Congratulations! Excalibrrr is getting rewritten- though the original will remain standing, unlike Fickle Things- with the biggest changes coming in the end. Specifically, the TGWP elements are being stripped out, as they are incompatible with both my new plan and the Volume 6 version of Salem.

I hope to see all of you over there.

However, you are not allowed to post chapters that are just the Author's notes, so along with this will be the first chapter. Excalibrrr II will be released with the second chapter, so enjoy getting at it first.

Before I get into that, though, I have another note. The Fickle Things rewrite is well underway, with the first book fully complete and ready to publish. Figured I'd let you know to keep an eye out, in case any of you were interested in what I consider one of the two actually good stories I've written.

Reviews to this chapter will be covered in the equivalent Chapter 1 of Excalibrrr II instead of Excalibrrr, but will still be answered.

Enjoy.

Jaune nearly stumbled when he dropped from the bullhead.

Not that it was airborne- which didn't seem to mind the six people who'd jumped out before it landed. However, some pile of cartilage had decided not to give the airship some kind of ramp or stairs. The larger ships had them, so it's not like they hadn't thought of it.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice his slip up, and he spared a moment to get his bearings.

Before anything else, he patted himself down to make sure he still had everything. He could feel the weight of Crocea Mors at his hip, and he found his wallet and scroll easily enough. The pamphlet he'd grabbed in the ride over was gone, but he could have just left it somewhere in his haste to get off the accursed vehicle.

That's the other thing about bullheads- what really made him angry and nauseous; he got airsick.

He had no idea why since nobody else in his family had the same problem, but then Fate did love pissing all over him.

What limited distractions he had on hand exhausted, Jaune finally turned his attention to his destination: Beacon Academy.

The school buildings themselves were a distance away since he was still on the airfield, but that only made how towering they seemed more impressive. While he doubted they saw much use, the spires reached a good hundred feet into the air, and they were dwarfed still by the clocktower at the center of the facility. The time- 4:02, he noted- showed on the clockface his way, but behind it would be the most powerful man on that planet.

Ozpin, the elderly ruler and headmaster of Beacon, had let him in. That was... Terrifying, to say the least. Not the acceptance itself, which he'd expected, but the fact that Ozpin had personally messaged him with the result.

Jaune didn't even need to look to his scroll to see the message- it was forever burned into his mind.

Congratulations on your entry to Beacon Academy, Jaune Arc. We have reviewed your application, and you are hereby invited to join us for a four-year tenure starting September 18th. Please arrive for the entrance ceremony before 4:30.

I look forward to seeing the Arc Legacy continued, and will be putting in every effort to see it happen. Please, enjoy your time here.

Ozpin.

The first half seemed almost automated, and very well might have been, but the second... Ozpin had to know what he'd done, yet he was in anyway.

Jaune wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but that just didn't sit well with him. If nothing else, stressing over that had distracted him from his own airsickness, letting him keep his lunch down. He could still taste the bile and had stood near a trash can the whole ride, but he hadn't actually needed to use it.

Silver linings and all that.

Jaune shot back a step at a sudden explosion, which- if nothing else- tore him from his despairing thoughts. It was frighteningly close, too! Were they under attack!?

There were only a pair of stragglers nearby, but they didn't seem even mildly concerned with the tuft of smoke lazily ascending into the sky. Were random explosions normal, then? He honestly couldn't tell if that was worse than being under attack.

If nothing else, a few dozen trained fighters were just ahead of him, so Jaune made his way towards it. Cautiously, of course.

The remnants of the explosion were entirely absent by the time he arrived, which seemed a little odd, but then what did he know? Dust- the most likely source of it- was utterly beyond him. Seriously- there'd been this one video of a dude setting his house aflame with fire Dust and causing absolutely no damage.

While there wasn't a crater in the ground, there was a red and black garbed figure flat on their back about where it had been. Had someone been hurt?

Nobody else was nearby, so Jaune took it upon himself to walk over and check on them.

It was a girl- that much was clear once he got closer. She had a fairly masculine figure, but the skirt kind of gave it away. The rest of her outfit seemed equally impractical- heeled boots, thin leggings, and a giant red cape that was showing clear signs of age. She didn't look old enough to go here, either, though that just made her as unqualified as him.

Her eyes opened and Jaune froze. Crap- she was awake and he'd just been standing over her. Maybe she didn't notice how long he'd been there...?

"Hi there," Jaune greeted, hoping to distract her with his offered hand. "You looked like you could use some help."

She stared up at him for a brief moment, but before he could really feel awkward about it, she grabbed his hand and hauled herself up. Jaune, in turn, ignored the fact she nearly pulled him off his feet.

"Sorry- I was expecting some pun about needing a hand." She rubbed the back of her head, a nervous tick Jaune shared. "Sisters, you know."

Jaune chuckled. Yeah- he knew a little something about sisters, having come from a family of seven. "What caused that explosion, anyway?"

The girl winced, and he realized his mistake right away. On the off chance he missed it, she whispered it to herself as well. "You weren't supposed to ask that..." Okay, he got the social faux pas, but he was curious. If it was normal, should he have already known? Did huntsmen just randomly explode!?

He knew a bit about semblances since his father frequently used his at home, but he could have created explosions as a kid! Damn... He'd need to look it up later since the girl looked keen to not answer his question.

"I'm Jaune," he eventually said, changing the subject. "Jaune Arc- short, sweet, rolls off the tongue; ladies love it." Nailed it, he mentally cheered at getting through it without stuttering. He'd practiced in front of a mirror, but it was a little different doing that in front of someone.

