Captain Kale Colcannon stomped towards the galley of his airship looking for a number of his missing crew. The gruff airsman was aware that the Kingdoms had outlawed flogging pretty much the moment the guns had grown silent after the Great War. Still, he was strongly considering figuring out a way to bring the practice back. The Silver Cirri was a fairly modern craft and only required a crew of twenty-four. Normally, Captain Colcannon would not have any issues with a member of the crew taking a little longer to get to his or her post.

The problem was that a good quarter of the crew was late. Good Captain Kale was suddenly assaulted by an overwhelming smell. Normally, on an airship that meant engine lubricants, exhaust, or if things really went to shite; fire. There was no such smells coming from the galley fortunately. Unfortunately, there was the sound of laughter and general merriment from his crew.

"Alright, yah useless manky gits, hi! Last time, Ai checked half-o ya lot were supposed to be at ya posts!"

The crew snapped to attention and had the good sense to look sheepish in the face of their captain's anger. Kale felt a little better. He might not flog them after all.

"An' you with the head on ya! I know ya ain't in my crew. What in the Holy Fartha's name are you doing in me galley?"

A gulp escaped the young man's throat as he slowly turned from the stove. Captain Kale had heard most of his crew gulp at one point or another. This lad wasn't nervous. Poor sod was trying not to vomit on the pan of food he was carrying.

"I-I'm Jaune Arc...and I...am trying to distract myself from my motion sickness," the young blond-haired passenger confessed. He was wearing a well-polished set of steel-blue trimmed white armor over a black hoodie. This Jaune kid had a sword and sheath attached to a loose fitting belt along with a properly fitting brown leather belt holding up his jeans.

"Is that boxty?" the Captain asked while leveling a glare at the boy.

"W-Wrapped around some of the beef you all had left...and a side of...squash," Jaune revealed.

Kale stomped across the galley to the swaying teen. "Ya think ya know me?"

"I-I've never met you before."

"How'd ya choose to cook my favorite meal?" The captain asked accusingly.

Jaune chuckled nervously. "Who doesn't love boxty?"

"Bloody Culchies fer one," Kale said with deadly seriousness. Jaune nervously offered a plate. The crew waited with baited breath as their crotchety commander sat down. He produced his flask, said a quick prayer, and then took a bite. "DOG'S BOLLOCKS!"

"Dogs...bollocks?" Jaune turned to one of the crew.

A Faunus, marked by his boar liked tusks, laughed deep and long. "He likes it. You've won him over just as easily as you tricked the rest of us into liking you."

"Yay me?"

"Boyo," Captain Kale, along with a good chunk of the crew, followed Jaune towards the public part of the ship. "I know ya got yer heart set on Beacon, but we'd set ya up with a Nickser. Besides, ya probably went to one of them Combat 'Cademies. You'd be right useful in a donnybrook."

Jaune was flattered. It was really nice to make a positive impression, but he was really set on going to Beacon. His dream was not to be a cook, but a Huntsman. Cooking was just his hobby. Jaune's skill in the kitchen wasn't going to change the world. Learning how to wield Crocea Mors and defending his family from Grimm as a Huntsman would.

"I'm...honored, but I can't exactly drop out of Beacon," the Arc protested. "I haven't even gotten there yet!"

"Just consider it!" One of the human crew members pleaded.

Jaune turned to face the crew and began walking backwards. "Sure, if the whole huntsman thing doesn't work out. Which it will, because I gave my word to my sisters and an Arc never goes back on his word, I'll consider it!"

Unfortunately, the Huntsman-to-be was not paying attention to the milling crowd looking out over the approach to Vale. Jaune collided with something very large. The push and growl the cook received shortly after the initial impact also confirmed that the thing was angry.

"What do you think you're doing?" The very tall and well-armored Beacon applicant snarled.

"Saying...goodbye?" Jaune sounded hopeful that the new guy's intelligence was inversely proportional to his size.

