I don't own RWBY. Rooster Teeth does.

Emerald Forest

Jaune rolled out of the way as a massive blade slammed into the ground next to him. The force of the swing unleashed a compressed wave of air that carved a large trench across that stretched on for several dozen meters. Jaune glanced at the Glavenus as it tried to pull its tail out of the ground and beheld the devastation wrought by a single swing. The trees in the path of the swing were cut in half down to the base with a large fissure that was at least a few feet deep.

"Oh shoot," Jaune said as he tightly gripped Sol and Luna. He steeled himself and ran at the Glavenus, taking advantage of its distraction. Jaune jumped and swung his scythes, attempting to cut into the bony armor. To his surprise, the armor didn't even budge. The blades of Jaune's scythes bounced off as he stumbled back.

"That's some thick armor," Jaune said. The Glavenus pulled its tail out of the ground and turned towards Jaune. It opened its mouth and unleashed a terrifying roar. The Grimm tried to clamp its jaws down on Jaune, only to miss as Jaune narrowly jumped out of the way.

Jaune jumped into the air and summoned an aura arm to pull him towards the Glavenus. He channeled his aura into scythes and slashed its back. The Glavenus roared in pain, feeling the blades cut into the back.

Jaune landed on the ground behind the Grimm and turned around. The Glavenus growled as it stared at Jaune. Its throat began to glow with a dull red light as it roared. Its roar echoed across the forest, causing many of the wildlife and Grimm to flee in fear.

"Hehe," Jaune said as he saw a flock of Nevermore fleeing from the Emerald Forest. "Why am I still here?"

The Glavenus brought its tail blade up to its mouth and bit down on it.

"What the…?" Jaune asked as he began to back away.

"Why is it biting down on its tail like that?" Weiss asked, noting the odd behavior. She had never witnessed a Grimm attempt to harm itself like that.

"It's going to attack. Mister Arc will need to get out of there," Ozpin said.

"Jaune," Alice said, worried for her brother.

"He'll be fine," Yang said, placing her hand on Alice's shoulder.

"Don't touch me," Alice said. Yang immediately took her hand off Alice's shoulder. Blake offered Yang a sympathetic smile before turning her attention back to the screen.

"MASTER, DODGE!" Nyx yelled, sensing the oncoming danger. Jaune immediately manifested aura wings and took the air as he watched the Glavenus spin, its tail coated in bright red sparks. The sparks ignited the air around it, causing small bursts of flame that lit the surrounding foliage ablaze.

"Holy," Jaune gasped as he saw the Glavenus turned around and roared. It jumped into the air and swing its tail downward. Jaune dodged as a swathe of flames sped past him, cutting and reducing several trees in its path to charred pieces of wood. Jaune flew down and swung his scythes, using his aura to activate the vibration function of his weapons. The effect was visible as his weapons cut into the armor of the Glavenus somewhat.

"COME ON!" Jaune yelled as he used his aura to boost his weapon's cutting power. The high oscillation of the blade combined with the aura allowed Jaune to slice deep into the Glavenus's bony plate and hit flesh. The Grimm roared as Jaune slashed a deep wound into its side. He kicked off and threw Sol with an aura enhanced throw, embedding it into the side of the Glavenus's face.

"Time to see if Maria's parting gift works!" Jaune said as he clicked a button on Luna. The head of Luna glowed violet as did the head of Sol. The Glavenus found itself being pulled towards Jaune as Jaune flew towards the Glavenus's face. He grabbed Sol's handle and dug Luna into its armor.

"Eat dust!" Jaune said as he transformed his vambrace into his wrist gun. Jaune pointed the vambrace and fired it, causing a flaming explosion on the side of the Glavenus's head. The force of the blast knocked Jaune off the head. He landed on the ground and saw the Glavenus run into a tree, slamming into it and knocking the tree down. The force of the Glavenus hitting the tree knocked it off its feet and onto the ground.

Jaune immediately ran over to it, merging Sol and Luna together to form Eclipse. Jaune slammed the great sword, enhancing its cutting power by activating the vibration and his aura. His target was its tail. The attack hit home as Jaune's blade immediately cut through the tail, partially breaking it. However, Jaune could not completely cut through it as the Glavenus got up shortly after and threw Jaune off, swinging its tail wildly. Jaune landed on the ground and saw the Glavenus unleash a ball of fire from its mouth.

