Interlude 3-4: You Are Cordially Invited, Part I

It was, Pyrrha reflected, oddly fitting — and perhaps a little ironic, considering its history — that she should begin her journey home aboard the Mistral Express.

The aforementioned Mistral Express was, counterintuitively, far from an express line. The first leg of it ran north from Vale to Cold Harbor and also served as a secondary freight line for goods between Vale and Atlas to ease pressure on Vale's own docks and harbor. It then traveled east along the coast for a bit before cutting down south into the Kingdom of Vale's eastern territories and then meandered eastward, serving as a major artery for the web of rail lines and roads that criss-crossed the land, until it finally terminated at Freeport on Sanus's eastern coast, the Mistrali beachhead in the Great War and the staging ground for the Valish counterattack.

Given the many stops it made along the way, it hardly deserved to be called an "express," but the name was a relic from when it was built during the Great War, augmenting the old King's Road to support the logistics of the war.

It felt a little odd, journeying home along the rail line that had once carried an army to invade her ancestral homeland. Had, in fact, carried Jaune's own ancestors to help carry out that invasion before they themselves had settled in Mistral.

"Sorry about taking the long way," Jaune apologized, looking positively adorable as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, the comic book he had been reading — issue #1 of something called Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja — dangling loosely in his other hand, "but, you know."

Indeed, with the stops they were planning — not just in Vale, but in Mistral as well — an airship would have been impractical unless they wanted to rent one, and while between them, they could have afforded to, it would have been rather wasteful, even without the price hikes in the wake of the Battle of Vale.

Besides, now that they were licensed Huntsmen, taking the train meant they could get paid instead of paying, serving as security in case the Grimm attacked.

"Don't be silly, Jaune," Pyrrha reassured him. "This is wonderful. Our first job as officially licensed Huntsmen! It may not be as exciting as secret missions to alien bases, but I think we can all appreciate the opportunity to live in … less interesting times."

Jaune quirked an eyebrow, and his gaze flicked over to where Nora was pouting and pacing up and down the train car.

"Almost all," amended Pyrrha.

Besides, while a part of her yearned for the journey to be over so that they could be joined, another part was in no rush to return home just yet. Not with the inevitable revelations, awkward questions, and likely political maneuvering that surely awaited them there. After all, Jaune was being lauded as the Prince of Vale — for all that he denied any such claim — and he hailed from Mistral … Mistral, to which he was returning in order to wed her.

If that wasn't a recipe for a resurgence of … enthusiasm … among the traditionalists and revanchists, she didn't know what was.

It was almost enough to put a damper on her mood. Certainly enough for a small part of her to wish this train ride — peaceful, among her friends, with her love by her side — would last forever, even as most of her paradoxically wished it to be over soon, so that they might take this next step in their lives together as quickly as possible.

"This … this is just perfect, Jaune," she murmured, giving voice to her thoughts as she leaned into him. "I wouldn't trade this trip for the world."

He stared down at her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders. "Huh. You really mean that."

"Yes," she confirmed, nodding against chest. "I do."

And soon enough, she'd be saying those words again in a different context, but with just as much feeling behind them.

The trip up north and east into Cold Harbor had passed without incident, and they remained on the train while it stopped in the port town, for Cold Harbor was a shipping community and lacked anything in the way of sights to see, unless one held a fascination for logistics. The southward leg of the journey along the other side of the Barrier Peaks to the first stop at which they would disembark was similarly uneventful.

This particular train station was positioned where the rail line was met by a river that turned to flow southward alongside it, but the path Jaune led them — westward and upriver — appeared to be little-traveled.

The recently recobbled path stayed by the river before reaching a northward bend across which an ancient-looking arched stone bridge granted them access to the other side. From there, the path led them up to a drawbridge over a dry moat to the largest and most obvious structure in the area, peeking from behind which could be seen a pair of oxbow lakes with a forest between them.

"A castle?!" Nora cried, darting this way and that. "You never said your sister lives in a castle!"

Jaune scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "She doesn't? Not really? I mean, this whole area used to be House Arc's landhold, back in the day, but we've only really kept title to the main estate. Rouge is only staying here to try and get the vineyard and winery up and running again."

"Oh, come on!" a familiar voice complained from the front of the citadel as they approached it.

Jaune's jaw went slack in recognition as Pyrrha immediately stepped forward protectively.

"Cardin," the redhead said, "what are you doing here?"

