I'm baaaack. To some extent at least, this story is NOT dead, life simply takes priority. To spare everyone a rant and an excuse here's the short version: Shit happened at home, more shit is hitting the fan at work, and things aren't good however you slice the cake. Now then onto the story. As always feel free to PM me if you have any questions and I'll try to reply. More AN at the end.


Throughout the rest of the week things were much the same with a couple of differences, Cardin eased up on Velvet, at least whenever Jaune or Velvet's team was around; and the tension between Pyrrha and Jaune eased, much to the relief of both teams. All the while Odo didn't take his eyes off of Pyrrha, always being vigilant around the Mistrali Champion. Both teams were looking forward to the weekend, especially because they had made plans in Vale. Jaune however was looking forward to another day namely Friday, the day they only have classes for the 1st half of the day and after lunch the rest of the time is allocated to independent studies. Whether the student actually use this time to do as such is up to them, but to Jaune it meant something else. He could finally meet with Professor Peach in private. Ever since Beacon started he had to put up with various degrees of bullshitery instead of being able to do what he wanted, but now he could actually get back to running some tests. Opal guaranteed that he could use the Beacon labs, so there was no question whether he'd be allowed to use them or not.

Once Port finished his class he couldn't gather his things fast enough. He had to admit, however bad it was, that he simply did self study as going through the text book was more effective and useful than trying to read between the lines of Port's cabbage and tea spoon stories. He seemed like a good man, but he sadly had the charisma of a stale donut. While no one paid much mind to him not listening to Port, cause admittedly they didn't either, all his friends noticed his exceptional hurry to leave. Once out of the room he was ready to practically shoot to Peach's lab, until he felt a hand on his shoulder much to both his and Odo's irritation.

"Where are you going Jaune?" of course it was Pyrrha. His partner, for better or worse, was looking at him inquisitively.

She should remove her hand before I remove it for her. Odo emphasised his threat by raising his head and growling at her which got her to remove it pretty fast. Whether it was more out of surprise or actually being afraid was debatable but Odo made his point and seemed to be well happy. Better. Came an all too smug acknowledgment from him before he put his head down. Jaune could only roll his eyes at this, although he did appreciate Odo's help; while he didn't mind physical contact per say, that didn't mean he was alright with people just touching him.

"I'm going to Professor Peach's labs, I need to go over a few things with her and if I have time I'll probably use the lab as well." he turned to leave, ready and eager to get his tests going. "I'll be back later, don't wait up." with his part said he left his friends to their own devices, focusing on his project.

It might have been rude to just walk off like that, but if he would have stayed then they probably would have offered to help, then he would have had to decline, then there would have been questions, and then he would have had to explain that most of them would constitute a walking Health and Safety Hazard, except probably Rin, and after ALL of that and hoping no one's offended he would've had to explain that they wouldn't understand half of it and he isn't inclined to share and explain to people who he's known for less than a week. In conclusion, time consuming with the end result being the same, this way no one's time is wasted.

Getting out of dodge rather quick aren't we?

'What do you expect me to do? Stay and explain the numerous ways in which they would either be useless or actually hinder my progress? That would've gone down well' he remarked. It did not take long to reach Peach's labs, he made sure to know the way by studying the map of Beacon. once at the Professor's lab he recomposed himself and got ready, hoping that she was nice although from what little he heard about the apparently Faunus Professor was that she was generally a nice and very knowledgeable person. Jaune knocked on the door before entering, once inside he saw a pristinely maintained, top of the line laboratory with high grade equipment. "How the hell does Opal afford all these?"

Jaune was very well aware of how much most of this equipment cost considering he used most of them in the past and even had some back home; given that the ones his family had (more specifically he and his sisters shared) were of the highest quality and top of the line. Thinking about it a bit Jaune had to acknowledge that to an outside eye some of his family's facilities on the estate and in the house might have seemed a bit odd and over the top, but when you broke things down, each served a purpose and had a valid reason for being there. One doesn't keep a million+ Lien lab in there house for the sake of just having it. The thought of it and all the fun he and his sister had in there learning and experimenting gave him a sense of homesickness, but he quickly got over it.

