Author's Note: Words written in Italic are the character's thoughts. Also, I want to give thanks to the Guest who pointed out a consistency and pacing problem with the story. Thank you for helping me become a better writer.

Jaune was not by any means an expert on hangovers or even drinking for that matter, he knew the names of the most common drinks but would not be able to tell them apart or even identify them if someone asked. However, even a complete novice like him knew that a hangover was supposed to happen the morning after you went drinking. So why does my head feel like it's about to explode? What did that guy give me? He turned to his companion to ask but just found an empty seat. He's not here? Where did he go, when did he go and what did he do to me?

His plight did not go unnoticed by the bar's patrons who watched the boy with ever-growing concern and eventually, the bartender decided to ask the question on everyone's mind "Are you, okay lad? Do you need me to call someone," he awaited for the answer but the boy who did not respond and instead began to teeter. "Kid? Are you all alright? Hey, do you need a doctor?" He turned to the other patrons, "Find the a doctor and bring her here!"

Jaune's headache was getting worse by the second, his vision was becoming blurry, his heart was pounding and everything hurt... this wasn't supposed to happen. This was supposed to be a celebration. He had been accepted into Beacon, he was on his way to prove to everyone and his family in particular that Jaune Arc didn't need protection, he could be the one who protected others. He was going to make friends, go on adventures and maybe even get a girlfriend. Did he do something wrong? He just had a couple of drinks so why did he feel so cold while his veins felt like they held liquid fire? He needed to leave, he needed to head back to the motel and rest his head a little. Just gotta rest a bit, he thought to himself before he tried to get off his seat only to fall headfirst into the floor, he did not get up.

"Shit, someone call an ambulance and call the sheriff too! We need to find that bastard! Hey Kid, stay with me! C'mon wake up, Kid wake up!"

The next time Jaune opened his eyes he was in the back of what appeared to be an ambulance or at least that is what his pain-addled mind thought it was, there were people in the back of the assumed-ambulance with him but they were all too busy with something else to pay him much mind. He tried to say something to get their attention but he couldn't form any words and the pain was making it difficult to even think of something to say, he reached with his hand to try to grab one of them but he was already beginning to pass out. Just before he did one of those people finally said something but he couldn't see who it was or even comprehend what was being said and then despite his best efforts, he black-out just as one of the assumed-paramedics finally took notice of him.

The next time he regained consciousness he found that he had been laid flat on a table located in a white room that he didn't recognize nor did he even have any idea when or how he had been taken into this room. He soon realized that he wasn't alone, quite the opposite really as he was surrounded by people wearing scrubs and face masks who were all looking right at him while holding tools of some sort in their hands, they were speaking to each other but he couldn't make heads or tails of anything they were saying. Making matters worse for him was the presence of a bright light just overhead and pointed directly at him which made him feel like the light beams were stabbing his eyes and on top of everything else, there was this infernal and repetitive beeping noise that was starting to piss him off. He looked to see just what that noise was and saw a heart monitor that was connected to him and everything started to make sense in the worst way possible, This is an operating table, they're going to operate on me! His heart started pounding and an alarm went off as tired to break free only to find his arms were tightly bound to the table, Why would they tie me to the table, unless... they knew I'd wake up!

Then the pain started all over again.

"What's going on? He was stable and unconscious just a second ago, what happened?" shouted one of the nurses as they all watched as his body began convulsing and far more violently than before. The heart monitor's warning intensified, signaling that his heart was reaching a critical point and the air was filled with Jaune's screaming, his throat becoming raw as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Then suddenly his body began glowing as his aura was forcibly unlocked by the sheer stress his body was in, for a few tense minutes all in the room collectively held their breath as they witnessed this last attempt at survival by his still shaking body. Sadly aura is a finite resource and eventually, the light began to fade as his body slowly ceased its movements and before too long the light was gone as his body stopped moving entirely.