"I think you'll be saying goodbye to a few teeth," the large slab of jerk declared.

A series of meaty 'twacks' and grumbles erupted from the crew. The boar Faunus took a step forward. "I'd like to see you try, jackass."

The large man snorted. "As if I'd listen to an animal..."

"Oi! That's not cool! Faunus are people!"

A crowd was gathering around the outburst. Jaune was quite pleased to see a couple of pretty girls paying attention to his outburst. He could get used to that. Jaune's confidence swelled at the attention and smacked his unruly stomach into place. "You're outnumbered. We can walk away from this without anyone getting arrested, beaten, or in any kind of trouble."

"You're even dumber than the tusks over there. I'd listen to a Grimm before someone who looks like they are about to blow chunks..."

"Maybe you'll listen to me, ya right bastard," Kale took a step forward. His face a mask of anger the crew had only seen twice. Both times...well...both times Kale had been banned from Atlas... "Ya think you can come on-ta my airship and be a racist clipe to my crew? Not on yer nelly! Spit any of that racist tripe at my crew, I will toss yer sorry ass out the nearest window with a smile on my face!"

A smirk was forming on the prospective student, but it died the second Colcannon produced a very large war ax seemingly out of nowhere. The twin TASER nodes promised excoriating pain. A huff heralded the 'big man' exiting stage right.

"We'll be arrivin' at Beacon soon, Boyo," Colcannon turned to address Jaune. "I'll be giving you yer one time head start. If me crew or I find you, I swear we are Shanghai'ing you."

"S-Shanghai?" Jaune squawked. That almost sounded like murder...or kidnapping. Either way, it would mean the odds of following up on his impressive display of bravery with the various ladies of Beacon would be as realistic as his transcripts.

"We'll kidnap you and force you to be our new cook," 'Tusks' translated.

This might be the most polite kidnapping attempt in the joint history of humanity and the Faunus. They even gave him a head-start.

"As great as you all are...I really want to go to Beacon," Jaune reaffirmed with a backwards head-nod towards a collection of girls.

Kale and the crew laughed. "At least we know his head is in the right place!" A human crewman in the back shouted. Jaune couldn't miss the innuendo. Unfortunately, most of the ladies couldn't either.

'I'll worry about that later...time to run!' Jaune decided. "Hey, a mountain!"

"You idiots!" Colcannon cried out instinctively. "If we are behind schedule, I swear my boot will be so far yup yer arses!"

The distraction worked marvelously and Jaune disappeared into the crowd. This was a new experience for the young man. Usually his cooking led to good feelings, a few lien, and general fun times. Declared intent to kidnap him was definitely not expected.

Jaune knew he was likely screwed. Colcannon and his crew knew the ship better than Jaune could even imagine. That big slab of asshole from earlier would turn him over in a second. He'd probably follow it up with some stupid comment. At least in that scenario, Jaune would get to see him thrown out of a window.

Still, he'd rather not be caught at all. Jaune slipped around a corner and heard a 'psst' for his attention. A pair of Faunus, canine twin brothers from the looks of it, motioned for him.

"You meant what you said about Faunus?" One asked. Jaune simply nodded.

The other twin pointed down a hall. "We'll cover for you. There are some rooms down that way."

"Thanks! You guys rock! I'll pay you back somehow!"

"Don't mention it!" Jaune heard the twin boys shout. He wasn't really paying attention to the Faunus but still waved in thanks. There was not a lot of open doors for Jaune to duck into, but he still jimmied the handles. Occasionally, he got a cry of 'Go Away,' or a groan. It was somewhat disheartening, but at least that implied he wasn't the only one who suffered from the accursed condition known as motion sickness.

Jaune wasn't proud of forming a one-sided solidarity with others suffering in misery like he was.

But it made him feel better...so there.

