A/N: Aaaand we're back to Hiatus! Chibi is on the fast turnaround, though, so we don't have to go very long. More importantly, we get to have a bit of Pyrrha again, even if it is chibi-fied. Well, before we get on with it, I'd like to recommend Constable Paperbag's "Burned": its a rewrite of "Power is Red", which was actually one the main inspirations for this story.
Thank you for reading, and please enjoy chapter twenty-seven
Despite the early hour, or perhaps because of it, the Beacon Barracks were a mass of activity. Teams lined up outside the pavilions and along the cut throughs, making last minute equipment checks as they waited to leave for their missions. Near the missions board, Jaune waited with a pack of other leaders, watching as the boards updated and VIPs or escorts arrived. He could see Ren and Nora talking with Velvet and Fox Alistair, while Pyrrha was somewhere behind him with a blonde-haired girl he knew was from Haven.
Their short break from missions had only lasted a few days, as Professor Goodwitch had expressly sent them a mission last night. Much to his annoyance, all it told him was it would be an extended escort. Not where they would be, not who they would be shadowing, not how long they would be in the field. He was carrying a bedroll and cooking gear in his pack, the whole team had food for two days each, Ren and Pyrrha had first aid kits, along with Pyrrha's dust supply, and Nora had an emergency flare gun.
If he couldn't know what to prepare for, he'd prepare for everything.
"The snorkels might be overkill, but I think it gets my point across." He didn't appreciate being left in the dark. He also didn't appreciate being left hanging, frowning as he scanned the crowd hopelessly. At least the other leaders knew what they were looking for, but not him!
"You look like someone ruined your favorite top, kid." A smug voice came from behind him. Jaune repressed the urge to sigh, and turned around.
"Morning, Coco." He said cheerily. The tall girl was, immaculately dressed, even for the winter chill, with her bag hanging loosely in one hand and the other resting on her hip. Coco was an absolute terror on the field, and he really did admire her, but she was sometimes just a little too much. Especially at five in the morning.
"Morning to you, too. But seriously, you look like shit; what's going on?"
"We were assigned a mission, pretty bare bones on the details, you know how it is."
"Actually, I don't." She said, eyeing him over her glasses. "I've been here almost five months, Jaune, since the Attack, and I haven't been given a mission once, let alone one with no details." Jaune could feel his frustration and her fear grow in equal measure under her gaze. Abruptly, Coco stepped very close to him, and he caught the urge to retreat. Give Adel one inch, and you'd never get it back. "So, you and Nikos, huh?"
"I- what?" He'd been preparing a counter to demands about what he was even doing in Vale, not relationship questions. "Uh, yeah. Pyrrha and I." She smirked at him wickedly.
"Good on you kid! Even I was starting to worry Nikos would do something drastic. You find out if the betting pool rumors were true?"
"How do you even know about Pyrrha and I?" He challenged indignantly, not wanting to even think about the idea of money changing hands over his love life.
"Velvet told me." Coco replied easily.
"How did Velvet know?" He was generously curious now. Velvet was a friend, but his team had barely spoken to anyone since arriving, usually holed up in their house. Coco gave him a pitying look before pulling out her scroll.
"Velvet got this from Belladonna. Knowing my partner, I doubt there was a student here who hadn't seen it before you four got to Vale." He took the offered scroll, staring at it blankly. It was the living room of the Xiao Long house, specifically the couch. He was on his back with his arms thrown around Pyrrha, who was sleeping half on his chest, half in the gap between himself and couch. Part of him thought it was adorable, but he mostly recalled Pyrrha's fervent efforts to get Blake to delete the picture. The title "About time!" just rubbed salt in the wound.
"Just don't do anything I wouldn't, eh?" She elbowed him playfully, slipping the scroll away, and Jaune tried not flinch at the force of the hit. "Something about that why you four are back in Vale?" Jaune froze.
"Well, ya see…" Jaune trailed off under Coco's piercing gaze, still fighting the urge to cringe away.
"I requested their presence, Miss Adel." The whipcrack voice of Glynda Goodwitch finished, as the Headmistress strode through the crowd. Coco instantly stepped away from him, and though many of the other students practically snapped into attention, Coco remained smug and curious. Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha hurried over to him, while Goodwitch looked over the small crowd, waving hand dismissively, and students scattered to make themselves look busy.
"Miss Adel, see to your team. I believe you have a Grimm Extermination outside the south wall today?" Coco nodded, eyes hidden behind dark lenses. "Team JNPR, with me. You will be escorting me, understood?"
