of them were likely all paired up, and Blake felt confident saying she'd dodged a bullet there.

After they passed Blake resumed her search, going through her memories of the past day. Unfortunately of those she could remember they were either far and away unremarkable or as equally unpleasant as the group of boys she just came across. Blake didn't think she had high standards, but it didn't appear as though there was anyone else who could live up to Jaune's ideal, as shuddering as the thought was.

Well, maybe no one else besides…

"Hellooooooo?!"

The familiar voice made her ears perk, and Blake quietly made her way over to it. Staying hidden within the underbrush, Blake spied the only other blonde she knew, Yang Xiao Long. They'd met the night before when she tried introducing Ruby and Blake in the hopes they'd become friends. Like her sister, Yang seemed like a nice enough girl. Unlike Ruby, she was loud, bombastic, and had a perpetual spotlight following after her.

"Is anyone out there?" Yang called out. She also appeared to have a distinct lack of patience. "I'm getting bored here! Hello!"

Blake grimaced at the way her voice carried through the forest. She may have been probing for other students, but with how loud she was a lot more was going to take notice of her. Dangerous things like-

A low growl behind Blake had her dropping low. So focused on Yang she hadn't heard the thumping footsteps coming up behind her, heavy ones like that of a bear. There was no urgency to them so Blake figured they hadn't spotted her yet. But they were getting louder and coming closer, drawing in straight on Blake's position.

Before they could be upon her, Blake quickly dashed to the side to change hiding places. However due to her expediency, Blake snagged herself somewhat on a bush. Not enough to get stuck, but enough to send it rustling as she passed.

"Is someone there?" she heard Yang ask. From her new spot behind a tree, Blake noted a pair of dark shapes also noticed the noise and started ambling toward it. To her dismay the blonde made her way over to Blake's previous hiding spot. Blake bit down on her first instinct to call out to the girl and warn her, because it was easier to deal with the Grimm when you had the element of surprise, and Blake still wasn't certain how many of them there were. She just hoped Yang was as hardy as she looked.

Yang reached the bushes and starting pushing them aside. "Ruby, is that you?" Then she looked up and locked eyes with the being on the other side, her smile quickly fading. "Nope."

The Grimm roared and charged, swiping at the blonde, but thankfully Yang didn't lack for speed and dodged with ease. Blake watched her fall into a brawler stance while her bracelets extended into weapons, and then Yang had to backflip out of the way again as another Grimm charged at her from another angle. In the clearing now, Blake could see they were two Ursa, both on the younger side. While Blake knew she would be more than a match for them, she wasn't sure how they stacked up against a regular Huntress in training. Curious now, Blake decided to hang back and see how Yang handled herself, ready to jump in the moment she thought the blonde lost the advantage.

The Ursa on Yang's right charged and leaped at her. Where Blake would have found it easy to dodge, Yang instead stood her ground and a threw a fist at its midsection, discharging her weapon in the process and flinging the Grimm away like it weighed nothing to her. The other charged and met much the same fate, this time getting an upper cut and kick combo.

"You boys wouldn't have happened to see a girl in a red hood, would you?" Yang asked the mindless creatures with a grin. Apparently see found it easy to remain cavalier in the face of danger, an appreciable trait. Better arrogance than nervousness at any rate.

One of the Ursa roared in answer. "You could just say no!" Yang complained, back stepping to avoid its next swipe. She then back flipped under its paw when it attacked again, cartwheeling a few paces back and laughing as she did so.

"Jeeze, you guys couldn't hit the broadside of a bu-"

Yang's smile fell as she went cross eyed. Something glinted in the sunlight, and Blake focused on what Yang saw before her. It was a single lock of golden hair, shimmering as it floated to the ground.

"You…" Something growled menacingly. It was not the Grimm, who were actually sharing worried looks with each other. Blake felt a little afraid for their wellbeing.

"YOU MONSTERS!" Yang exploded. That wasn't an adjective, Yang literally exploded, with flame rolling off her hair and her previously lilac purple eyes going red. Like a comet she rocketed away from where she stood, slamming into one of the Ursa and catching it completely off guard. Blake could only watch in wide eyed amazement as Yang landed a flurry of punches on the Grimm, not letting up an inch as she pummeled it into oblivion.

