The next day came, and the two teams woke up early.

Team RVN had been ready since the night before and headed out first, but Team RWBY took their time.

Among them of course, Ruby was the quickest to get up and dress.

A great big grin danced across her face when she woke up; she was so excited, she woke the others up with all the noise she made – they were none too pleased but started getting ready all the same.

After dressing, Ruby set about preparing for the mission. Crescent Rose was always in good order, but she had taken it to Weapon Upkeep last night and had Mister Mulberry inspect all the modifications she made, just to be safe. They had all passed, and now Ruby was finishing with her cartridges.

Just as she loaded the last one, Ruby paused; she seriously started to think about how this mission might go. She couldn't see it ending poorly.

'We get to Riverdale, we find Jaune, and we all come home.' She thought, 'What could possibly go wrong? He'll come back with us. I know he will. He has to.'

Ruby couldn't begin to describe how relieved she felt when she heard. She remembered all too well how they met; that day had been most important for her – she'd made her first friend at Beacon Academy all by herself – Yang hadn't been there to see it, but that didn't matter at all.

Jaune was the first friend Ruby had made since her days at Signal Academy, but best of all, Jaune went out of his way to stay her friend, and they had been besties ever since.

They texted, they talked, they joked, they played video games, they did all kinds of things together.

'Like all friends should . . .' She would think.

But when Jaune disappeared, she took it particularly hard. Ruby worried she might have done something to make him leave, and even though she had lost a few friends in the past, that didn't make it any easier. Slowly, Ruby became less inspired; her friends wished she would cheer up.

But day after day, Ruby became certain she was partly to blame.

'I bet I could've done more to make him stay.' She remembered thinking.

All the same, Ruby eventually found her groove again. Mostly through poring over weapon blueprints, or tinkering, or sparring with her dad and uncle – she and Yang often went back to Patch Island during their vacations and practised at their Family's homemade Dojo – before their second year came to an end, Ruby was back to her old, happy self again.

Now Ruby always tried her hardest to be as professional as she could in her work. But, as it goes with making a change, she didn't manage it completely overnight, so she wasn't above the occasional, silly little hiccup every now and then.

Ruby quickly pulled her beloved red cloak out of the closet and swung it over her shoulders – it was one of the only things she had left of her old outfit since Jaune went away. She gave herself a once over in the mirror before smirking. She liked her new look.

Ruby had recently discovered that skirts and cinchers just weren't her style anymore, and neither were stockings.

Now she wore black cargo pants, her grey slayer shirt with belted cuffs and the left sleeve rolled up a little, paired with her old boots, belt, and cloak. It wasn't much, but it was a start, and a nice change too. She had also grown her hair out, only just past her shoulders – long enough for Yang to tie up a little braid behind her left ear.

Weiss was sitting nearby at their team's desk, looking over Myrtenaster one final time; she was clicking her tongue and quietly grumbling. Although she was paying attention to the blade, Weiss was feeling very bothered. She didn't want to think about Jaune coming back to Beacon at all.

In fact, the thought had quite upset her. Of course, Weiss never said anything about it, and kept her feelings to herself.

When she first heard that Jaune had left the Academy, Weiss was thrilled. She maintained, though quietly to herself, that the faculty had finally rooted out the obvious cannon-fodder; at last, she would be free of his constant advances – not that they were any good.

Of course, being the team leader's partner meant she would have to carry a new kind of burden, and she was sure Jaune's flirting would cause her more stress than was necessary. After that fateful day, Weiss had proudly dubbed herself Team RWBY's second-in-command, and did her best to keep her teammates in order.

But as the months passed and rolled into years, Weiss's ambition grew, and once again she began to feel as though she was in the wrong place. Despite promising Ruby that she would be the best partner she would ever have, Weiss knew deep down she wanted more still.

Weiss had started going out with Neptune, but by the end of their second year, they broke it off. Her own teammates knew the situation of course, but sometimes Weiss talked about it as though it didn't really matter.

"It was mutual." She would say if her friends brought it up.

Naturally, they knew better.

Now Neptune refused to talk to her, and Weiss didn't understand why. They said they could be friends, or at least try to be, but now it seemed like a lie. Not even his team was any help to her, and they promised they would support their relationship – so they said anyway.

Like Ruby, Weiss had also chosen a new outfit, but it was something she had already worn before.

