Another week another chapter. Don't know how I wrote this in a week. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

If you have time to read this, I implore you, read Snow by Interdimensionalmeatpie. It is a very touching fic about Pyrrha in the afterlife, really helped me deal with the Volume 3 finale sadness. Plus, it's a ton better than what I write.

Now, on to the chapter!


Jaune reached the Bullheads without much trouble, the panic had caused a flood of people to flee the area, and the Grimm had dispersed, heading toward other areas or the Dragon on the tower. Jaune's approach had therefore been quite dull. He had fought only two ursa. At one time, they would have killed him, but now, he was able to dispatch them with relative ease. He should thank Pyrrha for that later.

His thoughts wandered back to the kiss. They would have to talk about it. The thought made Jaune shiver a little. Maybe part of it was actually talking about the kiss, maybe it was clearing the air with his teammate, he didn't really know what he was going to say. Why did you kiss me? No, that was stupid, he knew why, at least he thought he did. Pyrrha was clearly attracted to him somehow.

Once again he recalled the dance and what she had told him. He really hoped she wasn't attracted to him because he was ignorant of who she was. That would suck. It also wouldn't make a relationship simpler or better. After all, he couldn't stay (nor did he want to stay) ignorant forever.

"Come on Pyrrha, couldn't you, I don't know… write an anonymous love letter like they do in the movies?" Jaune mumbled as he drew nearer to the hanger bay.

His thoughts wandered to how that would have worked out. Probably terribly he thought. He would likely have thought the letters were from Weiss, and that would have almost certainly gotten him into trouble, then Pyrrha would get depressed, then she would do something dramatic and probably Jaune would end up wandering towards a Bullhead after his partner sent him away for being a useless buffoon.

Kind of like what he was doing right now.

"Yeah, that would have gone badly." He muttered with a slight grin. Strangely enough, part of him felt good that he wasn't the only one lacking confidence in the romance department. The fact that Pyrrha Nikos, the invincible five time Mistral tournament champion, couldn't ask a seventeen year old hunter wannabe who was not at all famous, or talented on a date made his confidence problems seem… less bad?

"Ok, they're still bad." He said laughing a little. When he next met up with Pyrrha he would have to do something big and goofy. He would not wear a dress again, that had been a one-time deal, but he'd have to find something to do to impress her.

"Maybe a serenade? No my guitar skills suck. Maybe a poem? No, Weiss froze me solid when I tried that, probably means a big NO for all girls." He muttered, He paused for a second. "Or maybe I should try something simpler." He mused walking up the ramp to the bullhead dock. He sure as hell hoped there was still one remaining. "You know what, I'll do the simple thing and kiss her, probably in front of a lot of people, embarrassing her and myself as well as being subjected to Yang's teasing for the rest of the year. It'll embarrassing and absolutely awesome at the same time; a little teasing for something that big? Worth it."

Jaune wasn't sure if this romance thing with Pyrrha would work out, hell, he didn't even know if it would last a week! But he might as well try; it wasn't like there was a absolute zero chance of it working out.

"Jaune!" A voice cried. Jaune looked up to see a blur of ginger hair and a pink and white shirt plow into him.

"Nora!" he grunted as the girl hugged him tightly. He tapped her shoulder quickly. "Can't breathe! Can't breathe!" he begged weakly. Nora lightened her grip on her leader. Slowly she looked up at him. The expression on her face filled Jaune with dread. He couldn't describe why, she looked frightened, but there was something in those eyes, pity maybe? Whatever it was it caused a lump to grow in the pit of his stomach. He looked at Ren, who was standing a few feet away.

"What happened?" Jaune asked slowly, watching as Ren's face normally passive, expressed a variety of emotions, fear and empathy appearing the most clearly, before Ren finally settled on a grim expression. Jaune could only feel his dread grow. Had Pyrrha been injured? Had ruby or Weiss? Was it the teachers? Was the bullhead not working? Nora wouldn't be sad about that though, she would argue they could ride a nevermore into Vale. What had happened?

"Jaune, I'm sorry…"

"What happened?" Jaune asked as he slowly pushed away from Nora. Nora for once didn't resist.

"It's a long story…" Ren began, trying to find the words.

"Ren, what happened?" Jaune asked more forcefully, marching up to the raven-haired boy and staring into his violet eyes. Jaune looked around searching for his partner. His dread only continued to grow when he didn't see her.

"Where's Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, fear creeping into his voice. When Ren didn't respond Juane grabbed him by the collar of his green vest and shook him.

"Ren! Where the hell is Pyrrha?" He demanded.

'Jaune, Stop." Ren said, a hint of steel in his voice.

"Where is she Ren? Where is my partner?" Jaune screamed.

"Stop Jaune!" Nora begged, sobbing behind him.

"Where is she?" He screamed again. " Damn it Ren! Where is she?"

'She's gone Jaune!" Ren finally shouted, yanking himself free of Jaune's grip.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.

"I mean she's gone! She never came back!"

"She could be injured! She could be hurt! We need to go save her." Jaune began, running through the possible scenarios in his mind. Cinder could have hurt Pyrrha badly; maybe Pyrrha escaped but got injured in the process. Who knows where she could be right now? He needed to find her. Jaune spun around and started to march away.

