A.N. (7/27/20) - Real sorry for the late update being a whole day late. My internet crashed and I lost most of the chapter (around 40%). This only happened once a few months ago, so I wasn't prepared for the unexpectedness.

Chapter 13 - Temple

-10 Months Before the Fall of Beacon-

"Wow, that boy sure has a set of lungs."

Rin slapped herself in the forehead as the other Professors commented on Jaune's less than stellar reaction to being launched into the air. She didn't spend the last few weeks training Jaune and having someone awaken his Aura only for him to fail at the start of the test. He should know better since Rin made sure to show him...

Rin paused for a moment. Did she show him how to do a proper landing strategy?

"Hey, Ana. Did we ever train Jaune how to do a proper landing strategy?"

Through their Servant bond, Lancer let out a sigh next to her while hidden in her Astral Form. "No. Scheduled last week, but skipped due to plans with Qrow."

...shit.

Well, Jaune has a lot of Aura so he's probably fine.

"Did anyone actually make sure that everyone had Aura?" Rin asked out loud.

"Oh, please. Beacon isn't incompetent enough to just let any random person try their luck. I don't think there's ever a possibility that someone without Aura could sneak their way into taking the test," Ooble— Bart replied in response.

A quick look towards Ozpin's direction showed that the man was calmly standing still without a change in expression. Rin did tell him what happened in the alternate continuity, so she's pretty sure he's secretly sweating behind his back. But seriously, even if Jaune faked his transcripts to fool the Professors the first time, how did no one notice his lack of Aura?

"Beacon takes great care to carefully screen all applicants," Ozpin said, continuing the conversation. "We make a great effort into verifying our potential students' academic records to test their Huntsman and Huntress training."

That sounded like the most blatant lie Rin ever heard Ozpin say thus far.

"Obviously, a prerequisite to mastering the higher-level skills of being a Huntsman requires one to unlock their Aura. Thus, it is implied that all Beacon applicants have unlocked their Aura beforehand. It's not like we can predict for the worst-case scenarios of, say, someone faking their transcripts and enrolling Beacon without even the most basics of knowledge or knowing what Aura is. For such a person to exist and apply is all but impossible to predict."

"That's... a pretty specific example there Ozpin," Por— Peter commented.

"It has been brought up before in a conversation."

"Hm?" Glynda looked at the holographic screen projecting the activities of the students in the forest. "Looks like we have our first pair. Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush."

"They seem to be getting along just fine."

Rin took a moment to search through her memories. Was it ever mentioned who partnered with who in Team CRDL?

"Ah, and it looks like Jaune crashed through several trees, but it looks like he's fine for now."

The holographic screen switched to show Jaune lying with his arms entangled with a few branches sporting a dazed expression on his face.

"The closest person near him would be... Pyrrha Nikos."

A tap on the tablet in Glynda's hands made the screen shift to show an image of Pyrrha cutting her way through some bushes with her weapon. Rin pondered for a moment why she didn't help Jaune this time. Maybe she sensed that Jaune could handle this level of damage since he has Aura now. But then again, it's not like she knew he had Aura last time either.

Ugh, it's weird saying 'last time' even though it's more accurate to say 'in another timeline' instead. That's the problem with learning the future and remembering that future from a past perspective.

So, there's a chance that even though things are different from the... original continuity? Alternate continuity? Different from the show. Even though things are different from how the show depicted it, there's still a chance that Jaune and Pyrrha can parter up as partners.

"And it looks like we have another partner... up. What is Miss Belladonna doing?"

A confused tone from Glynda made Rin look up and stare at a strange scene. Blake was running away from Weiss while covering her ears and chanting something while Weiss was screaming at the top of her lungs while chasing her.

Well, it looks like some butterflies are flapping their way in now.

"I-It looks like there might be a disagreement with their partnership."

"Thank you, Port. That wasn't immediately obvious to me," Glynda bit back sarcastically. "We've told them the rules already. Why did they think we couldn't enforce those rules, I can't say. What should we do about this?"

"We can just pretend we didn't see this. If their partnership is deteriorating at such an early start, maybe it's better if they find someone else to stay with for the next few years."

"But Bart, the whole point of the partners and team program is to make people learn to work together even with those who you can't stand. It's preparation for the field when you find yourself working together and trusting your lives to complete strangers."

"That's fine. It looks like they might still be together at this rate anyway."

Glynda turned to stare at Ozpin. "What do you mean?"

Ozpin gestured to the screen, and everyone saw the moment the two girls crashed into another group of girls and all fall into a pile of limbs and bodies.

"Well, it looks like we might have our first team," Ozpin said as Rin finally noticed that the two other girls were Ruby and Yang. The camera following them wasn't powerful enough to pick up sound, but judging from the way the four girls were animatedly acting, it looked like they were arguing with each other over something.

Eventually, Ruby pushed Yang towards Weiss and wrapped her arms around Blake. Yang and Weiss immediately started to argue to the side.

"So Ruby Rose and Blake Belladonna will be partners and Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long will also partner up. And if things go perfectly, they'll pick the same pieces if the sisters have anything to say and everyone will be on the same team. Thus, Miss Schnee and Miss Belladonna will eventually have to learn to work together and all will be well," Ozpin concluded.

