[RWBY] No Victory in Strength (Minecraft Jaune)

[eratas123]

Weiss' thoughts on Jaune in the Minecraft story.

She wanted...no, she needed to convince Jaune of the righteousness of her cause. They could do...so much good together for all of Remnant. His abilities and her guidance, they would be unstoppable.

But how, she thought. Again, she was forced to reckon with the fact that she had nothing to offer him. Money and connections were pointless to someone with his gifts. She could try to convince him with just words - she always thought she had the gift of the gab - but what she was asking for was no easy thing. Months, if not years, of dedication with nothing to incentivize or reward him with. Jaune seemed to be a good man, but would he do all that out nothing but the goodness of his heart? Domremy was his home, so he had a vested interest in improving it, but she couldn't get that same guarantee for the SDC. Helping all of Remnant sounded good on paper, but it was too...abstract. Indirect.

And then, an idea came to her. Seduction. He wouldn't do so much for a stranger regardless of how good of a cause it was - she doubted anyone on Remnant would - but for a partner? Yes, she could see Jaune caring enough to put in all his effort.

A voice at the back of her head whispered about how she was being no better than Father. She squashed it down. This was different. Father married mother for the sake of greed and short-sighted profit without a care for who he hurt. She was doing this for the greater good of Remnant. And besides, she wouldn't have been...opposed to getting together with Jaune. He was kind, generous, selfless, and rather fetching to look at. It would be a happy union, not like what Mother and Father had.

What do you guys think? Is she being scummy with this or what?

 

[Lyrista]

More dishonest with herself. She's making excuses and self rationalizing her actions. She sounds like she deep down knows her intentions are ethically sketchy which is why she's clinging to the parts were she truthfully has good intentions to try to ignore or silence any guilty feelings of conscience

 

[eratas123]

More dishonest with herself. She's making excuses and self rationalizing her actions. She sounds like she deep down knows her intentions are ethically sketchy which is why she's clinging to the parts were she truthfully has good intentions to try to ignore or silence any guilty feelings of conscience

Click to shrink...

Do you consider her different from Jacques here? She does say she ahs good intentions and wouldn't treat him like Jacques treats Willow, hence it's 'okay'.

 

[Lyrista]

Do you consider her different from Jacques here? She does say she ahs good intentions and wouldn't treat him like Jacques treats Willow, hence it's 'okay'.

Click to shrink...

It's what she's telling herself, and it's probably true even, but I think she's smart enough to see some unsettling parallels to herself and Jacques. The foreign person inserting themselves in a wildly successful organization to redirect it's efforts in the way she envision is the "right" way for Jaune's semblance to be used. She's trying to insert herself the only way she can.

Through marriage.

The Jacques parallels only intensify....

She means well... but if she doesn't feel uncomfortable that she's pulling a Jacques, I'd be surprised

 

[eratas123]

It's what she's telling herself, and it's probably true even, but I think she's smart enough to see some unsettling parallels to herself and Jacques. The foreign person inserting themselves in a wildly successful organization to redirect it's efforts in the way she envision is the "right" way for Jaune's semblance to be used. She's trying to insert herself the only way she can.

Through marriage.

The Jacques parallels only intensify....

She means well... but if she doesn't feel uncomfortable that she's pulling a Jacques, I'd be surprised

Click to shrink...

To play devil's advocate, what other way does she have? She acknowledges that money and connections will not help her here. Not sure how good of a justification that is, though.

 

[Lyrista]

To play devil's advocate, what other way does she have? She acknowledges that money and connections will not help her here. Not sure how good of a justification that is, though.

Click to shrink...

Sorry, I might not be clear here.

There's nothing wrong with her approach and her motivations are clear. My thought process is the creepy Jacques parallels are a good source of conflict and drama for Weiss. Blake throwing that in her face, shame and disgust if Jacques praised her drive in approaching Jaune like this.

She may actually have good intentions with this and would sincerely treat Jaune well. It'll just be how other people view and react to Weiss's "methods"

 

[eratas123]

Sorry, I might not be clear here.

There's nothing wrong with her approach and her motivations are clear. My thought process is the creepy Jacques parallels are a good source of conflict and drama for Weiss. Blake throwing that in her face, shame and disgust if Jacques praised her drive in approaching Jaune like this.

She may actually have good intentions with this and would sincerely treat Jaune well. It'll just be how other people view and react to Weiss's "methods"

Click to shrink...

Got it Though, wouldn't Blake also be judged harshly for doing the same thing? I imagine Blake calling out Weiss would lead to the latter simply deriding her as a hypocrite.

 

[Lyrista]

Got it Though, wouldn't Blake also be judged harshly for doing the same thing? I imagine Blake calling out Weiss would lead to the latter simply deriding her as a hypocrite.

Click to shrink...

Hypocrisy is Blake's middle name after all. I'm sure there's plenty Blake can be called out for as well.

I mean Weiss at least has things she can bring to the table, Blake is basically prostituting herself to Jaune for handouts to the Faunus

 

[eratas123]

Hypocrisy is Blake's middle name after all. I'm sure there's plenty Blake can be called out for as well.

I mean Weiss at least has things she can bring to the table, Blake is basically prostituting herself to Jaune for handouts to the Faunus

Click to shrink...

Ouch. Brutal but honest there. Though, I guess it really depends if you see seduction that way. No one really says James Bond is prostituting himself if he seduces female villains.

 

[Lyrista]

Ouch. Brutal but honest there. Though, I guess it really depends if you see seduction that way. No one really says James Bond is prostituting himself if he seduces female villains.

Click to shrink...

Depends on how personal Blake gets with her attacks on Weiss right? Calling Weiss out for being "Daddy's little girl" is going to invite scathing retaliation.

Or Blake can be teased for living out one of the Protagonists from her porn books right?

 

[eratas123]

Depends on how personal Blake gets with her attacks on Weiss right? Calling Weiss out for being "Daddy's little girl" is going to invite scathing retaliation.

Or Blake can be teased for living out one of the Protagonists from her porn books right?

