[RWBY] No Victory in Strength (Minecraft Jaune)

[Emperor Lee]

2.) Uh the white fang might try moral blackmailing like saying that if he doesn't help them he's racist or something

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Did...Did you just call the WF Twitter?

 

[NightDranzer]

Did...Did you just call the WF Twitter?

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About as noisy and just as effective, so......checks out. *shrugs*

 

[Jubjub3000]

I like the pyrrha ship, but out of the four Weiss earns some pity points so in order I support Ruby, Weiss with Blake and Yang tied as last place.

 

[eratas123]

I like the pyrrha ship, but out of the four Weiss earns some pity points so in order I support Ruby, Weiss with Blake and Yang tied as last place.

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Did you not pity Blake? She sat down and crossed her legs! She did so much!

 

[Jubjub3000]

Did you not pity Blake? She sat down and crossed her legs! She did so much!

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Yeah and I guess she gets some cuteness points for being a catgirl... I have redone my little list, no longer are blake and yang tied at last place but Blake is now third while yang is at the bottom of the pile.

 

[Delta/Soul]

I am hoping that Jaune is planning,or in the process of, building a Mecha in the future.

 

[eratas123]

I am hoping that Jaune is planning,or in the process of, building a Mecha in the future.

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No plans…yet. Maybe when he sees Penny and gets inspired. His knights are basically Atlesian paladins on steroids. Pyrrha fought a knight in the next chapter and it gave her a decent bout. Jaune says no one has ever lasted so long against a SCOUT unit before. Pyrrha becomes…excited at the thought of stronger knights to fight,

Yeah and I guess she gets some cuteness points for being a catgirl... I have redone my little list, no longer are blake and yang tied at last place but Blake is now third while yang is at the bottom of the pile.

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Poor Yang. The only sane person who wants to date a guy normally and people call her shallow or vapid.

 

[Jubjub3000]

Poor Yang. The only sane person who wants to date a guy normally and people call her shallow or vapid.

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I wouldn't call her that, I just think that out of the four ruby has better chemistry due to shared interests, then Weiss no doubt has training in how to negotiate so she can help him in that area while Blake is a catgirl, sure yang is hot but beyond being a strong fighter what else other than her puns does she have or interests does she share with jaune?

So it's not that yang is shallow it's just that I don't see any shared interests between the two.

 

[Party2tehArth]

1: Honestly? Kinda scummy but it's framed and explained so far in a way that neutralized it. It's being played for laughs for now so

At least they both acknowledge that what they're doing is kinda icky so the sooner they fess up to their true faces and fall for Jaune the better. I'm kind of against just extending that whole scenario just for drama but it'll be up to the commissioner.


2: Most ppl have covered it but yah: SDC and WF would prob try trickery then force.

Oz would. Idk trickery. Idt he'd escalate beyond that tho.

The ones who pick up first that he's genuinely only just wants to help ppl will likely have the advantage but as shown in the chapter, Jaune's not blind. He's aware enough to known when ppl are just trying to use him.


3: Like another person said: Arkos all they way but here it's inversed where she sees him for more than just his semblance.


A couple ways I can see the plot progress based on faction actions:

Maybe whatever group attacks first gets his attention and can open the doors to either go on the "offensive" to investigate more or he goes towards their opponent to help them (ie: if sdc attacks he either takes the Weiss route first and investigates/helps Weiss take out current sdc or goes to help Faunus [opening Blake's route first])

Or both attack and he ends up relocating to beacon to keep his town safe if he's secure in the knowledge that Grimm won't be an issue for the towns defenses.

Regarding the story:

Peak was Weiss' attempt. Send peak goes to Blake's attempt.

Out of just the four: Ruby>yang>Weiss> Blake

Including pity points then Weiss>Blake>ruby> yang

But like I said before: arkos first.

 

[eratas123]

I wouldn't call her that, I just think that out of the four ruby has better chemistry due to shared interests, then Weiss no doubt has training in how to negotiate so she can help him in that area while Blake is a catgirl, sure yang is hot but beyond being a strong fighter what else other than her puns does she have or interests does she share with jaune?

So it's not that yang is shallow it's just that I don't see any shared interests between the two.

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She can offer him a relationship with no grand plans (Blake, Weiss) or a someone who's already planning your wedding and calls you their soulmate after meeting you just the day prior (Ruby). Not sure if it's a goos or bad things that people don't seem to think Ruby's behavior is odd in any way.

 

[eratas123]

1: Honestly? Kinda scummy but it's framed and explained so far in a way that neutralized it. It's being played for laughs for now so

At least they both acknowledge that what they're doing is kinda icky so the sooner they fess up to their true faces and fall for Jaune the better. I'm kind of against just extending that whole scenario just for drama but it'll be up to the commissioner.


2: Most ppl have covered it but yah: SDC and WF would prob try trickery then force.

Oz would. Idk trickery. Idt he'd escalate beyond that tho.

The ones who pick up first that he's genuinely only just wants to help ppl will likely have the advantage but as shown in the chapter, Jaune's not blind. He's aware enough to known when ppl are just trying to use him.


3: Like another person said: Arkos all they way but here it's inversed where she sees him for more than just his semblance.


A couple ways I can see the plot progress based on faction actions:

Maybe whatever group attacks first gets his attention and can open the doors to either go on the "offensive" to investigate more or he goes towards their opponent to help them (ie: if sdc attacks he either takes the Weiss route first and investigates/helps Weiss take out current sdc or goes to help Faunus [opening Blake's route first])

Or both attack and he ends up relocating to beacon to keep his town safe if he's secure in the knowledge that Grimm won't be an issue for the towns defenses.