She was strong, unbelievably so. With punches alone she was able to juggle the Grimm in the air like it was a plastic ball. It spoke of raw power beyond that of mere strength. Blake could not readily say if she could face off against such a large beast as easily as Yang did. She preferred being able sneak up on her enemies and take them out before they even knew what hit them, and she could struggle when they were prepared for her.

More dots connected themselves within her shrewd mind, and Blake had an epiphany. Yang might not have had a shield, but a wall of muscle and power could potentially work just as well. If Yang was the kind of warrior who charged in and drew the attention of her foes, then Blake could be the one staying on the outskirts and taking out the enemies too focused on the girl with the fiery hair. At the same time, while the spotlight illuminated its target for all to see, it intensified the shadows around its circle of light, and those focused on Yang would have all the more trouble seeing who she walked with.

It wasn't an ideal partnership. Blake hardly knew anything about Yang Xiao Long, and what she's seen so far has painted Yang as the kind of person she'd normally avoid. But then again so was Jaune, and until recent events she'd been rather hopeful to secure him as a partner. That wasn't going to happen anymore, and Blake needed to face facts: Either partner with a girl certain to be a powerful Huntress, or risk failing at her dream altogether. There was no easier choice.

Yang's assault ended with one last haymaker to the Grimm's face, though Blake theorized the Ursa was probably already dead by then. The blow sent the Grimm's corpse flying through the forest, bringing down several trees in the process. The second Ursa charged Yang from behind, and Yang turned to face it, the rage still coming off her in waves.

"What, you want some too?" she challenged it.

As a testament to its lack of self-preservation instincts, the Ursa likely did want a piece of the blonde brawler, but Blake decided the fight had gone on long enough. With the Ursa distracted watching its brethren being beaten into pulp, it was an easy task for Blake to sneak up behind it.

With a simple flourish, Blake let loose Gambol on her ribbon and swung the weapon at the Ursa's back. The half scythe blade stuck itself in the base of its neck, right where the spine was, and the Ursa went stiff. Quick, clean, the Grimm was dead in under a second, and it toppled forward like the limp rag doll it was.

As it began to disintegrate Blake flicked her ribbon, calling Gambol back to her hand so she could re-holster it in Shroud. Standing on either side of the Grimm's fading corpse, Blake gave Yang a smirk, her preferred means of showmanship after a good kill. Yang gazed back into her eyes, her own returning to their calm, lilac state, and she relaxed her fighting stance.

"Heh, I could have taken it," Yang boasted.

"I'm sure you could have," Blake agreed. "After the show you put on, just think of it as my proof I can handle myself as well."

"Enjoyed that, did'ya?" Yang grinned, hands on her hips. "If I didn't know any better I'd think I have a stalker."

"I think you flatter yourself too much," Blake drawled, stepping past the girl. As Yang followed she went on, "Though I know we didn't exactly start off on the best foot last night. Are you sure you're comfortable partnering with someone like me?"

"I am comfortable with the fact Blake Belladonna has graced with me with the honor of being her partner?" Yang asked herself in an overdone stage voice. Blake rolled her eyes, and Yang responded by laughing and giving her a slight shove. "It's totally fine, don't worry. You're tough and you humored my little sister; those things mean a lot to me. Not like I have much else to go on without knowing who all my potential class mates are months before today."

"If only," Blake sighed, smiling at the irony. "I can't say I'm complaining either."

"You better not be!" Yang pulled her into a side hug, and Blake's good mood instantly vanished. Great, she was one of those touchy feely types. Yang held her hand to the sky and announced, "You've made the best decision of your life, Blake Belladonna! Together, you and I are gonna go far!"

"How about we just go and get the relics to start with?" Blake suggested, carefully trying to pry herself out of the hug without much success. "You know, before we fail for being too late?"

"Ugh, this is already how things are gonna be, aren't they? You'll be the worry wart while I'll be the dashing and upbeat one? Gotta say, that plotline's kinda been done before, Blake."

"Are you some kind of movie producer in your spare time?" Blake snarked.

"Hey, one of us has to keep an eye on the big picture."

Oh no… was that… did she…

Why must the gods curse me with unfunny blondes? Blake lamented while Yang made another pun about how 'Grim' things were.