Click to shrink...

Yeah. I do want this to be mostly humorous, so gonna try to avoid really nasty insults.

She does try using her books when she realizes that her existing near Jaune isn't enough to make him fall madly in love with ehr like Sun, Adam, and Ilia. Then she complains about how hard it all is and why Jaune can't just be like the rest of her harem.

 

[Lyrista]

Blake: "My Bellabooty failed me?!? This has never happened before!"

 

[eratas123]

Blake might get with Jaune dead last, even behind Pyrrha. And for anyone who's read my fics, they would know how big that is given that Pyrrha is a walking L in my stories.

 

[Lyrista]

Ouch.... the worst burn of all

 

[eratas123]

Writing Minecraft Jaune chapter 4...and I failed to have Ruby fail to flirt with Jaune. Curse my Lancaster loving heart!

 

[eratas123]

Next Minecraft Jaune chapter. We get the first hint of Jaune becoming more well-known and more about how he does what he does. For those curious about portals? Yeah, they're explained.

One thing I find funny is people making theories about Jaune's family. Neither I or the commissioner really planned anything for them. The only canon family we have is Saphron and I have no interest on making a bunch of OC's for Jaune's sisters/Mom and Dad. I'll be focusing more on Jaune himself in later chapters, albeit from the POV of other characters who try to exploit him.

Cause that is the biggest selling point here (besides the comedy and harem). The faction warfare. One thing that's going to be interesting is that all these groups want Jaune's help but have basically nothing to offer him. Money? He has billions of lien in assets. Connections? His kingdom is fully self-sufficient and does not need the help of others. Jaune wants for nothing while they want his powers.

So it leaves these powerful people - Ozpin, Ironwood, Atlas, Cinder, White Fang etc - scrambling because, for the first time since forever, they have empty hands and no cards to play. So they have to get creative. Seduction is the easiest, which is what Weiss and Blake go for. White Fang might go for kidnapping and trying to enslave Jaune, ditto Cinder. So on and so forth.

For anyone interested in making a commission, email me at: storylover543@gmail.com

---

Chapter 3: Of Portals and Knights

Ruby woke up feeling like a million lien. The leader of Team RWBY sat up and stretched her arms above her head. She felt absolutely amazing. Like she'd slept in a field of rose petals after a full chocolate bath. Yes, Yang, that would feel awesome, shut up!

She yawned cutely and looked at the rest of her team. Her friends, fellow Huntresses...and the ones trying to steal her soulmate!

Her mouth dipped down as she remembered what happened yesterday. Everything was so perfect. They'd gotten their first mission, they went to a really cool place, and she met Jaune. Her soulmate. The guy she was gonna spend the rest of her life with. She wouldn't say it was love at first sight or anything like Mom had with Dad, but it was close enough. He liked the same things she did, he was super nice, thought her being a Huntress was cool, and he loved building stuff! Just like her! Okay, maybe she preferred weapons to buildings, but so what? They still shared crafting, which was more than she could say for the rest of her traitorous teammates.

Ruby pouted and kept glaring at the rest of Team RWBY as they woke up. If she wasn't so angry she might've thought it was weird that they all woke up at the same time, "Your face is gonna lock up if you keep glaring like that, Rubes." Yang yawned and moved her arms, making her stupid big boobs bounce. Ruby wasn't jealous. She was gonna grow up to be even sexier than Yang was anyway, so why would she be? Besides, she knew Jaune liked fun-sized people more. Just a feeling she got.

Everyone got up and looked at one another, but none of them said a word. It was hard to forget what happened last night. They were all after Jaune, though the rest of them were being selfish. Blake and Weiss just wanted to use him for their plans and Yang...well, she was a butt cause she was trying to take her soulmate! Yang didn't have the connection that she and Jaune had. She spent her time partying in nightclubs and doing 'cool kid' junk while Ruby was the one who liked all the 'dorky' stuff. Yang couldn't just decide she liked that stuff now just cause Jaune did those things too!

A part of her wanted to rush out and tell Jaune about Blake and Weiss' plans, but she held back. Logically, she knew she had no proof. She knew she was telling the truth, and maybe Yang would back her up, but they could also accuse her of just making stuff up to make them look bad. It would've just been 'He said, She said' if she told him now. Even ignoring that, as mad as Ruby was at the two for being so selfish, they were still her friends. She didn't want Jaune to be mad at them.

Especially since she wanted to invite them to the wedding.

The tense atmosphere was broken up by a sudden call from outside, "Hey, if you guys are awake, I made breakfast!" Jaune called.

The four of them got dressed and went down. The smell of eggs and bacon in the air made Ruby salivate, and it only got worse when they got to the dining room and saw Jaune in an apron with his hair tied back. Big muscley guy with an apron...oh yeah, "Oh, morning!" Jaune smiled at them, "I hope you guys had a good sleep." He set down a plate filled with a towering stack of pancakes. She could already hear Nora screaming in jealousy.

"It was a very satisfying rest. Thank you, Jaune." Ruby's eyes narrowed at the demure way Weiss replied.

"Yeah, awesome. Shame I had to sleep alone." Ruby gnashed her teeth together at Yang's wink.

She expected Blake to say something stupidly flirty too. Instead, she went past Jaune and picked up a couple of the plates from the kitchen counter, "We're the guests here. It's only right that we help."

Ruby almost screamed in frustration. Her team was stealing her soulmate! "I-I can help too!" Activating her Semblance, she zipped between the kitchen and dining room, carrying the mountain of plates between in no time at all.

"Thanks, Ruby! You too, Blake." Ruby pursed her lips. She carried two plates. Two!

Biting back her anger, the five of them sat down and dug into the mountains of food. They were all used to varied meals back at Beacon, but this was pretty extreme even by their standards. The table was huge enough to accommodate the stack of plates, each of them filled with amazing-looking food. Crispy bacon, sunny side-up eggs, pancakes, meat on a stick, a plate of cookies, a whole cake...anything they might've wanted back at Beacon. It tasted so good too. Beacon hired the best chefs they could, but this made that food feel stale.

