An Unfortunate Announcement

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Beta :

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"Last chance to bow out, Jaune." Yang prodded teasingly, standing across from him with an uncharacteristically flat look on her face.

Her words teased but her face was flat and her eyes hard. What parts were visible to the crowd were jovial and happy as always. As expected of her. But down on the arena floor, what only he could see was tense. Hard. Afraid even. But he had no illusions that she was afraid of him, of course.

She was afraid for him, and he could feel it ripple through the Force.

"I'm a lot stronger than I used to be, Yang." He challenged, spinning his glaive in lazy circles in front of him with the Force while his arms hung at his sides. Fast as lightning, his hand lashed out and caught the weapon, twirling it in his hand and bringing the base against the ground confidently. "But hey, Yang, don't worry." He raised his eyebrows and smiled, "If you're scared of me, you can always concede."

"Oh. Are you talking shit right now?" The woman's lips quirked and he saw and felt the mirth bubble up in her as she leaned back and laughed, "Like, are you actually talking shit to me right now?"

"Yep."

"Really?" Her eyebrows spiked and she bobbed her head low, looking into his eyes from across the several feet. "Like, really really. You are really really talking mad shit to me, best first year in the ring, right now?"

"Really really, yeah, Yang." He smiled, glad to feel her anxiety ebb slightly. For weeks now every time she'd looked at him, there'd been that fear, anxiety and pity.

Now, though, there was almost only mirth and amusement.

"So, I think we've chatted enough. Everyone's chuckling, but they'll get bored eventually." Sliding his right leg back he brought the glaive with it so the curve of the sharp edge lined up with his calf, off hand held up defensively and a smile on his face. "So you want to stay pretty, arrogant and, most importantly, over there, or come over here for your lesson in humility?"

"Okay, you asked for it." Yang chuckled, sliding into an easy boxing stance and rolling her neck until it popped. "Weiss-cream! Call it out, would ya!"

"If you two are done with the banter, I will!" The Schnee referee responded, still agitated from the nickname and standing by the little control panel with her arms crossed and her lips pursed. Tapping her foot impatiently, she added, "But hey, if you two want to toss childish insults and barbs back and forth, I'm sure everyone here quite enjoys that."

A chorus of boos, shouts of no, and urgings to hurry up met her words and the Schnee rolled her eyes.

"I was meant to be making your point, idiots…" With a tired sigh and a look to the sky as though beseeching some divine providence to step in on her behalf, she gave in and pressed a command on the console. A gentle thrum reverberated around them as a signal that the barriers were powering up and Weiss spoke, mostly following the rules. "I need you both to consent to fighting each other, and acknowledge I am not an officially licensed intermediary in these sorts of things. Therefore, any injuries suffered are your own responsibility, and neither I nor Beacon Academy may be held responsible for them."

"Got it!" Yang quipped lightly, curling and uncurling her fingers readily. "I won't rough him up too much, don't worry."

"I understand and consent to the rules." It was all a formality, really, and a bit of an annoying one considering everyone here would be well aware of the facts. Ah, but insurance wasn't sensible more often than not, so he couldn't say much. Grinning he added playfully, "Though you may want to prepare a stretcher! Yang might need a lift out of the ring once I'm done pounding her into its floor."

"Oh wow are you cocky." Yang clicked her tongue, "This is gonna be fun."

"For the love of- Just fight already!" Weiss finally shouted, indignant and frustrated at their constant quipping. A dainty finger pressed a button and, over their heads, the Aura reader buzzed a start signal.

All the signal the two fighters could possibly have needed.

The unmistakable crack and roar of Yang's gauntlet catapulted her across the arena towards him, the hand that had fired whipping around in a devastating blow aimed for his head. Used to similar attacks from his partner, he dodged to the side at the last moment, the fist coming so close that he felt the wind off it. He could even swear he could smell her shampoo when her head came down and her fist punched into the concrete. It cracked under the force of the blow but he was already moving, hand snapping up and the Force on his fingers.