The tall, broad-shouldered young man who had once bullied Jaune held up his hands defensively — which looked a little awkward, since he was still holding his mace, Executioner — and said, "Hey, we don't want any trouble. We wanted to get out of town for a bit and saw a job open to students to clear out some Grimm in the area."

"'We'?" Jaune asked.

Cardin nodded. "My team. Russel's taking a break inside, and Sky and Dove are sweeping through one of the orchards."

"Hmm." Jaune couldn't help but think there was something else going on.

For his part, Cardin looked away, grumbling, "Figured you'd be staying in the city, helping with the rebuilding."

Jaune scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Yeah, well, we, um, had other business and were passing through—"

"So you figured you'd see your sister, got it," Cardin said. "Don't know what you're scratching your head for; it's nothing to be ashamed of. You got an itch or something?"

"N-no," Jaune replied. "You were the one who made it sound like I had something to be ashamed of!"

"Until I remembered that you had family out here," Cardin said. "Or in there, anyway."

He paused for a moment. His gaze flickered between Jaune and Pyrrha. "So, you two are getting married, huh?"

"That's correct," Pyrrha said, with a chilly courtesy in her voice.

A smile pulled at the flesh of Cardin's face. "Congratulations, Jaune," he said, and he almost sounded sincere as he stepped forward and offered Jaune his hand.

"Uh … thanks," Jaune said, his voice a little wary; nevertheless, despite his wariness, he reached out and took Cardin's hand.

Somewhat to his surprise, the bigger boy didn't try and crush him with his grip.

"Congratulations just to Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, her voice acquiring somewhat of a sharp edge.

"It's nothing personal!" Cardin insisted. "It's just … guys like us, we've got it made. We got lucky. We hit the jackpot. It's not just Jaune; he gets that, right?"

Jaune glanced at Pyrrha, a sheepish smile upon his face. "Well—"

Pyrrha took Jaune by the hand. "I will have you know," she declared, "that Jaune was the most eligible student in our year."

Cardin frowned. "Seriously? He was?"

"I was?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha looked at him. "Jaune, half the girls in our year wanted to go out with you."

Jaune's brow furrowed. "You, Ruby…" He did not ask who the other girls were.

Pyrrha smiled. "You, Jaune Arc," — she leaned forward and kissed him on the nose — "are quite the catch."

"That isn't something I expected to hear today," Cardin muttered. He smirked, making himself look rather ugly and toad-like in the process. "So, since I haven't gotten my invitation yet, which of you is wearing the suit and which the dress?"

"Technically neither," Jaune said, "since Mistrali weddings don't include those outfits."

Cardin rolled his eyes. "I meant—"

"I know what you meant, and I'm not dignifying it with a response," Jaune declared.

Cardin huffed. "I see your sense of humor was one of the casualties of the battle," he muttered. "Anyway, the last I saw of Miss Arc, she was inside the castle. I don't know how long you're planning on staying here, but if you are going to stay the night, a word of warning: sleep with one eye open."

Pyrrha tensed. "Is that a threat?"

"No, it's not a threat; it's a warning," Cardin insisted. "I don't know where your sister dug up this estate manager, but she gives me the creeps."

There was the crack of a single gunshot to the south, shattering the still calm of the chill air. It was a rifle round, if Pyrrha was any judge, too deep to be a side arm, not deep enough to be anything heavier. It did not sound like Dove's Hallshott.

"Trouble?" Jaune asked.

Cardin turned towards the sound of the gunshot, but said, "I think that's the estate manager I told you about it. It's too far away to be coming from the vineyards; I think that sounded from the woods south of here. But I'll go find Dove and Sky anyway, make sure they haven't run into anything." He raised his voice. "Hey! Russel! Get out here! Duty calls! Maybe."

"Do you need any help?" Jaune asked.

"Just because Nikos won the Vytal Festival and you became big heroes during the battle doesn't mean I need you to help me do my job," Cardin insisted. "I went to all the same classes that you did; I don't need your help just because you took … extracurriculars. We'll be fine."

"Unless you hear us screaming, then you can come help us out," Russel said as he jogged out of the ancient keep to join his team leader. "Congratulations on the engagement, by the way."

"Thanks," Jaune said evenly.

Cardin rested Executioner upon his shoulder, then turned away and loped off in the direction of the vineyards. Russell followed after, dogging his heels a step or two behind.

"Are you sure that you don't want to go with them?" Ren asked, leaning forwards slightly.

