Saturday, the 15th of June, 79AGW.

Library, Beacon.

“I’m waiting for Teak to challenge one of us to a fight to the death,” Lima said, giving him the eye. “Is this the obligatory bodyswap episode? Why are we really here, Teak? and why are you being so suspicious?”

The chair leaned back precariously as Lima balanced on two of the legs.

“I’m not being suspicious,” Teak defended quickly. “You were there—Lux told us to meet her here; I don’t see how it’s my fault.”

Claire approached from behind, giving up on searching the stacks for any sign of the missing Faunus.

“It’s the library, Teak,” Claire said, draping her arms over the short boy’s shoulders. “You were born here.”

Teak tried to look up to see his accuser, but Claire had already secured her place, resting her chin on his head.

“I wasn’t born in a library,” Teak squeaked, folding his arms across his chest.

Lima let the legs of his chair clack back down onto the ground and planted his elbows on the table between them.

“Stop laying siege to my boy,” Lima insisted.

“It’s a hug, not a siege,” Claire said, smushing her cheek against the top of his hair. “Maybe Lux went crazy? I kind of expected her to drag us into the Amiphetheartre already.”

“She was already crazy,” Lima cautioned. “Absolutely insane.”

“Then made she went sane?” Teak tried, still trapped in the jaws of the beast.

The door to the library thudded back against the wall as Lux stepped through, eyes practically glowing.

“I’m not crazy or insane,” Lux said, approaching the group.

“She returns!” Lima cried before wincing at the host of rebukes he received for his volume. “What took you so long, brighteyes?”

Lux reached them, lifting her hand from beside her and holding an untilted book up in front of her chest. Teak’s eyes lit up at the sight of it, and he immediately tried to lean forward but found himself thwarted by Claire’s unbreakable hold.

“Oh my god,” Lima said, pointing at the book in alarm. “You brought us your diary—how are you so lame?”

Lux’s victorious smirk melted into a look of indignation, and she slapped her hand down onto the tabletop with a smack, earning them the second round of comments from those trying to study unharassed.

“It’s not a diary,” Teak said, practically whispering. “Well, it is—but it isn’t hers. It’s another one of Mandias’ journals—where did you get it? When did you get it?”

Lux smiled at the show of enthusiasm, quickly seating herself beside Lima and knocking his chair in the process. Lima side-eyed her for a moment, concerned about the sudden proximity and his lack of a weapon.

“After I finished reading the other one, I called Tukson’s to see if he had more,” Lux said, brushing off the cover.

“But he didn’t?” Teak said, finally giving up on escaping Claire’s hug. “I already called him.”

“I know,” Lux nodded, “He felt bad that he couldn’t help us out, and when I called, he told me that about a friend in Vacuo who might be able to help.”

“Vacuo, huh,” Lima said, drawing out the word. “I’m guessing that panned out?”

“Exactly,” Lux declared, smiling once more. “He express shipped it to Tukson, and I picked it up this morning.”

“That’s why you were gone this morning,” Claire said, impressed. “I’ve never seen you up so early.”

“That’s amazing, Lux.” Teak said, clearly impressed.

Lux preened at the attention and praise.

“I see, I see,” Lima nodded, scratching his chin. “Is this where you spoil the ending and set Teak’s fighting spirit ablaze, and then the two of you settle the matter with a fight to the death?”

“That—” Lux paused, seeming to consider the possibility. “Seems kinda fun, actually.”

“Lima!” Teak squeaked.

“Don’t worry, Captain,” Claire said empathetically. “I’m rooting for you.”

“That’s not funny,” Teak huffed, crossing his arms. “Lux? Does it take place before or after the previous journal?”

Lima mouthed ‘spoilers’ across the bench to Claire and got a smirk in return.

“Tukson said it was afterwards,” Lux said, eyeing the other Faunus for a long moment before sliding the book across the table. “You read it first; otherwise, I’ll have no one to talk about it with until you’re finished—I hate waiting.”

Teak’s smile lit up the room.

Wednesday, the 24th of June, 79AGW.

Workshop, Weapons and Maintenance, Beacon.

“I already pulled it all apart once, and now I have to do it again?” Lima sighed, “I wish I never read that article.”

“It’s better to take care of it now before it becomes a problem,” Lux said, fretting over her mostly assembled gauntlet. “Does this look like it’s sitting properly?”

“It’s fine, Lux,” Lima said for the fourth time, “Start putting it together before I accidentally eat the battery.”

Lux shifted the battery onto the opposite side of her workbench, just in case.