Regarding the story:

Peak was Weiss' attempt. Send peak goes to Blake's attempt.

Out of just the four: Ruby>yang>Weiss> Blake

Including pity points then Weiss>Blake>ruby> yang

But like I said before: arkos first.

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Lol, what exactly did Ruby do to earn first place? The keychain? Cause she immediately fainted afterward.

 

[mgl1206]

How dare you call Weiss awful?! She was giving BLATANT SIGNALS of how open she was to being wooed. It's Jaune's fault for somehow not getting it.

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Just like how it's Jaune's fault for not noticing Pyrrha's when she's very reserved, HELPED HIM WITH WEISS, is kind to everyone, and on top of that Jaune has severe self esteem issues.

 

[Psychic_Duck]

1/ Weiss and Blake are not what I would call scummy but I feel a bit to full of themselves, Weiss expected Jaune to instantly bend the knee and be her knight, while Blake thought she was a harem protag that everyone wants to get with, I'm glad Jaune nuked them and their world with his utter indifference, it is a much needed wake up call I feel.

2/ Well if the carrot doesn't work then the stick will suffice, I'm expecting them to first try the carrot approach and when they discover that's not going to work I can see then trying the stick, if that's threats, kidnapping and the like I can see them do that, if that doesn't work then maybe try and remove him from the board, it will depened on Jaune and his response, if they resort to violent means and he does nothing they will see that as weakness and keep trying, if he lays the smack down on them and knocks them from their ivory towers then it will teach them that No you can't bully, threaten or strong arm your way to victory, that Jaune is a major player that's here to stay so get used to it.

3/ Yang, I'm a Dragonslayer kind of guy through and through, I will settle for Lancaster and maybe Whiteknight if written good, not a fan of Blake, I think she's a shitty kitty and agree with the talking cats.

 

[Rekka]

3. So, which RWBY girl are you all rooting for currently now that we've seen them all try (and fail) to flirt with Jaune?

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Yang for sure. She's literally the only one who doesn't want him for his Semblance and she knows how important that is to him because she actually talks to Jaune about... Him. Not just his power, but how he's been since getting it.

Ruby is the runner up, but her interest stems from what Jaune can do with weapons and her discussions with him revolve around that.

Weiss and Blake just want to use him, seeking to seduce him, literally, towards their cause.

Take away Jaune's Semblance, and of the four Yang alone wouldn't be affected. Ruby would be affected less than Weiss and Blake, and they... Would lose all interest in Jaune. No powers, no use to them. They might develop an actual interest in Jaune in the future, but they definitely don't have one now.

Pyrrha seems like she'll give Yang a run for her money though, likely empathizing with Jaune's growing fame and how people put him on a pedestal, treat him like a celebrity, etc.

Thankfully the commissioner asked this to be a harem with RWBY and Pyrrha. All the Above is always the best option lol

 

[sandmanwake]

It would only be a matter of time before Jaune fell for her. That was how it always worked. Adam fell for her, Ilia fell for her, and Sun fell for her. And in all three cases, she didn't have to do anything but be near them while they were alone. Jaune would've been no different, she was sure. All she had to do was stay near him and he'd fall for her. And then she could guide him to the right cause he could devote himself to. This was all for the greater good.

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Can she be any more of a cat?

Pyrrha stepped off the Bullhead and breathed in the crisp country air.

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Best girl arrives.

 

[Party2tehArth]

Lol, what exactly did Ruby do to earn first place? The keychain? Cause she immediately fainted afterward.

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Lol idk. I just kinda like the chemistry. Yangs deffo on par tho. I just have a soft spot for dorks tho

 

[eratas123]

By the way, one thing I found funny is that a bunch of people think that Ciel and/or Penny are viable options for Jaune or that Atlas would send either of the two to try and seduce him. Like…that seems like a bad choice considering both seem to have even less social skills than Ruby, which is saying something. Ciel would demand Jaune fall for her in a timely manner, while Penny would likely just download everything off the dustnet then poorly implement it all to see which works.

 

[Sleeping Moon]

I'm still hoping the Knight was the Rusted Knight and while I know the dude could had made peace in familiar faces, his reaction to JNPR would be fascinating especially with Pyhrra.

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... Or Penny...

 

[eratas123]

I'm still hoping the Knight was the Rusted Knight and while I know the dude could had made peace in familiar faces, his reaction to JNPR would be fascinating especially with Pyhrra.

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... Or Penny...

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Nope, sorry. It's a golem. The fact that it's 15 feet tall kinda confirms that. Jaune also mentioned in chapter 5 that he has a bunch of knights.

 

[Sleeping Moon]

Nope, sorry. It's a golem. The fact that it's 15 feet tall kinda confirms that. Jaune also mentioned in chapter 5 that he has a bunch of knights.

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Oh... Ok :/

Tis fine and I respect the decision. Just a bit disappointed and all that.

 

[eratas123]

Being a Minecraft character is hard...

 

[tunguska]

I uh... vote for more minecraft stuff? I think that's neat.

 

[mgl1206]

What other absurd thing is there from Minecraft that we can absolutely take advantage of?

- infinite source blocks
- fishing from a single block of water
- being able to carry a ludicrous amount of stuff (like a dozen metric tons)
- perpetual energy machines using lava, water source blocks, or magma.
- breaking spatial limits due to boxes storing way more stuff than they feasibly should.
- enchanted apples or just golden apples/carrots on their own

Anything else?

