Philia

"So... you hittin' that?"

"..."

Jaune turned his head, idly glancing from his position of standing cross-armed by the floor-to-ceiling glass pane on the side of the Titan-class Bullhead to see Cardin standing right beside him in a similar cross-armed pose. Upon seeing that the blonde actually had no idea what he was talking about, the burly student lifted a hand to make a repeated spanking motion with a suggestive smirk.

"You know... tappin' that Bellabooty?~"

"I'm... right here."

Both teens turned to see Blake completely hidden behind Cardin's large frame, the young woman glaring daggers at him through narrowed eyes as her cat ears began flattening on her head. But brushing off the glare, Cardin merely shrugged a shoulder with a nonchalant expression before continuing.

"Meh. Just sayin'. If you think about it, you two are actually weirdly compatible."

With that, he walked away with a snicker and that cocky strut Jaune had become used to seeing during his first semester, Blake shaking her head at him as she took a step forward to close the space between herself and the blonde.

"Wow. A four-syllable word. Must be a new record for him."

Unable to hold back a small chuckle, Jaune couldn't help noting, "The nickname was pretty funny, though."

"Don't make me hit you."

Jaune raised his hands placatingly at her light glare, finally having built up a certain measure of immunity to it before adopting a smug expression and flexing his arm, "Alright, but I dunno, Blake... I'm not sure you could put a dent in all this anymore."

Her jaw slackened a bit as her deadpan intensified, the result now enough to cause him to stop what he was doing with a nervous smirk.

"Seriously?"

"Maybe. We can always settle it over a sparring match someday," he replied with a small smile as both teens now stood next to the massive window pane, "Anyway... what's up?"

Blake merely took another step forward to stand beside him in front of the pane, not breaking eye contact with him before simply shaking her head with a half-smile, "Honestly, I think someone's letting their little skirmish against our resident Ice Queen get to his head... but, I just wanted to talk."

"Talk? That's a little unlike you."

The catgirl scoffed, raising a brow at the young leader with a subtle smirk that promised follow-through on her threat, "I can always change my mind..."

"Well I wouldn't want you to," Jaune noted with a benign smile as he turned to face out the window at the same time, "So... what's on your mind?"

Juane watched the flowing landscape beneath him, scorched or otherwise barren land rolling beneath the shadow of the large aircraft before he noticed the pause slowly stretching out between him and Blake. Turning slowly to face the ravenette, he noticed her looking out the window as well with furrowed brows and her lips lightly pursed to the side in thought. It was then that he realized that even she wasn't immune to the occasional action of jumping into a conversation without actually thinking it through.

Wisely, the blonde knight opted to not point that out, instead masking his amusement with a light whistle as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Well, then... so I had that thing yesterday with Yang."

Unaware of the sharp breath the young woman let out beside him, Jaune turned to see a genuinely curious expression on her face as he continued, "She said she was making some dinner last night and invited me to eat with her. Honestly, I didn't even know she could cook, but I figured maybe it was something she usually did for your team or something, you know?"

Blake held back a scoff. Yang certainly didn't do that kind of thing.

"...Which is why I was kinda surprised when she said you guys wouldn't be joining us, or anyone else from my team either," he continued slowly, looking up as if he were still trying to rationalize her decision, "But at least the food turned out alright. Reminded me of those little microwave TV dinners I used to make myself at home when I was little."

"So you... never figured out why she did that? At all?" Blake now asked, her curiosity veering a little bit closer to incredulity... albeit an inexplicably relieved one.

"Nah. I just chalked it up to a night hanging out. I figured she didn't have enough food to go around for everyone. I bet you guys were tired - you were passed out on the couch. With Ren and Nora, you can't have one without the other, and Nora would've eaten everything. And aside from their insane strength, Yang and Pyr have nothing in common. So that just left me."

Blake hummed at the young man's reasoning as her gaze drifted out the window. His ability to take apart a situation would actually be pretty impressive in any other case... had she not known that in this case, it was so horribly wrong.

Nevertheless, she suddenly couldn't find it in herself to point that out either, content to leave it with a brief "Um... yeah."

"Yep. I guess that means she and I are friends now," Jaune added with a satisfied smile with having at the very least made a new friend while Blake returned a similar smile if only for the reason that her theory about him had been right all along. But now adopting a slightly more serious expression, he added, "Anyway. I was gonna ask, what happened back at Lambent? When Ozpin came out, we were all pretty darn grateful. But you... you were practically snarling."

Jaune watched, observing as best he could for any tell the catgirl might give about her current state of mind in regards to the matter and receiving none as she simply crossed her arms with a silent huff, "Nothing happened."

At that, the blonde turned his head to give her a light glare in defiance of the statement, Blake's face softening as she came to realize that he had apparently begun to pick up on her mannerisms as well. With a hint of a smirk, she merely stated, "You've got quite the intense gaze there, Jaune. I'd be inclined to say I'm starting to rub off on you."

He chuckled with a raised brow before retorting, "Rub off on me, huh? Coming from the girl who once questioned my usage of the word Grind, I'm not quite sure how to take that..."

Her face flushing a bit with surprise at his unexpected remark about their first conversation together, Blake remained cross-armed, bumping his shoulder with hers as she chided, "Oh hush, you."

The two stood there for a single serene moment, their shoulders no longer quite apart as they each looked over the vast terrain with the beginnings of forest land over the horizon together.

"...But really, though. What's up with you and Ozpin?"

Blake sighed, only then realizing how much she had enjoyed that single moment before admitting that he deserved to know what was going on as much as anyone else. As a matter of fact, a group chat was certainly becoming long overdue.

"I don't know," she began slowly, softly, "He's done so much for us all. He even let me into the school despite knowing about... me. Yet for all his ideals, for all his efforts... I still can't bring myself to trust him."

"I was actually thinking the same thing."

Turning up to face him with some surprise, Blake saw Jaune standing cross-armed as he had been when she had approached him and Cardin, the blonde sporting a particularly steely expression she couldn't quite say she'd ever seen on him before. Even in a fight.

"What do you mean?"

And just like that, the expression was gone; turning to face her again as well, Jaune elaborated with his usual demeanor, "Ozpin. This guy... he's not just some coffee-sipping pencil pusher you can step around to get stuff done. I lied to get into Beacon, remember? But with everything that happened, with everything I became, I just can't help wondering... did I really pull a fast one on him?"

"Jaune, there's no way he could've-"

"No no, just hear me out. It may sound crazy at first, but the more I talk, the more sense it'll make," he continued, his pensive expression beginning to return, "Semblance or not, I'm sure he wouldn't have been the only teacher to notice my transcripts didn't really match with... the rest of me... when I got here. But no one made a peep. Then there's Yang, who was still accepted even though she blew up an entire club days before initiation judging by what she was telling me yesterday... which I'm pretty sure is a crime! Then we got Ruby, accepted two years early cuz she was able to actually run down that very same bowler hat guy, no less! Not to mention the high-profile people like Weiss and Pyrrha we got this year... And now you're saying he let you in for reasons you don't get... "

He ran a hand down over his face, suddenly looking as tired as he surely felt. Blake made no effort to interrupt as he continued, "Look, I don't know if Ozpin's behind these things. Maybe he isn't. But the fact is, someone's out there who's been taking a whole lot of time putting all these pieces together. You may think sometimes that your life has become little more than a game, Blake... but I'm getting the feeling that someone's been playing this game for a lot longer than we have. If Ozpin's in on it, then fine. But even if I don't trust him, it's not his side I'm worried about. I'm worried about the side he's playing against."

Blake observed him carefully, somewhere between worried and impressed that the young man she had once been sure couldn't swing a sword to save his life now stood like... a Hunter. But for better or for worse, at that moment, it simply made him seem so... old... so weary of the events going on around him.

"Is that what you'd been thinking about since we got back on the ship? You seemed to be fairly engrossed in your thoughts."

"Eh?" Jaune noted, back to normal as he suddenly became aware of his stance with a chuckle, "Oh, was I actually standing like this the whole time? I guess I didn't even realize I was doing it. Heh, you wouldn't believe it, but when I was real little, my dad would stand by this floor-to-ceiling window we had along a room of our house sometimes. He said he'd do it when he needed to 'think'... and whenever he would, me and my sisters would sneak into the room and try to copy his stance behind him where he wouldn't notice. Though I'm sure he did."

At that, Jaune once again adopted the wide cross-armed stance he had used before as he continued with an air of filial pride for his father, "The Tobin Stance, we would call it... since, you know, Tobin is my dad."

Blake giggled at his story and amusing expression, causing the leader to give her a goofy grin as he relaxed and finally admitted with a shaking head, "I think I told you once, but you really do have a nice laugh; it honestly never fails to give me the feeling like there's nothing wrong with the world... Okay, I'll admit that was a little cheesy."

Letting out a slow breath to release the pent up stress she had been accumulating over the past days, the catgirl did nothing to hide her faint blush at the blonde who was facing her as she leaned sideways onto his chest with a short huff, "No, that actually wasn't half bad. Since when did your one-liners become decent?"

Jaune turned a little bit to accomodate the girl who was now leaning into him as he gingerly but eventually put an arm around her, pleasantly surprised that she made no motion to shrug it off as they both were looking out the large window once more, "Ever since I started hanging out with a cool cat like you."

"Aaand, there it went."

She looked up at the blonde as he turned to give her a scoff of mock-dejection, rolling her eyes at him with a smug smirk before resting her head on the nook between his chest and shoulder once more. I... can certainly get used to this, the thought idly crossed her mind before she let out a cat-like yawn in his warm embrace.

"Aww... you two could so make the cover page for a Hallmark card right now."

Able to turn first, it was Jaune who saw the blue-haired student standing behind them with a knowing smirk on his face, "Honestly you two, I can already see the blonde cat-eared little munchkins all scampering around the place."

"It's not what it looks like," Jaune retorted amiably, not catching Blake blinking at him from his side as one of her feline ears drooped just a bit, "What's up?"

"I told Sun about your little Smash Bros challenge in the library, and we just uncovered a working X-Cube in the commons area with the game hardwired into the hard drive. Time to put those team skills to the test, brochacho!"

Trading a glance and a slight nod from the ravenette, Jaune turned to face Neptune with a devilish smirk, "You sure you're ready for Beacon to learn that Knightshade trumps Sea Monkey anyday?"

"Pfft, you wish, tiny dancer!" Neptune retorted with a light verbal jab at Jaune's line-dance with his team earlier that year before turning back to the commons area with a wave of dismissal, "So hurry up!"

But before being able to walk forward, Jaune took a deep breath before turning back to Blake.

"We'll have to tell them what you've seen soon, they need to know everything you do about what we're up against in case something like Lambent happens again. But I think we can all use some recovery time after that last fight, first."

