Big Issues
AN: Welcome back to another chapter in this enormous series. I'd like to thank beelzebub11111 for the fave and follow. Now this is another long one, not quite enough to break the previous record but close ^_^! As promised, this one is more focused on Ruby and Team RNNJR and some of the things they've been up to over a few weeks. Enjoy!
Long Way From Home
Ruby sighed as she walked. It wasn't a sad sigh or one of boredom, just a satisfied one. The stop at that town after leaving on their journey proper had found some of their group with new clothes.
Ruby herself has changed to wearing a white blouse with brown cuffs that covered most of her forearms and the collar is high enough to cover most of her neck and most interestingly, a large window to expose her upper chest. Her skirt was much like the old one, black with red tulle underneath but her old waist cincher was replaced by a black over bust corset with red strings and trim down the front. A black belt with red edges held her ammunition pouches and clip to carry Crescent Rose wrapped around her soft waist. A pair of small belts crossed over her upper arms while another set of belts went over her shoulders that she could attach a small mission backpack to. Her boots have been switched out for similar black ones with four buckles each and red soles while her stockings were now bearing a long-stemmed rose pattern in red on the black cloth that ended a few inches short of her skirt.
Even her cloak was slightly changed in how it was on her, the end of which wrapped loosely around her neck like a scarf but allowed it to flow out like a cape behind her as normal. Her emblem moved from her belt to be a clasp for her cloak.
The exposure of so much skin, compared to what she had before at Beacon where only her head and hands showed skin, was likely a sign of her growing maturity. At least she made sure she wore something under her skirt to ensure her panties weren't exposed should the cloth be blown up.
The change felt nice and somehow helped her focus on her new mission, not burdened by the memories of the final hours at Beacon. She was still saddened knowing that her team was split up and scattered around the world; Yang at home on Patch, Blake should be in Menagerie, and Weiss up in Atlas… but she'd have to push on. Completing this mission wasn't simply more productive than waiting at home and it would help answer some of her own questions about Cinder and her team.
Plus, she couldn't help but to be excited about leading this mission to another Kingdom. It wasn't just a school sanctioned mission or their self-imposed mission where they had to sneak out of school to accomplish them. This was one that would be treated as an official mission worthy of a Huntress!
Ruby let loose an excited squeal of joy as the thought passed her mind. Her team gave her a glance but had become used to her antics. It also helped that they were used to Nora's outbursts. Speaking which…
Nora was now donned in a white turtleneck shirt with a heart cut out on the chest… with an odd cut on either side of it. She kept her gloves from Beacon but has a new detached sleeve on her left arm. Over her shirt, she wears a dark blue, nearly black bomber jacket that only reached the small of her back, has short, puffy sleeves with a pair of pink stripes on each with pink cuffs. The jacket was left open, partially for more freedom of movement, partially because she liked the look, and partially because the short girl was a bit too big to zip it up without looking like a sausage. It was interesting design choice that her emblem was printed in pink on the back of the jacket but was already looking worn despite being brand new.
On her lower half, she wears a pink skirt with a white tulle underneath, held around her hips by a thick pink leather belt. Her legs are bare down to her boots, white with black soles and pink socks peeking out from the top. Magnhild was attached to her back by a magnetic clamp hidden within the jacket, the weight supported by load bearing straps inside. Though at the moment, the hammer was attached to the top of her backpack as they traveled.
It was interesting to see that both girls had their hair grown out, though mostly thanks to not bothering to cut their hair while on the road. Granted, the growth wasn't much yet but notable.
"Are you okay, Ruby?" Jaune asks as he walks alongside the much shorter girls. He had yet to change his outfit or armor yet, their deals with the villages they've come across so far not able to cover such expenses like new armor. Pyrrha was in the same boat as her partner, especially since she wore more armor than the rest of the team combined… which came down to Jaune being the only other with armor. It was interesting to see his hair looking a little shaggier.
"I'm fine, just got a little excited… again." The young girl admits with a grin.
"Better to be happy than sad out in the wilderness." Ren comments from his place on the other side of the group.
The young man had gotten into the deal for new clothes as well. His hair was now hanging loose down his back, nearly reaching his waistband since it had also grown out during their time on the road. He now wears a green sleeveless tailcoat with black and silver trimming. A black sleeveless turtleneck was under the tailcoat while white pants were loose around his thighs, tightening below the knee to be tucked into his shin-high toeless black boots. It was interesting that red tassel ropes hung from his jacket by his hips as he wore detached sleeves that looped around his middle fingers and faded from pink to black from hands to upper arms where the sleeves were held up by metal cuffs.
"Let's just keep moving, it looks like a storm is coming from the southwest." Pyrrha informs them as she adjusts her pack, her shield strapped to the back. Indeed, the clouds coming their way were large and dark, their salvation from the promised rain being a town roughly five miles ahead of them. Otherwise, they'd find a good place to set up their tents.
—-
Rain beat on the windows of the inn they were staying in. It didn't help that it was the third day in a row that it had been pouring outside with almost no breaks and would likely continue for the next day as well. Then they'd have to worry about how muddy the roads would be… they'd probably wait an extra day just to let their path dry or they'd be slowed down enough by the mire they would lose the day anyway.
What was more unfortunate was that they never set out with too much lien in their pockets, Pyrrha being the primary purse holder for the team. So, they offered their services in an effort to save their funds.
"Here's your drinks!" Nora chirped as she emptied her tray of mugs onto the table. If there was something that Nora could be counted on as a server, it was speedy service.
"Hey! What's a big bundle of joy like you doin' serving drinks in a place like this? We could have some fun if ya stop by my room later tonight!" A burly man with an equally bushy beard asks with a leer.
"Sorry, I'm busy working." The plump ginger dismisses, much to the amusement of the man's friends who burst out laughing.
"C'mon little lady. I'm just askin' ya to help keep my bed warm tonight. I'll make it worth the time."
Ren couldn't hear what was going on across the room from his place in the kitchen where he worked with Jaune. But he could see out the open doorway that Nora was being talked to by a man and his friends that was making his best friend get agitated. It was subtle but he knew her better than anyone else on Remnant.
He released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as she walked away without incident, though once Nora came back to the counter their boss whispered something in her ear.
"Two orders of pork cutlets and mashed potatoes and mixed veggies!" Ruby pops up to the door with another order.
"On it."
With Ren busy with the fresh order and Jaune on another order, that left only Ruby and Pyrrha to help Nora. And both girls were occupied, Pyrrha taking an order up to a room and Ruby clearing a table on the other side of the dining room.
