Pyrrha stared at the scene in front of her in horror, nearly dropping her sword in shock. She had prepared for many situations as they left for this mission, making sure she was ready for any sort of Grimm they could encounter, any environment they could find themselves in, any injuries one could reasonably expect to obtain. What she wasn't prepared for however, was to see her partner kissing, no, being kissed deeply by a strange women.
Some small, repressed part of her was repulsed in jealousy, but that part was stifled by concern as she saw her team's leader pushing against the woman's shoulders aggressively. It was clear he wasn't exactly enthused about the kiss, which both relieved and made Pyrrha's anger spike up. How DARE that woman use her partner in such a way.
She was about to rush forward when she saw Jaune's hands slowly struggle less, before falling limp at his side. When she stepped back, Jaune merely wobbled for a moment before collapsing like a sack of potatoes on the ground.
"Jaune..." Pyrrha cried out, frozen in terror. What had just happened?
"How dare you do that to our leader!" Nora cried out, switching her hammer to it's grenade launcher form. "Pyrrha was supposed to do that!" She snapped angrily, earning a confused look from the redhead before she fired off a round towards the enemy huntress.
The tall, raven haired, mature woman just smirked as she stood perfectly still. Nora's grenade exploded and the woman was encased in smoke.
Approaching carefully, Pyrrha prepared for a counter attack. She had to rescue Jaune, but she couldn't let her guard down in the moment. As the dust settled, she almost dropped her weapons yet again. Standing in front of the strange huntress, Jaune stood there braced behind his shield, having saved her from Nora's grenade.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked nervously. There's no reason her leader would suddenly have switched sides like that. Had he learned something during their little... "exchange"?
The woman cackled. "I'm sorry Hun, he can't really hear you right now. I'm afraid he's a little... infatuated with me at the moment. They don't call me Siren for nothing, you know." She offered with a wink. The woman seemed to stare off in the distance for a moment. "Oh I see. So that's his story. Interesting." She smirked. She draped an arm over his shoulder, gently drawing circles on his chest plate.
"He certainly is a fun little toy to have. I'm lucky to have met you all. I do hope he lasts longer than the last one." She snickered.
"Jaune! I don't know what she did to you, but fight it!" Pyrrha called out, stepping forward in concern. His eyes were distant and unfocused.
Siren just laughed. "If only it was that easy to break my spell. No, the only way you can is... well." She thought for a moment before grinning. "Ooo I just had a fun idea."
She leaned closer to Jaune and Pyrrha rushed forward. Before Pyrrha could take more than a few steps though, the hand toying with Jaune's chest place shot up to his neck, gripping it tightly. The boy didn't even seem to react, but Pyrrha could tell how tightly she was holding it.
"One more step and I snap his neck like a twig." She threatened, her voice dripping with malice as it lost it's playful tone. Seeing Pyrrha hesitate, before stepping backwards she smiled. "Good girl."
Thinking for a moment she nodded to herself. "Yes, that will be the most fun." Standing up, she placed both her hands on Jaune's shoulders, staring at the trio in front of her.
"Now I'm very aware you four are students. Facing a huntress isn't a very fair match-up now is it?" She thought for a moment. "So! Let's make things interesting. I'll make Jauney here my champion. If you can stop him, you guys win and I'll leave. If you can't well... at least Jaune won't be able to miss his friends." She snickered evilly.
The rest of JNPR shared a glance. They knew their leader was improving, but his greatest strength was still as a tactician at the moment. In direct combat, Ren may struggle a bit, but they were confident both Nora and Pyrrha could subdue him. They had been lucky it hadn't been on of them controlled.
Siren just smirked at them. "I know everything about Jaune. He's my little puppet." She called out, twirling her hand through the air as he began to twirl and dance in front of her like a marionette while his eyes carried the same glazed expression.
Pyrrha felt her stomach churn as she watched her best friend being toyed with like a lifeless doll.
"I know he still lags behind you despite how hard this poor boy works. 3V1 will hardly be fair." She mused. "So I'll have to help him out just a little. 1V1 seems fair." She said, with another nod to herself as she flicker her wrist, making Jaune finish his dance and bow.
