[RWBY] RWBY Shorts

[AndrewJTalon]

Weiss storms into the library and slams her hand down in front of Jaune while he's reading a manga.

Jaune: "Uh... Weiss?"

Weiss: "You... You...!"

Jaune: "Er... Yes?"

Weiss: "HOW ARE YOU THE TOP STUDENT ACADEMICALLY?!"

Ruby: "Wait, what?!"

Yang: "WHAT?!"

Blake: drops her book and gasps

Pyrrha: "J-Jaune?!"

Ren: "What?"

Nora: "WHAAAAAAT?!"

Jaune: "Guys, it's not that big a deal! I-I aced the entrance exams-!"

Weiss: "HOW ARE YOU BETTER THAN ME IN ACADEMICS?! I STUDIED MY ENTIRE LIFE TO GET PERFECT GRADES AND YOU... YOU...!"

Jaune: "Er... I just test really well?"

Weiss: "GRAAAAAHHHHH!"

She storms off angrily.

Jaune: "Is it... Really that big a deal?"

Yang: "Sure is to her. BTW? Can I bum some homework help off of you?"

Jaune: "Only if you're going to pay for it."

Yang: "... All right! We're going on a date. And you can touch my boobs."

Jaune: "I-What-?!"

Pyrrha: "J-Jaune! I need homework help too!"

Jaune: "Uh, didn't you just finish your-?"

Pyrrha tears her paper up with a smile.

Pyrrha: "Not anymore."

Ruby: "HEY! I WAS GONNA DO THAT!"

 

[Blasterbot]

Pyrrha just want Jaune to touch her boobs.

 

[SharkCultist]

Pyrrha just want Jaune to touch her boobs.

Click to shrink...

Your powers of deduction are astounding.

 

[GrimmKenway8646]

Your powers of deduction are astounding.

Click to shrink...

I swear that everytime I see your profile picture in my tiny phone screen and squint, I always see a misshapen Bumblebee. Primus have mercy.

But yes, he truly is Sherlock Holmes.

 

[SharkCultist]

I swear that everytime I see your profile picture in my tiny phone screen and squint, I always see a misshapen Bumblebee. Primus have mercy.

But yes, he truly is Sherlock Holmes.

Click to shrink...

I mean....it's a murder machine disguised as child/furry bait.

So it technically is a robot in disguise.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

Jaune Arc stood outside the RWBY dormroom, his acoustic guitar in his hands. He'd been standing like this for about five minutes. He'd counted.

Come on... Sing! He urged himself. Just sing! She'll love it!

Like she loved the last couple of attempts? His brain asked sarcastically.

As much as he might have tried to hide it... Jaune's confidence was pretty much shot. Weiss's cruel rejections hadn't helped. Sometimes he asked himself why he was still shooting for her.

Was he just intentionally sabotaging himself? Was it out of pride?

He sighed... But narrowed his eyes.

I will not give up, he decided, I will not let this end! I know... I know I can win her heart. I can prove I'm not some creep, I-I just... I just want to show her a good time. I want her to be happy.

His father had always told him to lead with confidence. To be confident. His mother, on the other hand, had told him to always be true to himself and sincere.

With that in mind... He tossed aside the hastily written song he'd written for Weiss. Maybe it wasn't enough to just craft lyrics for her.

Maybe he should just try to sing something he knew and loved and... And let that speak for him.

He was so clumsy when it came to words... But music? Music he knew. Danny Kay was one of their neighbors, and he was mad for the musical style known as jazz. He'd started a jazz band when he was young, and had wanted to become world famous.

Well... That hadn't worked out for Danny Kay. His parents had died and he'd had to take over their farm. He'd gotten married, had a lot of kids... But every summer, he gave concerts of jazz, bluegrass, and old rock. Everyone in Radian came, even from the outlying villages. The concerts turned into festivals, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

One of those songs was one Jaune loved very, very much. He knew it by heart, every chord and beat.

So it was that song that Jaune decided to play. He tapped the side of his guitar slowly, to get it started, before he began to strum... And then sing.

"Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars~... Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars~..."

The song just came so easily to him. His mind was filled with warm summer nights, picnic blankets, playing with his sisters and the neighbor's kids, fireflies flitting around and so much more... He sang his heart out, putting every bit of happiness and joy he had felt on those nights into his voice.

When he finished, he clutched at the guitar nervously. The silence was almost deafening... Which was a weird contradictory phrase but hey, he hadn't created it.

The door slowly opened... And a blonde girl stepped out.

Just not the blonde he was expecting.

Yang Xiao-Long stared at him, her cheeks dusted with red.

"Uh... H-Hey, Vom-Er, Jaune," she said.

Crap crap crap crap craaaaaaaaap! Jaune thought to himself, even as his dopey smile remained firmly fixed on his face.

"H-Hey Yang," he managed.

"So um..." She brushed her hair back behind her ear. That was a sign his dad had told him about. A sign that a girl was into you.

"Was... Was that for me?" She asked quietly.

She looked... Hopeful? She was hopeful?!

OH CRAP! WHAT DO I DO?! Jaune thought. SHE WAS INTO ME?! WAS SHE INTO ME?! HOW DID I-OR IS SHE JUST FLATTERED-?

"Uh..." Jaune tried.

Yang's face fell a little, and a smile came up. A smile that worked as a shield.

"Sorry, stupid question," she muttered, "That was for Weisscream, right?"

Yeah, Jaune was familiar with that look. The look of a girl hiding their disappointment and pain. He didn't think Yang was gonna cry over him but-

"No!" He blurted out. Yang started and stared at him.

"Huh?"

"N-No, it was for you, really!" He lied quickly. "I... I-I mean..."

Jaune knew that the best policy was honesty. He should just nip this in the bud, right now, and take his lumps. He was more than used it to by now.

But he had never seen a hint of vulnerability on Yang's face before. He just couldn't bare to think of her feeling hurt.

"I... I'm a little tired of getting shot down," Jaune admitted quietly, "I thought... We both care about Ruby. We both like fighting up close. We both like dancing and music... I-I mean... A date might be fun. The two of us. What do you say?"

Yang stared at him. Jaune braced himself.

Okay... She'll just say no. She'll say she's flattered. We can just laugh this off and I didn't hurt her feelings-

"You know what? Sure."

Jaune blinked.

"What?"

Yang smirked.

"You. Me. Date. Friday night sound good?"

Jaune slowly nodded. Yang beamed.

"Great! Uh... It's a little early for... A kiss but a handshake would be... Weird, right?"

"Totally," Jaune said. He waved. "That work?"

"I guess you're pretty handy, huh?" Yang laughed. He laughed too. It was a terrible joke but hell, at this point he was frazzled enough to laugh at anything.

"Y-Yeah... We should coordinate our outfits before, so... So text me a pic," Yang said. "Tomrrow, so we have time for shopping."

Jaune blinked.

"Something wrong with the way I dress?"

"Yep," Yang grinned, "But I can fix that! So uh... See you then?"

"S-Sure!" Jaune said with a bright smile and nod. Yang smiled like the sun, and shut the door.

Jaune again stood in the hallway in utter silence. He them turned, went into his empty dormroom, set down his guitar, and collapsed face first onto his bed.

"... The hell did I just do?!"

- - -

 

[Psychic_Duck]

I always wanted something like this to happen in the show.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

I always wanted something like this to happen in the show.

Click to shrink...

Weiss: "Well, where are you going, Yang?"

Yang: "On a date!"

Weiss: "With...?"

Yang: "You'll see..."

There is a knock at the door. Yang goes to the door, and opens it.

Yang: "Hey Jaune!"

Weiss, Ruby, and Blake: "Jaune?!"

Jaune: "I brought flowers, if you like those?"

Yang: "I won't turn them down! Thanks! Hey Ruby, put these in water for me?"

Ruby: "I... Sure...?"

Weiss: "WHA-JAUNE! YOU'RE GOING OUT WITH-WITH JAUNE?!"

Jaune: "Oh, uh, hey Weiss. Yeah, I am!"

Weiss: "But-But-But-!"

Yang: "Now now Weisscream, you weren't happy with with him hitting on you, right? So you should be happy, right?"

Jaune: "Uh, well-"

Yang: "Right! Anyway, don't wait up~!" She heads out with a grin and dragging Jaune off with her

Silence falls.

Weiss: "... THAT... WHAT?!"