The catgirl gave a small nod, her gaze seemingly having found a comfortable resting place on anything but him before replying, "I know."

But cocking his head to the side at her change in demeanor, Jaune looked at the spot they'd been standing together a few moments ago before glancing at her with a small smile.

"You know... for the record, I'm glad we got a few minutes to ourselves. It was nice," he began brightly, the ravenette looking up at him with a pleased smile before he offered her his hand... a gesture she happily accepted, "Now let's show those wannabes how it's done."

BLAM BLAM BLAM!

"Get rekd, newb!"

KABLAM! eeeBOOM!

"You stupid, stupid, camper! I've got something special for your brand of fiend!"

POW POW! ...Reversal! CLACK!

"Wh-you call that a stealth attack!? What are you, an ape?"

"Hey... I resemble that remark..."

Sun, Jaune, and Neptune simply stared at the screen as the bright captions of HEADSHOT HEADSHOT HEADSHOT paraded through the top, the unexpectedly aggressive - and skilled - catgirl having been the only one speaking for the past few minutes until Sun had spoken up. Logically, his character was then the one to receive three successive gunshots to the face.

"Dude, where did she even learn those terms?" Neptune asked in a whisper lest he incur the feline faunus-girl's wrath in real life.

"And how did she get so good!" Sun shouted as her Zelda character whipped him with the scope gun she had been carrying while he was recovering to the stage mid-flight right where his oversized DK couldn't dodge, essentially sending him off the screen, "And that was the one skill I had on her."

"Ironically, there's a passive gaming skill under my semblance," Blake stated matter-of-factly as she turned to face the teens now that she was the last girl standing after defeating her final opponent, adorably raising both hands and one cat ear, "Level Eleven."

Both Sun and Neptune let out a depressed huff in tandem, the blue-haired student facepalming as he admitted, "We were one of the best Smash teams in Haven... and we can't even handle Blake at level eleven."

"Well, if it's related to the game levels at all, the CPU does only go up to level nine," Jaune offered in condolence, only receiving sharp glares from each Havenite before backpedaling, "Hey now, don't look at me; I died first!"

Neptune rolled his eyes as he mumbled, "Well that's what you get for spamming with Link..."

"Well I guess that settles it then," Sun announced with a small epiphany, "This marks Blakey's crowning as a true gamer girl! Not like the fake sleazy ones at Haven that just call themselves that to attract attention while posting pics of themselves wearing nothing except little gaming controllers on their hoo-hahs... I'm talking legit here. Blake is officially The Gamer Girl!"

A moment of silence as the three students stared at the excited faunus-boy.

Eventually, Neptune was the first one to speak up, "Dude... I don't even wanna know what tumblr accounts you stumbled across this time..."

"I don't understand the distinction," Blake added quaintly, totally unaware of the Havenite's meaning and Sun's impending blush, "Why say 'girl' when we're all just gamers in the end?"

"She identified with us gamers," Neptune stated, looking at Sun with a flat expression, "Now it's official."

"Honestly, I still don't understand it. It's not as if it's so rare that a girl ever picks up a gaming remote..."

"Well it sure ain't often to see a pretty girl, especially one as good-looking as you, pick up a remote," Sun stated with a wide smirk at Blake who merely deadpanned at him in response.

"Right. You've now complimented me at the expense of my entire gender."

Neptune cringed at the blatant shoot down of his partner's attempt at her good graces, shaking his head as he held out a hand to keep Sun from saying anything else, "Eesh. Gender conversations with an activist is waaay over our heads, dude. And sexism is a can of worms you do not want to open..."

"Actually, I think that can's already been busted pretty wide open," Jaune suddenly remarked as muted shouting was heard around the corner of the hall leading into the commons area.

"What did you just say?"

The four teens turned to see Cardin backpedaling into the large room with Scarlet walking right at him, Sage close behind her walking silently as the rest of team CRDL followed just as quietly to avoid notice in a small huddle. Sun and Neptune immediately rushed over at the sight of the clearly unhappy Havenite, Jaune and Blake trading shrugs as the rest of team RWBY rushed in from another entrance into the commons area behind them due to the noise.

"C'mon, can't take a little joke?" Cardin defended, though without his usual self-absorbed tone of voice under Scarlet's piercing gaze, "Seriously, it was just a goof!"

"What's going on?" Neptune asked as the two teams congregated near the center of the area, Sky being the first to look over with a shaky disposition.

"C-Cardin just asked what kind of genderless bathroom they got in Haven so that Scarlet doesn't freak out the students w-when going in..."

Both Sun and Neptune face-palmed in unison as Scarlet's face reddened again with fury toward the now nervous mace-wielder.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry, dude!" Cardin shouted in exasperation, finally resorting to apologies to get it over with, "It's obvious to tell that you're a guy just by looking at you, my bad!"

Sun and Neptune each added their other hands to their faces in double facepalms as Scarlet's murderous gaze told Cardin that he had just made a huge mistake.

"What, you assume I'm a male cuz I fight dressed this way?" Scarlet mentioned, motioning at the red and white garb before glancing over everyone elce present, "I don't know about the rest of you, but that sounds sexist to me! Don't that sound sexist, Sage?"

The tanned student merely nodded once with arms crossed as Scarlet turned to face him, no other reaction made before continuing the razor-thin onslaught, "It sure does! And do you know what happened to the last guy I decided was being sexist to me?"

"..."

"Do you!?"

"N-No!" Cardin stammered, quickly raising his hands placatingly at Scarlet as if to try and ease the tension. But now sporting a smug smirk, Scarlet indulged in whittling down the larger boy's confidence with a menacing smirk before casting a sideways glare at the monkey-faunus.

"Why don't ya tell 'em... Sun."

Team RWBY traded unsure glances before watching the blonde Havenite mumble with an embarrassed blush on his features, "He... got billy-jacked and hog-tied to a barge headed to Vale..."

"That's right! Billy-jacked and hog-tied to a barge headed to Vale!" Scarlet exclaimed in triumph, team RWBY suddenly putting two and two together and repressing the immediate urge to laugh as team CRDL merely whimpered in unison.

"But c'mon, it's so hard to tell, though!" Russel weakly defended for his endangered leader as Sky nodded as well.

"Yeah, and you guys look like some boy band from Oum-knows-where, too. So it's impossible to guess!"

"So what?" Scarlet seethed, glaring at the rest of the three teens with a heated gaze that could likely defeat Blake's with sheer fury alone, "You assume I'm a guy on just that? Or that I don't got a rack like that blonde biker chick over there!?"

Jaune turned to glance at Yang, who merely wiggled he brow at him with a smirk as the rest of her team groaned with a mix of exasperation, annoyance, and just a tinge of envy. More noticeable with some than with others. Like Weiss.

"Seriously, guys," Neptune remarked towards the burly leader and then to his team, "Can't you see she's not built like a dude? And it's not like guys are the only ones who can shave their heads like you with the mohawk there."

"My name's Russe-"

"Shut up. You don't matter," Scarlet cut in before turning to look at Cardin with narrowed eyes, "So. You got any more stupid arguments you wanna make based on just my looks!?"

And to the rest of team SSSN's and team RWBY's disbelief, the cocky leader actually had the nerve to open his mouth.

"Yeah. Even for a girl, your hips are barely wider than-"

But he didn't get to finish. Quickly crossing her hand through the air, what almost looked like a broom sped through the commons area into Scarlet's grasp from where she had entered before sweeping it up to deliver a painfully audible upwards swing into Cardin's crotch in a single motion. Needless to say, the large student collapsed onto the ground like a sack of potatoes, crying out with an understandably feminine squeal as he gripped his package. The rest of team CRDL, Jaune, and even some of team RWBY made a sharp intake of breath in sympathy of the guy as Scarlet stood over him.

"You think that's pain? It is NOT pain, you understand!? What you are experiencing is MILD DISCOMFORT," she continued as she gripped the end of her broom towards the teary-eyed leader's face on the ground, the metallic pole stationary as the ends that looked like white strands of hay came together to form the pearly white handle of a shotgun in her back fist, "I'll show you pain next time you come at me like that, got it!?"

"Uh huh," was all he could eke out with an emphatic nod before Coco stepped into the room.

"What's going on here," the fashionista demanded before taking a single glance around the room and gathering the situation with a smirk.

"Hm. I guess the boys are just getting to know each other, then."

At that, Scarlet set her jaw at the smug second-year student and stepped forward, only stopped by the unexpectedly steely glare coming from over the girl's glasses as she tilted her head at her, "This is a fight you don't wanna start, sister. You do not wanna know what happens when these shades come off."

Letting out a single huff as Sage placed a hand on her shoulder, Scarlet decided to step back as the rest of team CFVY entered the area. Stopping in front of Sage, Yatsuhashi leveled a silent glare at the young man who returned an equally intense silent glare in kind. Standing back, everyone in the room watched as the two large fighters stared at each other for a few seconds more before letting out a short grunt at about the same time, then reaching out their arms to shake hands with small smiles.

"What, just happened?" Velvet asked unsurely, somewhat surprised to see Yats warm up to someone he'd barely met so easily, a feat she hadn't seen in the two years of being his partner. However, Scarlet, equally surprised but otherwise unaffected, merely raised a brow before giving her reply.

"I think Sage just might've made a new friend."

"Alright, ladies... and Scarlet. Gather 'round, we got stuff to discuss!" Coco now began in the center of the commons area, casually waving everyone over as teams RWBY, CRDL, CFVY, SSSN and Jaune found seats along the couches surrounding the sunken amphitheater-like miniature dip in the center of the area. Scarlet, however, sent a death glare at the leader as she took her seat.

"Whore."

Coco simply returned a sweet smile at the peeved Havenite... before idly flipping her off.

At that moment, the rest of team JNPR came in and paused at the unexpected sight out of context before Jaune waved them over to the large semi-circular couch directly across from the second-year leader that he had taken with team RWBY.

Whereas Ren took the corner and Nora sat net to him as expected by hopping over the back of the couch and landing next to him with a giggle, Pyrrha took the more proper route around the side to seat herself between the hammer maiden and her leader with a quick warm smile. It was a snug fit, all eight students sitting lap to lap, but they didn't really mind it. On the straight 4-person couch to their left sat team SSSN while on the couch to their right sat team CFVY. Team CRDL had taken a smaller 3 person couch behind Coco, the four students trying to squeeze in until Cardin simply decided on booting Sky to the floor.

"So... what exactly are we here for?" Sun began as everyone had settled into their seats.

Coco granted him a short nod before turning her attention to everyone in the room, "Alright firsties, this year you're learning about Grimm, history and combat. Next year wont be much different... aside from the fact that they start teaching you how Hunters actually tackle missions."

A few blank stares, causing the leader to sigh and shake her head.