"I already asked, but she just waved it off." turning around Jaune was met by a pair of hazel eyes belonging to a brunette who seemed to be his height, and oddly unlike many of the other females in Beacon, wasn't as muscled. The pair of squirrel ears on her head showed her Faunus heritage. "You must be Jaune, Opal told me that you'd be stopping by she just didn't say when. I'm Professor Peach, nice to meet you."

Taking her extended hand Jaune shook it. "Likewise, glad to hear that you were told."

She seems nice enough.

'Glad she has your approval, as far as I'm concerned, as long as she lets me do my thing without being nosy we'll be good.' he didn't mean to come across as cold to anyone but when it came to his experiments he preferred privacy and quiet.

Try to be a bit nicer or at least act friendlier, I know you don't like others, bar your sisters, interfering or assisting in your studies and experiments; but that doesn't mean you need to be cold to others.

Odo knew how Jaune could be when it came to all his projects; unless you were contributing in some form and were in on the project, as far as he was concerned, you had no business there. While it had merit and it was a rational course of thought, that mentality can easily grate on others. Acting passive aggressive, hostile or snarky was Odo's forte.

"While Opal did say that you would most likely be familiar with most of the machinery and equipment in here I just want to clarify that you really can use everything in here." Peach wasn't exactly doubting Opal's word, but the idea of letting a 1st year student use her lab freely still unnerved her a bit. While the Headmistress might take everything easy and in stride, at the end of the day if there is an accident in the lab it will be on her head and conscience.

"Don't worry Professor, I used these and others before. Your machinery couldn't be in safer hands." He thought before correcting himself. "Tell a lie, while I can use them, safety is another matter. My experiments can become a bit dangerous."

Yes, a bit; say didn't you blow up 2 rooms at one point?

'Depends how you define a bit, I like to take that within a margin of error.'

The Faunus Professor didn't seem convinced and narrowed her eyes in a scrutinising manner. It was quite obvious she was on the fence, and while it didn't matter too much as Opal guaranteed him the use of the labs, he'd rather be on good terms with the person who runs it. "Fine, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but if you need assistance or are unsure make sure to call me over. Also, I do have to ask of the nature of your experiment."

While he expected this question, he really would've preferred if she hadn't asked it. Even so he wasn't gonna tell her and could only hope that she understood. He was so close to a break through that he couldn't afford to get any interference and he preferred to keep his cards close to his chest. Deciding to settle on an answer that hinted at it a bit while still keeping it vague enough he just went with the field of study. "Biochemistry."

Professor Peach looked at him like he grew a second head, she looked and blinked, then blinked again, obviously not expecting an answer like that. After all, what normal 18 year old would study biochemistry while aiming to be a Huntsman. Jaune however was not a normal 18 year old, nor did he prioritise becoming a Huntsman, he was here because he made a deal with Opal. Nothing less, nothing more. Why she wanted him to join he had no idea, but as long as she held up her end of the bargain he wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Ok, well if you need any help just make sure to let me know. You can either call or message me. I'll also authorise your scroll to give you 24/7 access. Seems like Opal forgot about that." as Professor Peach went about authorising his Scroll and sending over her number Jaune took a moment to appreciate how nice she was. He had others laugh at him when he said that he talked about this kind of thing saying 'he was in over his head' until he showed them otherwise. At least Peach was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. "There, you're now all set. Just be careful."

"Thank you Professor, I appreciate it." he said with a smile before getting some of the equipment he needed ready. After seeing that Professor Peach left he started taking his own essentials out and spreading them out on a table before organising them. Throughout it all he had a smile on his face and hummed a happy tune. You seem to be awfully happy, which is good as long as you don't lose focus and screw up.

'I have no idea what you're talking about' Jaune replied pretending he knew nothing about it.

In that case let me refresh our memory. The time you blew up the shed, or the time you gassed the house and it had to be quarantined for a week, or…

Jaune just let his head drop for a moment while he let out a sigh, he had to admit that there might have been a few instances where his concentration was lost which ended up with some minor accidents. However, he learned his lesson from those and he was not going to lose focus now, not when he's so close. He started up the machines he would need and got some of his ingredients ready before taking out a pitch black flower from his bag. He had a gut feeling that this might not be the right one, that maybe he should disregard this, but considering the pay off he decided the risk was worth it. According to the book Opal gave him this could be the final ingredient, and he hoped beyond hope it was.