The mental mention of his condition caused a heaving in his gut. In a moment of common sense Jaune was very proud of, he grabbed a nearby bagged waste-bucket. He paused in front of a door that was slightly open.

"Um, excuse me..." Jaune called out.

"What?" A quiet girl's voice called back.

Jaune sighed. "This is a very weird request, but could I hide here for a bit? The crew of the airship...is...well planning on kidnapping me."

The room's occupant opened the door. Her yellow eyes bored into Jaune's blue eyes. The pretty girl's long black hair, topped by a bow, framed a face that looked absolutely disbelieving. "Kidnap you?"

"Yeah," Jaune confirmed. "I cooked them a meal to distract myself from my motion sickness...they liked it a bit."

"Enough to kidnap you?" The girl crossed her arms in front of her and practically repeated her question. Jaune desperately tried to keep his attention on her face and not her incredibly toned body...or her incredibly ample assets...or her exposed midriff. Or... 'Focus man!' Jaune ordered himself.

"Yeah," Jaune repeated his current favorite word. "So, can I hide here for a second until I get my bearings? I'm, uh, Jaune by the way..."

"Blake," the girl said neutrally. It was an attempt to be semi-polite. "How long will that take?"

The fugitive leaned backwards, despite an ill quiver in his stomach, and caught sight of a very enthusiastic thumbs-up from one of his canine friends. "Not long, hopefully."

Still, Jaune knew he needed some other carrot to get out of this situation. He peered over Blake's shoulder and saw his 'in'.

"If you let me in, I can get you an autograph copy of Grise Fourneau's next book before it drops. Not his cookbook, but his travel memoir..."

Blake raised an eyebrow and for a second, Jaune swore her bow twitched. He shook that thought off as it was probably due to the combination of panic and motion sickness.

"How would you pull that off?" She asked as she stepped aside.

Jaune slipped inside and chose a place where he could see the door, but not really be seen easily. "I...know him personally."

"Deal," she flashed the most microscopic smile Jaune had ever seen. The Arc thought it suited her though. He fished the airship guide out of his pocket and started studying. Jaune cast a glance up every once and a while. Occasionally, Blake would fidget with the buckle on the odd detached right sleeve she wore. She was constantly reading. It was impossible to miss how much she seemed to enjoy reading. That was without noticing the two boxes labeled 'books'.

"You, uh, have a bunch of different kinds of books," Jaune tried to end the somewhat awkward silence permeating the small room. "Fiction or non-fiction?"

"Fiction," Blake replied.

Jaune smiled. He preferred fiction too. "Escapism?"

The girl's smile was microscopic again, but it appeared to be a cross between wistful and melancholy this time. "You could say that. Let me guess, fiction prepared you for your escape from the scary airship crew."

"You have met the captain right?" The book fan shook her head, but was clearly amused. Jaune had almost forgotten about his rebellious stomach when a jolt ruined the moment. The door began to open and a familiar (at least to Jaune) fist knocked on the frame.

"Who is it now?" Blake grumbled.

"We're friends of your buddy. Dalm is trying to distract some of the crew. They are heading this way," one of the Canine Faunus twins from earlier.

Jaune bolted up and grabbed his bucket and map. "Thanks," he said quickly to his still unnamed buddy. Turning towards Blake, he rested his left palm on his stomach as he bowed. "Thanks, Blake. I'll, uh...see you around?"

'Good, don't sound too desperate. And if you do, blame it on motion sickness!'

There wasn't much of a verbal response, but Jaune did receive an amused wave. He quickly made his way out of the room. "Which way is your brother?"

"Dalm is that way," the Faunus revealed.

"Tell him thanks!" Jaune once again shouted over his shoulder. The next couple of minutes were a blur of ducking into boltholes, cradling his bucket as if it was a life preserver, and hoping the next hiding place would come equipped with another very pretty girl.

There was a crowd of students up ahead. It almost looked like some were blocking another group.

Oh god.