"What are you waiting for? Get the Defibrillator!" The head surgeon commanded, snapping everyone else out of their shock, and within moments the device was firmly in his hands and charging as the other nurses attempted other lesser methods at resuscitation. The head surgeon, deciding to wait, no longer stepped closer and shouted, "Clear!" which sent the nurses scurrying back out of fear. He placed the pads on Jaune's chest and sent the voltage in an attempt to shock life back into the boy. The body spasmed and then went still, "Raise the Voltage!" the surgeon shouted before making another attempt which is followed by yet another failure which was followed by yet another failure. "Raise the voltage to the maximum!"

"But Doctor that will-!"

"Shut up and do what I tell you!" The surgeon all but roared at his nurse before turning back to Jaune and firing off the defibrillator once more resulting in... nothing. Dammit, I thought I finally found something worthwhile, he turned to his team "Everyone, clear the Room you're done here," there was no attempt to argue with him as the events in the room had left them all too eager to leave and within moments the surgeon Dr. Author Watts was alone with no one but the corpse of Jaune Arc to keep him company.

"Well I suppose there is a little silver lining in all of this," Dr. Watt said as he walked over to a cabinet and opened it to reveal a variety of blades in all different sizes, shapes, and design. He looked over the collection for a minute before picking a few and walking back to the table. "At least now there are a few less would-Be huntsmen to interfere with my mistress's plans, so I suppose it is not a total loss. In fact, I'd go as far as to argue that I've done you a great service since you have been spared a far more brutal death down the line," he spoke to the body. "Though from your limited point of view I imagine that you would beg to differ but I won't hold it against a mind as small as yours." Dr. Watts was now standing over Jaune with a cruel jagged knife in his hands, "Well young man, let's give you some battle scars," he then stabbed the blade right into Jaune's face and began cutting.

Jaune woke up screaming.

He didn't know why he was screaming or why his throat and body was so sore and at the moment he didn't really care, there were bigger questions that needed answers. The first on the list was, Where am I? It took him only a few seconds to determine that he was in a forest but that only raised even more questions. How did I get here? Where is here? He didn't know. Racking his brain he tried to piece together everything that had happened, I was accepted into Beacon, went to a bar to celebrate and had a few drinks… There was an odd feeling in his gut as though he was forgetting something important but he couldn't figure out what it was, I had a couple of drinks and then… I got sick and then, Blank. Everything after that was a complete blank and it scared him though he didn't know why, Get it together, you can't be a huntsman if you're too busy getting scared over nothing. Taking a moment to gather his courage he declared to himself, "I guess I really went all out with the celebration and here I thought this kind of thing only ever happened in movies," he tried to laugh but all that came out was an insincere and forced chuckle, his mind may not remember what happened but it was clear to him that his body did and that it desperately wanted to forget.

*CRACK*

An instinctual alarm went off in his head and he spun around to find the source of the noise and beheld a Beowolf emerging from behind a bush and staring right at him. Terror gripped his heart as the beast slowly walked towards him and for the second time that day, he screamed. Without warning the beast rushed at Jaune and viciously backhanded him, sending him flying into a tree knocking the air out of his lungs but he remained conscious. He pushed himself back onto his feet while looking at the Beowolf that was for some reason just standing there, had he been a little less scared he might have found the creature's behavior odd but at the moment he was rightfully more concerned with surviving this encounter and if the monster wasn't interested in finishing the job he would not complain, so seeing an opportunity he was able to quickly recover his footing and bolted to make some distance between himself and the Grimm that was still staring at him and standing oddly still. he didn't understand what was going on with the Beowolf but he did understand that for now, he was safe. That would not last though and he had to be ready for the worst, he reached for his sword but found nothing but empty air and in a panic, he scoured his body finding no sign of Crocea Mors, instead, what he found that his armor had been damaged beyond repair and his clothes were torn wide open revealing faint scars that looked as though he had been mauled by some kind of animal. What!? What is this? What happened to me and why can't I remember? His head began to ache and the Beowolf began making its way towards him drawn by the scent of his stress.

