It was late afternoon at Beacon Academy. Most of the students were preparing for their final classes of the day, and a certain section of hallway was practically devoid of students. The key word being practically. Jaune hit the wall hard, dropping to his knees breathing heavily.

"Was that all Jauney boy?" Cardin, the big armoured bully of Beacon, snickered menacingly. He cracked his knuckles with another dumb laugh. His teammates were there too, all chuckling at the blonde's patheticness. Jaune didn't protest. There was no point in fighting. Even if saving Cardin in the forest forced the bulky teen to leave his team alone, that hasn't stopped him from attacking Jaune several more times. It didn't matter though, as long as his team was safe. He'd take the beating like normal and be on his way-

"Wait, what's that?" Jaune perked up at the comment, feeling around his neck finding the top two buttons on his uniform had come off. He could feel the familiar metal band that was usually hidden under his clothing.

"You wear jewelry too?" I didn't know you were into THAT type of thing." Cardin grabbed him by the metal loop around his neck, pulling him up so Jaune was practically choking. He punched the blonde hard in the face, one of the latches on his band coming loose. The punches force sent him to the wall again. His aura barely managed to block the impact before giving out. It still hadn't recovered from combat class earlier, and now he was completely spent.

"This thing is weird." Cardin commented trying but failing to bend the dark metal. It was dented and scratched but round other then the latches holding the broken sections together. The blonde's gutt dropped when he realised what was missing.

"Give it back Cardin!" Jaune stood up breathing ragged. He couldn't lose it. That loop was the only thing of his former life remaining!

"Hmmm… How bout I drop it somewhere down the cliff side instead." Cardin smirked, his cronies playing along with his suggestion.

"I said GIVE IT BACK!" Jaune charged tackling Cardin in the stomach. The larger man managed to knee his gutt hard before slamming him to the floor. Fresh blood began dripping on the tiles, the new cut on Jaune's face ruining the vision in his right eye. He kicked Cardin's ankle sending him off balance. Scrambling to his feet Jaune lunged into the bullie's legs bringing him to the floor and on his back.

"Drop it now!" He shot up to Cardin's face and started wailing on him. He got in five good hits before a kick to the face knocked him off. Sky had delivered a surprise attack giving his leader a chance to recover.

"You're dead meat Jauney boy!" The larger slammed his foot hard on Jaune's chest, knocking the wind completely out of him and sending waves of pain up his back. He couldn't hold back the agonised cry escaping his throat. Cardin leaned down being sure his victim got a good look at his face. "Now I really need to teach you a lesson-"

"That's enough!" Pyrrha rushed over staring at the bullies angrily. She was barely holding herself back. "You've taken this way too far! Back off."

"What? Now your teammates fight all the battles for you?" Cardin smiled. "You'll always be too weak. Why don't you just do your team a favor and drop out already?" Jaune was livid at this point, Cardin's words holding no more meaning. All he could focus on was his necklace.

"DROP IT!" He bit down on Cardin's ankle hard, getting a genuine snarl of pain from the larger. He made to bring his other foot down on Jaune's face, but a textbook to the burnett's head sent him staggering. Pyrrha was by Jaune's side in a flash.

"Are you alright?" She questioned. He barely acknowledge her presence, focusing back on the object Cardin held.

"Give it back!" He snarled again. Pyrrha finally noticed the band in the larger teen's grasp.

"Did he take that from you?" She questioned before narrowing her eyes at team CRDL.

"Mister Winchester!" Everyone went still as the sound of heals stormed into the hall. Professor Goodwitch stopped at seeing the damage. Out of all the places in this school to walk by she somehow managed to find them. "Fights between students are only meant for the arena. What is the meaning of this?" She cracked the riding whip in her hands, venomously glaring down Team CRDL.

"We were minding our own business when Jauney here decided he wanted a second round after our sparring match today. Of course I was happy to oblige." Both Jaune and Pyrrha knew it was a complete lie. Jaune managed to beat Cardin in their match earlier, which was probably why Cardin confronted him to begin with. Thankfully Goodwitch didn't buy it either.

"Lying will get you nowhere Mr. Winchester. I expected you and your team in my office after school for a weeks worth of detention." Cardin's cronies all groaned and even their leader looked pissed, but he recovered quickly.

"Yes ma'am. We'll be there." Goodwitch nodded and the bullies turned to leave.

"Wait!" Jaune snarled. Cardin turned around to see the blonde forcing himself to his feet, absolute murder in his eyes. The bully would have just smirked but Ms. Goodwitch's eyes were still on him.

"Sorry, I almost forgot. Here's the jewelry you dropped. No need to be upset." He half heartedly threw it at the blonde, but Pyrrha rushed forward to catch it before it hit the floor.