They were blocking another group! Jaune panicked, but didn't scream out or worse...throw up. Clutching his savior tightly, he caught sight of a possible safe place.

And it also proved that there was some kind of benevolent higher power.

Yet another beautiful woman was standing next to a great hiding spot. This young woman carried herself differently from Blake. Jaune could tell both girls carried themselves gracefully. The new girl had a regal grace as opposed to Blake's athletic grace. Chromatically, they were opposites. The absolutely gorgeous woman standing around an equally gorgeous line-of-sight blocking fortress of luggage was wearing an ice-blue jacket and mini-dress combination. The dress had a flared skirt and the jacket had equally flared sleeves.

Fortune favors the bold!

"Excuse me, miss," Jaune jogged over to the bored looking beauty. Her ice-blue hair, coincidentally the exact same shade as her clothes, swished as she turned to face the hunted individual.

"What?"

'Okay, evidently beautiful women don't talk much...' Jaune theorized. "I need your help. Can I hide behind your luggage? I promise that I will work out some kind of fair exchange for keeping me from being kidnapped. Oh, my name is Jaune, by the way."

"Jaune," the girl rolled the word around her mouth like it was something she just freed from between her teeth. "You're telling me that the ridiculous rumor about the crew trying to kidnap a student is true? And that the student isn't me...or the other incredibly famous person on board?"

"There's...actual famous people on board?"

The look Jaune received was so flat that the Airship could have landed on it. "Yes, My name is Weiss Schnee."

"Your family wouldn't happen to own the TV channel would it?"

"Hmph! Among other things! Like most of the Dust mines on Remnant!" Weiss announced proudly.

"That's amazing and I'm sure you're even more so," Jaune said with smoothness born of absolute terror of being abducted. "But I really, really don't want to be kidnapped. I'll work out a deal if you let me hide until this hallway clears."

"Are you really being kidnapped because of your cooking?" Weiss asked with practiced indifference. The Arc teenager nodded frantically. "When we get to Beacon, you are making me a Blueberry Custard Tart."

That...was actually something he could do... "Are you allergic to almonds...or do you prefer lemon?"

"Lemon," Weiss snapped and motioned to the pile of luggage.

Jaune clasped Weiss's hands in his own. "You are like some kind of snow angel!" Quickly gathering his stalwart companion...his waste-bucket...Jaune dived into the pile of luggage. He was confident that he wasn't visible, but was still terrified as he heard the voice of the human who made the crack about Jaune thinking with his other head earlier.

"Miss Schnee...I hope your flight has been pleasant..."

"Adequate," Weiss said imperiously. "Is something the matter?"

A second voice Jaune didn't recognize started with a cough. "The crew is actually trying to kidnap a guy. He's a really, really good cook. Even The Captain liked the guy. Our captain...kinda hates everyone."

"Seriously?!" Weiss gaped. "First off, I have not conversed with anyone yet. Until recently, I was in my assigned room. Your captain's announcement led me to believe we were landing soon." A pause. "Are you telling me that the Captain lied in a shameful attempt to draw this unfortunate young man out?"

The two crewmen scuffed their feet. "Yes..."

"Shameful! Secondly, I would not be party to a kidnapping! Away with you!" The pissed off princess voice worked wonderfully and the crewmen scampered off. Confident they were out of sight, Weiss wrapped her knuckles on the metal frame of dolly number three. "They are gone."

"I'm making you two tarts," Jaune swore as he flashed Weiss a double thumbs up. The heiress rolled her eyes, but the world's stealthiest cook was sure he saw a tiny bit of a smile. Once again taking up his trifecta of survival equipment; both halves of Crocea Mors and Waste Bucket, Jaune proceeded down the hall in epic ninja-like fashion.

Jaune managed to avoid a few crewmen as he slinked through the ship's passages. He routinely rested his hand on the hilt of Crocea Mors. There was no way in whatever hell the Grimm crawled out of he was going to attack anyone, but the tic helped calm his nerves. After a tense minute or two, the two crewmen stomped off complaining about 'being doomed to shitty food forever'.

