"Nora!" Pyrrha shouted, pointing at the Grimm about to strike Jaune in the back.
It only took a brief glance for Nora to understand the situation and formulate a plan. She dived away from the Grimm that had been charging at her and brought Magnhild down squarely on the Creep's back. Its spine snapped under the heavy head of the hammer; its claws spasmed only feet from Jaune as it gave a final cry. Ren broke off from his own engagement and stopped Nora's original Creep in its tracks.
Pyrrha swelled with pride. She'd missed this: being part of a well-oiled team, all acting for each other's best interests. Surrounded by towering trees, she could almost imagine that she was back at Beacon, back in the Emerald Forest, back when her biggest concerns had been her grades. It was pleasant to imagine, but even this fight wasn't all that it seemed.
Nora had come to them with a bumper contract ̶ ̶ one that she and Ren couldn't handle on their own ̶ ̶ and Jaune had persuaded her to help their friends. At the time she'd been reluctant, Joseph was so near, but she had to admit that he'd been right about it now. It had been good to take her mind off her troubled thoughts and simply concentrate on straight-forward combat. The Grimm were evil, and it was her place to protect the nearby village.
With a massing confluence of Grimm, the villagers had put out a call for help. They'd wanted four hunters, probably more, they'd believed that only that many would be able to save them. Nora had known better; no one were as good as JNPR. Pyrrha knew better still. She and Jaune could have done this alone.
She owed so much to Ren and Nora; they had been steadfast friends when all the sense in the world would have told them to abandon her. She had never known two kinder people, but she had to admit the truth. While they were good hunters, better than most, she and Jaune were several levels above them.
Even now they were fighting within themselves. There was no way Jaune hadn't known the Creep was behind him. The clarity that his sensors provided him sometimes scared Pyrrha; she never knew just what he was able to see or hear. He'd known the Creep was there and hadn't dealt with it. She hadn't either. She could have thrown Akoúo, fired a few shots off with Miló, or even ripped Magnhild from Nora's hands and dealt with it herself. Instead all she'd done was alert her friend. Allowed her to feel useful. Treated her as if she were needed.
It was perhaps condescending, or unkind, but so far neither Ren nor Nora had picked up on it. Perhaps because this wasn't the first time that they'd all been on a hunt together. The deception hadn't been a conscious decision on Pyrrha's part, and she didn't think it had been one on Jaune's either, instead it had just occurred spontaneously. They'd both just moved so far past fighting Grimm. So far that she didn't even have to concentrate in the midst of a battle.
Akoúo rang crisply as a Creep launched itself at her and she caught its claws. A quick stab sent Miló through the gap in its armour and into its chest. With a cruel twist she wrenched it out, fighting against the suction, before jamming the tip through its eye.
Creeps were perhaps some of the easiest Grimm to deal with, but even the greenest student knew not to leave one wounded on the ground. Especially if that ground was in the centre of their nest. Technically hunting them wasn't the reason they'd been hired but, after noticing the telltale tracks of the Creeps, none of them could ignore them in good conscience.
The protocol for neutralising the nest was simple and effective. Kill every Creep that tried to stop them, then collapse the main entrance of the burrow with a few well-placed explosives. It was a tactic that they'd used once at Beacon, and now it was even easier.
Pyrrha didn't know quite why it was, but even the Creeps pouring from their den had failed to cause more than a brief spike in her heartrate. Maybe it was because of everything she'd seen and done, or maybe she was just more comfortable in her skin than ever before, but mere Grimm seemed mundane.
With Miló in its sword form she parried a set of gore-darkened claws, and with a riposte separated them from their limb. The Creep thrashed in agony for a moment before Akoúo crunched into its ribs. Pyrrha had yet to need her Semblance and, judging by how the fight had gone so far, neither would Jaune.
Despite his capability, Pyrrha couldn't help but check on him every few moment. The habit formed when he'd needed the most support on of their team was hard to break. In the past she'd always had to make sure he hadn't bitten off more than he could chew, or gotten himself in a mess and needed rescuing.
She didn't need to, but it didn't help that for whatever reason he still insisted on fighting with a sword and shield. The sword wasn't Crocea Mors ̶ ̶ that weapon had been lost in the fall of Vale ̶ ̶ but it was based on the same design. Although it was still a simply forged length of metal, he wielded it with vastly more skill and strength than he once had. With a single strike he buried his blade deep within the skull of the nearest Creep, splitting the armoured plates that could easily shrug off bullets.