Jaune hesitated for a moment. "No, at this point, we'd just be insulting Cardin and his team; besides, I haven't heard any more shots, so it doesn't sound as if there's a fight going on."

"Pity," Nora said, stretching her arms. "I could have done with a workout."

Jaune chuckled. "Come on; I'll introduce you to my oldest sister."

He led the way across the drawbridge into Castle Arc, Pyrrha following almost but not quite level with him, Ren and Nora a step or two behind. The ancient stronghold of the Arc line was … well, to call it a castle was almost to give it too much credit nowadays, as impressive as it might or might not have been in days of old. Now, a single tower was largely all that remained of the old keep, for all that it was a stout tower, broad enough at the base to accommodate several Mistrali homes within, and while it narrowed as it rose, it did not do so overmuch. The walls were gray stone and only slightly crumbling, which was more than could be said for the rest of the castle. The windows were small, if indeed they could be called windows and not mere arrow-slits; they were dark, and Jaune could see nothing within them. Around the tower, the ruins of the remainder of the castle stretched, lines of stone foundations that were all that remained of what had once been a mighty stronghold.

Now, it was nothing but a name.

For the moment, at least. Rouge would see it restored, if not to its former glory, then at least to something … something she could take pride in.

The door into the tower was open, and Rouge d'Arc met them in the entrance hall, an undecorated place of solid stone and wooden floor and dust lamps hung from the sconces that would, once upon a time, have mounted candles.

Jaune's eldest sister was a woman of twenty-six, eight years older than Jaune himself, with the pronounced family resemblance that all their generation of Arcs shared; her hair was the same blond, her eyes the same bright and shining blue, and her skin was just as fair as his, perhaps a little fairer. They even had a similar shape of face, though that was not something that all the siblings had in common. Looking at her dress, Jaune's first thought was that she had given up on the vineyard idea and decided to open up this place to tourists, because she was swathed in fur — wolfskin, maybe — like some kind of old-fashioned lord of the castle, although the fact that she was wearing a red turtleneck sweater underneath that kind of cut against that effect.

"Jaune!" she cried, holding out both arms wide in front of her in an invitation — almost a demand — for a hug.

Jaune smiled and enthusiastically accepted the invitation, wrapping his arms around her in turn — the wolf pelt, if that was what it was, felt surprisingly soft — as she embraced him. She kissed him upon each cheek.

"Great to see you, too," Jaune declared. "Although that's an interesting outfit choice you're wearing."

"Winter is coming, Jaune," Rouge said. "You know what that means?"

Jaune shrugged.

"It means that this place, old and drafty as it is, is going to be absolutely freezing," Rouge said, "and even when the vineyard and the winery are turning a profit, it'll still be practically unaffordable to heat this place properly, so, yes, I'm wrapping up warm."

She paused. "Plus, you know, if I'm going to live in a drafty old castle, I might as well get something out of it: like the chance to prance around in furs like this."

She struck a pose. "Where else would I get the chance to dress like this without looking like a complete idiot?"

Jaune chuckled. "Well—"

Rouge pointed at him. "Don't," she warned.

"Why are you living here, with such hardships?" Ren asked. "It seems as though it would be more pleasant to build a new house on the property."

Rouge folded her arms. "Introduce me to your friends, Jaune, and then I'll answer their questions."

"Right," Jaune said. "Everyone, this is my sister, Rouge d'Arc; Rouge, let me present my teammates: Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren."

"Nice to meet you!" Nora cried.

Ren bowed his head. "Thank you for receiving us."

Rouge nodded, but said nothing. Her gaze fell upon Pyrrha and lingered there.

"And this," Jaune added swiftly. "And this is…"

He trailed off, not tongue-tied exactly, but … how did he put into words how much she meant to him? Was it possible that he could?

"This … this is Pyrrha," he said. "I … I'm going to marry her and make her mine."

"I'm yours already," Pyrrha whispered.

Rouge smiled as she walked towards her. "Let me bid you welcome, Pyrrha," she said, reaching out to take her hands. "Pyrrha … soon to be — but not yet — Arc."

"Nikos," Pyrrha said. "Pyrrha Nikos."

Rouge nodded. "Let me bid you welcome, Pyrrha Nikos; being betrothed to my brother, I owe you all duty."

Pyrrha bowed her head. "I thank you."

Rouge took her chin in one hand and tilted it upwards and kissed Pyrrha upon the cheeks as she had kissed Jaune not long before.