"Our little kiss let me know all I needed to know about him. It certainly would be the most interesting to have him fight little Pyrrha over there, wouldn't it?" She offered, turning to Ren and Nora. "I'll have to keep you two busy." She threatened with a predatory smile.
Pyrrha gripped her sword tighter. She trained with Jaune constantly. She knew his fighting style from the ground up. From the basics she taught him to the unique style he had developed himself. She would handle this herself.
As if reading her mind, Siren laughed. "You're not the only one who learned my dear, you should see how Jaune watches you. He studies your every move, his eyes are always on you." She offered, laughing as she saw the red-haired girl blush. "He may not move as well as you do, but I can help him with that just a little."
Jaune stepped forward, readying his sword and shield as Pyrrha mimicked him. She would end this quickly.
As Ren and Nora prepared to fight, Siren raised up a hand. "This is still a little too boring." Leaning on Jaune's shoulder, she whispered in his ear.
Ever so slightly, Pyrrha saw Jaune's eyes return a little closer to normal.
"Jaune! You have to fight it."
"You..."
She froze as she saw her partner begin to speak, seeing tears pour down his face.
"YOU KILLED PYRRHA!" He snapped at her, tears streaming down the blondes face.
Pyrrha backed up, shocked. "No, Jaune..." Before she could say anything else, her leader rushed forward, with a massive swing towards her.
"You killed Pyrrha! I'll destroy you!" He cried out, his face showing the agony he was in.
Pyrrha blocked his blow, surprised by the strength his rage induced state was in. Just what was he seeing? What had she done to him? She countered, swiping at him but when he flinched she paused. She didn't want to hurt her partner anymore than he already was.
Jaune however, had no such qualms. He pressed onward, swinging strike after strike with no hesitation towards Pyrrha.
Pyrrha winced one of the sword swings glanced her. The siren hadn't lied, Jaune's movement seemed the slightest bit faster and smoother, and his rage seemed to be drawing out all of his strength. Plus, Jaune must have been watching her. Every move or countered she tried, he seemed to be expecting and in his enhanced conditions he could at least attempt to respond to.
The hesitation in her heart and sword was causing her to be pushed back by her friend.
Glancing over, she saw Ren and Nora struggling in their own battle. The Siren didn't seem to only work through puppets, but rather her strength was on par with the other professionals they had seen. Nora's brute strength and Ren's agility was barely able to keep up with her. Pyrrha figured that controlling and boosting Jaune's strength must be distracting her and limiting her, so at least at the moment Ren and Nora could hold their own.
Focusing on Jaune, she parried his strike, planting her foot in his chest and kicking him back. She saw him wince as he slammed into a tree. "I'm sorry." She mumbled meekly.
"I'll never forgive you! You killed Pyrrha!" He roared out as he launched forward, suddenly dropping into a tackle as he slammed into her gut, knocking them both onto the ground.
Both of their swords and shields were discarded in the brawl.
Pyrrha however, was more experienced in this form of combat than Jaune was. They hadn't worked together too much on grappling, since learning to beat Grimm was more important at the moment, and she didn't figure he'd be suplexing any Ursa anytime soon.
Slamming her elbow into his chin and stunning him for a moment, she rolled over and grabbed his arm. She yanked it up, as she placed her legs on either side of it with one over his neck as she held it tight in an arm bar. "Give up Jaune!" She called out. Hopefully the pain could at least stop him.
That didn't seem to be the case however. As Jaune continued to struggle more and more, she felt his arm pulling tight and she knew if this kept up she'd snap it in half. Faltering, she let go of the hold. She couldn't snap his arm, she just couldn't bring herself to do it.
Before she could attempt to shift into a choke hold, she was surprised as she felt his fist connect to her chin. She yelped and fell backwards, scrambling to regain her composure. That punch had hurt. Clearly the boxing practice Yang had given him at her request had paid off. He certainly knew how to throw a hook.
Jaune scrambled on top of her, struggling to pin her and wrap his hands around her neck. Pyrrha's eyes widened as she saw him still crying as he struggled to get a good choke on her. She could see the absolute anguish he was in. Whatever Siren was making him see and think could only be horrific. Feeling a new surge of anger in her, she pushed back with two glowing hands. Jaune's armor glowed as he shot backwards off her.