His new body was a marvel, and Pyrrha knew he hated it. For her the miracle that he was alive trumped all else but, though they'd never talked about it, his behaviour told the truth. There was some sense to him wielding a normal weapon where others could see him, after all it would have been detrimental to reveal his nature. Out here though, in the middle of Mistrali forests, it was only their team. He probably could have soloed the entire nest if he used the swords in his back, but, as long as they weren't in severe danger, that was exactly where they would stay.
Pyrrha could understand, mostly. It must have been difficult to make the transition. She'd discovered enough on her quest to know that some of the Tinmen simply hadn't been able to adapt and had ultimately rejected their synthetic bodies. Jaune had managed, but he still wished he was human.
Pyrrha reprimanded herself for that thought. Jaune was human. In every way that mattered. With him definitive evidence existed that a person was defined by their soul, and not their body. Jaune may not have been biological any longer, but he still loved her with all his heart.
The sputtering of StormFlower died and the Creep that Ren had unloaded his weapons into fell backwards, the soft underside of its jaw in ruins. He spun around searching for another enemy and found none. Apart from heavy breathing, the nest fell silent.
"Is everyone alright?" Ren asked, still keeping his weapons up.
"Of course." Nora laughed as she crushed the skull of a Grimm that was still twitching. Her pink dress might have been covered in mud and gore, but she seemed to be having the time of her life.
The rest of them were more reserved. Pyrrha gave herself a quick visual inspection before nodding. Jaune didn't even bother to do that, no doubt he would have had a warning if he'd been hurt.
"Good." Despite traditionally being the quiet one of their team, Ren had become its leader on the rare occasions when they were together.
It was a good fit. Ren always thought things through before taking action, a perfect counter to Nora's usual exuberance. As for Pyrrha, she didn't want the burden of leadership, not to mention that she sometimes caught either Ren or Nora staring. They'd never quite been able to forget what they'd seen when they'd insisted accompanying her in her war against Enerdyne; they still didn't trust her completely. She didn't blame them. The chips had fallen where they may.
Jaune hadn't wanted to reprise his role either. When questioned, he'd at least admitted to her that he'd already failed once, he wouldn't do so again. Nothing that happened in Vale had occurred because of his leadership, but it didn't stop him blaming himself. She just wished she could relieve that burden of needless guilt.
"Nora, would you do the honours?" Ren indicated the entrance to the network of burrows.
Nora grinned manically. "I was starting to think you'd never ask." It was no surprise to anyone who knew her that she took great pleasure in being their demolition expert, or as she put it 'making things go boom.' The rest of them provided cover as she extracted half a dozen of her grenades and set about sinking them into the hard-packed soil, and rigging a makeshift detonator.
"Alright," Nora said twisting the last wires together. The four of them backed out of the small clearing, taking shelter behind the trees. "Anyone want to make a speech?"
"Nora…" Ren warned, conscious of the dropping sun.
"Fine." She pouted. "Heads up."
The series of explosions was somewhat anticlimactic. The grenades had been sunk far enough into the earth that there was only a small flash and a minor thump. Nora's skill had directed the majority of the energy downwards into the tunnels beneath their feet. The ground rumbled as they began to collapse. When they peered out at the clearing again it resembled a sinkhole half a dozen feet deep. It was possible that with some work some of the tunnels would be habitable again, but the rotting corpses would likely keep any other Creeps away.
"Good work." Ren patted Nora on the shoulder. "We should get going. We can eat on the move."
Jaune took point and Pyrrha stepped in behind him. The tremors of the explosions and subsequent collapse would have notified all the Grimm around of their location. Though they were here to kill as many as possible, it was always wiser to fight on your own terms.
Apart from an encounter with a dozen baby Nevermores that she and Ren made quick work of, the lack of light brought an end to their patrol. Jaune led them to a small clearing where a ring of stones with ashes in the centre showed that they weren't the first to take refuge here.
They settled into an easy routine which showed long practice. As Jaune went to get water and Ren decided what to cook, she and Nora started to prepare the camp. Pyrrha left Nora to erect the tents while she circled the clearing, double-checking for any tracks that indicated Grimm regularly passed this way, while collecting armfuls of dry firewood that would burn without smoke.
By the time she'd completed two circuits and was confident that they were safe, a fire crackled, and an aromatic plume of steam was rising from the small pot placed on a tripod. That was one advantage to taking jobs with Ren and Nora. Whereas she and Jaune preferred to eat instant food that only required hot water, Ren's campfire meals were a little more elaborate.