Now she wore a white, pleated, full skirt with black lace trim, and over that she put on a white, double-breasted pea coat with black piping, and matching cuffs and buttons. She'd swapped out her old sash for a grey utility belt, and under that she wore a baby blue bodysuit and a tight pair of black, lace-topped stockings. And lastly, she'd switched out her wedges for a pair of white, thigh-high boots with black heels.

Weiss had first worn this outfit when her team went out to do some investigating in the Inner city. Weiss liked the look; 'Snowpea' she called it, and felt it suited her better.

She had also cut her hair a little bit shorter; now it reached just past her shoulders when she tied it up, and she wore it with an atypical half-down ponytail.

On the bed behind Weiss, Blake had finished loading her cartridges; now she was inspecting her blades for notches and lubricating all of Gambol Shroud's moving parts. She could tell her teammates were lost in thought – She knew of course, it would be wrong to say she wasn't as well.

After hearing that Jaune might be safe, Blake was both surprised and relieved. For the longest time, she, like Professor Ozpin, thought Jaune might have died somewhere, but unlike the others, she was sure they would never see him again. Naturally, she never said that out loud; secretly, she had to admit, she was glad she had been wrong.

All the same, having gone over the mission details a second time, one little tidbit had begun ebbing away in Blake's mind:

'Jaune might not be dead,' She remembered, 'he might be alive and well, and our target is someone who has a connection to him. It could be someone else . . . but what could possibly connect them . . .?'

When she heard Jaune left, Blake had assumed it was because he had decided to make a peaceful life for himself elsewhere. Even so, if they did find him on this mission, then Blake quietly hoped Jaune would return to Beacon; it would be nice to see a friendly face in their harrowing business later down the line.

Now, Blake never interacted much with Jaune, but even she knew it wouldn't be right to say that life at Beacon had been the same since he went away.

It hadn't.

Jaune was one of a few people who genuinely didn't care if someone was human or faunus; in fact, he could make friends with anyone if he tried, and while he wasn't the only one, everyone else felt different.

Some seemed to treat it like an obligation, like they had no choice but to accept someone's heritage even though it really bothered them, and they didn't understand why; or because they were trying to push some sort of corporate agenda – Blake counted the Schnee Dust Company as a prime example.

Others appeared a bit too ready to accept it, like having an extra pair of ears or a wiggly tail was somehow enticing, or attractive, or sensual – that thoroughly disgusted her.

She knew it would take a long time to find a personality like Jaune's anywhere again, especially after graduating. Blake hadn't tried to look yet, but she didn't recall meeting anyone like Jaune since her younger days on Menagerie. Strange though it was to say, he was a bit like Sun, if not as tactful or physically attractive; they were both a couple of dorks.

Blake would admit to finding Jaune "adorkable", but she would never say it out loud. He just wasn't her type. Then again, after 'dating' someone like Adam, Blake wasn't sure she wanted to have a relationship again.

"I like keeping my walls up." She would say, "It's better in my safe space."

She had also recently assembled a new outfit for herself.

Like Weiss's, Blake's was a mix of old and new; now she wore a long, off-silver tailcoat over a ribbed and somewhat cropped, dark purple turtleneck. She had kept the same black pants she wore into the city when her team went to investigate Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, but now instead of flashy high heels, she opted to wear a quiet pair of black, low-heeled boots.

They were much better for reconnaissance.

Blake had also started wrapping her ribbons around her arms, and since she liked her hair the way it was, she decided it might be good to tie it back into a ponytail. She had also taken a cue from Yang and started wearing fingerless leather gloves; to her surprise, they were very comfortable and didn't hinder her fighting style whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Yang was vigorously polishing her gauntlets and cleaning out the barrels of the guns inside. She wasn't paying much attention to her teammates, since cleaning her Ember Celica could be an incredibly tedious job.

Like her own teammates, Yang couldn't stop thinking about seeing her fellow, natural blonde again, and like Ruby, she was looking forward to it. But she was also itching to give him a serious beating for making Ruby cry like he had.

After they found out Jaune left, Ruby had been inconsolable, blaming herself and insisting that she must have done or said something – although she didn't know what – to make him leave.

Yang was furious when she heard the news, and practically swore bloody vengeance against Jaune; Ruby had disappeared for the rest of that day, and when she came back to the dorm, she broke down in Yang's arms.