Ruby: "She didn't even tell me! Jaune didn't tell me! Oh geez, what if they fall in love and get married?! Am I ready to be an auntie?!"

Blake: "... Huh. I didn't see that coming."

Weiss: "... No. NO. He-HE CAN'T JUST GIVE UP ON ME! THIS IS-IS A TRICK! OR A PRANK! YOU'LL SEE! YOU'LL ALL SEE!"

Blake: "... Are you sure you're not jealous?"

Weiss: "I AM TOTALLY SURE!"

 

[Blasterbot]

"... The hell did I just do?!"

Click to shrink...

Winning Jaune. that is called winning.

 

[shinighoul6]

Now I wanna see variants where Ruby and Blake are the one to open the door and go on a date with him.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Now I wanna see variants where Ruby and Blake are the one to open the door and go on a date with him.

Click to shrink...

What would be suitable songs for each of them?

 

[SamRand0]

What would be suitable songs for each of them?

Click to shrink...

We're no strangers to love~

 

[RandomDragon]

oh boy...what if ruby is a sweet-heart romantic under all that sugar and grimm-blenderness? She basically grew in a tad bit sheltered, so Juane doing a song for her (by accident), could result in rose tinted glasses for her...and numerous misunderstandings going on! Of course it all eventually gets cleared out and they still just...click together.

Hmmm, now im wondering what Juanes interaction with both Ruby's semblance and her silver eyes would work? would it be a regional effect of turning all grimm entities to solid stone and then crumble into dust in the wind? would she basically enter speed force and able to do what she wills for a short while running around cutting down grimm in a red blurr? many questions need pondering and answers...

 

[Blasterbot]

What would be suitable songs for each of them?

Click to shrink...

Blake's is just gonna be some random anime song. she is a weeb like that. Ruby would depend on how you want to characterize her a bit. could lean into a normal sappy love song since she is a cinnamon roll. could lean into her dorkiness and use an internet meme song.

oh boy...what if ruby is a sweet-heart romantic under all that sugar and grimm-blenderness? She basically grew in a tad bit sheltered, so Juane doing a song for her (by accident), could result in rose tinted glasses for her...and numerous misunderstandings going on! Of course it all eventually gets cleared out and they still just...click together.

Hmmm, now im wondering what Juanes interaction with both Ruby's semblance and her silver eyes would work? would it be a regional effect of turning all grimm entities to solid stone and then crumble into dust in the wind? would she basically enter speed force and able to do what she wills for a short while running around cutting down grimm in a red blurr? many questions need pondering and answers...

Click to shrink...

Ah yes. Jaune goes after Yang but his cousin Juane goes for Ruby. classy.

 

[SharkCultist]

You know what would be funny?

Jaune busts out the guitar for the first time and everyone is expecting a cringe love song.

Then he starts playing some fucking Metal.

 

[Psychic_Duck]

You know what would be funny?

Jaune busts out the guitar for the first time and everyone is expecting a cringe love song.

Then he starts playing some fucking Metal.

Click to shrink...

So something likes this then, get the best of both worlds.

 

[Fusion Blaster]

Now I wanna see variants where Ruby and Blake are the one to open the door and go on a date with him.

Click to shrink...

What would be suitable songs for each of them?

Click to shrink...

Hmmm

Okay one for Ruby I can see Jaune belt out this one

Click to shrink...

With that Image... I had to do with this

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune sighed as he closed his locker. It was right after Forever Fall, and he was still a little sore. Mostly from training with Pyrrha, but he appreciated that.

He turned... Only to be greeted by Cardin. The big guy looked remorseful.

"Uh, hey Jaune."

"Cardin," Jaune said, "What do you want?"

"Uh... Well...?" He sighed, and handed Jaune a small device. "Just... Clench up."

"Clench wha-?"

The world turned into white light, and the locker room vanished. The world returned, and Jaune was left gasping hard. He held a hand over his fast beating heart, and looked around frantically.

Cardin stood there, looking very serious. That was literally the only familiar thing around a large, wide, and dark command center of some kind. Numerous control panels blinked and beeped at him, while holograms slowly turned in the air.

"Wha-What in the-?!"

"Welcome, young Jaune Arc!"

A tall redheaded man with a receding hairline, a friendly mustache, and a white labcoat ran up and shook Jaune's hand.

"Uh, Jaune? This is my dad," Cardin introduced him.

"My name is Doctor Rufus Winchester!" The doctor declared, "And I've been looking for someone like you for a long time! You see... Vale needs defenders. It needs power to protect it, especially with all the evil-doers striking fear into the hearts of people nowadays! Do you agree?"

"Um, yeah, I-I do," Jaune said with a nod, feeling dazed, "What does that have to do with me?"

"Well! I discovered an ancient facility near Vale that was the fortress headquarters of great heroes of the past!" Winchester declared. He clicked a remote control, and several tubes lit up. All were filled with body armor and suits, all of it brightly colored. Jaune's eyes widened in recognition.

"W-Wait... You mean... The Valean Rangers?!" He gasped.

"Yup!" Doctor Winchester grinned. "These ancient heroes defended Vale from the Grimm and other evil forces! And I have decided to bring that back! You are one of the few people my son has found that would be compatible with this great power... And one of the few we would trust with such might!"

Jaune looked at Cardin, who grimaced.

"Sorry about all that," Cardin apologized, "I... I've had to act like a jerk to see who would intervene, who would stand up to me." He sighed. His father patted him on the shoulder.

"Thank you son. It hasn't been easy... But you found us a great recruit! One of the first!" He grinned at Jaune. "What do you say, Jaune? You want to be a hero, right? Well... Here is your chance."

Jaune blinked rapidly, and an old-fashioned childlike elation filled his heart.

"Where do I sign up?!"

- - -

Headmaster Ozpin was sipping his morning coffee and going over some reports... When his holographic TV screen switched on. He'd had the computer set to flag anything that matched certain descriptions of unusual behavior going on.

He watched Lisa Lavender start her spiel, mildly concerned.

"And we're standing here near a battle going on between two costumed individuals and members of the White Fang!"

Costumed individuals...? Ozpin wondered.

The camera panned over. A tall man in red armor, and a shorter man in white, battled the White Fang members, defeating them handily. Lisa Lavender ran forward, as did the camera man. Ozpin's eyes widened.

Oh no... It can't be...!

"Lisa Lavender with VNN! Who are you two?!" The reporter demanded.

The two figures in dark helmets posed dramatically.

"We are... the Neo Valean Rangers!" They declared dramatically, as explosions went off behind them.

Ozpin slammed his face into his desk with a loud groan.

"Who found that thing?! I thought I buried that entire disgrace under a mountain!"

He could only imagine Salem's reaction...

- - -

Salem stared at the news screen. She then... Began to cackle. Watts and Tyrian stared uneasily at her.

"Uh, My Queen-?"

"So! Ozma wants to go old school with this, does he?" She laughed. "SO BE IT! Watts! Begin creating Grimm monsters for me! Make them unique! I'll need at least one a week!"

"Er... And then, my Queen?"

"Then... WE SHALL MAKE THE MONSTERS GROW! BWAHAHAHAHA!"

- - -

With all the anime references in RWBY, it is strange there aren't more Sentai/Power Rangers references. So what the hell.

 

[SharkCultist]

... hopefully nobody gets hit with the thing from Japanese big bad beetleborgs.

Spoiler

I'm of course talking about the crucifixion and decapitation

 

[RustedSands]

Ozpin slammed his face into his desk with a loud groan.

"Who found that thing?! I thought I buried that entire disgrace under a mountain!"

Click to shrink...

"So! Ozma wants to go old school with this, does he?" She laughed. "SO BE IT! Watts! Begin creating Grimm monsters for me! Make them unique! I'll need at least one a week!"

Click to shrink...

The fact that this implies they both had weeb phases and that ozpin is embarrassed by it while salem is excited makes me think that salem is oddly better adjusted to immortality.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The fact that this implies they both had weeb phases and that ozpin is embarrassed by it while salem is excited makes me think that salem is oddly better adjusted to immortality.

Click to shrink...

I think Salem would just enjoy the fact that Ozpin is DEEPLY embarrassed by this whole situation. That or she enjoyed the weeb phase.

 

[RustedSands]

I think Salem would just enjoy the fact that Ozpin is DEEPLY embarrassed by this whole situation. That or she enjoyed the weeb phase.