"In other words, my team and I figured we should get everyone together and go over what we did well, what we didn't do well, and the intel we gathered to be more effective in the future... considering that this is a chance to do things as they're done after we graduate and that it was much like our first Grimm extermination mission we were sent on earlier this year," she continued, a few eyes catching Velvet's brief shiver on the seat where she sat before the meeting forewoman looked in the direction of team JNPR, "To begin, we figured we should start by thanking Arc here for that last minute plan back there... it most likely saved every one of our lives."

Every gaze turned towards the surprised blonde, Jaune blushing a bit under the combined attention with a short chuckle as Ruby and Yang sent him similarly wide grins that would make their relation apparent if for nothing else, Weiss sent him a neutral but approving nod, and Blake gave him a pleased smile from his side.

"Aww shucks, guys. I... It was thanks to everyone here that the idea held up. We all kept each other safe."

"Under your direction, Jaune," Pyrrha noted with a warm smile and nothing short of pride as she nudged him from his other side, his gaze turning back to his team, "Your improvement is now becoming clearer than ever."

Jaune paused for only a second as Nora popped her hear over Pyrrha's shoulder with a wide grin and two thumbs up in what seemed like expectation, something he normally would've brushed off had it not been for even Ren peering over with an inquisitive expression and a ghost of a smile.

But paying little more mind to the situation, Jaune simply gave his partner a grin as he replied, "It's thanks to you guys, really. I'm honestly glad that you're my teammate and friends, all of you."

Jaune didn't notice Nora slump back into her seat at the mention of the word friend, the ginger-haired girl turning to her partner with a tight-lipped expression and shaking her head with a low tone, "I dunno, Renny. That dog just ain't gonna hunt."

The stoic student himself sighed, shrugging at the missed opportunity between the leader and the young woman who was clearly infatuated with him.

"And then there was you, Belladonna," Coco now continued, the sudden shift of attention towards the catgirl causing her to shrink back in her seat a bit, "If it weren't for your warning to gather us together before things went south, we could've been in real trouble. We wanted to thank you for that."

Blake gave a small nod in acknowledgment before speaking up, "Thank you... it was nothing."

However, a scoff from the couch that the rest of CFVY occupied brought their attention to its auburn team member, "I wouldn't know about that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang quipped in reply with a small scowl, ready to defend her partner if necessary. To that, Fox immediately, strangely enough, zeroed in on Yang, sitting forward on his seat and leaning out before making a knife hand motion towards Blake.

"She... is currently the furthest thing from 'nothing' in this room," he began sharply without breaking 'eye contact' with the blonde, "You see, my Semblance lets me see more than... well, what my eyes can't. I see people's natural energy, like little flickers of light that outline their bodies. In our case, our Auras. The stronger the aura, the brighter the light, get it?"

A brief nod from a few of the students before Fox continued.

"It's convenient because I've learned to tell what class Semblance someone has by the brightness of their aura. For example," Fox paused, motioning towards everyone in the room, "No one's Semblance class here is above B, except Coco, the two new kids that saved us at Lambent, and you, with that super-saiyan aura you got there. Your Semblances are A Class..."

Another knife-hand at Blake.

"But her aura's so bright I can't even look at her straight! That clearly makes her S Class, which means that she's so strong, it's stupid!"

"Fox... use your words, babe," Coco drawled in contrast to the student's heightened state of excitement.

He huffed before reiterating, "I mean, that girl is so strong, that she makes strong people look... not strong!"

Coco evidently rolled her eyes behind her shades before Yatsuhashi shifted forward in his seat, maintaining perfect posture as he spoke up.

"What mister Alistair-san wishes to say is, there are no students currently attending the academy with a Shinin rank Semblance," Yats stated before taking a moment to sigh, a method Blake could tell he used to collect his thoughts for a tricky proposition before he continued, "What we were wishing to clarify... if you would graciously enlighten us... is whether you know why Torchwick-menba targeted you at Lambent. Could it have been for your ability?"

Blake let the possible replies roll over a few times in her mind, immediately surmising that this was not the best place to divulge her past history with her mutual connection between herself and the mascara-wearing thief.

"I wouldn't know. This ability isn't exactly something I've broadcasted previously... much less had for very long, either."

"What do you mean?" Velvet now asked, an ear up in curiosity as the other remained droopy before Blake replied uncomfortably.

"Um... my semblance, it sort of, changed recently."

"What!? That's impossible!" Cardin piped up from his location across the room, his team and even a few others beginning to make similar declarations when the room went silent at the sound of the green-haired Havenite's voice.

"It very much isn't."

It wasn't the volume of the voice that immediately caught everyone's attention. In fact, it was somewhat quiet. But it held a smooth, deep tone that if one wasn't paying attention, one would likely confuse with the humming of the aircraft engines.

And there was also the evident distinction of the accent... a more, proper English.

Now well-aware that he had the undivided attention of everyone in the room, Sage sat at the edge of his seat as well, crossing his well-defined arms over his knees as he calmly began, "Me, I grew up in an island off the Mistrali mainland named Britton, yeah? It wosn't the rosiest of childhoods, as I was placed in a reformat'ry fer troubled boys in the mainland early on..."

A small shudder from Cardin and his team at the all-too-familiar words before Sage elaborated, "Not by choice. Or even within bloody reason. But I spent me days there anyways, keepin' to meself mostly... readin'. Read about Hunters, read about Aura. Unlocked me own in about a year."

"That's... very impressive," Pyrrha noted aloud, clearly impressed at the young man's feat, "Most aura-users never learn to unlock an aura until much later in life, much less their own!"

But retaining his serene air and evident humility, Sage granted her only a brief nod and minute smile of gratitude before replying, "Even then, it wosn't much. I'd always been one to observe, to try and figure out what made the sorry blokes I went to class with tick. Naturally, my Semblance wos the ability to heighten my eyesight well beyond even avian-faunus limits. That is, until one day I saw a lit'le scuffle goin on, a couple of knob-ends tryin' to play a prank on some new chap with a vial of Dust packed into a home-made grenade... little did those shoddy buggers know that tryin' to mix the compounds that they did would ignite a lethal explosion. Long story short, I pushed the kid into a dirt hole before it went off, gettin' in quick enough to dodge most of the explosion."

"Most?" Ruby echoed, now clutching her red cloak around herself like a child would whilst hearing a scary story.

"Yes, luv. Most. Dust-charged dirt and debris flew into me face, putting me into an infirmary bed for two whole weeks. Changed me eye color, too. Docs say if it weren't fer me aura, I'd be brown bread... er, dead, in other words. But when I came to, I quickly realized it had changed me... My sight wosn't quite wot it used to be. But me and the earth... we'd become one. It accepted me, let me control it. And gave me the ability to manipulate anything that grows out of it as well."

Yatsuhashi nodded at the youth, more in respect than impressed unlike everyone else in the room, before asking, "And the youth you rescued, Sage-shi. Did he survive without injury?"

For the first time, Sage cracked what almost looked like a mischievous smirk as he stretched back and glanced at his partner, "Ah well... I'd say she made it out mostly alright. Gets easily wound up, tho."

"Have you seen my Semblance?" Scarlet retorted with a hearty chuckle, tapping her broom-like weapon propped in front of her as everyone in the room put two and two together, "I'm literally a flying witch. I blame the time I spent in a school meant for guys. Besides, it was thanks to me we got out of that dump and into Haven in the first place."

"Of course. I taught you how to unlock it."

"Hmph," Weiss began, her head cocked to the side with her arms crossed in a deliberating pose from her seat, "The ability to control land itself. Must make you feel invincible."

Blake might've thought that the heiress was resorting to gleaning information on a possible rival in the Vytal tournament, but before she could remark anything out loud, Sage continued placidly.

"Hardly, Lady Schnee."

The direct reference by name catching the young woman off-guard, Sage continued, "I noticed the emblem on your coat. I'd know the Schnee logo anywhere, considerin' it was printed on the sides of the soddin' thing that nearly took me life," but not letting her become too dejected by the name, added quickly, "And on the sides of the equipment the docs used to save it."

"Thing is, there are a lot of trade-offs," Neptune offered, waiting for Sage to nod in approval for him to explain since he already knew the large young man wasn't used to speaking so much, "His Semblance relies solely on land-combat, which makes it much less effective in the air or on the water. Thankfully, Scar takes care of anything airborne pretty easily, and I can take over when it comes to water."

Weiss snickered, looking at the leader of their team, "Oh? What's Wukong good for, then?"

She was somewhat surprised to hear Scarlet interject with a sigh at their leader, "As much as I hate to admit it, he's strong enough in hand-to-hand combat to take us all out. Without my trusty Hikou Houki, of course. But overall, he's helped the three of us use martial arts at a decent Hunter level. I guess it's why we all get along... similar histories growin' up."

"So you don't use a weapon?" Ruby asked the yellow-eyed druid, morbid curiosity getting to her after hearing the Havenite's story to which he cast a knowing glance at his partner.

"Once sec," Scarlet drawled before reaching out her hand, a red glow surrounding it before a short staff-like object flew into the room and into her hand.

Handing it over to Sage, the young man shot his arm forward before quickly yanking it back, the object flicking out on both ends to tighten a string tied at each of them into a very large curved bow. Needless to say, what now stood proudly near the center of the room as an ornate wood-like archer's bow with intricate jade engravings left the young weapons lover much to gawk at.

"Saw him once shoot an arrow of compacted stone and fire Dust to blow up a bunker underneath another bunker," Scarlet remarked with a smug smirk, Sage rolling his eyes as she added, "I call it the Ex-Wife."

"Miyae," he corrected before retracting the bow and stashing it in the lining of his coat.

"So back to the whole Semblance deal," Sun now asked, having been unexpectedly silent the entire conversation with a pensive expression until now, "I get that a Semblance is the whole 'manifestation of your inner essence' and junk, like it was with Scar and even Sage after the explosion, but what I'm still trying to figure out is how Blake's Semblance changed her life into a living video game of all things..."

"A video game?" Fox echoed incredulously, his jaw slack at the information.

"That's... actually a good question," Ren mumbled, gaining the catgirl's attention with her sensitive hearing and finding himself pressed to provide his two cents after a moment to clear his throat first, "Our Semblances may be the manifestation of our souls, but I've learned that a part of it also has to do with the circumstances surrounding their unlocking. Do you... recall what you were thinking at the time of the change?"

Blake blinked, her neutral reaction at being presented with a question she knew would be taxing on her mind, but ponder she did. Her lips inevitably pursing to the side in thought, her brows began to furrow as she spoke.