The two held each other for three days and would not move no matter what. Yang had asked Blake and Weiss to take notes for them in class, and to get them food whenever they could manage it, which of course, they did.

Weiss protested at first but quickly gave in after seeing how difficult the situation was for Ruby to deal with.

The week both Yang and Ruby returned to classes, Yang made her upset very clear to her own circle of friends.

"I'll turn Jaune's pasty pale ass into the greenest of grass on the other side, if he does miraculously reappear anytime soon!" She had declared.

If there was one thing the students of Beacon had learned, it was never to hurt Ruby, in any way.

Now really, this was just Yang talking as a concerned, older sister, but if she were to be honest, Yang would admit, she did miss having Jaune around.

It was good to see Ruby making friends of her own without any help, but he went out of his way to be friends with her too. Yang guessed it was because Jaune came from such a large family and tried to include everyone out of habit.

He was also one of a few men in her life who didn't hang around her because he thought she was sexy; Yang was just Yang, her breasts weren't an issue to him – at least, he never let it on if they were. Yang knew Jaune respected her because he never tried any funny business on her, and once again, being friends with Ruby was a big deal to her.

But perhaps the most important thing she liked about Jaune: he appreciated her sense of humour, he never faked a laugh around her; her own teammates would do that. If he didn't think a joke was funny, he would let her know in his own way. Yang especially valued that.

Unlike some of the others, Yang had no issues admitting she thought Jaune was cute. If there had to be one at all, she worried Jaune might think she was flirting with him and take it the wrong way. He wasn't her type, and she had a feeling Jaune had learnt that himself the hard way.

So, Yang would quickly forgive Jaune, after she worked him over with a punch or two and a great big hug.

Now, it should be clear that Yang had suggested that she and her teammates get new outfits, and her ensemble was the only one among the four to use completely new clothes.

She had switched out her usual brown leather jacket for a long duster coat in the same colour. Yang had also gotten a new golden-yellow tank top, and her crest was now printed on her right breast instead of her left. Her old short-shorts had been replaced with a baggy pair of Capri cargo shorts – Yang had to admit, these were much more comfortable.

The only old articles she wore were her boots, her scarf, and utility belt; she loved these most of all. Her boots and belt were cleaned and polished, she didn't want to throw them away. Her old, patchy, orange scarf was mended – it had been ruined on a recent mission – now it was thicker, darker, and a little bit longer and she even added a little fringe trimming to the ends.

Yang's hair was the same as it always had been, but now she wore a ponytail like Weiss's, and instead of using a hair tie, Yang used a red and white bandana she had found during their second year. No one knew where it came from, but they knew it meant something important to Yang, so they said nothing about it.

At last, Team RWBY were ready. They quickly left their dorm and made their way down to the Docking bays. Pyrrha had already messaged them while they were dressing.

"Hurryyy. We'll be waiting for you in Bay 10. :)" She said.

Ruby might as well have started skipping along halfway there, Yang began jogging to keep up, Blake kept pace with them but wasn't as close as she was when they headed out. Most likely because she had buried her nose in a book when they left.

Weiss strode calmly behind them all, she didn't want the others to hear her grumbling. Blake could but she didn't say anything, until called out to her.

"Say Blake?" She asked,

"Yes?" She answered, not looking up.

"You don't really think we'll find Jaune today, do you?" Weiss sounded almost hopeful.

Blake closed her book and considered.

"I wish I knew for sure." She said at last, "I wouldn't be surprised if we don't find him when we get there."

Weiss seemed surprised.

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow,

"I- I mean," Reasoned Blake, "You know what Ozpin said, right? We're supposed to find someone who might know where Jaune could be, and we're supposed to bring that person back here."

"Yes, I remember," Conceded Weiss, "but do you think we'll find them too?"

"Maybe." Shrugged Blake, "Riverdale isn't the biggest village around, so it might be easy for us to find our lead when we get there."

"So, do you think we will?" Weiss wanted to know.

Blake shrugged again.

"I guess we'll see when we get there." she grunted, then she nearly stopped, "Why do you ask?"

Weiss folded her arms and kept walking.

"Oh, no real reason." She sniffed, "I was just thinking . . ."

She trailed off.

"Thinking what?" Now, Blake was curious.