Click to shrink...

I feel like she would be that older woman who wears cosplay that doesn't fit quite right,
Not that any of the men seeing her cosplay would complain.

 

[Guikoi]

Spoiler: Author's Note

I had a thought. What if Jaune went to Cinder instead of Pyrrha?

The idea has been done before, but... I think the way I went about it is pretty unique. After all, we're told Jaune is really smart and was made the leader of his team for a reason. I think it's time to prove Ozpin right about Jaune. Except this Jaune can bullshit with the best of them.

Though, beware that this is a little more serious than the others.

---

WIth a press of a button the double doors closed with an inaudible whirl of mechanical systems. However, Jaune Arc did feel the slight rumbling the engineers had been unable to remove from the elevator's design.

The blonde first year dragged an armored hand through his hair, gripping his scalp tightly. "Deep breaths, Jaune. Deep breaths. You got this. Just use your brain. You don't have the strength to win. You don't have the skill to win. You don't have the power to win. But… Pyr and Ms Goodwitch always said I had a good head on my shoulders…"

He took another deep breath as the elevator reached the top, reaching his final destination. "I just need to use my brain. Alright, it's time to face destiny. It's fucking go time." He swore, feeling his heart beat faster and stronger.

He knew how dangerous and stupid this was. He wasn't very good at social interaction, and now he was going to try to get into her head? But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how bad he is at it; it was his only chance. Which path does he take? Guaranteed death or a chance at life, however slim? There was never any other option for him.

Jaune knew what he was getting himself into. He had begged Pyrrha not to do the same thing he was going to do. That's why he forced her into the locker and sent her to Vale. And if he was being honest to himself… "I think I have a better chance at victory here than Pyrrha would. Heh."

Steeling his nerves, burying his emotions like he was used to, tuning out the screams and the roars of Grimm from below…

'My body is steel. My mind a vault. Keep it closed and defended. No matter what comes I shall remain steady.'

The elevator doors opened, his foot already moving through. His left arm was raised in front of him. He didn't bother deploying his sword or shield yet. He used his gloved hand to stop a ball of flames. It splashed against him, singing his glove and turning the skin on his arm red and raw from the heat.

He had consciously stopped his aura from taking the blow. It was unnecessary, the damage to his aura, however small, was not worth the risk as an injury as small as this would not affect his combat capabilities and so could be ignored…

"Oh?" She actually sounded surprised to see him. He stopped a short distance from her. The black haired, amber eyed beauty before him scanned him from feet to head. "I was expecting someone else."

The smallest lock of flames around her signalled her emotions. She was new to the full power of the Fall Maiden. She only had half of it before, which was a lot more than people normally had, but he could work with it.

Jaune shrugged, letting a smirk onto his face. "What can I say?" He said in a friendly manner. "I just had to meet you myself."

"Oh~? A fan, are you?" Her fingers traced a line over her chin. She leaned on one leg and pretended to think deeply. "But I think there's a bit more to that, no~?"

"Of course." He told her, voice as empty as the lifeless corpses dotting Beacon's halls and Vale's streets. "I didn't come for pleasantries, however much I enjoy them."

She blinked and tilted her head to one side in thought. His eyes drifted down to her neck. She smirked and put on a voice that had seduced many men. "Like what you see?"

Jaune didn't let his grin display on his face. 'I've got you.' Instead, he put on a face of disgust and anger. "Stop that."

"Stop what~?" She leaned the other direction, a hand caressing her hip and ever so slightly pulling her skirt to reveal more of her bare legs.

"You can stop with that fake voice and act, for one." While his disgust and anger was real, he did admit he was exaggerating it quite a bit. "You can stop with the fucking chuunibyou shit!"

She narrowed her eyes. "'Chuunibyou'?"

'She's from Mistral, but doesn't know that term? I see. She never went to school. Never got a formal education. Kids are cruel. Young children naturally push boundaries, testing the waters and rules of society. Seeing what they can and cannot get away with. A natural part of childhood. If she went to a formal school she would have been bullied quite badly for the act she was putting on, called a chuunibyou and more, but she doesn't know that term so she never went to school.'

"It means 'Middle-School Syndrome'." Jaune provided. "It's used to denote someone who acts like a middle-schooler. Someone with grandiose delusions. Who fills their world with fantasy. You in particular act like a child who's in drama class and pretending to be a villain for the first time."

Deciding to see how far he can push her, Jaune copied her voice and tone. "Oh, look at me, I'm Cinder Fall! Muhaha I'm so eeeevil and scaaary~! Mommy and daddy didn't give me enough huggy wuggies!" He even put his hands together and swayed his hips side to side to play it up, dumping fuel to the fires of mockery.

Another lick of flame from her eyes, this one stronger.

He dropped that act and put his disgusted, angered mask back on. "Why don't you drop the act and talk to me like a normal fucking person, Cinder!" He decided to let one of his cards show early. "Or are you too afraid to let your true self show? Don't want me to see the little slave girl that you really are!?"

A fire blazed around her eyes like an inferno, but only for a second, before she regained control. "Oh? A slave girl? Me? What makes you think that?" A single drop of sweat ran down the side of her head.

'She doesn't seem to notice how easy she is to read. Whoever her teacher was did a shit job… Or maybe Cinder's just a garbage student alongside being a garbage person?'

Jaune fully revealed the card he had laid on the table. He looked back down at her neck. "It doesn't matter the amount of makeup you put on to hide it. Your past is open to me like a book. There's a ring of slightly lighter skin around your neck." Her hand flexed towards her neck before she stopped it.

Jaune swapped his mask for one of smugness. "You wore a collar. Not only that, but you wore it constantly. Never taking it off. And… Yes… There's burns. A shock collar." Her throat tightened up and her nostrils flared. "Maybe mommy and daddy really didn't…"

'She averted her eyes when I mentioned 'mommy' but not 'daddy'. I see…'

"No. It was only your mother. Ah, wait… Your mother and sisters." Jaune could feel his glee rising, but like his other emotions he locked them in a box deep beneath steel.

'My body is steel. My mind a vault. Keep it closed and defended. No matter what comes I shall remain steady.'

He reminded himself, trapping the steel box containing his emotions behind another layer of steel, this time steel chains.

"Tell me, Cinder…" Jaune clenched and unclenched his left hand. He could barely feel the pain with how deep he buried it. Good. "What did you do to get the collar off once and for all? I first thought that maybe you killed them in their sleep. Stabbed them to death and swiped the key. It's what I would have done." And he didn't lie. He didn't need to lie.

She opened her mouth to respond.

The blonde boy raised his hand and rapped a knuckle on the side of his head. "However…" She shut her jaw. "Then I thought about how you've acted at Beacon while you were here. Any time your two companions, no, tools acted out in a way you didn't like you reprimanded them with a glare or their name. You want control. You want control because you never had it."

She grit her teeth and responded.

"Cinder." Jaune said, glaring at her. "I'm not finished." He waited a few seconds, but she was silent. So he continued: "While here at Beacon you've never once put down the flirty, 'seducer' type voice. Your ease with that voice makes me think that my original thought of how you got out of slavery was wrong. I mean… It's obvious. You just slept with men. Either you slept with the right man or men, or you whored yourself out to make enough lien you could just buy your freedom. I cannot imagine that was cheap, so you had plenty of practice putting on a seductive act."

Jaune kept a close eye on Cinder while he talked. "Hmm… No, seems I was wrong." He shrugged. "I doubt someone as proud as you would lower yourself that much. To you, slavery was better than prostitution. Your pride simply wouldn't allow you to degrade yourself like that. Not even freedom from your collar was worth it."

Jaune froze. A stray thought came to him. "No." He admitted. "All of my guesses were wrong."

Cinder smirked. "Seems you realized it. Look at me. How could I have been a slave girl? It seems even a loser like you has some capacity for thought in that empty head of yours."

"You weren't a slave. You are a slave."

Her smile vanished in an instant. Fire bloomed once more, and the air danced around them in a mirage from the sheer heat emanating from Cinder Fall.

Jaune knew he was right on the money. 'Jackpot!'

"That's right. I figured it out. You did kill your owners, don't get me wrong. That's obvious. Your mother and sisters are dead by your hands. However, you are not a free woman. All you did was trade one collar, one master, for another one." Jaune turned away from Cinder and watched the Grimm Wyvern fly above Vale.