 

[Gur40]

What other absurd thing is there from Minecraft that we can absolutely take advantage of?

- infinite source blocks
- fishing from a single block of water
- being able to carry a ludicrous amount of stuff (like a dozen metric tons)
- perpetual energy machines using lava, water source blocks, or magma.
- breaking spatial limits due to boxes storing way more stuff than they feasibly should.
- enchanted apples or just golden apples/carrots on their own

Anything else?

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If your willing to throw out your morals an iron or emerald farm is easy but i just don't see Jaune making those but gun power and gold farm make for sense and food farms

 

[eratas123]

Can someone explain infinite power from lava and water?

 

[Abramus5250]

Can someone explain infinite power from lava and water?

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Geothermal power, aka using those magma blocks to boil the water to generate unlimited power, or as limitless as the machine parts would allow you.

 

[Magic1278]

Geothermal power, aka using those magma blocks to boil the water to generate unlimited power, or as limitless as the machine parts would allow you.

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Skip the boiling water, and use your infinite water in a hydro-electric setup.

 

[tunguska]

What other absurd thing is there from Minecraft that we can absolutely take advantage of?

- infinite source blocks
- fishing from a single block of water
- being able to carry a ludicrous amount of stuff (like a dozen metric tons)
- perpetual energy machines using lava, water source blocks, or magma.
- breaking spatial limits due to boxes storing way more stuff than they feasibly should.
- enchanted apples or just golden apples/carrots on their own

Anything else?

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Infinite power by placing a lever on a block. Infinite bonemeal using redstone machines for extremely fast crop and tree farming. Nether ice highway travel, elytras, totems, ender chest. Heck, with the new bundles even that is kinda wild.

 

[eratas123]

Jaune and the new cafeteria he made:

"Oh, hey!" Another guy he didn't recognize walked up to Team RWBY. He was definitely a civilian. It wasn't just because he didn't have a uniform. Cardin could tell by the way he carried himself. Huntsmen had a feel about them that the untrained people didn't have, "You guys made it just in time! Like the new cafeteria?"

"You made this?" Cardin asked. Team RWBY all turned to look at him like they just noticed he was there, "How the fuck? This place was the same yesterday!" Barely held together cause RWBY and PNCR decided that ruining everyone's day was fun.

"Yep!" The blonde doofus grinned. For some reason, Cardin already knew he didn't like the guy, "I did some work this morning. The headmaster said that the cafeteria got wrecked and he asked if I could help with it. See what I could do, I guess. He really only wanted me to fix things up, but then I figured why not spruce the place up a bit?" Cardin looked at the stained glass windows and the statue again. A bit, "Apparently, someone really trashed the place in a fight and the school was having trouble finding someone to repair it with their budget. Wonder which jerks did that?"

"Ahaha! Yeah, total jerks! No regard for anyone else!" Xiao-Long grinned and put an arm around the blonde's shoulder, "Come on, we should check out how great this new place is!"

Man, Remnant's full of jerks! Like that psycho who attacked a club full of innocent people for basically no reason. What kind of crazy person does that? Also, Jaune went all out:

He barely managed a couple of steps inside before he stopped, "What the fuck...?" He looked around the dining room. Beacon wasn't as fancy as Shade, but they still didn't skimp when it came to their facilities. Cardin was used to rich digs, but this? This was insane. Stained glass windows, marble floors, mahogany tables (the good kind, not the cheap shit), and chandeliers that bathed the room in a warm light. There was even a full second floor now. Looked more like a high-class restaurant than a cafeteria.

But all of that was nothing compared to the gods damned fountain at the center. He definitely wasn't imagining it. A marble fountain with a twenty-foot statue of what looked like that teacher's pet Rose on top of it. The statue was struck up in a heroic pose with that stupidly big scythe aimed high at the air. Water that looked like it was sparkling shot out of the vertical tip, cascading down to the ornate pool in a shining curtain. It looked like something you'd give a war hero, not a grade skipper.

 

[eratas123]

Last chapter in Domremy before we go to Vale and start getting into the various factions that want Jaune. And then chaos ensues. Both good and evil groups are gonna want a piece of Jaune. Plus all the romance stuff with Team RWBY and soon Pyrrha.

We'll also delve a bit more into Jaune's character since, per the request of the commissioner, he hasn't gotten any POV segments yet. Hopefully seeing him bounce off of people trying to openly exploit him will show more of his personality.

On a side-note, I'm thinking of writing an omake where Jaune is a Faunus here. This causes most of the various groups to shit bricks since the various groups have a history of mistreating Faunus and without the usual offers available, they know Jaune has no reason to be sympathetic to their pleas. Meanwhile, Blake is at a major advantage since she has way more buttons to press to convince Jaune.

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

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Chapter 5: The Invicible Girl Cometh

This place was so odd.

That was the thought that ran through Pyrrha's head as she walked along with the rest of her team. Jaune had offered to show them around, which they all gratefully accepted. She'd been born and raised in Argus, so a miniature kingdom like this wasn't completely alien to her. Still, it was undeniably impressive. Especially since (if the briefing was accurate) it had only shown up all in one year, if not less than that. She'd heard of fast construction before, but this was absurd.

Their official mission was to reinforce team RWBY and confirm their report. Beyond that, they weren't told much of anything. The headmaster did say that he would contact them later in the day, but until then, they were free to do whatever they wished. A part of her felt somewhat guilty that they were so lax during their mission, but she brushed it aside. It wasn't her fault that the headmaster had chosen such a thoughtless mission for them. Wasn't Team RWBY's report confirmation enough?