"Just . . ." Weiss paused, "Perhaps it might be better if we didn't find Jaune . . . right away?"

Blake furrowed her brows.

"What makes you say that?" She wondered

"Well-" Weiss nearly faltered – she was sure she had seen enough trouble with Blake in the past, and refused to make more, especially by accident.

'People are so easy to set off these days.' She thought.

"What if- what if he's already settled into a new life?" She recovered, "It wouldn't be right to just pull him out and make him fight if he doesn't want to."

Blake pondered.

"Hm, that is a good point," She agreed, "I don't think I'd like it if someone just drafted me into fighting a war."

"Especially so if you were well-off enough." Added Weiss, "I'd be furious too. I'm just a bit concerned this mission might upset Jaune's new life."

'Assuming he's still living one . . .' She thought bluntly, 'All the more reason to leave him be if he is.'

Again, Blake agreed.

"That's also true." She acknowledged, "But still, Ozpin said he wants us to gather intel on him, so if we find him, we can just ask."

Weiss hesitated.

"I suppose . . ." She hummed thoughtfully, "Do you think we'll get anything meaningful out of our target?"

"Well, again, I don't know." Admitted Blake, "I guess we'll see when we get there."

And with that, she strode ahead.

"Hey, wait up!" Called Weiss.

Presently, Blake and Weiss caught up with their partners and found Team RVN waiting in the bay, just as promised. The hangar doors were open, and everyone could see that it was still dark out.

Lie Ren was beside the bullhead, quietly checking the last of his supplies in a travel bag. He often brought enough gear to last his team for a week everywhere they went.

Ren was looking forward to seeing Jaune again.

Before he left the Academy, Jaune would help Ren handle Nora's boredom; they did it in shifts, sometimes they would work together, and other times Jaune would do it alone. Of course, Ren had been handling her fun styling since long before they all became friends, but in the last two years, it had gotten much more hectic.

Ren was still young, but he began to feel like he was getting old. His stamina and sleep schedule had often been too challenged, and he soon realised he had trouble keeping up with Nora.

'It'd be nice to have a nice, short break again.' He would think.

He became more eager and active with every passing day, coming closer to Jaune's scheduled return. But when the day finally came and nothing changed, Ren felt a little upset. A promise had been broken.

Eventually, whether as a result or simply his body's own chemistry, Ren began slowing down; although he loved Nora, energising as she was, she could not provide infinite energy – neither could Jaune, as far as he knew – but Ren had a feeling he'd perk up if he caught a scrap of news about his old friend.

Ren was the calmest of his team when he first heard. He hadn't liked it – considering how out-of-the-blue it had been, but he knew Jaune had to take this journey alone, he understood completely. Naturally, he still missed his friend, and was upset not to have properly said goodbye or gotten to wish him good luck, but Ren decided he would wait until Jaune was ready to come back by himself.

All the same, it was exciting to think about seeing Jaune again, and even better that he might come back to fight with them. But only after he apologised for being away so long.

Team RVN went through their own wardrobes too.

Ren was partial to East-Mistralian robes, so with some funds from Pyrrha – which he was quite reluctant to accept off the bat – he went out to buy a new set. Even with the money, Ren didn't want much, so he kept his old undershirt, pants, and shoes as they were; they were comfortable, they did their job, and they weren't worn out.

So, he purchased a simple, light grey, temple monk robe with a belt. Ren liked it very much; it was light, airy, and flowed elegantly too. But it was so drab, even Pyrrha thought he should change it somehow.

Thanks to living with Nora, Ren had learnt about dyeing clothes. And with Nora's help, his robe was tie-dyed green, and his belt turned red. The end result was a little strange to him - he had never worn anything tie-dye before - but he would admit, it looked pretty good.

Working with the seamstresses at Beacon, Ren was also able to stitch his family's crest on the front of his left shoulder. On his right was a strap for a dagger, which only Nora seemed to know he had.

Ren allowed himself the ghost of a smile when he saw his friends and nodded at them.

"Hey Ren." Chimed Blake, "Wonderful day."

"Good morning," Nodded Ren, "It couldn't be better."

"Where's everyone else?" Weiss wanted to know,

"Pyrrha's on board right now." Answered Ren, "We're arranging some more supplies and Nora's giving her a hand."

"What about Ruby and Yang?" Asked Blake,

Ren knitted his brows together.