'Think, Jaune, think! She's working for Torchwick? No. He's working for her. The White Fang are working with Torchwick, so are working for Cinder by default.'

'Who's she working for? Is it someone in the attack? For now let's assume that, and go by process of elimination. Let's see, we have Atlas… no, only the robots. The Atlas soldiers are defending Vale. Probably a cyber attack that got them. Not Torchwick or the White Fang. That leaves only the Grimm…'

'But how can anyone work with the Grimm? And not a moral ground, but rather practicality. How do you get the Grimm to follow your commands? A deal? No, they're not intelligent enough for that. Or perhaps there's some Grimm we haven't seen yet or a kind of super Gri…'

Jaune turned his attention back to Cinder Fall. The two silently watched each other.

'No… She's a Maiden. Something only in fairy tales. But it's real. Come on, Jaune, think! There must be something I can work with, here! Maybe…'

His gaze turned to the floor. Or rather, to the tower they were in. Flicking his eyes back up to Cinder, things started to click into place.

'Why would she come here of all places? There's nothing up here. Was she looking for something? No. Whatever cyber attack that took control of the Atlas knights should be more than enough to get whatever information she could get from Professor Ozpin's office or scroll. Maybe not information, but an object? It wouldn't be something he had on him, as she left him down below in that secret vault.'

Jaune watched her eyes scan his face for any sign or twitch that revealed his thoughts to her. But his mind was steel. If he didn't know any better he'd say she was scared of him. But Jaune assumed she felt something closer to apprehension or anxiety over something so banal as fear.

'Ah. I see. She doesn't know what she's looking for. So her master didn't tell her anything except the basics? So her master obviously has other servants, other agents that her master trusts more. Or perhaps her master simply wants her to clear the way? Her master can probably get whatever they want themselves, but wanted Cinder to clear the path.'

'So her master is cautious. Are they weak in combat like me and didn't want to risk coming themselves? No. If her master was weaker than her, she'd kill them in a heartbeat. Her pride wouldn't allow someone weaker than her to lord over her. She's too much of a control freak.'

'That must mean they're… Are they too lazy? No, they sent Cinder to bring down an entire Kingdom. Why do that unless you're poised to take advantage of that? They're ready to strike at a moment's notice then, so laziness is off the table. Is it Mistral's underworld? Hoping to take over… No. No human or faunus can control the Grimm. And the underworld would have no reason to bring down a Kingdom. They'd prefer fighting rival crime lords and ruling from the shadows…'

He glanced back outside the window. The Grimm Wyvern was dropping black sludge that spawned Grimm.

'That's how the Grimm come into being, then? That… that mud. Maybe there's pools of that stuff, and the Grimm just crawl out of it? No. If they were on the continents the Kingdoms are on, surely we'd have seen at least one pool of mud before? Maybe from the dragon shaped continent? Then how do they get here?'

'No. It's obvious. Flying Grimm like the Wyvern there would just drop the mud onto the ground. But there's no mentions of a Grimm like that thing in any books I've read. Were they holding back their true capabilities this whole time? But then why reveal them now? They want to kill us all, right? Then why didn't they just do that and overwhelm us then from the start? Maybe not all Grimm can do that, only special ones? Is it age? Species? Or… No, wait, the ones spawning have armor. Young Grimm don't. Ruby told me that.'

'Wait, if they can just spawn mature Grimm, then why do young Grimm even exist? Are they capable of sexual reproduction? Or… When they die and disperse… Do they come back as young Grimm? Reform some time later? Do they reform into one or multiple young Grimm? Is there a limited amount or is the amount of Grimm increasing over time?'

'No. I need to focus on the bigger picture. The Grimm are part of it. I just need a few more clues. Think! Ozpin… Ozpin… Ozpin… Think back on every interaction and word he said. He must have known something. I need to remember every fucking word I've heard him say! Start from the beginning.'

'Alright. The speech in the beginning of the year was a vague and pointless word salad of nothing, even I can tell that. He spoke a lot of words but really said nothing at all. He looked like he said it a million times before. He looked bored. He also looked… like he wasn't really there. Lile he was having a conversation in his head. He's also later mentioned that he made more mistakes than anyone else. Why?'

'Perhaps he's serious? Or maybe it's more cryptic horseshit. That seems right up his alley. No. He really had no reason to lie to anyone at the time. No human is perfect. So why didn't he just say he's made a lot of mistakes? Why make it seem like he made more mistakes than anyone else? Perhaps he didn't mean to reveal that? Alright, I'll just metaphorically put that in my back pocket for later. Maybe it'll make more sense with context?'

'What was next? Initiation. We had to collect relics from a temple in the Emerald Forest. We ran int- Wait. Why call them relics? Any significance? The temple is obviously for a form of landmark to signify it's the right place, so I don't…'

'No… The temple is important. Maybe it meant something to Ozpin? Hold on, it's what, a couple thousand years old at least? Does he know what it was originally for? Is that why he put the relics there? If he knew, why didn't he tell Profes- Doctor Oobleck? He taught history and he's a doctor, so he's probably a historian. So surely Dr Oobleck would have made mention of the temple's significance? I would have if I was in his place. Tried to entice students to be interested in history by pointing out something 'close to home' as it were.'

'Maybe Ozpin's not supposed to know but does? Hold on, I need to compare it to what I know. He's got secret knowledge of history. He's made more mistakes than anyone else. He knows about magic and the Maidens. He tried to turn Pyrrha into a Maiden, or I suppose, a Half-Maiden like Cinder… probably to combat Cinder.'

'He couldn't have made a gigantic secret vault under Beacon without someone knowing. And that machine… Alright. Ozpin's the head of some secret cabal that rules the world. Or, at least, he was.'

'I can safely assume the other Headmasters are in on it. General Ironwood did visit Ozpin often. Professor Glynda probably knows. So too does Ruby's uncle. Qrow, right? So what does that…'

'Ruby told me that Ozpin mentioned her eyes. Now that I think about it, other than being the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, they're silver. Ruby said her mother had silver eyes too. Maidens were fairy tales and the Silver-Eyed Warriors are as well… So I can assume Ruby can… What? Shoot lasers from her eyes that instantly kill Grimm? Fuck, that's cool. But she probably doesn't know. She'd definitely have told me.'

'But wait… Ozpin probably had ulterior motives for bringing Ruby to Beacon two years early. Was he planning to groom her into a powerful warrior to use against the Grimm? No, wait, he's doing that to all of us. That's why we fucking came here in the first place. Did he know something like this was going to happen? He wanted her here to… Maybe the Silver Eyes work on Maidens too?'

'So they don't destroy Grimm. They destroy magic. The Grimm are magical constructs, then. Maybe Cinder's master is a mage who created the Grimm? No, the Grimm have been around since the dawn of humanity.'

'I see. Cinder's master didn't create the Grimm. But they do control them. But that doesn't explain why their behavior has never changed. Surely her master would command them to do stuff, and we'd notice changes in behavior corresponding to those orders? Or… Maybe we do, but Ozpin and his cabal are the only ones who know.'

'Okay… Once more, I need to put everything together. I need to piece it all together.'

Jaune took a deep breath.

'My body is steel. My mind a vault. Keep it closed and defended. No matter what comes I shall remain steady.'

'The Grimm… Cinder Fall… She's a slave… She can somewhat command the Grimm… The Grimm are doing things not seen before… Cinder's master controls the Grimm… Ozpin knows… Magic exists… Fairy tales… The other headmasters know… The temple… The relics… Silver Eyes… Ozpin's mistakes… Ozpin's secrets… Cinder's looking for something…'

'Ah… I think I see the answer. Yes. Yes. Yes. Now to see if my hypothesis is right.'

Jaune returned his eyes to his enemy and met her gaze. "The Relic?"

Cinder breathed in a gasp, her eyes widening.

'Fucking bingo.'

She growled. "Ozpin didn't tell you? Of course Salem wants the Relic. What else would she want from Beacon?"

'Salem? Must be the name of her master. Alright.'

"I know. But why'd she send you? In fact, why are you even here? Here in this tower? The Relic's not here. Ozpin wasn't stupid enough to keep it here."

Cinder scoffed. "He keeps the other three in the Academies. Why would this one be any different?"