Under his will she was hurled away, landing on her back and rolling around to stand upright, one hand cocked back to snap off a round at him. One hand snapped up and he called on the Force, directing the first round and then the second to either side of him, where the expensive rounds impacted in muted whumpfs of Dust impacting reinforced concrete. Ducking left and down, he dodged a third round that seared by overhead and grimaced, knowing by now that he needed three seconds to be safely able get his Aura up after using the Force.

He'd managed once to get it down to two seconds, but that was out of hours worth of attempts, and he wasn't going to risk it here.

Instead of risking another shot when he saw her right arm come back and cock another round, he flicked his free hand out, palm open and ready to launch an attack. Seeing the gesture and smart enough to know what it meant, the woman crossed her arms in front of herself and braced for his attack. But instead of some devastating blow, he only leapt with a smile, using the Force to propel himself and recovering his Aura mid-flight in case of attack. The maneuver was lightning fast and one he'd practiced and which didn't disappoint, catching the woman off guard and landing in front of her and sinking low. As hard as he could, he slammed his shoulder into her chest, glaive held between them so the blade could block her fists and other hand calling on his power.

Taking a note from Pyrrha's books, he yanked at the backs of her knees instead of attacking outright and she squeaked, thrown onto her back from the sudden, surprising force of the pull sweeping her legs from under her and his shoulder in her sternum. She landed spread eagle and visibly shocked and he rolled off her.

First landing on a palm and then pushing off with the Force to leap into the air and right himself, he moved above her head and turned midair, coming down as carefully as he could manage and miming Pyrrha's lessons. Landing and standing over her with his feet planted to either side of her head he gave her a smile. She snarled in response and tried to rise but a hand snapped out above her and the Force pinned her, invisible bindings trussing her wrists and ankles to the ground. She writhed, knees and shoulders bucking, and to her credit he had to focus to keep her down.

Eventually, though, she grunted and fell limp, and he pressed the curved edge of his glauve to the side of her neck.

"I win by pinning. You can't break my Semblance, and even if you could, you wouldn't do it before" He grunted, taking a deep breath to recover his stamina and then smiling down at the woman. She didn't say anything, only pursed her lips, and he added, "Concede the fight. Chipping your Aura away for an hour would be annoying, and I don't want to choke you out with my Semblance either."

Left unsaid was that he would if he had to, and the woman sighed and nodded at that.

"I give! Tall, dark and blonde has me pinned and I can't get past his Semblance." She finally called, to a chorus of excited cheers, angry booing, and everything in between. "Real life, he could smash away until my Aura cracked."

Releasing her, he turned and gave Weiss a nod, chuckling to himself at just how many hands were forking over Lien to their friends at his winning. Apparently, everyone had bet against him.

"Then I announce the match in favor Jaune Arc, by pinning and technical defeat. Good work, to both of you." Weiss called stiffly, pressing a button that had the overhead barrier generator thrum and buzz again. A signal that the barrier was down and no one should fight any more. "Whoever wants to head into the next match can-"

"All first, second and third year students to the auditorium immediately, please. This is a compulsory attendance event, and no reasons to miss will be tolerated." The Headmistress' voice was clear and loud, echoing around them from the speaker system spread around the room. "All classes are to be cancelled for the interim of an emergency Academy meeting. Lunch period servings will restart once the meeting has concluded. To those exercising or sparring, come in what you are wearing. Time is of the essence."

"That's worrying." He only grunted at Yang's snide grunt, and offered a hand to help her up when she rolled onto her knees. She took it and let him tug her upright, smirking and bumping her elbow into his lightly armored side as they began to make their way off the floor, "Thanks for the hand. Looks like P-Money taught you some dirty tricks, though, and that wasn't fun."

"I wouldn't say she taught me dirty tricks…"

"Sure you wouldn't." The woman rolled her eyes, grinning roguishly as they left the arena and he spotted Ruby and Pyrrha coming their way while the others filed out of the room. He caught Nora looking their way and fighting the crowd headed for the doors that she'd been swamped in, but waved her off while Yang snarked. "P-Money might get upset if her boy-toy were talkin' about her like that, after all."

"Boy toy?" He asked, turning to meet her teasing gaze with a raised brow. "I may be a boy but I wasn't aware of the toy part."

"Gods you must be dense…" Whatever she meant, though, she didn't say and instead turned to catch a flying Ruby Rose. "Oof. Hey, lil' sis."