*BANG*

The monster's head suddenly snapped to the side as a bullet out of nowhere impacted its skull and took its attention off of Jaune. With a whisper of thanks to whoever was it that just saved his life, he then took that opportunity to start combing the area for his weapon, alone he stood no chance against the beast but with some help he might be able to do something, At the very least my shield and buy me some time!

*BANG* *BANG*

The beast was now fully focused on whoever it was that was attacking it and charged off in the direction of the bullets with a mighty roar while Jaune began his search. Fortunately, he was able to find his shield surprisingly close by thanks largely to the white color of the shine of the metal making it all but impossible to miss it even when it was under some brush. Shortly afterward he was able to find his sword embedded deeply into a tree, though how either one got there he had no idea. It's almost like I got into a fight of some sort and I lost Crocea Mors during the struggle, it would explain my clothes and armor but not the scars… or how they aligned so perfectly with the tears in my armor… his head began to ache again so he pushed the thoughts out of his head focusing instead on pulling his sword free.

"You alright kid?"

Upon hearing the sudden voice behind him, Jaune gave a quick and definitely not girly scream and in an unexpected display of strength wrenched his sword free from the bark and spun around to face the source of the voice with his shield raised to protect himself and his sword ready in his hand. Standing before him was a tall pale man whose red-colored eyes made him recall some old ghost stories he heard as a child. However, any possible intimidation factor was undercut when the stranger took a step forward, slightly staggering in a manner that when taken together with his strange clothes made him look like a somewhat drunk businessman. "Kid, you got a weird way of thanking the guy who just saved your bacon, now put down the sword so we can..," The stranger who was already uncomfortably close came even closer and Jaune could now smell the alcohol in the man's breath but he could also see the genuine concern in his eyes. "Oh shit, kid you got to remain calm is there anything broken? How many fingers am I holding up?" The man was frantic but in all honesty, it made Jaune feel good to see that it wasn't just him.

"Um, three fingers?" he answered as he put away his sword, "Look right now I'm so very confused and-"

"Kid, I don't want to alarm you," the man interrupted. "But you might want to take a good look at yourself," the stranger then reached into his pocket and produced a small shaving mirror which he handed it over to Jaune who cautiously took it from the man.

In the back of his mind already had an idea of how he must have looked, after all, it was clear that he had been attacked by a Grimm of some kind and they were not known to spare a pretty face. But he didn't know just how bad it really was and right now he was scared and his overactive imagination was not doing him any favors here but he understood that this was something that was going to happen sooner or later, So why not just rip the bandage off now? He raised the mirror and for a moment his heart stopped, the mirror was old and worn making refection somewhat blurry buy he could see that the extent of the scarring was far worse than he could have ever imagined, "What happened to me? When did this happen?"

"You go lucky, that's what's happened," the stranger answered.

For a moment the headache came back but then it quickly disappeared, replaced by deep seething anger that was just barely surfacing, "Lucky? How is any of this lucky!?" Jaune demanded.

"My bad, I should have worded it better. Sometimes when a person is in danger their aura suddenly unlocks itself in a last-ditch effort at survival, however, there is a big difference in having Aura and using it properly. Most times all the aura can do is prolong the poor bastard suffering and other far less often we get someone like you, someone who survives but is scarred by the event." the Stranger explained.

I don't know what Aura is but it's clear this man is Huntsman so I suppose he would know more about this than I would, Jaune thought to himself, So I must have gotten drunk and wandered into this forest and was attacked by a Grimm who messed me up but also awoken my 'Aura' in the process.

"Kid, I'm gonna need to ask you to take off your clothes," the stranger politely asked.

"I'm sorry, what!?"

"Look I know it sounds weird but I need to check if you have any still open wounds. Aura isn't infinite and it is important that we patch up anything that hasn't fully healed," the man explained.

A part of Jaune wanted to protest however the bigger far more rational part of his mind acknowledged that the man had a point and so he took off what was left of his chest plate and hoodie, standing out among the scars were a set of four parallel slashes that looked like a massive claw just scraped across his chest. Furthermore, on Jaune's right shoulder was another scar that looked like a massive bite mark, there were various other scars including one on his face but those two were easily the most noteworthy.

