“That is so cool! I want a voice in my head! Can I borrow yours Jauney?”

Nora seemed to be the only one taking the news positively. With teams RWBY and JNPR having sat at the same table for a meal, he had been forced to explain the problem with his aura, which of course meant telling them that he was hearing a voice. It would be difficult to hide something like that with how distracting it was at times.

I’m not exactly happy with this arrangement either!

“If you can figure out how to take mine, you can keep it.”

Now that’s just rude. Being stuck in your head is bad enough, and you want to pawn me off on Nora? I do NOT need to know what goes through her head.

“So on top of your issues with your aura, you’re schizophrenic? And the staff just sent you on your way? How utterly irresponsible.” Weiss, in her own, very Schnee-like way, ignored Nora and showed some concern. Or at least I hope that it’s concern?

Dude, don’t lie to yourself. She’s concerned about the image of the prestigious school she’s attending, not your well being. You also seem to be ignoring the part where she just called you a schizo. I know you think she’s cute and all, but come on.

Ruby elbowed her partner in the side. “Weiss! Don’t worry about her, Jaune. I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to fix… this.” She vaguely gestured at all of him. If not for how genuinely kind and positive she always seemed to be, it might be taken as an insult.

It’s the sincerity that makes it hurt more.

Yang grinned, clearly running with the insulting interpretation. “I’m not sure there’s a way to fix that, Rubes. Being Vomit Boy was bad enough, but now you’ve lost your marbles? At this rate you might have our uncle beat, and he’s got a semblance that literally gives him bad luck.”

I’m vetoing any names that Yang might offer in advance. Her track record isn’t great. I mean come on, you lose your lunch one time and now you’re stuck as Vomit Boy?

Pyrrha’s fists slammed into the table, causing everyone seated there, as well as the surrounding area, to stop and look at her. “I can’t believe you all. Jaune is not… crazy, or anything like that. There’s nothing wrong with him! Surely the drain on his aura is proof enough that he’s not imagining it? He just has to learn to control his semblance, like the rest of us did. I highly doubt anyone here had perfect control as soon as they unlocked their own.” She looked around the table, daring anyone to claim otherwise.

Damn. That’s a pretty strong reaction for someone who’s only known you for a few days. Could it really have started this early? I get that you don’t put her on a pedestal but that’s still rather fast for it to get this bad…

In the silence that followed, Ren’s calming voice broke the tension. “I want to believe that what Jaune’s claiming is true, but it is a difficult pill to swallow. I’ve not heard of anything like it, and the only evidence we have is the drain on his aura. Semblances can be extremely varied, even just taking into account the ones at this table, but, counting the ones I’ve seen in action, they all have an effect that others can verify for themselves beyond simply using aura to function.”

Blake’s book was finally set down. “Unless there is a way to prove it, and Jaune just hasn’t shared, or possibly discovered yet? You haven’t told us what this supposed voice of yours is saying to you. Is it anything noteworthy?”

Everything I say is noteworthy, you little- “Uh,” Jaune cut him off. “Well, it mostly seems to complain,” HEY “but it kinda… knows things?”

He was met with several flat looks. “It knows things.” Weiss rolled her eyes at him. “And what exactly does it know, you simpleton?”

“Like, secret things, I guess. I don’t really get it. Ozpin kinda freaked out when I repeated something the voice had told me-” several faces lit up at the potential of gossip, “-that I will not be sharing here! I feel dirty even knowing, and I think he’d expel me or worse if I went blabbering…”

Yeah, I wouldn’t go around sharing that sort of info willy-nilly. Not this early on anyway. Though you’re gonna have to share something to prove it to them, ask for a volunteer so there’s no hurt feelings.

Pyrrha seemed to have the same idea. “So you could prove it by sharing a secret involving one of us, right?”

“Yeah, but um, like I said before, Ozpin kind of freaked out, and I don’t exactly have any control over what he tells me, so do any of you maybe want to volunteer to have a secret spilled?”

Blake buried her face back into her book, obviously not about to agree, but Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, and Ruby all raised their hands. Ruby shot her teammates a look. “Guys! Come on!”

Her sister shook her head. “I’m not saying that I believe this is real, but on the off chance that it is? I’m more surprised that so many of you agreed.”