SLAP "Eep!"
Nora jumped as her large rump was slapped by the same man who was laughing about doing that. His friends at the table though, were silent and staring at him in disbelief.
Nora hung her head so that her bangs hid her eyes as she turned to the table, the tray she was carrying being handed off wordlessly to a patron at the neighboring table.
"C'mon little lady. I'll rock your world." The man boasted.
"…."
"What's wrong? You a little shy? I don't mind."
"…"
"Hey Bud, you might want to stop while you can." One of the others suggests.
"Nothing wrong with having a little fun, Buck."
"Bud, if a lady says no, let it go."
"Not you too, Bert."
"I was asked to not break the furniture."
"What was that?" Bud looks to Nora to see that she hadn't moved except to speak.
"I was asked to not break the furniture." Nora repeated, louder this time so the table could hear. It also helped that everyone in the room had stopped everything to watch in silence.
"Hehe, well then, let's hope the beds are sturdy!" Bud laughed. "How about another beer before we have our fun?" He holds up his empty mug.
A single chopstick flew out of nowhere to strike his wrist, making him drop the mug as his hand flinched instinctually. "What the f-!"
Whatever he was going to say was cut off when the mug was caught and slammed on the table while the other hand gripped his collar tightly.
"I was only told to not break the furniture. She didn't say I couldn't break anything else." Nora glared the man in the eyes before lifting him up with that lone hand. It was only thanks to their height difference that he wasn't suspended in the air, though it was close, as Nora walked to the door, stopping at the closet next to the door to grab Magnhild. The sight of the massage hammer doubled the fear of the rest of the audience as Nora slammed her way through the door. Specifically, Ruby had burst over and opened the door and Nora let his head hit the door frame.
The door was shut just before an angry yell was heard before the sound of the hammer hitting the man made its way through the barrier. Then they heard a distant crash and the panicked whinnying of a horse down the road.
When the hammer girl walked back in looking upset and satisfied at the same time, the room was silent. The man's friends quickly paid their bill with a very generous tip and left the establishment.
Nora was given a break as Ruby cleared the table, the short girl taking the opportunity to get a snack in the kitchen.
"You didn't have to do that." She was blunt like her weapon as Ren sat a plate of chicken stir fry in front of her.
"Yes, I did." Was his quick response before he was called away to fulfill another order for Pyrrha as she took Nora's place in the dining room.
The young Valkyrie couldn't hide her smile as she ate her food.
—-
"How long do we have to wait?" Nora was bored and that was rarely a good thing.
"Until Ruby lures it our way." Pyrrha answers easily, having long gotten used to her teammate.
"I hope she hurries up with that. I'm getting antsy."
"C'mon Nora. It's not that bad." Jaune tries to pacify the excitable girl from his place leaning against a tree. It was odd to see him without his armor and weapons but he had insisted on going with the others.
The reason he was lacking his gear was because they had secured a deal with a village to reforge and improve his armor and weapons as their mission payment. It's not as though he was completely unarmed or defenseless now, he was simply borrowing some extras the smith had laying around and wanted tested.
The blonde now had some simple layered leather guards on his arms that ran the length of the limbs and over his shoulders, and protected his upper back and chest, but little else. He also wore a lightweight breastplate that had some detailed leather that covered his abdomen and back which was held to him by a belt.
"Here they come!" Ren yells from the top of a tree they were under, prompting the three to ready themselves. By the time the ninja had descended from his perch to join the team on the ground, everyone could hear the loud rustling and creaking of trees being pushed through and branches being broken.
Ruby second guessed her decision to be the bait for the Grimm that had been terrorizing the village for weeks. On one hand, they knew what kind of Grimm they were dealing with from the beginning but which Grimm it was presented the real challenge.
Geist Grimm are known to be incredibly weak on their own, having little in the way of strength, no stronger than the average person. They were hard to track since they didn't have feet and floated around, even then, they weren't exactly fast at that either. What made them dangerous was their ability to inhabit inanimate objects, controlling them like a puppet and often serving like a suit of armor for the Grimm.
In this case, Ruby was being chased by a Geist that was using several boulders as its body… rocks that made the Grimm stand taller than her own house. And being chased by a few hundred tons of stone was a good incentive to keep moving and do so fast.
"They better be waiting!" She yells as she used Petal Burst once again to stay ahead of the massive golem, only to find that she had sent herself off a short cliff over a small river. The good news was that her momentum carried her over the water, the bad… she was too shocked by the unexpected fall to be prepared. Thus, she wound up landing in a tree and hit more than a few branches on her way to the ground, her weight snapping some while the thicker branches would arrest her movement: Ruby doing a belly flop across a large branch that made her breakfast threaten to show itself again… before she slipped over to land on her back on the unforgiving ground. Then small sticks and leaves rained down on her.
"Ow… I think I landed on a root." She groans as she slowly rises, rubbing her bottom. She then looked up at her path and felt some sweat drip down her brow at the number of broken branches above her. "Maybe I should work on my landing strategy."
The splashing stomps and localized earthquakes coming her way reminded her of why she had fallen in the first place, the Geist smashing its way through other trees in its quest to crush the rotund reaper. And the chase resumed.
A minute later, Ruby burst out into a clearing formed from a forest fire just a few years ago. The rest of RNNJR were there and waiting for her and the Grimm. Ruby reformed from the speeding cloud of rose petals, Crescent Rose in hand and firing at the rocky monster.
"I could use some help over here!" The Rose yells as she lands and rolls out of her momentum.
"On it!" Nora calls out, Magnhild blasting out a trio of grenades while Milo and Stormflower peppered the stone with bullets.
The problem was that it was made of stone, the bullets only able to chip away small pieces at a time and the grenades exploded against the surface, scorching and drawing the attention of the Grimm controlling the rocks.
"Um… that could be a problem." Jaune mutters from his place behind a tree as he watches his team fight.
The golem had its own problems, being so large it was easy to read its movements and the weight of the boulders made it slow, even if those same rocks made it nearly invulnerable to the weapons of any Huntsmen that attacked it and they gave it great power when it could hit. But it also refused to give up until every mortal that it could find was destroyed.
Pyrrha took some shots at the Grimm as she ran up its arm, having climbed on the limb after it had punched the ground in an attempt to hit her. Ren strafed around its feet, unable to do much than convince it to stomp on his direction a few times. Nora jumped with her hammer reared back, the metal meeting stone in a contest of strength only for the stone to win with superior mass. Ruby slammed her scythe into the Grimm, only to leave a small scratch on the back.