"Damn, kid… your Aura must be incredible."

"What is Aura, you mentioned it a few times and I can piece together that it protected me but I'm still in dark about it."

The man looked flabbergasted for a second before he became angry "I thought you were being purposely trained this way but you don't know what Aura is at all? Then what were you doing here? I swear to the brothers, kid you better not be just another stupid wanna be huntsman!"

"What! No! I got accepted into Beacon and I was celebrating!"

The man calmed down considerably and even had an understanding look on his face. "Let me guess, you had a celebratory drink and then another and another and so on."

"Yeah…," Jaune admitted with no small amount of embarrassment.

"Well, that explains a lot, well ain't no use sticking around here's. Come on, I'll take you back to town."

"Thanks, um… who are you?" Jaune finally asked.

"Names Qrow, now come on and let's go back to civilization," he said, already walking away. "Once there we can see about replacing your broken armor, can't be having you showing up to Beacon without your equipment, now can we?"

"Hopefully no?" He answered a little nervously.

"That's Right!" laughed Qrow as the two began their trek back to town.

It only took the pair a little under an hour to get to the nearest town but when they got there Jaune froze at the entrance of the town which immediately caught Qrow's attention, "Kid what's wrong?"

"This wasn't the town I was in, I don't think I've ever been here," he surveyed the town and found nothing that looked even remotely similar and even from the entrance he could tell that this town was a bit larger than the one he had been drinking in.

"Are you sure kid?"

"Yeah, I was drinking in Jouburg, you know that town?"

Qrow stopped in his tracks and looked at Jaune incredulously "Kid, this town is Lodun which is about 40 miles west of Jouburg."

Jaune was shocked and beyond confused, How was that possible? How did I end up in Lodun's woods? There is no way I could have made the trip in one night while drunk and nursing a hangover. Someone would have to take me there, but why? And why was I in the woods? According to Qrow, I must have gotten into a fight with a Grimm so where does the ride fit into all of this? He was then snapped back to reality by a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, kid, I just need you to trust me. There is something I want to check and it could be nothing but when your luck is as bad as mine. Well, you learn to stop taking chances." The look on Qrow's face told Jaune everything that he needed to know about how serious the Huntsman was being about this. Though saving the kid from a Beowolf and leading back to civilization most certainly help speed up the process.

"Well, my mother did once tell me that strangers were just friends you haven't met and you did help me out back there. Alright then, lead the way Qrow."

It took them a few minutes and quite a few twists and turns to reach the place where Qrow was staying and when they reached it, Jaune was sure that a mistake had been made somewhere. The building before them could be hardly called a house, it was more akin to several shacks that had been forced together to make the facsimile of a house. It was beyond suspicious and the sight alone made Jaune wonder if he had made a deadly mistake. Noticing the unsure look on the boy's face, Qrow pulled out his scroll and showed Jaune his Huntsman license in order to help alleviate any doubt before explaining the house. "This isn't really my house, it's actually the home of a friend of mine who's kinda weird but he lets me use this place for free as long as I pay for anything that breaks. All in all, it's a good deal which is something you'll learn to appreciate in Beacon."

The look of uncertainty faded a bit from Jaune's face and while it was clear that the boy wasn't completely convinced, he was still willing to follow Qrow inside the house. Once inside Jaune was taken aback by the interior of the house as it was surprisingly clean and organized though apart from a sofa and a TV there wasn't much in the way of decorations unless the occasional empty bottle and can of beer counted as decorations, which they did not, Jaune then turned to his host, "Well now what?"

"For starters, you should go take a shower, don't worry about your hoodie. I have a shirt that I think will fit you. Though I have nothing to replace your armor yet, I do think my friend does keep a few extra sets in the back and you do seem to be around the same size as him," Qrow then left to go check.