After a full day of walking and the exertion of several skirmishes, the stew with plump little dumplings floating on top made her mouth water. She sat on a log next to Jaune and rested her head on his shoulder. Even after all this time she was sometimes unable to believe she was able to do something so simple again. She'd thought she'd lost him forever.
"So who wants to celebrate?" Nora emerged from her tent with a six-pack of beers in hand.
"Nora," Ren said, breaking away from his cooking, "why on Remnant do you have those?"
"To celebrate silly!"
"Celebrate what?"
"Us all being back together," Nora said it as if it were obvious.
Ever since they'd agreed to go on this hunt she hadn't really stopped smiling. It was strange to Pyrrha. After everything Nora had been through, deserting from the military, being a criminal on the run, knowing that she couldn't save everyone in Mistral, Nora was still happy. She still managed to smile. Where Pyrrha could only see a dark and troubled future, Nora looked at the same landscape and called it beautiful. As far as she was concerned, as long as they were all together as friends, that was all that mattered.
"Don't you think we should celebrate after the hunt?" Ren asked.
"There's no need to worry. We won't run out." Nora bit the cap off the bottle. "There's more in your pack."
Ren sighed, recognising another argument lost to the unique thought process of his partner. He muttered under his breath as he returned to the cooking. "I thought it seemed heavier."
"Pyrrha, do you want one?" Nora held out a bottle. In all honesty Pyrrha agreed more with Ren, the middle of a hunt was not the place to be drinking, but with Nora as happy as this she couldn't turn her down. The bottle cap popped off seemingly of its own accord and Nora cheered.
"Thank you." Pyrrha swallowed a mouthful. Despite being warm it was a blessed relief after a long hunt. She let her Aura fall completely.
"Jaune?"
Alcohol didn't have any effect on his body; any drinking would be purely symbolic, but just like her he'd obviously decided that he didn't want to disappoint Nora when she'd planned this special occasion. "Thanks." It might not have been a twist off, but it didn't seem to matter to him.
Nora didn't give Ren a choice, thrusting a bottle into his open hand. She held hers up. "To team JNPR!" Their toast didn't quite match the exultation in her cry, but the sentiment was there. Pyrrha had missed this.
Eating a delicious meal around a warm fire, listening to Nora regale them with a blow by blow account of her fight ̶ ̶ which had somehow grown in scope despite them all being there ̶ ̶ and having Jaune's strong arm around her shoulders made Pyrrha morose. This was what she'd really wanted from Beacon. She hadn't attended just to graduate top in her class at the best combat school on the planet, or to catapult her career even higher as her parents desired. No, what she'd always wanted was quite, quite simple. She'd wanted friends.
Looking around at Nora laughing, at Ren's small smile, and at Jaune, she realised she had them, but there would always be a barrier between them. If things had been different she would have been in her third year at Beacon, maybe sitting in the library at this exact moment, or in the canteen, and her hands wouldn't be stained with blood.
She didn't regret what she'd had to do. Enerdyne had needed to be stopped. She could only regret, now she'd seen what happened with the Tinmen, that she hadn't been able to stop it sooner. If only she'd been stronger, smarter, she might have been able to save the lives of some of those children.
She'd failed. But in that failure a miracle had occurred. With how all the little factors had aligned it almost seemed as if there had been some deity watching over her, guiding her towards the impossible. She'd achieved it. Jaune was alive once more, but she couldn't help think that there was something missing. Something else the pair of them should be doing with their lives.
"…isn't that right Pyrrha?"
She looked up startled at the sound of her name. Nora was gesturing at her expectantly. "Uhh… sure."
It must have been the right thing to say. "See, I told you!"
"I never doubted you for a moment," Ren said in a tone that spoke of long-suffering. "But it's getting late. It's time for bed. Plus none of us want a hangover in the morning."
Nora groaned. "Ten more minutes," she pleaded in her most childlike voice, but she was unable to hide her grin.
"Bed now," Ren played along before speaking more seriously. "Who wants first watch?"
"I'll take it," Jaune was quick to answer.
He always seemed to volunteer for more than his fair share of watches. Logically it made sense. With his senses the darkness was no barrier to him and he didn't get physically tired, not to mention his problem. But it always meant that Pyrrha had to go to bed alone, and tonight would likely be no different.
As Nora and Ren wished them goodnight and clambered into their own tent, Pyrrha remained sitting next to Jaune, sipping on her drink. The alcohol had helped. Her head swam pleasantly. Jaune was still warm, still soft, he even smelled like he always did. As the sun dipped behind the trees and the shadows stretched towards them, Pyrrha clung on to him.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked staring up at the purple sky.
"Nothing."