Evening

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren," Professor Ozpin rattled off their names as the four students stood center stage. With the three girls who'd likely be her team, Blake watched from the side as Jaune's team was inducted. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team JNPR."

The four students were happy to hear this as applause sounded for them, though none more so than Nora who jumped into Ren's arms. As Blake recalled juniper berries were some shade of light blue. Maybe not the most ideal color for a team consisting of people whose color motifs were yellow, red, green and pink, but Blake didn't think it was all that easy to come up with team names that were also colors and incorporate letters from the students' names.

"Led by Jaune Arc," Ozpin continued. Blake could see Jaune's confusion at being made team leader was palpable, as was Nikos' pride for him. She sneered at the girl's reaction, but Miss Goodwitch was waving them forward now, so Blake schooled her features and took on a calm expression once more.

As she and her team ascended the stage, it was difficult not to take notice of all the bright lights and scored of seated people clapping along. Blake theorized these were all the students from the upper years, with the teachers and staff sprinkled among them. It left the auditorium filled to the brim with the people she'd be spending her days with for the next four years.

"And finally, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long," Ozpin announced, as true to his words they were the last team to be named. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you shall work together as Team RWBY. Led by… Ruby Rose."

Blake wasn't the only one whose brow shot up in surprise. The Schnee let out a scandalized gasp, and Yang instantly tackled her sister with a bear hug, spouting off about how proud of her she was. While Blake still found the decision to name a fifteen year old Team Leader, she still thought it was probably the best choice out of all of them. Blake had never taken well to commanding others, not like Adam or Sienna Kahn. Yang was a little too hotheaded to be an effective leader, and Blake would have chafed under the Schnee's regime. So yes, while Ruby Rose did seem like an odd choice, Blake still felt confident saying she could be the best one given the only other options.

The rest of the first years were called back to the stage again, so they could all stand side by side. The newly named Teams RWBY and JNPR ended up next to each other on the one end. Together they comprised a total of twelve new teams, one for each pair of chest pieces from both sides of the board. And at four students each, that meant no more than forty eight had been able to pass initiation.

The thought was rather sobering. Of the seventy odd students Blake had seen yesterday, barely two thirds of them were now able to become Hunters. The rest, Blake had no idea where they were, though it probably would have been too cruel to force them to wait around and watch the people who'd actually passed being inducted. She wasn't sure what would happen to them; for most becoming a Huntsman or Huntress was your entire life, and what were you supposed to do when you apparently failed at your dream? Blake didn't think it would be the end for them, because surely they should have been allowed to try again, after another year of training and disciplining. Blake could tell a few of her fellow first years, like the Winchester lout, were about a year older than the rest of them.

But Blake would not concern herself with those who had not made it. If the fifteen year old Ruby Rose could pass with flying colors, then they clearly were not ready to face the trials of actual Hunters. Blake subtly looked to the blonde leader of their sister team JNPR, standing tall and smiling broadly as the applause was lauded upon them all. Jaune looked so happy to finally be here, pursuing his life's dream, and it made Blake's heart well up a bit. As far as Blake was concerned, the only two people who actually mattered made it into Beacon.

Ozpin stepped to the front of the stage and announced, "May I present to you, our newest class of Huntsman and Huntresses in training. It would appear things are shaping up to be an interesting school year."

Indeed it did. An underage Huntress paired with the Schnee Dust Company heiress on a team with a former Faunus terrorist in disguise; Blake's own team was testament enough to that. Still, they'd all passed initiation, and now the hardest obstacle had been overcome. Hopefully now they could settle into some kind of normalcy, and for Blake it appeared the worst had passed.

Right?

Author's Note: And so we've finally put an end to what people have been speculating about for months now: Team compositions! Predictions were pretty split, with some people looking forward to seeing how Blake and Jaune interact through their canon teams, and others were convinced because of the changes I've made already there was no way the teams could wind up the same way they did as in canon. I understand not everyone is going to enjoy seeing this, as a lot of readers don't especially like seeing the same old story paths being retread again and again in fanfic. I'll have you know that I thought long and hard about team compositions, and while canon teams was the original intended set up, I did experiment with other team combinations and brainstorm how that would affect the long term story. In the end I decided I loved the interactions and connections of the canon partnerings and teams too much to break them up completely, and any other combinations would have put too much of a wrinkle on the story.