The squire of the Waste Bucket dashed around a corner, desperate to move in the opposite direction of the crew. For the second time today, he crashed into another person. Jaune was the larger of the two bodies crashing into each other this time. His momentum also drove the smaller figure to the ground with a shocked 'Eep!'

"See Ruby! I told you that you would make friends at Beacon! I just didn't expect you to make a friend this quick!"

Jaune's vision was shrouded in darkness, but he could make texture. It was almost velvet like. It was also cupping his face. With the slowness of the utterly mortified, Jaune looked up. He was staring into a pair of silver eyes in a face that was blushing a shade of crimson that made the red cloak around the girl's shoulders look muted.

"Oops?"

"O-Oops..." the younger girl agreed as Jaune scrambled to his feet.

The other feminine voice belonged to a girl that was roughly Jaune's age. She was a head shorter than Jaune. Long blonde hair spilled across her back. The cook wasn't sure which of the hot girl's smiles were brighter, the one on her lips or the one in her lilac eyes. It was if her face couldn't contain her mirth...just like the tiny piece fabric masquerading as a shirt or her brown padded leather jacket couldn't contain her...other assets.

"Yaaaaaang," the girl, who Jaune assumed was Ruby, whined. "This is why I prefer weapons! They don't make things this awkward!"

"Oh you poor innocent angel," Yang cooed as she looked her friend/sister/whatever-it-was-it-was-close and Jaune over. "If I ever take you to Junior's, you would probably combust."

"Isn't that the Club you wrecked in a huge brawl and nearly crushed a mobster's balls in?" Ruby asked as she rested her fists on her hips right below her corset. Jaune instinctively shifted to protect his family-legacy-extension-devices.

"Like I said, you poor innocent angel..." Yang continued her teasing. She ran her finger-less gloved hands through her hair. Her eyes flicked over to Jaune. "So, are you running from or towards something?"

"From the crew of this airship towards safety," Jaune confessed. "I'm Jaune Arc, by the way."

Ruby had somehow produced a red metallic object from behind her flowing cape. She was cradling it as if it was a child. "Wait...the crew is actually trying to kidnap you? I thought that was a joke."

"Nope, I've had a few close calls. I really want to go to Beacon."

The buxom blonde grinned. "That's where we are heading."

"Can you help a guy out? I think I hear footsteps..." Jaune wasn't too proud to beg.

Yang put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "You have given me enough teasing ammo to drive my sister crazy for months! You're also not a racist, if what I've heard is true. You aren't a racist are you?"

Jaune gulped. "Two of my best friends are Faunus." Now, obviously wasn't the time to mention two facts. First, he only knew one of his 'best' friends' names. Second, he had met them only during this chaotic 'World's Worst Hide and Seek Game' escapade.

'Okay, maybe not the worst...I have met a lot of very pretty girls. Even Ruby has this adorkable thing going for her...'

"Good enough for me!" Yang beamed. "Now get in that box!"

Jaune, hearing a couple of crew members shouting about Jaune possibly being in 'that' direction, quickly complied.

"Now Ruby...I know you've wanted to tell me about all those adjustment you've made to Crescent Rose," the blonde was having a potentially dangerous amount of fun.

Jaune was also having a potentially dangerous cure for his motion sickness. The gentle back and forth of both Yang and Ruby's hips was quite distracting.

"Stand right here and tell me all about it..." the elder sister drew out the words. "Right now!"

A fervent whispered prayer escaped Jaune's lips as he saw 'Crescent Rose' extended into an absolutely giant Scythe. If Ruby or Yang had a Semblance that allowed them to read minds, he would probably see how effective the well maintained blade of the weapon was. Jaune was pretty sure that Crescent Rose was also a gun...but neither sister struck him as crazy enough to fire a gun that big in an airship.