"No, I thank you," she insisted.

"For loving my brother and consenting to be his bride, for taking care of him," she added, waving one arm to encompass Ren and Nora also. "For fighting by his side and for all your valiant service. You have borne yourselves beyond the promise of your age."

"Rouge," Jaune said, "why are you talking like that?"

"Ancient walls breed antique courtesies, Jaune," Rouge declared, before she looked over her shoulder and grinned at him. "And you know I was always a bit of a theater kid."

To Ren, she said, "To answer your question, yes, if I was only interested in growing grapes and making wine out here, then I could build a new house out on the grounds somewhere, but it isn't. This isn't just about making wine with the Arc crest on the bottle, it certainly isn't just about making money, it's … this is our home," she said, gesturing upwards with both hands to encompass the vast and ancient tower. "Our ancestors built this place. It may be old, it may not always be comfortable, but I have roots here in this place, and I want to come home to those roots."

She paused again, for just a little moment. "And besides, I am the mistress of an ancient keep, and you are four renowned warriors who have just turned up at my door seeking hospitality. It's not exactly modern, is it?"

"I … guess not," Jaune admitted.

Rouge laughed softly. "So," she said, clapping her hands together, "would anyone like a tour of Castle Arc?"

Everyone did, and so everyone received one, as Rouge led them up winding narrow staircases, through great halls with vaulted ceilings and narrow cramped corridors where Jaune and Pyrrha had to duck their heads; Ren and Nora fared better, Nora particularly, being somewhat shorter than their engaged teammates. Rouge showed them that, while the castle outside the tower might have fallen into ruin, within the tower, there was a surprising amount that remained preserved: tapestries, suits of antique armor, ancient weapons; it was none of it in the best condition, none of it free from decay, but that it had survived the passage of the years at all was, in itself, something quite remarkable.

"No treasure, unfortunately," Rouge declared as she showed them the vault where, in days of old, the valuables of the family would have been stored. "I think our ancestors must have taken care to bring everything truly valuable with them when they abandoned this place."

"Then where did it go?" Nora asked. "I mean, you don't have it, right?"

Rouge gave her a look. "We're not paupers."

"We're not poor," confirmed Jaune, shaking his head at his teammate.

"We are the great and august House Arc, and while, admittedly, some of my sisters are a bit more insistent on that point, the point is that we still have quite a collection of historical artifacts like any good Mistrali noble house," Rouge continued. "It's just … there is still a bit of discontinuity between what was here and what we have now."

To that, Nora asked, "Then what about that stuff? Where did it go?"

"It probably went to the kingdom when the monarchy was abolished," Rouge suggested. "Besides, while it might have been nice to find an old crown or a diamond that was once worn by a queen, I'm not going to obsess over what became of what isn't here. I'm certainly not going to spend my time trying to track down my supposed inheritance; I have enough to do as it is."

"What are you going to do with what you have found?" Jaune asked.

"I'd love to get the tapestries restored, and maybe some of the armor, too," Rouge said. "It would be great to … it would be great to make even a little of this place like it was, you know? It's cold, and it's drafty, and there isn't as much outside as there used to be, but try and imagine it in the old days: when hundreds of people dined in the feasting hall, and the king and his family sat upon the dais, when the music of the harpers struck the ceiling. It mustn't have seemed like a bad place to live. I imagine it was rather grand. I'd like to bring back a little of that atmosphere, if I can."

She sighed. "Unfortunately, I might end up having to sell some of this stuff to pay the bills. I hope not, but … we'll see."

"How are you feeling about all this?" Jaune asked.

"I … I'll make it work, somehow," Rouge declared. "It might take me a little while, but I'll do it. Our flag flies once more over the battlements, and it isn't going to come down again while I'm still breathing. C'est la seule vertu qui donne la noblesse. 'Virtue alone confers nobility.'"

Pyrrha smiled. "Determination is a virtue that runs in the family, it seems."

Rouge let out a self-deprecating laugh. "If half of what I hear about Jaune is right, then there is no comparison between us." She shook her head. "What you have done—"

"I did what any Huntsman would have done," Jaune murmured.

"But they didn't," Pyrrha reminded him. "You did."

"I can tell you're what he needs," Rouge said. "Someone to give him a boost from time to time. Sadly, insecurity also runs in the Arc family." She paused for a moment. "Will you be staying the night, the four of you? Will you be staying for dinner?"