In other news, I want to put this out here right now that I do not dislike Pyrrha Nikos. Any negative comments about her in this chapter are purely from Blake's point of view, and even then she only makes them because she's angry about Pyrrha 'stealing' her partner. POV bias is always a thing one should keep in mind when reading a person's inner thoughts. And in case you need proof that I like Pyrrha, please feel free to read Jaune's Happy Ending which is a straight up Arkos fluff fic.

Also, with the reveal of Blake's new magnetized backpack, we have finally completed her Volumes 1-3 standard outfit. I wonder how Blake came to receive such an expensive trinket, and what the circumstances behind attaining it were. Hmmmm?

As some readers may have noticed, Chapter 14 was also updated in addition to Chapter 15 being posted. It's patently obvious both I and you, the readers, weren't too thrilled with the last chapter. Reasons ranged, like questioning Blake's decisions or not enjoying certain explanations for opinions. I decided to go back and update that chapter to fix a few things like tonal issues and grammar mistakes. The story won't change at all, and I stand by Blake's decision as it serves the greater story. I'm not asking readers to like the decision, only to give it a chance as the story goes on.

Since I think you deserve a reward for reading all these boring notes, here is the final installment of the Jaune Harem Omake series! I'm glad everyone's come to enjoy these so much, but unfortunately this is the hard stop end, as like a few readers have pointed out, their word counts are starting to get astronomical and taking up too much of my time while trying to type out the main story. But again, thank you for reading and leaving your thoughts, and I hope you enjoy the final Jaune Harem series chapter!

Omake – The Best Ending: Happily Ever After

"I guess I could get used to this," Deery noted, taking a sip of her ice tea. Sitting next to Blake on a pair of reclined lawn chairs, the two of them were on the front lawn enjoying the warm sunshine. Deery had done away with her White Fang uniform and now wore a pretty pink sundress, and without the Grimm mask everyone could see she had nice hazel eyes.

It had been a few days since the wedding, when Blake's worst nightmare had been defeated and she realized she didn't all that much mind being married to Jaune Arc. The last few days have been relatively quiet, what with Blake no longer attempting to escape and instead helping Deery get settled in. Normally Jaune's parents would have been in a tizzy planning the next wedding, but they'd actually been away from home for the past couple of days, giving free reign of the house to Jaune, his wives, and his sisters.

"It's like Velvet said; Jaune's family doesn't mind going the extra lengths to make sure we're cared for," Blake agreed. Off to the side she idly watched as Ruby and Weiss faced off in a tag team match against Coco and Velvet, with Jaune's sister Magenta nearby on standby to apply medical attention.

"Jaune's been really nice too," Deery said, a faint flush on her cheeks. She turned to Blake and asked, "Are you sure the others don't mind if he and I are close? I don't want to step on yours or anyone else's toes."

"Jaune has a lot of love to give and he knows to spread it out equally, and we all understand that so you don't have to worry. The only person who might have given you a problem would have been Pyrrha, but I think she's pretty mollified."

With a simple nod she gestured down to her reclined feet, where Pyrrha sat hugging Blake's legs.

"Blake-sama," she sighed dreamily, rubbing her face against Blake's shin.

"Explain to me again why you decided to let Pyrrha join in on your wedding night?" Deery asked her.

Blake shrugged. "I wanted to take Jaune to task, and I figured the alternative of not inviting Pyrrha would have led to the girl trying to assassinate me at every moment she could. This way we all got have a little fun." Pyrrha giggled happily as she recalled the night's sordid events.

Just then the loud revving of an engine could be heard in the distance, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and listen to the sound. A moment later a pickup truck emerged from the tree line surrounding the Arc home, speeding down the gravel path toward the house. It stopped a safe enough distance from them all, spinning out somewhat to give them a view of the driver side, and Blake could see Mr. Arc standing in the back flatbed.

The driver side window rolled down and Mrs. Arc poked her head out. "Hey there, kids! We have great news for you!"

"Mom? Dad?" Blake turned and saw Jaune racing toward his parents, a few of his sisters and wives watching on from the front door of the house. Blake made to stand and join him, a somewhat difficult task given Pyrrha still clung to her legs, and Deery followed after them as well.