Not wasting a breath, Pyrrha had already shot forward after him. A moment after he landed, Pyrrha had climbed on him. She straddled his chest, pinning both of his arms under her legs as she pushed down on his shoulders with her hands.
"Jaune! Snap out of it! It's me! Pyrrha!" She cried out.
Jaune thrashed, but was unable to free himself. "Liar! Pyrrha's dead! You killed her! I saw you!" He cried out.
Nora looked up as she heard the sound of flesh striking flesh as she saw Pyrrha's outstretched hand after she had slapped him hard. Wincing, Nora realized how hard she must have hit to make that sound.
Pyrrha lowered her face down, staring at him intently. "Jaune! Look at me. I'm alive. We're alive. Fight it. Your mind is being messed with!" She plead with him desperately.
Jaune just struggled, but stared at her, slowly lying still. He blinked a few times. "Pyr... Pyrrha?" He asked, squinting. "Pyrrha... is that..."
"Pyrrha! Look out!" Ren cried out.
Before Pyrrha could react, Nora slammed into her and they both went tumbling out to the side.
Siren stood up from having thrown Nora. "Oopsies. That was close. I guess leaving him aware is too much of a risk, stubborn boy." She snapped her hands as Jaune shot up, grabbing his sword and shield and running to her side, taking up a defensive stance.
Scrambling to her feet, Pyrrha practically let out a growl. She had been so close to saving Jaune. Judging from Nora's condition though, it wasn't like she had elected to been thrown.
Siren just laughed. "You all really are an interesting bunch. Not many of my toys are as resistant as this one is." Her smile slowly drained from her face. "We can't allow that. It seems he's lost the privilege of thinking."
She snapped her fingers, and Pyrrha saw the anger and pain he had been dealing with completely fade from his face. In fact, all expressions melted away. A blank lifeless stare was all that was left.
The rage inside Pyrrha boiled up to a level that scared even her. She stared at Siren with such a hatred, Ren and Nora took a step back. Pyrrha was beyond tired off seeing their beloved leader being toyed with.
Pyrrha rushed forward, seeing Jaune match her movements. Jabbing forward with her spear, she prepared for his parry and counter attack. What she hadn't been expecting was her spear to practically stab his side as he continued to move forward and slash at her from inside her guard.
She lept backwards, wincing. Her aura had absorbed the blow, but that had hurt. More surprisingly was the fact Jaune had taken her stab without flinching. His aura had worked as intended, absorbing the blow instead of him actually being impaled, but he hadn't reacted to it at all.
"A broken toy like him doesn't need to worry about silly things like self preservation. If it makes you feel better, he won't be able to feel the damage his body takes." She snickered out.
Jaune rushed forward again, his lifeless expression boring into Pyrrha's gaze. She knew she would never be able to forget that look.
Blocking and parrying, Pyrrha was scared to attack back. Seeing an opening, she flashed out with her sword but he merely pressed on, letting the swipe hit him dead on as he counter attacked, slicing at her leg.
Pyrrha hopped backwards, wincing again as she dropped to a knee. Her hit had done far more damage on Jaune, but again he stood there as if he was a doll, unflinching in the face of pain. She knew she could disarm him with her semblance if she timed it right, but that thought scared her. Facing an opponent with no sense of self preservation with a sword and shield could mean his death, and if she went unarmed as well, he could win from the sheer inability to feel pain meaning her strikes and holds would be useless.
Pyrrha knew she'd have to subdue him through sword and shield combat. She was familiar enough with him that she could control the battle well enough to tip it in her favor carefully. She was about to press forward again, when she saw him turn and sprint.
A moment later, Nora appeared suddenly behind Siren, in the middle of a massive swing as electricity crackled around her body.
The ground cracked and a cloud of dust erupted around the pair again. When it settled, Pyrrha gasped in horror.
Nora's hammer had connected with Jaune's shield. He was frozen like a statue, both hands bracing his shield as his feet dug into the ground.