"Yang, how could you!" The younger girl slammed into her sister at full speed, legs and arms wrapped around her, and turned a scowl on a surprised Jaune. He blinked a very obvious question at her scowl and, almost shyly, she complained, "I lost all my cookie money, cheater…"

"Ruby Rose! What have you been told about betting Weiss' money? She gave you that allowance to get your sweets, not gamble." Yang chastised, fighting to get the girl off her like a woman prying off a growth. "Let go, you leach!"

"Nope!" She laughed, wriggling to keep a grip on her older sister and climbing on her like a monkey might a tree. "I am safest here!"

"Not when I get ahold of you after you tried to wrestle around on me you aren't! You remember your eleventh birthday same as I do, young lady." When the young Rose finally lost her grip, the blonde brawler held her by the hood like a cat caught where it ought not be while Jaune and his partner chuckled. "And don't give me that 'it was a sure thing' line, either. You never know when someone will whip out a dirty trick."

"Oi!" He challenged, "It wasn't a dirty trick."

"I disagree, tall, dark and scraggly. It made me lose, so that means it was a dirty, dirty trick. Like, as dirty as Blakey's reading habits." She gave him a grin along with her joking tone, just to be sure he would know she wasn't entirely serious about it. Ruby, seeing her distracted sister, tried to wiggled her hood free and Yang scowled, rounding on her again. "Nuh uh, don't think I forgot about you, young lady."

"B-But Yaaaaaang!"

"No butts but the one I have a strong temptation to tan right now. When we get back to our room, you are in so much trouble young lady." She threatened, dropping her younger sister and giving the partner pair a look. "What do you think the sudden call to the auditorium is about? I don't remember hearing about any assemblies."

"There weren't any, my best friend forever would have made sure to remind me." Ruby pouted as she stood and straightened her cloak behind her, giving Yang a petulant look. "And I'm the team leader! I say no spanking the team leader, and that's that."

"Mhm, we'll see about that back in the dorm when you tell your 'best friend forever' that you lost your sweets money on betting in fights." Yang challenged, smirking victoriously when Ruby collapsed in on herself, pouting and fuming anxiety with her arms crossed. "What do you think is going on, then? If the assembly wasn't announced…"

"I would wager we will find out shortly." Pyrrha commented, turning and waving a hand towards the door that even now students were meandering through. "Shall we? Attendance is compulsory, after all."

"Yeah, I guess. Not much point skipping an assembly after all…" Yang sighed, gripping her hands behind her head and, after realizing they were still expanded, flicking Ember Celica closed so she could relax. Jaune's glaive clanked home as well and they began to climb the stairs to leave while she talked. "And 'sides, Miss Goodbitch sounded really, really like she'd get mad at anyone not there."

"Yaaang," Ruby whined, playing up her childishness to amuse and distract from her being in trouble, "you can't call her that."

"Hey, what she can't hear can't hurt me." The blonde shrugged as he followed behind her, rolling his eyes all the while. In front of Pyrrha, Ruby whined again and Yang laughed, "Relax! I get enough detentions people will start askin' if the Big Bad Witch has a thing for me."

"I don't think people think that way about the Headmistress." Pyrrha countered, chuckling under her breath and giving Jaune a look. A meaningful look at that, eyes hard and face set in a mask of a smile. She gave a small nod, then, and added soberly, "And she sounded afraid of something. I wonder what kind of ordeal would possibly make a nervous woman out of the Headmistress of Beacon Academy."

What she didn't say was that whatever it was that could make the Headmistress even carry the hint of urgency her voice had was something they should fear. Especially given what they were fearing down the line. After all, any threat that could push Beacon Academy itself into even just emergency assemblies was already something to be feared with Pyrrha's death sentence hanging over her.

"Whatever is coming," he started simply, giving her a return nod, "we can deal with it together. Teams and friends, we can do just about anything."

"Drinkin' that good old Beacon Kool-Aid, eh?" Yang challenged playfully, tone nonetheless tensed from his own tension. "And why do you sound so serious all of a sudden? Nothin' going on around that I've heard of. Rubes?"