Ruby seemed to be too focused on chattering the details of her 'precious, adorable, absolutely dead killy' baby to focus on anything else. Jaune caught the glimpse of a trio of Faunus crew members backing away from the petite girl with the weapon bigger than anyone in the hall.

"Waste Bucket, my friend, remind me never to piss off a Huntress..." Jaune whispered to his protector.

"Alrighty, Fugitive...Ruby's enthusiasm has scared off the crew. Better make yourself scarce. Oh, and don't mind Ruby...she'll be like that for a while," Yang explained.

"Thanks, I owe you both a lot. I'll make it up to you when we get to Beacon." Jaune pulled himself clear from the box.

"I'll hold you to that," the blonde grinned mischievously.

Jaune dashed down the hall, hopefully to safety... "Thanks Yang and Ruby! Your weapon is awesome, Ruby!"

In his hasty escape, he missed Ruby's blush return and Yang unleash the most merciless teasing assault in human history.

"We've got it narrowed down to this part of the ship!" A voice Jaune quickly recognized as Tusks yelled out in the distance. "Cap'n Colcannon says whoever nabs Jaune gets a 30% bonus on his next payday!"

"Shiiiiiiiiiii!" Jaune snapped as he frantically looked for a haven. There was a side passage that was oddly empty. "Why is this airship so huge?"

As Jaune's companions Crocea Mors and Waste Bucket were mute, no one answered the perfectly reasonable question. He threw himself through the nearest open door. For once, blindly charging into a situation didn't result with colliding with someone. Instead, he slid perfectly under an unoccupied bed.

A dozen footfalls echoed in the hallway. "I swore he went this way!"

"You're drunk, Uchafu! The only thing down this way is Pyrrha Nikos's room. I really don't feel like getting my ass kicked by 'The Invincible Girl'."

"Good point," Uchafu admitted.

Jaune waited a few moments before rolling out from under the bed. As he lay on his back, the Arc realized he was slack-jawed again. Outside Dalm and his brother, everyone who had helped Jaune evade the crew had been an insanely pretty girl.

The streak lived on.

Jaune was staring up at an armored redhead beauty. Fortunately, Jaune was at an awkward angle which prevented an even more awkward line of sight.

"Hello," she said tentatively.

"Thanks for not yelling when you saw me dive under the bed," Jaune said lamely. "I really don't want to be kidnapped."

"K-Kidnapped?" Pretty Girl #5 gasped.

Jaune rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. "The crew really liked my cooking. They want to kidnap me, but were nice enough to give me a head-start."

"The other passengers mentioned being jealous of seeing what the crew was eating. I assume that was your responsibility?"

Jaune smiled at the girl decked out in red and bronze armor. "I was trying to distract myself from motion sickness, and it wasn't my finest meal ever, but...I made a half-decent meal for the crew."

"Motion sickness? My mother gets motion sick and believes everyone else does too. I have something you can take," the woman...who in Jaune's mind was now a Saint...offered. This incredible human being did not wait for Jaune to protest, thank her, or offer any sort of verbal retort. Her green eyes sparkled when she returned. "Try this."

The liquid was viscous and the third worst thing Jaune had ever tasted. The bad taste was evident on Jaune's face as it contorted into something that probably would have terrified a Griffon.

"I'm sorry," the unnamed girl said solemnly. "I am confident that it will help!"

Jaune nodded and after a minute or two...was amazed that he felt human again. "You...you are the best person ever..."

The girl's blush gave Ruby's a run for its money. Jaune continued before she had a chance to respond with words. "I'm Jaune Arc, by the way."

"Hello again, the warrior greeted with a happy wave. "My name is Pyrrha."

"Well, Pyrrha...it is nice to meet the greatest person alive, the slayer of motion sickness, and she-who-does-not-let-her-new-friend-be-kidnapped-by-screaming-when-they-dive-under-her-bed." Jaune bowed with Remnant's most perfect combination of humor and sincerity.