"Jaune..." Nora whispered, backing up.
Slowly Jaune just stood up, taking his normal stance as if nothing was wrong. Behind him, Siren shook her head. "You should thank me that he can't feel pain right now. He did good blocking that, but it has taken practically all the aura he had left, and I can't imagine his arms are in good condition right now. She mused.
The rest of JNPR grouped up, looking at their leader in absolute horror. It was painfully obvious how bruised and battered his body was. Yet he stood there as if not a single thing was wrong, still watching them with that blank expression. All three of the students were practically shaking in anger, and tears were streaming down Pyrrha's face.
"Just stop this." She said quietly, looking up at Siren. "Just stop this! Don't put us through this."
Siren stared at them, thinking. "Fine." Snapping her fingers, Jaune lowered his shield and raised his sword. Spinning it around, he quickly jabbed it straight towards his stomach.
"No!" Pyrrha cried out desperately.
At the last second Siren snapped again, as Jaune froze in place, his sword just beginning to push against his hoodie. "I thought you wanted me to stop toying with him?"
Pyrrha stepped forward, hands shaking. "I. Will. End. You." Her eyes snapped up, staring at Siren. She had had enough, she'd been pushed too far. No one, NO ONE did this to her partner.
Siren just sighed. "You still haven't learned, have you?" Snapping her fingers, Jaune rushed forward.
Pyrrha anticipated this, and with a wave of her hand, his shield shot downwards as Pyrrha struck forward. Her punch connected to his jaw and he was sent tumbling backwards as she saw his aura glow before shattering around his body.
Still, dutifully he staggered to his feet, still staring at Pyrrha. Rushing forward, he swiped out with another strike. Pyrrha parried it before striking out with the butt of her sword, slamming it into the side of his head and making him collapse on the ground.
Siren laughed and raised an eyebrow. "Well that was cold of you. He doesn't even have any Aura left. These wounds will be real you know?"
Rushing towards her, Pyrrha's eyes were hard. "I know."
Laughing, Siren hopped back until she she felt a kick from Ren stop her momentum as Nora slammed her with her hammer, sending her back towards Pyrrha.
Pyrrha was about to strike out when Jaune once again dove forward.
Spinning in place, Pyrrha side stepped him and slammed her shield into his hand, wincing as she heard a crack as Jaune dropped his shield. Planting her foot in his side, she kicked him away. She felt daggers of pain pierce her heart as she watched her partner tumble away, but she continued to glare at Siren.
Siren backed up, rubbing her shoulder where Nora had hit her. "Well this is unexpected. You two seemed close from his memories. Have you finally given up on the loser?"
Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to stop you."
Siren laughed. "Even if it means going through Jaune? Do you really think he'll forgive you? You just broke his hand, and I'm sure a rib was just fractured."
Pyrrha glanced at Ren and Nora, before they all burst out laughing.
Faltering for the first time, Siren looked at her accusingly. "What's so funny?" She snapped.
Pyrrha just smiled, even as she saw Jaune get up and stumble his way between them. "Of course he will. Jaune is so selfless, it's worrying." Pyrrha spoke fondly.
Ren nodded. "He wouldn't hold this against us, he knows we don't want to do this."
Nora giggled. "If he could talk, he'd probably be saying something like 'Save yourself guys! Just leave me behind!'" She spoke in a deep voice, mimicking Jaune's.
Pyrrha giggled, knowing that's probably exactly what he'd say in this situation. Soon though the humor died on her lips as she stared past Jaune, glaring at Siren.
"Even if he didn't, that wouldn't stop me. If it means saving my partner, I will do whatever it takes. Even if he would hate me for the rest of his life, I would go through hell for him." She spoke firmly as she rushed forward yet again.
Jaune rushed forward as Siren hopped back, but found herself engaging with a renewed Ren and Nora again.
His shield hand had been broken, so Jaune struck out with just his sword.