"This isn't working!" Ren shouts as his blades did little to the legs of their opponent before he had to jump away from being stomped on.
The massive arm rose up to block a full clip of Fire Dust rounds from Pyrrha before it swung down to smack Nora, her swinging hammer having no better luck than the first time.
"We can't hurt it!" Ruby screamed as she zoomed by the blonde's location.
"It's protecting its face!" Jaune shouts to his team, noticing that it was only when a stray bullet struck near the masked face on the 'body' rock did it ever seem to flinch or show caution.
Ren managed to climb a tree and jump out from a branch to land on one the arms, firing at the mask once he landed. But he only had a second before having to dive away from the other arm as it crashed down where he was. "We can't get to its face!" The ninja says as he lands nearby.
"Then let's hit it hard enough that it can't ignore it!" Jaune retorts with a smile. "Keep it busy for a bit!"
"Oh great." Ren deadpans as he rolls his eyes before doing as ordered with Ruby and Pyrrha, the girls keeping the Grimm occupied. He distinctly remembered having to distract a sniper during the Vytal Tournament.
"Nora! You ready?"" Jaune asks as he pulls out one of the new 'toys' he had on his belt that he was borrowing.
"Let's do it!" The bubbly girl agrees and allows the taser baton to be pressed against her plush side for a quick shock to boost her strength.
Ruby burst into petals and shot into the sky, far above the golem where she reformed, collapsed Crescent Rose into its rifle configuration, and began taking shots as she fell. Meanwhile, Pyrrha reloaded and opened fire, keeping as close as she dared. At the same time, Ren began climbing the rocks from behind.
Ruby fell and burst into petals before hitting the ground, her part in keeping one arm up successful as she dashed away, recuperating and rolling out her momentum on the ground. Pyrrha had similar luck with the other arm but the same rocks she had shot came crashing down after she ran out of bullets. She had dived away easily enough but the shockwave sent her rolling for a short distance as a result, though she found her feet and retreated near Ruby. Ren had made it to the top of the main boulders and jumped over, the blades of Stormflower slashing at the mask as he passed. He was only able to scratch it but that was plenty for the Grimm to react, jumping and flailing back until it fell.
"Jaune! Are you ready?" Pyrrha calls out to her teammate as she staggers from the small earthquake from the fallen golem.
"I'm READY!" Nora shouts and the blonde pulls away the taser baton. The short redhead is covered in pink sparks of electricity as she watches the Grimm rise to its 'feet' with a grin on her face.
"Do it!" Jaune orders and Nora was off like a bullet, her boots having left furrows from her pushing off.
The Geist was stomping its way over to the Huntsmen when one broke away at astonishing speed and jumping at it, hammer spinning to build force and a bloodthirsty yell coming from her lungs. It raised an arm to take the hit like before, its other arm readying to strike back.
Then the hammer made contact, a grenade being fired just before to add even more force to the attack. And the boulder shattered under the blow, the Grimm's connection to it becoming a liability as it was thrown off balance and stumbled back a few steps. In retaliation, it used what remained of that connection to gather some of the shattered pieces and throw them at the Huntsmen.
Dozens of rocks flew at high speeds at the team, Nora being closest didn't have to worry about the spreading of the shot and dove to the side, only having to deal with a few small pieces that were falling from the initial shattering. For the others, it was much worse.
Ren had to twist and turn around the stones, having to slash a few with his weapons to avoid being hit with anything too damaging. Ruby used her semblance to avoid the worst of it, the rocks passing through the cloud of red petals before she reformed well outside the range of the thrown stone shower. Pyrrha held her ground, being in the middle of the spread, and ducking down behind her shield. Akouo held up well enough and she was glad that she wore armor on her shoulders after one large rock had hit the metal there.
But it was Jaune who seemed to have the worst of it, not having his shield nor having expected to be attacked while on the sidelines. The blonde frantically scrambled and dove and jumped to avoid the rocks tumbling and bouncing his way… with some success. He was only hit twice, once in the stomach and another in the face, the latter sending him tumbling into a much larger boulder where he hit hard with his back. Lucky for him, his aura took the real damage and he had a lot of it, even if he felt the pain.
The team gathered around Jaune as the Geist tried to rebalance itself without an arm, Pyrrha helping the blonde to his feet.
"It doesn't care about its limbs!" Ren comments. The team watched with fascinated horror as the skeletal arm of the Geist manifested on the side of the 'body', twitching disturbingly and large enough to match its rocky counterpart. That arm was then plunged into a dead tree without damaging the rotting wood.
"It just gets something new to replace them!" Ruby shouts as if the others hadn't just seen it happen in front of them. Then the tree was ripped from the ground. The new 'arm' wasn't as mobile or sturdy as the old limb but it didn't matter as a tree was a tree and this one still had a lot of soil and rocks locked around its roots.
"That's a big hammer." Nora mutters, suddenly feeling inadequate.
"Do you have a plan yet?" Pyrrha asks as Jaune stands on his own now.
"Hmm… Ruby?"
"Yeah?"
"Think you could carry Nora?"
The silver-eyed girl blinked at the question before she glanced at the shorter but older girl. Nora may be smaller in height but she has more muscle under her padding, making her a bit heavier. Then again, Penny was heavier than she looked and Ruby had been able to use her speed then too. It was only the shock of the other girl's weight that broke her from her semblance. But she knew what she was dealing with now and she had practiced her semblance a lot since then.
"I can do it."
"Alright, I'll recharge Nora and we'll hit that thing even harder than before. Aim right for its body." Jaune tells the pair.
"And us?" Ren seemed to only be asking to delay what he was figured to be his role… again.
"We'll be keeping it distracted and in position for them." Jaune tells him, drawing another item from his belt, causing everyone's eyes to widen.
"Alright, let's do this!" Pyrrha shouts as she slams a fresh clip into her rifle and runs off to the right, Ren letting out a sigh before dashing to the left.
Ren strafed around the golem once again, this time keeping his distance but the tree was raised to block his bullets. At the same time, Pyrrha opened fire from the other side, the stone arm ensuring that she couldn't hit its face.
"Let's see how it feels about this." Ruby mutters as she changes her ammunition.
But in front of the golem, Jaune had run with his arms waving and yelling to gain the Geist's' attention. Its single eye peered down on him as it discounted the others as pests. Then the stone feet stomped after the blonde with the giant club swinging after him.