"Um," He nearly frowned as he glanced around, "I'm not sure. They were here a minute ago."

"Then where did they go?" Wondered Weiss.

Just then, Blake's ear twitched. Her eyes widened and she quickly looked up.

"Yang!" She warned, shouting at the ceiling, "I know it's you up there, don't do it!"

Weiss and Ren looked up, the overhead rafters had been blocked by a big, black tarpaulin, which strangely didn't cover the whole ceiling.

"I don't remember that being there before." Ren muttered, scratching his head.

"Weiss," Blake said quickly, "checkmate!"

"What?" Weiss was perplexed, "but we're not-"

"Don't worry," Blake shook her head, "Check. Mate."

"Um, o-okay." But she was still puzzled.

Weiss flexed her fingers and cast a glyph under Blake's feet, she jumped up, unsheathing Gambol Shroud and launching herself at the tarpaulin. She slashed at it a few times before producing one of her shadows to propel her into the rafters as well.

"What was that about?" Ren wanted to know.

Weiss shrugged.

They looked up again and gaped, now it made sense.

"What in the-!"

As strips of the tarpaulin fell to the ground they saw what hid behind it; Yang and Ruby had coiled themselves in the rafter beams, they both were clutching metal buckets, and looked like they were balancing themselves. Weiss and Ren frantically moved out of the way.

"What- no!" Yang hollered distantly,

"Aww!" Pouted Ruby, and she looked where Blake had landed, "How did you even-"

"Four ears, remember?" Blake frowned, "I could hear you snickering from down there!"

"What are you even doing up there?!" Demanded Weiss, "No, never mind that, how did you get up there?!"

"Ice water for Ice Queen!" Declared Ruby,

"Again!?" Weiss was indignant, "Didn't you learn from what happened the first time?!"

"What do you mean 'again'?" Ren wanted to know,

"I just thought you were grumpy when you woke up!" Explained Ruby,

"So splashing me from the head down with icy water would make today better somehow?" Weiss asked dryly,

"Might've made my day better!" Shouted Yang,

"Wel- I didn't think you got a good night's sleep!" Insisted Ruby, "And besides, at least it's only the water this time! The ice melted! And it's not like I'm gonna drop the bucket on you too!"

Weiss huffed and gave Ruby a dirty look.

"Uh, I don't think that really makes it any better." Remarked Ren,

"Hey man, we were gonna get Blake too!" Insisted Yang,

"Yes, because of course you'd think that's a good idea." Muttered Blake,

"Oh, blow it out your ears!" Yang snorted dismissively, "And that's another thing, this was Ruby's idea, not mine!"

"HEY!" Ruby looked very offended, "Don't just blame me, you thought it was a good idea too!"

Ren would deny it, but the betrayed look on Ruby's face had been absolutely hilarious.

"No I didn't!" Protested Yang,

"You did too!" Persisted Ruby,

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"You did!"

"I didn't!" Yang barked firmly, "I said it might've made my day better. And to let her have her coffee first."

"But she's still the same after coffee!" Whined Ruby.

"And what do you mean by that exactly?!" Snapped Weiss.

Blake just sighed as she shook her head, then she jumped down.

Meanwhile, Nora was humming cheerfully; she was busy shunting some supply crates into the bullhead luggage compartment.

She had been ready to go almost as soon as her teammates had woken up. Already she was feeling very excited, their mission today made her feel even bubblier than ever.

'Team Juniper's gonna be back together again!' She thought delightedly, 'We're gonna be back together!'

Nora couldn't remember the last time she'd been so happy.

After Jaune was made their leader, Nora noticed that he did what he could to look after everyone. When he first discovered how fast and active her mind was, he didn't even hesitate, he jumped right in to give Ren a hand. Pyrrha was willing to help as well, but with Jaune around, it just seemed easier; and Ren wouldn't wind up too worn out before the end of the day.

Jaune, very quickly, became the older brother she never got to have, and there was no taking his place. Both he and Pyrrha may have been the newest additions to her own family with Ren, and they may not have been there for long, but they were already invaluable.

Jaune just had a way about him. He almost always managed to make her laugh a little or smile if she was feeling down. Ren could always bring her around, but Jaune would often pitch in when there wasn't much her partner could do.

"It's nice to know that someone else cared about us, y'know?" She told Ren one day.