Blood, sweat, tears, pain, and more than one morally questionable decision got him to this point. He suppressed any memories of his past experiments and conduct, many would frown upon the lengths he went to. Him and a few of his sisters that is, but science, results, success, they require sacrifice and 'flexible' morals. Sadly very few understood this. Letting out a deep sigh he went back to the task at hand.

Odo just watched him, making sure he didn't get distracted and that no one disturbed them. He saw Jaune clean the flower before distilling it and extracting its essence. Once it came out he could see that it was a dark grey, borderline black substance. Taking a drop of it and inserting the sample in a machine revealed there to be some impurities in it even though it was the first extraction which was supposed to be the purest. Seeing this Jaune could only frown, would've been too good if it came out pure that easy.

Jaune patiently and carefully handled the unknown substance before inserting it into various machines over the next hour until it resulted in the purest form. Which seemed to be a tar black liquid, although by the look of it one could mistake it for liquid darkness, void given form. Pleased with finally gotten what he wanted, Jaune took out a small box that contained 4 vials of golden, glowing liquid. Jaune, I know you want this to work, that you NEED this to work. But I'm getting all sorts of bad vibes from this. Let's rethink this.

'I agree, and I feel the same but as you said, I NEED this to work. Time is not on our side.' he sighed before taking the 2 vials. While he could have used his hands to mix the 2 he agreed with Odo so instead he chose to give them to an automated machine before standing back. As soon as the black liquid joined the golden one it started to mix with it before turning it pitch black. While neither Odo nor Jaune knew what to expect or what the end result should look like, they were fairly certain it was not supposed to look like liquid darkness and death. Inputting some commands, the mechanised arm took a leaf and moved it near the newly formed concoction before taking a drop from it. Once in position it let the liquid drop and come in contact with the leaf.

It didn't take long for the reaction to start and the results to show themselves, the area where the drop landed started to 'wither away' for lack of a better term. It didn't stop on the area though, it spread till the whole leaf withered and died. Jaune just stared at it in disbelief before an alarm brought him out of his stupor, looking to the monitor he read the warning that blared up onto the screen.

!Warning!

Biohazard detected

Initiating quarantine

The same thought crossed Odo and Jaune as they said in unison.

"Fuck"

*** Team JNPR dorm room ***

"What do you think Jaune is doing?" asked Nora excited and curiously from her Rin and Pyrrha, who were reading and doing weapon maintenance respectively. Rin just continued reading her book on meditation techniques before looking at Nora.

"I don't know, he didn't even hint at it, but if he wants to keep it to himself then that's his prerogative." came Rin's smooth reply, she wasn't as excitable as Nora nor as nosy. If Jaune wished to keep it a secret than that was his business, everyone has a right for privacy. Usually she tried to reign Nora in a bit, while she didn't mean ill by it, her curiosity was often misconstrued as being intrusive and did lead to more than a few fights in the past. She just hoped that the others would understand this and that Nora would grow out of it.

Meanwhile Pyrrha on the other hand didn't share Rin's point of few. Having finished cleaning her weapon, she set it aside before facing her two present teammates. "For my part I don't like this, we're a team. We should be more open with each other and not keep secrets like this."

"What he does in his own time is his business Pyrrha, we should respect his privacy, and that means no elaborate plans Nora." as if on cue Nora suddenly stashed away a notebook that she was writing in furiously before grumbling something about 'no fun'. Rin could only roll her eyes at this while seeing Pyrrha frown and about to retort. "Look Pyrrha, would you tell all your secrets to someone you knew for a week?"

"No." the red haired girl grumbled out while crossing her arms indignantly, not liking how Rin was siding with Jaune even if she did raise a valid point. She didn't see any reason for Jaune to keep secrets from the team, from her, something she would have to talk to him about later.

Just as Pyrrha was about to reply the alarm blared on all their Scrolls. All 3 girls grabbed their Scroll just to gain a curious look before Nora voiced their collective thought. "Why are the labs suddenly quarantined?"