Pyrrha felt a stab of irritation; it was impossible to think about nothing. He had to have been thinking about something. "No, come on, tell me."
"Just… stuff."
"Jaune." Pyrrha took her head off of his shoulder and glared at him. He was being deliberately vague. Even while irritated she couldn't help but marvel at just how attractive he was. Maybe he didn't have what most would consider good, movie star-like looks, but his profile against the setting sun made her ache. She'd never known it was possible to love someone as much as she loved him.
"It's nothing, really."
"Then you won't mind telling me, will you?"
He sighed. "I was just… thinking about today. What we've been doing. We're helping people here."
"So?" It sounded like there was more.
"It feels good."
"Yeah, it does." There was something so satisfying about seeing the relief on someone's face when they arrived. Not to mention how much she'd enjoyed being back in the presence of Nora's boisterous personality.
"We could just keep doing this. There's no need to drag everything up again."
Could they? Could they really pretend that nothing had happened? Pretend that everything was ok? That the programming in Jaune didn't make him try and kill her every other month? Or that Joseph was simply ignoring them? Could they live with those lies? Had they already done all that could be possibly be expected of them? And was it someone else's turn to take up her mantle?
It would be better without the weight. Pleasant even. Despite herself, she'd enjoyed today. She'd enjoyed the fights. She'd enjoyed spending time with her friends. She'd enjoyed the expedition. The trek through the beautiful forest at the heart of her homeland. The majestic animals that lived here and suffered their intrusion. She enjoyed the burn of her muscles as she climbed a hill or a tree to get a better view, and the refreshing dip in the coldness of a stream. She'd enjoyed it all. It almost made her feel normal.
As normal as a hunter could feel at any rate. Her concerns and worries would never be limited to merely what was on TV that evening, but surely she could choose how to live her life. To do good things.
All she'd had to do was admit her own weakness. Admit that she hadn't been strong enough to stop Enerdyne. That she still wasn't strong enough. To abandon the world to Joseph, to his Tinmen. To admit that she and Jaune would never be together. -
In the long nights when she'd laid awake for fear of going to sleep, listening to the sound of his breathing, the thought continued to come back to her mind. The fact that what should have been her greatest triumph, a miracle, had metamorphosed into this living hell was something she was unable to escape from.
Jaune attempting to kill her, god commanding him, was only what she deserved. In her grief and rage, she had committed some truly terrible sins. Killed time and time again. Occasionally justified, but never right. No one possibly deserved happiness after that.
As he choked her, as the blood pooled in her brain, and the air in her lungs stilled, she sometimes struggled to find the will to fight back. To live. His enforced retribution for her crimes, that was right, what she deserved. That was what a jury would have decided, the punishment the judge would have levied, and in this, Jaune was her judge, jury, and executioner.
Only one thing had stopped her from giving in, her complete and total love for him. Sometimes she might have hated herself, but not him, never him. Jaune was the light of her life, her anchor, and for him she fought back.
Her death might have brought her the peace of nothingness, but Pyrrha knew with certainty that if she died by his hands, Jaune would follow her. She couldn't allow that. To allow the world to be robbed of his goodness again. It was why she'd fought her away across a continent, overcome any barrier in her path, and sullied her own soul to avenge the crime of his death.
The world needed Jaune's laughter and, if she let him kill her, it would never hear it again. Deep down inside Pyrrha knew it wouldn't anyway. Despite how he would protest, Jaune wasn't happy. He might say he was, but she almost knew him better than he did himself.
He didn't like living in Mistral, so far from his family, from the others he loved. They'd come here because they thought it safer from Joseph, that he would have been hunting them down. He hadn't. In the two years since there hadn't even been a warrant put out for their arrest.
They were safe, and she wanted to shatter the sanctuary that they had found. Restart their war. As much as she didn't believe it, maybe Joseph had simply forgotten them, consigned them to annals of the past. If she continued on her path, acting on whatever information about him she was able unearth, then Jaune would undoubtedly follow her. And when he saw what she would have to do again, his laugh would be no more.
In comparison to that, surely there was a better option. One that had the possibility, however remote, of a happy, fulfilling future. One where Jaune would smile, where his eyes would glitter, where he would laugh, and kiss her without remorse. It was a dream worth clinging to.
"Maybe…" her reply to Jaune's statement was hesitant, but he seized upon it.
"Yes?"
"But what would we do?"
"We could do anything. We could stay out here with Ren and Nora. We could move closer to your parents. Or we could probably go and live nearer mine. I don't mind."