'There's three more. In the Academies. Did she take them? Did Salem or her other agents take them? No. She said that as if they're still there. Does Salem only need or want one? No. She would need all four. There's four Maidens, one for each Relic. Ozpin had Ruby here, probably to train her to defend the Relic. He must not have had the time to get her ready. So… The Relic is in the school. No. Under the School. Probably below that machine somewhere.'

'I need to make Cinder think it's not here. Lead her astray.'

"Ozpin expected you. Or rather, he expected someone like you. Ozpin's lived a very long time. Just like Salem, he's immortal. You think he wouldn't know she's coming for the Relic? Of course he would. But I don't care whether you take it. In fact… Do me a favor, and I'll tell you where the Relic is."

Cinder's glare would have killed me if her eyes were as cool as Ruby's. "If you know where it is, why didn't you take it for yourself?"

"...I see… She didn't tell you." Jaune shook his head.

"What? Didn't tell me what?"

"Salem knows you plan to betray her. You're so obvious it hurts! You're a slave and you want freedom. You want control. As soon as you have a chance you'll snatch power for yourself to get out from under her thumb."

Her brow furrows. "How would you know what she knows?"

'Fuck it. Time to gamble everything on the slimmest chance.'

"Because she told me."

She stepped back and growled. "No she didn't! Why would she tell you?"

"Because I'm on her side, you idiot!" Jaune keeps his emotions in check, never letting them out. The only emotions he shows are masks, fakes he can swap out at will. The one he's using currently is disdain.

"I've never seen you with her before!"

"Of course not! You think she'd lay all her cards on the table for you? She never told me about you, either! I can guess she never told you how to unlock the door to the Relic, either."

Her teeth gnashed together hard enough that her aura protected them from breaking. "H-How?"

"Silver Eyes. You need Silver Eyes."

"Silver… That brat?"

"Of course. But not just Silver Eyes. You also need the powers of a Maiden. You were sent to get the Maiden's powers. While I was sent to corrupt Ozpin's pet Silver-Eyed Warrior. You get it, don't you? Salem sent you to die. Well, not die here at least. You'll return to her, she'll congratulate you. Then I'll return with Ruby in tow. Salem then uses her magic to force you to look at and think of only Ruby… Then she kills you. Salem wants Ruby Rose as her key. She told me it would be delicious to use Ozpin's own pet against him."

"What…!? N-No! No! No, you're lying!" Fire raged out of her eyes, bathing the office in an orange glow.

Jaune stepped forward. Cinder tried to step back but found herself backed against Ozpin's desk. "You know I'm telling the truth."

"W-Why are you telling me this? You're… She'll kill you for telling me."

"It's fine." Jaune waved off her concern. "After all, the original plan broke down when you first failed to get the Maiden's powers. Half of it won't do. Ozpin's smart. The key needs a precise amount of magic. The Maiden and Silver Eyes. You were never supposed to be in Beacon in the first place. This…!" He waved towards the carnage below. "Was never supposed to happen."

Cinder looked down. For all her incredible beauty and terrifying power… Now she just looked like a scared, vulnerable girl.

Jaune grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. "But you can still fix this. We can still fix this, Cinder. There's three other Maidens. You can use that girl, Emerald. Make her a Maiden, have her think of Ruby. Kill her. By the time you've done that, I'll have Ruby as putty in my hands. She'll do anything I say. I'll get the Relic and bring it to Salem. After you kill Emerald, go back to Salem and report to her 'I have forged the Key to the Gates'. That should be enough to convince Salem to spare you."

Jaune stopped Cinder from speaking, putting a finger on her lips. "But, I want you to call off the attack on Vale. After all, I do admit I've grown rather fond of this place. Plus, if Beacon or Vale falls, the students will scatter. They'll go home. Or they'll go to different schools. My job will become much harder. And I don't want to risk you and Ruby being in the same Kingdom any time soon. At least, not before I can fix all the trauma you caused her or turn it into loyalty to me and Salem. And, when Ozpin reincarnates into a new body, who do you think he'll go to first?"

"R-Ruby?"

"Exactly. If Beacon or Vale are destroyed, he gets a chance to get to her before I can finish my work on her. She must stay here with me. This is our only chance. Do you understand me?"

"Y… Yes."

"Good. Now. It's time. You need to and call off the attack. But first… I need to maintain my cover. I'm supposed to be weak, it would be suspicious if I came out of this unscathed. You need to beat me. Cut me, burn me, throw me around. Just don't maim me, because then I can't stay in Beacon and I can't keep working on Ruby. Understand?" Jaune let go and stepped back. He needed to stay in character. He let his aura cover him. "You ready?"

"Yes." Cinder nodded. But then, with a blush she stepped forward and laid a chaste kiss on his lips. "Thank you."

'Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Why do I find evil women showing their vulnerable side so fucking hot! Don't get a boner! Don't get a boner! Don't get a boner!'

Melted glass appeared in Cinder's hand and formed a blade. In the blink of an, eye she was upon him.

'It hurts! Oh god it hurts so bad! But it hurts so good to have a plan come together so well!'

---

Qrow Branwen has been around a long time. He's over forty years old and has been fighting with Ozpin in this Shadow War for over half of those forty years. He'd believed he'd heard and seen everything.

This, though… This was new!

Taiyang, his best friend, dropped his head into his hands. "You're fucking insane!"

The young blonde sitting opposite them in Taiyang's house grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I-It was a gamble. But it wasn't like I could fight her. I'd have died! So I… pretended to be on Salem's side."

Qrow upended his flask and drank until it was empty. "You're special, kid. You know that? I don't think even Oz could weave absolute fucking bullshit quite like you."

The blonde kid, Jaune Arc or some shit, preened under his compliment.

'Well, the kid does deserve it. He basically saved Vale and Beacon single handedly. Sure, he put another Maiden in danger, but if Cinder kills her own minion to make Ruby a Maiden… that gives us plenty of time to prepare and aeakens them. Plus, here's hoping that Salem kills that Cinder bitch for failing so gods damned hard! Now all we need to do is wait for Oz to come back, and we can figure out how to kill Salem once and for…'

Qrow paused and realized something. Jaune had figured out everything on his own. Does that mean he was right that Salem was immortal? Like… unkillable?

"FUCK! FUCK! FUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!"

 

[TheFabulousCustodes]

I think Salem would just enjoy the fact that Ozpin is DEEPLY embarrassed by this whole situation. That or she enjoyed the weeb phase.

Click to shrink...

Who is what color?

 

[Psychic_Duck]

KEK, I'm looking forward to seeing Jaune rizzing and/or gaslighting Salem into believing she on his side to get back at Ozzy or some such nonsense.

 

[Guikoi]

KEK, I'm looking forward to seeing Jaune rizzing and/or gaslighting Salem into believing she on his side to get back at Ozzy or some such nonsense.

Click to shrink...

I was thinking of doing a little ending. A "what-if".

The basic idea is that when Cinder kissed Jaune, all of team RWBY and NPR as well as some teachers arrived and saw it, abd came to the obvious conclusion that Jaune was an agent of Salem the whole time.

So Cinder drags Jaune back to Salem with her. Jaune stays in-character the entire time. Trying to manipulate Cinder into going against Salem.

It doesn't work, mostly. Cinder basically becomes infatuated with him. He holds complete control over himself and is always confident, but is so kind to her. He never threatens her and never harms her.

Eventually they reach Salem. Cinder explains the whole story.

Salem's presence is finally enough to crack Jaune's armor after a near month of staying completely in-character 24/7.

Jaune basically explains everything he said to Cinder, and also notes that Ozpin's side thinks he works for Salem so he... kind of has no choice but to actually join Salem and try to minimize the collateral damage of whatever Salem is planning.

Salem, instead of being pissed at Cinder falling for it, finds it genuinely impressive that Jaune had, not only the balls but also the conviction to do that.

She also finds it fucking hilarious.

 

[RandomDragon]

I was thinking of doing a little ending. A "what-if".

The basic idea is that when Cinder kissed Jaune, all of team RWBY and NPR as well as some teachers arrived and saw it, abd came to the obvious conclusion that Jaune was an agent of Salem the whole time.

So Cinder drags Jaune back to Salem with her. Jaune stays in-character the entire time. Trying to manipulate Cinder into going against Salem.

It doesn't work, mostly. Cinder basically becomes infatuated with him. He holds complete control over himself and is always confident, but is so kind to her. He never threatens her and never harms her.