He quickly rolled out of the way as the fireball hit the ground. The fireball was more akin to molten slag as it bubbled for a bit before exploding violently. Jaune looked at the Glavenus as it walked carefully eyeing him. It had nearly lost its tail to this mere human so it needed to be careful. Its orange eyes stared balefully at Jaune as he gripped Eclipse with an even tighter grip.

"It's weird…," Jaune said, noticing something off.

"What's strange, Master?" Nyx asked.

"By now, he should have… stopped attacking us. Haven't you noticed it? Most Grimm attack us initially but then stop after they notice us," Jaune said.

"That is strange," Nyx said.

"I'll try and control it," Jaune said. His eye color shifted to violet as he stared at the Grimm. The Glavenus flinched and stumbled back a bit before shaking its head and roaring at Jaune.

"I can't… control it?" Jaune said, surprised. The Grimm kept roaring as its underbelly and its throat began to glow a soft red hue. Jaune jumped out of the way as it attempted to take a massive chunk out of his arm. He enhanced himself with aura, increasing his speed. He dashed in between its legs and performed a spin slash that cut into its armor.

The Glavenus snarled and slammed its foot into the ground, barely missing Jaune as he leaped into the air and tried to cut into its thigh. The Grimm swung its tail, slamming the flat side of the blade into Jaune. Jaune crashed through several trees before sliding to a stop. He groaned as he used his weapons to support himself as he stood.

"Ow. Crap! That hurt more than I expected it to," Jaune said as he glared at the advancing Glavenus.

"Why won't it listen to you?" Nyx asked as she hopped onto his head.

"When I tried to control it, there was something blocking me out," Jaune said. Several energy blades manifested behind him.

"Master, you should conserve your aura rather than using it," Nyx said. Jaune nodded before jumping back as the grimm slammed its tail into the ground. Jaune fired the blades he had already created, praying that they would be sharp enough to cause lasting damage to the thing. He dashed forward at speeds faster than that of the average Beacon Student and swung Eclipse, cutting into the side of its face and making its mark by slicing into its eye. The frequency at which the blade was currently vibrating at as well as the enhancement from the aura proved devastating as the blade easily sliced into the eye. The Glavenus roared in pain as it stumbled back, losing vision in one of its eyes.

"One more strike!" Jaune swung Eclipse again with all of his strength, knocking the Grimm to the side. He formed an aura arm and latched on to its face, speeding towards it and stabbing the blade into its side.

The Glavenus was knocked over and fell to the ground. Jaune capitalized on the moment as he swung the sword downward, cutting into its vulnerable underside. He split Eclipse apart back into Sol and Luna and unleashed a flurry of bladed strikes, slicing into the soft flesh of the Glavenus's tail.

Every hair on Jaune's neck stood on end as he smiled. He dug the hooked blades of the scythes into its belly and swung them, creating a deep incision. He then jumped as a red dart embedded itself into the wound. The Glavenus roared and screamed as Jaune grabbed the spear and ran along the length of its underside. He swung the spear, slicing its throat open before shoving his arm into its neck and firing the gun inside his vambrace. The bullets shattered the cervical vertebrae of the Glavenus.

The Glavenus spasmed and before falling still as Jaune pulled his arm out of its neck. Jaune panted as the Grimm began to dissolve into black smoke.

"Jeez. Again? I had it on the ropes and you knew that," Jaune said as he picked the spear off the ground. Milo. Pyrrha's spear. That meant that she was.

"You know. If you're going to hide and watch, at least don't throw a spear," Jaune said.

"Ehe," Pyrrha walked out from behind one of the trees sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. She raised her hand, activating her semblance. Milo flew from Jaune's grasp into her hand.

"Sorry," Pyrrha said, looking down. She felt ashamed of herself if only a little bit. But she was just worried about Jaune which is what caused her to throw the spear to help Jaune. Jaune sighed as he walked over and pet her head gently.

"Thanks, Pyr," Jaune said, smiling at her. Pyrrha looked up to see his smiling face and nodded. However, Jaune wasn't finished. He pulled her in and looked her in the eye.