"To be honest... I'm not quite sure when the change was made. I was able to use my original Semblance up until I was attacked by an Alpha," the ravenette's breath hitched as she slowly began coming to a realization, her eyes widening just a bit as they focused on nothing in particular in the center of the floor, "All I remember was the pain. The prospect of having Gambol, the sole remaining object in my life that I'd kept through my every trial aside from the bow I once wore, in ruins. And... of how little time I had left while the Dust remaining in Gambol began to turn volatile..."

She paused to give herself reprieve at the difficult memory by sheepishly scratching the back of her neck, a knack that Yang instantly recognized as a mannerism she didn't have before, and a short sigh before she concluded with an almost shamed finality, "I remember thinking how ironic and pointless it all was... our eternal fight against endless forces we couldn't understand, my lifelong battle against prejudice and hate, and ultimately myself... how it all amounted to little more than a game. Ironic, considering that I was promptly launched into a gaming shack by the Dust explosion."

The room stayed silent for a moment as the words sunk in, a trickle of deeper emotion exposed from the usually guarded Huntress-in-training, before a worried Yang finally spoke up.

"That's... pretty dark, Blake."

A wry half-smile formed on the catgirl's face at the irony as she lifted her head a bit to meet the brawler's gaze, "In a world like this? ...Darkness is as prevalent as the shadows themselves. It's no different than the number of men we likely killed at Lambent trying to defend ourselves."

"That's, not true," Ruby retorted, the pitch in her voice just a tad enough higher than normal for nearly everyone to see that the words had hit home, "We... We did all we could to not hurt them..."

Yang took the younger girl's head in her arm in a sisterly act of consolation, brushing her hair back with gentle fingers as she replied in a softer tone than most had heard her use before, "You're right, Rubes. You're right... we did all we could."

"Four hundred ninety seven," Fox noted matter-of-factly before continuing with a hand to his chin in thought, "Aside from the few hundred signatures that the Grimm took out, we actually did a good job not neutralizing so many-"

He didn't finish due to a quick nudge to the side from Velvet, seemingly sensing the girl's glare and letting his voice die down subsequently.

Blake adjusted herself deeper into her seat as others in the room let their heads drop in dejection under the invisible weight that had just set in, leaving her hands back into the cucshion to prop herself up after having shared some of her ever-present raincloud with everyone in the room... that is, until she felt a warm hand envelop hers with a light squeeze in the space of couch between them where no one could see.

"And that's where I'll have to politely disagree with you, Blake."

The ravenette, along with most everyone else in the room, turned their attention to the blonde knight as he continued with an unexpectedly disarming smile, "Doesn't matter where you are; where there's light, there will always be shadow. But Hunters don't take an oath against the darkness in the world, they take it to uphold the light. In the end... I think it has something to do with understanding why you have to do it, even if it doesn't make sense; understanding who you have to keep it for, even when there isn't hope. If at least one person in the world never loses that hope, then there's still a chance for everyone else. Even against hordes of Grimm, even against all the world's evils... I'll take those odds."

"Even the thickest of shadows can be dispelled with a single light," Yats finished with a smile in agreement before Coco nodded at the first-year leader with an impressed smirk.

"Not bad, Arc... you sure you'd never consider teaching in the future? If it ain't assisting Goodwitch with combat, I'd say you'd make a decent Professor for some kind of motivational courses or somethin'..."

Jaune simply shook his head as he stated, "I get a feeling that kind of life would be a little too hectic for me."

So with a shrug, the cocoa gunner looked around the room at the tension relieved occupants before announcing, "Alright, then. That settles that. I say we should get some rest before the bullhead reaches Beacon... Oum knows what kinda IMF paperwork will be waiting for us to fill out before we can actually get to relax."

With a few grunts in agreement, team CRDL was the first to stand and take their leave before team SSSN did the same, Jaune's hand finally separating from Blake's as Neptune walked over to hug Weiss and JNPR began to stand as well.

Now the only two left on the couch as Ruby had gotten up to see if she could catch sight of Sage's Miyae before he left, Yang leaned over to Blake while keeping an eye on the knight who momentarily had his back to them as he spoke to his team.

"You think Saber-boy might have it in him to go for a second date tonight? It wouldn't be coming on as desperate, right?"

"You do realize I'm probably the least experienced person to be speaking about these things in this room aside from your sister, right," Blake noted quietly with a deadpan before adding, "And besides, he's under the impression that you both were only hanging out. If anything, he considers you as much a friend as he does Pyrrha now."

The fact-drop causing her jaw to drop in shock, Yang replied in a strained whisper, "WHAT? You mean I put myself in the friend zone with Pyrrha without even knowing!? Agh, I should've known! Maybe I can-"

"Hey Yang, um, you kind if I chat with Blake for a bit?"

The blonde bomber paused mid-sentence as she realized her subject in question was looking right at them, her face adopting a slightly questioning look as his team left to their rooms and Weiss turned to look at what was going on as well after Neptune left.

"It's, about Semblance stuff," he added meekly with a nervous smile at the increasing attention from the fiery blonde and the icy heiress who simply looked back and forth between Jaune and Blake.

"Wait. Belladonna, you're saying that even after the first day you learned of your new Semblance, you continued training it with Arc?" she began with pointed incredulity, "Don't take it the wrong way, but you must be joking-"

"III... don't think either of them are," Yang noted slowly as she got up as she looked from the nervous knight to the silent catgirl blushing in her seat with her gaze averted from them, "I mean, I thought they might've been at first. But I think he and Blakey have been doin their thing for a while now, and that might not change anytime soon..."

Weiss threw her arms up in exasperation as the brawler took her by the shoulder to turn her around, the blonde herself letting her gaze linger on the catgirl for a second more before letting out a calm sigh and a small smile, "Should've seen it comin'. Guess this time, the joke's on me."

Blake made eye contact with her partner as she spoke those words, somewhat confused as to the realization Yang had apparently come to before the brawler turned away and Ruby approached her and Weiss.

"Hey guys, what'd I miss?"

"They actually went to the woods slaughtering Grimm by the dozens! Agh!" Weiss yelled unexpectedly as she stomped out of the room, not making eye contact with anyone as she dismissed the entire scene with a wave and leaving the crimsonette to look at her sister in question.

"Jauney and Blakey are gonna have a little chat. We should probably leave them to some alone time."

But trying to peer over her sister's shoulders at the last two people in the commons area, Ruby seemed very interested, to the point of worry, as Yang had to resort to dragging her out by the arm as she tried to get a good look.

"Whaddaya mean? Alone? Chat about what? Yaaaaang..."

And just like that, the two teens were left in the area, Jaune plopping down on the roomy couch next to Blake as he let out a tired chuckle at the scene.

"What was that all about?"

Shrugging off Yang's strange change of heart, Blake turned to glance at him with a small smirk, "Noting out of the ordinary, really."

"Eh. Okay."

"So, you wanted to talk?" Blake now asked, getting more comfortable on the couch by placing her legs up on the cushion behind herself and leaning towards the back cushions as she glanced at the knight, Jaune merely settling back in his seat as he looked forward before turning to meet her gaze.

"Well first thing, I'm glad you shared what you did. You're taking pretty big steps there in being more open with others, and it'll only help you in the long run."

But Blake thought about it, shrugging a shoulder idly as she reasoned aloud, "That may be true... but sometimes, I'm not so sure where these changes are coming from. Me... or Gamer's Mind."

"Whaaa?" Jaune stated in jest as he casually nudged her in the arm with his, "It's your semblance, Blake. It's still 'you,' just... maybe a slightly different side of you, that's all..."

But his smile fading a bit as the catgirl merely kept her gave on the couch in thought, he continued, "Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about. Usually in a video game, it's a good idea to check your stats after a boss. You know, to gauge progress and make adjustments to future gameplans."

At that, the ravenette looked up with a quiet hum of curiosity, letting the suggestion take her out of her train of thought as she noted, "That... might actually not be a bad idea."

"Cool, then lets get to it!" Jaune declared contentedly, shifting a knee up to the couch as he turned to face Blake with a grin, "So, we still in the same party or something?"

"I'm not sure, I think it might reset after sleeping or something, I'd have to check," she mused aloud as she brought up a window and began looking through it to find the information she was looking for, "No. Seems like we're not in the same party anymore. Create Party."

PING!

PING!

[You've created a party.]

[What would you like to name your party?]

"Knightshade. Of course."

PING!

[Would you like Knightshade Of Course to be your party name?]

Confirm (Y) - Refuse (N)

Blake stared at the window, facepalming as she hit the Refuse option and muttered, "Right. I'd forgotten about that."

PING!

[What would you like to name your party?]

"Knightshade."

PING!

[Would you like Knightshade to be your party name?]

Confirm (Y) - Refuse (N)

The tap preceded the command, "Invite to party."

PING!

"Got it."

Blake watched as Jaune now began pulling up windows and menus with speed she still couldn't quite place, surprised since he'd only been at the wheel of the interface only a few times. Then again, she attributed his familiarity with the system with the doubtless similarities that The Gamer interface had with actual RPGs. And just like that, a larger blue window popped up in between the both of then, startling the young woman.

PING!

[Split-Screen Disabled!]

"What'd you do?" she asked quickly, glancing back and forth between the grinning blonde and the window, "I've never seen one that big before!"

He looked at her and shrugged before motioning at the pale blue notification hovering over the edge of the couch between them that was the size of a small TV screen.

"Well, sometimes when you play co-op, the game will split the player's screens so they don't get confused about what they're doing. That includes different pop-ups that each player might get depending on what they're doing. That's a good thing, most times. Sometimes, the players are working together, and having double everything popping up gets annoying," Jaune paused as he reiterated his gesture to the window, "So... this."

"Ah."

"Yep."

"So what now?"

Jaune simply sat back next to Blake, the two teens separated by a mere couple inches as he crossed his arms at her, "Let's check out your progress."

"You mean, I-?"

"Yep."

Blake looked over to the large window, pointing at the Close option which she logically wouldn't be able to dismiss since she didn't bring it up, "And I just click-?"

"Yep."

She blinked at him before turning to close the oversized window. She couldn't help a small smirk when it obeyed her tactile command, "Okay. Status Window."

Name: Blake Belladonna

Class: The Gamer

Level: Lv25 (Nxt lvl: 13.78%)

Race: Faunus

Title: Apprentice Grimm Hunter

...

HP: 1875/1875

MP: 1000/1000

...

STR: - 20 +4 +

VIT: - 32 +6.4 +

DEX: - 21 +4.2 +

INT: - 22 +

WIS: - 7 +

LUK: - 4 +

...

Point: 67

Money: 6,500,300 Lien

Blake looked over her stats with a growing sense of pride, her progress having been made evident in a matter of weeks since the Breach incident. As a matter of fact, she had become increasingly certain that it would've taken another semester to get to where she was currently at in physical ability. Sure, her sensory abilities, aside from sensing bloodlust and danger in general, were about the same as they were previously, if not still a bit under-par, but it was certainly a large step forward overall. And it was nice to have it placed in such an organized numerical format for her to look at and adjust as necessary.