Ruby looked up from the eggs to Jaune. What could she do or say to get his attention, she wondered. She had some alone time with him later cause they were upgrading Crescent Rose, but she didn't wanna risk them doing something funny before then.

Her plan of somehow extending her leg ten feet to play footsie was ruined when a pair of cyan-colored eyes appeared next to her on the table. Ruby shrieked and jumped up while the rest of the team put their hands up, "My, my. This always happens." The pair of eyes blinked and a body of what looked like a purple and cyan cat made out of Hard-Light Dust suddenly appeared. She, Weiss, and Blake looked on at the...thing curiously while Yang suddenly had a haunted look in her eyes.

"Well, that's what happens when you suddenly appear in front of people, Curious." Jaune huffed lightly.

"I introduced myself to the blonde one yesterday!" the cat thing protested. Yang suddenly found her nails super interesting, "But fine. I am the Curious Cat, though most people call me Curious. Are any of you interested in chatting?"

"About what?" Ruby asked before she could stop herself.

"Anything!" It stood up on its hind legs and touched her arm, "So many new arrivals, all with such fascinating lives! A farmer, a warrior, a drunkard, a man of peace, a man of war...so many interesting histories! Word on the grapevine is that you four are Huntresses-in-training. I've never talked to one of those before!"

"Wait, Curious Cat?" Blake muttered, "Hold on, are you the Curious Cat from the stories? 'The Girl Who Fell Through the World'?"

"I suppose you could say that." The Cat sighed and licked its right paw, "Though Alyx was rather flattering to herself in that little tale. Though, I suppose saying she was a vicious little monster wouldn't have gone down very well." Ruby blinked at the sudden nastiness in its tone, "But, let's not talk about such unpleasant things. Tell me, how is it being a Huntress? I've heard such fascinating things! Is it true that Huntresses spend their time fighting while not caring at all about civilians?"

"What? Where did you hear such a baseless idea?" Weiss scoffed.

"One of the new residents was from the city of Vale. She mentioned a story about when she'd gone to a club of night when suddenly some Huntress attacked the owners and destroyed the place. The poor woman sounded so scared. It must've been horrifying."

...

Ruby, Blake, and Weiss looked at Yang. Her big sis whistled innocently and refused to look them in the eyes, "Come on, that wouldn't have been a Huntress," Jaune laughed, rubbing the Cat's chin, "I bet it was, like, another criminal or something. Cause what kind of Huntress just attacks a place full of civilians like that?"

"Ahaha, yeah! Be totally crazy if a Huntress did something like that." Yang grinned, "So...uh, who's the Cat? Like is he literally the one from the fairytale?"

"Pretty much. At least that's how they tell it." Jaune shrugged.

"Are you telling us that fairytales are real?" Blake asked, "What about the story of the four Maidens or the Silver-Eyed Warriors? Are those real too?" Ruby blinked her silver eyes at Blake's sudden excitement. It was the most expressive she'd seen her in the months they knew each other. And if Blake wasn't a thieving cat who was trying to steal her soulmate, Ruby would've found it cute. But she was, so Ruby refused to find it cute.

"I don't know about that, but I guess? The Ever After is definitely real. I've been there."

"I'm sorry, are you telling us you've been to a fairytale land?" Weiss asked, "Despite all the borderline miraculous things I've seen so far, I find that rather unbelievable, Jaune."

"I could show you after we finish eating." Jaune shrugged.

The four of them ate much quicker after that, Blake slightly less so cause she was fangirling over the Hard-Light cat. Ruby wiped her mouth and rushed the dishes back to the kitchen after everyone was done. As much as she wanted to monopolize Jaune's time, she was curious about how Jaune was gonna prove fairy tales were real. She was a big fan of those stories too, though she preferred the ones where evil was vanquished and the good guys won. The depressing fairytales were just dark and boring.

Jaune led them to a door with the words 'PORTAL ROOM' signed over the top. They stepped inside and Ruby gasped at the big room on the other end. It was as big as Beacon's auditorium with big stone doorways lined up in a semi-circle around the center. She counted seven of them, each showing a different willowy image. The one to the left had a big tree and a multicolored field while another showed a village full of people carrying weapons twice their size and wearing awesome-looking armor. She almost reached a hand out to touch it before Jaune suddenly pulled her hand away.

"Be careful, Ruby." She barely noticed that he was holding her hand before he let go, "You can't get into the portals unless I give you the right crystals, but it'll zap you something fierce if you try to touch it."

"Wh-What is this place?" Ruby asked.

"Portals to other dimensions," Jaune said way too casually. Weiss' mouth opened in a slack-jawed expression while Blake and Yang peered into the shimmering portals, "Some of the things I wanted to build came from materials that...well, just didn't exist in this universe. I was racking my head for what to do and it just suddenly came to me one morning. If it doesn't exist here, why don't I go to a place where it does exist? That's how I first got to the Ever After."

"A stroke of fate I still praise," the Cat said, brushing against Jaune's legs.

"But even the Ever After didn't have all the materials I needed, so I made a few more portals." He gestured to the other six gates, "One world's filled with giant monsters and the people who hunt them, so I use that when gathering up materials for weapons and armor. There's another world that's been frozen over that's just full of minerals and other gems. And this place is The Nether." He pointed to a gate that looked like it led straight to hell, "The Nether's not a nice place. I don't like going there or to The End."

"Um...so, you access different dimensions?" Weiss asked the obvious.

"Yep," Jaune said, popping the P. Just like she did, "Don't get me wrong, Remnant has a lot of awesome materials - I'm stockpiling Gravity Dust to make a floating castle - but if you want something exotic, staying in one dimension is just so limiting." He shook his head and pointed to the gate on the rightmost side, "And it's a good place to take a break from it all sometimes. That one leads to a beach world. Just the sun, waves, and all the fish you can eat." Blake shivered and wiped some drool from the side of her mouth, "That's where my family's at right now, actually. I suggested they take a vacation to celebrate my nephew's first birthday."