"Yes, ma'am." His team sounded.
"Collect your things, and follow me." She strode away then, with JNPR hurrying in her wake.
Pyrrha squinted against the morning sun, annoyingly rising right in front of their speeding ship. Glynda had spared little explanation for them as they boarding the Bullhead, simply saying they were heading deep into Grimm territory. Her mental map of Vale was less than ideal, but she judged they must be reaching the city's eastern limits soon; were she to cross the ship, Beacon would likely loom large in front of her.
Jaune held onto his own strap beside her, switching between watching the headmistress uneasily and following the snowy terrain worryingly. Ren and Nora had elected to remain seated, talking quietly in the small chairs in the back of the ship. Beacon's Headmistress held the lead position by the bay door, scanning their ship's path for any threats. Pyrrha could see the tension in the older woman's shoulders, the only hint of her preparedness to leap into action.
Its was an uncomfortably silent flight. A selfish part of her wished Jaune hadn't discovered a means to alleviate his motion sickness, as seeing to him would at least leave her something to do. A the moment the flap of their long coats was the loudest thing in on board.
The airship began to slow, banking down and giving Pyrrha a glimpse of the ruins of snow-capped Beacon atop their cliffs, before completing the turn. Miss Goodwitch released her strap, calmly stepping out the open door. Pyrrha and Jaune peered after her, spying the woman atop a raised portion of highway. A few flicks of her wrist, and a sizable portion was cleared of debris. She signaled up to them, and all four teens roused themselves for the jump.
She was rather pleased to see Jaune land without difficulty: airborne drops such as this were standard fare for Hunters, but Jaune often struggled at sticking the landing. She had to suppress the sudden urge to smile at remembered afternoons jumping from atop the dorm roof, acclimating him to the process. Instead, she focused on their situation, and fell into the guard formation Jaune silently signaled. Their professor watched them form up with an appreciative eye, but declined to comment. Instead, she gestured south down the road, and began to move.
The highway was abandoned: empty of both people and Grimm. All there was to be found were cars left lying on the road by evacuation, and rubble from damages portions of street. Goodwitch would stop at heavily damaged portions and set to fixing the large chunks in place with her semblance. The whole exercise made no sense to her, but her job was to watch the woman's back, and to try and learn from her.
So, they continued on, their road repair team of five, for two hours. In silence, aside from the soft crunching of ice and snow.
She suspected Jaune was letting his displeasure be known through this quiet.
Glynda had just finished moving a small pile-up out of the way when she let her own small pack drop, and she gestured for them to do so as well. Her overladen bag landed with a resounding thump, while Ren and Jaune's clanked, and she settled down beside it slowly.
"I suppose you would like to know what we're doing out here?" The professor asked without preamble. Jaune spoke up before she could agree.
"We're scouting and clearing a section of road as part of the lead-up to an assault on Beacon." He said flatly. Pyrrha stared at him.
"Very good, Mister Arc." The professor said with just a hair of warmth. "But I believe your team doesn't quite follow." He looked surprised for a moment, then caught their quizzical expressions, and reddened.
"A full-scale attempt to take Beacon can't be done by air. There's too much equipment and too many people that need to be moved: you'd have to commandeer every ship in the city to do it, or borrow a navy. It'd be easier, logistically, to direct the already needed reclamation efforts towards the eastern portion of Vale, and shuttle everything. Retake the area just below the cliffs, and a way to supply it. Vale's highways are all raised: if they're structurally sound, they can be more easily patrolled than the streets."
"Very, very good, Mister Arc. Was this our influence, or your father's?" He shrugged the question aside. "Well, your leader is partially correct. I will be trying to right some of this road, or at least prepare it for patchwork, while we as a group will also inspect possible forward bases of operations for a move into Beacon." It was at this point that Pyrrha felt the need to ask a question.
"Professor?" She began hesitantly. When Goodwitch waved her on, Pyrrha resumed. "Why the secrecy? I suppose I can understand not mentioning anything in Vale, but why not on the flight in?"
"It was a test, wasn't it?" Jaune asked in a voice that warned her, at least, he considered the whole matter less than ideal. Glynda inclined her head to him, acknowledging the point.
"I was worried word of an attempt to take Beacon would spark undue enthusiasm among the students, yes, and I had hoped a few hours in the dark would test Jaune's ability to analyze a situation. Simply because we are no longer in Beacon, does not mean you are no longer my students. Of course, any time in the field is also a chance for Pyrrha to enhance her control, something I doubt I must tell you all is important. As for why I chose to bring you, you four are trustworthy." The last caught them all off guard. Trustworthy? Was there some concern about the students? Their teacher smiled wryly at their expressions.