"Oh, wow! Look at that!" Nora pointed excitedly at many of the buildings they passed while Ren nodded along. From what the two of them had told her, they were both orphans since they were children and spent most of their lives surviving on the outskirts of Anima or in the slums. Living costs in the kingdom were expensive; far too much for the two of them to afford. A part of her felt guilty at that before she again brushed it off. It wasn't her fault that she was lucky enough to be born to living parents in a stable pseudo-kingdom.

Her eyes flicked to her partner. Like Nora, Ciel looked around at the various amenities and took note of everything. Literally. She hadn't stopped tapping into her scroll since they arrived. Ciel was never the most talkative partner, but now Pyrrha felt even more awkward at the thought of disturbing her. Especially when her eyes practically bugged out of their sockets at the sight of a building marked 'Airship Dealership'. Was that a shop selling what she thought it did?

Finally, her gaze turned to their impromptu tour guide. Jaune Arc. The briefing told them that he was (apparently) singularly responsible for his village's miraculous industrial revolution. Pyrrha found it hard to believe, if she was being honest. She knew Semblances could run the gamut from extremely powerful to nigh-on useless. Her own Polarity ranked very high up on the scale, and even it paled in comparison to Professor Goodwitch's Telekinesis.

Still, a Semblance that allowed him to turn a village into a kingdom sounded absurd. Even if he could build everything by himself, the timeframe made no sense. Argus took years of thousands of people (at least) working together to get to where they were. That and the backing of both Atlas and Mistral. This place - Domremy, she reminded herself - had one man's Semblance and nothing else. It sounded too unbelievable to be true, but here they were.

Argus was a trading port. While they had luxuries like movie theaters and even a spa, it was still nothing in comparison to what real kingdoms had. Domremy was different. While a decent chunk of the city was taken up by essential systems such as farmland and the like, another part of town seemed to be built just for entertainment. Bars, theaters, hot springs, various restaurants, and even an arena.

That last one in particular drew her attention. Argus had an arena, but until recently, it was a small place where some of the local youths trained for the tournament circuit. It was only within the past couple of years that the government decided to put some funding in to expand it.

After all, the hometown of the Invincible Girl attracted many young hopefuls hoping to be the next champion of the circuit. They even put her photo up on a banner...

"OH...MY...GODS!" Nora screamed, jolting her out of her negative thoughts. Pyrrha looked to where the other redhead was pointing and blinked at the sight of a crowd gathering in front of a stage that had a table full of people and...pancakes? Pyrrha rubbed her eyes to make sure. Yep, there were plates upon plates stacked with pancakes as tall as she was - and she was not short by any means. Nora looked up and drooled shamelessly at the sight.

"Oh, that's a pancake-eating contest," Jaune said casually. Nora was hyperventilating now. Even Ren looked somewhat worried, "We have contests like these from time to time. Gives people a chance to unwind with something silly." He looked at Nora and blinked at her borderline unhinged expression, "Uh...do you wanna join-"

"YES!" Nora didn't even wait for him to finish before she practically charged onto the stage. The host looked confused before he spotted Jaune in the crowd, who gave the older man a nod. That was all the host needed to announce Nora as a last-minute contender. The crowd didn't much care. One more person they could see try to stuff themselves with food. The team and Jaune all looked at one another before they sat down on some of the spare chairs.

The rules were simple enough. Eat as much as you can. No pausing for more than ten seconds or you were out. So on and so forth. The thing that really grabbed her attention was the prizes. Ten thousand lien for first place, five thousand for second place, and two thousand five hundred for third. It wasn't much - about on par with some of the amateur tournaments she'd been in - but for a pancake-eating contest? That was a pretty penny. Their weekly Beacon stipend was about a hundred lien a week. Just enough to buy Dust and parts for other repairs.

Jaune was sat to her right with Ciel to her left. Her partner had actually stopped taking notes while Jaune just looked on with a somewhat bored expression, "I've seen it before," Jaune said as an explanation, "It was cool at first, but one guy always wins."

He pointed to the guy sitting at the center of the long table. He was fat. That wasn't her being mocking, she was merely stating a fact. He looked like he took up three chairs all by himself. He had curly red hair that ended in thick sideburns along with equally thick eyebrows. Pyrrha wasn't one to shame people for their appearance - she knew that it mattered more what was on the inside - but something about him made her frown. The term Fat Bastard suddenly came unbidden before she could stop herself. That was so mean of her.

"BEGIN!"

Watching the contest was both impressive and grotesque. Pyrrha had fought everyone from peers her age to adults, many of whom had brutal fighting styles. And yet all of it paled in comparison to the sight in front of her now. Watching men and women of various ages gorging themselves on pancakes like their lives depended on it. The utensils were left forgotten as people used their hands to stuff themselves full of syrup-covered wheat.

Nora wasn't any different. She grabbed pancakes by the fistfuls and ate and ate and ate. Pyrrha felt somewhat sick watching it. Her diet had been strictly regulated by her trainer to ensure maximum gain. Even after going to Beacon, she still preferred to pace herself. Aura and the average student's required training regiment meant that they burned through most of the calories they ate regardless, but she still preferred to err on the side of caution. Nora was the opposite.

Sadly for her, even she couldn't hope to match the reigning champion. As everyone else tapped out or passed out, Nora and the rotund man were left, and it was clear Nora was flagging. Her hands were shaking and her eating slowed. Meanwhile, her opponent continued to eat at the same fast rate as before with no signs that he was stopping. Heck, he was even eating from the other contestant's plates! Pyrrha covered her mouth and swallowed down her bile.