"Yeah, there's nothing big going on in Vale. I-I mean, I read that Mistral had a few bad cases recently with teams not coming back from jobs, but… We're fine." Ruby gave him a look, sharper eyes than belonged on a child even in their profession seeming to analyze him. "But you sounded worried. Is, uh, is something up?"

"No." He answered quickly, already not liking the taste of the lie. "Nothing is wrong, per se. Just… Worried, like you guys, about the sudden announcements and stuff."

The two young women seemed convinced by his words, but Pyrrha of course wasn't. And she was just as against blatantly lying as he was, even if they both knew they couldn't not lie about this. So even if she didn't say anything, he knew she was upset for having to lie regardless, and felt it swamp him every step of the way to the auditorium.

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"I understand disliking it, but each of those students consented to fighting the Grimm when they decided to attend this Academy." He chided the woman gently, standing behind the curtains of the auditorium stage and watching her closely. Cold feet weren't abnormal, he knew that much for fact, and he knew equally well that they could strike at random. "They knew what they would face, and that is all we will be asking of them. To face Grimm where it is safe enough for a team of Academy level Hunters to face. In order to free up more veteran class teams and, ultimately, proper Hunters as well to face larger threats this is a measure that is needed and that they will understand."

"But it's a measure asserted under false pretenses." She argued, turning to look at him from where she stood at the edge of the curtain, just where they couldn't be seen by anyone but the drones preparing the stage. "There is no great Grimm incursion or threat that has our Hunters under duress. We're just saying there is to test our teams for more important duties, in a way that won't be noticed."

"I would wager our enemies will notice our efforts." He pointed out, smiling in a thin veneer of attempted humor. "Sending almost a thousand extra fighters out into the fields? Admittedly off and on, but still. They will notice."

"Yes, they just won't know why we are lying about the reason so many children are being sent to war." She gave him a look that said she wasn't in the mood for games and he sighed and shrugged, taking a sip of his drink to buy a moment of time. "They're children… I just want to let them be children for a while longer. At least the first years."

"A team among the first years will host Fall, Glynda." He pointed out firmly, meeting her eyes and blinking owlishly at the words. He couldn't allow himself to blink or seem to react to the argument, such as it was, since any such reaction could prompt her. "If we only send out one team of first years, they would be noted and then slaughtered. Is that better to risk, in your eyes, than normal risks to trained fighters?"

"No! Of course not, Ozpin, I just-"

"Then this is the best way to deal with things, Glynda." He'd learned well how to deal with his underlings in the centuries since his odd incarceration on this planet, at the behest of the Lord of Light. "It's been decided already, regardless, so cold feet will help no one. Our only options are this, or revealing our hand or revealing our cards and risking far worse."

"I suppose…"

"Trust me, Glynda." He offered, closing the distance with her and laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. He spoke softly and smiled, trying to reassure the comparatively young woman as best had was able."I have been dealing with these concerns, fears and situations for eons. This is a gamble, yes, but our best one possible."

"If you are certain…"

"I am, Glynda." He assured her, offering a last, comforting squeeze of her shoulder and a small nod before stepping back. With a warm smile, he gestured to the stage and prodded her gently, "Now, you have an announcement to make. And do pitch it well. I don't want everyone to get upset, or start to be afraid."

"Of course." She nodded, turning and heading out onto the stage, the dull roar of murmuring students dying as she did. Clearing her throat while he watched on with a small smile, the woman started to speak, "Students of Beacon Academy-"

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"-as you all are aware, in recent days, Mistralian Hunter guilds have suffered significant losses to the forces of the Grimm." He grimaced at the news, and sensed disquiet around him, but neither he nor the crowd seemed surprised by the news. It had been well enough covered by the Valean News Network after all. "What was not covered, however, was that the rather well known Atlesian Specialist Corps suffered a similar bout of casualties. Vacuo has thus far been spared, but even here in Vale we are suffering… Duress."

That revelation had a wave of murmurs and invisible fear washing over the crowd, and he turned to Pyrrha to see her own fearful reaction. Something like this was precisely what they'd both feared, an uptick in fighting that could put them in harm's way.