"Do you want that?" It was obvious to her just how much he missed being around his family. The few reunions they had clearly hadn't been enough. And it was her fault, but at least he was around to miss his family.
"Perhaps. I mean… yes, but I'll do anything you want."
He was always quick to cede to her wishes. She knew it was because of the guilt of what he was forced to do to her. No matter how many times she said she absolved him of blame, it had no effect. He continued to hate himself.
That truth was enough to make her consider life back in Vale. Could she really hope that they were in the clear? That Jaune could live peacefully with his family again? She wished she could. Jaune's parents had welcomed her with open arms, and with a warmth that wasn't tinged by commercial interests. Thoughts of his sisters who hadn't yet left home had reminded her of the childhood that she hadn't had.
Perhaps, just maybe, she could be happy there. That they could be happy there. They could live near Jaune's parents. Hunt the few Grimm who survived in mainland Vale. Maybe even through adoption or a donor have children. Raise a family. Be a loving family. Teach their sons and daughters to be better than their parents. Live the dream she'd always had hidden behind her career as a champion fighter.
"Then why don't we?"
"What?" He started in surprise. Both because she'd been silent for so long, but also because of what she'd said.
"Why don't we?" Pyrrha discovered an almost forgotten expression had appeared on her face. A smile. A real, broad one. One that captured the possibilities of the impossible future she'd now realized maybe wasn't. One that wasn't feigned, wasn't weighed down by a dozen regrets and worries. One that represented hope.
"You're… you're saying yes?"
"Yes," Pyrrha said through her broad grin.
Slowly as understanding came to him a similar expression formed on Jaune's lips. "You want to?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Yes." It was so easy. It was as if an anchor weighing her down had suddenly turned to clouds.
"Where?"
"I don't care. Or the when. Just soon."
"But what about my ̶ ̶ "
Pyrrha interrupted him. She didn't want to ruin the moment with talk about his problem. "It doesn't matter. We'll figure something out." They would. Perhaps when they were living a comfortable life, not constantly on edge, it would just fade away.
"But what about ̶ ̶ "
"Jaune. Don't think too much. Just tell me honestly. Do you want to move back nearer your family?"
Even without the years she had known him it would have been easy to tell just how that singular wish burned through his nerves. He'd sacrificed so, so much for her. His career, his family, even his life. She wanted to make up for it.
"Yes, but ̶ ̶ "
A finger on his lips silenced him. "No buts. We'll find a way. We've got a bit in our accounts, at least enough for the travel, and when we get the deposit back for the apartment we'll have enough to set up. I want to do this. Leave everything behind and start fresh. All with you. And Ren and Nora if they want." A clean break, and then, after that, endless possibilities. "One word Jaune, that's all it will take." She removed her finger.
It was obvious what his answer was going to be. She could only be ashamed she hadn't realised what he truly wanted all this time. It had been selfishness. She'd wanted him for herself, never realising that all the times he'd said he wanted to leave, in reality he'd only wanted to be nearer his family. It had never been a lack of love on his part, only his capacity for love drawing him in two directions. He was far too selfless, always putting others over him, her most of all. No longer. From this point on she would devote herself to pleasing the keeper of her heart.
"Yes." Jaune nodded. He understood the weight that the single syllable carried. With the single utterance their life changed, and for the better. Flames from the fire were reflected in the tears on his cheeks.
They matched those only now escaping from Pyrrha's eyes. She was glad he was still able to cry. He'd always been different from those she had known before. Always more in touch with his emotional side. It was what made him so special. And just what made her love him so much.
Brimming with her new found resolve Pyrrha traced the line of his strong jaw with her fingertips before leaning in. They'd had another chance, one that no one else was given, and all they'd done was waste it. No longer.
In the middle of a forest, surrounded by trees and the chattering of small animals, with their friends nearby, and the last rays of sun slipping beneath the horizon, their lips met.
"Good work," Ren whispered so quiet he was barely audible. None of them dared even breathe in case they alerted their prey.
The Mogwai was just visible as it threaded its way through the trees. Short of being terrified Pyrrha only analysed the creature, working out just how difficult it would be to kill. Fairly, most likely, but nothing that she wouldn't expect from one of the most feared Grimm in her homeland.
At one time she would have been afraid of it, back when her parents had read her bedtime stories of horrible monsters and the brave hunters who had fought them. She'd always been scared to hear of the dripping fangs and the rending claws, but when the last page turned she'd always begged her parents for more.
The graphic descriptions of Mogwais had made her suffer through countless nightmares and, when compared to the reality, perhaps her childhood subconscious had been at least slightly justified. The Mogwai did live up to its name.