“Lima, you said you were going home for the break?” Claire said, her visor detached from the helmet.

Lima allowed her to distract him from his self assigned task of hovering over Lux’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Lima sighed, stretching. “Going to stay with Sage and Midori over the break—did you change your mind again?”

“I’m going to stay with my family in Vale,” Claire declared.

“For realsies?” Lima said, needling her.

“For realsies,” Claire said firmly.

Teak, still hunched over his own project, looked up at the conversation with some interest.

“I’m going home to see my mom as well,” Teak admitted, “I miss her—talking by scroll isn’t the same and I’d feel bad if I only visited once or twice.”

Lux latched the last piece of her gauntlet back together, carefully checking the panel seams to ensure it was tight.

“You live in Vale too, right?” Claire asked, “I could totally come to hang out—you could introduce me to your mom! Which part of the city do you live in?”

Teak looked a bit embarrassed at the enthusiasm.

“We live on the west side,” Teak said, placing his screwdriver down. “The building is near the docks.”

“Cool,” Claire said, smiling. “Lux? What are you doing for the break?”

Lux lifted her gaze from the finished gauntlet, seemingly parsing the initial conversation.

“I’m staying at Beacon,” Lux declared, “It would be a total pain to organise a trip home.”

“If you get lonely, you can come to visit us in the city,” Claire said easily, “Right, Teak?”

“It’s only half an hour away by airship.” Teak said in agreement.

“I will,” Lux promised. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Lux picked the gauntlet up and slid it over her left hand, where it clicked into place.

“Finally,” Lima said, relieved. “Up you get—it’s time to flash Mulberry.”

Lima pulled her up to her feet, steering her around the bench and towards the front of the workshop.

“Don’t say it like that!” Lux squawked indignantly.

Lima pushed her the last few feet before retreating to his desk before Lux could spin around and end his life. Stuck in the no man’s land between the front row of desks and Professor Mulberry, Lux was forced to approach.

The three of them watched Lux showcase her gauntlet to the teacher before removing it from her hand. Mulberry seemed to study her project for a few moments before covering it with a clipboard and angling it away from his face.

A flash of light turned the front wall of the classroom white, and Lima glanced away, blinking to rid his eyes of the leftover spots in his vision. There were a few brief back and forths between them as Lux idled at the man’s desk. Finally, he handed the gauntlet back to her with a nod of approval, and Lux spun around with a bright smile on her face.

“All good?” Lima prompted as she came within range.

“All good.” Lux smiled. “One Flash-Gauntlet, ready for combat use.”

Friday, the 26th of June, 79AGW.

Morning, Cafeteria, Beacon.

“Huh?” Lima said, scrunching his nose up. “What’s wrong with our normal table?”

Claire rolled her eyes at the stubbornness before shoving past him into the cafeteria. Teak and Lux followed behind at a more sedate pace.

“We haven’t eaten with them in a while,” Claire insisted. “It’ll be fun, right guys?”

“I’m sure it will be,” Teak said smiling. “Come on, Lima?”

Lux grunted, possibly in agreement, eyes glued to the journal in her hands. The letters of the cover were far less faded than the previous one, and spelled out in neat golden font was the owner’s full name—Ozy Mandias.

Teak had taken his time reading through it, and watching Lux fight against her own impatience had been entertaining for them all. Even Lima had grown curious, but whenever he asked Teak to speak about it, the shorter boy had remained entirely tight-lipped—Lux’s rising outrage likely fueling his adamant adherence to secrecy.

“Fine,” Lima sighed, “But if Ruby asks to see my bow again, I’m going to tell her what you said about her scythe.”

Teak looked alarmed at the threat, but Claire grinned, turning and dragging the two of them towards the lineup for the food bar. Lima took one of the many plates and began selecting his food—chicken breast, broccoli, carrots and spinach. Teak was still glaring at him while they waited for Lux to pull her head out of the journal long enough to pick out her own meal.

“What’s that look for, huh?” Lima snickered.

Teak opened his mouth and then scrunched his own face up. Lux stalked past them, journal under her shoulder, moving quickly towards the tables. Claire turned and fell into step beside her.

“Don’t say anything,” Teak insisted before turning and moving on.

Lima huffed at being left behind and then followed them over to the tables. Ruby, Blake, and Yang greeted them as they reached the table, but Weiss remained where she was, slumped against the table with her cheek resting beside her still full plate.

“Who melted the ice cube?” Lima said curiously.

“Don’t call me that,” Weiss mumbled into the table.