“I do not hold many secrets. Even if it was something terribly embarrassing, I trust that Jaune would not share something like that with everyone. He could just whisper it into the ear of whoever it is about.” Ren nodded towards Jaune, showing his support. The group all turned towards him again, waiting for the blonde to make his case.

Hmm. Something people don’t know, but also won’t cause an uproar… how about this then?

“Pyrrha’s semblance is Polarity. It allows her to control the magnetism of metallic objects.”

The redhead’s eyes widened in shock before her face lit up. “That’s correct! Is that proof enough for the rest of you? The only people who would know about that at Beacon are the staff, and even then I’m not sure how many of them would both have access to our records and bother to look at everyone’s semblances.” As she confirmed the information to be accurate, most of the group found themselves looking at Jaune in a new light.

But Weiss’ eyes narrowed. “Pyrrha. Have you used your semblance at all since arriving in Beacon? Or maybe during a public match before you got here?”

Oh come on! Forever Fall! It’s supposed to be revealed at Forever Fall!

Jaune’s partner paused for a moment. “I suppose I used it during the initiation, but never overtly. I prefer a more subtle approach, so that I can always have it as a surprise if I truly need it. I’ve never used it brazenly enough that people would notice if they didn’t know about it in advance.”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

What do you mean you used it at initiation?! I don’t remember that!

Yang rolled her eyes at that remark. “Geez, brag some more why don’t you. I’ll make you use it and then beat you into the ground, just you wait.”

“Yang! Don’t pick fights with our friends! But, um-” Ruby glanced around the table nervously, “I think what Weiss is saying is that even if the rest of us didn’t, Jaune could have noticed and just not said anything. Not that I doubt him or anything!”

You should. You definitely should.

“Our fearless leader is totally awesome enough to notice that! But if Weiss is still daring to doubt him while she’s within striking distance, then he can just do another one!” Nora cracked her knuckles, looking ready to jump over the table at a moment’s notice.

If Nora didn’t have her whole thing with Ren then I’d be setting you up with her. Would do a lot for your confidence issues.

“Ruby’s warning goes to you as well, Nora. But I suppose it couldn’t hurt to have another example…” Ren tried to wrangle his partner as he spoke.

“Right! Um, sure, just one second.”

What do you kids think this is? I’m not like Jinn, just waiting for people to- ugh. Whatever. Fine.

“Ruby,” the group's attention focused on their youngest member, “the uncle that Yang mentioned earlier, with the bad luck semblance. Is his name Crow?” Her eyes lit up, but before she could verbally confirm the statement Jaune was egged on to continue by the voice. “Also, apparently it’s spelled weird? With a Q instead of a C. He uses a mechashift scythe, like you do.”

“Ohmygosh, yes! That is so cool!” She stuck her tongue out at her partner. “See Weiss? Even if he heard me or Yang talking about uncle Qrow, which he didn’t, how would he have known that it’s spelled with a Q? The voice is totally real and awesome!”

The girl in question scowled, but a tint of red was brought to her cheeks. “I- just because I can’t think of a method right now doesn’t mean that this isn’t some sort of trickery! I won’t be made a fool like the rest of you when it’s revealed that he’s a fraud.” Gathering her things, she left the table in a huff, exiting the cafeteria.

“Someone really needs to remove the stick up her-” Yang’s commentary was muffled by her sister covering her mouth, but the brawler was easily able to remove the offending hand. “I wasn’t going to say anything bad! Probably. But, eh-” she turned towards the other blonde at the table, “I guess you really showed me. Can’t really argue with evidence like that, with him being my uncle and all. But now that we know for sure that it’s the real deal…” An almost manic glint was in her eyes. “This little voice of yours could tell us all sorts of juicy stuff, right?! Think about it! All the gossip you could ever ask for, answers to all the tests-”

“Our deepest, darkest secrets that we don’t want people to know.” Blake interrupted her partner. “If Jaune can suddenly know anything about anyone, that would mean that no secret is safe.” The table’s good mood dampened a bit with that idea.

Why you paranoid little- She’s gonna make everyone distrust you if we don’t fix this right now. I’m not some monster that’s gonna go spilling everyone’s secrets left and right. Even if I wanted to, I can’t! Kind of. Repeat after me.