Eventually they reach Salem. Cinder explains the whole story.

Salem's presence is finally enough to crack Jaune's armor after a near month of staying completely in-character 24/7.

Jaune basically explains everything he said to Cinder, and also notes that Ozpin's side thinks he works for Salem so he... kind of has no choice but to actually join Salem and try to minimize the collateral damage of whatever Salem is planning.

Salem, instead of being pissed at Cinder falling for it, finds it genuinely impressive that Jaune had, not only the balls but also the conviction to do that.

She also finds it fucking hilarious.

Click to shrink...

or better yet, Jaune is basically acting as Commissar Ciphas Cain in the moment and is basically bullshiting and lucking his way out of the situations.

Maybe the fact if Salem hears its an Arc that's going around...maybe she could have a momentary flashback and go "Oh HECK NO! NOT AGAIN! NOT THIS TIME OZPIN!" and is basically dedicated to keep AWAY from the charismatic bullshit that Arcs tend to throw out, there's a reason why she plotted to keep them all contained to a single region dangit! She and Ozpin even made a AGREEMENT to not let those crazy, lucky, charismatic, sods out of their containment zone! Now she will be having to check what other Arcs have been let loose because of Ozpin's foolery! It would be hilarious if Salem is actually more worried about Arc's running around then silver eyed warriors and whatever shenanigans Ozpin is throwing around for the next few centuries, because an Arc that's outside the containment zone basically means everything is about to go down...

Even the brother "gods" are nervous when a Arc gets enough Aura or has enough power/charisma that can potentially challenge them in a verbal match or cause enough problems they need to restart everything.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Spoiler: Author's Note

I had a thought. What if Jaune went to Cinder instead of Pyrrha?

The idea has been done before, but... I think the way I went about it is pretty unique. After all, we're told Jaune is really smart and was made the leader of his team for a reason. I think it's time to prove Ozpin right about Jaune. Except this Jaune can bullshit with the best of them.

Though, beware that this is a little more serious than the others.

---

WIth a press of a button the double doors closed with an inaudible whirl of mechanical systems. However, Jaune Arc did feel the slight rumbling the engineers had been unable to remove from the elevator's design.

The blonde first year dragged an armored hand through his hair, gripping his scalp tightly. "Deep breaths, Jaune. Deep breaths. You got this. Just use your brain. You don't have the strength to win. You don't have the skill to win. You don't have the power to win. But… Pyr and Ms Goodwitch always said I had a good head on my shoulders…"

He took another deep breath as the elevator reached the top, reaching his final destination. "I just need to use my brain. Alright, it's time to face destiny. It's fucking go time." He swore, feeling his heart beat faster and stronger.

He knew how dangerous and stupid this was. He wasn't very good at social interaction, and now he was going to try to get into her head? But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how bad he is at it; it was his only chance. Which path does he take? Guaranteed death or a chance at life, however slim? There was never any other option for him.

Jaune knew what he was getting himself into. He had begged Pyrrha not to do the same thing he was going to do. That's why he forced her into the locker and sent her to Vale. And if he was being honest to himself… "I think I have a better chance at victory here than Pyrrha would. Heh."

Steeling his nerves, burying his emotions like he was used to, tuning out the screams and the roars of Grimm from below…

'My body is steel. My mind a vault. Keep it closed and defended. No matter what comes I shall remain steady.'

The elevator doors opened, his foot already moving through. His left arm was raised in front of him. He didn't bother deploying his sword or shield yet. He used his gloved hand to stop a ball of flames. It splashed against him, singing his glove and turning the skin on his arm red and raw from the heat.

He had consciously stopped his aura from taking the blow. It was unnecessary, the damage to his aura, however small, was not worth the risk as an injury as small as this would not affect his combat capabilities and so could be ignored…

"Oh?" She actually sounded surprised to see him. He stopped a short distance from her. The black haired, amber eyed beauty before him scanned him from feet to head. "I was expecting someone else."

The smallest lock of flames around her signalled her emotions. She was new to the full power of the Fall Maiden. She only had half of it before, which was a lot more than people normally had, but he could work with it.

Jaune shrugged, letting a smirk onto his face. "What can I say?" He said in a friendly manner. "I just had to meet you myself."

"Oh~? A fan, are you?" Her fingers traced a line over her chin. She leaned on one leg and pretended to think deeply. "But I think there's a bit more to that, no~?"

"Of course." He told her, voice as empty as the lifeless corpses dotting Beacon's halls and Vale's streets. "I didn't come for pleasantries, however much I enjoy them."

She blinked and tilted her head to one side in thought. His eyes drifted down to her neck. She smirked and put on a voice that had seduced many men. "Like what you see?"

Jaune didn't let his grin display on his face. 'I've got you.' Instead, he put on a face of disgust and anger. "Stop that."

"Stop what~?" She leaned the other direction, a hand caressing her hip and ever so slightly pulling her skirt to reveal more of her bare legs.

"You can stop with that fake voice and act, for one." While his disgust and anger was real, he did admit he was exaggerating it quite a bit. "You can stop with the fucking chuunibyou shit!"

She narrowed her eyes. "'Chuunibyou'?"

'She's from Mistral, but doesn't know that term? I see. She never went to school. Never got a formal education. Kids are cruel. Young children naturally push boundaries, testing the waters and rules of society. Seeing what they can and cannot get away with. A natural part of childhood. If she went to a formal school she would have been bullied quite badly for the act she was putting on, called a chuunibyou and more, but she doesn't know that term so she never went to school.'

"It means 'Middle-School Syndrome'." Jaune provided. "It's used to denote someone who acts like a middle-schooler. Someone with grandiose delusions. Who fills their world with fantasy. You in particular act like a child who's in drama class and pretending to be a villain for the first time."

Deciding to see how far he can push her, Jaune copied her voice and tone. "Oh, look at me, I'm Cinder Fall! Muhaha I'm so eeeevil and scaaary~! Mommy and daddy didn't give me enough huggy wuggies!" He even put his hands together and swayed his hips side to side to play it up, dumping fuel to the fires of mockery.

Another lick of flame from her eyes, this one stronger.

He dropped that act and put his disgusted, angered mask back on. "Why don't you drop the act and talk to me like a normal fucking person, Cinder!" He decided to let one of his cards show early. "Or are you too afraid to let your true self show? Don't want me to see the little slave girl that you really are!?"

A fire blazed around her eyes like an inferno, but only for a second, before she regained control. "Oh? A slave girl? Me? What makes you think that?" A single drop of sweat ran down the side of her head.

'She doesn't seem to notice how easy she is to read. Whoever her teacher was did a shit job… Or maybe Cinder's just a garbage student alongside being a garbage person?'

Jaune fully revealed the card he had laid on the table. He looked back down at her neck. "It doesn't matter the amount of makeup you put on to hide it. Your past is open to me like a book. There's a ring of slightly lighter skin around your neck." Her hand flexed towards her neck before she stopped it.

Jaune swapped his mask for one of smugness. "You wore a collar. Not only that, but you wore it constantly. Never taking it off. And… Yes… There's burns. A shock collar." Her throat tightened up and her nostrils flared. "Maybe mommy and daddy really didn't…"

'She averted her eyes when I mentioned 'mommy' but not 'daddy'. I see…'

"No. It was only your mother. Ah, wait… Your mother and sisters." Jaune could feel his glee rising, but like his other emotions he locked them in a box deep beneath steel.

'My body is steel. My mind a vault. Keep it closed and defended. No matter what comes I shall remain steady.'

He reminded himself, trapping the steel box containing his emotions behind another layer of steel, this time steel chains.

"Tell me, Cinder…" Jaune clenched and unclenched his left hand. He could barely feel the pain with how deep he buried it. Good. "What did you do to get the collar off once and for all? I first thought that maybe you killed them in their sleep. Stabbed them to death and swiped the key. It's what I would have done." And he didn't lie. He didn't need to lie.

She opened her mouth to respond.

The blonde boy raised his hand and rapped a knuckle on the side of his head. "However…" She shut her jaw. "Then I thought about how you've acted at Beacon while you were here. Any time your two companions, no, tools acted out in a way you didn't like you reprimanded them with a glare or their name. You want control. You want control because you never had it."

She grit her teeth and responded.

