In a surprising turn of events that shook the ballroom; the Dance quickly turned from a subdued affair into something that was a little more bouncy and energetic once Yang and the others took to the stage, plenty of the partiers had a lot to say, whether it was Yang surprising everyone with her skills on the sax or Nora's chaotic drumming that seemed to somehow keep the beat. Though the headliner seemed to be Jae once more; The fact that he could summon Grimm Weapons put him on the map at Beacon and the other schools but watching him summoning a literal body double along with a gnarly looking Grimm Guitar practically cemented him as the highlight.
"So, did anyone else know this about Jae?" Emerald asked curiously to Ruby as she watched the boy on stage; she was wearing a green dress and dark heels to match her hair when she accompanied Mercury, she knew about the Grimm weapons and his questionable heritage but this was something that she hadn't expected from him.
"What? That he's got that guitar or that he's real good with it?" Ruby asked as she watched Yang on the sax along with Jae and "Jae" on the guitars before it all ended in the sound of applause and cheers.
"Both actually…" Emerald admitted as she was among the others who found musicians pretty captivating; "Though I don't think I've seen him use a guitar before; Torchwick said that he used a sword along with a Dust loaded gun, a spear and a hammer during the times he came across Jae but I've only seen the Katars…" She thought to herself as she excused herself to go get punch.
Once Jae and the others got off stage following a good string of songs; Nearly all of them got mobbed by other students with most of them going after Pyrrha and Jae.
"That. Was. Awesome!"
"Where'd you learn to play like that?"
"How'd you make an extra you?"
It took the music starting up again for people to return to dancing and enjoying themselves as Pyrrha and Jae took the chance to get drinks. "Man, I never thought that it'd get that loud out there." Jae quipped as he grabbed them some punch for the pair.
Pyrrha however was now more enraptured with him than she was before; She wasn't sure if it was his singing voice, the fact he could play or his sudden explosion in attention but her happiness skyrocketed since the two decided to confess to each other. "Well…I think once you pulled out the guitar and another you…That seemed to do it…Speaking of…"
"How'd you do that?!" Nora cut her off as Ren and Yang followed soon after; "I kinda figured out the guitar but where'd you get the stunt double?" She quizzed him and pulled a lamp out of…Somewhere.
"Well, you remember how I could use my Demon influence? Well, as it turns out…." Jae mentioned and began to explain everything that happened in the Mindscape from his Style upgrades to wiping out the Nightmare Grimm; "So when I got out, I kinda had a sudden thought like "I wonder if I can split myself with it…" and then boom….Second me." Jae then shrugged as he noticed them staring at him curiously; "What?"
"I don't know…But since the docks, you really came into your own with your whole…thing." Nora pointed out though keeping it subtle considering what they were talking about.
"Well…I just had a lot to think on…So I figured that since Ozpin and the General technically know about me, I decided to go forward and accept it." Jae admitted as he sat down; "The only questions I really have are how far in am I with it and what to do with them."
Pyrrha placed her hand on his arm; "Well, however you want to approach it…We'll be there for you."
"My thoughts exactly."
"Ditto!"
Jae smiled a little as he found himself feeling more and more at peace with himself and more specifically; More fit in with everyone.
"That was certainly quite a performance, Mr. Cielo and Ms Nikos." Ozpin congratulated them, "Though if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to your leader in private if at all possible." He asked them briefly and looked to Jae; "It's about the missions being briefed for tomorrow, I promise it won't be too long."
They each nodded and went to go mingle as Jae and Ozpin both went outside. "No disrespect sir but if it's about the missions then surely we can wait for tomorrow."
"Ordinarily, I would agree but I think what I am about to offer is a simple way to help aid you…Both as your Teacher and as someone interested in keeping ALL aspects of Remnant's history in access." Ozpin explained; "There's a place I know that's tucked away….In the southern part of Vale, it's a small town that has the aid of a sheriff and their associates. They all have one thing in common with you; They each share a Demon heritage of their own so if you are willing, they can help you with on the field training as Huntsmen and Huntresses but alongside that; They can also share a unique insight to Demons for you and help you discover that little bit more."