Like Ruby, she had been disconsolate when she heard Jaune had left, but she was more hurt when she realised how quietly he'd gone. Like a few others at first, Nora thought Cardin had driven Jaune to drop out while no one was looking and went to ask him a few days later.

Team CRDL unwisely decided to poke fun at Nora; unfortunately for them, neither Pyrrha nor Ren found Nora quickly enough. As a result, the four of them wound up spending the next six months in the hospital wing, wrapped from neck to toe in casts and bandages.

Nora had nearly been expelled that day, but she didn't care.

Nobody made fun of her family to her face and got away with it.

After that, Nora threw herself into her studies and began to think more on her feet. Her grades were already decent – of course, she planned all of her explosions when they went out on missions - but she improved so much, even Weiss had to admit she was impressed.

That made her teammates very proud.

Just as she had done with Ren, Pyrrha had lent Nora some money so she could put together a new outfit. Nora had been reluctant to use it as well, but she knew she could get whatever she wanted to wear.

One day, while they were out on the town, she found an adorable blue bomber jacket with pink stripes; she knew then and there, she had to have it. The rest of her outfit came effortlessly right after, a white, short-sleeved top with a heart cut-out in the middle, and a frilly, bright pink skirt – but her jacket, and boots were new. Nora had also ordered custom armour - which was likely the second-most expensive thing she had gotten so far.

She deliberately chose pieces like Jaune used to wear, like wrist bracers and a broad chest plate, but she also commissioned a pair of greaves, a headpiece like Pyrrha's, and just for fun, a pointy pair of sabatons; those she rarely wore. When her armour arrived, Nora dutifully took care of it all; the pieces were forged from steel, and she polished them so well, they shone like silver in the sunlight.

Her headpiece might have been the most impressive looking in the set, it looked a lot like a tiara, flanked on either side by an elegant little pair of winglets. Team RWBY thought it looked funny, until Nora struck a pose during a storm with thunder and lightning flashing and cracking all around her; she felt like a queen after that.

Regal, imposing, and awesome.

Team RWBY hadn't said anything about it since. Except for Weiss, who had openly admitted to finding it awkward – 'regal' was simply the last word she would use to describe a person like Nora.

Nora could hear the others arguing outside, and shook her head with a giggle. The ice water prank had really been her idea, Ruby just used it before she could and Weiss never asked about it.

By now, she had pushed the crate into the compartment, and now she needed to lift it into place.

"Awright, Pyr-Pyr, " She hollered, "I need some help!"

"I'm coming!" Called Pyrrha, "Just a sec!"

Pyrrha quickly jumped down to the cargo hold and using her semblance, she helped Nora lift the crate.

"Thanks!" Panted Nora, "What do we need these for? What's in them?"

"Things for weapon maintenance, I think." Pyrrha shrugged, "There might be some medical supplies or food stuffs in there too."

Just then, they heard a growl.

"Ugh," Nora moaned, clutching her stomach, "why didn't we eat? I need my pancake fix."

Pyrrha smiled ruefully,

"The cafeteria's not open until half past six." She explained, "And besides, even if it was open, we couldn't get pancakes right away, it'd take time to make them."

Nora frowned,

"What does that mean?" She asked, "What's half past six?"

"Six-thirty." Answered Pyrrha,

"Well, why don't you just say that?" Pouted Nora, "Why do you gotta make it harder to get?"

Pyrrha furrowed her brow,

"But- but that's-" She tried to explain, "half-past six and six thirty are the same thing."

"Yeah okay, but that doesn't make any sense to me." Said Nora, "How can thirty be half of something? At best, it's a third!"

"Well, you know how we time things right?" Pyrrha tried again, "One second, one minute, one hour, it's always broken down into sixty-"

Nora just shook her head.

"Aw no, man." She felt a little exasperated, "Don't tell me that's how that works."

Pyrrha was taken aback,

"What do you mean?" She asked,

"Seriously, not even Ren can explain me this." Nora told her, "You can't tell me that that's how you tell time, I literally just don't believe it."

"Alright, alright then," Pyrrha gently raised her hands in defence, "I'm sorry, I'll say the time properly from now on."

"Thank you vewy much." Nora pushed her lips out smugly.

Pyrrha smiled ruefully again; she liked it when Nora made that face, it helped her take her mind off things.