"Cinder." Jaune said, glaring at her. "I'm not finished." He waited a few seconds, but she was silent. So he continued: "While here at Beacon you've never once put down the flirty, 'seducer' type voice. Your ease with that voice makes me think that my original thought of how you got out of slavery was wrong. I mean… It's obvious. You just slept with men. Either you slept with the right man or men, or you whored yourself out to make enough lien you could just buy your freedom. I cannot imagine that was cheap, so you had plenty of practice putting on a seductive act."

Jaune kept a close eye on Cinder while he talked. "Hmm… No, seems I was wrong." He shrugged. "I doubt someone as proud as you would lower yourself that much. To you, slavery was better than prostitution. Your pride simply wouldn't allow you to degrade yourself like that. Not even freedom from your collar was worth it."

Jaune froze. A stray thought came to him. "No." He admitted. "All of my guesses were wrong."

Cinder smirked. "Seems you realized it. Look at me. How could I have been a slave girl? It seems even a loser like you has some capacity for thought in that empty head of yours."

"You weren't a slave. You are a slave."

Her smile vanished in an instant. Fire bloomed once more, and the air danced around them in a mirage from the sheer heat emanating from Cinder Fall.

Jaune knew he was right on the money. 'Jackpot!'

"That's right. I figured it out. You did kill your owners, don't get me wrong. That's obvious. Your mother and sisters are dead by your hands. However, you are not a free woman. All you did was trade one collar, one master, for another one." Jaune turned away from Cinder and watched the Grimm Wyvern fly above Vale.

'Think, Jaune, think! She's working for Torchwick? No. He's working for her. The White Fang are working with Torchwick, so are working for Cinder by default.'

'Who's she working for? Is it someone in the attack? For now let's assume that, and go by process of elimination. Let's see, we have Atlas… no, only the robots. The Atlas soldiers are defending Vale. Probably a cyber attack that got them. Not Torchwick or the White Fang. That leaves only the Grimm…'

'But how can anyone work with the Grimm? And not a moral ground, but rather practicality. How do you get the Grimm to follow your commands? A deal? No, they're not intelligent enough for that. Or perhaps there's some Grimm we haven't seen yet or a kind of super Gri…'

Jaune turned his attention back to Cinder Fall. The two silently watched each other.

'No… She's a Maiden. Something only in fairy tales. But it's real. Come on, Jaune, think! There must be something I can work with, here! Maybe…'

His gaze turned to the floor. Or rather, to the tower they were in. Flicking his eyes back up to Cinder, things started to click into place.

'Why would she come here of all places? There's nothing up here. Was she looking for something? No. Whatever cyber attack that took control of the Atlas knights should be more than enough to get whatever information she could get from Professor Ozpin's office or scroll. Maybe not information, but an object? It wouldn't be something he had on him, as she left him down below in that secret vault.'

Jaune watched her eyes scan his face for any sign or twitch that revealed his thoughts to her. But his mind was steel. If he didn't know any better he'd say she was scared of him. But Jaune assumed she felt something closer to apprehension or anxiety over something so banal as fear.

'Ah. I see. She doesn't know what she's looking for. So her master didn't tell her anything except the basics? So her master obviously has other servants, other agents that her master trusts more. Or perhaps her master simply wants her to clear the way? Her master can probably get whatever they want themselves, but wanted Cinder to clear the path.'

'So her master is cautious. Are they weak in combat like me and didn't want to risk coming themselves? No. If her master was weaker than her, she'd kill them in a heartbeat. Her pride wouldn't allow someone weaker than her to lord over her. She's too much of a control freak.'

'That must mean they're… Are they too lazy? No, they sent Cinder to bring down an entire Kingdom. Why do that unless you're poised to take advantage of that? They're ready to strike at a moment's notice then, so laziness is off the table. Is it Mistral's underworld? Hoping to take over… No. No human or faunus can control the Grimm. And the underworld would have no reason to bring down a Kingdom. They'd prefer fighting rival crime lords and ruling from the shadows…'

He glanced back outside the window. The Grimm Wyvern was dropping black sludge that spawned Grimm.

'That's how the Grimm come into being, then? That… that mud. Maybe there's pools of that stuff, and the Grimm just crawl out of it? No. If they were on the continents the Kingdoms are on, surely we'd have seen at least one pool of mud before? Maybe from the dragon shaped continent? Then how do they get here?'

'No. It's obvious. Flying Grimm like the Wyvern there would just drop the mud onto the ground. But there's no mentions of a Grimm like that thing in any books I've read. Were they holding back their true capabilities this whole time? But then why reveal them now? They want to kill us all, right? Then why didn't they just do that and overwhelm us then from the start? Maybe not all Grimm can do that, only special ones? Is it age? Species? Or… No, wait, the ones spawning have armor. Young Grimm don't. Ruby told me that.'

'Wait, if they can just spawn mature Grimm, then why do young Grimm even exist? Are they capable of sexual reproduction? Or… When they die and disperse… Do they come back as young Grimm? Reform some time later? Do they reform into one or multiple young Grimm? Is there a limited amount or is the amount of Grimm increasing over time?'

'No. I need to focus on the bigger picture. The Grimm are part of it. I just need a few more clues. Think! Ozpin… Ozpin… Ozpin… Think back on every interaction and word he said. He must have known something. I need to remember every fucking word I've heard him say! Start from the beginning.'

'Alright. The speech in the beginning of the year was a vague and pointless word salad of nothing, even I can tell that. He spoke a lot of words but really said nothing at all. He looked like he said it a million times before. He looked bored. He also looked… like he wasn't really there. Lile he was having a conversation in his head. He's also later mentioned that he made more mistakes than anyone else. Why?'

'Perhaps he's serious? Or maybe it's more cryptic horseshit. That seems right up his alley. No. He really had no reason to lie to anyone at the time. No human is perfect. So why didn't he just say he's made a lot of mistakes? Why make it seem like he made more mistakes than anyone else? Perhaps he didn't mean to reveal that? Alright, I'll just metaphorically put that in my back pocket for later. Maybe it'll make more sense with context?'

'What was next? Initiation. We had to collect relics from a temple in the Emerald Forest. We ran int- Wait. Why call them relics? Any significance? The temple is obviously for a form of landmark to signify it's the right place, so I don't…'

'No… The temple is important. Maybe it meant something to Ozpin? Hold on, it's what, a couple thousand years old at least? Does he know what it was originally for? Is that why he put the relics there? If he knew, why didn't he tell Profes- Doctor Oobleck? He taught history and he's a doctor, so he's probably a historian. So surely Dr Oobleck would have made mention of the temple's significance? I would have if I was in his place. Tried to entice students to be interested in history by pointing out something 'close to home' as it were.'

'Maybe Ozpin's not supposed to know but does? Hold on, I need to compare it to what I know. He's got secret knowledge of history. He's made more mistakes than anyone else. He knows about magic and the Maidens. He tried to turn Pyrrha into a Maiden, or I suppose, a Half-Maiden like Cinder… probably to combat Cinder.'

'He couldn't have made a gigantic secret vault under Beacon without someone knowing. And that machine… Alright. Ozpin's the head of some secret cabal that rules the world. Or, at least, he was.'

'I can safely assume the other Headmasters are in on it. General Ironwood did visit Ozpin often. Professor Glynda probably knows. So too does Ruby's uncle. Qrow, right? So what does that…'

'Ruby told me that Ozpin mentioned her eyes. Now that I think about it, other than being the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, they're silver. Ruby said her mother had silver eyes too. Maidens were fairy tales and the Silver-Eyed Warriors are as well… So I can assume Ruby can… What? Shoot lasers from her eyes that instantly kill Grimm? Fuck, that's cool. But she probably doesn't know. She'd definitely have told me.'

'But wait… Ozpin probably had ulterior motives for bringing Ruby to Beacon two years early. Was he planning to groom her into a powerful warrior to use against the Grimm? No, wait, he's doing that to all of us. That's why we fucking came here in the first place. Did he know something like this was going to happen? He wanted her here to… Maybe the Silver Eyes work on Maidens too?'

'So they don't destroy Grimm. They destroy magic. The Grimm are magical constructs, then. Maybe Cinder's master is a mage who created the Grimm? No, the Grimm have been around since the dawn of humanity.'