"Stealing too, Mr. Winchester?" Goodwitch asked dangerously. "I think that earns you two weeks of detention. Do I make myself clear?" He stiffened and nodded at that, rushing off with his goons before more punishment could be given.

"And Mr. Arc." Jaune grimaced at the edge in her voice. That couldn't be good. "Your not off the hook either. I did happen to see you attack unprovoked, not just in self defence. You will report to my office after school for detention as well, understood?"

"... yes ma'am." Jaune sighed. Glynda nodded and briskly walked off, leaving Pyrrha and Jaune in the hall by themselves.

"Here." Pyrrha handed him the band, Jaune taking it quickly.

"Thanks." Jaune said quietly. It just dawned on him that his teammate had to come to his rescue. His already low self esteem just took another blow.

"Are you alright?" She asked carefully. It was clear she wanted to ask about his metal band, but she chose to hold off on it for now. Jaune just sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Your still bleeding though." Jaune brought a hand to his forehead, realising how bad the cut was. "You should probably go to the infirmary for that." Pyrrha suggest but Jaune shook his head.

"It will heal once my aura replenishes. I'll just clean it up myself." He headed off to the locker room holding the blood back with his sleeve. "Can you let Professor Port know I'll be running late?"

"Alright." She nodded. "I'll see you in a bit then." Jaune waved and rushed to find a sink. God why did this always have to happen to him? He wasn't going to throw himself a pity party or anything, but he honestly wished things would go his way for once in his life. Today had even started off fine too, he'd beat Cardin in sparring today, and he past Professor Oobleck's history exam. Of course the jerk couldn't let him have a good day. Of course he got humiliated in front of his partner. He just hoped detention would be over with quickly.

XxxxxxxxxX

Jaune didn't bother going to dinner after detention. He couldn't even bring himself to train with Pyrrha. The blonde sent her a brief message explaining his absence, walking into his empty dorm room with heavy steps. The others must still be out. That was fine though, he just wanted some alone time. He clumsily kicked off his dress shoes and threw his uniform jacket on his desk chair. He didn't bother changing out of his undershirt or pants, he didn't have the will or energy to keep standing right now really. Jaune fell face first on his mattress and groaned. His pride had taken a major blow and he just wanted today to end. He had homework to do, he needed to get changed for bed, but his eyelids were so heavy though. He could probably afford to shut them for a few minutes…

XxxxxxxxxX

Jaune was on top of a skyscraper overlooking Vale. It was nighttime and his face was being pelted by cold harsh winds, but what lit the city below made him freeze. Fires were raging all over the town and people were running around in a panic. The sounds of blood curdling screams and distant explosions echoed through his ears. People below were running away from both Grimm and other masked humans, many being slaughtered the moment they were caught. He could hardly process what was happening. When did the city fall? How did the Grimm get in? Where were all the huntsmen?!

A familiar cry of agony jolted him to attention. That was Nora's voice! He looked around frantically finally spotting her in a clearing. Her hammer was abandoned on the ground while she held something far more precious. Ren's bloodied corpse was in her arms, and the screams were her crying out for her lost friend. Nora was so distraught she never saw the ursa coming. Jaune tried to warn her but no sound left his throat. His legs were glued in place and he could only watch in horror as her head was bitten clean off.

He could feel hot tears running down his cheeks. How did this happen?! How could he fail so miserably?!

"JAUNE!" He twisted his body seeing Pyrrha at the mercy of a dark assailant. She was being stabbed multiple times and her pained screams were now garbled by blood. He managed to break loose of the hold stopping him. Jaune rushed to her aid, but no matter how hard he ran the scene before him kept getting further away.

Running wasn't fast enough!

He needed to go faster!

He needed-XxxxxxxxxX

Jaune awoke with a gasp, a new but familiar weight on his back. Dark feathered wings were spread as far a they would go. They had completely ripped through his undershirt, and sent a few feathers in multiple directions. Quickly he glanced at his teammates with shaky breaths, they all still appeared to be fast asleep. He sighed gratefully bringing the wings close to his back. This was bad though, this was all sorts of bad. He had planned for this to potentially happen, though it's the first time the wings have grown back since coming to Beacon. He supposed it was shear luck that he hasn't needed to worry about them until now. The fact still remained, however. The other members of team JNPR couldn't find out. He needed to get rid of them!

Jaune grabbed the gardening shears under his bed, making for the window before noticing it starting to squeak. He forgot to oil the damn thing! If he opened it now the creaking might wake his teammates, and it was already four in the morning. He had to hurry!