"Jaune…" He heard her anxiety and grimaced, unsure of what to do about it. Seeing other partner pairs doing it, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him slightly. She stiffened for a moment, and a different emotion washed through her, but then she seemed to relax somewhat and murmured, "Thank you, Jaune…"

"Mhm." Was all he said, listening as the older woman began to speak again.

"Now, rest assured that there is no chance greater than normal of the Kingdoms being in danger." That at least managed to quell the anxiety a bit, along with the excited murmuring. "However, with our Hunters otherwise engaged essentially across the Kingdoms, they are… Stretched thin. As such, the Councils of Vale, Atlas and Mistral have officially lodged requests for the four Academies to send their students on lower risk missions in order to free up more capable Hunters for more dangerous assignments without exhausting them."

"These missions are of the simpler sort. Escorting a transport ship, killing small packs of lesser Grimm hazarding villages, those sorts of things. Things you are all more than capable of dealing with." Having been in fights like those would probably be, he knew that not all of the students around him were capable of that. Hopefully, they'd be sorted accordingly. "Starting tomorrow, mission assignments will be handed out to teams and your performances graded accordingly. We at Beacon Academy trust you to excel in your duties as Huntsmen and Huntresses and hope you trust us to send you on missions you are ready for."

"Get rest tonight, make peace with your duties coming more abruptly than you likely intended, and be ready for assignments to be delivered to your leader's Scrolls come morning." She finished, offering a curt nod and then smiling, adding in a more bright tone likely meant to balm their worries. "On the brighter side, classes and detentions will be waived outside of reading assignments and in-dorm tests. Once matters are resolved, of course, classes will resume, so do not shirk your studies more than is needed for your work."

"I wish you all a fond good night, and good luck." She finally said, stepping away from the podium and calling a simple, "Dismissed."

"Oohhhh, we get to go on real missions!" He heard Ruby cheer, a sentiment he heard and felt matched by others around him heartily. His team, though, were quiet as they rose and left.

"So, what does everyone think?" He asked once everyone had settled in back in the safety of their dorm, sitting on his bed with his arms crossed. When no one answered, he turned to Pyrrha standing on his right like some kind of bodyguard, turned slightly to look out the window. "Pyr?"

"It seems like we'll be in the field, but I believe that we as a team can stand against whatever comes." The woman answered simply, turning back to them and offering a thin smile. It was meant to reassure them, he was sure, but he could feel the forced nature behind it. "We will be fine, I am sure. Though I would confess to being nervous if pressed."

"I mean, yeah, we're all nervous." Nora offered from across the room from him, where she had her head on a pillow on Ren's lap while he played with her hair, the girl anxious and complaining of 'tummy flipping'. "Like, I know we'll be fine, but…"

"Your nerves are still acting up." The blonde nodded, knowing well enough how that could go. Quietly and hoping to offer some kind of consolation, he offered, "My teacher always said 'a fighter that goes into battle with a still stomach does so for his stomach being full of his own arrogance'."

"A good saying, your master seems to have had great wisdom." Ren offered, running his fingers through Nora's hair to relax her. He chose not to argue the amount of wisdom his automaton instructor had held claim to. "We'll know our assignments come the morning, though. So worrying now and losing sleep seems a poor idea. We should get some rest, while we have the time and convenience. Staying up stressing ourselves will only fulfill our nightmarish fears."

"Ren's right." He sighed, forced to agree through the logic even as he disliked the idea of actually doing it. Standing, he began the process of tugging his armor off and ordered gently, "Get some rest, guys. We have a big day tomorrow."

The first of many, he was certain.

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Hkblarg et Caetera :

One, your name was far more difficult to spell properly than it should have been.

Two, yes, his abilities and inclinations will evolve. With abilities on both Light and Dark sides of the fence. I won't detail how, but I will say that at least as of now, I don't plan any empire building.

Illuviar :

You are of course correct, but Jaune's education wasn't nearly as detailed on such minutiae. As such, his assumptions will not always be correct. Same for recitations and so on, Jaune will fuck them up.

Knightwolf :

Hey, not gonna lie, I would totally love to find some excuse for a Venator to roll up in the story. Probably won't happen, but I have a huge fan-boner for that ship. I do unironically like the idea of maybe grabbing HK, though I initially avoided that since he is a common go to for SW fics.