'I see. Cinder's master didn't create the Grimm. But they do control them. But that doesn't explain why their behavior has never changed. Surely her master would command them to do stuff, and we'd notice changes in behavior corresponding to those orders? Or… Maybe we do, but Ozpin and his cabal are the only ones who know.'

'Okay… Once more, I need to put everything together. I need to piece it all together.'

Jaune took a deep breath.

'My body is steel. My mind a vault. Keep it closed and defended. No matter what comes I shall remain steady.'

'The Grimm… Cinder Fall… She's a slave… She can somewhat command the Grimm… The Grimm are doing things not seen before… Cinder's master controls the Grimm… Ozpin knows… Magic exists… Fairy tales… The other headmasters know… The temple… The relics… Silver Eyes… Ozpin's mistakes… Ozpin's secrets… Cinder's looking for something…'

'Ah… I think I see the answer. Yes. Yes. Yes. Now to see if my hypothesis is right.'

Jaune returned his eyes to his enemy and met her gaze. "The Relic?"

Cinder breathed in a gasp, her eyes widening.

'Fucking bingo.'

She growled. "Ozpin didn't tell you? Of course Salem wants the Relic. What else would she want from Beacon?"

'Salem? Must be the name of her master. Alright.'

"I know. But why'd she send you? In fact, why are you even here? Here in this tower? The Relic's not here. Ozpin wasn't stupid enough to keep it here."

Cinder scoffed. "He keeps the other three in the Academies. Why would this one be any different?"

'There's three more. In the Academies. Did she take them? Did Salem or her other agents take them? No. She said that as if they're still there. Does Salem only need or want one? No. She would need all four. There's four Maidens, one for each Relic. Ozpin had Ruby here, probably to train her to defend the Relic. He must not have had the time to get her ready. So… The Relic is in the school. No. Under the School. Probably below that machine somewhere.'

'I need to make Cinder think it's not here. Lead her astray.'

"Ozpin expected you. Or rather, he expected someone like you. Ozpin's lived a very long time. Just like Salem, he's immortal. You think he wouldn't know she's coming for the Relic? Of course he would. But I don't care whether you take it. In fact… Do me a favor, and I'll tell you where the Relic is."

Cinder's glare would have killed me if her eyes were as cool as Ruby's. "If you know where it is, why didn't you take it for yourself?"

"...I see… She didn't tell you." Jaune shook his head.

"What? Didn't tell me what?"

"Salem knows you plan to betray her. You're so obvious it hurts! You're a slave and you want freedom. You want control. As soon as you have a chance you'll snatch power for yourself to get out from under her thumb."

Her brow furrows. "How would you know what she knows?"

'Fuck it. Time to gamble everything on the slimmest chance.'

"Because she told me."

She stepped back and growled. "No she didn't! Why would she tell you?"

"Because I'm on her side, you idiot!" Jaune keeps his emotions in check, never letting them out. The only emotions he shows are masks, fakes he can swap out at will. The one he's using currently is disdain.

"I've never seen you with her before!"

"Of course not! You think she'd lay all her cards on the table for you? She never told me about you, either! I can guess she never told you how to unlock the door to the Relic, either."

Her teeth gnashed together hard enough that her aura protected them from breaking. "H-How?"

"Silver Eyes. You need Silver Eyes."

"Silver… That brat?"

"Of course. But not just Silver Eyes. You also need the powers of a Maiden. You were sent to get the Maiden's powers. While I was sent to corrupt Ozpin's pet Silver-Eyed Warrior. You get it, don't you? Salem sent you to die. Well, not die here at least. You'll return to her, she'll congratulate you. Then I'll return with Ruby in tow. Salem then uses her magic to force you to look at and think of only Ruby… Then she kills you. Salem wants Ruby Rose as her key. She told me it would be delicious to use Ozpin's own pet against him."

"What…!? N-No! No! No, you're lying!" Fire raged out of her eyes, bathing the office in an orange glow.

Jaune stepped forward. Cinder tried to step back but found herself backed against Ozpin's desk. "You know I'm telling the truth."

"W-Why are you telling me this? You're… She'll kill you for telling me."

"It's fine." Jaune waved off her concern. "After all, the original plan broke down when you first failed to get the Maiden's powers. Half of it won't do. Ozpin's smart. The key needs a precise amount of magic. The Maiden and Silver Eyes. You were never supposed to be in Beacon in the first place. This…!" He waved towards the carnage below. "Was never supposed to happen."

Cinder looked down. For all her incredible beauty and terrifying power… Now she just looked like a scared, vulnerable girl.

Jaune grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. "But you can still fix this. We can still fix this, Cinder. There's three other Maidens. You can use that girl, Emerald. Make her a Maiden, have her think of Ruby. Kill her. By the time you've done that, I'll have Ruby as putty in my hands. She'll do anything I say. I'll get the Relic and bring it to Salem. After you kill Emerald, go back to Salem and report to her 'I have forged the Key to the Gates'. That should be enough to convince Salem to spare you."

Jaune stopped Cinder from speaking, putting a finger on her lips. "But, I want you to call off the attack on Vale. After all, I do admit I've grown rather fond of this place. Plus, if Beacon or Vale falls, the students will scatter. They'll go home. Or they'll go to different schools. My job will become much harder. And I don't want to risk you and Ruby being in the same Kingdom any time soon. At least, not before I can fix all the trauma you caused her or turn it into loyalty to me and Salem. And, when Ozpin reincarnates into a new body, who do you think he'll go to first?"

"R-Ruby?"

"Exactly. If Beacon or Vale are destroyed, he gets a chance to get to her before I can finish my work on her. She must stay here with me. This is our only chance. Do you understand me?"

"Y… Yes."

"Good. Now. It's time. You need to and call off the attack. But first… I need to maintain my cover. I'm supposed to be weak, it would be suspicious if I came out of this unscathed. You need to beat me. Cut me, burn me, throw me around. Just don't maim me, because then I can't stay in Beacon and I can't keep working on Ruby. Understand?" Jaune let go and stepped back. He needed to stay in character. He let his aura cover him. "You ready?"

"Yes." Cinder nodded. But then, with a blush she stepped forward and laid a chaste kiss on his lips. "Thank you."

'Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Why do I find evil women showing their vulnerable side so fucking hot! Don't get a boner! Don't get a boner! Don't get a boner!'

Melted glass appeared in Cinder's hand and formed a blade. In the blink of an, eye she was upon him.

'It hurts! Oh god it hurts so bad! But it hurts so good to have a plan come together so well!'

---

Qrow Branwen has been around a long time. He's over forty years old and has been fighting with Ozpin in this Shadow War for over half of those forty years. He'd believed he'd heard and seen everything.

This, though… This was new!

Taiyang, his best friend, dropped his head into his hands. "You're fucking insane!"

The young blonde sitting opposite them in Taiyang's house grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I-It was a gamble. But it wasn't like I could fight her. I'd have died! So I… pretended to be on Salem's side."

Qrow upended his flask and drank until it was empty. "You're special, kid. You know that? I don't think even Oz could weave absolute fucking bullshit quite like you."

The blonde kid, Jaune Arc or some shit, preened under his compliment.

'Well, the kid does deserve it. He basically saved Vale and Beacon single handedly. Sure, he put another Maiden in danger, but if Cinder kills her own minion to make Ruby a Maiden… that gives us plenty of time to prepare and aeakens them. Plus, here's hoping that Salem kills that Cinder bitch for failing so gods damned hard! Now all we need to do is wait for Oz to come back, and we can figure out how to kill Salem once and for…'

Qrow paused and realized something. Jaune had figured out everything on his own. Does that mean he was right that Salem was immortal? Like… unkillable?

"FUCK! FUCK! FUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!"

Click to shrink...

Very good! You going to post it over on Spacebattles as well?

 

[Guikoi]

Very good! You going to post it over on Spacebattles as well?

Click to shrink...

Is... Is there a thread of this on Spacebattles?

Wait, I just checked. There is a version there.

Sure. I'll go post it now.

 

[Bommel]

You know what would be funny?

Jaune busts out the guitar for the first time and everyone is expecting a cringe love song.

Then he starts playing some fucking Metal.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Beast in Black has a couple of good METAL love related songs (though they're not all just strait love songs)

Neo Valean Rangers

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Ranger Jaune fanart (though the second pic might be a BeetleBorg Jaune)

Spoiler: Other Rangers fanart

Spoiler: Villains fanart