“Our dear Weiss decided it was a good idea to stay up all night in an attempt to finish her project,” Yang said brightly, slapping the unfortunate girl on the back. “So we’re spending the day learning about the importance of proper sleep patterns.”

Weiss groaned.

“We had to wear earplugs,” Ruby complained, waving her hands in the air like they were sawblades. “Buzzing, thumping, grinding—at one point, I thought she was going to set our room on fire.”

Weiss managed to lift her head in perhaps the most muted expression of outrage he’d ever seen from her.

“That would never happen,” Weiss managed, dark circles under her eyes.

“In her defence,” Lima said, “She only does that to forests, not dormitories.”

Ruby nodded seriously, and Claire ducked her head down to Weiss’s ear, speaking quietly to the exhausted girl.

“That’s in her defence?” Blake said, eyeing him from across the table.

“Absolutely,” Lima said, nodding firmly.

Lima speared a piece of chicken and stuck it into his mouth to avoid giving a more concrete answer. Blake blew a breath of air out of her nose at his avoidance—there was a notable drop in tension since the last time they’d spoken, and Lima wondered if she’d finally decided that he wouldn’t suddenly unveil her secret in the middle of the school.

Their continued lack of interaction and the fact that he’d asked nothing of her since that night must have contributed to their quiet understanding. It did, however, leave him wondering if Blake had taken his advice and talked to her team about it.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Yang said, dragging her fork against her plate until it made a terrible screeching noise. “The other day—”

Lima winced at the noise.

“Yang!” Ruby said, shivering in disgust. “Don’t do that—you know I hate it.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Yang grinned, lifting her fork back up like she was some kind of conductor. “I saw that light in Mulberry’s class the other day; that was your project, right? A flashbang?”

Lux glanced up from her book for the first time, looking torn between the interest in her project and her own interest in the journal.

“Gauntlet, but you’re more or less correct,” Lux admitted, “I got a pass, but I think there are still some things I can do to make it better—I was thinking about making an external battery pack for one.”

Ruby straightened up in her seat at the shop talk, looking like she was barely holding herself back from jumping in.

“Are you doing it for extra credit?” Yang said, tapping a finger against her chin. “Or more for yourself?”

Weiss allowed Claire to help her sit up and did her best to aim her fork at the food in front of her.

“Just for convenience,” Lux smiled.

“It shouldn’t have any power issues, should it?” Ruby said, leaning forward over the table. “It’s bright, but flash modules don’t take very much power, and a standard battery could easily provide enough for multiple shots—how often are you going to be using it?”

Lux let the journal close as she placed it down in front of her.

“It’s just a precaution,” Lux said, warming to the topic, “I doubt I’ll run out of battery in a single engagement, but when we end up doing fieldwork, there’s always the chance that I won’t have time to recharge it between missions, or if a single mission ends up stretching on for a long time.”

“Better to be prepared,” Blake said in agreement. “What were you reading?”

Lima glanced over at Teak and found him staring directly at him with a look of suspicion.

“Stop trying to read my mind,” Lima managed, trying not to laugh. “It’s far beyond the comprehension of a mere mortal—”

Teak glanced up over his shoulder, and Lima realised that someone had actually come to stand behind him.

“Hi, Jaune!” Ruby said brightly. “How’s your project doing?”

“Hey, Ruby,” Jaune said sheepishly. “I gave up on making a jetpack; it was too complicated.”

“Aww,” Ruby pouted. “That would have been so cool.”

“I know,” Jaune sighed before he gathered himself. “Lima? Can I borrow you for a bit after you’ve finished eating?”

“This is a confession, isn’t it?” Lima wondered. “You’ve fallen madly in love with me.”

“What? No, it’s—” Jaune said, alarmed. “Lima, I need your help.”

“With what?” Lima wondered, “I know nothing about jetpacks—just so we’re clear.”

Jaune shook his head at the topic.

“Look, no matter what I do, I can’t beat Pyrrha,” Jaune said, staring at the ground. “Every day, it’s the same thing, and it feels like I’m not making any progress at all—or, or I’m getting worse. Maybe I am getting better, but she’s getting better at beating me faster than I’m improving—”

Lima scratched his chin at the rush of words, letting it wash over him.

“I’ve tried fighting her with weapons; I’ve tried fighting her without weapons,” Jaune said, ticking each off on a finger. “I’ve tried tricking her. I’ve tried to overwhelm her. I’ve tried asking Ren for help, and I made the mistake of asking Nora—I’ve tried everything, and none of it works. I’m worried that if I don’t get any better, then she’s just wasting her time on me—”

Lima lifted a hand up, palm facing him, and Jaune stopped, fists clenched at his sides.