Pyrrha knew this was her chance. As much as it pained her, Jaune had been hurt to the point where even without acting in self preservation, he couldn't keep up with her enough to harm either himself or her. Parrying his strike, his sword flailed upwards. Waving her glowing hand, his sword shot out of his loosened grip and across the clearing. Discarding her sword and shield, Pyrrha launched herself forward as she tackled his chest. Slamming him onto the ground, she straddled his waist as she yanked his good arm behind his back by reaching around him. With her other hand she reached up and grabbed his collar.
She had had one last plan in her mind. It was absolutely insane, probably completely ineffective, likely worth her getting slapped for, but it was her only shot. Pulling his collar forward she pressed her lips to his.
Nora was nearly struck by Siren's whip as she froze in place when she saw Pyrrha straddling her partner, kissing him on the ground. "This isn't how I expected that to happen." She remarked, a small smirk on her face.
"Nora! Focus!" Ren snapped, rushing forward to block Siren's kick to save Nora.
"Right! Sorry Ren." She offered as she dashed around him, following up on an opening to attack Siren.
After a few moments Pyrrha pulled back. She was still ready to shift her wait and get him in a sleeper hold if her plan hadn't worked, but Jaune wasn't moving.
He just stared at her blankly, before slowly but surely life returned to his eyes. "Pyr-rha?" He asked softly.
Pyrrha couldn't stop the tears that flowed down her face. "Oh Jaune. You're back. You're back Jaune. I'm so glad." She cried out, burying her her head into his neck for a moment.
"What... happened?" He asked, before his eyes widened and he let out a scream of pain.
Pyrrha jumped at his scream. She realized all the damage he had accumulated must have been suddenly hitting his sense.
Jaune just gasped in pain as he felt different parts of his body light up in a burning pain. He noticed his left hand was completely unusable to him. Looking at Pyrrha in confusion, he saw her just staring down at him in horror.
She quickly got off him, hugging him gently. "I'm sorry Jaune. I'm so sorry." She murmured.
Jaune just gasped in pain, before he felt his mind start to go foggy. A moment later Pyrrha felt her partner go limp in his arms.
She began to panic, until she saw him breathing slowly. Gently laying him down, she figured the pain must have been too much for him so suddenly and he had passed out. She gently kissed his forehead before she stood up, summoning her weapons to her. She marched towards Siren who was beginning to get fed up with fighting Ren and Nora.
With a quick crack of her whip, both of them were sent flying backwards. "That's it! Not only did you take my toy from me, now you're actually starting to get on my nerves. Don't forget that I'm a huntress. I'm done playing with you. Do you really expect a bunch of student's to beat a huntress?"
"They don't have to." A new voice suddenly rang out.
Siren whipped around, but it was too late. A massive ball of fire exploded against her chest, sending her sliding backwards.
Emerging from the trees, Doctor Oobleck appeared. His overcoat had been torn as he pushed his glasses back.
"Now I must admit, I'm quite angry right now. I do not appreciate you toying with my students like this. No I dare say you went way too far for someone of your level. While I do commend them for holding you off while I was held up, they're part is done. Now while I prefer to think of myself as a thinking man, it's rather obvious what the correct course of action here. You must be punished for what you've done." He rambled out quickly, his eyes narrowing as he readied his flame thrower.
"Doctor Oobleck!" Pyrrha called out in relief. He had stayed back earlier when they had encountered a smuggling operation going on in the forest they were clearing out for their mission. He had ordered them to retreat to a location for a better signal and call for reinforcements. That was when they had run into Siren.
Siren glared at Oobleck. "Now this really isn't fun anymore. Though, I suppose you'll be a much more fun of a toy to play with. Now then I sh-" She was cut off as Nora suddenly appeared, her hammer slamming into her shoulder and sending her rocketing to the side.
"When did you-" Her gaze shifted over to Ren who was kneeling on the ground with his hand on it. She winced, trying to regain her balance. She turned, ready to land when she suddenly saw Pyrrha's knee closing in on her face.
Pyrrha couldn't remember much of the fight after that. It had sort of blurred together for her, though Nora later explained that it was a good thing Jaune had passed out otherwise he would have been too scared to ever speak to her again if he saw her like that.
When Siren was unconscious and restrained, they had all gathered around Jaune.
Finishing looking over his wounds Oobleck sighed.