"You don't need to look over your shoulders in the barracks. What I mean is that you're already so involved, another matter will hardly change the situation."
"My powers." Pyrrha realized. "How we intend to take back Beacon hardly compares to what I've become involved in."
"How long will we be out here, Professor?" Jaune's voice had lost some of its resentful heat, as the analytical portion of his mind began to unpack the mission. "Will we be scouting as a single unit, or separating?"
"Overnight, Jaune: pickup is scheduled for tomorrow evening. We'll rest and travel as a single unit, but I had intended for us to separate to expedite the mission. This is a scouting, combat is to be avoided." He nodded along, no doubt planning the most effective means of splitting JNPR for the job and exit strategies.
"May I make some recommendations, ma'am?" He asked, and the headmistress nodded. "If we split up, Pyrrha should accompany you." On one hand, Pyrrha was pleased she had predicted how Jaune's mind was working, but on the other she wasn't sure of his proposal.
"Why is that? Wouldn't it be better to have the strongest two members of the group in two separate parties? It would better ensure the safety of the groups." Goodwitch's voice was not doubting; more, she was challenging Jaune to explain her reasoning.
"Engaging the Grimm is not the goal, whichever group Ren is in can avoid them entirely. So, the group without Ren needs to be as capable of fighting free of danger as possible. That puts Pyrrha with you, and Ren with Nora and I. Someone is paired with you to begin with as no one should be without a partner in this situation."
"Very good, Jaune. One might argue it would be best to not split the party at all, though." Jaune shrugged.
"You plan on splitting us, though, so that's the best way of doing it. Plan for the worst, hope for the best?" She was more than familiar with those situations. The professor nodded in agreement with his assessment, rising from her resting place.
"True enough. Now, I believe we've rested enough? We'll continue on now." She gestured for them to rise, and JNPR collected their things and moved back into formation.
Now that he knew what was happening, Jaune felt far more at ease. He was still annoyed that he'd been left to prepare for so many different circumstances on short notice, but the indignant anger he'd felt towards his teacher since the morning had given way. He was on a mission, and there was no time for those feelings out here. Out here, it was them against the Grimm, and the rest could wait.
Their formation moved quietly along the road, but no longer in total silence. His team made the occasional joke, or pointed out some anomaly or oddity in the city below worth noting, and Goodwitch infrequently asked them about what training they had accomplished, or about the current state of Team RWBY. They weren't exactly at ease, deep within Grimm territory as they were, but he felt more secure. They encountered a particularly bad crash, and Goodwitch set them to watch her back as she cleared the rubble.
"Are you alright, Jaune?" Ren asked from his spot next to him, behind a dilapidated car. "You were in quite the mood earlier." Jaune flichned a tad at the question, catching the reproach in his friend's voice. He looked towards their teacher, currently righting an overturned semi-trailer, then back to Ren when he was sure the coast was clear.
"I'm better, yeah. I don't like being left in the dark, and Goodwitch… I guess I'm still angry about what happened with Pyrrha. I understand the secrecy for all this, but that doesn't mean I like it." Ren nodded in understanding, eyes sweeping the perimeter.
"How do you feel now? I doubt you'd let it be an issue, but it's not good to let these things fester."
"I got it out of my system earlier, don't worry. We're in the loop now, we're fine." A great crash came behind them, and all four members of the team spun to see the Headmistress resting the final upturned car to the side. The professor surveyed the path in front of her, then waved for them to fall in.
"We're going to have to keep working with the professor, Jaune. The mission probably isn't a good time, but you should address the issue when we get back." Ren meant well, he knew that, but he also didn't quite feel up to being pestered about the issue. He waved his hand in understanding, and hurried to his position.
The sun was beginning its descent when Goodwitch gathered them together by one of the various exit ramps. "This point will be our rendezvous, while we'll split into the teams Jaune suggested." Goodwitch withdrew her scroll, gesturing for Jaune to do the same. "Pyrrha and myself will be inspecting a large park to the south, then to the complex here. Jaune, your team will go to the school here, and move to inspect the complex here." Jaune noted all four locations on his scroll, and made a mental note for Seen to do it on their physical map as well.
"What are we looking for, besides a large space?" He asked, planning routes his team could take.