"There are others like me? How come no one said anything, I could've gone to visit them when I wasn't studying or training?" Jae asked Ozpin with a faint hint of shock and frustration, if someone could've helped him with getting a handle on his abilities sooner then a heads up would've been nice.
Ozpin sighed; "Because as you are well aware; Demons aren't exactly popular even in this day and age." He pointed out, sharing a sympathetic tone but choosing not to elaborate. "I'm sure you can understand that some people are better left alone to conduct their own business…but I keep an open communication with them to ensure that we can aid if needed."
"Y-Yeah, that makes sense…" Jae nodded along with Ozpin's words being a not so welcome reminder of all the bullying, fighting and "Training" He got put through because of them knowing what he was rumoured to be. "So these people are wanting me to see them?"
"Only if you want to, not all roads lead to the same place but I believe that this could be beneficial to you in the long run." Ozpin mentioned as he stared out to the city; "It's always good to have someone you can relate to…and if you truly wish to excel as a Huntsman like you have told me when you first enlisted, then it is always a good idea to pursue every opportunity you can….I'll leave it to you to decide but I will ne-"
"I'll do it, if there are people like me then I want to be able to help however I can." Jae accepted with a confident smile.
"Very well, I'll put in a word so go and spend this time with your friends." Ozpin mentioned and pulled out his Scroll as Jae walked back inside. "Yes, I've spoken with him and he's agreed to meeting with you for training."
"That's some real good news, though I must admit that I am surprised that you didn't tell us about this sooner, Oz…"
"Forgive me for keeping things cautious, myself and others were ensuring that we knew what kind of Demon he was before we send him your way."
"Eh, I guess it's not that big a problem…So, you say this kid's the real deal?"
"The things I've heard even as rumours are quite absurd but considering that I saw him shrug off another student smashing him into a wall…It's not too farfetched to imagine what else he can do." Ozpin explained over the phone as the voice continued.
"Alright, we can take him but he better be prepared to work for it….Our town could use the help and I don't need to be constantly validating someone just for being stronger than the average Huntsman."
Ozpin chuckled as he saw Jae getting run up to and mobbed other girls for a dance including Yang, Weiss along with Emerald and Cinder; "Oh, trust me…You will not be disappointed." He said before hanging up and looking inside. "I should probably warn him that this is going to be nothing like dealing with Port or Oobleck…But I'll wait until tomorrow when he and his team can all be in the loop."
——Meanwhile at a small rural town in the southwest of Vale——
"So is he good?" A short haired woman asked as she placed her gun by the door; "Because I don't wanna humour a guy who thinks they're infinitely better than everyone else just because they're got the smallest drop of Demon in them." She would grumble and sat at one of the chairs.
"Don't be so melodramatic…If Oz says he's worth the hassle of sending out here…Then I say we at least hear the kid out." A blonde woman flicked her hair back as she sipped at her drink. "Besides, we're not just doing this to let him and his team shadow us…If he shows progress with training to get a handle on his genes then we got a winner. But if he starts getting ahead of himself then we've got full permission to serve him up some humble pie."
A third woman showed up; Covered in oil, soot and dressed like your typical grease monkey. "About time we got ourselves someone new to show around…Maybe we can ask ol' Oz if he'd let u-" "I already told you, we aren't gonna use them as guinea pigs for your weird gadgets…Most of them never even worked for the last few batch of trainees that came here." The Blonde cut in with a sigh as she glowered at the brunette.
"True, but if we find the RIGHT person to try it with…I can fine-tune it for our customers out in Vale." The Brunette pouted as she grabbed the second seat next to the more grumpy looking girl.
"So what's the kid's name anyway?" The dark haired girl asked as she crossed her arms; "Plus it's probably worth us knowing, if Beacon's Headmaster is really sending a Demon our way…Is he a Dormant or a Recessive?"
"You know Ozpin…He likes to keep us guessing but judging from what he's sent me, it looks like he's a Dormant at the very least or he's real good at hiding his Recessive side." The Blonde would admit as she looked to the grump; "Besides, why ruin the surprise when you get to meet him tomorrow?" She would add with a smirk.