D-Did he somehow orchestrates this whole scenario? Did he mess with the landing pads so that the four of them would land near each other? Cause there's no way this is just a coincidence.

So Ruby and Blake are together this time. That might actually work since if Blake's gonna pull the rest of her team into her plans against the White Fang, Ruby will be pretty supportive of Blake and her goals. Now, Weiss and Yang on the other hand... yikes.

The Professors all started to comment on the other students partnering up. Rin didn't really know any of them and just waited around. Next to her, Ana stood to attention while staring at the screen watching the exploits of other students to pass the time.

"At least everyone else is following the first eye contact rule."

"...indeed."

Ugh, it's kinda hard to talk to Ana. The Lancer-Class Servant was not someone Erik knew all that well before his death. All he knew was that Ana is a younger version of Medusa and that she played a role in the recent Babylonia anime. So Rin didn't really know how to interact with Ana all that well.

So far, all she knows is that Ana is kind of an introvert and loves eating desserts that aren't overly sweet. And that she kind of likes sparring with Qrow.

Oh, it looks like Jaune's finally found a partner for himself. He's together with... Nora? The heck. What happened to Pyrrha? Wasn't she the closest to him?

Oh, it looks like she's partnered up with Ren. Wow, not just Team RWBY but even Team JNPR somehow got together, albeit with different partners. And looking at another part of the screen, Rin noted that Sky Lark and Dove Bronzewing also partnered up. So the whole ensemble of Team CDNL also got together. What are the odds?

No, teams aren't finalized until they pick the chess pieces. So there's still a chance things might go differently. Still, if Rin were willing to bet...

And now everyone's on their way to the Temple. The girls of the to-be-determined-to-form Team RWBY were all traveling together in a group. Nora and Jaune were riding Ursas with Jaune screaming his lungs off. And Pyrrha and Ren were running towards them, most likely alarmed by the sounds of Jaune's high pitched screams.

Cardin and Russel seemed to have already chosen their pieces... and it looks like the rest of the Cardinal team picked the paired chess piece. So, that's one team down.

Huh? Looks like something's happening.

"Ozpin, didn't you say you took care of that Death Stalker I told you about?"

"I'm pretty sure I sent Port to take care of that."

"I most certainly took care of one Death Stalker. I'm not sure where this one came from, or why this one is so big."

"You did make sure to take care of the one trapped in a cave with a mural at the entrance, right?"

"...ah."

Welp, that answers that. And wow, looks like a giant Nevermore showed up as well. Rin didn't see who got what chess piece, but the eight students Rin knew were all running away from the temple and combing through the woods now. The group finally stopped running when they reached an open flat area, and everyone turned to deploy their weapons.

This should be interesting.

}-{

This really isn't the best of days.

"Jaune! Help out to the left."

"Jaune, stop tanking the hits. You're Aura won't last at this rate."

"Blondie! Is your armor supposed to be making those noises?"

"Jaune, why won't you dodge."

This really isn't the best of days. And really Ruby, it's not like he's taking the hits on purpose. It's that he can't find a way to move out of the giant murder scorpion's attack range.

With the earlier crash from his not-so-successful landing and that crazy ride on those Ursas with his probably-clinically-insane partner, Jaune was not as full of Aura as he was comfortable with.

Also, the heck Rin! Why didn't you tell me that Huntsman were expected to know how to land properly?

Jaune heard a gunshot come from behind him and an approaching claw suddenly jerked to the left, barely smashing into the ground next to him. Seriously, why didn't he have a cool gun like literally everyone else? Even Weiss has that weird revolver thing with the Dust attacks she's been throwing out.

Also, Jaune made a note to look into Dust spells later on. He saw some really cool applications from when Rin taught him for a while, and Weiss helped him reignite that spark of curiosity.

"Ruby has a plan to take out the Nevermore," Yang cried from a distance away from Jaune. "Can you guys take care of the Death Stalker by yourselves?"

'You guys' referred to Jaune, Nora, some red-haired girl, and a guy that Jaune guessed was Lie Ren - wow, Nora wasn't kidding. He really does remind Jaune of a sloth - judging by the way Nora was acting around him.

Wait, what did Yang just say?

"We can take care of it. Go and help your sister," the red-haired girl replied to Yang. Grinning and throwing a thumbs up, Yang turned around and launched herself in the air with her gauntlet-slash-guns.

"Are you guys kidding!" Jaune exclaimed as his... probably teammate chased off their heaviest close combat fighters to fight a flying enemy. Seriously, did no one else see the problem with that?

"Oh, Jaune! Don't worry, we'll be fine," his partner said while smashing her hammer into the giant Grimm.

Then again, we do have a Nora.

"Ugh, isn't there a convenient cliff we can just throw this guy down," Jaune cried out. Right as he said that, Ren came flying past him just as he got hit by a particularly heavy blow from the giant Grimm.

"His armor is too strong. I'm only hurting the eyes or exposed parts!" the red-haired girl cried out, holding the Grimm back by herself. He should really find out her name later.