Her musing was interrupted by an impressed whistle, the ravenette turning to see the blonde leaning a little forward in his seat until their shoulders were barely touching, neither of them paying the proximity any mind as he pointed out the stats on the top.

"Wow. Looks like you've unlocked more info about yourself. Nothin' you don't already know, but who knows what else it'll tell you as you level up! As for the rest, looks like you've got plenty of options with your character build from here..."

Blake hummed in thought, turning to the intrigued leader next to her and giving her decision, "Then it's probably best I review my skillset to see what kind of fighter class I want to go for after all this."

"Now you're thinking like a Gamer!" Jaune exclaimed with a snap of his fingers, nodding at the window with a smile, "Alright, let's see what you got."

"Skill List."

DING!

[Skill List]

A Gamer's Mind

A Gamer's Body

Observe

Stealth

Sword Mastery

Blunt Weapon Mastery

Firearm Mastery

Kusarigama Mastery

Dual Wielding Mastery

Aura

Vecchian Recovery

Detect Bloodlust

Energy Bolt

Spiraling Energy Bolt

Dust Proficiency

Sense Danger

Power Strike

Mana Arrow

Spinning Mana Arrow

"Hmm, of all these things, lots of your active skills seemed spec'd for physical combat," Jaune noted as he scanned through the new window, "But after seeing your potential for ranged combat at Lambent..."

"Why would I want to focus on killing Grimm up close when I can spam them instead?" Blake finished with a start, checking the levels of her passive mastery skills one by one.

DING!

[Sword Mastery (Passive) LV7 - EXP: 37.91%]

Freely handle a sword to slice through opponents.

15% increase in attack damage with swords.

"That's kinda meh, to be honest."

"It's enough to one-hit a Beowulf. Hush."

DING!

[Firearm Mastery (Passive) LV9 - EXP: 12.45%]

Strike targets from a distance using firearms.

49% accuracy with targets within 275m.

98% accuracy with targets within 55m.

"Cool. Fifty-five meters is a lot, right?"

"Seriously?"

DING!

[Kusarigama Mastery (Passive) LV12 - EXP: 69.03%]

Easily slice through targets at range using a kusarigama.

66% increase in hit rate.

10% increase in attack damage.

"That's not too bad."

"Are you really going to comment on everything you see?"

DING!

[Dual Wielding (Passive) LV14 - EXP: 89.58%]

Use dual wielded weaponry to inflict swift attacks on the target.

50% increase in attack speed.

25% decrease in attack damage.

"Pfft. You call that a buff?"

"It's highly effective!" Blake cried out with slight exasperation before smacking Jaune on the arm with all 24 points of strength she had... which didn't even make him budge.

"You wipe that smirk off your face."

Jaune let out a long, satisfied groan as his ear to ear cheesy grin of confidence didn't lessen, turning back to the screen and pointing at the skill list without regard to the seething young woman beside him, "Look. Truth is, your physical skills are really good, if not better than where you were at earlier this year. So I think for now, you can look at ranged attacks, focusing on Aura and Mana-based skills... and then maybe that Dust Proficiency one down the line."

"..."

Jaune turned at the sound of the silence to see Blake still glaring at him, quickly cracking a disarming smile before the girl huffed with a small smirk of her own and turned to face the window, "I suppose you're right... Dork. It's actually what I was thinking back at Lambent. I should probably look at Aura first to see how far I've come with it..."

And selecting the appropriate option, the long window popped up in front of them both.

DING!

[Aura (Passive/Active) LV3 - EXP: 47.31% MP: 20]

Aura - the manifestation of our soul.

A necessary energy source for all Hunters, being a powerful ally in battle which can be used in conjunction with that of others to defeat mighty foes.

Passive attributes can be used for a wide range of abilities depending on skill level.

Active attributes activate upon sensing danger.

PASSIVE:

Unlocks Dust Proficiency skill.

Unlocks Sense Danger skill.

Unlocks Multi-Player support.

STR increase 20%.

VIT increase 20%.

DEX increase 20%.

ACTIVE:

HP regeneration 100 per minute.

MP regeneration additional 500%.

Mana reset time reduced 50%.

STR increase additional 25%.

VIT increase additional 25%.

DEX increase additional 25%.

"Whoa. Those look like some pretty serious buffs for only level three," Jaune drawled in disbelief, the catgirl next to him slowly nodding with a slack jaw, "This'll be really important to grind as much as possible... which I figure is done whenever you use your Semblance or mana attacks."

"So... grind Spinning Mana Arrows for range, work Spiraling Energy Bolt as a finisher, and add on Dust Proficiency down the line all to buff Aura?"

Jaune thought about it for a second before nodding, "That sounds like a pretty solid plan. You accounted for MP rates yet?"

A momentary blank stare before Blake shrugged and reached for the Skill List.

DING!

[Spinning Mana Arrow (Active) LV19 - EXP: 09.24% / MP: 2]

A long-distance attack skill with increased piercing power by adding a strong spin to a mana arrow. Only possible for those talented in manipulating mana.

Additional arrow provided every 5 levels.

Automatic rapid fire unlocked at level 25.

Infinite Spinning Mana Arrow unlocked at level 50.

"Only two MP!?" Jaune all but shouted in a restrained statement as the window popped up in front of them, "But all that damage you caused at Lambent! Man, and here I was almost thinking my Semblance was OP..."

"OP?"

"Overpowered. And I still think it could be. But yours really is broken."

A raised brow from the ravenette before Jaune elaborated, "Broken, as in cheap. A skill that breaks the system when exploited."

"Oh?" Blake noted as the idea sunk in her mind, trickling down into a smug smirk as she regarded the skill with a new light, "Well then, that's certainly good to know. Lets see... I currently have one MP regen per minute; with active Aura, it becomes six per minute. If each set costs me two MP, and I try to keep half my MP saved for physical attacks... that's a total of two hundred fifty launches of a grand total of seven hundred fifty arrows..."

"Over a total of less than five minutes, if it's taking two MP per second," Jaune noted flatly, crashing the girl's budding excitement with a single phrase, "That's kinda terrible. I'd figure out another way to up your MP regen to sustain that kind of skill, especially once you unlock auto-fire... Uh, Blake? You okay?"

Jaune didn't expect the saddened mewl that barely escaped the dejected girl's lips, but he certainly couldn't admit that it wasn't endearing.

"Well maybe that's what you should focus on... MP," Jaune slowly suggested, hoping to cheer up the young woman. Yet, he found himself swallowed by pity as well when she turned her large amber eyes to look into his.

"But... how?"

Setting his jaw as he was no longer able to bear the catgirl's dashed hopes, Jaune looked down with a hand to his chin to think... and think... and-

"Got it!" he exclaimed happily, closing the opened windows until only the Status Window remained, "I remember noticing that INT helped increase the strength of mana attacks... so maybe there's a way to get it to increase MP, too!"

But before he could reach over to tap the INT arrows to max out INT, Blake stopped his hand with hers, a look of doubt in her eyes, "But what if it doesn't work? How would we know that we're not blowing these stat points for good? What if..."

"Uhh..."

Jaune didn't try and reply, instead following Blake's line of sight to a small box that had popped up over WIS, which was where she had currently stopped Jaune's hand hovering over just above pressing range.

[WISDOM]

"Intelligence in practice - Wisdom is it's own virtue" - Unknown

Effect: Mana regeneration increased by 2 per minute every 5 points.

Effect: Aura Meld unlocked after 25 points.

"Well. That settles that."

Blake didn't hesitate to mash the arrow herself until satisfied.

Name: Blake Belladonna

Class: The Gamer

Level: Lv25 (Nxt lvl: 13.78%)

Race: Faunus

Title: Apprentice Grimm Hunter

...

HP: 1875/1875

MP: 1000/1000

...

STR: - 20 +4 +

VIT: - 32 +6.4 +

DEX: - 21 +4.2 +

INT: - 22 +

WIS: - 25 +

LUK: - 4 +

...

Point: 39

Money: 6,500,300 Lien

PING!

[Since your WIS passed 25, you have unlocked Aura Meld.]

DING!

[Aura Meld (Active) Lv MAX / MP: 150]

The ability to blend the auras of party members into a single MP pool.

Causes Semblance meshing with 12.5% chance of random explosion upon activation.

Uses 150 MP per second.

"Well," Jaune finally stated with an impressed expression, "The glitch and insanely high MP use are definitely downers... but that's still definitely a game-changer. Might wanna keep that one in mind."

"It's my first active skill at MAX level... does that mean there's no chance for the glitch rate and MP drain to change?"

"Pretty much," the knight replied before furrowing his brows in curiosity, "So, you only put in enough points to hit twenty-five on WIS? What about the rest?"

Blake gave him a small smirk before closing out the window and returning to the Status Window, "To test out a theory. In your defense, I do think you're right about INT. But I'm thinking that if I add enough to hit a milestone like I did with WIS..."

And as Jaune watched as Blake then added on points to her stats, his eyes went wide as INT passed 50 and her whole form began to glow blue with strangely audible classic RPG fanfare.

PING!

[Since your INT passed 50, you have gained Level II Mana.]

PING!

[MP has been permanently increased by 1000.]

"Whoa. Good theory," Jaune drawled before looking at the young woman being infused with the ethereal energy, "Blake? Blake!"

He caught the limp catgirl before she slipped off the couch, pulling her back to lean back on the cushion next to him. She almost seemed like in a dream-like state, her eyes slowly fluttering open before giving him a dreary half-smile, "That... was definitely different. I think I now know what you felt like when your Semblance was unlocked..."

"Like the tiny room you were living in inside your mind suddenly got blown out into a mansion?" Jaune stated as he took one last look at her Status Window...

Name: Blake Belladonna

Class: The Gamer

Level: Lv25 (Nxt lvl: 13.78%)

Race: Faunus

Title: Apprentice Grimm Hunter

...

HP: 1875/1875

MP: 2000/2000

...

STR: - 20 +4 +

VIT: - 32 +6.4 +

DEX: - 21 +4.2 +

INT: - 50 +

WIS: - 25 +

LUK: - 4 +

...

Point: 11

Money: 6,500,300 Lien

"...Yeah, I believe it."

He closed the window, helping the ravenette up to her feet slowly to a standing position, "You okay?"

Blake slowly nodded, looking up at him with a slightly embarrassed tight-lipped smile before replying, "I'm okay. Sorry about that."