"But next time," he whispered, "You owe me one."

Pyrrha nodded, her face red from Jaune's sudden action. She was surprised. He was so bold all of a sudden. It stirred feelings in her that she shouldn't be having. At least, feeling she shouldn't be feeling in public.

"Mister Arc. Please refrain from doing PDA in public," a stern voice said from behind.

"Sorry Professor," Jaune said as he pulled away from a red Pyrrha.

"It's alright. Just remember to keep this in your dorm," Glynda said, pushing up her glasses. She glanced at the devastation around her. "To think that a Glavenus of all things would be-!"

"JAUUUUNNNE~!" A red missile shot past her and slammed into Jaune, knocking him off his feet. Jaune groaned as he looked up to see a mop of black and red hair on his chest. Pyrrha's eyes dulled when she saw who was on top of Jaune.

"Miss Rose! Please get off of Mister Arc," Glynda said, pulling her back by the hood. Ruby hopped up on her feet as Pyrrha helped Jaune up. Jaune dusted himself off and picked up his weapons.

"Jaune," Ruby said.

"Hello, Ruby," Jaune said, albeit a bit coldly. Ruby did not feel the frost that laced his voice when he spoke to her and involuntarily flinched. Jaune noticed this and softened his features a bit.

"Jaune, I'm…," Ruby was cut off when Jaune spoke.

"We'll talk later," Jaune said. She nodded, feeling a hint of disappointment that he brushed her off but then remembered that he said they would talk later.

"Come Mister Arc. Ozpin has called us back to his office and I've requested a bullhead to come and pick us up," Glynda said.

Back on the cliffs, Blake nearly crushed the scroll with her grip when she saw what transpired. Her face remained as calm as ever but the feeling that she exuded was palpable to everyone around her.

Yang backed away from her partner while Weiss remained rooted to her spot. Alice sighed along with Ren and Nora. Ozpin had a much different reaction. A twinkle appeared in his eye for a split second before focusing back on the situation at hand. Something he needed to discuss with Glynda.

"Glynda," Ozpin said.

"Yes?" she said.

"Return back to the school. We need to find a suitable team for Mister Arc," Ozpin said. He shut the scroll and began walking back to the academy.

"Teams RWBY, you are dismissed. Team PRAN. Please come to my office once your leader gets here," Ozpin said without so much as glancing at them.

"Leader? Jaune or Pyrrha?" Nora asked.

Ozpin only gave them a knowing smirk before turning around once more and heading back.

Ozpin's Office

"Mister Arc. I'd like to be the first to congratulate you on a job well done," Ozpin said as he looked at Jaune. The rest of Team PRAN stood behind him as they waited with great anticipation on Ozpin's final verdict.

"Thank you, sir," Jaune said. His nervousness was bubbling up inside him, like a dormant volcano ready to burst. The tension was so dense and heavy that one could practically cut through it.

"You have completed your initiation exam and eliminated the Death Stalker albeit it was fairly wounded when you found it," Ozpin said.

"So…," Jaune said.

"That means that we cannot evaluate you based on you eliminating a Grimm that was on the verge of death," Ozpin said.

"Oh," Jaune said, looking down.

"Hey, wait a minute! Jaune completed his task. Was that not enough to allow him to get in?" Pyrrha argued.

"YEAH! That's not fair! Jaune did what he was supposed to do and take out the Deathstalker!" Nora added. Ren nodded, fully supporting the views of his teammates.

"Professor, you can't possibly think of kicking Jaune out because he couldn't fight it," Alice said.

"Please. Quiet down," Ozpin said, lacing every word in his sentence with authority. Team PRAN quieted down as Ozpin trained his hazel orbs on them. "If you would let me continue my statement, that being said, Mister Arc, I feel as if the skills you displayed during your battle with the Glavenus was more than enough for me to perform an evaluation. A Glavenus is no easy Grimm to fight Mister Arc. Even seasoned hunters would be hardpressed to take one down yet you were able to creatively take one on. You displayed a calm and sound mind during the battle, a vast improvement from your initial self when you first came here."

"I only got lucky with that fight," Jaune said.

"I disagree. Whatever you were doing outside of Beacon was obviously effective if you were able to survive and even harm the Grimm," Ozpin said.

