Holy cow, look at all of these reviews! I better hope I did a good job with this chapter, because I've got a lot of high expectations here! Now, let us begin. There is much to this adventure that must be addressed.

*I still don't own RWBY or Bleach.*

Dialogue Key

"Shut up, Goat Chin." = Regular Speech

'Leave me alone, ghosts!' = Someone's Thoughts

"Getsuga Tenshou!" = Someone Yelling

"Why do you hesitate, child?" = Zanpakutō Spirit Speaking

Battle of Beacon Begins

Jaune's POV.

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding as I watched Pyrrha fly off in the locker she'd intended on using to send me away. That partner of mine honestly believes that she can defeat the likes of Cinder on her own? I'm sorry, Pyrrha, but if you truly believe that, then you're an even bigger idiot than Cardin and his band of flunkies! And those guys are about as dumb as a sack of hammers! Then again, maybe they're dumber, because saying something like that would be an insult to hammers everywhere. And Nora would not approve of someone insulting her Magnild, intentional or otherwise.

Not only did that Cinder woman manage to infiltrate the CCT and plant a virus in the system that allowed her to take control of all of General Butt-Face's (General James Ironwood, if you don't know him) machine soldiers, she also has the full power of the Fall Maiden on her side now! She almost killed Ozpin, who is an experienced and fully trained Huntsman. Not to mention the fact that he's the headmaster of this school. And if Ozpin couldn't defeat her without backup, what makes you think you could?

Oh, that's right, your pride as the Invincible Girl.

I'm not stupid, Pyrrha. During our training sessions, I could feel something redirecting my strikes in a subtle way, and figured out that you used your Semblance, Polarity, to redirect the metal weapons of your opponents in those tournaments. I just never said anything since I wanted to respect your decision to tell others when you were ready. But then again, that Semblance of yours will do you no good against the likes of Cinder Fall, who has no doubt done extensive research on all those who could pose a threat to her and her plans. She likely would have used weaponry that either negates your Polarity Semblance, or ones that are just flat out not made of metal.

But she likely did only the bare minimum of research on me.

Let's face it. I'm the weakest Beacon student here, having lost all of my fights at Beacon ever since I got here. Then again, I've only ever really fought against Cardin over and over again. It's like Goodwitch gets a sick sense of pleasure seeing me get beaten around like a fleshy pinata by that brutish oaf. Yeah, that's right Ice Queen, I can use your fancy-schmancy termanology. I just choose not to because of how stiff and stuck-up it makes people sound. Thanks, but no thanks. I get that enough from my own family. Especially my dad who has always been so bloated with self-importance. Not to mention the absolute worst advice for getting girls to like you.

But back on topic, since Cinder and her flunkies have only ever seen my Beacon file, they have no idea what I'm truly capable of. I kept my true skills hidden because I wanted to try and be like my grandfather who was a real knight and hero of Vale. But I see now that by doing so I only hindered my own abilities and growth as a warrior. True, my teammates are great friends whom I've come to rely on in times of need (Not to mention they're a real family to me.), but I need to start showing that I can rely on my own strength in times of crisis like this one.

It's time to shed my armor and weapons and fight like I'm meant to.

Third Person POV.

The indestructible blade of Crocea Mors easily pierced through the reinforced steel doors at the top of the Vale CCT like a hot knife through butter allowing Jaune to carve out an entrance for himself. The door was locked from the inside and the young Arc boy was in no mood to try a thousand times to try and find the correct security code. And let's face it, Cinder probably changed the codes to keep anyone from interfering with her master plan.

Once the door was sliced through, the pieces fell to the floor revealing the young Arc lad looking ready to murder someone. And due to the current circumstances, it's likely he will kill someone before this night is over.

Cinder stood in front of the Wyvern Grimm, eyes glowing as she still accessed the power of the Fall Maiden that she stole from Amber like she did. And standing on either side of her are Mercury and Emerald, the two slimy little toads who helped cause this whole mess that is the Vytal Festival. Especially since Jaune knows that they did something to frame Yang and get her good name dragged through the mud. Mercury had that annoying, arrogant smirk on his pasty face while Emerald was just looking at Jaune like he's not a threat.

That assumption will be her downfall.

"So, the leader of JNPR comes to face me by himself. Right after sending his more powerful partner away for her own safety." Cinder said in a mocking voice. "How utterly gutless."

"And how is caring about my partner's well-being gutless?" Jaune asked as he sheathed Crocea Mors.

"Because suicide is the coward's way out." Cinder replied. "I will say, however, that your being here is quite the unexpected plot twist. I expected your partner to be here to fight me in a vain effort to reclaim the Fall Maiden's powers that Ozpin practically brainwashed her into believing she was destined to have."

As Cinder began to rant, Jaune discreetly activated his Scroll's record function and began to record their entire conversation. While the video may be offline, the audio still works quite well. Fortunately for the weakest Arc child, Cinder is so busy grandstanding about her supposed victory that she hasn't even noticed that she's already been duped. But she's not so busy that she hasn't noticed her adversary doing something unusual. Jaune reached for the straps of his armor and removed each piece from his person. As he dropped them to the ground, each one broke through the floor and continued on down.