It was hard to quantify just what it reminded her of. An insect, maybe a praying mantis, but an insect twelve feet tall and with scythe-like limbs on the end of its arms. For them, the Mogwai wasn't particularly hard to see, but for the animals that lived here ̶ ̶ with their poor eyesight ̶ ̶ the Mogwai's camouflage served it well. A pitch-black carapace with jagged red stripes, its outline was broken up and distorted. It moved with the jagged locomotion of a creature the nerves of which fired too rapidly for smoothness.
Its vaporous wings fanned out, and with a push of its hind legs it hopped up a small incline. Its head jerked around as it searched for prey from its new vantage point. All four of those watching ducked down. The Mogwai's two huge eyes were almost the size of its head and no one knew just what its vision was like.
The choice to duck might have been instinctive but, as so often proved the case when fighting the Grimm, their instincts proved detrimental. The brief flash of movement in a forest full of swaying branches and falling leaves caught its attention. Their instincts might have proved detrimental, but the Mogwai's were honed by a life of slaughter. It could have seen them as prey or a threat but, regardless, its reaction was the same. It let out a hissing scream which grated against the canopy above and tore straight towards them.
Ren swore, Nora cried out and jumped up, but Pyrrha just watched. Her adrenaline barely spiked at all as the Grimm barrelled down on her, careening off tree trunks in its frenzy. Smoothly she dived to the side, rolling on her shoulder, and came up shooting. Miló barked repeatedly, the low calibre rounds bouncing off the Mogwai's thick carapace.
The bullets might have done no visible damage, but they achieved her aim and drew the Mogwai away from the rest of her team. She ducked beneath a scythe as tall as she was, and the metal-hard protrusion ripped through the trunk behind her, showering her in wood chips. She didn't even try and block the attack that came a heartbeat later. Even if it didn't breach her shield, the force behind the blow would likely have broken her arm. Instead she bobbed and wove, using all of her experience and training to dodge the swipes her conscious mind was barely able to register.
An explosion blossomed above her and the overpressure forced her down. The Mogwai jerked upwards, abandoning its pursuit of her and flailing toward the newest direction of attack. Nora fired again. The round itself missed its target, but it detonated in mid-air right next to the Mogwai's eyes.
It let out a screech and staggered sideways, right into Jaune. The Mogwai's carapace might have been thick enough that Pyrrha had only managed to draw scratches against its surface, but Jaune was an awful lot stronger than her. He brought his sword down on the Mogwai's leg with a two-handed swipe and chitin cracked.
The Grimm flailed again. Its leg caught Jaune and flung him away. Pyrrha quashed her momentary terror. The middle of a fight was no place to allow her imagination to run wild. She had to have faith that Jaune would be ok. She quashed the terror, but she stoked her anger, her rage, and poured it into her Semblance.
Miló shot from her hand in a blur. As fast as her Semblance-enhanced blow travelled, the Mogwai was faster. It managed to turn its head just enough that her spear careened off the armour immediately next to its vulnerable eye. Pyrrha Pulled Miló back into her waiting hand as she leapt in again.
The three of them practiced tactics that had been used against the Grimm for centuries. They might have been terrifying beasts but, for the most part, their thought processes were simple. Grimm destroyed that which was nearest, and they didn't allow this one an easy decision. When it turned towards Nora, she and Ren attacked, showering its eyes with low calibre rounds, and forcing it to come towards them again. It let out a screech of frustration as Ren dodged, the noise ripping through Pyrrha's eardrums.
Jaune arrived back on the scene, his shirt torn, but otherwise appearing unharmed. He slid beneath the stamping legs and thrust upwards at its belly. Another midnight plate of armour cracked, but that was it. The red patterns all over the Grimm began to glow and it let out its loudest scream. A scream so loud that Pyrrha unconsciously tried to shield her ears. A scream that was answered.
The reciprocating screech came from within the forest. As it sounded again there was no doubt in Pyrrha's mind that the second cry had been closer. Very soon they would have two hellish beasts to deal with. The approaching reinforcements had caused all of them to pause. Despite their efforts the Mogwai was largely unharmed, and two of the deadliest beasts in Mistral might well prove too much for them.
"Jaune!" she shouted at the same time as Ren tossed an object towards Nora.
Jaune turned towards her and she saw the conflict in his gaze. He didn't like to be reminded of what he was, but his team needed him. Swords sprang from his back. Pyrrha immediately snatched five of them away. She was good in melee combat but, as she'd found out, it was her Semblance that made her deadly.