"Get on the bullhead." Jaune ordered, "I'll find Pyrrha and meet up with you guys-" A single strike to the back of the neck cause Jaune to drop to his knees and quickly fall unconscious. Ren grabbed Jaune's limp body from behind and eased him to the ground..

"I'm sorry, but I won't lose two friends in one day." He said as he hoisted Jaune over his shoulder and walked to the bullhead, gently placing Jaune in a seat. "C'mon Nora, let's go."

"What about Pyrrha?" Nora asked, concerned.

"We'll talk about it on the way." Ren said glancing at the text he had received moments before Jaune arrived. The notification light still blinked on his scroll's screen. Ren had only had a chance to read the message from the notification screen when he was about call Jaune and Pyrrha. Ren knew that it could be a trick, it was from a man named Qrow, a man he didn't know much about. The text was short and blunt. Perhaps that was why it still seemed like it wasn't real.

As Ren sat in his seat across from Nora he glanced at his scroll again. Perhaps he had not had time to accept what the man was saying; perhaps he didn't want to. But he knew that for the time being, keeping this from his team was the best choice. He glanced down at the message again hoping he had misread the message the first time. He frowned, he knew beyond any chance of denial that he hadn't.

To Team JNPR: Pyrrha Nikos is dead, I'm sorry.

Jaune awoke in a panic. He saw tubes, wires, a pale white ceiling. He panicked, flailing as a rapid beep came from a nearby monitor. Images of horror movies, seen at the insistence of sisters, teammates and friends came to mind as he imagined himself captured by possible enemies. Flashes of color, green and pink appeared, hands quickly pressing on his shoulders. Voices calling out his name as hunter training slowly allowed him to calm down and absorb the situation.

Two faces came into focus, concern apparent on their faces. Magenta eyes calm but holding hint of fear, looked at him. The other a girl, looked at the person staring at him, fear and concern on her face. Her face was puffy, like she had just been crying.

"Ren?" He panted. Ren smiled slightly in response.

"You're back then. Good to see you weren't flailing in your sleep." Ren said, a hint of relief in his voice. Jaune pushed himself up in his bed, his hammering heart slowing back to its normal pace.

'What happened? Where am I? What's going on?" Jaune asked rapidly, his mouth racing to catch up with his mind.

"You were unconscious, in a hospital, not much." Ren said briefly, visibly relaxing.

"Where's Pyrrha?" Jaune asked. Dread grew as he saw the expression on Ren's face.

"We should talk about that later." Ren began.

"No." Nora responded fiercely. Jaune turned to look at her. Her expression was one of sadness and more than a hint of regret. Her face was red and puffy, and her eyes were bloodshot. Jaune wanted to push for an answer and opened his mouth to do so. Before he could ask a question the door to his hospital room swung open.

A doctor with combed black hair marched in. he was tall and lanky. Two nurses flanked him.

"Mr. Lie, Ms. Valkyrie, you can see your team leader when I am done. Until then, out." He ordered in a voice that permitted no resistance. The two nurses practically dragged the pair out of the room. Ren turned briefly, promising to talk about it soon.

When the door was shut behind them, the doctor pulled a stool over to the bedside. He picked up the clipboard at the edge of the bed a flipped through it. "Everything looks to be in order, a few lacerations, a concussion, broken ribs…

"Nothing a little aura and a few days rest can't fix." He muttered. He then looked at Jaune; a small, kind smile appeared on his face as he sat in the stool.

'Jaune, Do you mind if I call you Jaune?" A small nod from Jaune was met with a brief thanks. "My name is Nicholas Flamel. I am a doctor who works on-call at Beacon. You are currently at Vale General Hospital." He began calmly. Jaune's body stiffened at hearing he was in Vale. Wasn't it overrun with Grimm? "Relax, Atlas and the Hunters got rid of most of the Grimm outside of Beacon. We're in what they are calling the Green Zone, the area of the city that is safe.

"Now Jaune, I know it's hard, but I need you to tell me everything you remember, From your charts there appears to be no physical trauma, but emotional trauma is very likely in these kinds of circumstances." He said in a calm and soothing voice.

Jaune hesitated for a moment before he began his story, starting with the aftermath of Pyrrha and Penny's fight. He told Flamel everything from the fight, to the time underground with Pyrrha and Ozpin, to his arrival at the hanger.

The only thing he didn't mention was Pyrrha's kiss.

Flamel nodded as Jaune talked. He jotted down the occasional note but overall seemed intrigued by Jaune's story.

"That is something Jaune. You are very lucky to have had such a level headed partner who cared for your safety." Flamel said at the end. Something about the comment, maybe the way it was said, what it implied caused Jaune to snap.

"That's what you got out of it? Pyrrha sent me away! she didn't have faith in me! I was her partner that should mean something!" Jaune exclaimed, his blood boiling. Flamel looked shocked for only a moment, surprised by the unexpected outburst. he looked down at the ground, letting out a sigh before looking Jaune in the eye.