"I explore those worlds at times, though I find myself always returning to Remnant," the Cat added.

Blake coughed, "Speaking of beach islands. Jaune, what do you think about-"

"I think we should give Jaune some space. We wouldn't want to impose too much on his hospitality," Weiss cut in forcefully. Blake gave her a venomous glare and looked like she was about to spit out something nasty when Weiss continued, "We haven't really explored the town as a team, so I think we should do just that and give you some time to return to your crafting."

"Huh? Alright, have fun!"

Jaune left with the Cat following after him. Blake waited till they were out of sight before she rounded on Weiss with a glare, "You can't stop me, Weiss."

"I'm doing what I can for the good of Remnant as a whole. Jaune can help you once my father doesn't have a stranglehold on a resource that everyone, Human and Faunus, need to survive."

"You're both being jerks!" Ruby stamped her foot. She still cared about them, but they were being real butts right now, "Jaune isn't someone for you both to...use like that! He's a person! He's free to choose what he wants and who he should be with." And he should choose her. She wouldn't force him - she wasn't a bad person - but she was better for him than Weiss and Blake were. She wouldn't use him to try and change Remnant or anything.

"Gods, why are you all being idiots about this?" Yang sighed, "Look...let's just go down to the city like Weiss-scream said. Then maybe you three will stop being so dang crazy about this."

"Tch, don't as if you're so above it all, Xiao-Long." Weiss scoffed, "What was it you said earlier? 'Shame I had to sleep alone'?" Weiss asked sarcastically, changing her voice to sound eerily close to her big sister's, "Blake and I may have our disagreements, but we're not doing this for something as petty as getting a boyfriend. Look at what Jaune has done and tell me Remnant wouldn't benefit from his gifts. With my guidance, things can change for the better."

"I agreed with you up until the last part." Blake rolled her eyes.

The four of them looked at one another for a moment before they eventually filed out. At least if they were all in town then it meant that the other three weren't sinking their greedy claws into Jaune. Ruby stared ahead with a firm expression. She always said that she didn't wanna stand out. Just be Ruby 'Normal Knees' Rose. Well, nuts to that! She wasn't gonna lose here! She was a hecking awesome kick-butt Huntress that got to Beacon two years early for a reason - cause she was that good!

---

Glynda set her glasses down and pinched the bridge of her nose. Being the Deputy Headmistress of Beacon sounded like a prestigious position, one that demanded respect and admiration. Perhaps that was true, though it was also a position that demanded being Ozpin's gopher.

She respected the headmaster, she truly did, but a part of her still wondered how exactly he'd attained his position. Immortal puppetmaster or not, the man flagrantly flouted the rules whenever it suited him, played unabashed favorites (such as with Team RWBY), and refused to do his paperwork even as he was dragged kicking and screaming into it. Which left her having to do the paperwork, if only because she didn't want Beacon to collapse. She'd nearly had a heart attack when they were audited last month and their paperwork made it appear they were pocketing half of the budget for themselves.

They weren't, of course. Ozpin was simply very bad at managing his paperwork.

She sighed and looked to the office she was temporarily sharing with the headmaster. Her own office was currently under repair because a certain someone who shall not be named - though their name rhymed with Rang Xian Lung - had picked a fight with one Cardin Winchester after he made an off-color remark about her little sister. The fight had spilled over to her office and it somehow ended with the entire room being coated with orange paint. Mr. Winchester received detention. Ms. Xian Lung did not because Ozpin played favorites.

Her eyes flicked over to the headmaster. The old man sat on his chair and looked seriously over at the screen of his computer. To anyone else, he might've looked hard at work, but Glynda saw the reflection of what was undoubtedly a card game on his glasses. Her right eye twitched and she took a deep breath. Flinging the computer straight at his head would only strain the budget even more and possibly kill him. That would've been murder. But even worse than that, they'd have to wait for him to through puberty again. And she was not going to babysit the headmaster.

Ignoring her boss, she looked back at her own computer and read through the reports. The first years were going on their first official missions, which was always a transitional period. It was the first time for many of them to do a task without having the professors as a safety net. Even the Initiation was closely monitored. Granted, none of the first years were allowed to take Grimm extermination missions. The average first-year mission involved shadowing a more experienced Huntsman or camping out in the field.

And reports. Better to teach them early that the contract board demands meticulous record keeping.

She scanned through the reports on autopilot. So far so good. There were a few incidents of some incidents like one student who used poison ivy as makeshift toilet paper, but nothing life-threatening. She slowed as she came to Team RWBY's report. Team RWBY had proved...troublesome. A very effective team given their age - their performance at Initiation spoke for itself - but also troublesome. The fact that they'd destroyed a chunk of the docks a few weeks into the school year only proved that.

That wasn't even getting into the members themselves. Ruby Rose was a fifteen-year-old girl who Ozpin let in early because of her Silver Eyes and reckless vigilante actions. Weiss Schnee was heiress to the SDC, which wouldn't have been a problem in and of itself if the headmaster somehow didn't think it would be a problem to put her on the same team as Blake Belladonna, former White Fang terrorist who didn't even bother to change her name. And of course, there was Yang Xiao Long, who'd destroyed a nightclub that belonged to a 'reputable businessman' by the name of Hei Xiong. While she had little sympathy for criminals, instigating fights where civilians were involved would've gotten almost anyone suspended, if not expelled outright.

But of course, she was Qrow's niece, so the matter was swept under the rug.

Glynda sighed once again. She wasn't naive. Huntsmen were as political as anyone else despite their seemingly apolitical nature and she was well aware of the need to grease certain palms or look the other way at times, but she had her doubts that giving Team RWBY such blatant favoritism wouldn't blow up in their faces. Teenagers who thought themselves invincible and immune to consequences got big heads and thought they knew better than everyone else.

She scanned the document and stopped. Ms. Schnee's report was...enlightening. And yes, she knew it was Ms. Schnee writing the reports. While the grade demanded that leaders be the ones to write those, she was willing to look the other way if it meant making her life just a bit easier. And perhaps she sympathized with Ms. Schnee for doing the job her leader was supposed to do. She'd make sure to give her a few extra credit bumps.