With a flick of her hand she Pushed them towards the Grimm. The quintet of metal was a blur in the air and the blades tore through the translucent material of the Mogwai's wings. Like a conductor she directed the blades, their paths curving in the air before coming back around. Jaune attacked as well, his own set of swords held around his body, neon flashes of the lasers within burning themselves onto her retina. In the blink of an eye the Grimm suddenly had a swarm of a dozen or more blades to deal with, all striking independently.
Lightning erupted, Nora screamed, and then she began to laugh. Her electric-fuelled leap launched her a dozen feet through the air and she brought Magnhild down hard. The Mogwai's legs slipped out from under the force of the blow and its belly slammed into the ground.
Ren rushed in entirely unarmed. He'd stowed Stormflower away and thrust his palm forwards, intense concentration on his face. Even though his strike ended a foot away the Grimm jerked. Ren's palm struck again, hammering the invisible construct created by his Semblance and Aura into the Mogwai's side. The nail pierced the chitin and ichor leaked out.
The Grimm bounded upwards just in time for Nora to swing at its leg. Her hammer hit at the exact moment that the Grimm's weight settled upon it. It didn't snap cleanly, but a web of cracks appeared.
A cloud of blades descended on the Mogwai's head, and Pyrrha grinned cruelly as it let out its loudest screech yet; this one was not filled with fury, but with pain. Blood showered from the blade lodged in its multi-faceted eye and with her Semblance she ripped it sideways, tearing the orb.
It tried to take flight, to escape, but between her blades and Jaune's lasers its wings were shredded. It lashed out in agony, its pain giving its attacks even more power. Ren attempted to catch one he couldn't dodge on his Aura shield. The Mogwai's scythe was stopped dead in the air, but the captured momentum sent him tumbling backwards. Nora dived back in.
They were beginning to take their toll on the Grimm. With one of its eyes torn and rent, one of its legs broken, and numerous plates leaking ichor and blood, its movements slowed. The three of them showed it no mercy. They couldn't, not with Ren laying unmoving at the base of a tree, or with the knowledge that another Mogwai was approaching.
With fright for Ren consuming her, Nora had lost any sense of self-preservation. She waded in, hammering again and again on anything within reach, not caring if she left herself vulnerable or about the wounds that marred her body; her face twisted in mad snarl. She appeared every inch a berserker from the battlefields of her ancestry.
Magnhild smashed down and this time it broad head hit the side of knee. The joint snapped backwards, chitin shearing and fluids spurting all over her. The Grimm collapsed, its arms digging into the ground as it tried to support its weight. With its head within reach Jaune leapt upwards, a halo of swords hovering around him and, as he spun, they sliced through the Mogwai's other eye, lasers firing at point-blank range.
The Grimm's scream lacked the power that it had before, and this time Pyrrha caught one of its desperate strikes on Akoúo. The blow barely knocked her back. A crunch came from the other side of the Grimm's torso as Nora crippled another limb. Pyrrha thrust Miló into a gap in the armour at the neck. After a brief moment of resistance it sped up, spearing into the soft flesh beneath.
Jaune worked next to her with one of his blades in hand as he brought it down time and time again, not pausing between blows, working like an automaton. Almost as if he'd stopped thinking ̶ ̶ like she'd tried to teach him to ̶ ̶ and had lost himself into the immediacy of combat.
Together the pair of them carved away at the Mogwai's neck. The fearsome Grimm no longer had the energy to fight off their attacks; all it could do was twitch pitifully, its jaws and ruined eyes resting on the hard dirt. With one final swing Jaune broke through the last of its armour and the long neck and head rolled clear. Blood gushed from the stump, covering both of them in gore.
Pyrrha stowed her weapons and dropped her hands to her knees. The other Mogwai was on its way, but she knew the importance of taking a breather whenever the opportunity presented itself. Of course Jaune didn't need to. Although his diaphragm rose and fell, he stood perfectly straight, all his swords hovering in the air around him.
The skin of his face was flushed, but it made a lie of the exertion of the fight. Pyrrha tensed as she met his eyes. There was nothing of Jaune within them, in fact the only other times she'd seen him like that was when he ̶ ̶
One of his blades shot forwards. Pyrrha Pushed it away, and stumbled backwards falling down. Two more blades lunged for her. One scored her breastplate, burying itself deep with the hard-packed earth. "Jaune!" She scrambled away, attempting to get to her feet, but not managing to with the constant need to dodge.