"No, we can't," Jaune informed her. "Our train will be leaving again this evening, and we need to be on it."

"Then at least let me give you lunch," Rouge said. "It may not be the best meal you've ever eaten, but it's rare surroundings more than make up for it. When will you next dine in a castle with the lady of the keep? And besides, I need to hear all about how my brother ended up engaged to be married, so young and to such a jewel."

Pyrrha blushed slightly to hear herself described so.

Nora clasped her hands together behind her head. "It's all thanks to me," she declared in a self-satisfied tone.

Pyrrha looked at her rather significantly, her eyebrows rising towards her gilded circlet. "Oh, really, Nora, is that what you think?"

Nora swallowed. "Well," she said, squirming in place, "I helped."

"'Helped'?" Pyrrha repeated sharply. "Is that what you call it?"

"Okay, now I absolutely have to hear this story, if I must lock you up in the dungeon until you tell it," Rouge declared.

"Lunch definitely sounds better than that," Jaune said. He looked around at Pyrrha and his other teammates. "We've got time, right, guys?"

"We have," Ren agreed. "And … I half feel as though I should call you Lady Arc."

Rouge let out a bark of laughter. "I wouldn't be opposed to that from some, but from Jaune's friends, 'Rouge' will be fine."

Ren nodded. "Rouge is correct; we are unlikely to get such an offer again."

She led them through the dark castle, where little light got in the little windows, until she brought them to the kitchen, where a few modern appliances sat incongruously amidst the ancient space, the modern oven sitting next to the hearth, the white snowflake-branded freezer looking out of place against the old stone wall behind it, the microwave emblazoned with "MARS" in red sitting upon the ancient wooden table.

What did not look out of place here, but would have in many other spaces, was the bald woman butchering a deer with a knife, her back to them, a caribou faunus, judging by the antlers peeking above her head.

"Ah, Sami," Rouge said, "I thought that might be you shooting earlier."

"'Shooting'?" the butcher — Sami, apparently — replied. "I only fired one shot. I only need one shot," she added as she finished slitting the deer open.

Rouge cleared her throat. "Everyone, this is my estate manager, Sami Fallforest. Sami, this is my brother Jaune, his fiancée Pyrrha Nikos, and his teammates Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren."

Sami grunted in acknowledgement and did not turn around to look at them.

"Does this mean we can have venison for lunch?" Nora asked Ren. "I've always wanted to try that."

"No," Sami said, still without turning around.

Rouge folded her arms. "You can't possibly mean to eat all of that deer yourself."

"I'm not going to eat it at all," Sami declared. "I shot him for the antlers."

"So you're just going to waste the meat?" Pyrrha asked.

"I told you, I didn't kill him for meat," Sami reminded her, as though she could have forgotten. "I killed him because I could. Because I was smarter than he was, stronger than he was. The proof of that is all I want."

"Even so—" Rouge began.

"If you were hungry, then you should have shot him yourself, ma'am," Sami said. With one bloody hand, she gestured towards the freezer. "Have something out of that modern convenience."

"Perhaps I should stop letting you have anything out of that modern convenience on the grounds that you didn't buy any of the things inside it?" Rouge suggested. "You can go out and shoot a treacle pudding, since you seem to have acquired a taste for them."

Sami was silent for a moment. "You fight dirty, ma'am; it's wonderful to witness. Very well, get you to the hall; I'll fix something up for you."

"Thank you, Sami," Rouge said. "I knew I could rely on you. I was … not at all worried that I'd have to serve you microwave meals. Come on, everyone, back to the hall."

As she led them out of the kitchen and back through the cobwebbed corridors towards the Great Hall, Jaune asked, "So … she works for you, right?"

"Sami? Yes, I told you, she's my estate manager."

"So why do you let her talk to you like that?"

"Well, I can't afford to pay her at the moment, so letting her mouth off to me sometimes is the least I can do to repay her for her services," Rouge explained. "Besides, it's harmless."

"Cardin Winchester doesn't seem to think her harmless," Pyrrha pointed out.

"She is a little bit of an acquired taste," Rouge admitted. "I think that some people find her views on killing a little … off-putting."

"You mean they think she might kill them just because she can?" Nora asked.

"Something like that, but that's just ridiculous," Rouge declared. "The truth is this place would be overrun with wildlife without her, and she's a very good cook to boot, as you'll see for yourselves before too long, I hope."