A single bullet was shot to impact the tree arm, the Fire Dust igniting the rotting wood with ease.
"Um…" Pyrrha saw this as a problem, one that she shared with Ren.
"Yes!" Jaune pumped an arm in excitement.
The Geist looked at its flaming arm with a touch of curiosity for a few moments, before its eye turned back to the blonde in front of it. Then the realization of what it came up with dawned on Jaune, the color draining from his face as the arm pulled back. His own response was surprising, lifting a pistol and aiming at the mask on the stone.
Click.
"Jaune! The safety is still on!" Pyrrha shouts as she runs back around to give the Grimm another target.
"Uh-oh." That was all he was able to say before the flaming club swung at him, the stone and dirt tearing furrows into the soil of their battlefield to join the deep impressions from its rocky feet. It may have been a bit embarrassing that the blonde's screams of fear were rather high pitched but he was among friends who wouldn't call him out on that… much, and nobody else was around.
Pyrrha shot at the Grimm's face as she ran, its large strides and the small earthquakes caused by its steps making it difficult to keep up with. On the other side, Ren was doing the same with just as much success, little.
"Nora!" Jaune yells as he dove, feeling the heat on his back as the arm swung over him, not to mention the wind whipping by as a result. "I really hope you're ready!" It didn't help that he was trying to lead and keep the Grimm in position for the girls or that he was trying to figure out the safety on the only weapon he had on hand. He was never someone who got into using firearms much, despite the occasional practice that his team gave him at Beacon. But this was an unfamiliar weapon to him and he had to remember how it worked as he ran for his life.
The dynamic girl in question lifted her arm and let the taser fall from her armpit where she let it charge her up, at least until it ran out of power. "Ruby, ready to rock and roll?"
"Ready when you are!" Ruby had stowed away her scythe for this particular plan and was bouncing on the balls of her feet in preparation.
"Then let's do this thing!"
Ruby waited a few more moments for the golem to move closer to being directly in front of them before she began running, building up her speed naturally before using her semblance one last time and pouring as much aura into it as she dared.
Red petals crashed into Nora and swept her up, pink sparks and all, creating a pink and crimson tornado that blitzed towards the golem as fast as it could.
As for the Grimm, it saw the oncoming attack and raised its burning arm in defense, thinking that the combination of large tree and flames would dissuade them. Instead, the twister separated just before the fire and resolved into Ruby leading with her scythe swinging, the sheer momentum combined with sharp edge and her weight slicing through the weakened wood. And through the gap created in the flames, the pink dynamo barreled through and swung her hammer, letting another grenade add more force to the attack.
Stone shattered and the boulders and tree that served as its limbs fell to the ground, their crashing sounding like thunder and littered the ground with the remains. The largest piece of the 'body' rock tumbled and rolled to a stop some distance away from where Ruby and Nora landed, the Geist poking its head out and looking around at its broken body. Seeing as it was now beaten in this way and the Huntsmen and Huntresses that were fighting it were either too far away to attack it or the two that had destroyed its body were rising to their feet, it took the opportunity to run.
To be more accurate, to float away as it has no legs, just a wispy, smokey trail coming from its torso.
Bang!
"Jaune?"
"Yes Pyrrha?"
"Were you trying to hit the Grimm?"
"Yes?"
"You missed."
"I know." He hung his head, stuffing the pistol into the holster.
"I got it!" Ruby calls out, already taking aim with Crescent Rose.
The Geist turned its head at the sound of a second gunshot just in time for its eye to widen at the Fire Dust round just before it made contact.
—-
"Here you go kid, just as you asked for!" A tall and muscular bull faunus with an impressive set of horns on his head to match his jovial attitude. He had set a freshly made cuirass on the counter for the blonde knight as payment for their recent mission to destroy the Geist. The new armor was partially made from his old armor but now it would cover more of his body for extra protection and tailored for him specifically.
"Oh wow! It's looking better than I expected." Jaune says as he looks it over, his eyes widening a bit when he picked it up and was surprised by the weight.
"Ha! You'll get used to the extra weight but you'll be glad for it the next time you run into something with a set of claws!" The blacksmith boasted with a laugh.
Jaune starts taking off the loaned armor. "Uh… where do you want me to put this?"
"Just set everything over there while I go get the rest." He points to a high-sided tray as he disappears into the back of his shop.
"I guess I was going to have to get new armor at some point. At least I still have it with me in some way." Jaune rubs his hand over the new armor and takes in the white accented with gold.
"It's a sign of maturity." Ren says in support.
"Maturity, right." Jaune agrees as he sets the borrowed armor in the tray and turns around to face the rest of the team.
Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha had no real reactions to him doing that beyond smiles that he was upgrading his mission gear. Ruby on the other hand…
"What is that!" Ruby shouts as she points at him, doing her best to hold back her laughter.
"What? My hoodie? I've always worn this."
"It's got a CUTE LITTLE BUNNY RABBIT!" Somehow Ruby was able to get even louder and her laughter became even harder to control.
"Pumpkin Pete? What's wrong with that?"
"What did you do? Send in a box top?"
Jaune turned away from the hysterical girl who looked like she was about to bust her gut from laughing so hard. "Yeah, fifty!" Unfortunately, that admission only made Ruby laugh even harder and louder and even falling to the floor didn't make her miss a beat.
"I suppose I should have seen that coming. Taking that sponsorship wasn't exactly the highlight of my career." Pyrrha scratches the back of her head. She couldn't help but see the irony of having been on the box of the cereal that has marshmallows in it while now looking more like a marshmallow version of herself than when she was on the box.
"Can't have a Huntsman without his weapon!" The blacksmith had returned, paying the giggling girl on the floor no mind as he all but slammed the edge of Crocea Mors onto the countertop to catch the teens attention. Then he activated the shield to deploy its full width and display the gold edges and ornate design near the tip.
The updated shield and sword were certainly eye-catching, enough that Ruby was brought out of her fit to stare at the weapons. Nora definitely thought so as her hands pressed in her chubby cheeks as she squealed in joy. Ren was impassively proud… somehow. Pyrrha was ecstatic but kept her own excitement just under control from lots of practice.
"Alright! If you're that stunned with it, wait until he gets his new gear on!" The smith laughs at the four behind the real customer. "I got a small room over here you can get changed in and we can see how it all fits on ya before you leave."
A little while later, Jaune emerged from the shop in his brand-new gear with the smith following him looking quite proud. "I think he cleans up quite well, don't you think?" He asks, though his eyes were on Pyrrha who was looking the blonde up and down.