"I...I can't..." Nora stopped, looking at the next towering pile she was given after she just finished the last one, "This...is impossible...! I'm...queen of the castle...!"

"Not in this castle!" The large man said in an indecipherable accent, spewing chunks of pancake everywhere. Urk, "I'm bigger than ya! I'm higher on the food chain, lassie!" And then, just to rub it in, he grabbed a handful of pancakes from Nora's plate and ate it. Were it any other situation, his legs would've already been broken, but Nora was too stuffed and too weak to protest. Instead, she raised her hand before tipping over to the side, a woman defeated.

"And the winner is...Bob!" The announcer screamed.

The audience clapped politely, though it was clearly only out of obligation. Fat b- er, Bob didn't care in the least and kept on eating even as the announcer congratulated him and put the stack of ten thousand lien next to him.

Nora was utterly inconsolable. She cried and screamed about how she was dethroned and completely ignored the five thousand lien stuffed in her pocket. For her, pride mattered more than money. Ren rubbed circles around her back and whispered soothing words of comfort as Nora wept. It wasn't graceful either. She ugly cried the whole time and she hadn't even bothered to wipe the pancake crumbs and syrup away from her mouth. Not that Ren cared, of course.

"That was...disturbing," Ciel muttered.

"It's all in good fun," Jaune said, though even he sounded unsure, "Gives us something to do with some of our excess grain."

Ciel nodded, "Yes, we all saw your crops." Crops that grew within minutes. She knew people who would (perhaps literally) kill for those, "I assume you stockpile those given the sheer quantity."

"Yep. We also try to give out the excess to any villages that need it." Ciel noted that down, "Not everyone is willing to leave their village and go here, which I totally get. They set themselves up there and worked really hard to get where they are. It's unreasonable to tell them to pack up and move. So I - we - try to help where we can."

"That's very generous of you." It was a kind gesture...and a sadly rare one. She'd done promotional work for a fair share of charities, but the cynic in here couldn't help but wonder how much of the donations actually went into helping those in need versus the various 'fees' of the charities themselves.

"Not a big deal. They're there and we can help them." Jaune shrugged, "Anywhere else you guys wanna go to?'

"Well, I was actually interested in the arena we passed by earlier. Do you all mind if we go there next?" Pyrrha asked. Everyone agreed; even Nora who was still warbling about how 'horrific loss', "I'd be interested to see the fighting skills of this city's miltia."

"I doubt they can match up to a Huntress-in-training, but sure. I'm sure everyone's gonna be excited to see what a future Huntress can do!" Future Huntress. Not the 'Invincible Girl' or 'Mistral Regional Tournament Champion'. Pyrrha found herself smiling at that. That was the whole reason she came to Beacon. She wanted to be more than a face on a billboard.

The fights in the arena were, sadly, rather mundane. While it was to be expected - she was dealing with militia members and local youths - it was somewhat disappointing. She felt the same at Beacon. While the students put up decent fights, rare was the enemy that required her to even use her Semblance. So far the only one that required it was Yang, and even that was only on their first bout. After that, she'd gotten wise to the blonde pugilist's tells.

As Pyrrha defeated her last opponent, she briefly wondered if it was all going to be a disappointment when Jaune suddenly came up to her, "Why don't you fight one of my knights?"

"I'm sorry, your...knights?"

"They're not actually knights. They're golems, like the ones you guys saw near the entrance. I made a bunch of 'em and testing them against a future Huntress could really help me gauge how far they're coming along."

"Hm, I don't see why not. I just hope you don't mind any damages."

"Ha, nah. Go nuts."

Pyrrha took her place on the right side of the arena and watched as an ornate suit of white and red armor strode to the other side. It was finely made, easily surpassing some of the decorative suits she'd seen in some of the high-class abodes she'd been (forced to) visit. It was a fine piece of craftsmanship and she almost felt bad at the idea of trashing it.

Her guilt lasted until it suddenly charged towards her with surprising speed. Pyrrha blocked the blow and gasped in slight surprise as the force of it actually pushed her backward before she could brace herself. The knight continued the assault, slashing at her with an unexpected ferocity. Unlike her previous opponents, there were no tells and obvious signs, at least as far as she could see so far.

Her heart beat faster and she smiled.

The fight lasted for a couple of minutes. It was...thrilling. Possibly due to its nature, the golem moved with inhuman speed and almost matched her blow for blow. She was still faster, of course, but the knight didn't have to worry about accumulated damage. The knight's armored frame was easily strong enough to take the impacts of her blows without her having to hold back. She even found herself using her Semblance to pull back some attacks that would've gone past her defense.

By the end of it, she was victorious and the knight lay in pieces across the dirt. The crowd cheered, and for some reason, she found herself beaming when she saw Jaune among them, "Congrats!" Jaune said as he ran up to her. The thought that she was reeking of sweat suddenly came to her and she took a subtle step away, "You're the first person I've seen who's ever beaten one of my knights!"

"Thank you," Pyrrha demured. She was used to praise, but she found herself smiling genuinely regardless, "It was a fruitful challenge. I'm sorry for wrecking one of your best golems."

"Nah, I told you that you could go nuts. Besides, that was just a scout."

...

"A what?" Pyrrha asked.

"A scout. You know, the ones you send to see how bad a place is. That's why it was so small." That was small? "I've got other units and they're the ones who do the bulk of the fighting."

"Such as?"