Her desperate cry brought him back. She saw the life flare back into his eyes, just as she saw them widen as the rest of his swords blurred towards her, dispatched in the moments before he regained control. Pyrrha flared her Semblance, her Aura, Pushing outwards at any source of metal she could sense.
It wasn't enough. The blades were moving too fast, and her body was already too drained. She deflected some, but not all. There was no pain as the singular sword carved through her armour, through her flesh, split her skin and leaving her muscles rent. There was only a solid thump as if she'd been punched. Her arm collapsed and she stifled a scream as the blade that had pierced her bicep twisted. It was all she could do not to cry out.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune fell to his knees beside her. The warmth of his Aura surged into her. Getting healed by him was never exactly pleasant. It was not the comfortable process that the body used to repair damage over time. Instead it was as if molten fire surged through her nerves and into her wounds. It was more painful than being stabbed in the first place.
Her flesh tried to knit around the metal only to be rebuffed. In the agony of that healing she found the strength to reach up and tear the sword from her own arm, rending freshly mended flesh again.
She must have passed out for a moment. The next she knew was lying on floor, staring upwards at Jaune. Self-disgust and loathing seeped from him. He hated himself for what he'd done to her.
Pyrrha pushed herself into a sitting position. Her arm worked, just. Her bicep shook and burned as if she'd just gone through her last set of the day, but it was able to support her weight. Auras were nothing short of miraculous.
Nora rounded the Mogwai, one hand supporting Ren. They both paused when they saw her on the floor, her arm and clothes stained with blood that was clearly hers. "What happened?"
Pyrrha gritted her teeth and spoke through the pain. "Nothing. Just an accident. I slipped." Jaune started at the lie, the weight of guilt doubling. During the two years they'd never told Ren or Nora about what Jaune did when he lost control, and Pyrrha was determined to keep it that way.
"But ̶ ̶ "
"There's no time." The scream of the other Mogwai gave truth to her words. It would be upon them at any moment, but at this precise second, she was barely able to sit up, certainly not partake in a fight the magnitude of the one she knew was coming. "Jaune you know what you have to do. Nora, cover him." Ren looked as bad as she felt. She doubted he would be doing much more fighting today.
Jaune gave her one long stare, resigning himself to his fate, before rising. They could have ended the fight with the Mogwai almost before it began, or more accurately Jaune could have. He had capabilities that he never used. He'd never told her why. It might have hurt him, or maybe it was an extension that reminded him he wasn't human. There were very few motives that were strong enough to persuade him to utilise it, but her request was one of them.
The sword stained with her blood jerked into the air, those that were buried in the ground around her freed themselves. With tips pointing towards the source of the latest scream they, along with others, began to rotate if front of Jaune. A green luminescence appeared at their centre. A buzzing filled the air. Heat washed over them.
Using Akoúo and Ren as support, Pyrrha climbed to her feet. If this didn't work she didn't want to face the Mogwai from the ground. In front of her the blades spun faster, the light grew brighter, and the temperature rocketed.
A shape became visible through the forest. It charged towards them, ploughing straight through the smaller trees in its path and around the larger ones. It might have been a few hundred metres away and barely a shadow, but Jaune didn't wait.
Power erupted from him. Power on a scale that should have been impossible. It shouldn't have been able to emanate from a single person. A solid emerald lance blasted forward, the sheer force ripping stones from the ground. It burned her vision dark.
The trees in its path ceased to exist. A swathe of forest came tumbling down and began to burn. The Mogwai cried out for a fraction of an instant as pure unfiltered energy carved through its torso and carried on into the forest beyond. The Grimm exploded as its bodily fluids evaporated in an instant.
The beam died. Silence reigned. Silence apart from the crashing of trees in the part of the forest that had been laid to waste. Jaune's swords began to slow.
It was in that moment, observing the damage that he had wrought, with the pain of a phantom blade still lodged in her arm, when Pyrrha's naïve dream fell to pieces. It would never happen, could never happen. They couldn't hide from the truth. It had been ridiculous to even consider.
Jaune was not human. There were some facets of himself that he had no control over. They couldn't pretend that he didn't have a problem. They couldn't pretend he could master it. They couldn't travel back to Vale, buy a house near his parents, get married, raise children, all the while knowing that one day daddy might kill mummy. She couldn't live like that, and neither could Jaune.
They couldn't cower from what needed to be done. She and Jaune deserved happiness, but that would only come at a price. Jaune wouldn't like it, but there wasn't another choice. They, she, needed to confront Joseph for his crimes, and force him to undo what he'd done to Jaune's mind. Only after that would there be a future for them.
As of now, there was none.