"Well, it wasn't as if I wasn't pressed against the wall," Jaune said. "I was just trying to survive. And Pyrrha technically helped me."

"Whatever the case may be, you were able to hold your own before assistance came and that to me shows that you do possess the skill needed to be at this school," Ozpin said.

"So that means that…," Jaune said.

"Yes, Mister Arc. Welcome back to Beacon Academy," Ozpin said.

"YES!" Jaune pumped his fist and jumped into the air, cheering.

Ren and Nora smiled and high fived while Alice nodded in approval. Pyrrha hugged Jaune tightly as Ozpin and Glynda watched the heartwarming reunion between them.

"Now there's only the matter of team assignment," Ozpin said.

Everyone went silent and focused their attention back on Ozpin.

"As you know, Beacon Teams are normally teams of four. Mister Arc being here presents an unprecedented situation as all the first-year teams are currently full. I also feel that if we were to wait until the next batch of Beacon First Years arrives, we would be doing a detriment to Mister Arc's education and training as a hunter. In addition, Mister Arc would most likely better perform if he was placed into a team dynamic he's more familiar with rather than being dumped into a new one. Therefore, it is with sound judgment and sound mind that I propose to place Mister Arc within Team PRAN as its leader once more. Your team name shall be reconfigured. From henceforth, you shall be known as Team JNPAR. Congratulations."

"What about our dorms? We can't possibly accommodate five people," Pyrrha said.

"Don't worry. We'll send someone to expand your room while you're in class. For now, I believe that it won't be a problem for Mister Arc and Miss Nikos to share a bed," Ozpin said.

Jaune and Pyrrha turned red as they failed to get the words out of their mouth. Alice both placed a hand on their shoulder and spoke up.

"Those arrangements are acceptable for now," Alice said.

"Very well. Mister Arc. Do you have any luggage that you need to retrieve?" Ozpin asked.

"Actually, I asked the pilot to bring them up to our dorm," Pyrrha said.

"I see. You're dismissed. I've pulled you away from your classes long enough," Ozpin said.

"Yes, that's right. Mister Arc, your schedule is the same as before so right now you five should be in my classroom," Glynda said, scrolling through her scroll. She clicked a button and Jaune's scroll ringed.

"What's this?" Jaune pulled his scroll out and saw his ID pop up. Right next to his name was the emblem of Beacon Academy.

"This shows that you're enrolled in the school once more as well as restored you to your team," Glynda said.

Jaune nodded as he pocketed his scroll.

"Now, go get to my classroom. I'll meet you there shortly," Glynda said.

They nodded and turned around. Before they entered the elevator, Jaune turned around and looked at Ozpin.

"Thank you," he said.

"Whatever for Mister Arc?" Ozpin asked.

"For taking me back. For accepting me into Beacon Academy again," Jaune said.

"It's of no concern Mister Arc. People who work hard to change should be allowed to have a second chance," Ozpin said.

Jaune nodded before turning around and leaving with his team.

As soon as they left Ozpin sighed and leaned back into his chair. He placed his hand on the bridge of his nose.

"Something a matter?" Glynda asked.

"There was a Glavenus in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin said.

"Yes, there was. It's rather strange, isn't it? A Sanctuary Level Grimm appearing so close to Beacon. Is she making a move?" Ozpin said as he brought up a hologram of the Glavenus.

"I don't know but I suggest that we up our security and surveillance around Vale and Beacon. While the appearance of a Sanctuary Level Grimm could set off a few red flags, it's better to be safe than sorry, especially since…," Glynda trailed off.

"Hmm. Glynda. Call him back here. We'll need all the data that he's gathered at the moment," Ozpin said.

"Right, about that," Glynda handed him her scroll. Ozpin took it and turned it on, seeing a red chess piece with a message that stated "The Queen has pawns".

"I see," Ozpin said. Just what are you planning?

The newly christened Team JNPAR exited the elevator and began to make their way down the hallway. Jaune sighed as he felt the stares of every student around him.

"I wish they'd stop looking," Jaune said.

"I mean, you were dead," Nora pointed out. Rapid footsteps were heard approaching them.

"Jaune!"