"Well...the warriors, the vanguards, the tanks. Different knights for different roles." Back at the stand, Ciel was tapping on her scroll so fast it was a miracle it didn't catch fire, "Using anything besides a scout on a tournament just didn't seem fair so I never put them out."

"...Jaune?"

"Yes."

"Let me fight a warrior."

"Huh? But-"

She grabbed his shoulders with both hands firmly, suddenly not caring about any sort of embarrassment, "Let me fight a warrior. Please."

"Uh...okay? Sure."

Jaune looked confused but complied anyway. Pyrrha was practically vibrating as she took her place on the right side of the arena again. A scout. The golem had given her a challenge and it was just a scout. How much stronger would the other knights be, then? Her heart beat rapidly, a rush of excitement that she hadn't felt in a long time coming to the surface. By the time she was fifteen, fighting in the tournaments felt more like an obligation than something she did for the thrill of the sport.

The feeling of excitement was intoxicating.

It only got better when she saw her opponent. Another knight. this one colored black and blue, took up the opponent's side. It was easily twice her height with a sword that could easily cleave her in two if she got careless. Her mouth split into an open-toothed grin and she got into a battle position.

With a joyous laugh, she charged the knight and jumped in the air.

---

Back at the castle, Team RWBY lay sprawled out in front of the castle's gate. All of them - even that traitor Blake - had enough sense to not want to fight and wreck Jaune's place and make him mad. Then when they kicked Blake's butt (okay, not really since she still had like half her Aura next), Ruby rounded on Weiss and got mad at her for trying to steal her soulmate. Then Yang butted in and suddenly they were all fighting till they were all on a heap on the grass.

Okay, all of them still had half their Auras, but it was the principle of the thing.

"Alright, new rule," Yang said as she sat up, "No more sabotaging each other or pulling blackmail shit." She looked right at Blake and Weiss as she said it. Both her partner and Blake refused to look at her, "We all like Jaune, some of us for better reasons than others, but that's no reason to tear each other's throats out."

"We wouldn't need that rule if you guys just butt out. He's my soulmate." Ruby crossed her arms and harrumphed.

"Soulmate? Ruby, you met the guy literally yesterday. I'm all for dating him, but I'm not gonna act like he's the love of my life or anything."

"Exactly!" Ruby slapped both hands on the ground, "To you, he's just another guy! You can find someone else to date once we're back in Vale! And both Blake and Weiss just wanna use him!" The two protested, but Ruby ignored them, "So really, you three should just let me and Jaune be happy!" Why didn't they understand? She and Jaune were practically made for each other! They had so much in common and he'd already touched her baby in a way no one else, not even her family, did.

"Ruby, stop being a child!" Weiss scowled, "Jaune's abilities are a gift, one that should be used for more than just improving your weapon. Didn't you become a Huntress because you wished to be a hero? You should be helping me! My plan will help improve the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, across Remnant."

"You're already the heiress, you can change things around with Jaune's help," Blake said, "But the Faunus don't have that privilege. We need Jaune if we're going to have any sort of hope of being more than second-class citizens."

"Alright, we're just going around in fucking circles." Yang sighed, "Alright, something else we need to talk about."

"Like what?" Weiss scoffed.

"Like those Grimm that showed up earlier." The reminder of the horde made them quiet. As mad as Ruby was with them for trying to steal her soulmate, they were still her friends and she was still a Huntress(in training). This was just as important as getting together with the love of her life, "Cause that shit definitely wasn't normal, right?"

"Definitely not." Weiss shook her and stood with the rest of them doing the same, "While Grimm are known to work together when hounding a victim, they hardly do so in the wilds. It takes an alpha beowolf to do so to its lesser compatriots when they're not all summoned by mass negative feelings."

"Jaune didn't look like he was suffering from negative feelings when we found him, but those Grimm were definitely beelining for him."

"Are you saying the Grimm were targeting Jaune?" Ruby asked. The thought of it made her gut churn with worry, "I know Professor Oobleck said that the Grimm get smarter when they get older, but this feels...different."

"Jaune said that this wasn't the first time either." Yang hummed, putting her hands behind her head, "So this happened a buncha times already and it'll probably happen again. No way there's that many old Grimm hanging around here."

"Grimm care for only one thing: destruction. Perhaps Jaune's constant and rapid building has somehow drawn their attention due to that innate desire?"

"Maybe, but they attacked Jaune when he was out of town. Why wouldn't they try to attack the city itself? No, it's almost like they were waiting for him specifically."

"But how the heck would the Grimm know Jaune was the one who built everything? They don't make plans!" It was one of the reasons classes on fighting Grimm were different from fighting people. The Grimm didn't plan and they didn't care about tactics. Sure, some of the older Grimm knew how to be patient, but they were still all about killing as many people as possible. Why target one guy far away from the town instead of trying to ram the walls and get at the people inside?

"We don't know, and that's worrying." Weiss sighed, "I think we should tell the headmaster about this. He might know what's going on."

"We should, but I doubt he'll tell us anything we don't already know. Like is he gonna say someone's actually commanding the Grimm or something?"

"Don't be dumb, Yang." Ruby rolled her eyes. Everyone knew that the Grimm couldn't be controlled. That was like trying to lead a hurricane. There were horror movies about big stupid corporations trying to do it and they always got their faces eaten. It was one of the few times she rooted from the Grimm. Stupid Meyland-Antani.

"Hey, I'm just spitballing here!"

"Either way, we should be on alert."

They all nodded at one another, hostility (temporarily) forgotten. Ruby was a Huntress and Grimm organizing like this was something that needed to be stopped.