He tucked his wings as close to his body as possible, throwing the bed sheet over his shoulders and rushing into the bathroom. He locked the door hoping he'd be done before everyone woke up. Quietly he crawled into the shower stall. He might actually be able to do this.

Carefully he pulled the blanket off his shoulders and tried to stretch his wings into a better position. The shower was narrow, just about five feet in length and width. The changing area outside the shower provided a couple more feet of leeway, but it definitely wasn't enough room to stretch each of his seven foot long wings. Lord why did they have to be so big? He inhaled deeply trying to psych himself up for this. Clipping them off was always agony, he hated having to do it, but the thought of being found out scared him more. Quickly he used the shears to cut loose his undershirt, cursing himself for not wearing the onesie. Scratchy thick fabric made his wings less likely to emerge in his sleep and the irritation to his stubs kept him from falling that deeply asleep. He remained conscious enough that he could wake up if he felt his wings regenerating.

Jaune placed the blanket, torn shirt and sheets on the floor in the changing area, this next part was going to suck. He turned the shower on cold, hoping to numb his wings and back before amputating. It was certainly freezing, enough to make him gasp. He needed to do this, he didn't have a choice.

He wouldn't give himself a choice.

He sat on the shower floor waiting for the cold to numb everything. The icy water pelted his skin like needles, and his body soon began shivering violently begging him to warm up. He stood his ground though, and within twenty minutes he felt his back and wings were numb enough to continue. He turned the shower head so it was hitting the wall more then him but kept it on, hoping it would drown out any noises he possibly made.

Jaune bundled up a swatch of his undershirt and placed it in his mouth, giving him something to bite on instead of screaming. He brought the clamps over his right shoulder. The blonde struggled initially to get the appendage between the shears but eventually he could vaguely feel the pinch of metal against his skin.

Now for the hard part. He shut his eyes tightly, both hands around the large shears in anticipation. Oh Lord let this be a clean cut. He held his breath and did a brief countdown.

There.

Two.

One.

He squeezed the shears, muscle and bone snapping and tearing under the force. Tears were already pricking in his eyes and he could see blood dripping in the shower.

Again, he needed to go again.

He squeezed down a second time knowing he made it to the bone with that one. He was close, just one more cut.

He held his breath again and bit down harder. With a grunt the scissor handles came together and a weight fell off his back. Gasping for air he leaned against the shower wall trying to recover a bit. Tears were freely flowing down his face now and it was a struggle swallowing down his pained screams. He was so out of practice. How could he be so clumsy?! If he has just oiled that window, or changed into his sleepwear last night this could have all been avoided.

Shakily he grabbed the amputated wing and leaned it against the wall. The cold water on his muscles had definitely reduced bleeding, the keyword being reduced. He could still see bloody splotches on the floor and shower walls, and he feared what his back currently looked like. The fact that he had to stem aura flow from his back to make the cut easier didn't help in the slightest. Loose feathers were already floating around the bathroom, and the realisation that he'd have to clean this up right afterwards finally set in. With a pained moan he tried to psych himself up for the next cut.

"Jaune?" The teen went stock still. That was Ren's voice. He's not supposed to be awake for a few more hours! His teammate knocked on the door, not barging in but raping repeatedly. Jaune kept his mouth shut hoping the other would give up. He just needed to wait for Ren to leave.

"A feather?" Jaune's jaw went slack. He shed a feather outside the bathroom door. He'd been so panicked he forgot to check when he ran in. Ren remained completely silent for a moment, and Jaune could feel his attention focus on the bathroom door.

"Jaune, is everything alright? You rushed in over an hour ago." Has it really been an hour? Oh God this was bad. Ren knew he was in here and he could feel Ren's energy becoming more anxious. His teammate was onto him.

"M'fine." Jaune said a little more weekly than intended. He forgot the cloth was still in his mouth, and it made him sound like a complete liar. Hurry, he needed to hurry! Clumsily his trembling hands tried bringing the garden shears over his shoulder, but his fingers were stiff from cold and panic. The shears dropped with a loud metallic clang.

"What was that?" Ren asked. He was too suspicious to leave now.

"Nothing!" He fumbled back for the shears but his elbow hit the amputated wing by mistake. It slid down the wall towards the door and sent loose feathers and blood particles everywhere. Unfortunately Ren heard the noise it made.

"Jaune?! I'm coming in." He kicked the door in before the blonde could protest. It was over. The jig was up.

Ren's eyes trailed down to his prone form on the floor, eyes widening in shock and then changing towards worry and confusion.

Jaune knew it was a mess. He was too frantic to do a cleaner cutting job, and despite the water there was still blood all over the place. His attached wing was crammed against the shower wall and the other by Ren's feet. He was still shaking from the cold and dripping tears from pain.