The team turned around when they saw a brunette rabbit faunus running up to them. She stopped and panted, a bead of sweat running down her forehead. The girl straightened herself and grabbed Jaune's hands.

"Jaune! You're alive!" she said happily.

"Velvet?" Jaune said.

"Yes! I can't believe this! You're actually too stubborn to die!" she said.

"Ehehe," Jaune laughed in an embarrassed manner.

"How have you been?" she asked, letting go of his hand.

"I've been put through Hell by my trainer," Jaune said.

"Really? You'll have to tell me and the others all about it but I need to get to class. I'll see you and your team after class, yeah?" Velvet asked.

"Sure," Jaune said. "But I need some time to settle back in so rain check? Maybe a few days from now?"

"Oh yeah sure!" Velvet said. "Oh… I have to go!"

Velvet smiled and waved goodbye as she ran off down the hall.

"Velvet's changed," Jaune said.

"A bit. It all started after your parents went on a rampage," Pyrrha said.

"Mom and Dad went on a rampage?" Jaune asked.

"Sort of," Alice said as they rounded a corner. Eventually, they arrived at the combat classroom and took their seats in their usual spots. The other teams arrived with Team RWBY arriving and sat down in front of them. Blake turned around and smiled at them.

"How was it?" Blake asked.

"Well, you're looking at the recently reinstated team leader of the newly christened Team JNPAR," Jaune said. "Ozpin said that he didn't want to wait an extra semester to put me in so he made me the team leader again."

"That's wonderful! But… what about space?" she asked.

"He said he'd be working on that," Ren said, "Though Jaune and Pyrrha have to sleep on the same bed since we only have four at the moment."

Blake smiled but felt something snap inside her. She was jealous. She was feeling extremely jealous. She should've done something. She should've volunteered for Jaune to stay in their dorms and now because of her inability to act. Now Pyrrha was vastly ahead of her. Well, she naturally was. Pyrrha, as she learned much to her despair, was Jaune's girlfriend during the festival. Suffice to say, it did not boil over well for her.

"That's wonderful!" Blake said, hiding her anger.

"!" Ruby was about to say something when Glynda walked into the classroom.

"Attention! I have an important announcement to make that I shall only make once!" Glynda said, whipping her riding crop. The sound of it hitting her hand resounded across the entire classroom.

"First of all, I would like to welcome you all back from your break. Even though you were on break, I expect that none of you slacked in your studies as well as training because we will be training you even harder now that we are mere months from the Vytal Festival. I assume that all of you noticed some new additions as well as an old one. Let's get the old addition out of the way," Glynda said, staring at Jaune. She sent him a look and he stood.

Every student in the room turned their heads to look at him.

"As you know, last semester, Mister Arc was deemed to be KIA with no retrievable remains but it seems that we have made our judgement a bit too early. Mister Arc was recovering in a village and has now returned to school with proper training. He has passed the test that Ozpin provided for him and I expect all of you to treat him like a student," Glynda said, scanning the room.

"That includes you, Mister Winchester," Glynda said, cutting off Cardin before he could even speak. Cardin grumbled as he looked down at his hands. He sent not-so-subtle glares at Jaune, though the Arc did not pay him any mind.

"Moving on to our other news, other students have begun to move in due to the upcoming Vytal Festival. We expect you to treat them with the respect that is afforded to a fellow hunter and the respect that you all show each other. Please refrain from starting conflicts with the students of the other school. Again we are talking to not just Team CRDL but to all of you," Glynda said.

Ruby raised her hand.

"Yes," Glynda said.

"What are the requirements to participate in the Vytal Tournament?" Ruby asked.

"The Vytal Tournament consists of three rounds. The first round is a four on four team round, followed by a duo against duo round, and it is followed by our singles match. Unfortunately, teams with more than four members are not allowed to participate," Glynda said.

"Wait, so we can't fight?" Jaune asked.

"Yes. We feel as if having your team, a team of five participate, would be unfair to the other teams, Mister Arc," Glynda said.

"Oh," Jaune said.

"It's alright," Pyrrha whispered. "I never cared for the tournament anyway. And that's less pressure for our team to do anything."

"Still," Jaune said.

"We'll talk about it as a team later," Pyrrha said.

Jaune nodded before turning back to Glynda.