"These sights were chosen for their proximity to the roads, but they won't be as useful if the ramps surrounding them are in disrepair. The state of the buildings, obviously, is important as well. Avoid engaging them, but try and estimate the strength of the Grimm in the area. Defensibility of the site, possible resources that could be scavenged, anything that stands out." He filed away each facet, trusting Goodwitch knew what he was capable of judging.
"We will reconvene tonight. If you're unable to make the rendezvous, call or signal us, understood?"
"Yes, ma'am." All of JNPR responded.
The headmistress promptly began moving down the ramp, crop drawn. Pyrrha began to follow, but stopped after a few steps, turning back to them.
"Pyr? Are you alright?" Pyrrha answered him by firmly taking hold of his head and kissing him. Jaune's hands took hold of her waist and he kissed back with equal fervor, but before they really got into it, a polite cough sounded.
"I would hope you all could contain yourselves?" Their professor questioned, arms crossed in annoyance. Jaune, still recovering a little from the surprise, didn't respond. He could see Pyrrha flush pink, however.
"For luck." She whispered to him, before speaking in a louder voice to their teacher: "Sorry, professor." Pyrrha hurried over to the older woman, and the two continued their descent. Jaune watched for a long while, not noticing the stupid grin on his face.
"Are you gonna stare at Pyrrha all day, Jaune?" Nora asked teasingly. "Or are we gonna be ninjas?"
"I do not deserve someone so amazing…" He said under his breath, earning a pair of unnoticed sighs behind him.
"Come on, love bird, we have a job." Nora yanking on his arm finally snapped him from his reverie, and he looked back down the road. JNPR had a job to do.
Pyrrha never really considered the tactical weakness of heels on a stealth mission until today. Every step she and the professor took seemed to echo across the empty streets, even with the snow muffling them slightly, and she expected each to bring a horde down upon them. But no rampaging pack burst from around the corners as they moved: the district seemed oddly bereft of Grimm, in fact.
"Professor," she called ahead quietly to the elder woman, "where… where are the Grimm?" Glynda did not answer her immediately, instead looking up and to the west. Just above the roofs of the buildings, the CCT could be seen, with the gargantuan beast Ruby had bested atop it.
"That dragon draws the Grimm, Pyrrha. From a certain distance, the emotions of the city distract the Grimm, but so close? Beacon is flooded with them." She could remember the sight of the Grimm swarming across the Beacon grounds, and the idea of them doing so uncontested left her shuddering with rage. It was not a common emotion for her, but no less strong for it.
"Until Beacon is retaken, Vale won't be safe, will it?" She didn't need to hear her teacher's confirmation: if the dragon drew Grimm, they would continue to flow into Beacon, and from there into Vale. But the older woman did not agree with her, as she had expected. Instead, Glynda let out a sigh of frustration.
"That isn't what worries me. I am more concerned if something like this will happen again." Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat.
"A-again?"
Goodwitch looked back to her as the two moved through the low wall encircling their target, he angry plain on her face. "Cinder Fall, the woman behind this attack, escaped Beacon. In the confusion of the Attack, she and her allies escaped Vale and fled to Mistral. Professor Ozpin had not heard from Haven Academy in some time, but without the CCT, it's even more difficult for me to communicate with Professor Lionheart." There was a loud crack, and both women fell into their ready stances.
A large branch had given way under the weight of ice and snow, and the two relaxed ever so slightly. Pyrrha scanned the wide space, noting the damaged wall to the south and the large number of downed trees.
"Reports from Mistral have been alarming enough, without adding concerns of some plan against Haven." Her professor muttered angrily. Something in the situation was adding up for Pyrrha, however.
"Professor, if the attack on Beacon was to secure the Fall Maiden's powers, what would an attack on Haven accomplish? Beyond chaos, I mean." Their enemy clearly had no regard for collateral damage, but was destruction for its own sake also a goal?
Goodwitch was silent again, and Pyrrha considered it a deliberative pause.
"The Maidens are not the only fairy tale that is real, Pyrrha. There are things out there beyond what you now possess that our foe would desire. We can speak at length later, if you wish: here is not the best place or time."
"So, I'm trustworthy, but not quite a member of the inner circle?" The prospect of a repeat incident in Haven had her attention, however. Regardless of their objective, the professor seemed concerned it was a real possibility. Jaune had been firm in his opinion that they should remain in Beacon, but they'd not known about this new threat.
The two Huntresses continued to scout the snow-covered fields, but Pyrrha's mind was already rushing ahead to when Glynda would explain what Haven contained, and to her talk with her team. "If there really is a plot against Haven, we have to stop it. I can't allow this to happen again."