Glynda read through the report twice to make sure she was getting it right. Were it anyone else, talk about 'diamond armor that could take a bullet from Crescent Rose', 'plants that could grow in minutes', and other such fantastical things would've already been disregarded as someone clearly incapable of distinguishing from fantasy from reality. But this was Ms. Schnee. The idea of her lying about this was unlikely. No, clearly the fantastical things she listed must've been real.

"Ozpin, you should read this report from Team RWBY." She forwarded the report to him.

"Thank you. And it's Headmaster, Glynda."

"I'll call you that when you do your own paperwork, Ozpin," she said, giving him a sickly sweet smile.

He looked like he was going to argue before remembering how much he hated actually doing his job. Instead, he turned back to his computer and read through the report, "This sounds rather...unbelievable." Ozpin hummed, "I'd heard rumors of a village that was rapidly expanding out in the countryside, but this sounds far more...intriguing than I anticipated." Oh no. Glynda could already see the gears turning in his head, "This Jaune Arc could prove useful."

"Ozpin." Glynda breathed out roughly, "How many teenagers are you planning to induct? You're already giving Team RWBY blatant preferential treatment."

"For good reason. Ms. Rose is a prodigy, Ms. Xiao Long is the best fighter in her year outside of Ms. Nikos, Ms. Schnee is the future heiress to the SDC, and Ms. Belladonna is the daughter of the leaders of Menagerie. A little favor here and there is worth their assistance against her." He said the word like a curse, "If Mr. Arc is even half as good as Ms. Schnee's report makes him out to be, then gaining his aid would be invaluable."

"You're very fortunate that I'm aware of the context else I'd have to report you for collecting teenagers like trophies," Glynda said flatly.

"Noted. Please send Team PNCR to reinforce Team RWBY." Team PNCR (Pincer). Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, and the Atlesian transfer student, Ciel Soleil. Besides Team RWBY, they were the ones who had proven the most adept in their year. Ozpin hadn't treated them with favoritism...yet. It was only a matter of time, "Ms. Soleil is very meticulous with recording details. I'm sure she can gather information better than anyone else can."

"Why are you like this?"

"There is a method to my madness." So he knew he was mad? She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, "And...it's not just with regards to Salem." Ozpin coughed, "We've been having some...budgetary issues of late that Mr. Arc could help with."

"Hm, and I wonder why that would be?" Glynda gave him a withering look, "Could it be because we had to pay a settlement to avoid Hei Xiong from suing Ms. Xiao Long? Because we had to pay for reparations for the docks incident since it was our students who were responsible? Or maybe because we had to repair the cafeteria after Team RWBY and Team PNCR had some 'innocent fun'?" Her Semblance was impressive, and she certainly made a show of repairing everything easily, but that was far from the truth. Plates were still broken, food was still wasted, and the infrastructure needed proper repairs after the damage the two teams had done. All of which cost money.

"I'm sure I don't know." Ozpin didn't look her in the eyes, "Beacon could use some repairs, and if Mr. Arc is as adept as Ms. Schnee claims him to be, well...I wouldn't say no if he offered. Some of the technology in this Domremy settlement sounds fascinating. Easily enough to beat even the "

"...Please limit your schemes, Ozpin."

"You need more faith in me, Glynda." He sipped his hot chocolate while Glynda slammed her head on her desk. Something told her she was going to be cleaning up whatever mess came from this.

---

Well...this was awkward.

Blake was used to silence. Preferred it, really. Her idea of a good time was curling up in the library or the fireplace with a good book and a cup of tea. It was one of the few things she and Weiss had in common.

Still, just because Blake preferred the quiet didn't mean that she was a fan of awkward silences, which was exactly what was going on here now. Team RWBY was noisy, but it was a...comfortable kind of noise. Usually Ruby would've been chattering on about this or that while Weiss made snippy but obviously affectionate remarks. Yang would jump in with whatever topic came to mind and would try to get her to talk too, which she sometimes did if she was in a good mood. It was a dynamic she'd gotten used to over the months she spent with them.

Now there was nothing. No noise, no chatting, just a heavy silence with nothing but the sounds of their footsteps as they walked down from the castle. Leaves crunched underfoot and a calm breeze blew through the town, causing Blake's long hair to dance. It was a picturesque scene that was ruined by the miasma of misery hanging over their team. She knew it was inevitable, but that didn't mean she felt good about it, even if she knew she couldn't stop. The fate of the Faunus rested on her shoulders.

She didn't hate Weiss. A part of her understood exactly why the heiress was so determined to get Jaune's help, and in many ways, she respected her goals. But this went beyond cheaper Dust and better workplace conditions. This was about the Faunus as a whole. Equality was centuries in the making and they'd waited long enough. A kingdom of their own would go a long way to ensuring that they could stand as equals against their oppressors. She knew she could sell it to her parents and the less radical of the White Fang.

They made it down to the city proper and the silence was overridden by the sounds of the citizens going about their daily lives. She debated splitting off from the others or staying to try and find some way to help the awkward situation (that was in no way her fault) when she heard it. Voices that had an odder undercurrent to them. Her cat ears twitched from under her bow and her brows furrowed. Being a Faunus meant having better hearing than the rest of her team alongside her night vision, and she picked up the subtle conversation. There was something different about the words that she couldn't explain, but she found herself drawn to the sound regardless.

"Hey, Blakey? What's up?" Yang asked. Blake ignored her and kept moving, slipping past crowds of people till she got to an alley. Her cat ears were practically thrumming and she untied her bow, exposing her Faunus trait for all to see. She didn't have to fear being judged here.

She walked down the alley till she reached a slightly ajar door. The voices got louder and louder and she was compelled to reach her hand out and pry it open till she felt a firm grip on her right shoulder, "Don't do it, Blake," Yang said, her voice hollow. From behind her, she saw Weiss and Ruby look at them both in confusion, "Once you open that door...there's no going back."