At least in his opinion.

"What did you cook for the crew?" Pyrrha had somehow pulled up a chair while asking the question.

Jaune received permission to take a seat and sat on the edge of Pyrrha's bed. "They don't exactly have the best ingredients, but..."

The conversation flowed fairly easily. Jaune managed to pull a few details out of Pyrrha, mostly food related as that seemed to be the topic of the day.

"Tacos?" Jaune rolled the word over his tongue as he repeated it. "Regular or something a bit more exotic?"

"I'm not sure I follow, sorry," Pyrrha apologized.

"Instead of ground beef or chicken. Something fun like mahi or pulled pork," Jaune explained.

Pyrrha opened her mouth, but a knock at the door cut her off. Jaune wasn't entirely sure when the door had been closed. Or how long he had been chatting with Pyrrha.

"Excuse me." Jaune nodded at Pyrrha. She really was incredibly polite. Odds are she wasn't even trying to be polite. There was a sinking feeling that gripped Jaune as Pyrrha opened the door. "May I help you?"

"Miss Nikos, ma'am, Captain Colcannon is aware that one Jaune Arc is currently in this part of the ship...He wouldn't happen to be in your room would he?"

Jaune sighed. He actually liked Tusks. The Boar Faunus was actually a nice guy and a good story teller. Why did he have to be leading the effort to kidnap him? 'Probably for that reason...'

"And if he is?" Pyrrha asked with politeness that sounded absolutely dangerous.

"We ask that you turn him over. The Captain...and crew...are pretty adamant he stick with us," Tusks put forth. "Look, we can work out a deal. Give him up or convince him to sign on and we'll go pro-bono on all future trips. Room and board and everything."

"Room and board," Pyrrha sounded very similar to Weiss in that moment. "You come to me...ask me to give my friend over to slavery...in exchange for free airship tickets?"

"I wouldn't say slavery..." Tusks wasn't exactly convincing. "I wouldn't put it that way."

"Then you should have chosen your words with far more care. Good day sir," Pyrrha actually snapped at the man. She closed the door a bit more harshly than Jaune was expecting.

"Thanks. It looks like you are stuck with me until we arrive at Beacon though," Jaune thanked the beautiful and strong willed woman.

He wasn't sure who he had to thank for this trip, but he was going to thank someone for this. If it wasn't for the kidnapping attempts, this would pretty much be Jaune's example of an ideal day. He had met multiple insanely hot women. Pyrrha had given him the perfect weapon against motion sickness. Weiss had given him an excuse to try out a recipe Jaune had just been waiting for the best opportunity to use. Blake had a library that could possibly serve as inspiration for meals. Yang...hadn't murdered him for basically motor-boating her little sister.

All in all, a really good day.

"I do not mind at all. Your company has been refreshing, Jaune." Pyrrha was beaming. Jaune was feeling mighty pleased with himself, but a niggling feeling that Pyrrha was familiar was cropping up.

Jaune and Pyrrha had several moments of pleasant conversation. Until the topic of Mistral-style frying or Vale-style frying came up. Once again, the crew came up with the worsts times to try to kidnap a guy.

"Lass! This is Cap'n Colcannon! I need ta talk with ya."

'Oh wow. Ol' Kale himself came here. We're probably close to Beacon and he's probably desperate.'

Jaune watched with a tiny bit of feigned reluctance as Pyrrha leaned down and grabbed her bronze shield. She strode across the room. Jaune wasn't entirely sure if the ticking noise was the small clock on top of her suitcase or the heels that made her nearly equal his height.

"What is there to talk about?" Pyrrha asked as Colcannon opened the door.

"Lass, dat fein has done more fer me crew's morale in an hour than any pay-raise I've given the sorry lot!" Colcannon said with conviction. The three protagonists in the situation pointedly ignored Tusks and a human crew member ask each other "What pay raise?"