"Right. Anyway, remember that during the Vytal Tournament, we are all one school and that all students in Beacon will be representing the entirety of the Kingdom of Vale so we expect you to do your best to represent us," Glynda said.

All of the Beacons Students nodded in unison, causing Glynda's lips to curve upward a bit.

"Now, moving on with day to day matters. We will continue class as normal today with a few changes," Glynda said. "There will be no matches today-"

Groans met her statement before Glynda whipped her riding crop to silence them.

"Before you all complain and boo, I was going to use this time and dismiss all of you to go back to your dorms and begin to formulate and prepare for the tournament," Glynda said.

"In addition, the next time you'll be in this classroom will be when we start simulating matches from the Vytal Festival to get you used to their format. So please, come to class expecting to fight against another team," Glynda said, "Any questions?"

"Yes?" Glynda pointed to Weiss.

"What about our other classes? Will time be taken off them to prepare us for the tourney?" she asked.

"No. Classes will resume as normal, however, the format of this class shall be altered for the purpose of preparing you all for the format of the tournament," Glynda answered. "Any more?"

"None?" Glynda looked over her classroom to see no hands being raised. She sighed and walked out of the room. "Class dismissed."

"That was odd," Jaune said.

"It was," Alice agreed.

As Team JNLVA got up, Ruby intercepted them before they could leave the room. She stood before them with a smile on her face. Jaune felt a bit uncomfortable at Ruby's smile and how he felt that she was directing her gaze at him, despite knowing that she was looking at his entire team. Ruby stepped forward.

"Hey, wanna meet up in the commons of our dorm to catch up?" Ruby asked.

"Uh," Jaune said, trying to think of an excuse to say no. He really wanted to take this time to settle back down and begin to think of other ways that his team to get in on the Vytal Festival.

"Um, Ruby, can we get a rain check on that?" Alice said. "We'd rather prefer if Jaune could get settled back in before he-!"

"Come on," Yang said. "We want to know what he's been up to and to… you know…"

"Yang, they clearly don't want to do it," Blake said.

"But Blake, apologies must be made," Weiss said.

"But I really need to get some-!" Jaune was interrupted as Pyrrha stepped forward. She glanced at him and he knew immediately what she was thinking. He sighed and shrugged.

"We'd love to," she said.

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Ruby. I could use a bit of unwinding," Jaune said.

Ruby smiled and opened the door, walking out of the classroom first. Jaune looked at Pyrrha who just smiled and followed them out alongside the rest of his team and the remainder of team RWBY. The walk to the commons of the dorms took much longer than they thought it would. The awkwardness that was present between the two teams was something that he couldn't describe but could feel in waves. He didn't know why Ruby picked now of all times to dig up the past but in his mind, Pyrrha was right. If he heard them out now, he could get this all out in the open.

After a few agonizing minutes, the two teams arrived at their dorms and stood across from each other. Jaune stood in front of his team while staring down the R, W, and Y of team RWBY. Blake scooted off to the side and began to watch what could possibly be the most satisfying yet worst chewing out of her entire life. While she believed that Jaune was capable of chewing someone out, she didn't have much hope that he could possibly… inflict any lasting harm on them or make them feel any more pain and guilt than they already have. But Jaune had been on the road for a while so maybe he could have changed a bit while he was out there.

"So Jaune? What do you want to do? Remnant: The Game? Maybe read a few books? Study? Catch up? I'm sure you have a lot of stories to tell," Ruby said, firing off each sentence like a bullet. She didn't give Jaune any room to respond or leave which left him trying to catch up and formulate a response.

"Um, maybe, we could catch up I guess since that's what we came here to do," Jaune said.

"So Vomit Boy, what did you do while you were away from Beacon?" Yang asked.

"I, uh, spent a lot of time healing and training… that's pretty much it," Jaune said. This was rather… strange for him. Yang was being way too friendly with him. It was as if she had forgotten the role she played in his suffering after his transcripts were revealed. He also noticed that Weiss hadn't called him an idiot or a dolt yet. She just sent him a soft smile whenever they locked eyes.

"Nothing interesting? Like who you trained with? Did you get a girlfriend while you were gone?"

Jaune coughed as his face turned slightly red before rapidly composing himself. Those lessons in calmness from Maria helped and his constant reminders that Yang was currently not his friend.