Jaune kept his jeans and hoodie, wearing the new cuirass over top with matching pauldron on his left shoulder and bracers on both arms. Similarly, he also traded out his old orange gloves for full black gloves with gold-colored plates over the fingers. He had also traded out his old sneakers, admittedly they were getting more than a little worn, for a pair of dark brown boots with lacing and white metal toes. On his waist, he now wears a red sash and a single belt that has a small pouch on the right with Crocea Mors hanging from the left side.
"Very well." The tall champion agrees with a smile and blush.
"You sure you kids don't want to stick around? I could do some more work for you as payment."
"Tempting, but we are pressed for time on our mission." Ren informs the smith.
"Make it to Haven Academy no matter what!" Nora shouts, pumping an arm to the sky.
"We've been delayed enough by our airship crashing. We're just doing some missions on the way to keep ourselves supplied for the trip." Pyrrha tells the bull.
"Hmm… we don't have any airships here, rare enough when they do show up. And scroll signals were often a bit iffy at the best of times out here, when they were working. But your best bet would be the village of Shion to the south east. They may have what you need to get you to Mistral faster if you're lucky."
"Any idea how long it would take to get there?" Ruby asks the smith, hoping that it would be a short distance.
"Hmm… most people don't travel on foot like you but it usually takes about a week on horseback with good weather."
"Oh, um…great. Thanks!" The girl turned away so the smith couldn't see her pout. The rest of the team fell into step with her now that their business in the village was done and they needed to get going while the day was new and weather fair.
—-
It had been a week of walking along the road and no signs of civilization to be seen. No other travelers, civilian or Huntsman at all to ask how far to their destination. No homes, abandoned or occupied to try staying the night in.
Even the Grimm they dealt with along the way seemed to make the time pass slowly.
The best they had were some extremely worn road signs that were impossible to read thanks to a combination of weathering and many were scratched out as a settlement that fell to the Grimm over the years. Victims of the attempts of expanding the reaches of the Kingdom of Mistral or even hopes of establishing their own Kingdom.
But those towns would take them off their path just to even look at to confirm if they still stood or not and they had a lot of ground to cover before they reached Shion, let alone Mistral.
If there was one thing that they had learned on the road, it was that bathing didn't matter quite as much when they all stank together. On the other hand, when they could bathe it felt better than just about anything. And the cycle continued.
—-
Two weeks of walking without finding Shion had led to some depressed teens. They were all looking forward to a soft bed after a long hot shower… meals before or after would be determined when they got there.
The next day brought Team RNNJR the hope they were needing, lights and sounds of people.
The problem was that they were still in the middle of nowhere and a check of the map showed that the only towns were Shion and the site of their last mission… if they were reading it correctly.
"Ahh! Travelers! Welcome!" A large man belts out as they draw near the source of the lights and sound.
"What is all this?" Jaune asks the man.
"You're here but don't know? Well then, let me introduce you to the Grand Bazaar! We move around the continent to collect, buy, and sell to everyone who we come across!"
"So… we can get a meal and bed here?" Nora asks, unsure how to take such a place. But she saw how much food was available and her stomach was nearly roaring for something to fill it.
"Food, drink, beds, and so much more!" The man confirms. "Entry fee of twenty-five lien each!"
The teens groaned and rolled their eyes at the final part but reached into their wallets and gave him the required money, which was promptly dropped into a lockbox with the Grand Bazaar logo stamped into it.
"Have a good time!" The man waved them in.
"Ren, do you remember anything like this before?" Nora asks her best friend quietly.
"Not at all. Maybe we missed it?"
"It might be new." Jaune shrugs.
"The guy did say they travel all over the place." Ruby tried being optimistic.
"Let's just try to keep everything with us and stay together." Pyrrha suggests, seeing more than a few 'rough' looking people.
It was odd to see such a mix of people from different walks of life from the rich to poor mingling together around the various tents and buildings that looked to be designed for easy assembly and disassembly. The Grand Bazaar really was set up to go anywhere at any time.
They were passing a large tent when Ruby suddenly darted inside, prompting the others to follow her. Arranged on a series of tables, a wide variety of weapons were on display, complete with accessories and replacement parts. Ammunition and Dust was being sold by another vendor. Same with armors. And another for durable clothes of all styles with a tailor to ensure that things fit correctly.
Then again, the team deadpanned at the fact that Ruby had been distracted by the mere sight of weapons when they were looking for a place to stay the night.
"Ruby, is this really the time to be shopping?" Jaune asks his friend.
"Oh! I'm just so excited about seeing so many weapons!" The youngest in the group was bouncing in place with her fists by her face. Her squeals and fluttering cloak caught the attention of the vendor who came over with a huge smile.
"Ah! You have a good eye for quality! Anything in particular that you may be in need of?" The woman asks, sounding friendly enough.
Ruby took her time looking over the various parts rather than the full weapons on display. Scopes, magazines, barrels, triggers and their guards, etc. but what caught her eye was the scope that claimed to be auto-focusing and had night vision. Then she saw the scope itself and found that it was built to be mounted on a rifle, making her frown as there was no way she could add something that big to Crescent Rose. The price was also a big turn off, being higher than she expected and certainly more than what she had.
"Hmm… it doesn't look like you have anything that could work for my weapon." Ruby informs the vendor.
"Perhaps if you show me what you use, I could see if I have anything in stock." The woman suggests, not noticing that the rest of the team gave the cloaked Rose some room, with Jaune taking a closer look at the pistols on display.
Ruby shrugged and unclipped Crescent Rose from her hip and fully deployed the scythe, the massive weapon making everyone but the team jump in surprise and fear. "Think you have anything that could work on my baby without impairing its functionality?"
The woman took a few moments to gather her wits before looking over the weapon, taking in the rifle and scythe components as well as the fact that it can compact to such a small size. "I… I'm not sure that I have much for that."
"Oh well. At least you have a nice selection."" Ruby compliments as she collapses her scythe and stows it away. The woman looked saddened a bit at the dismissal but smiled at the compliment before moving over to the boys who were discussing the aspects of different pistols.
Ruby moved on to find Pyrrha looking over the armors on display, Nora sticking close to Ren. The champion examined the various styles that were available, full plate, chainmail, leather… not to mention the artistic styles from different cultures around Remnant.
"Find anything you like?"
"It's more of a case of 'will it fit?'" The taller girl sighs. A few pieces had caught her eye that she could possibly mix together with what she had already used to make a change. But it was the size issue that was the real problem for her, not a monetary one. She tried her best not to draw attention to the fact that she carried more lien in her wallet than the rest of RNNJR combined… and tripled that.