Seeing nothing better to do and desiring to get out of the rags that were once clothes, Jaune opened the door to the bathroom and spotted a full-sized mirror inside and grew nervous. He's reflection on Qrow's small shaving mirror lingered on the back of his mind but, I have to know. Once inside he hesitantly took off his clothes and then gave himself a good hard look in the mirror and gawked at what he saw. He was pale, sickly pale like someone had drained the color out of him and the scars… Qrow told him that he had large scars on his chest and while his small mirror proved it. This mirror truly revealed every last detail of those scars which were so big and accompanied by so many smaller scars on his body, How am I still alive?

The water in the shower was neither hot nor cold but after everything that had happened today, he was too happy to finally be clean and safe to actually care. Thirty minutes later he emerged from that was shower fully refreshed and found to his pleasure a set of clean clothes along with a slightly dented white chest plate all provided generously by house's true owner and delivered by Qrow to which he gave a quiet thanks before gratefully putting on the clothes when he heard Qrow calling out to him from a different part of the house. "How was the water? Was it warm?" Jaune was taken aback by the oddly specific question but answered anyway.

"Um, you may want to have the heater checked because while the water wasn't cold, it sure was lukewarm. Anyway, thanks for the clothes and especially the armor but, is your friend really going to be okay with you giving it to me?"

"Oh, that? Don't worry about it! The guy is a cheapskate who buys in bulk so there were at least three other pieces of armor just like the one I'm giving you. Besides like I said earlier he doesn't mind me using his stuff like this as long as I pay for it."

"Oh, I suppose that's fair."

"You haven't heard the best of it kid, tell me. What do you think this house looks like?"

"Like someone nailed a bunch of shacks together and called it a house… wait! You don't mean to tell me, but why would he do that?"

"He told me that back when he was studying over at Shade Academy he saw an old cartoon where the main character was living in a storage container and that's where he got the idea, then did some math and years later here we are."

I suppose that's one way to save some money… still really weird though, Jaune thought to himself as he dried off with a towel and put the clothes on and checked to see if the armor would fit him. It did but it was also clear that it was not made for him as it felt a little loose in some areas and uncomfortable in others, but at the very least it would prove to be a suitable replacement at least until he could afford to place a custom order himself, I should probably ask him where I can find a smith.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Hey, kid! Are you decent?" inquired Qrow. from the other side of the door.

"I'm fine, you can come in," answered Jaune.

The door gently opened and Qrow came into the room carrying two mugs that were filled with coffee, one which he then handed to Jaune who gladly took it and began drinking it, relishing in the warm liquid that hit all the fight spots. With a chuckle, Qrow sat down and enjoyed his own drink as Jaune sat down next to him. For a few minutes, the two men drank in silence until Qrow nervously put his cup down and looked right at him, "Kid, this is gonna sound weird but, can I take your pulse?"

"What."

"Your, pulse kid. There are a few things that haven't been adding up and checking your pulse would help answer them."

"Am I sick?"

"Maybe."

Jaune then took off his gloves and held out his arm which Qrow took and without a word placed his fingers on Jaune's wrist. After a few seconds, a frown made its way across Qrow's face as he let go of Jaune's wrist and took a long drink from his coffee before speaking. "That Beowolf back there was just staring at you and that's not the kind of behavior that a Grimm that young would have, at that age they without exception will attack on sight and yet didn't know what to do with you, it hesitated, it was confused. Almost, like it didn't know what it was looking at... your skin is pale and cold, the heater isn't broken which means you just couldn't feel the heat and you barely have a pulse."

"What are you trying to say Qrow?"

"Kid, what's the date?"

"The 16th, why? What's going on?"

Qrow then took a deep breath, "Jaune… it's the 23rd." Jaune was shocked silent but before he could process the revelation Qrow continued, "I have a friend that works at a bar in Jouburg, just five days ago he called me up and tells me about a kid that was in his place."

"That was me, wasn't it?"

"I think it was."

"What did your friend say?"

Qrow was silent for a few seconds and then he looked Jaune right in the eyes, "He thinks he saw you die."