"Nothing interesting. Besides, why would you care?" Jaune asked.

"Because… we're friends…," Yang said, however, she sounded unsure of her answer. "We are friends right?"

"You're kidding," Jaune said.

"Look, I'm sorry for assuming that we're still friends but...," Yang was cut off as Jaune spoke.

"But nothing. You helped them. We were supposed to be friends but you actively contributed to what I went through. I understood why you were so mad and I put up with it in the hopes that you all would see how sorry I was but… it started going too far! Remember when you helped Cardin trip me and then you even threw a few punches? I do! Do you remember when Weiss just left me to get beat up by one of the other teams? Did Weiss even hear me call to her for help or did she just ignore me?" Jaune said. Weiss flinched at the accusation.

"Did you also know I began to take pills? The school psychologist diagnosed me as depressed!," Jaune said softly.

Everyone's eyes widened. They didn't know any of that. Pyrrha was hit the hardest. Once again, Jaune was suffering through something and never told her. She knew about the bullying and the abuse but she never knew that it ran so deeply.

Pyrrha grabbed Jaune's hand and squeezed it softly, calming him down.

Jaune breathed and straightened his face.

"What about Ren and Nora? They left you there," Weiss said.

"We know what we did Weiss but… unlike Yang who assumed that Jaune would just forgive and forget, we actively reached out to him back at Aurbis Base and are still working on getting Jaune's trust back. We're not going to assume that just because he's being nice to us that he's one hundred percent our friend again," Ren said.

Weiss went quiet and glanced at Jaune.

"He's right. If you're going to call me your friend, at least have the decency to acknowledge what happened and your hand in it. If not, this was a waste of our time," Jaune said. He turned around and began to walk away when he felt someone grab his arm.

"Jaune! Wait! Please… please don't go," Ruby said.

"I'm sorry Ruby but I don't think our teams should be seen together for a bit. At least, until I calm down a bit to be able to tolerate your sister and Weiss," Jaune said. He gently removed his arm from Ruby's grasp and walked away.

Pyrrha looked between Jaune and Ruby, sending the girl a small apologetic smile before running after Jaune. Alice looked at Team RWBY with a cold stare and walked off, followed by Ren and Nora.

"I messed up didn't I?" Yang said.

"Messed up? YOU DID MORE THAN MESS UP! THIS WAS OUR CHANCE TO SET THINGS STRAIGHT AND APOLOGIZE!" Ruby yelled. Yang took a step back. Ruby was rarely angry and during the times she was, it was generally comical but this Ruby, this Ruby was genuinely angry and it scared her.

"Ruby, calm down-!"

"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN ICE QUEEN!" Ruby said. "Now sit there and be quiet! That's an order!"

Weiss shut up and looked away.

Ruby turned her smoldering silver gaze back on her older sister.

"Yang, what went through that head of yours when you decided to greet him like nothing ever happened when you know that wasn't the case," Ruby said.

"I was just being friendly. I thought if I was nice, we could ease into the apology," Yang said.

"And you say I have no social tact?" Ruby said incredulously. "Jeez! We talked about this! We were going to work for it, not ease our way into it! This isn't a bar, Yang! This was supposed to be the first step to rebuilding our bridge to Jaune!"

"I know… I know… I'm sorry. It's just the moment I saw him, I don't know, everything we said we would say just went flying out the window. I was… nervous at seeing him again after everything I did. I'm genuinely surprised he didn't attack me on the spot," Yang said in an uncharacteristically meek manner.

Ruby's features softened when she saw how sorry Yang was.

"No, no, it's fine. He said that he'd talk to us again once things settled down a little," Ruby said.

"Ruby," Blake said.

"Don't think that I haven't figured it out," Ruby said. "You knew he was alive when you got back but didn't tell us."

Blake remained silent.

"No more secrets, Blake," Ruby said.

She nodded in response to Ruby's words.

Ruby sighed. "Let's just go back to the dorm and get some rest. It'll clear our heads of what just happened and we can approach this at another angle."

They nodded and went back to their dorms.