"Maybe we can find someone who can make adjustments?" Ruby suggests as she glances at her friend's figure. Pyrrha still maintained an hourglass figure, just one that was incredibly thick. It also meant that she was the one who had the smallest waistline, even if she had larger bust and hip measurements to compensate.
Pyrrha didn't say anything but pointed at the sign that displayed the prices for adjustments before pointing at the prices of a few of the items she had her eye on.
"Oh… I see your point."
They moved on to another tent where several vehicles were hidden under tarps, a sale on them beginning soon from what they gathered from snippets of conversations they caught.
"Cars? Think we'd be able to buy one? We'd get to Mistral a lot faster that way." Nora asks as she pulls on Ren's shoulder to help her see over the crowd. Sometimes, being short has its disadvantages, even if she made up for it in raw strength.
"Nora, I doubt we'd be able to buy the cheapest one they plan to sell." The ninja responds.
"That and none of us have a license to drive." Pyrrha adds, making everyone slump a little.
"At least we can look at what they are selling, right?" Jaune tried being positive.
"Why not?" Ruby shrugs and they move to find a good place to watch the sales and show.
"Alrighty folks! Let's get this auction underway, shall we?" A man in a suit stepped out on the stage. It was rather interesting to see that he was skipping a lot of showboating that many in his line of work would do. Maybe it was his way to stand out from that crowd or they had a lot to go through.
There was a small roar of approval from those gathered before they all grew quiet, and talking now done in whispers.
Then the first tarp was removed to reveal a slick looking black car with yellow accent detailing and rims. It wasn't exactly a sports car but looked to be a sporty version of a more standard family car. No doubt that there were a few features that it has that most wouldn't in the normal class.
"This here you may recognize as an Eclipse! We found this beautiful lady abandoned on the side of the road on our way here and have NOT been able to track down the original owners, giving us the right to find new ones! This car has a real beast for a motor under the hood that is powerful, yet surprisingly quiet. There's not a scratch or speck of dirt on the paint job and she handles even rough roads and weather like a champ!"
That kind of introduction got the crowd talking, such a great vehicle being left in the middle of nowhere was practically a crime.
"That's a pretty good car." Ruby comments, with Jaune being the closest who was really invested in looking at the cars.
"It looks really good." The blonde responds.
"Yeah, it does. Plus, according to Yang, the Eclipse is a really great car all around. It's just a bit expensive thanks to being a sportier model than the base Nimbus, which is also a really cool car."
"Yang talks about cars a lot? I thought she was into bikes?"
"She's a bit of a grease monkey that jumps at the opportunity to mess with anything with a big engine. And she's asked me a few times about my opinion on designs and engineering."
"I guess that makes sense. Does that mean you'll try to build your own car when you can?"
That question got Ruby blushing. "Maybe. I uh… kinda drew up some ideas while I had the free time at home." Seeing the entire team glance at her, she spoke quickly in her defense. "I needed something to do and talking cars and bikes with Yang helped to cheer her up a bit."
"And the Eclipse goes to… Mr. Em Os!" The salesman announces, the auction having been completed during the conversation. "Come on around the side and we'll take care of all of the paperwork and payment and you'll be driving home in your dream car!"
A woman was quick to hop in the driver's seat and start it up, the engine practically purring as she backed out of the tent, presumably to where the payment and transfer would take place.
"Now this! This, ladies and gentlemen, will really surprise all of you!" The salesman tells everyone to draw their attention, one of the ladies on stage doing a little drumroll nearby on a desk that he put the microphone near assisted in gathering eyes on the stage.
"All the way from the far north, I'm proud to present to you all the most luxurious vehicle we have to offer tonight!" The tarp was lifted with a flourish so that it hid the car for as long as possible. "May I present to you, the Atlas Tech Primrose!"
The Primrose is a white car with smooth curves. Red paint made for a stylized rose on the hood, doors, trunk, and roof while the rims are painted green with the 'power' symbol of Atlas Tech on the hubs. Curiously, the windows were also tinted green and through the now open driver's door, one could see the red leather interior and some of the holographic console.
"This darling is top of the line and brand new from the factory! Leather seats, heated and cooling with massage make any drive as comfortable as possible. Almost anything can be accessed thanks to the onboard terminal so you can take work on the go or find your favorite tunes and videos to listen to as you travel in style.
Not only that, but the car is among the safest you'll find anywhere! Sensors all around make it almost impossible to crash into a wall or accidentally bump into someone, not only giving the driver warnings of the danger but it will steer itself away or stop on its own. Should the worst come to pass, hard light shielding will automatically be deployed as needed to keep the car looking brand new.
In addition to all of that, the onboard AI is more than capable of handling all of the safety features, making sure that everything in the cabin is to your liking, and even driving the Primrose to your chosen destination!"
"I'm ready to take you anywhere, in style!" A woman's voice comes from the Primrose, the console flashing a bit with the words, the engine starting up smoothly and some green lines glowed around the grill, windows, and rims.
"We'll be starting the bidding at one million lien! Do we have any takers?" Within seconds, the price rose several times.
"Wow, do you think Weiss would drive up in one of those?" Nora had to ask.
"I'm thinking that she'd be driven in one of those." Ren corrects his friend.
"I'm sure those techs thought up nearly everything when designing that car." Ruby gasped as her silver eyes traced over the entire machine.
"Yeah, I can't imagine anyone being able to bring themselves to NOT like that car." Jaune says.
"Maybe just the price." Pyrrha shrugs.
"And the Primrose goes to Mrs. Jones! Come on up and we'll take care of things."
Once again, one of the women on stage drove the car off the stage, the engine quiet but held power as the woman who was buying the car was led around the back.
"That's one lucky lady to have a car like that." Ruby comments as she looks at the rest of the tarped vehicles, trying to guess what they were.
"Alright! Next, we have something else that's special and thankfully more affordable to most of you folks!" He grabs the tarp and pulls it off, thankfully without the flourish as the Primrose had gotten.
But the car was amazing enough to not need that stunt. This one is a full out sports car by its initial design, two doors and large hood with nearly no trunk to speak of. Painted a forest green with a black stripe down the middle front to back with an interesting tinting to the windows- pink- that made it stand out from nearly everything that one might see on the roads. Even the rims looked like flowers for a more unique appearance but that was a feature of its makers.