"P-Please don't freak out." Jaune spit the cloth from his mouth and looked up to his friend desperately. "I know this looks bad, but I can explain." Ren took a few moments to breath, his face remaining stoic though his eyes showed a definite hint of fear and suspicion. Other emotions were clearly conflicting but he made up his mind quickly.

"... Alright." Ren finally said. "But we'll talk about this back in the room." Jaune's heartbeat doubled in speed, and he could feel himself panicking worse. Ren's already seen his true form, but he didn't want the girls to. He put a shaky hand back on the bloodied garden shears. Before he could pick them up Ren was at his side with a hand on his shoulder, zapping the stress and fear away with his semblance.

"Don't." He said sternly. "We'll talk about this first." Jaune could only nod as the panic and fear began to ebb away into numbness. He released the shears and pulled his remaining wing over his shoulder like a shaw. Ren turned the water off and placed the sheet around Jaune's shoulders, removing his own t-shirt and wrapping the garden shears in it. The wing and bloody feathers were left on the floor for now. Ren offered his hand to help Jaune up, but the teen didn't notice initially.

"Come on. Everyone will be waking up soon." Ren reached out and grabbed Jaune's hand himself, pulling his trembling form upright and leading him out of the bathroom.

"Ren…?" Pyrrha asked trying to stifle a yawn. She had just woken up and her voice clearly showed it. Her tiredness didn't last long upon seeing the blood and feathers stuck to the two boys. "Jaune?!" She rushed to his side relieving Ren of the shaken blonde. She led him to his bed and sat him down promptly, trying and failing to get a response from him. He couldn't look her in the eyes. He couldn't look at any of them. The fear and shame was starting to flood back again but Pyrrha just rubbed his sore back comfortingly. Her hand paused when she felt moisture and an extra lump under the sheet.

"What's this?" She asked confused. She looked to Ren questioningly, though he didn't answer right away.

"What's going on?" Nora stretched her arms and yawned loudly, clearly annoyed at her sleep being interrupted.

"... I'll make up some tea." Ren finally said passing the shirt wrap to Nora. "Keep that away from him while I'm gone." He turned to the door and walked out, passing Blake in the hallway while he closed the door behind him. The cat Faunus grabbed a black feather that was stuck on Ren's pants, turning to the rest of JNPR questioningly before the door shut. Even she couldn't hide her curiosity. Would she ask Ren what was going on? Surly she knew something was up.

Nora looked down at the fabric bundle in her arms, unwrapping Ren's shirt revealing the bloody shears inside. She shuddered practically dropping the thing in her shock. Pyrrha brought a hand to her mouth and immediately stiffened.

"Jaune? What were you doing with those? Were you…" She looked over the blood splotches on his face and blanket. "I'll call a medic. Please stay-" Jaune grabbed her arm when she stood, finally looking his partner in the face.

"Don't… please." Pyrrha and Nora both looked at him questioningly.

"Alright, but you have to show us what's bleeding." He sighed heavily at her request, finally loosening the blanket around his shoulders. He let it fall to his waist, revealing the attached wing wrapped around his shoulder. The girls both audibly gasped, unsure how to respond.

"Jaune? Are you a Faunus?" He could have laughed at Nora's question, but instead simply shook his head. If only he could have passed himself off as a Faunus. If only real Faunus weren't so perceptive. Pyrrha steeled herself and grabbed the first aid kit in Jaune's pack.

"I'm going to look at your back, alright." Pyrrha said carefully. Jaune just looked down and didn't protest, letting her climb on his bed behind him. Her breath hitched, and he could feel her starting to tremble. "Oh Oum! what did you do?!" He couldn't answer. He was too afraid to answer. The door swung open a few minutes later and Ren stepped inside with a tray of cups and a steaming kettle. He placed it on Pyrrha's desk and poured glasses for everyone. The champion ignored it for now in favour of cleaning Jaune's back. The blonde took the cup from Ren without comment. Nora even scooted over to Pyrrha's bed being uncharacteristically serious.

Ren took a seat as well bracing himself for what was coming. "So you said you'd explain." Everyone went quiet waiting for Jaune to start, but where does he even begin with something like this?

"You see, I'm not actually a human… or a Faunus." Ren just nodded and Nora looked at Jaune questioningly. Pyrrha even stopped cleaning his wound, moving around to watch his face. He sighed. There was no point putting it off any longer. "I'm an angel."

XxxxxxxxxxX

Edit (4-10-19): Updated chapter to fix most of the grammatical errors. Hopefully it will read better. Other early chapters that didn't have a beta reader will get the same treatment.