...

Blake shrugged her off and opened the door to peek inside.

Cats. Lots of cats. She counted at least a dozen of them sitting on a table fit for fine dining. Embroidered cloth draped over a dark mahogany table, fancy silverware, and even a burning chandelier overhead. The room was equally fancy and decorated with paintings and royal gold wallpaper. If it wasn't just a single room in the middle of an alley, she might've thought that she was peeking into one of those fancy restaurants she never would've been able to afford.

Her attention was drawn once again to the cats. She'd seen many cats over the years, though not enough to really distinguish one breed from another. Despite her lack of knowledge, she definitely knew that cats wearing monocles, top hats, and suits were definitely not normal. Some rich people - Atlesians, mostly - dressed up their pets, sure, but this was going above and beyond. They were dressed better than most of the people in the city!

"I've heard the dogs growling again," one striped cat said. Its - his - voice was unbelievably posh considering it was licking between its legs, "The mongrels are threatening us once more because they cannot understand their place." She barely noticed Ruby and Weiss peeking up and over her shoulder. Yang had chosen to stay well far away.

"Oh dear, don't let it bother you," the female voice came from a fat, orange cat, "Lesser beings often hate their betters. To be Better is to be scorned. Take their hatred as proof of our superiority." Blake's right eye twitched. Why did she suddenly feel like murdering a cat? She wasn't a fan of dogs either, but still... "Speaking of our Lessers, did you hear the rumors? One of those Faunus has shown up in town. And not just any Faunus." Its face scrunched together, "A Cat Faunus."

That got a load of hissing and angry meows, with one even coughing up a hairball, "It's bad enough that they imitate the other animals poorly, but must they involve us in their charade? The thought of us being mired with lesser beings..." The brown cat shuddered.

"One wonders where such genetic aberrations originated from?" A pure white cat licked his paw, "Did some of our kind deign to debase themselves by interbreeding with lesser beings? Or perhaps they're the creation of some humans that wished to get closer to true perfection?"

"I think they're Humans who simply needed an excuse to be victimized." A black cat added. Blake grit her teeth and resisted the urge to reach for Gambol Shroud, "The Faunus who come here never stop whining about how they were treated oh-so-poorly before they arrived here. Poppycock. No one treats us with such scorn. No, the Humans are well aware of who is the true superior species. Honestly, I've half a mind to file a complaint about them appropriating our species for their own selfish ends."

"You're both wrong." A brown cat adjusted his top hat, "Don't you all remember the story of the gods? They created the Humans and the Faunus both. And now they're gone." He shook his head, "I don't blame them for not coming back. How else would one feel seeing how their creations have strayed? Do you think the Brothers stay away from because They too live in fear at what They've created here on this planet?" The other cats looked at him, "Stop looking at me like that. It's a good question."

Blake was torn between leaving and giving these arrogant felines a piece of her mind when she felt a sudden pressure on her back. She barely heard Ruby squeak before she, Weiss, and Ruby stumbled inside. They quickly regained their balance - Huntress training, and not because she was part cat - only to look up and find themselves the center of attention of a dozen pairs of feline eyes. Blake pursed her lips while Ruby and Weiss scrambled beside her.

"Oh, it's one of those," the orange cat said snobbily, "Come to see your betters, false feline? You should really remove those fake ears. It's an insult to us true felines. Why, you didn't even remove those inferior human ears of yours! If you're going to take being a cat, at least put in an effort!"

"Fake?!" Blake snarled, "Listen here, you little shit-"

"Oh, and it speaks! How adorable!"

Blake snarled. She'd dealt with racist shitheads before, but she was not gonna be talked down to by something licking its own crotch!

She was just about to reach out and strangle the damn thing when Ruby and Weiss grabbed one arm each and dragged her outside, "Let me go! I'm gonna kill them! These things are gonna die!" Blake snarled and struggled, legs swinging and mouth practically frothing. The cats smugly preened and waved at her as she was slowly dragged out of the room. She thought she was better than this, that she'd learned to swallow her pride, but she was wrong. She was gonna skin those cats alive!

Ruby and Weiss didn't let go of her till they were far away from the alley and those damn cats. Blake panted angrily and scowled at her two teammates, "Why did you stop me?"

"I'm sure we'd get in trouble if one of our team gets caught murdering a score of cats." Weiss sighed, "Those felines were rather... aggravating, I'll admit. It felt like I was back home in Atlas."

"I wouldn't have gotten caught..."

"Those were talking cats!" Ruby threw her hands up, "How are there talking cats? Jaune said he made intelligence potions, but he didn't mention it made animals talk!"

"Let's not question it," Yang said firmly, her voice leaving no room for argument. The four of them looked at one another, the tense air from before all but forgotten, before Blake nodded. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

---

They ended up on the wall. Ruby suggested that they check out the defenses of the place and the others agreed. Her bad mood from before, already fading because of the weird cats, practically disappeared as soon as she got a closer look at the defenses, "The people here are very well-equipped." Weiss hummed. Everyone was wearing iron armor and weapons. It looked pretty dated, especially for someone who used Aura instead of armor, but they knew better by now than to judge by appearances. Ruby wouldn't have been surprised if the armor could stop bullets as good as Aura could.

And speaking of bullets...

"Oh, wow! Awesome!" Ruby squeed, looking closer at the AA gun. It was big. REALLY big. The defenses back at Vale weren't anything to sneeze at, but they were...basic. The designs were from the Great War and hadn't changed much over the years.

This thing looked sleek. Curved gray and white metal with a long, smooth bore. The ones back at Vale were... utilitarian. Boxy metal contraptions filled with shells meant to blow Nevermores clear out of the sky. They packed a lot of power in them, sure, but they weren't elegant and they didn't push boundaries. She'd written more than one letter to the council suggesting improvements on the defenses. They never wrote her back...