"Wait isn't that where Jaune is?" Pyrrha asked worriedly before checking the alarm again. Going to the details for more information brought up the cause 'Biohazard'. Her blood ran cold at the thought of him being in the middle of a biohazard zone. Yes they butted heads and had different ideologies but that didn't matter right now, her partner was possibly in danger and she had to act. Before she could tell them, Nora and Rin were already on their feet and ready to run for a teacher. The 3 of them practically bolted out of their dorm to try and find a teacher as soon as possible, the sooner they could let them know the higher the chances of Jaune coming out of their safe.

Luckily for them they didn't need to go far to find Professor Goodwitch as she was walking through the halls at an all too leisurely pace for someone who should be aware that there is a biohazard quarantined on the school's grounds. "Professor Goodwitch, there's a quarantine in the labs."

The blonde professor simply raised an eyebrow at that, while completely calm. Her look was more akin to curious as opposed to someone worried or suddenly panicked. "I'm well aware Ms. Nikos, Professor Peach has already been notified of it and is taking care of it."

An incredulous look overcame the 3, especially Pyrrha, at how nonchalant she was about all of this. Losing whatever composure she had she yelled at the teacher, almost like lecturing her. How can a professor be this carefree about something this important? Professor Goodwitch is supposed to be the responsible one. "Jaune's in there, we need to do something!"

Professor Goodwitch frowned at the tone she was taking with her, while her concern is valid, it didn't justify taking that tone with her. "Watch your tone Ms. Nikos, don't forget you're talking to a teacher."

While this obviously didn't placate the red head's anger it made her back down a bit and recompose herself. Yelling at a teacher wasn't going to get them anywhere except detention, a more tactful approach would yield better results. Before being allowed to apologise or respond, the professor said something that surprised all 3 of them.

"Also if Mr. Arc is in there then he is A. Going to be perfectly fine and B. Probably the cause of it."

"But-"

"No 'buts', go back to your room and wait till he gets back." her glare and tone gave no room for argument, and even though the 3 students obviously wanted to argue, they knew it would do no good. With worry filled hearts they made their way back to their room, hoping that their leader would indeed be fine. All the while the Professor watched their retreating forms before relaxing her features and posture and sighing once they were out of sight.

"I better go make sure he doesn't kill anyone with whatever he made this time." she said before slowly making her way to the labs.

It was late into the evening when Jaune (and Odo) finally returned to their dorm. To say he was in a bad mood was an understatement judging from his expression and posture. His teammates worried looks ease and they smiled at him before getting up for a hug which he reluctantly reciprocated. Nora was the first to speak up. "We were so worried! What happened?"

Before he could tell them it was nothing Rin cut him off, almost like reading his mind. "Please don't brush us off Jaune, you had us worried, we are your team. You don't have to tell us everything."

Mulling it over, he decided to go along with it, especially considering that she did raise a valid point. Next he might need to elaborate a bit more and not just going away. He took a deep breath before going into his explanation which would more likely than not have mixed results. It always did, everytime he went into details about his experiments and the lengths he went to people seemed to be awful quick to judge. As long as he went with a watered down version, or rather an edited one he could get away with an explanation here.

"Basically I was doing some research and an experiment got out of hand." before he could be interrupted by Nora, Jaune put his hand up to show that he wasn't done speaking. "You're probably wondering how that would relate to a 'biohazard' warning. To put it simple 2 chemicals mixed and created what would possibly be classified as a chemical weapon, as poison doesn't quite do it justice."

"You created a biochemical weapon!?" Pyrrha nigh on yelled out incredulously.

"Yep, but don't worry, after a lot of trial and error I came up with a neutralising agent." he said to reassure her while Odo just kept looking at Jaune.

You left out the pile of dead rats it involved and how we had to dispose of it.

'Wasn't much left to dispose of once the poison was done with them.' he communicated back, with complete indifference. 'Better them than us, besides, that's why I got them. They served their purpose.'

You reckon they'd see it like that?

'No, and that's why they won't be told.' he glared at Odo intensely while communicating it mentally. 'They wouldn't understand it either.'

I know why you have this mindset but you can't just justify everything nor objectify or quantify life.

'Look I'm tired, I failed, again, and I just want to shower and sleep. We can talk more about ethics tomorrow.' Odo could only grumble at this and chose to instead rest as well.