Speaking of, that someone was busy giving him a deadpan expression and staring blankly into his eyes. Maybe... Maybe his mom was wrong?

After a moment, she snorted, breaking out into a fit of laughter.

No... Jaune groaned, slumping his shoulders. He'd thought it was cool.

"Ruby," she managed in the middle of her giggling fit. "Ruby Rose." She gave him a coy smile, which he instantly recognized from the youngest- Amber. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue."

She left the last bit off, but he heard it, and damn did it sound awkward from the outside. At least, abbreviated as it was, her introduction was only embarrassing for him.

"Hardy-har-har," he deadpanned right back. "I get enough of this from my sisters. Can we just get to... Wherever we're supposed to go?"

Ruby blinked, looking down for a moment before scanning their surroundings. "Crap..."

Jaune sighed. "You don't know where we're going either, do you?"

"Nope."

Fun...

"Well, we might as well start there," Jaune said, pointing to the largest building nearby. At a guess, it was either an open gym or auditorium, which made it as good a place to go as any. He took the lead, but could only watch pathetically as a red blur shot past him with ease.

In for a penny.

They hadn't missed the speech, thankfully, but that didn't mean he really cared for it. There were a number of lines in it that seemed pointed directly at him, but it otherwise seemed identical to the motivational speeches he was used to as a kid.

The heroic themes involved were nice and all, but he already knew what he was here to do. Beacon was where warriors went to learn their craft.

From where he stood in the gymnasium, he had a clear view of at least a hundred potential warriors. Despite the size of the facility, it was clear not everyone would be getting in, and several people were already panicking about that very fact.

It was kind of strange that he wasn't, honestly. Perhaps he was already resigned to his low odds, and the likely results, but that didn't seem right. As he scanned the crowd, he simply felt at ease.

Perhaps it was Ozpin's words themselves. If he had hoped for him to succeed, it had to be possible, and he doubted Ozpin would accept his application only to dump him right off the bat. Either way, as he laid back under his weighted blanket, he was calm. Hopefully, he would feel the same when the Initiation Ozpin spoke of finally came.

A commotion on the other half of the auditorium- unofficially the female half- drew his attention. From the way several of his peers were staring, he wasn't alone, though the people behind the disturbance didn't seem to notice them.

It was Ruby again, being shouted at by some white-haired girl he didn't recognize. By them, but not actively participating, was a blond and black haired pair. It was too far to make out much more about them, but one was clearly just reading their book.

Hm... He should have brought a book too, honestly, as it was too far for him to hear anything. Since it looked like they weren't about to come to blows, Jaune ignored it, and simply rolled over to head to sleep.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Jaune's hand waved about by his side, and the flailing motions managed to somehow convince the device that he was- in fact- awake. After a moment, he cracked his eyes, deciding that it would only cost him to be late to whatever trial the staff had in place for them.

Hopefully it wasn't a written test... He wasn't a bad student in school- not really- but just by the nature of the profession, Jaune knew Beacon would have a different curriculum. Owning a local business or teaching? He was your man. Less so for fighting monsters or fighting natural disasters.

Granted, those were primarily skills he'd be learning here, but there had to be a mental component to it. Weak points on Grimm, or something like that.

Hm... This place had a library, didn't it? If he knew what the test was on, maybe he could study it beforehand.

Jaune glanced to the clock, only to sigh when it said he had an hour until Initiation. Yeah... Not happening. He'd barely sat up in bed yet, and he still needed to get ready and retrieve his stuff.

Come to think of it, did they get to eat at the cafeteria yet? It was just opposite the auditorium, though with a hallway in between, and he could already smell the food inside. It wasn't the most unique scent- just eggs, bacon, and what could have been hashbrowns or some variant of toast- but it was strong, and the growling in his chest demanded to be sated.

Eh, it was worth a shot.

A minute later found him dressed and just past the entrance to the cafeteria. His nose hadn't lied- though, it had both hashbrowns and toast available- and it seemed a lot of other students had the same idea as him. He recognized a few of them, but many more were entirely new. Older students?

Regardless, there didn't seem to be anyone charging for food, but instead just a wide buffet on hand for anyone to grab.

Jaune shrugged, grabbing a tray and hoarding up a few servings of scrambled eggs- salted to taste. While he'd have normally gotten a proper variety, he couldn't be asked right now, and the large spoon he grabbed would let him dig into it with ease.

Where to sit, then?

An unspoken rule of... Basically everywhere was the nature of spots. Wherever you sat, that was almost always where you'd sit for as long as you went there. Wherever he chose, he wouldn't be stuck with per say, but soon would be once everyone else was.

Scanning the room, he took stock of everything he could. There were bathrooms on either end, the buffet in the middle, and exits damn near everywhere. Given that, there wasn't anywhere all that 'better' to sit at. It was mostly the people that would make a spot.

Lacking anyone else to search for, he scanned the room for Ruby, but she was strangely absent. Maybe she woke up earlier?

Either way, as he finished his cursory check, his gaze settled on a familiar shock of blond. She was in a different outfit than before, but that golden mane would be recognizable anywhere. It was shockingly similar to his own sisters, really, though Dad would never allow them to have such a wild hairstyle.

Still... Would it be weird to approach her because of Ruby? He didn't even know her relationship this girl, which could very well be 'acquaintance'.

Welp, Jaune said, newly set on going. There's only one way to find out.