“That’s not how it works. The voice knows a lot of things, but it isn’t all knowing. Its knowledge is limited. And even with the things that it does know, the voice knowing something, and me knowing something, are two separate things.”

His partner was the first to speak up after that. “Then what are the limitations? You’ve learned stuff about Ozpin, Ruby’s uncle Qrow, and myself so far. That’s quite the range of people, at least in my eyes.”

There was a pause as Jaune waited for the voice’s response. “The thing that they have in common is a relation to me. You’re my partner, Ozpin is the headmaster of the school I attend, and Qrow… I’m going to meet Qrow soon?”

Nora leapt up from her seat. “You can see the future?! Tell me all about future me! Do I become even more amazing? Am I married? Do the lowly peasants of the land all bow down to me as their supreme leader?!”

I supposed I walked right into that one, didn’t I? I’ve gotta work on that so I don’t completely screw things up…

The excitable ginger’s partner forced her back into her seat before asking Jaune a question. “If your semblance knows the future, would that mean that we’re stuck on an unchanging path and free will doesn’t exist?”

Ruby looked aghast at the mere idea. “No way! That can’t be right, I totally choose my own future! If it’s all set in stone then…”

Her teammate chose to console her, but surprisingly it wasn’t her sister. “It would depend on what theory you subscribe to, and exactly how Jaune’s semblance works. I’m only going based off of what I’ve read of course, but there are several trains of thought in regards to how time travel, or in this case, seeing the future, would actually work if it was real. What Ren suggested is a possibility, with every event being set in stone, and people who see the future being cursed to know the fate that awaits them, but being unable to change it. But there’s also the possibility that time is branching, with every choice that’s made creating a whole other world, in a sense.”

Her partner gave her an unimpressed look. “You wanna explain that in a way that makes sense to the rest of us?”

Jaune took over the explanation from there, guided by the voice in his head. “As an example, take this apple.” He held up the fruit provided with his lunch. “According to the theory that Blake just described, the world that we exist in is one where I choose to take a bite out of it.” He did so, revealing the off-white insides. “However, me taking a bite of the apple was a choice that I made. In the moment that I did so, I could have chosen to not take a bite, and instead offer it to Nora. If we subscribe to this theory, that choice created a branch in the timeline. Two branching paths for two choices, both existing at the same time, but each unaware of the other. Of course, if you extrapolate, this would be true for every possibility, meaning that there are an infinite number of alternate worlds that differ from our own as little as one different choice, but could also be so different that it would be completely unrecognizable because some significant choice was made differently a long time ago. In this scenario, rather than none of our choices mattering, it would mean that every choice that anyone has ever made matters.”

The group listened, obviously surprised by his knowledge of the subject, even if they knew that he was probably being fed the answer by his new semblance. “Of course, these are only two theories, and there are many more that we could get into. But I would recommend against the one Ren proposed, nihilism isn’t any fun. The part of this that is important to the conversation is that the semblance in question is aware of a few possible futures, not all of them, and the more this reality deviates from the futures already ‘known’, if you will, the less reliable any sort of prediction becomes. Unless this reality follows one of those paths directly one to one, there will be a point in time where any of the supposed ‘future knowledge’ becomes completely useless, if not a hindrance, because it’s just not true anymore.”

That was a lot of information to process, especially for those who had done no previous reading on the topic, which included Jaune himself.

But we should probably distract them before anyone else gets some ‘genius’ idea in their head…

“It’s getting kind of annoying to refer to it as ‘the voice’ or ‘my semblance’ or whatever, especially since he talks to me, but I’m kind of struggling with a name. Do you guys have any ideas?”

If any of them caught on to the fact that it was a forced topic change, they didn’t say so, instead throwing out the first ideas that came to mind.

“Second Thoughts?”

“Eavesdropper.”

“Future Visions.”

“Inner Monologue?”

“Abstract Thoughts.”

“Nora Two!” When the group looked at the one to suggest it, she simply shrugged. “What? Jauney can name his semblance whatever he wants, and I think that would be a great name!”

Maybe Isekai Mirai? Nah, nobody else would get that here…

Jaune was a bit overwhelmed with all of the suggestions given to him at once. “I guess I’ll have to sleep on it…”