Jaune woke up to the sound of his Scroll going off signalling that he had a message. Picking it up and looking at it he saw that it was from Opal and titled as important. There wasn't much to read once he opened the message, just Opal telling him to come to her office immediately. He could only sigh at this, talking to her was the last thing he wanted; he had experiments to do as well as preparing to go out with the others. Not something he had the most interest in but seeing how he'd be spending the next few years alongside them he thought he should join.

He would be the first to admit that he was obsessive about his tests and experiments, not to mention anti-social. It was a bad thing, he knew it, Odo knew it, his family knew it; at their behest though he tried and eventually did make some friends. Those who he did consider friends he held close, while others were mostly just acquaintances. He had no time to 'play' around, he had experiments to do and a cure to find. He came to Beacon because Opal promised him knowledge that he could use, knowledge that he couldn't find elsewhere. So far she held up her end even if it didn't pan out so far. Despite this failure there was more information in the book that could be used, more theories to go through, more experiments to do, and as long as that held up he'd hold up his end of the bargain too. As long as Opal gave him information and resources that were unique he would stay and train to be a Huntsman. Not that he understood why Opal wanted him to be one; the only other alternative was that maybe she had ulterior motives. Either way, as long as she made good on the deal so would he.

Sighing deeply, he got out of his bed while groaning, he saw that his teammates were having a lie in and chose to be quiet and let them rest a bit longer. Quietly making his way into the bathroom he started to get ready for the day and the inevitable headache that was going to be this meeting. Having finished he exited the bathroom just to notice that his team was also up, albeit to varying degrees, and getting ready. "Good morning, glad to see everyone up. Opal wants to see me, probably about yesterday's 'incident'."

"Can I come too? Since you know, we're partners." asked Pyrrha while getting a towel. This might be something that pertains to Jaune, but he was her partner and if he was in trouble she should be there for him; and maybe learn a bit more about him in the process. While the red haired champion was proud of her idea of accompanying Jaune to be supportive she was also hopeful that he'd accept. Was it bad that she had ulterior motives for going there? Maybe, but if he wasn't going to open up then she'd just have to learn things differently.

Let me just be the first one to point out that this issue does not involve her in the least and there is no measure in which she could contribute via her company. Henceforth I put forth a motion to dismiss her. Odo's dislike for the girl was very apparent to Jaune by this point, but however much Odo would've wanted to completely cut Pyrrha out she was still his partner; for better or worse. Taking a deep breath he made his decision and while this wouldn't make the red fox very happy, he couldn't keep ignoring Pyrrha.

"Sure, I'll wait up. Just hurry cause apparently it's urgent."

Hearing this caused the champion to smile and hurry into the bathroom to get ready. If Jaune was being honest with himself he'd have to admit that Pyrrha had a nice smile, something he wouldn't mind seeing more of. With that in mind though she still had way too different ideals than him.

Did you not get a damn thing I just said?

'I did, okay? But the fact remains that she is still my partner and I can't just cut her out.' this excuse just caused the fox to growl at him. Nora and Rin just looked at Odo oddly, not understanding why he was growling at Jaune of all people.

Fine, but don't think I didn't notice how you looked at her when she smiled at you. I know that look, you got burned last time, and that was with someone who was relatively nice. Pyrrha isn't even that. Jaune was about to retort but Odo cut him off before he could. And the excuse of 'different ideals' won't cut it forever.

Jaune could only sigh at his companions words, he did raise a valid point. Nevertheless things would unfold with time and Pyrrha might change, maybe, hopefully they just had a misunderstanding and nothing more than a rocky start. Sadly a part of him knew that this might just be wishful thinking. You couldn't just change someone's mindset so easily, and Pyrrha seemed dead set on hers. He really didn't want to clash with her repeatedly over the next four years, but if push comes to shove he'll stand his ground.

Before they could continue their conversation the door to the bathroom opened and Pyrrha came out smiling at him. "Let's go, we don't want to keep Opal waiting do we?"

"No, no we don't. Nora, Rin, we'll see you in the cafeteria."