---

This place was fucking weird.

That was the thought that ran through Qrow's head as he transformed back to a human behind a building out of sight. Oz told him to shadow the kids and make sure that they weren't just talkin' out their ass about some sort of miracle kingdom that popped out of fucking nowhere.

Well, they definitely weren't. This place was real as real could be, "Shit..." He took a swig of his flask and watched the townies walking around. The cynic inside told him that it was all too good to be true. That under all those happy smiles and skipping kiddos was a layer of rot. Maybe that made him seem like a prick. but instincts were instincts and that was how he'd lasted so long in this line of work. You needed to see what people were hiding.

He had to admit, though, this place was damn convincing. Put some of the poorer districts in Vale to shame. The living costs in the kingdoms were high since it was the only guaranteed safety in Remnant. That meant a buncha people bled themselves dry paying for a cardboard box underneath an overpass. It sucked, but at least they knew that no matter how miserable they were, the Grimm weren't gonna be mulching on their guts tomorrow.

This place didn't have that. There was no place where the dregs and burnouts were, and he looked. People had roofs over their heads and everyone worked or spent their money in the entertainment district. It was...perfect. Too perfect. This was the kind of place the kingdoms made themselves look in all the commercials. Happy citizens where everyone got what they wanted and worked hard for the betterment of the community. It was damn creepy.

Raven would've loved a place like this. Not to stay and work hard, of course not. All she'd see was a fat big for her and the rest of their 'tribe' of parasites to feast on.

Shaking his head, he walked around aimlessly and stopped when he saw a sign for a bar. Well, it'd been a while since he had a drink. A proper drink, not swigs from his flask that he mostly spat out anyway. Place looked high class too. He usually went to dive bars, though that was mostly out of necessity. Villages didn't exactly have a lot in the way of luxuries. Alcohol outside the walls was meant to be quick and cheap. It made you forget your problems and come back for more. Well, he could afford it. Being the best Huntsman in Vale, and Ozpin's personal agent, paid pretty well. And unlike Jacques Schnee, he didn't spend it on mansions he never even stayed in.

Qrow stepped through the double doors and breathed in deep. Place looked like a saloon, but it was too clean to be a real one. The people didn't look up from their drinks or pay him any sort of mind. Huh, usually the weapon would draw attention. Well, whatever. Qrow walked up to the counter and took an empty seat. The bartender, a guy in a suit polishing a glass, grunted at him.

"What'll ya have?"

"Strongest and most expensive thing ya got. Feel like spoiling myself."

"Tough guy, huh? Fine. two hundred fifty lien."

Qrow slapped the lien card on the table and the bartender came back with...a bottle of beer? Qrow scowled at the guy, "This a joke? Two hundred fifty lien for a glass of beer?" He liked beer, but that was cause it was cheap.

"Our grain's top shelf. Trust me. You'll be out before you even finish that."

"Really?" Qrow drawled.

"You don't like it, you can check at the other bars."

"Ah, fuck it. Fine." Qrow grabbed the bottle and took a swig. He better get his money's wo-

...

...

...

Qrow's eyes opened to the worst headache he'd ever had, "Ugh..." He moaned. Oh Gods, his head felt like it was being drilled open! What the fuck? He looked around blearily and saw that not only were all the customers the same, but it was still light out. How...How long was he out? Fuck. He lay back down on the ground. One swig. He'd take one fucking swig and went out worse than the time Yang thought she was big enough to drink from his flask when she was fifteen.

"Arf."

He turned his head to the side and saw Zwei looking down at him in disapproval. He was also wearing a fedora for some reason, "Oh, don't you start." He scoffed at the judgemental corgi, "You've been going missing for days at a time, you don't get to go 'tut tut' at me, you little bastard." Zwei was a Huntsman-grade pet, unlocked Aura and everything. Breeds like them were pretty independent and it wasn't rare for Zwei to go wandering off for days ever since Yang and Ruby left for Beacon. Tai wasn't worried. He always came back eventually.

Well, now he knew where he went.

"So this is where you've been, huh?" He rubbed the corgi's back weakly, "Tell you what, you don't tell anyone what I've been doing and I don't look too close at what you're doing here. Sound like a deal?"

"Arf!"

"Yeah, suddenly you don't care when your ass is on the line." Qrow rolled his eyes and winced. Okay, no, calm down on the eye-rolling. He got up and sat back down on his seat. His bottle was still there, "...How long was I out?" he asked the bartender.

"Ten minutes. I trust you were satisfied with your drink, sir?" Qrow wanted to wipe that smug fucking smile off his face, "We sell remedies if you're interested. Only one hundred lien. Back to tip-top shape or your money back."

"Sell the poison and the cure, huh?"

"Is it poison if people seek it out?"

"Whatever. Gimme that remedy then."

He was handed a small cup of something that smelled like a pig's asshole. Sighing deeply, Qrow chugged it down and- what the fuck? He looked around and shook his head. A few seconds ago, that would've had him reeling. Now he felt stone-cold sober.

...

"Gimme another drink, something less strong this time, and get one of those remedy things ready."

"As you wish, sir."

---

Pyrrha panted as she fell to one knee, sweat falling down her body in rivulets. Her Aura had been broken for the first time since...she couldn't even remember. Across from her, the knight lay still with its head missing. The aftereffect of her last desperate attack, using her Semblance to amplify her javelin and throwing it straight through the helmet with enough force to utterly destroy it. For anyone else, that would've been the end, but the knight kept going and hit her with one last slash that destroyed her Aura.