“You want me to ask her to go easy on you?” Lima joked.

“No—of course not, that doesn’t solve anything,” Jaune said, alarmed.

Jaune was clearly worked up over it, but his motivation still seemed to be skewed. He was less concerned with getting better to beat her and more worried that if he didn’t, then she might start thinking he was a lost cause.

“You are getting better, have some confidence in yourself, man,” Lima said, wrapping his knuckles on the taller boy’s chest. “Listen, she’s not going to suddenly decide that you’re useless—we both know Pyrrha isn’t like that.”

“I know she won’t, but that’s even worse,” Jaune said, brushing his hair back with one hand. “I feel like all I’ve done is trapped her because she’s too nice to tell me that I’m garbage—”

“She probably is too nice,” Lima said, amused. “Have you tried asking her to let you beat her up? You might be able to win that way if you’re really persistent.”

“Lima,” Jaune groaned.

Well, there wasn’t exactly an easy answer here because, as far as reality went. With his current skillset, Jaune would never be able to go toe-to-toe with a truly serious Pyrrha. She was too practised and too skilled for him to match her on even footing—but most fights weren’t on equal footing, to begin with, and all it took to beat someone was capitalising on a single moment.

“Alright, so you want to shake things up, put a little fear in her,” Lima said, warming up to the idea. “Let’s show her that you’re coming for that title of hers.”

“Her title?” Jaune said, hesitating. “That’s not exactly what I said—“

“Jaune; The Invincible Girl,” Lima declared. “I’m here for it.”

“Wait—” Jaune said.

Friday, the 26th of June, 79AGW.

Afternoon, Training Room B, Beacon.

Jaune was already present when Lima arrived, standing awkwardly by the door. With both of them fresh from the last class of the day, they were both still loaded down with their armour and weapons.

“Did you run over here?” Lima said curiously. “I would have walked with you.”

“Pyrrha was suspicious of where I was going,” Jaune said worriedly, “Besides, you were talking with Goodwitch, and I didn’t want to get dragged into whatever punishment she was handing out.”

“I wasn’t in trouble,” Lima said defensively, tossing his bow and quiver down by the door. “I was just asking about the break—wasn’t sure when we had to be back by. You can take your weapons and armour off; you won’t need them.”

“Okay,” Jaune said, moving to accomplish the task. “You’re leaving for the break?”

“Yeah, I’m going to spend some time with my family in Mistral,” Lima said, pulling the hooded cloak off and dumping it next to his other belongings. “What about you?”

“I—can’t go home,” Jaune said, laughing awkwardly. “Not yet, at least.”

Well, that wasn’t weird and mysterious at all.

“Why not?” Lima said.

“Uh, it’s not really important,” Jaune said.

“No way,” Lima said immediately, “Nobody pulls the strange and mysterious backstory card on me and gets to just walk away—what did you do to your parents, Jaune?”

“I didn’t do anything to them—” Jaune said quickly.

“Parents didn’t want you to be a huntsman?” Lima guessed, “So you ran away from home?”

“I’m—that’s not really what happened,” Jaune said, struggling with his chest plate.

“The plot thickens,” Lima said, frowning. “Can’t go home, but didn’t run away? Did you wet the bed the night before you left?”

“Of course not!” Jaune said, alarmed. “I would have cleaned it up!”

“Possibly a bedwetter then,” Lima hummed, stepping onto the large cushioned mat covering most of the floor. “Ah, I see what happened.”

Jaune finally got his chest plate off, revealing Pumpkin Pete, and almost derailing his thoughts completely.

“You do?” Jaune said, sounding worried. “And I’m totally not a bedwetter, just so we’re clear.”

Lima gave him a look of disappointment.

“You got a girl pregnant before you left, didn’t you?” Lima said, shaking his head. “And now, you can’t go home until you’ve gained the strength to defend yourself from her father.”

“No!” Jaune yelped, waving his hands in front of his chest. “Absolutely not!”

“That poor girl,” Lima said sadly, “What would Weiss think?”

“Weiss!?” Jaune said, paling. “Listen, Lima, you can’t tell anyone about this—”

“It was true?” Lima said, alarmed.

“No!” Jaune cried, holding his hands out in an attempt to calm everything down. “Look, do you—do you remember when everything happened with Cardin?”

A pretty big topic divergence, but he could roll with it.