Ozpin looked outside of his window. Today was the day the students would begin to pour in. Students from the other Kingdoms of Mistral, Atlas, and Vacuo would arrive at Beacon in order to participate in the Vytal Tournament which was being held at Beacon Academy this time. But his primary concern was a certain someone.

"Should I do something about this?" Glynda asked, glancing at the armada that had assembled itself above their Academy.

Eight large airships hovered above Beacon. The ships had a distinct arrow-shaped hull and were a dark chrome silver in color. It had two nacelles protruding from its sides while a series of spines that were used for aerial navigation protruded from the engine supports. Several exhaust nozzles protruded from in between the spines as well as two propulsion nozzles were seen extending from the nacelles. The ship had large forward laser batteries.

"No, I assume James is currently on his way here?" Ozpin asked.

"Yes, but did he seriously have to bring an army?" Glynda asked.

"You know James," Ozpin said.

As if on cue, the elevator door rang and outstepped a man who possessed the stature and demeanor of a man who demanded the respect and attention of everyone in the room. He dressed sharply, wearing a white overcoat with two breast pockets and the Atlesian Emblem on his arm. He wore a grey undercoat with a black sweater as well as a red tie. His pants were the same color as his overcoat, tucked into his silver boots with grey accents.

"James," Ozpin said, seeing his reflection in the window.

"Ozpin. Glynda, you look as lovely as ever," James said.

"Oh, James," Glynda said, crossing her arms.

"Glynda, please excuse us," Ozpin said.

She nodded and left the room, not even bothering to glance at the general on her way out.

"She hasn't changed," James said.

"Hmm, she just doesn't agree with some of the things Atlas performs behind closed doors," Ozpin said. "But that's not what we're here to discuss."

"I see you have grievances about the fleet but I assure you that I am doing this to safeguard the Vytal Festival," James said.

"James, we're currently living in a time of peace. The War ended ages ago. There's no need for power displays such as this. People might get the wrong opinion, especially since the Vytal Festival of all events is coming up," Ozpin said.

"Normally, I wouldn't however, Qrow's warning shows that this world isn't as peaceful nor are we as safe as we want to believe," James said.

"Our world has never been the ideal world we wanted it to be where we don't have to live in fear of Grimm and people such as her and Roman don't exist… however, if we are to heed Qrow's warning, then we must handle this tactfully and arm our forces rather than perform a power display in hopes of scaring them all off," Ozpin said.

"You can never be too careful, Ozpin. Especially with what we know," James said. A beeping noise went off on his wrist.

"Work?" Ozpin asked.

"An incoming transmission from Winter," James said. "Excuse me, I have to take this."

"Of course," Ozpin said. James nodded and turned around, making his way to the elevator. He stopped before opening the door, glancing over at Ozpin.

"Are you sure your children are capable of performing within the setting of war?" James asked.

"I pray that they never have to," Ozpin said.

Haha! Alright, so that's the end of this chapter. I'd like to thank the reviewer WearmyCurmudgeon for helping me come up with the team name for JNLVA. JNLVA is derived from the name of a mineral named Johnkoivulate which is a gem from a Beryl Group and is violet in color, which I gotta say fits with the color of Jaune's aura. Another thing is that I introduced a way to class Grimm which is based on the classification of Honkai Beasts from Honkai Impact 3rd.

So from lowest to highest:

-Radical Class Grimm. Examples are Beowolves, Rapier Wasps, and Boarbatusks.

-Cavalier Class Grimm. Examples are Ursas. Alpha Beowolves.

-Ballista Class Grimm. Nevermores are in this class.

-Chariot Class Grimm. An example is a Goliath and Deathstalkers. Nuckelavees are Chariot Class Grimm as well.

-Sanctuary Class Grimm. The Glavenus in this chapter was an example. Garm are also Sanctuary Class Grimm as well as some Elder Grimm.

-Emperor Class Grimm. Apathy, Sphinx, Manticore, Megoliath, and Sea Leifong are Emperor Class Grimm.

-Judgement Class Grimm. The strongest type of Grimm. Grimm such as the Wyvern are Judgement Class Grimm.

Well, that's the end of that chapter. Remember to have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours~!

Edit: I read your comments and I have to agree. Sorry, Wearmy but thank you for the suggestion. Team JNPAR does sound better since it is closer to team JNPR.