The walk to Opal's office was fairly uneventful besides Pyrrha trying to make small talk, something Jaune wasn't keen on at the time. He knew that he was being rude, but being woken up just to be summoned into Opal's office first thing in the morning before breakfast did that to him. Call it one of his character flaws, but he got grouchy when hungry. Usually he made a note to keep a protein bar or something on him but he forgot to buy some. Even so he could hear the faint voice of Pyrrha trying to talk to him.

"Look, Pyrrha, I'm sorry, but until I have at least 1 cup of coffee and some form of food in me I won't be much of a conversationalist." While his answer didn't seem to please the Spartan Champion she accepted it.

Once by Opal's office, they took the elevator up and upon its doors opening were greeted to the sight and sound of Professor Peach yelling at a perfectly calm Opal. The sight was almost comical considering how calm and nonchalant Opal was, while as always drinking from her mug.

"Not one day Opal, not one day! He didn't even need a day for there to be an accident! Scratch that, a biohazard; a bloody biohazard!" the Faunus Professor yelled while her face was practically glowing red. "Not a few broken vials or machines, or maybe even fire. No, a biohazard that quarantined the whole labs." she finally slammed her hands on the Headmistress' table before glaring her in the eye. "I want answers and to take away his access to the labs!"

Before the Headmistress could answer Jaune chose to make his presence known by speaking up. "that's rather excessive, I mean I understand the answers part but banning me from the labs is a bit far."

Professor Peach turned her glare on him so fast that one would be surprised that she didn't get whiplash. Some might have backed off or withered under a teacher's glare, but she wasn't Goodwitch and Jaune wasn't intimidated easily either. Not to mention, that in his mind at least, he didn't do anything wrong. In the Faunus Professor's opinion though he seemed to have done everything wrong.

"A bit far? You caused a quarantine via a biohazard, then proceeded to somehow wipe the memory of all the equipment so I don't even know what the source was!"

Before Jaune could reply, Pyrrha decided to voice her opinion on the matter, much to his dismay. "I'm sure that Jaune had a reason for doing it and means no offense to you. It was just a mere accident, he'll be more careful in the future."

You can speak for yourself, and she shouldn't be trying to say what you will and won't do in the future. Odo did not like Pyrrha and it seemed that every passing day she just dug herself further in the metaphorical grave that the red fox made for her. He knew well enough Mistrali tradition and how they were towards men; respectful? Yes. Caring? Yes. Kind? Yes. Controlling? Definitely. Thinking they know best for them? Yes. As far as the fox was concerned if Pyrrha wanted to act and expect to follow such mentality and traditions than she should have stayed in Mistral.

"I understand you trying to defend your partner Ms. Nikos, but this is serious. It's not a case of 'oops he broke a glass'. Unless you understand the details and implications do not presume to be able to handle the situation." before Peach could go off on either student again, the Headmistress cut in, choosing to finally settle the dispute.

"Please calm down Peach, yelling won't get us anywhere. I'm sure Mr. Arc will shed light onto the situation if we give him the chance to speak." looking at Jaune Opal quirked an eyebrow expectantly which he answered with a nod. While this seemed to ease a bit of the tension in the office Professor Peach continued to stare at him intensely, awaiting his explanation.

"Now, where to start?" he mused trying to decide how to broach the subject and give sufficient information without actually giving away anything of great importance.

"From the start." Peach practically growled out while still being rather irate.

Really? You don't say? I thought we should start at the end. Odo's ever so witty sarcasm reared its head as he tilted his head slightly. Jaune just let this comment go ignored, focusing on the matter at hand.

"Alright, alright, just calm down already. So I was basically trying out a new ingredient for an elixir I'm making, however the ingredient did not have the desired effect." No lie so far, the best way to go about this was to mix in just enough of the truth to sate their curiosity while leaving the more important parts out. "Now you're probably wondering how all this led to a biohazard."

Peach confirmed his assumption with a nod while continuing to listen keenly to his explanation. From how she was relaxing a bit Jaune gathered that he was at least putting her mind somewhat at ease from how he willingly was telling her everything. All he needed to do now was to push his advantage, if he could give her as much information as possible all at once without allowing her to ask questions he would be in the clear. Questions would require for him to give more details, details he very much wanted to keep to himself. And if he made up more and more lies than he might just get tangled up in them and all of it could come undone. "Basically the reaction created a poison, a rather potent one, henceforth the alarms went off leading to the quarantine. I stayed there till I created a neutralising agent after which I proceeded to wipe the records to avoid anyone from trying to even remotely recreate it."