"This here comes from the Lotus Manufacturing Company with a new take on their engine design, that being an all Lightning Dust power. This baby will rocket you around from zero to sixty in four seconds flat while driving nice and quiet. The Lotus Bolt will be starting at fifty thousand lien, but keep in mind that these are a limited model so their value will rise fast! Do I have any takers?"
"What do you think?" Pyrrha asks the blonde.
"Lotus has a track record of reliability in their cars. Most of them are meant more for families, so they tend to be cheaper but you won't really see one break down unless something has been done to it."
"Yeah, and they are pretty affordable for the public. My dad's car is a Lotus, I think." Ruby adds.
"What do you think, Ren? Would that be something you'd like to try driving if you had the chance?" Nora asks.
"Perhaps." The resident ninja kept his response simple as he looked the car over.
"And sold to Mr. En Os!" Once again, the price had gotten pretty high. It wasn't anywhere close to the starting price of the Primrose but far above what the Lotus had started at. And they weren't kidding at how quiet the car was, barely being able to be heard at all over the murmuring of the crowd.
Then came the final car on stage and the sheet was removed to reveal another sports car that had an interesting blend of smooth and sharp edges that just seemed to work. This one was painted yellow with several black lines running along its length, the tires are a bit wider than standard. And there was a gasp as many recognized it.
"This here, as many of you know, is the Wasp! This model is really popular and a collectors dream car! I'm sure you all know that this could do so let's get the ball rolling!"
"Pfftt! There's no way I'd be touching that without a full rebuild from the beginning." Ruby scoffed, crossing her arms. That outburst took her team by surprise, having gotten used to her enjoying the others that she saw."
"What do you mean by that?" Pyrrha asks as she leans in a bit. She didn't know anything about the car, or many cars in general, so she was curious.
"Yeah, most people will have pictures of a Wasp if they are into cars." Jaune adds, noticing that Ren and Nora were paying attention to the girl.
"Hmph! The Wasp is only something good to look at but under the hood it's all a mess. Poor layout of the engine makes it a pain to do anything without nearly dismantling half of it, many of the parts are cheaply made and wear out fast, and the frame is known to buckle under its own torque." She let out another huff. "The whole thing is nothing but a cash grab from those who want to claim they have one. Driving it will mean you will spend a lot just to maintain it and actually pushing the car towards its limits is known for tearing it apart."
"So… the car is pretty much a scam?" Nora asks, almost timidly. She knew from experience that Ruby loved when a machine was reliable and long lasting, like her Crescent Rose. Something that was essentially designed to fall apart from the beginning… she could see that the hooded Huntress was holding back.
"I see, I'm guessing that the replacement parts are also something that costs more than they should as well for their quality." Ren says.
"Yep!" Ruby popped the p on that.
"Sold to Mr. Luna!"
The car was guided down the ramp, which took Ruby's suspicions to new levels, especially when she thought back to how the announcer skipped saying anything about the car itself as he did with the others. Still, the price she heard that Luna was willing to pay for what she thought was best as a paperweight was ridiculous. She shook her head as the car sale was now closed and she led her team out for somewhere else to look at things, hopefully food and/or bed.
"Yang doesn't even like the car after she found some chat groups practically were in a war over how high maintenance the Wasp is, some claiming that it's a perk of having one while others see it as flushing their lien down the drain. She eventually deleted her pictures of the car and gave up on those groups." Ruby vented as they walked.
"Was it that bad?" Pyrrha was curious. It was rare to see their blonde friend get too upset that didn't pass quickly.
"It's part of the reason she got Bumblebee instead of a car, even if she had to get a motorcycle license after getting her license to drive a car." The young girl shrugs, remembering watching Yang freaking out before her tests and the celebrations after passing.
"You mean there's different licenses to drive?" Ren asks for clarification.
"Oh boy." Ruby pulls her hood over her head for some measure of privacy, causing the others to laugh a bit at her antics.
"Pancakes."
"Nora, you can have pancakes for breakfast if we find a place that makes them." Ren tells her in a tone that makes one believe he has said that line hundreds of times before. His friends certainly didn't doubt that was the case.
"Pancakes."
"Really?"
"Um Ren, is Nora, okay?" Jaune asks, concern for the shortest teammate growing. Nora's sanity was something that was a bit questionable as long as he'd known her, especially with how she had chosen to get him across the broken bridge back during initiation.
"PANCAKES!" Nora shouts as she points at a sign ahead of them. And there it was, a sign advertising a pancake eating contest that would be starting soon. With an entry fee of ten lien and their own stomachs growling at the prospect of their bellies being filled with as much as they could hold. There wasn't a second thought needed as the till box was provided another fifty lien.
The first plate of five flapjacks went down the gullets of every contestant with ease. Same with the second plate. It was the third plate where some started dropping out, reducing the field to just under thirty people. The fourth plates saw more backing out, at least one immediately finding a trashcan nearby to empty his own contents.
Ren finally backed out halfway through the fifth plate, his face almost as green as his coat but he at least had the control to keep the meal down. Jaune finished the round, looking like he was going to puke or pass out at any moment. Nobody bothered to give the crow on the nearby light post a second glance, figuring that it was only there for a chance at an easy meal.
The three girls were still going strong, though Ruby subtly loosened her corset and Nora undid her belt to keep her restrictions to a minimum. Pyrrha may have had the most exposed midriff of her team but she also wore armor which naturally didn't have the stretch that her friends' clothes do. That also meant that the more she ate, the tighter her armor became. At some point, something had to give.
Jaune fled the stage when the next plate, though he tripped and caught himself on Pyrrha's chair, a finger tracing down her spine unintentionally and making her jump. But he moved on quickly, fighting to keep his dinner down. Neither noticed that the knot keeping her armored corset was now undone.
By the end of the sixth round, there were few contestants left. Ruby and Pyrrha were definitely slowing down, as were the other three men and a woman. Nora was the only one who kept going as if she had just started.
The seventh round found that there were limits to stomach capacity for most, the four civilians bowing out before the round finished while the three Huntresses completed their plates. Maybe it was part of their competitive nature as teens and Huntresses that helped them keep going, those qualities certainly helped them eat more than normal.
Then Ruby finally had enough when she saw the next plate coming out, throwing in the towel and staggering away. Pyrrha didn't mind that the tightness that she had felt earlier in the competition had faded but that tightness had been on the outside. Now she had to worry about what she felt on the inside, finally giving up just before clearing her plate and collapsing back into her chair.
"We have ourselves a winner! Miss Nora Valkyrie!" The woman running the event bellowed for all to hear. "Anything you'd like to say?"