Rouge brought them to the Great Hall, where kings and lords and knights had once dined upon … venison, for one thing, but many other choice and rich dishes besides. As Rouge had said, in those days, it would have been filled with the sounds of minstrel music and the hubbub of conversation; now, it was silent and empty, save for the sounds that Rouge and JNPR made as they took their places at the high table, seated on the raised dais looking out across the rest of the barren, abandoned, deserted hall.

"So," Rouge began, leaning on the table with her elbows resting her head in her hands. "Someone was going to tell me all about Jaune and Pyrrha. Nora! I believe you were about to claim the credit, although Pyrrha seems to dislike that you should, for some reason. Come, come, tell all and tell swiftly."

Jaune glanced at Pyrrha. "Do… do you want to…?"

"No," Pyrrha said. "I mean, if you would rather…"

"I feel like some of this would be better—"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Nora cried. "Pyrrha had a crush on Jaune for months, but he didn't notice, and she was too chicken to tell him!"

Silence reigned in the hall just as kings once had.

"Thank you, Nora," Pyrrha murmured.

Rouge laughed. "Well, if you will not speak on your own account, then you will be spoken for, be it in a manner that you may not like. Please, Nora, since our lovers are tongue-tied, you must be their oracle for a little while longer."

Nora beamed enthusiastically. "So, like I said, Pyrrha had a crush on Jaune—"

"Was it for his dazzling blue eyes or his floppy blond hair that you first loved him?" Rouge asked Pyrrha. "Or was it, perhaps, that slight air of hopelessness that hangs around him and made you want to take pity on him?"

"Thanks," Jaune muttered.

"Actually, it was none of those," Pyrrha said softly. "I first saw Jaune on the airship to Beacon, and he … I have spent too much of my life as the Champion of Mistral, the Invincible Girl, and Jaune treated me like anyone else."

"I … don't even remember seeing you on the airship, to be honest," Jaune pointed out.

Pyrrha flushed. "Well … yes," she admitted. "You sort of … looked right past me. Do you know how long it was since someone failed to recognize me? That was when you caught my interest."

She shifted her attention back to Rouge. "And after that, even after he knew who I was, well … he continued to treat me just like anyone else. I know that doesn't seem like much, but when you've been in my position … he didn't see me as a rival to be triumphed over or as an ally to be cultivated, as someone to be admired or venerated. He saw me as … myself, a girl, and he never treated me as anything other than that. Not the Invincible Girl, not … not anything but Pyrrha Nikos. It's hard to explain how much that meant to me."

She smiled. "Of course, the fact that Jaune is a handsome, charming young man certainly didn't hurt either."

Rouge smiled. "So, in a way, the fact that he didn't notice your affections actually made you love him more?"

"Well…" Pyrrha hesitated. "I suppose you have a point. Although it did get a little…"

"'Frustrating'?" Rouge suggested.

"Dispiriting," Pyrrha corrected. "I was never upset with Jaune, but … for all that I liked that he didn't see me as anything other than a person or a friend, there were times when I wished that he would notice me a little more than he did."

"Which you eventually did, obviously," Rouge said, looking at Jaune now. "How did that happen?"

"You have to go back a little bit first," Nora insisted. "You see, while Pyrrha was waiting for Jaune to notice her, we'd all — that's us and our friends, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake — been working together to foil the evil plans of the Decepticons, although we didn't know it was them at first. That caused a few issues with explaining to Ruby's sister Yang what we were up to, and Ruby ended up telling Yang that she and Jaune had been out on a date and Jaune had dumped her. As you can imagine, Yang was not happy about that. Or maybe you can't imagine, since you don't know her."

"I can guess the type from what you've said," Rouge assured her.

Nora nodded. "Yang called Jaune up onto the roof to call him out on the carpet, and I don't know exactly what Jaune said, but it sure made a big impression on Ruby, who was listening at the window, because no sooner was Jaune done persuading Yang not to kill him than Ruby actually wanted to go out with him for real. And then they did."

"Not right away," Jaune objected. "There was a bit of a gap between those two things."

"Maybe, but nothing that happened then would be interesting to your sister," Nora insisted. "The point is, Ruby and Jaune—"

"Wait, are we talking about Ruby Rose?" Rouge asked.

"Yes," Jaune said, "but we didn't start dating until after she got shot."

"So her lack of sense didn't put her out of the running?" asked Rouge.

"It wasn't like that; she was trying to help," Jaune insisted. "Besides … when it came to our going out, she … didn't exactly give me much of a choice."