"Nah, you're fine. I actually passed out after I unlocked my Semblance, remember?" Jaune noted with a small chuckle to ease her tension before looking around and scratching the back of his neck, "But I guess the best thing for the both us right about now is some rest. If you can make it to your room on your own, I guess I can be on my wa-"

His words were stifled as a sudden pressure on his chest momentarily took his breath away. Looking down, Jaune saw the lightly frazzled jet-black head of hair splayed across his chest at the extremely unexpected embrace, unable to even return the motion before Blake shuffled back quickly with her hands glued to her sides and her gaze to the floor.

Even the knight could tell that it was to hide her blush.

"Look, Blake..." he began, ready to tell her that she hadn't had to go out of her way to show him any form of affection.

"It's to thank you. For everything... this, isn't something I'd have been able to accomplish without you," she interrupted, looking up at him with an unsure expression as the corner of her wry smile quivered at the tip before taking a deep breath and smiling at him in earnest, "And for the record, I'm glad we got a few minutes to ourselves. It was nice."

Jaune smiled back at her choice of words after another moment of silence between the two, nodding his head and starting to turn as he gave her a final wave, "It was. Rest well, Blake."

The two teens departed to their respective rooms, twin grins fighting their way onto their faces...

While a blonde monkey-faunus whose room was adjacent to the commons area took his ear from the wall with a long, long sigh.

Clack, clack-click, clack, clack-click, clack...

The resounding sounds of footsteps on polished marble echoed through the impossibly long white hallway as the periodic click of a metal cane coincided with every other one. The low hum of the running electricity through the fluorescent lights could be heard as the figure walked through, a perfect balance of harmony in its own simple tune until it was interrupted by the muted beeping of a short-range communicator.

Holding up what looked like a tablet-sized version of the scroll, the figure looked into the screen... and immediately, the footsteps stopped.

FROM: Qrow

TO: Ozpin (BOLG)

MSG: RETURN TO BEACON IMMEDIATELY.

QUEEN IS IN PLAY.

The once metronomic clicking was replaced a sharp crescendo of crashing ceramic as coffee began to spread across the immaculate white hallway floor, the reader rereading the message a second and third time before uttering a single word.

"No..."

A/N: Welp, at least the chapter ended well...

No. No it didn't. Things are about to go south fast in several ways...

On a brighter note, you guys did extremely well with guessing the crossover! You readers are on pointe with references and everything... nice to know we share more than just the RWBY fandom! Speaking of multiple fandoms, the first reader to guess the crossover and win a request of choice (cameo, shoutout, he/she still hasn't decided) is NocturnalWarrior! Congrats!

And without further ado, the crossov-omake!

Crossov-omake #2: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

"So... you hittin' that?"

"..."

Jaune turned his head, idly glancing from his position of standing cross-armed by the floor-to-ceiling glass pane on the side of the Titan-class Bullhead to see Cardin standing right beside him in a similar cross-armed pose. Upon seeing that the blonde actually had no idea what he was talking about, the burly student lifted a hand to make a repeated spanking motion with a suggestive smirk.

"You know... tappin' that Bellabooty?~"

Jaune couldn't help but chuckle at the nickname, but still somewhat unaware of what Cardin was talking about, he was about to reply when a strange and oddly catchy RPG-like song began blaring through the airship speakers.

"Jeez, can someone turn it down?" the knight began as he winced at the loud music, looking down only to see the entire area was empty, "Uh... Cardin? You there? Hey, where is everybody?"

Every time Jaune turned as the music played on, it seemed more and more of the ship was missing until nothing remained but a solid brown room.

"What in the flying fu-"

Ba-da-dada-da-daaaaaaam!

[Due to setting off a rare non-descript protagonist flag, you have unlocked the first Gamer side-story: Jaune Arc vs. The World!]

Play side story?

YES - NO

"Didn't even realize I was still linked to Blake's Semblance. Meh. I don't see why not..."

But the moment Jaune tapped on the YES without regard to where he physically was, he yelped as he was suddenly transported to what looked like a large empty nightclub.

"Glad to see you accepted the offer."

The knight turned to see the catgirl standing a feet away from him, a small smile adorning her flawless visage as she held both hands clasped in front of her in a stance that was both shy and endearing. Her hair had been done up into a loose ponytail as a few wavy locks framed the sides of her face. Her Faunus ears were clearly visible to the young Arc as was the ravishing sapphire dress she currently wore that looked mostly like the one she'd worn to the school dance that year.

"Blake... you look, incredible..."

The smile spread just a little wider as a hint of pink could be seen in her cheeks, the girl glancing up at the enraptured teen with an alluring chuckle, "Well, a girl's gotta look good for when she asks a guy to dance..."

Jaune's jaw went slack as he quickly looked around the platform they were both on, an almost glassy tiled dance floor set up over the wide expanse of the club around them, "Wait... so, this is a side game? Are you really you? What is this place?"

But ignoring his answers as would usually be the case in an RPG when asking superfluous questions, Blake merely looked down coyly before noting, "...The only thing is, this club kinda has a lot of history for me. It'd mean a lot for me to share this dance with you, but I have these exes that might not like it... not one bit."

"Waiiiit..."

"I want this, Jaune," Blake now began, her pleading eyes immediately rending the boy's heart and mind to mush, "Please... defeat my exes, and we'll be able to be together..."

Jaune shook himself out of his temporary stupor, his heart palpitating faster than he'd be comfortable with until coming to a reluctantly acceptable compromise, "Well... there's no chance that it's actually Blake, at least. And if it's a side story, I'm sure she'll never find out about it... heh. Okay, I accept!"

DING!

[BOSS 1/7: Mercury Patel]

"Wait, this mini game's a boss room?" Jaune exclaimed in shock before his gaze turned on the ravenette herself in disbelief, "And you had seven exes!?"

"That's right, buddy! And I was the first!"

Jaune snapped his head back as a large plume of aura reminiscent of a video-game spawning animation appeared in the middle of the dance floor... to reveal none other than Mercury in the center.

"Dude, is that eye-shadow? And... why are you dressed like a pirate?"

"Shut up, Arc!" The overly-emo teen barked back in a swashbuckler getup before noting, "And I'll have you know, Johnny Depp characters are in this year!"

"This is so wrong," Jaune whispered before looking back at Blake, who seemed to be behind some kind of invisible wall with a single purple tile on it reading 'Immortal Object', "You actually went out with this guy!?"

"It was only for a day, and we were ten," she explained placidly, looking up in thought with a small pout and leaving her pale neck and collarbone line leading down to the smooth expanse of the low-cut version of her school dance dress that was no longer covered in sheen satin open to his gaze, "Mercury and I were bored an angry at the time, and I liked that about him. We went around beating up the neighborhood kids that annoyed us..."

"Before you left me without even giving me a reason!" Mercury shouted petulantly, crossing his arms in a huff in front of the teens and causing the catgirl to deadpan.

"You seriously need a reason? ...You're doing it right now."

"We barely held hands once," Pirate-Mercury whined before pointing at Jaune dramatically, "But no matter! I shall defeat you and reclaim Blake's love! Remember this day, Arc, remember it as the day you were beaten by Captain Mercury Patel!"

Jaune instinctively reached down for Crocea Mors, his eyes widening as his hand grasped nothing and he looked down to see himself wearing only his school uniform.

"Aw, c'mon."

"Heee-yah!"

Jaune barely dodged in time to avoid being impaled by the young man's serrated saber which had seemingly appeared from thin air, the weaponless knight rolling back and standing up before throwing his arms up in frustration.

"Aw, C'MON!"

"Stand still, Arc! And prepare to die!" Mercury yelled with an over-dramatic mania as he dashed forward again, the knight keeping his elbows tucked in and deftly sidestepping, dodging, and ducking under the flurry of slashes that followed. He mentally thanked Pyrrha for the tutoring, as even Mercury's speed was nothing compared to her nearly imperceptible Miló and Akoúo.

The smug grin on his face at his successful defense and at the very out-of-character mercenary's growing consternation, Jaune's confidence only grew as he heard Blake waving a small red banner with his family crest on it from behind her impenetrable barrier.

"Go, Jaune!"

However, his moment to give her a slightly goofy thumbs up in reply turned out to be a fatal mistake as it left him wide open to the eccentric captain's two-handed saber slash.

"AHHHHHHHH-" THUNK, "...hah?"

Both teens locked in place, their eyes simply drifted to the point on Jaune's shoulder where Mercury's blade had only cut through the suit and not even penetrated the skin.

"Of course. You had no sword skills IRL, so it makes sense that they'd be poo-poo in the side game!" Jaune exclaimed before performing a swift spin move to disarm the merc just as Pyrrha had taught him before ducking down on a knee and running Mercury through with an upwards slash of his own sword.

"I know it might seem a little cold on my part... but it ain't anything I haven't done before," Jaune stated with an apologetic smirk at the wide-eyed pirate before he exploded into a flash of pixels, "Cool derezzed animation."

DING!

[Evil Ex Defeated!]

"Nice," Jaune mused at the window as little bits of confetti streamed around it, "One down, six to-PUWAHHH!"

Hefted through the air by a powerful blow to the back, Jaune landed face first in the glassy tiles and skidded several feet to the feet of a startled Blake who currently held a hand to her mouth in surprise and pained sympathy for the boy.

"Rule number one in my club, bub... don't turn your back to the dance floor."

Jaune stood up, brushed off the dust on his blazer, and slowly turned to see the evidently mature owner of the gruff voice before turning back to Blake, "Please don't tell me you dated him when you were ten."

"No. Much later than that. About a year ago, a lead I was tailing sent me here of all places... Junior offered a glass of milk and a dance."

"..."

"It was just a dance!"

"It's like I don't even know you anymore," Jaune huffed as Junior chuckled from behind them.

"It's alright. You wouldn't be the first guy to miss the mark when it comes to a girl. Even Kit-Kat over there missed hers that night."

However, she narrowed her eyes at the large man before hissing, "You were the mark, idiot."

"W-What?" he hedged as he slowly but surely put two and two together, his eyes going wide behind his red aviators before exclaiming, "The intel on the Dust shipment via train... y-you were the one who swiped it off of me that night!"

At that, Junior then reached behind his back to pull out what looked like a sizeable club before shouting, "I thought what we had was SPECIAL! I'll show you... I'll show them all... and I'll start with Blondie here first!"

DING!

[BOSS 2/7: Junior Lee]

"Great. How did this involve me all of a sudden!?"

Jaune braced himself, sure that being ready for the blow would provide him protection as it had against Mercury...

TWAK!

...to no avail.

Flying through the air and crashing through one of the four glass columns at each corner of the dance floor, Jaune got up slowly, blinking at what he now realized was an RPG-style health bar above his head. Clearly, this Junior guy had some sort of super strength.

\'] \'] \']



"Huh. Really low-res hearts... just like Legend of Zelda... except weirder."

"I'll give you 'weird,' punk!" Junior exclaimed before aiming the club at Jaune, the barrel elongating into some form of massive bazooka.

