Authors Note (PLEASE READ):

Greetings everyone. GrumpyHobo here. To start off I hate reading long pointless author's notes filled with information that I don't care about. So for future reference any author's note I put at the beginning of a chapter I consider the "MUST KNOW" information so please read that. On the other hand the author's note at the end will be filled with my ramblings, polls, questions for the reader, and other such stuff that really isn't necessary for you to read unless you want to.

With that said, the rest of this author's note is just info about what to expect in this story. So if the summary already hooked you somehow, or you just like surprises, skip to the story (and thanks for reading). As for the rest of you who reasonably want to know what you're getting into (particularly with how f'd up lots of people on the internet are) buckle up.

This is going to be a Jaune centric story (I know, SO ORIGINAL). I'm pretty sure i've come up with a fairly unique situation for him so it'll hopefully keep everyone entertained (no spoilers here though).

This won't be following cannon perfectly. Events will play out somewhat similar so the story goes in the same direction but that's it. And once it hits season 3 all bets are off. It is NOT going to go down that way.

There will be romance in this story. I'm not sure of pairings yet so feel free to comment with suggestions. There may be a small harem but if so it'll be because of believable situations. Not because all the RWBY characters are magically ok with him being with other girls (imagine what Yang would do to a guy that cheated on her).

Finally, this story will be dark at times, both emotionally and physically. Jaune himself won't be the one that is dark, but he'll be going through some dark stuff (what do you expect of a world filled with monsters, in the middle of a race war).

So with that final note I say thank you for reading, and please review if you have a spare moment to give some advice. The only reason i'm making this is to gain more experience as a writer (and get this damn idea out of my head). Thanks again.

Unwanted Prologue (posted 7/7/17)

"Where are you going Jaune?" she asked with a desperate look in her eye.

He turned away in shame. It hurt to see her like this. The pain and fear in her voice were so terribly raw. He could barely keep himself from dashing out the door, let alone look at her. Even after all this time she was the one that was hardest to leave. His sisters and father had been tough too, but this was worse.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispered, and meant it in so many different ways.

"You don't have to be sorry dear... I just want you safe," she said as she brushed his hair back in that way mothers do. But the words and action felt hollow to him, and that just made it all worse. It was odd how the pain and fear she expressed was so viscerally real, but the love and affection felt empty. Maybe that was his conscious' doing, but he couldn't be sure.

"I have to go mother. Me being here is ruining everything... Maybe if I leave for a while things will fix themselves," he desperately hoped that was true, but knew it wasn't. Staying would make it even worse though, so his decision was made.

"W-was it s-something we did?" she asked beginning to cry, "If it was I s-swear we'll f-fix it."

"No mother," he said, quickly wrapping her in a hug, "It's me, not any of you," Idly he thought how ironic it was that he needed to reassure her insecurities, when it seemed like only yesterday their roles had been reversed.

"T-then w-w-why ar-are you lu-leaving?" his comfort doing nothing to stop the waterworks.

"I'm sorry mother…. I have to. You'll never understand," and she really wouldn't. He knew because he'd tried for hours with some of the others, but they never grasped it.

"Now listen to me," He said, finally looking down into her eyes. He hesitated for a moment, but refound his resolve and put every ounce of it into his voice, "I don't want any more of this mopiness when i'm gone. I want you to live life normally. Like… Like…" here came the hard part, "Like I never even existed," she tensed up at that, but he forced himself through, knowing if he stopped now he'd never finish, "So please, no more crying. Just be normal and happy... Forget about me." Slowly he felt the tension release from her as his words sunk in. His heart shattered as her arms loosened and dropped from around him.

"I love you… goodbye…" he rasped, holding back tears of his own now.

With a final squeeze he let her go and opened the front door. As he exited, he looked back a final time, but wished he hadn't. There she stood with an expressionless face. He stared for a second hoping for some reaction, anger, sadness, anything… but there wasn't.

He tore himself away and quickly closed the door before the last bit inside him snapped and he truly broke down. With a heavy heart, he headed down the stairs and towards the taxi that waited for him, wiping away his tears on the way down.

"Is it done sir?" Dorch asked as he opened the car door for him.

"Yes… it's done," he said. The realization of it finally kicking in and bringing him to a stop.

'What am I doing?!'

"I'm... sorry sir. I know it must have been difficult. But don't worry. I'll be here to look after them," Dorch said with a reassuring smile. And reassure it did… if only a little.

"Thank you Dorch. That means more to me than you could ever know," he said, forcing a smile that he knew must looked hollow.

"No need for thanks sir. I am the Arc family butler for a reason," the man said straightening his back and twitching his sharp mustache regally. It almost made Jaune chuckle.

"Really though. Thank you. I don't know what I would have done without you here. I never would have figured this all out."

"I'm sure you would have managed sir," the butler replied, always the humble one.

"Well… I guess this is goodbye… for now at least," Jaune said extending his hand. Dorch looked at it for a second before giving Jaune a pointed look, "OH RIGHT," Jaune said quickly retracting it back with a guilty look. If their roles were reversed he wouldn't want to shake his hand either, even with the gloves on.

Before the moment could get any more awkward, he quickly hopped into the cab, checking to make sure the driver knew where he was going. But Dorch had apparently set everything up already, even paying the cabbie in advance. He really was too good for him.

"Goodbye sir. I hope your journeys are… pleasant," the prim man said.

"Thank you," He choked out one final time and received a simple nod in response. At last, the door was closed and the cab began to move.

As he pulled away, Jaune turned around and gave Dorch a final wave goodbye. Receiving one in return, he couldn't help his eyes wandering past the stern butler to the arc family estate as it slowly grew further away. He finally broke and tears began to drop down his face as a bolt of panic spiked within him. That place had been his home for his entire life, and now he was going to be leaving for a very long time.

'Probably forever', the despair within him whispered. The optimistic side tried to block it out for a moment, but it was quickly overrun. He'd lost any real hope long ago.

Shaking his head, he turned away from these unpleasant musings, and instead looked out the window. Ahead he could see the docks, or at least he assumed they were with all the bullheads and airships circling around it.

Suddenly, a distant memory rang in his mind. It was his mother's favorite saying when he was a child, 'If you want things to change than get off your lazy ass and change them yourself,' It had been a long time since she'd said something like that.

Well he was definitely following those words now. Attending Beacon academy would be a huge change from his normal life. The only question was… would it change what really mattered?

YAY prologue FINISHED! I know it's pretty short. Actual chapters will be longer, the first of which should be posted later tonight or tomorrow. Please review with pairing suggestions. I'd also like to see who's figured out what his semblance is already. I tried to be subtle but not completely vague. I'll give a small hint. It's similar to the power of a certain x-men kinda mixed with the power of another one… That actually makes it more confusing probably. Oh well. Thanks for reading.