"It seems he will be okay. He definitely has a broken hand, a few ribs were broken as well. I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had quite a few fractures littered throughout his body. But over all, you guys did well on subduing him without too much trouble. Yes, I fear I must apologize to you. When I ordered you back it was for your safety, I was going to clean up the smugglers myself. However, never did I expect the fugitive Siren to be here. No, I should have expected them to have a leader of some sort. Forgive me." He offered.
Ren just placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's over, and that's what matters."
Pyrrha just had Jaune's head resting in her lap as she bit her lip to stop the tears. Now that the fight was over and the adrenaline was leaving her system, all the guilt flooded her. She had hurt him so much. She could still hear the sounds of his hand bones cracking under her strike. She knew her leader would forgive her, but she wasn't sure she could forgive herself. She gently brushed his hair aside as she just stared down at him. What she wouldn't give to trade places with him.
The rest of her team hadn't been able to get a word from her until the sound of support echoed out and they saw a medical team approaching.
The trip to the hospital had been a somber one, no one able to fill the silence as they looked at their broken and battered leader.
When they had announced that Jaune had finally woken up, Pyrrha had practically exploded the door off it's hinges as she rushed into the room. She had paused when she found herself staring back at her favorite pair of blue eyes though, suddenly unsure of what to say. "Jaune, I'm s-"
"Thank you." He burst out suddenly. This had caused Pyrrha to pause, looking up at him.
Jaune looked down at his busted hand before looking at her a little sheepishly. "Thank you for saving me. I'm sorry I got caught like that. I know I'm supposed to be the leader, but I caused you so much trouble." He started off, his gaze drooping.
Of course he's worried about disappointing us. Pyrrha mused to herself. Gently she moved over, ever so softly resting her hand on his shoulder.
"Jaune, you did nothing wrong. None of us knew what to expect, and she had gotten the drop on us. I'm... I'm sorry I hurt you so much. I know you must be mad. I should have been able to subdue you without hurting you so much." She started out, feeling tears well up in the corner of her eyes.
Jaune just stared at her, reaching over with his good hand and brushing a strand of hair behind her ears. "I can't be mad at you. You saved my life. Sure I'm a little hurt." He said, laughing awkwardly. "But at least I'm me again. Besides, I had attacked you too. She made me... I thought... you were dead. You were her, and I had just watched her kill you. I lost it... I thought..."
Pyrrha shook her head. "She was in your head. It's not your fault."
"Then it's not your fault either. It's Siren's, and I heard that she's behind bars now." He offered.
Pyrrha nodded. "She was detained."
"After Pyrrha beat the snot outta her!" Nora added helpfully. "You shoulda seen her, I'm pretty sure Siren was even scared at the end. We helped of course."
Pyrrha blushed. "I wasn't that bad."
Chuckling for a bit, Jaune suddenly burst into a fight of coughs.
Fluttering next to him, Pyrrha wished she could come up with some way to help him. Glancing at him after a moment, noticing him still looking a little dejected she smiled. "You know, you certainly have improved. When you get serious you are quite strong. Especially your right hook." She mumbled, rubbing her jaw.
Jaune just blushed, looking away. "Sorry about your jaw."
Pyrrha just shook her head. "I did something similar. But I do think we should work on some more hand to hand combat, you seem to have a knack for it. You could go far with it." She offered thoughtfully, wondering how she would be able to work it into their practice schedule.
After a moment Ren cleared his throat. "Uh, heads up."
Before anyone could ask what he meant, they heard what he had heard. A thunderous roar of footsteps. A moment later Ruby had burst through the door, followed by the rest of team RWBY. Pyrrha had to physically intercept Ruby to prevent her from glomping her friend.
Jaune just smiled, seeing all of his friends there for him. He realized, even when he was in trouble, he could trust his life to his friends. He had some wonderful people looking out for him, and vowed that one day he would be able to return the favor for them.
XxXxXxXxX
Thank you for reading! This will be a two parter, and I'll try to get the other half up in a day or two. Don't worry, it will contain plenty of fluff to make up for what I put them through during this chapter. I hope you enjoyed this. Till then, I hope I you have a wonderful day! :D