It wasn't technically a win, but it wasn't a whole loss either. In any other situation, it would've guaranteed her victory, but she wasn't fighting a Human or a Faunus. Still, Pyrrha held no shame in the tie. She took its head, it took her aura. She was satisfied with it.

"Pyrrha, that was amazing!" Jaune and the rest of Team PNCR helped her walk and hobble to the stands. The people were still cheering and she heard a few whispers about how they recognized her. She didn't care. She was too satisfied with the fight to let it bog her down.

"Yeah, that was awesome!" Nora cheered, her depression forgotten. Ren nodded while Ciel handed her a towel to wipe the sweat off.

"Here, drink this." Jaune pulled out what looked like a potion and handed it to her. She drank it without any hesitation and suddenly felt revitalized, all exhaustion forgotten.

"What was that?"

"Just an energy potion," he said that far too casually. Ciel took down another note, "Anyway, you guys said that you wanted to check with Team RWBY, right? Ruby should be awake by now, so do you guys wanna head up."

"Of course. Lead the way, Jaune."

They followed after Jaune as he led them up to the castle. She'd seen it before they landed, and she figured Jaune owned it, but it was still a bit of a shock, Pyrrha had a decent nest egg from her tournament winnings and other media appearances, but her family strictly kept themselves to above middle-class. Mom and Dad didn't much care for extreme luxuries. Better to have money saved than spent on useless things, as Dad always said.

Team RWBY was sitting in the living room when they arrived. Weiss' eyes widened when they saw them, "P-Pyrrha? What are you doing here?"

"The Headmaster sent us to check up on things," Pyrrha replied with a slightly forced smile. She didn't dislike Weiss, but she still remembered how the heiress tried to cozy up to her due to her reputation. First impressions were hard to break.

"Does he not trust us?" Blake's eyes narrowed.

"He simply wanted a second pair of eyes. The report your team sent sounded rather...fantastical," Ciel said.

"Fantastical, was it?" A new voice asked. Nora shrieked in surprise as a purple and cyan cat creature suddenly appeared on the table, "New visitors! So many coming in recent days! Does anyone want to talk about their life stories? I'm always willing to listen!"

"How long have you been here?!" Yang screamed.

"That is the question, isn't it?" It hopped off the table and landed on Ciel's shoulder. Amazingly, her partner didn't seem to care in the least, "Would you like to talk, beret-wearing person? You seem like someone who's going to be notable!"

"Curious! We talked about personal space!" Jaune scolded.

"Oh, I don't mind. I am willing to answer any questions this creature has in exchange for questions of my own being answered. Does that sound fair?"

"More than fair!" The cat purred.

"Excellent. Oh, before I go." Ciel pulled out her scroll and tapped the screen, "The headmaster informed me that he wished to talk with you, Mr. Arc."

"What does the headmaster want with him?" Weiss asked.

"That is between the two of them."

Ciel handed Jaune the scroll before leaving, the cat chatting away the entire time. Pyrrha and everyone else crowded around Jaune and waited for the headmaster's face to show up on the video call, "Ah, Mr. Arc. Good afternoon to Teams RWBY and PNCR as well. I was hoping to talk with you."

"What about?" Jaune asked.

"Well, that is-"

"Forgive my rudeness, headmaster, but we must tell you something first," Weiss said. The rest of Team RWBY suddenly looked troubled, "We've encountered something that I believe requires your immediate attention."

"Okay. What is, Ms. Schnee?"

Pyrrha listened as Weiss told the headmaster about a horde of Grimm. Hordes were somewhat rare but not exactly unheard of outside the walls, but this was different. As Weiss gave explicit details on the types and number of Grimm they encountered, she saw the headmaster's brow furrow in worry even as Jaune claimed that it was hardly something to worry about and they were easily dispatched the last six times they tried something.

Her fists clenched in worry at the thought of Jaune being attacked.

"Hm...this changes some things." The headmaster steepled his hands together, "Mr. Arc, I was hoping to have a proper conversation with you, and this only exacerbates that need. Might I request your presence at Beacon? I understand that this is sudden, but Grimm activity such as this is more than a little worrying.

"Alright, I don't mind. It'll give me a chance to use one of the new ships I made too." The headmaster looked utterly gobsmacked at the casual declaration, "Guess we'll see you there."

"Indeed. I look forward to our first meeting, Mr. Arc."

---

Beacon, here we come! I'm sure things will be totally fine once they get there Anyway, we've had Pyrrha get some focus and see here more excitable Battle Junkie state. It's a bit more fun than 'I'm lonely cause I'm so famous (even though no one treats me that way onscreen)'. She also seems to get along with Jaune and isn't quick to fall in love with him. Kinda ironic given canon.

Anyway, that's it. See you guys next time.

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Questions:

1. Do you guys think Ironwood would lean towards being a villain in his desire to control Jaune's Semblance or remain on the heroic end? The commissioner suggested the latter, but I'm curious regardless since whoever controls Jaune's Semblance esentially has the capacity to be the biggest superpower on Remnant.

2. Does Cinder seem like the type to seduce? Fanon seems to think so, but her personality in canon doesn't seem to have a lot of charisma outside of desperate street urchins like Emerald. I wonder if she'd try to charm Jaune or just immediately go to threats.

3. Okay, I have to ask, but what is with people in reviews shipping Ciel and Penny with Jaune? Not only are they not mentioned as part of the pairings, but why those two? Penny I can kinda get cause 'she's a robot and he's a builder', but why Ciel? Her entire character is being Penny's throwaway partner, and she disappears after V3.