She clambered back inside the passenger compartment and went back to what she had been doing before – trying her best to keep from jumping around. A lot was going through her mind, and she was having a hard time reining her thoughts in.

It had seriously affected her when Jaune left, and just as Ruby had done herself, Pyrrha quietly blamed herself for letting him leave. She never talked about it to the others, but secretly, she wished she had done more to make him stay.

It had been difficult for her, so bad in fact that she outright refused to take on another partner. She wanted her Jaune back. There was no replacing him. No matter how many times Professor Goodwitch tried – whether she asked, pushed, or even demanded – Pyrrha wouldn't listen, and she rejected every presented candidate.

She only gave up after Ozpin finally caved and took Pyrrha's side. They then both arranged for Pyrrha and her teammates to be sent only for group missions and assignments. So, Team RVN had since been working with either Team RWBY or their seniors, Team CVFY. Occasionally, they worked with other visiting teams, but the three of them preferred to work with their friends.

Despite Ozpin's explanation, Pyrrha tried to spend any of her free time looking for Jaune. She had promised herself, the first chance she got after finding him, she would make Jaune explain himself, and then she would get him back to Beacon, even if she had to drag him all the way.

'This was his dream too,' She thought, 'he didn't need to quit . . . Did he?'

Her outfit and armour had almost completely changed. Since she no longer cared to be in the spotlight – and spent so little time with anyone else but her own teammates – she didn't wear anything as flashy or showy as her old outfit.

If she were to be honest, she hated seeing her old get-up now.

She'd switched out the corset and miniskirt for a red t-shirt, a brown combat skirt, and proper, brass, plate armour. It covered her from hip to bust and led all the way up to her gorget, which had been enlarged, and the brown leather pixane tucked underneath covered more of her neck and upper shoulders.

She added a rerebrace on her right arm, and a pauldron on her left. She also had the armour around her legs reforged; they looked mostly the same, but they matched her plate armour, and were much less bulky.

She had also gotten rid of her old bronze headdress and had a new one made; it was good to have her head covered, but she saved the old decorative chains and added them to the belt over her sash. Her new headdress was plain, but it protected more of her head, and to her relief, it didn't hinder her nearly as much.

Lastly, Pyrrha also opted to use more traditional leather sandals, leaving her ridiculous high heels behind. Her hair was still the same length, but she had lowered the height of her ponytail to sit by the bottom of her head, rather than near the top. Nora helped to braid it too.

Soon, the others had all calmed down. Yang and Ruby jumped off the rafters and helped Nora load the last of their equipment while the others checked their own gear one last time. Pyrrha was still in the passenger compartment when Ruby climbed in, fidgeting impatiently, clenching and unclenching her fists, and trying not to tremble.

"You good, Pyrrha?" Asked Ruby,

"Hm?" Pyrrha looked up, "Oh! Um, I'm fine, Ruby, just a- uh, just a- a bit nervous, that's all."

"Well don't be." Ruby made a face, "We're gonna find Jaune and bring him back to Beacon, no matter what."

That cheered Pyrrha up a little, but she couldn't help herself.

"Do you really think we will find him?" She asked,

Ruby paused,

"We have to." She answered firmly, "We can't just wait around anymore."

"I agree." Pyrrha nodded, "It's been too long."

She paused.

"Say, can you tell me something?" Pyrrha asked tentatively,

"Sure!" Chirped Ruby, "What's up?"

Pyrrha paused again.

"What do you know about the Ranger?" She asked.

Ruby didn't answer right away.

"Well," She began, "To be honest, I only ever heard about him yesterday."

Pyrrha stared,

"Seriously?" She raised her eyebrows,

"Seriously." Insisted Ruby, "What about you?"

Pyrrha considered.

"Actually, me as well." She realised, "I'd never heard about him until yesterday either."

Ruby furrowed her brow and pursed her lips,

"Wait, but how?" She quizzed, "How did you not know? You spent a lot of time looking for Jaune on your scroll."

"I did." Nodded Pyrrha, "but I was just looking for Jaune. I never read any articles about the Ranger."

"Oh." Ruby said simply.

Silence fell for a moment.

"What do you think Ozpin wants him for?" Ruby wondered, breaking the silence,

Pyrrha shook her head,

"I don't know," She admitted, "But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, I guess."

Ruby agreed, and they strapped themselves in as they waited for the others.