Jaune explained all this with all the calmness in the world, like he didn't just create one of the most vile and dangerous substances in Remnant. To be fair, from his point of view he didn't do anything wrong nor was this a cause for alarm. All that happened was an experiment went bad and produced an undesirable result. A neutralising agent has been made, hazardous substance contained, all in all, everything has been sorted.

Silence reigned complete in the room while everyone processed what they just heard. Pyrrha already knew about it from Jaune explaining it to them, Opal was just sitting and drinking from her mug slowly as if either contemplating what she just heard or not caring about it. On the other hand Peach had the most varied reaction, her facial features switching between angry, confused, accepting, and calm. Jaune was starting to get concerned about the Faunus Professor. Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably just a few minutes, the Professor let out a slow breath and composed herself.

Guess we're about to find out if understands our reasoning or if we'll have a problem on our hands.

'There will be no problem. As long as the deal stands with Opal I get free use of the labs. Having Peach on good terms would simply be useful, but ultimately not necessary.'

The crimson fox shook its head in exasperation. I hate it when you get like this.

"While I do understand what you just said, there are several points that I'd contest and have issues with. One being someone as young having such deep knowledge of the subject matter, kids your age don't exactly gravitate to this field of study at such a young age. Two, just who taught you all this? Three, I want details about the poison and the antidote." While the Faunus Professor's tone changed from the outraged one she held earlier, it turned into a mix of scrutinising and demanding. Even her glare only lessened into a frown.

There was an odd sort of tension in the room while everyone was silent. Eventually Jaune decided to be the one to break the tension. He could have just strong armed Peach with the deal he made with Opal but 2 things stopped him; one, he didn't want to antagonise a Professor and two, Odo would've not gotten off his back about it. Henceforth the best solution was born, a compromise.

"One, no they don't; two, irrelevant; and three, just no. There is a reason I wiped the memory banks Professor and while I honestly understand your frustration I will not disclose the formula." He could see the Professor about to start yelling again while her frown turned back into a harsh glare, before she could get any word out though he raised his hand as if to signal that he wasn't done yet. "How about a compromise though?"

This seemed to get everyone's attention and even was enough to placate the increasingly volatile Professor Peach a bit. A bit. Through gritted teeth and in a tone that would betray her Faunus trait she managed to growl out 2 words. "What compromise?"

What have you got in mind and why do I have this foreboding feeling that things are going to go to shit in the near future? Odo could already tell deep down that somehow, in some way, shape or form, whatever Jaune's idea was, it was not going to be good. 'Don't worry, it's the perfect solution.'

"Someone, or more specifically a person of my choosing, approved by you, gets to 'observe' and if they deem something too dangerous or risky they can either call me out on it or notify you and Opal. How about that?"

While the Peach was thinking it over Pyrrha was smiling, smiling a bit too much maybe. Although it was a pretty easy guess why she was so happy, this was her chance. Jaune chooses her and things would fit in place from there, simple. Opal meanwhile was doing what she does best, raise a mug of coffee to her mouth and take a sip. After what seemed like an hour but was probably just a few minutes, Peach seemed to make up her mind. "I don't like this. I don't like secret's being kept from me if they involve my labs."

"That is Beacon's labs Peach, you are in charge of course and are doing a magnificent job at running it but let's bear that in mind. Although I think what Mr. Arc proposes is a good idea. He suggests a person and we approve, meaning that it's not simply him taking charge but we still get to choose and approve someone we deem responsible." While her voice was even, Opal's tone still left no room for argument.

Peach knew when it was useless to argue with the Headmistress, having dealt with her for long enough by now. All she could do was begrudgingly relent and sigh. "Fine, but no more biohazards. I'm guessing you already have someone in mind?"

Jaune couldn't help but grin ear to ear. "Oh I have the perfect person in mind."


AN: hope this was an okay chapter, I don't know how to feel about the way it turned out. I kept going over it and over it and over it. I won't make any promises to when the next chapter will be out, but it WILL be coming.