This both confused and surprised Cinder and her two henchmen. That armor must weigh more than a ton for it to just break through the floor after being dropped like that. And Jaune has been fighting all those times with all of that weight on him? Once all of the armor was removed from his person, Jaune removed his gloves, sheathed Crocea Mors and tossed it to the side, and ripped his hoodie and shirt off of his body. Cinder and Emerald actually had to suppress a blush at the sight of Jaune's muscles. They're not overly bulky like so many of the macho muscleheads that they've met. These muscles are lean, streamlined, and compact like an olympic runner or swimmer, but are also obviously built for strength like a fighter.

But what surprised them all the most, especially those listening to Jaune's recording, was when Jaune's body started glowing white around his core and he yelled out a single word.

"Seal!"

The video function of his scroll finally kicked in, and everyone, good and bad, was astonished as Jaune sealed off his own Aura. Even the Grimm stopped their killing spree in favor of watching this interesting new development. Hey, they might not be as intelligent as humans or Faunus, but they're not stupid. They can tell when a fight to the death is going to happen, and this one seems to be one of those fights. They're not missing out on this one.

"Not to be rude, but are you certain you wish to fight me without your Aura? Not that it would make a difference." Cinder asked.

"I don't need Aura to fight you! It would just hinder me instead of helping me. You probably already know that Pyrrha took time out of her own busy schedule to help me learn how to fight using a sword and shield. And that's true. But what nobody figured out was that all that time I was losing my fights, I was training in my own way." Jaune explained.

Cinder gave a slight hum as she raised a slender eyebrow, her curiosity obviously piqued.

"My hoodie wasn't just a way for me to lighten the mood and keep my armor from irritating my skin. I was made from incredibly stiff fibers that, while keeping me warm, severely hindered my movements and put a lot of resistance on my body. Also, my armor was forged to be far heavier than what a warrior would realistically go into battle with. This excessive weight allowed me to slowly build my muscles while also increasing my speed as time went on and I finally decided to remove the weight." Jaune explained as he got into a fighting stance. "And now that I've shed that weight, and freed myself from the burden of my Aura, which only served to hinder me instead of strengthening me, I will use my new power to destroy you here and now! I swear, as long as I'm still breathing, you all will pay for all of the wrongs you've done against those I care about!"

The teachers of Beacon, Glynda especially, were flabbergasted at what Jaune had just revealed. It all made sense now. How Jaune seemed to never win any of his fights despite being taught by a champion fighter like Pyrrha Nikos, and why he always seemed to be struggling to move when he was outside of combat. They certainly didn't see that coming. And neither did any of Jaune's friends, come to think of it.

Emerald snarled and was about to use her Semblance to cast an illusion on the Arc boy so Mercury could use his shotgun legs to kill him, but they were both stopped when Cinder raised a hand. She looked amused at these proclamations, and also intrigued at how the Arc had been able to both train right under everyone's noses and fool them into thinking he was just some bumbling fool that was holding back his team.

"Both of you stay out of this." Cinder ordered as she powered down to Jaune's level.

Without sealing her Aura, of course.

Cinder kicked off her glass slippers since they'll likely be a hindrance during a fight like this, and of course, she made sure not to seal her Aura. No way is she getting rid of all this power so easily.

"The boy has issued a challenge, and I intend to accept it. But I want a fair fight, so neither of you are to interfere. After all…" Cinder's smile turned predatory. "...It's so much fun to watch as one's prey struggles in a futile attempt to escape its predator."

She too entered her own fighting stance. The atmosphere was tense as Jaune's cold blue eyes stared into Cinder's arrogant amber ones. All those who were watching could feel the tension all the way from wherever they are now. And it doesn't feel good. Ironwood and Winter are veterans of military combat themselves, but even they don't want to mess with this particular fight. A shard of rubble fell from its perch, and as if a starting gun was fired…

Jaune and Cinder charged at each other with a mighty roar as they reared their fists back to strike!

*To Be Continued…*

Before I end the chapter, I'd just like to answer a review to someone who has brought up quite a few interesting points in their review.

To Guest Reviewer (Nemesis): Thank you so much for such a long and well thought out review. You make some very good points. And I'm going to answer each part in order.

1.) I don't really know how to make a character sheet, but I'm gonna try to keep track of all of Jaune's powers and abilities as an Espada. But know that he does know the basic attacks such as the Cero and the Arrancar version of Flash Step.

2.) I was planning on only pairing Jaune with about six, maybe seven girls. And each one is going to fall in love with Jaune in a way that's, hopefully, believable. (Be it through social bonding, or Jaune saving her life.)

2.5.) I don't know if I'm going to add Ruby to the harem or not. I've always viewed hers and Jaune's relationship as more like a sibling relationship.

3.) A wolf is certainly an interesting idea, but I'm going to leave Jaune's Hollow form up to the poll. I have my personal preference as to which animal I want to be the winner, but I'm not going to be biased about it.

Suggestion 1.) I have plans for his weapon, and they most certainly do not involve a sword and shield. They just don't fit Jaune's character for this story.

Suggestion 2.) I WHOLLY ACCEPT YOUR PROPOSAL FOR FAN ART! If you want to do fanart for this story, go right ahead! I'd love to see what you come up with. I especially need some good cover art for this story.

With that out of the way, thank you all so much for reading. Please don't forget to cast your votes on the poll I have up on my profile if you haven't already.

May the Force be with you, and have a great day, my Jedi, Gray Jedi, and Sith friends!