Ruby salivated shamelessly at the big shells and it took everything she had not to sit down and look through the optics. There weren't any Grimm around, and the last thing she wanted was to cause a panic by firing something through that long, hard barrel. Still, she could at least imagine it. She closed her eyes and imagined a flock of Nevermores flying over the village. And then there was her, Super Huntress Ruby Rose with a cannon that would make Atlas jealous shooting them out of the sky.

And then Jaune would be so thankful about how she saved his kingdom. He'd tell her all about how awesome and brave she was and how he'd do anything to be with her. And then...and then!

"Rubes, you're...giggling pretty creepily there." Yang shook her shoulder, washing away the pleasant dream of Jaune giving her an engagement sniper rifle.

"I know you have a crush, Ruby, but please do try to control yourself. It'd be a shame if you became a slave to your hormones." Weiss sighed.

"I-I'm not!" Ruby stamped her foot on the ground and glared at her bestie, "And you shut up, Weiss! I saw you staring at Jaune's chest too!"

"I-I was not!"

"You were," Blake said.

"You shut it, Belladonna!"

Their lighthearted bickering was cut off when something else caught Ruby's eye. A collection of blurry figures in the distance outside the walls. "Hold on, is that..." She leaned over the edge of the wall and narrowed her eyes, trying to focus. Too far. She unfurled Crescent Rose and looked through the scope.

It was Jaune. He was whistling a tune and walking with a skip in his step, a diamond pickaxe slung over his shoulder. Surrounding him were a dozen golems wielding a myriad of melee weapons ranging from swords to axes to hammers. What really got her attention, though, was the ornate suit of armor. It was big, maybe 15 feet tall (though she might've been wrong given the distance), and colored black and blue. Unlike the golems, it looked stupidly fancy with intricate designs, sigils, and a flowing blue and gold cape. In its hands, it held a greatsword bigger than Jaune was, the obsidian blade lined with gold runes that seemed to glow in the sun.

It was the sexiest thing she'd ever seen. Besides Jaune, of course.

"What's wrong, Ruby?" Blake asked.

"It's Jaune. He's out there with a bunch of golems and a knight." She lowered the scope, "We should go out and help him. It's not safe out there."

It was obvious that they didn't buy that reasoning, but none of them disagreed. The four of them hopped down the wall and rushed to where Jaune was. She could've gone there faster with her Semblance, but she didn't bother. She could beat the rest of them in winning Jaune's heart if it came to a fight.

Jaune turned around when they showed up. The golems and the knight raised their weapons, "Woah, hold on, guys! They're friendly!" His bodyguards lowered their weapons and Jaune smiled, "Hey! What are you guys doing out here?"

"We saw you out here and got worried," Ruby said. No sense in lying, "Are you sure it's safe out here?"

"You mean the Grimm? I'll be fine. I've got my bodyguards." He grinned and tapped the knight's side. Now that she got a closer look, she saw the flowing white mane at the back of its helmet, "I go out here sometimes to gather materials or see if the land's good to expand to. Can never have enough space."

"Still, I think we should stay and-"

Ruby was cut off by a sudden growl to the left. Huntress instincts kicked in and she unsheathed Crescent Rose. And not a moment too soon. Out of the forest came a horde of Grimm. No, that was an understatement. The average Grimm group consisted of Beowolves with an Alpha if you were unlucky. If you were really unlucky then there could've been more exotic types like Beringels or Nevermores. Those usually made mincemeat out of militias.

The horde that stepped out wasn't anywhere close to that. There were four Beringels out near the front, their gorilla-like bodies shaking as they stomped the ground, Behind them was something that would make even experienced Huntsmen pause. Twenty Alpha Beowolves and fifteen Ursa Alphas, each of them snarling and pawing at the ground. To the left and right was were a pair of deathstalkers, their pincers raised menacingly. And at the head of the horde was a Grimm type they'd never seen before. A big, fat Cyclops-looking thing carrying a club made out of Grimm bone. It looked down at them hatefully through its blood-red eye and roared.

Ruby's heart pounded in her ears and she got down into a battle stance. She would've been lying if she said she wasn't nervous. She was pretty sure even her Dad and Uncle Qrow would've hesitated to fight a horde of this size, but she refused to back down. She was Ruby Rose, and she'd never turn her back on to the Grimm and the innocents they hurt! She was here, she was with her team, and Crescent Rose just got a new upgrade. She was ready! This was gonna be a battle for the ages!

...

Or at least it should've been.

Before any of them could move, the knight roared and charged ahead, a red Aura covering its entire body. It flipped through the air and smashed its greatsword into the ground, disintegrating two Alpha Beowolves in one go. The rest of the Grimm moved to attack it, snarling, biting, and clawing, but it didn't care at all. Ruby watched with both awe and horror as the knight reached out one of its gauntlets and crushed a Beringel's head between its armored fingers, turning the head into pulp before the Grimm disintegrated.

The sounds of whistling came from overhead and Ruby plugged her ears just before a barrage of artillery shells landed at the thick of the horde. The explosives tore the Grimm apart and created the ground, The Grimm didn't get a chance to recover before more shells came from overhead, slamming into the earth and mercilessly destroying them in a barrage of fire and heat.

By the end of the barrage, there was only the knight and the Cyclops left. The animated suit of armor looked almost pristine sans some dirt and ash while the cyclops was desperately trying to crawl away from the crater they were both in. Ruby almost felt sorry as she watched the knight slowly stride forward before it stomped the back of its bulbous head, slowly, painfully crushing the Grimm into the dirt while it screamed and flailed.

The armored boot stomped through the head and the Cyclops dissipated, leaving no trace of the horde that had been there just minutes before.

...

"Uh..." Yang said, breaking the silence.

"Sorry about that. Weird Grimm types show up around here for some reason. That's why I bring these guys along." The knight strode towards them and bowed to Jaune like he was a king. Weiss pursed her lips and looked more than a little jealous, "But yeah, I'm pretty safe around here with these guys around." He raised a hand, which the knight hi-fived.

"So many dangerous Grimm types converging together is...unnatural. I suggest we return to town and figure out why," Weiss said.

"I mean it's pretty common around here, but sure, why not? Let's go."