"You want him? Come and take him!" Pyrrha declared and slid into a fighting stance. Jaune heard an undercurrent of 'MINE' in Pyrrha's voice. He wasn't entirely sure if he should be worried or proud of the impact he made on a girl he just met.

"Damn. Ain't you an oul battleaxe." Colcannon laughed. "Looks like we lost this one, mates! Let's head above deck. Ain't none a' ya tough a'nuff ta take on 'The Invincible Girl'."

The crew reluctantly retreated. Jaune simply watched Pyrrha spin around. He could almost feel the adrenaline bleed off the redhead.

"I...I'm not sure what came over me there," Pyrrha gushed. "That...was unexpected."

"I would have done the same," Jaune admitted truthfully and causally. His shrug once again caused him to miss the second salvo in the undeclared Blush One-up-man-ship War between Ruby and Pyrrha.

"Thank you, Jaune." The Invincible Girl could scarcely believe the entire exchange. "And to answer your earlier question...mahi sounds grand."

Jaune was thrilled to be back on solid ground. Even better, he had made it to Beacon! This was the next step on his dream of being a protector! He still remembered the first step; the day his Dad had awakened his Aura.

'I've never seen Mom that mad...' Jaune recalled, but the memory was something he had with his dad that went beyond anything. It was a symbol that Dad had believed in Jaune's dream when almost no one else would. That really made the divorce Jaune's parents went through even harder on the sole Arc son. He was still a bit upset that his last name couldn't have both parent's last names.

'Nothing I can really do about that,' Jaune sighed as he remembered two promises. One was to Blake and the other was to his dad. 'Might as well kill two birds with one stone.'

The Arc Knight whipped out his Scroll and fired off a message to his Dad.

"Boyo! Don't worry, I an' tha crew won't Shanghai ya. Imma man o' me word," Captain Colcannon announced his presence. He extended his hand, which Jaune accepted. "Keep in touch, Boyo. You've got a good head on yer shoulders."

"Thanks, Captain." Jaune grinned.

"Wheeker, Boyo!" Colcannon shouted and roughly turned Jaune around. "Is that how ya avoided the lads?"

Jaune wasn't sure what Colcannon meant at first. Until he saw Pyrrha, Ruby and Yang, Weiss, and Blake approaching from several directions. There was a moment were Jaune nearly called out to his new friends. That moment quickly died as the girls paused and started sizing each other up.

"Is...something up?"

"Aye, Boyo," Colcannon confirmed. "Yer in for a quare geg four years..."

"I'm probably doomed," Jaune sighed with resignation even though he didn't have the slightest clue what the hell Colcannon just said.

Kale laughed uproariously. "Worse ways ta go than being caught up in that competition!"

"Yeah, definitely facing certain doom," Jaune decided. "But hey, isn't it the job of a Huntsman to tell impending doom to go to hell?"

"Damn right," Colcannon readily agreed. This time, the Captain was not bombastic. His tone was almost reverent. "You're a good man, Boyo. Keep in touch...and stay alive."

The young Huntsman and the aged Captain parted ways. Striding down the gangplank, Jaune felt as if he was walking towards destiny. Jaune Arc was confident he could handle anything Remnant threw at him in that moment.

At least until Ruby sneezed and everything exploded.

His parents, in differing ways, had warned him Beacon would be...interesting. Jaune was beginning to realize just how 'interesting' things would get.

He couldn't wait.

Author's note: This is my first published foray into the RWBY fandom. The second chapter should be up almost immediately after chapter one goes live!

This fic is definitely going to be humorous. Nowhere near as crack-tastic as RWBY Chibi and more in line with Season 1 tonally. An Internet Attaboy/Attagirl/Erwego for anyone other than Dread Knight N7, Chewie Cookies, and Battle Bruva Volks can guess the identity or Inspiration for/of Jaune's dad.