"I seen weirder," he retorted faltly, clearly unimpressed, "Try a scythe that turns into a gun."

Blake nodded understandingly as well, only causing the grunt to roar in anger before firing a volley of missiles at the young man.

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

Running as fast as his legs would carry him, Jaune slid under and dodged missiles that completely wrecked a side of the club, taking cover under the large glass column which was promptly destroyed by the last of the missiles. Thankfully unaffected by the falling debris thanks to his high DEF, Jaune quickly thought of a plan as he recalled the owner from Yang's story the night before when she told him about blowing up that very club and decided to run with it.

"Okay, I give up!"

Blake's jaw went slack in disbelief as the young man covered in rubble and glass walked out from behind the shattered column with both arms raised, much to Junior's amusement. However, the clubmaster's chuckle died down when Jaune lifted his head while holding up a finger with his upheld hand with a smirk, "On one condition. We settle this like civilized men."

"Huh?"

Jaune's only reply was to show the coin in his other upheld hand with a small flourish, Junior scratching the back of his head as he elaborated, "We each wanna be with Blake, right? And I'm sure you don't want it to cost you another club, right? So we make it even... Heads, you get Blake. Tails, I get Blake."

He knew that it was a gamble, and that this was just a game... but strangely enough... him having Blake? What a strange yet oddly alluring thought...

On the other hand, Junior grinned, nodding in acceptance of the offer while he cocked his weapon where neither of the teens could see. Little did they know that Junior was a man who makes his own luck and would win this bet one way or another...

"Okay," Jaune announced as he readied to flip the coin high in the air, "Keep an eye on it so we don't lose it when it lands!"

And as Junior's eyes went up to follow the coin, Jaune dashed forward with a wide grin to land a solid punch on the man's diaphragm, knocking his air out and yanking the loaded weapon from his grasp to turn it on its own owner.

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!

"HAH! Yang was right, you really are gullible!" Jaune yelled in glee as the direct hits caused the man to de-rez in mid air, checking the coin that finally landed next to him and adding with a snort, "Tails never fails..."

DING!

[Evil Ex Defeated!]

"That was genius," Blake stated from behind the knight with a tone of muted awe, flashing him a grin when he turned back that made him smirk in reply.

"Well if that means I don't have to go through five more bosses to take you out, then I honestly wouldn't mind taking the compliment," he huffed in reply with a half-chuckle until he noticed her grin fading into her normal sullen expression.

"This barrier... I didn't put it here by choice..."

But before Jaune could ask for an explanation, another voice caused him to turn around towards the dance floor.

"Aw, don't spoil the surprise, Kitty. We want Baby Blue here to get the full experience!"

Without a moment to lose, Jaune tumbled out of the way to dodge a bright red flash that tore through the air only to explode against the invisible barrier without any damage to the construction, the Immortal Object tile flashing twice before reverting to its normal size.

"Bah. I was really hoping that cage wasn't as sturdy as advertised."

"Seriously? Him too!?" Jaune yelled at the catgirl as the pale blue window popped up between them.

DING!

[BOSS 3/7: Roman Ingram]

"No, never!" Blake retorted before putting a hand to her chin in thought, "I think... I think the system rates my Exes on the major fights I've had in my life... in that order..."

"Well, sweetie," Roman noted sarcastically in his signature white overcoat and Melodic Cudgel idly twirling in his hand, "Nothing makes an Ex more memorable than the break up!"

Dodging another flash of red light fired from the end of the cane at Roman's last words, Jaune shouted, "Would you then mind explaining why you have to aim at ME when venting against her!?"

"Simple, kiddo. Only I get to have her. I like to put down the barnyard animals that annoy me myself."

Jaune clenched his teeth at the man leering into Blake's immortal cage, the girl visibly flinching back in fear as the thief tapped on the barrier with his cane.

"I'll never let you!"

"Ohoho~ so eager," Roman noted with amusement merely flicking the young man who had tried to surprise-charge him from behind with his cane and sending Jaune skidding across the floor, "People might get the wrong idea about you two if you try so hard..."

"Well what's it to you!" Jaune shouted, ambling to his feet as quickly as he could and rushing the man again only to have every punch and kick painfully deflected with casual twirls of Melodic Cudgel before sending him flying back with a blast at point blank range.

"Oww..."

\'] \'] \']

"Ughhh, that's not good..."

"Jaune, remember," Blake cried out from behind the barrier, "If you can't defeat him, imagine a weapon that can!"

Time slowed down for the young Arc as his mind furiously milled through ideas, the criminal twirling his cane as the tip charged up before the knight came up with the perfect weapon.

"I may not be able to out-class, or even out-style you," Jaune began before standing up and reaching behind his back to pull out his trusty acoustic-electric guitar, "But Oum knows I can definitely out-play you!"

Without wasting any time, Roman aimed and fired at the young man, only to have the ball of energy shredded in midair by the sound waves from the guitar's first power chord. Causing the criminal himself to skid back a few feet, Jaune began to play a string of notes that reverbed over the dance floor, pushing back the man who merely chortled at the tune.

"Ahah! Staircase to heaven!? Oh, oh my, heh, is there any more commonly played song these days!? It's practically cliché!" Roman retorted before his smile faded upon realizing his bowler hat had been blown off by the musical assault, "Well, kid... two can play at that game..."

Twirling Melodic Cudgel around and into a diagonal two-handed grip, Roman scowled as the bottom half expanded and mecha-shifted around to form the pumpkin-shaped body of an electric guitar, the criminal himself erupting into flames of orange light as aural strings materialized on the instrument. Jaune's eyes narrowed at him as he noticed that the number of orange glowing strings only amounted to four.

"A bass player... no wonder you're such a douche."

"That's impossible!" Blake shouted angrily from her safe haven as the stylish robber began to levitate in the air as well, "How'd you even unlock your aura without Hunter training!?"

"You know, there is a way to do it that people just don't realize anymore," Roman stated, his voice warped by the masses of surging aura around him before a final blast completed the transformation, changing his hair style to that of a spiked up flame of orange with his eyes whited out with power.

"You go Vegan!"

BAAAAAAAAAWAWAWAWAWWWW...

The blast of power from the augmented power chord nearly caused Jaune to fall back completely, the overpowered vegan grinning as he started strumming out the rhythmic intro line, "Y'know kid, it's been a while since I made a guy bite the dust to the sounds of Another One Bites The Dust... this'll be fun."

~BADADUM-DUM-DUM...BADUDUDUM-DUM-DUDUM~

Each note roaring through the air, nearly visible with each surge of power, Jaune had to hold up an arm to guard his face as the aural musician drifted closer. Knowing that he couldn't let him get to the main part lest he be outplayed for good, Jaune reached out with a growl and brought his hand down with a mighty strum that sent Roman drifting back as the steady notes flowed out melodically.

"Simple Man!? You counter Queen with Shinedown!?" Roman roared as the blast of orange aura returned his hair to flame mode and his eyes to OP mode, "I got something real simple for you! Money, in the style of the Pinkest of Floyds!"

The superior volume crushing the sound waves of Jaune's counter, Roman's surge of electrical power caused the blonde to fly back, his back landing on the glass tile with a dull crack and the teen looking down to see his guitar with a crack down the side.

"No... can't, lose... like this... Stay with me, Lil' Slash!"

Fighting back the rhythmic waves of Roman's approaching machine of death rock, Jaune had an idea as he looked down at the top hat sticker on his trusty instrument and stood up to offer his last roar.

"Feel the power of my own crafted weapon, the smoke of guns and the thorns of roses, Sweet Child O' Mine!"

His hands never straying far from the highest parts of the fretboard, an unnaturally loud tune flew back through the air as Jaune's guitar strings glowed white and the sound waves could be teen rippling across Roman's face. The criminal tried to raise his hand to counter with another song but was too late, the young teen hitting the most epic solo of all time flawlessly to the utter amusement to his newest fan behind her barrier.

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW...

The cacophony of sound building in the dance floor, Roman finally stumbled back as his neo-guitar broke in two and derezzed, the criminal himself yelling as he too began to break apart, "No... No! It can't be! Can it!?"

And against all odds, Jaune was able to breathe easy as Roman finally broke apart completely...

Only to groan with the same breath as the fourth boss spawned over his dead body.

DING!

[BOSS 4/7: Sir Wulf]

It only took one millisecond of looking at the black hulky mass of Beowulf now standing on the dance floor on both hind legs before the exasperated night turned a sharp glare at the girl while pointing emphatically at the Grimm.

"Explain."

"I-I don't know what to say!" Blake retorted quickly with a furious blush racing across her cheeks, "It was shortly before I decided to join Beacon! I had just made some really difficult personal decisions in my life! I was afraid, I was confused, I... I was lonely!"

"...How stoned do you have to be for that to even work!?"

'No, no. I assure you, t'was merely a severe case of intoxication that night,' the Beowulf itself unexpectedly spoke with a strangely Shakespearian Sean Connery accent, 'But that night was the most incredible night of my three hundred years of life! T'was ambrosia, the nectar of the dark gods I savored in my quest for human understanding... t'was beauty, which saved the beast!'

Jaune could only gape in shock at the beast's words, turning back to find Blake with eyes tightly screwed shut in embarrassment and her legs tightly clenched together as well as the beast began sniffing in the air.

'Yet I sense another suitor. You, you there, with the Celestine eyes,' the wolf uttered, its eyes sharpening in crimson intensity like any wild Grimm, 'I sense that she yearns for you, hungers for you... I shan't have a competitor! You shall die so her purity remains mine for the taking!'

GRAWR!

Dodging an animalistic slash from the wolf, Jaune couldn't help but sigh in relief that the ravenette still had whatever purity that jacked up creature was talking about. But dodging another roaring pounce of the monster, Jaune had to think... was he glad about that because that still left him hope of being the one?

No. No no. He couldn't think that way.

'Curse you, Celestine! Stand still so that I may ravage you with my midnight ochre!'

"What does that even mean!?"

"...murgle."

Jaune quickly turned to see Blake speedily covering up her face as if she were blowing her nose... but, with no tissues. And, was that blood?

But turning back, he saw the wolf pause mid-attack to sniff the air instead of taking his head off, giving him an idea.

"Blake? Blake! Whatever you're perving on right now, keep doing it! And try lifting the hem of your skirt a bit while you're at it!"

"I what!?" she shrieked uncharacteristically, her stomach dropping at the prospect of being found out, "W-What are you even talking about!"