Jaune led the way back while Ruby took one last look at the crater where the horde used to be. Next time, she told herself as she held Crescent Rose. Next time she'd get her chance to shine and play with her upgraded baby.

---

Hm, I'd love to see Adam and the others try to go after Jaune with the Knight there. I'm sure it'll totally be a fair fight. Anyway, next chapter we have the girls individually trying to flirt with Jaune plus the introduction of Team PNCR. For all you Pyrrha fans out there, the commissioner said she's part of the harem, so against my desire to make her life suffering, she's gonna win out here, at least partially.

Wanna help support me (and gain access to chapters a week or two early)? Then check out the link below:

Patreon.com/Vendetta543

Questions:

1. Which faction do you guys want to focus on first and why? Ozpin will be prioritized, of course, but what about after that? Ironwood? Cinder? White Fang? Another group?

2. Who do you guys want to win Jaune's heart first? This is a harem, but obviously they don't all confess at the same time. Readers seem to want Ruby, but maybe Weiss or Blake might be better for plot? Or Pyrrha just to get egg on Team RWBY's face?

3. Do you guys think Ruby is too thirsty? If so, I can tone her down for future chapters.

 

[Jao]

She sighed and looked to the office she was temporarily sharing with the headmaster. Her own office was currently under repair because a certain someone who shall not be named - though their name rhymed with Rang Xian Lung - had picked a fight with one Cardin Winchester after he made an off-color remark about her little sister. The fight had spilled over to her office and it somehow ended with the entire room being coated with orange paint. Mr. Winchester received detention. Ms. Xian Lung did not because Ozpin played favorites

Click to shrink...

Rang Xian Lung doesn't rhyme with Yang Xiao Long. Perhaps Wang Zhao Dong should be used instead?

 

[Lyrista]

Salem is already nosing around it seems. Ineffectively though. So she'll probably send Cinder in next.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Man its gonna be interesting to see just how they handle this. Cause like you said they have literally no cards to tempt him with. And id like to see the White Fang I guess. Cinder would just be gloating thinking she can just waltz in a cause shenanigans and Ironwood would probably be similiar to Ozpin but less scheming and more seeing if he can offer anything in a material exchange. Oh how about the council of whatever territory the place is closest to? Anyway the cat scene was hilarious and spot on with how cats act. And nice Pyrrhas teams both the way.

 

[TempestZeta]

Oh, thankfully here comes Best Girl Pyrrha to save the day and Jaune from Blake and Weiss' scheming

 

[eratas123]

Man its gonna be interesting to see just how they handle this. Cause like you said they have literally no cards to tempt him with. And id like to see the White Fang I guess. Cinder would just be gloating thinking she can just waltz in a cause shenanigans and Ironwood would probably be similiar to Ozpin but less scheming and more seeing if he can offer anything in a material exchange. Oh how about the council of whatever territory the place is closest to? Anyway the cat scene was hilarious and spot on with how cats act. And nice Pyrrhas teams both the way.

Click to shrink...

Yep. Everyone tries the usual tactics and bribes and then shit themselves when they realize it just doesn't work. Blake and Weiss default to trying to seduce Jaune, as shown next chapter. Ironwood is especially flat footed since he's so used to just leaning his way into a victory and now that's not gonna work. His big army and connections don't matter at all to Jaune.

 

[Delta/Soul]

One world's filled with giant monsters and the people who hunt them, so I use that when gathering up materials for weapons and armor.

Click to shrink...

That is description definitely sounds like the Monster Hunter World.

 

[eratas123]

That is description definitely sounds like the Monster Hunter World.

Click to shrink...

Yep.

 

[Zaheed551g]

For Ruby, I think it's kinda fine as she has never really clicked with anyone as she has with Jaune. Probably just have her slowly, well, I guess, calm down. She is a character who is pretty excitable, so meeting someone who loves to craft and is attractive to her, plus with everyone else trying to get his attention for one reason or another, I can see why she is acting the way she is, but ya over just have her calm down a bit. As for factions, Ghira would be interesting to interact with along with the Ironwood faction, with the white Fang being used as a go-between for both of them. As I'm pretty sure, Ghira could be seen asking for help to take some of the popular support away from the more radical white Fang elements, which would still cause Ironwood to intervene to ensure that a lot of Jaunes' support does not go to the whitefang or Ghira since in his eyes it could be a cause of instability in Atlas or some such. Then you probably have the issue of the Kingdoms themselves wanting to dissect Jaunes's settlement to adapt his buildings to their kingdoms.

 

[TixxedNyx]

I'd like to see Pyrrha win first, just so team RWBY would get together to win Jaune's heart as a team Against Pyrrha.

 

[LuminousBlackrock]

I'm fine with everyone aside from Weiss and Blake, in fact I'd love to see everyone else get a piece of Jaune while they only get to watch from afair.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Yep.

Click to shrink...

Wonder if Jaune tamed any of the critters there? Kek imagine Rubys reaction to his Valstrax. Or showing Yang his Brachiados or Rajang.

 

[Kencord]

Add Ozpin and Co. first. Yang has a weak entry in the 'girlfriend wars'. Ozpin pushes to Honeypot Jaune using that Club insident to pressure Yang. She's into him, but it would hurt Ruby, she doesn't want permanence yet, and being force by Oz poisons the whole thing. She tries to cut and run, but *Bam* 'You know this is exactly what Raven did.'

Total mindfuck - Oz playing the 'this is more important than the people involved, I will rewrite the histories to exonerate me.'

Cinder approaches Yang, claiming to be Oz's 'plan B' and offers to take over, but needs Yang's help. Solves all Yang's problems, Oz gets his way and her team gets the prize they are fighting over taken away so they can be friends again. Shame Cinder is the enemy.

 

[Monlet]

Question how many knight do Jaune have??

Do he have enough knights to invade the kingdoms and have more spare?

 

[InfiniteChaosRai]

I'm honestly just here for Curious Cat, and also the modded minecraft wank is really fun too I guess.