“The whole bullying thing? I was in detention for years, Jaune,” Lima said, trying to pull it all together. “I went in a boy and emerged an man—of course I remember.”

His attempt at levity didn’t seem to wipe the worry off of Jaune’s face.

“Cardin found out the reason why I can’t go home,” Jaune said, swallowing. “That’s why I was following him around and doing his homework. I—I was telling Pyrrha about it, and Cardin overheard me.”

Lima suddenly found it much easier to reign his impulsiveness back in—he’d once again stumbled into something a little more serious than expected.

“Is Cardin holding it over your head or something?” Lima said, frowning. “Do you need me to do another couple of years in the slammer?”

“No, no,” Jaune said, shaking his head. “I—Cardin apologised to me, it was totally sincere, and he said he wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“Well, whatever the reason is, it can’t be that bad if Pyrrha didn’t throw you off the Beacon cliff,” Lima offered. “Hit me with it, brother man.”

Jaune swallowed again, seemingly weighing whether or not he disclosed it. As far as Lima knew, they had a pretty good friendship going, and this wasn’t the first difficult conversation he’d had with Jaune.

“I—cheated my way into Beacon,” Jaune said quietly. “I paid someone to forge my entry papers. I’ve never been to preparatory school. I’ve never had huntsman training or completed any of the tests.”

Lima titled his head at the revelation.

“Forged papers? Where do you even go to get forgeries for something like that?” Lima said, blinking. “Did you just walk into an alleyway or something? You’re not part of the criminal underground, are you? I spoke to this purple vegetable once—”

“I’m not part of a criminal organisation,” Jaune said, heading off the streaming of questions. “I went to school with someone, and they put me in contact with a person called Junior.”

“Weird name,” Lima blinked, “But okay.”

“Junior wasn’t going to help me at first, but I gave him all of the money my parents had saved for my schooling,” Jaune said quickly, looking pale. “He took my number and then told me to leave—I don’t know who he paid to make the transcript, but it worked.”

“You just gave some guy all of your money?” Lima said, amazed, “Talk about a leap of faith—what would have done if he just took it and kicked you out?”

“I wouldn’t have done anything.” Jaune swallowed. “I was desperate.”

“You wanted to be a huntsman that bad?” Lima whistled. “Why didn’t you just go through the normal stream? Join a prep school, complete the tests, that kind of thing? Or did you decide to become one too late?”

“When I was younger, I was always running around saying I’d become a huntsman,” Jaune mumbled, “But when I applied to Signal, I couldn’t pass the physical exam, and I outright failed the written one—I’d spent so long talking about becoming a Huntsman, and I’d never done any of the work to get there.”

Lima just listened.

“I’d been so confident about getting in, and then I just—didn’t.” Jaune said quietly, staring at the mat beneath them. “I stopped talking to everyone from school; I enrolled at a civilian school on the other side of Vale to avoid running into any of my old friends. I felt humiliated, and I couldn’t stand the thought of them seeing me after I failed.”

“But you still wanted to be a Huntsman,” Lima realised.

“Yeah, I started doing physical training on my own, but I had no idea what I was doing,” Jaune murmured, covering his face with his hand. “I didn’t have my Aura unlocked, and in my last year, I realised that I’d never be able to compete for the NCS slots.”

“So you found another way to get into Beacon,” Lima said in understanding.

“So I found another way in,” Jaune repeated under his breath. “I cheated my way in.”

“So, you can’t go home because you yoinked all the school funds and ran off to Beacon? “Lima said, nodding. “Do your parents have something against you being a Huntsman? Or is that the extent of the damage?”

“I—I don’t think they’d be angry that I’m training to be a Huntsman,” Jaune said quietly, “But they’ve seen my report cards, they know I never made it into Signal, and I stole the money.”

“Have you spoken to them since you left?” Lima asked.

“I can’t. At least not yet,” Jaune sniffed, “When I’m better—when I’m worthy of being here, then I’ll go home.”

“The transcripts only got you as far as the front door, man,” Lima said easily, shoving him back unexpectedly. “You passed the entrance exam all on your own; you’re worthy of being here, just like the rest of us.”

“I don’t feel like it,” Jaune admitted.

“Well then, that means there’s still work to be done,” Lima said, squaring off against him on the mat. “Better get started, so you can ride home to your folks as a hero and tell them you’re sorry—yeah?”

Jaune rubbed at his face until he’d erased the evidence.

“Yeah,” Jaune said, managing a smile. “Thanks, Lima.”