"I can probably smash him harder, but I don't think I can smash him hard enough to death," Nora said while picking up Ren and helping him stand.

Okay, so the red-haired girl is busy holding the line and Ren looks like he's about to collapse. Nora is busy trying to shoot the damn thing down with... grenades? What did he have?

A missing shield that would've been really appreciated a few minutes ago.

Dent armor that looks like it might need to be replaced. Well, sorry that he had to miss out on maintenance since he's apparently broke. And it's not like that training with Rin didn't soften the thing either.

A borrowed sword to replace the one he had.

Wait, didn't Rin say that he can use a secret sword technique if he ever needed it? Something about how it's used in swallowing rehearsals. Is this supposed to be used in a circus act?

No, wait! She said Swallow Reversal, which Jaune finally remembered was the name of the sword technique Rin told him about.

"Guys, I have a plan. Nora, can you and that other girl hold him in place for a minute."

"You got it, leader!" Nora ran off with a salute and a maniacal grin on her face.

"I'm not th... never mind." Jaune held the sword Sasaki Kojirou in his hand and started to concentrate. According to Rin, she made it so that if one poured a crazy amount of Aura into the sword and spoke a certain chant, the sword will transform temporarily into a weapon capable of creating a powerful slash. Listening to her explain it the first time, Jaune was reminded of those Mistrillian manga main characters learning how to use their main weapons for the first time.

From what Rin told him, the short sword is only the sealed state. Its true power can only be released when the sword transforms into the Monohoshizao, a sort-of second form where it can unleash the true might of the sword.

Wow, it really does sound like a chunni wet-dream.

"Jaune! If you're ready to do whatever you're planning, do it now!" Nora cried out. Jaune immediately turned to the Grimm and started to pour his Aura into the sword.

Jaune felt the drain almost immediately as the weird force field surrounding his body flickered for a moment.

"Hiken—"

A sudden burst of wind and light, and the sword transformed in his hands. Before, it was a short blade that would've counted as a sword to someone like Rin, but looked more like a dagger in Jaune's hands. Now, it transformed into a longsword around five feet long and was glowing with a strange purple tint to it.

Hope this works.

"Tsubame Gaeshi!"

His body suddenly moved by itself, and Jaune felt a migraine form in his head as his Aura almost completely emptied out. For a moment, there was only silence before a strange sound rang through the air.

VvVVvRrRRRrZZzZtTTT

With the sound of space itself being cut, Jaune felt his body suddenly split into three beings attacking from three different directions all at once. The contradiction almost made him hurl, even as his body uncontrollably moved against his will to slash at three different points on the Grimm.

The Grimm screamed, and Jaune finally found control over his body again. Taking a deep breath, he rolled to the side and moved out of the way as the Grimm started to thrash around.

Jaune looked to the weapon in his hand and winced. The sword was breaking apart into glass-like fragments. Oh gosh, Rin is not gonna be happy.

"Jaune! Holy cow, look what you did," Nora cried out in excitement.

Taking a look, Jaune was taken aback at the damage the weapon managed to cause (and yes, Jaune wasn't vain enough to claim that it was his efforts that caused this level of damage). Somehow, Jaune managed to slice off both arms and the base of the tail at the same exact time. Its legs were also damaged as well from being crushed by its arms when it flailed about. The Grimm was just basically a wriggling torso at this point.

The red-haired girl took the chance to stab at an exposed part of the Grimm's underbelly, finally killing it and allowing it to dissipate into dark particles.

"Damn, Pyrrha. Kill-stealing from my glorious partner. Have you no shame," Nora teased.

"S-Sorry?" The red-haired girl, Pyrrha apparently, apologized genuinely. "I just thought it would be better to kill it before anything else happened."

"No, it was probably for the best," Ren said, before promptly falling to the ground in exhaustion.

Ugh, Jaune could relate. As his vision began to grow dim, he fell right next to Ren and lost consciousness.

Finally, this story is finally past 1k follows. Thanks for all the support. From now on, or at least for the next few weeks till school starts up, it's gonna be a weekly schedule. YAY!

So, here's my excuse for the late chapter. As I said, my internet crashed while I was writing and I didn't save properly when I refreshed the page. It was kinda hard trying to rewrite everything again without feeling a sense of annoyance, and I kinda procrastinated doing so as well. That's why this is released on a Monday instead of a Sunday.

And like I said in the last chapter and just now, this story is gonna be switching to a weekly post schedule for a while (as in, until school starts up again for me). Honestly, I should've switched a few weeks back. And since I already messed up the schedule for this last Sunday, I'll be posting another chapter out sooner (probably on a Wednesday) to make up for the late schedule. So watch out for that. I'm gonna skim a bit of the ending and make that the start of the next chapter instead.

I kinda fixed the previous chapters somewhat. Nothing major, so you don't have to read it again for anything new. Honestly, I kinda cringed seeing how I wrote in some places. Not enough to justify rewriting the chapter, but I'll try to keep my past mistakes in mind from now on. After all, the whole point of this is to help me improve as a writer.