"Yeah, keep them coming!" The fact that the short girl was still asking for more shocked the woman and everyone else, though the man who had been bringing out the fresh plates had two ready in his hands already thinking that there might have been another round to go, shrugged and brought the plates up to the plump girl who happily dug into them.
"Yep, she's in her own little world." Ren comments from the side where he watched with Jaune and Ruby.
It didn't take long for Nora to finish and be told that the contest was over, to her disappointment. But the details for her victory and Pyrrha's runner up prize had to be worked out. Nobody cared that the crow took the opportunity to snatch up an extra pancake from the outdoor stove. Technically the cook cared as that was to be his snack after doing the hard work for the competition… and he had no more batter left.
"So… let me get this straight. All you really want for winning are beds for the five of you to spend the night?" The woman who ran the contest asks in disbelief.
It was odd that at that moment, Pyrrha's armor slipped down her front as the strain was too much for the laces to hold back the pressure from her chest and full stomach without the knot, especially when she had been moving around. As such, Jaune got an eyeful of the supportive undergarment hidden under the armor when the corset slipped out of position, causing the owner to shriek and hug herself to push it back up correctly while turning away. Jaune wasn't any better, turning away himself since he was right in front of her when the accident happened.
"And maybe help my friend get some new armor while we're at it?" Nora adds to her request.
"Well… let's see what she wants and we'll work out the deal then." The woman says assuredly, having just watched the tallest two have a wardrobe malfunction and begin blushing as bright as her hair.
—-
The five Huntsmen and Huntresses… in training, rose feeling refreshed the next morning. Finally getting a good shower, hot and long, to clean themselves from the weeks' worth of grime and sweat did wonders, as did the soft and warm beds they lay down on for the night. A decent breakfast was paid for in the morning and they loved the fact that their clothes were freshly washed. Then came the time to pick up Pyrrha's new armor.
Thankfully, the smith had taken the items to their tent where they had a changing room available as the Grand Bazaar continued its sales. The rest of the team took their time waiting to look over more weapons and armors as Pyrrha changed.
"How does it look?" The spartan warrior asks as she emerges from behind the curtain. She had kept her circlet and georgette, as well as the band around her left arm. The pauldrons she had quickly crafted back at Beacon were replaced with slightly smaller pauldrons that are double layered. She now wore brown gloves that ran from her fingertips to midway her upper arms, stopping just short of the bracelet on her left arm, and she has bronze-colored guards that covered her forearms and extended slightly past her elbows.
The body was different, with Pyrrha wearing a tube top of the same brown as her gloves, over which she wore a chest guard that covered her bust in bronze colored metal, leaving her upper chest and shoulders free to the air, the piece buckling over her spine. Under that, layers of leather and metal covered her stomach in three pieces that buckled like the first guard in the back. At her waist, she wears a red skirt over tight brown shorts with a brown leather belt with several pouches on it, surprisingly it hung a bit loose on her broad hips and her emblem buckle was transferred to the new belt. The interesting addition was the twin tails that trailed behind her, rectangular red cloth like her skirt that ended in diamond-like points that reached mid-calf.
Her legs were covered in her old greaves, though they were thoroughly cleaned and buffed like new, though the brown leggings underneath have some bronze designs that could be seen through the knee joints. It was her boots that had the biggest change- she still wore heels as before but her feet were now completely covered in segmented bronze-colored metal. Clearly, being shot in the foot with the arrow by Cinder had the trauma stay with her and she had taken the steps to not let history repeat itself.
Jaune stared in shock, eyes wide at his partner and mouth hanging open. The young woman in front of him may be rocking a very thick hourglass figure, but the new armor accented that and he couldn't bring himself to make a sound. A hint of a blush did form on his cheeks as he remembered the night before at the sight of the soft flesh above the chest armor.
"Looking great there, Pyrrha!" Nora was quick to point out, with both thumbs held up and Ren next to her nodding in agreement.
"And the final touch!" Ruby rushed over with Milo and Akouo to return them to their owner. "Now you're ready!"
"Jaune?"
The blonde blinked and sputtered at his name being called out and he tore his eyes off her, now suddenly having the memories of the Fall of Beacon rushing through his head… and the kiss they shared.
"It- it looks great, Pyrrha. It really suits you!" He squeaks out.
"Thank you, Jaune." The champion was sincere with her words, though she did find that his reaction to her new armor to be rather humorous and sweet. And with the way he was staring at her, it lifted her spirits a bit about trying to talk to him about her feelings; they still haven't gotten around to talking about the kiss they had before what she thought was to be her final battle. Maybe with the new looks would come new courage to bring up the subject.
—-
It was rather interesting on their way out on the next leg of their journey to see the cars from last night being driven away while they were on foot. The Eclipse, Primrose, Bolt drove by on the dirt road without any problems, with the Primrose in the lead so that the dirt kicked up wouldn't settle too much on the white vehicle. The Wasp on the other hand…
"Come on! You told me the Wasp is a good car, Sock!" The new owner of the Wasp was yelling at his partner in the passenger's seat.
"It is a good car! Let's just get it home and we'll see if they did anything to this beauty!"
Ruby shook her head as the black and yellow car bounced and shook down the road, left in the dust of the others, the engine sounding like it was misfiring and the exhaust releasing black smoke every now and then in puffs.
"See what I mean?" She gestures at the cars as they go, receiving a quartet of nodding friends in response. Thankfully, the dust was being blown away or settled before they had to walk through it.
The only problem that they had now… was that Ruby had led them northeast rather than southeast to Shion. So, they had at least a five day walk to the town in hopes that they could catch an airship.
AN: Just so you may know, art has been made of RNNJR on the road (before Pyrrha got her new armor) and is available on my DA page. As for the changes to the Geist fight, is it kinda surprising that I never refered back to the episode to get any details from that? That and the aftermath of Jaune getting his new outfit were all done by memory. Probably shows that I've watched RWBY too much if I have so much of it memorized. As for the changes to the fight, I thought it would be funny to see Jaune actually using a gun like the others for once... with hilarious results.
Now if you are interested in a visual of Pyrrha's new armor, I also have a pic of it on my DA of her sparring with Jaune. For those not checking that out but are familiar with Elder Scrolls Online, try imagining a blend of Pyrrha's canon armor with the Elven Hero Armor.
Next time, we're going to be focusing on our favorite faunus on Menagerie and boy is it going to be fun. I hope you all are still ready for heat.
As always, reviews are welcome!