"Ah, Jaune, there you are!" his father called. "Here, we got a present for you!" The man crouched in the flatbed and grunted with exertion as he lifted something out of it. Henry tossed the thing in question onto the lawn for them all to see, and Blake was completely unsurprised to find it was a collection of people, all bound with ropes and those special Aura dampening collars she's read about around their necks.

The first one was extremely similar to herself, with raven black hair and golden eyes, though this one wore a revealing red dress. The second girl was dark skinned with red eyes and green hair. The third was incredibly small in stature and was colored the same as Neapolitan ice cream, right down to the heterochromatic eyes. The fourth person was actually a guy with silver hair and mechanical legs. None of them looked particularly pleased to be in such a predicament, and Blake could sympathize.

"Hey, I know you guys!" Deery piped up. "You're the ones Adam was working with before he got vaporized."

"These guys are criminals?" Jaune asked warily, coming over to get a closer look.

"Indeed they are," Henry confirmed. "This here is Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai, Neo Politan, and Mercury Black. Your mother and I were in town when we heard tell of a bunch of idiots trying to infiltrate Beacon Academy. The nerve of some people, right? Anyway, Ozpin asked us for help and we tracked them down easy peasy."

"They were actually hiding inside the school itself!" June Arc guffawed. "Can you believe it?"

"In return for saving the kingdom, Ozpin let us keep the dumb kids so we could… keep an eye on them." Mr. Arc winked suggestively with a shit eating grin.

"You mean so you could add them to my harem," Jaune translated with a frown. With a sigh he turned to the captives and said, "While you probably deserve to be punished in some way, I'm really sorry this had to be the way it went for you."

"I will destroy you," Cinder hissed in typical tsundere fashion. Emerald appeared to share in Cinder's annoyance of being trapped here now, although Neo just looked bored more than anything else.

"What about the guy with the robo legs?" Ruby asked.

"Judging from the sounds we heard coming from Jaune's room the night of his wedding to Blake, Henry and I can safely say we're not worried about him not liking girls anymore," June Arc explained with a lecherous grin. Jaune, Blake, and more than a few other people went red in the face at hearing the couple's dirty laundry being taken out to dry. Pyrrha just giggled some more.

"But then we felt kind of bad Ren wouldn't be receiving such attention," Henry added. "So we figured we'd snag Mercury to keep Ren company."

"I'm not gay!" Mercury wailed.

"Yes he is," Emerald immediately countered. The boy kicked her in protest, and the two quickly devolved into a fight of childish proportions while Cinder let out a defeated sigh.

"They're probably going to need a bit more of an adjustment period than I did," Blake whispered to Jaune, who nodded in agreement.

"But what's more," June Arc went on, "we found out from these louts that their leader resides on the uncolonized continent to the Northwest, where Grimm roam the lands in unparalleled numbers. She is a cold and dark sorceress, with hair and skin paler than snow and eyes redder than blood. She controls the Grimm with her arcane powers, and it is her millenniums long missions to eradicate all of humanity and Faunus kind alike."

Mr. Arc hefted his sword onto his shoulder. "Naturally, we think she sounds perfect for Jaune. So we'll be spending the next week or so forging our way into the Grimm Lands so we can meet this fine woman and persuade her to come back with us."

"Please just be careful," Jaune pleaded. He knew there was no stopping them now as they'd already set their mind to the task.

"Don't worry about us, sweety." From anyone else Blake might have scoffed at the usually ironically spoken words, but with the Arcs Blake had learned to stop questioning the upper limits of their possible successes.

The matron Arc flung a credit card at them, which Blake caught before it could slice open Jaune's face. "Use that to order some take out while we're gone. We shouldn't be gone for too long, so no wild parties while we're away!"

"I leave the house in your hands, Jaune!" Henry Arc called as his wife revved the engine and drove the car away, the laughter of the married couple echoing over the rolling hills. A moment later they were gone, leaving Jaune and his family with the criminals.

"Why don't you let me field this one," Blake suggested to him. When he nodded, Blake put on her most winning smile, walked up to the quartet of equally peeved criminals and said, "Hello, my name is Blake Belladonna Arc, and as Jaune's latest wife, allow me to say…

"Welcome to the Harem of Jaune Arc."