"I'm no hunter, but from what I've seen and heard, in hindsight, she made the right choice." Flamel replied, calm as ever.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked, confusion apparent on his face. Flamel paled, apparently realizing a potential blunder. "What. Happened?" Jaune hissed, anger visible on his face.

Flamel stood hastily. "It's not my place to tell. This is better heard from those you care about." With that he strode to the door, flinging it open he shouted for a nurse.

"Wait a minute!" Jaune called after him, pulling himself out of the bed, electronics and tubes trailing after him. Flamel turned around. "Stay in bed Jaune, this will all get explained soon." He ordered. Jaune strode up, yanking at cords, disconnecting them from the various machines. An alarm went of as he pulled away the heart monitor. Jaune grabbed the doctor by his collar and pulled him close, mere inches remained between them.

'Tell me what the hell is going on right this minute!" he shouted at the now terrified man.

"Pyrrha's dead." Came an answer from an unexpected voice. Jaune turned, not truly comprehending the words. There standing in the hallway was Ren and Nora. Ren was trying hard to keep the tears from his eyes, staying strong for others. Nora was crying freely, and it was her who had revealed the terrible truth.

"What?" He asked, not sure he heard Nora correctly. It sounded like she had said Pyrrha was dead. Such a claim was certainly false. They were talking about Pyrrha Nikos here. The invincible girl! There was no way she died! Hurt sure, he could believe hurt; she went up against a super-villain hunter lady! Hurt made sense. Dead? No, that was absolutely impossible, no way in hell that would ever happen.

"Pyrrha is dead Jaune. Ruby's uncle, Qrow, he told us." Ren said quietly, he shuddered as he talked as if he was dealing with something that terrified him.

"What?" Jaune asked again, still not registering what was going on, at least not fully. "Stop with the cruel joke guys. Did Yang put you up to this? Some weird way of getting me and Pyrrha to kiss on camera or something?"

"Jaune…" Nora began, tears flowing freely.

"No! You're lying! Or Qrow doesn't know what the hell he saw! Pyrrha is not dead! There is no way she would die! She's too skilled! If she were outmatched she would run! She would never die! Especially not like that." He shouted, the last word coming out with a hint of disdain. He dropped the doctor who scrambled away from the enraged teen. Jaune marched up to Ren, who stood resolute, his face hardening with resolve.

"You're parents are coming to pick you up. They'll be here soon. You should get yourself cleaned up, and deal with this later." Ren tried to reason, knowing that it was not likely to work. He cursed Jaune's poorly timed realization of Pyrrha's crush. It really could not have happened at a worse time. It would only cause Jaune to feel more guilt, and make acceptance harder, especially if there was a chance of Jaune returning those feelings.

Ren confirmed his worst fears when Jaune's response to his proposal was throwing a punch. Well, he definitely has some sort of feelings for Pyrrha He thought as his head whipped to the side from the unexpected attack, causing him to stumble backwards. Nora gasped in shock, but wisely decided not to intervene. Ren made a note to thank her later for that.

"You're lying!" Jaune said throwing another punch, "Qrow's wrong!" he shouted smashing a fist into Ren's cheek.

"Pyrrha is dead." Ren growled, wiping blood of his lip and onto his sleeve.

'No!" Jaune howled striking wildly. Ren bore the assault. He heard the doctor call for nurses, he heard Jaune's screams, calling him and Nora things he didn't mean, heard him speak of Qrow and the Beacon staff in a way that would get most people killed or at least beaten to a pulp. He cursed and wailed against the world, before then cursing himself. The strikes lessened in strength and ferocity quickly. And Ren found Jaune clinging to him weeping.

'She's still out there. I abandoned her. I'm a horrible partner, a horrible leader. I should have gone back, gone back to the tower after I got out of the locker. I abandoned my friend and now… and now… She's out there alone and probably hurt… and there's nothing I can do…" He sobbed.

Ren looked at Nora, he wasn't good with this kind of emotion the raw anger and frustration, the feelings of helplessness. Fear? nora's Nightmares? The knawing uncertainty of final exams? Those he could fix, he could make his friends feel safe, He would always lend an ear or give advice if asked. But what Jaune was feeling: regret, anger, helplessness. He couldn't make those go away.

As Jaune sobbed into his shoulder Ren patted his friend and leader on the back. Nora came over as well, and wrapped her two friends into a deep, but surprisingly gentle hug. The tears flowed freely from all three of them, overcome as they were with emotion and exhaustion. The nurses approached with a syringe for Jaune, but Flamel waved them away, realizing that even treatment for Ren was ultimately unnecessary.

The surviving members of team JNPR remained like that, comforting each other, unaware of the rest of the world until Jaune's family came to retrieve him.


Still here? Sensational! This is fantastic!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

In regards to the OC, The name is from a real (but LOOONG dead) person, If you caught that good job! No relation to the actual person is intended.

Now onto review replies:

Guest (DbA): Thanks! You have no idea how much the words "very well written" mean to me! Yes it is cruel to Jaune and Pyrrha, and it will likely get worse before it gets better. I hope I continue to please!

Dragonbinder: Thanks a ton! I have been going back and forth on releasing this, so I'm glad you like it so far!

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