"Look, I may suck with body language in general, but I'm pretty sure I've read enough anime to know what a nosebleed means!" Jaune shouted as he narrowly kept his arm from being snapped off in the jaws of the beast. But just when it seemed the Grimm had gotten the drop on him, the beast lifted its head up to sniff again, this time locking its sights on the young woman several yards away who was covering her eyes and nose with one hand while shakily picking up her skirt well above mid-thigh with the other. At that, the wolf spared no second thought, immediately sprinting towards her with excited panting as Jaune swiftly leapt into action. Flipping up to his feet to dislodge a glass tile, Jaune waited patiently as the wolf sped closer to the fantasizing catgirl.

"Just like skidding a stone on water..."

And timing the frisbee-like throw perfectly, he sent the glass tile skidding across the floor with just the right angle to get under the Grimm's final steps to its original prey, causing it to slip on the unstable surface and crash head-first into the invisible barrier, immediately breaking its neck.

DING!

[Evil Ex Defeated!]

As Jaune stepped forward to examine that the large Grimm was indeed disintegrating in its post-mortem state, he heard Blake's voice shakily coming through the barrier.

"I-I'm so sorry..."

"You should be," Jaune noted with a small shiver in distaste, "I mean, you and a Beowulf getting to third-"

"That's not what happened!" the catgirl quickly shot back, Jaune's implications clearly snapping her out of her previous state of mind and body, "I found him in the woods and gave him an extra drink in my own inebriated state of mind! Technically the first time I've ever shared a drink with anyone! Turns out... somehow... alcohol has the opposite effect on Grimm than it does on humans, actually accelerating their cerebral functions! It's... just that, other tendencies don't change. Like Sir Wulf being a pervy drunk. I ran away, hearing him swearing that he'd find me and make me his someday..."

"Oh," Jaune noted, becoming embarrassed himself for his own mind having been in the gutter before looking at her with a questioning expression, "Then if nothing happened, what was your nosebleed all abou-?"

WHISH!

Missing his head by mere inches, Jaune barely caught sight of the golden flash that had flown over him before having to dodge it again by a mere hair's-breadth. Knowing what he'd now have to do, the knight focused his power into a single fist, fiery white energy coalescing onto his limb as he anticipated the next attack.

"Shoryuken!"

And right when he caught a flash of gold entering his field of vision, he heaved upwards with a mighty uppercut and made contact, sending his assailant tumbling across the floor with an unexpectedly feminine yell.

"Jeez, Vomit Boy! You punched me in the boob!"

His eyes widened as the blonde girl stood up and was revealed to be none other than the brawler herself... except wearing some sort of Saiyan Battle Armor with her ample blonde hair tied back in a ponytail that seemed to explode outwards in wavy frizz behind her.

DING!

[BOSS 5/7: Yang Richter]

But despite the strangeness of the name, and the outfit, Jaune merely pointed with a raised brow in knowing accusation at the catgirl behind him.

"I KNEW you two had gotten together at one point or another!"

"It was the day in first semester after we fought off Roman at the docks!" Blake defended adamantly, "Yang knew of this club and offered to take me to help me unwind! It... it wasn't meant to be that way!"

"That way!?"

"That's right, Saber-boy," Yang retorted from behind him with a suggestive wink, "That way. That night was practically a Katy Perry song down to the tee!"

But her expression suddenly hostile, she pointed a finger at her fellow blonde as an inferno of fiery aura surrounded her and she also began levitating into the air, "But of anyone I've ever met, you're the one who has gotten closest to taking away my chances with her in the future... and that is a ship I will not let sink! Therefore, prepare to DIE, Jaune A-"

"Wait, hold on," Jaune interrupted calmly, stopping the raging young woman in mid-tirade, "Why're you dressed that way again?"

"Because I am the princess of Saiyans! And you're just a common student or something who doesn't even have the right to make a move on my Kitten!"

"Commoner, huh?" Jaune echoed with a hand to his chin in thought before snapping his fingers in realization, "So, I'm like Aladdin then... and that makes you Jasmine!"

"Wha-," Yang retorted, her arms firmly crossed under her bust in disapproval, "What are you talking about."

"Yeah, that movie where Aladdin is the commoner and Jasmine is the princess!" Jaune continued, the girl's confusion quickly turning to anger as he continued, "Then we've got Ozpin, who's practically like the Sultan of Beacon since no one really has any idea why or even how he runs the place... we have ADA flying us around these days, which is like a flying carpet... oh, but I forgot about Aladdin's monkey, Abu. You can't have Aladdin without A-"

Jaune snapped his fingers again with a grin as Yang's scowl deepened, "Sun. Hah, it's perfect! Sun even has a tail, he's just like Abu! He can be my Abu! ...Sun's mah boo! Huh... you'd think Aladdin might sue us or something cuz of how similar our-"

"SHUUUT UUUP!" Yang now shouted in fury as her fiery aura warped and exploded all the glass tiles around her, "This is nothing like a stupid movie! I don't watch movies, I'm the princess of all Saiyans! I was serious about killing you before, Arc, but now... I'm DEADLY serious! So shut up and stop talking about that darn Disney movie!"

But pausing at the flaming waves of Aura flowing around the room and straightening out of his fighter's pose that he'd instinctively dropped down to when Yang had her outburst, Jaune narrowed his eyes at her.

"Wait a second, Yang."

"What now!"

"The movie."

"What about it?!"

"You just said Disney movie."

"So what!"

"I never said anything about who made that movie... which means," he paused as he gripped his leather glove tightly in an upheld fist before pointing dramatically at the fiery Saiyan with the other, "You DID watch it!"

"AAAAAAAAARGH!"

Yang's aura-enhanced shout and fire blast that emanated out to crumble the rest of the columns around the dance floor was quickly followed by a series of punches and kicks that pushed the unprepared knight far back, nearly costing him his life had it not been for Pyrrha's excellent training.

"Jaune, you can't beat her in hand-to-hand combat!" Blake yelled from behind the barrier with worry for the knight, "She's a Saiyan, she'll only get stronger with every hit you land on her!"

"I haven't even landed a hit on her!"

"Hiyah!"

Evading a powerful left hook which would've taken his head clean off, Jaune continued dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging to buy himself precious time until he had an idea.

"Aha!"

Flipping back with a string of surprisingly flawless somersaults, Jaune made space between the two of them before raising both hands above his head. The knight growling with the growing sphere of positive energy over his head, Yang paused mid-stride as the large ball of energy charged up to maximum potential.

"Alright Yang, let's see how well you can handle," Jaune took a deep breath to brace himself before throwing the ball of energy forward, "KAMEHAMEHAAAA!"

FWOOOOOOOM!

Yang only had to lean to the side with crossed arms and a smug smirk for the projectile to miss her completely, Jaune's jaw dropping at the total lack of auto-lock before hearing the energy ball explode against something peculiar behind Yang. Her eyes widening in realization, Yang quickly turned to see the parked vehicle behind her in flames before clutching her hands to her head in mortification.

"Youuu! You blew up Bumblebee! Now it's in a million pieces!"

"Aw c'mon, it's not that bad," Jaune noted with a slight wince, "It's maybe in the low thousands at most..."

"Like, ten thousand?" Yang asked, her bottom lip almost quivering as she answered Jaune's questions mindlessly in the face of the tragedy.

"Um, maybe a little lower."

"Eight thousand?"

"Higher than that..."

"Nine thousand?" Yang restated, glancing at the blonde with slightly confused grief and wondering what he was getting to... before seeing him smirk an evil smirk.

"Mini Kamehameha!" Jaune whispered quickly, a tiny ball of energy appearing in his hand before flying over at the totaled motorcycle and blowing up another destroyed section into even more pieces, causing the brawler's flames to reignite in renewed fury.

"IT'S OVER NINE-THOUSAND!"

Jaune merely turned to glance at the catgirl with a mischievous grin as the catgirl facepalmed, the girl then pointing his attention in Yang's direction with a deadpan, "Incoming."

Jaune barely dodged a right cross that still managed to glance him with the speed, the force sending him skidding back along the floor. Thanking his naturally high DEF for absorbing the partial blow which easily could've depleted his health, Jaune stood up and stared at the ravenette with a deadpan of his own, "A little help here would be nice. Can't even find a hole in her offense!"

Blake thought up of an alternate recourse before replying, "Wait, I-I think I've got it. Yang has this weak spot, the only weak spot I know of on her... it's on the back of her knee, tickle it!"

"Traitor!" Yang yelled, turning with fiery red eyes to her technical ex. But it was the reprieve Jaune needed, sliding over and ducking down to squeeze the back of her knee in a tickling motion.

"No! N-N-NO! Pfft, hah-hahah, s-stop it!" she yelled as her knee immediately buckled, the damage already done as Jaune stepped back to look at the giggling girl until she finally burst into a million pixels.

DING!

[Evil Ex Defeated!]

"That... was actually incredibly easy," Jaune noted before shooting the catgirl a glare, "I wonder how you ever figured that one out."

Blake crossed her arms with narrowed eyes in an attempt to look upset, jutting her hip out to the side in a motion that ultimately made her look absolutely adorable, "Don't blame me. At least it helped you get out of trouble... wait, spoke too soon."

Jaune sighed with a light shaking of his head, "There's someone behind me, isn't there."

"Prepare for trouble!" another female voice began without causing the knight any more surprise, jumping on the opportunity for introductions. But what did catch him by surprise again was the addition of a second female voice to the intro.

"Make it double!~"

"To bring the world to devastation!"

"To divide all peoples within our nation!~"

"To announce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!~"

"M-"

"Aww, shut up already," an exasperated Jaune hedged loudly as he turned to see two twins dressed in contrast standing back to back, one in red and one in white, who then stood apart giving him an identical pair of ominous glares, "Two of you? Seriously? At the same time!?"

"In my defense... me and Yang met them during the same night in the club after the incident at the docks," Blake defended weakly, the blonde facepalming in reply.

"You really weren't kidding about history in this place, weren't you."

Blake shrugged before replying, "They shared my affinity for blades. One thing led to the other."

"Speaking of which," the girl in red stated with a wicked grin as wolverine-like claws extended from her fists, "Surrender now..."

The girl in white then dropped into fighting position, both tiny fists held up at the knight as she finished, "...or prepare to fight!"

"Ugh, you two just had to finish it," Jaune stated before catching sight of the large DJ table behind them, "But look, you two are armed. I'm not. How 'bout we settle this with more... elegant... weapons. From a more civilized time?"

The twins turned to look at the elevated table behind them at the same time before glancing back at each other at the same time... and then turning back to face Jaune and shrug at the same time.

"Whatever."

Tumbling back with synchronized flips, the two girls disappeared from the dance floor only to emerge up from behind the DJ table itself in the next, lights now beginning to set the club ablaze with strobes and colors as a steady hum began to echo over the floor.

DING!

[BOSS 6/7: The Katayanagis]

"Jaune, I know you're being resourceful, but I'm actually not sure that was a good idea at all," Blake stated hurriedly, her hands pressed up against the barrier in her urgency, "Miltia an