Said lady would grumble about being jerked about as she left to go rest up for patrol. Leaving the Blonde and the builder alone.
"So, what's your gut tell you about this kid?" She asked the Blonde curiously as she rested her chin on her hands.
"I honestly don't know…But Ozpin never gave me much reason to doubt him before." The blonde mentioned as she looked at Jae's picture.
——The Next Morning——
"So we have to pick our mission from these boards…We get our pick of how to save the world!" Nora grinned as she made a dash for the Search and Destroy section.
"Wait! hold on, we still need to see what's on offer for us." Pyrrha mentioned as she grabbed Nora by the back of her collar. "We can't just grab the first mission we find."
"Well that is indeed the most practical thing." Ozpin mentioned as he stepped forward with the submission sheets. "But I do have a special offer for the four of you in terms of a mission plan…I believe it has something that I think would benefit all of you in your developments."
Jae nodded along since he had already been approached about the mission that he had in mind.
"There's a small town out in the Southwest of Vale, it's a little out of the way but you will be shadowing the local sheriff and her associates." Ozpin explained; "You'll be tasked with patrols, maintaining order and with helping ensure that production runs smoothly."
"Production?" Ren asked in confusion as he didn't think that a town in the middle of the countryside would be a factory place. "The town is responsible and a major component in getting Vale's metalworks made, they help to build the major components for the things we use in Vale and at the academy" Ozpin elaborated with a smile as the others began nodding as it sounded interesting.
"So we get to be deputies?" Nora asked excitedly which seemed to earn a chuckle from both Ren and Jae.
"Well…I guess in a way, you will be…So I'll just go ahead and place this one for you." Ozpin mentioned as he put down Team JNPR for this; "This will be a mission for you all to take seriously though. You will be placed under the discretion of the person in charge and if they deem you unsatisfactory then you will be sent back." He warned with a pointed look at them before issuing a good luck and then showed them to the airship.
With a quick pitstop to say goodbye to Team RWBY, the groups were on their way towards the giant forest.
"You think we could be ready for this?" Pyrrha asked Jae as he was trying to focus on not losing what breakfast he had.
"Duh, we're gonna be Deputies! You bet we're gonna do our darndest to get it right." Nora said with an excited grin. "We've been able to handle ourselves before…it only makes sense that this won't be a problem." Ren mentioned as he pat Jae's back to help ease him; "Besides, we'll be following some trained professional."
"And along with that…Ozpin thinks they might be able to help me out with my…thing." Jae mentioned as they were starting to descend into the treeline and into a clearing.
Standing on the edge where the clearing was, a blonde woman was waving the airship down. "Hey there! You guys must be the new students that are with us for the week." She welcomed them as everyone climbed off.
"Yes Ma'am, I'm Jae Cielo." Jae introduced himself along with the others following suit. "I take it that you are the sheriff that we're watching?"
She nodded; "Mhm, Right this way." She gestured to follow; Once they were off of the ship, everyone could get a good look at her since she was wearing what looked like a biker's outfit with heeled boots, black pants and a corset of all things. "I trust that you'll be able to keep up with things here?"
Everyone nodded as they walked; unable to think of anything to say without it becoming incriminating. Nora along with Jae were suffering from a bleeding nose, Ren was trying his best to not make eye contact to anything below her face and Pyrrha was a mix of the three, her cheeks being a shade brighter than her hair and she was trying to keep her mind focused on the words she was saying.
"So, before we introduce you to the others, I want you to do a little job for me first." The blonde mentioned as she then pointed to the forest; "One of our residents said that they could hear buzzing and see a flap of wings from their windows, so I can assume it's either a really aggressive swarm of bugs or they're just kicking up a fuss…I want you to track what it is and deal with it first."
"Buzzing, That could be a Rapier wasp…." Pyrrha started to theorise as she tried to think on what could be the cause.
"Or a Lancer….Like that one." Jae said and then pointed to a rather large looking Grimm that resembled a hornet.
"Show me what you got, guys…Because your training day starts now!" The Blonde said and gave them the green light to start.