Rouge sat up. "Come again?"

"I don't know how to explain it," Jaune replied. "One night, she came from an assignment, and … it was like she was a different person. She pushed me up against the wall and told me that we'd be going out that weekend."

Rouge's eyes narrowed. "I must confess," she murmured, "that I'm a little disappointed that you all allowed this."

"I didn't!" Nora cried.

"What is it you think I should have done?" Pyrrha inquired, her voice soft and polite.

"Protected him?" Rouge suggested. "Stopped him from being pushed around?"

"It … if I had thought … it didn't seem as bad as it sounded just then," Pyrrha insisted. "To my eyes, Jaune seemed to be enjoying himself with Ruby."

"I was," Jaune said. "I did, I mean … she could get a little pushy, a little exhausting, and looking back … but at the time … I didn't know … I didn't know. I'd never had a girlfriend before; I didn't know what it was supposed to be like. I don't think I was unhappy."

"But Pyrrha wasn't happy watching Jaune and Ruby go out," Nora said. "Not that she was going to do anything about it."

"It wasn't my place to do so," Pyrrha said. "Although Arslan did convince me that I owed it to myself to let Jaune know how I felt about him. Nevertheless, I hadn't actually managed to do so before—"

"Before I decided that I needed to take matters into my own hands for the good of the team!" Nora cried. "I called Ruby out and put it to her straight: that it wasn't fair that she should stand between Jaune and Pyrrha like she was doing, that Pyrrha saw him first, and after all the work that she'd put in training him and helping him, that Ruby didn't just get to swoop in and steal Pyrrha's man like some hussy!"

"Jaune doesn't belong to me, Nora," Pyrrha sighed. "And he never did."

"When men spend enough time around women, they acquire obligations!" Nora insisted, jabbing at the table with one finger. "They can't just take us for granted and suck up our time and our energy and our affection, as if they just deserve it all without giving anything in return. There comes a time when we are owed something back!"

The silence that followed this pronouncement was rather uncomfortable. Nobody else seated at the high table seemed to know quite what to say.

Nora let out a sort of nervous laugh. "Anyway … Pyrrha didn't agree. That's why she beat me up."

"We had a training session," Pyrrha corrected her.

"You arranged a training session so that you could beat me up," Nora insisted. "She wasn't even happy that Ruby broke up with Jaune that same night."

"Of course I wasn't," Pyrrha said. "Jaune was unhappy, and Jaune's happiness … Jaune's happiness has always been a greater concern to me than my own."

Rouge chuckled. "This is marvelous; it's almost like a song. And then what happened? Did you see that what you'd been looking for had been there the whole time?"

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at one another. "I guess … pretty much, yeah."

"It was at the Beacon dance," Pyrrha murmured. "On the night the bomb went off." She had no need to specify which bomb. "It's strange to think back … the world seemed so different then. I mean, it had already changed so much for us, we knew so much that we hadn't known when the year began, but at the same time … that night was the dawn of a new age. It makes it all rather … bittersweet."

"Life must go on, though the sky should burn and the earth should shake, though seas should rise and the heavens fall," Rouge said.

Pyrrha did not respond directly, saying rather, "I … I finally told Jaune how I felt. More or less."

"'More or less'?" Rouge repeated. "All of that, and you only told him 'more or less'?"

"She told me enough," Jaune declared. "And then … once she told me… once I knew … she loved me … why … it had to be requited. Once I knew that she loved me, how could I not love her?" He reached out and took her hand. "And that's really … after that, it was all pretty smooth sailing, apart from the Decepticons: we dated, I proposed at the end of the Vytal Festival, and now … here we are."

"Here you are," Rouge agreed. "And here, unless I'm much mistaken, is lunch."

They dined on succulent venison with blackberry sauce, which was very well made, and although the treacle tart that followed had almost certainly come out of the freezer, it was no less tasty for it. As they ate, Rouge demanded more details of their relationship between their getting together at the dance and Jaune proposing.

And then, when it was time for Team JNPR to return to their train, Rouge walked them to the door.

"Here," she said, presenting Jaune with a bottle of white wine. "Amongst the first bottles to be produced here at the Chateau d'Arc. Let it drink for twenty years or so, and then drink it yourselves upon your anniversary."

Once more, she kissed him on the cheeks. "Congratulations, Jaune."

"You will come to the wedding, won't you?" Jaune asked.

"It will be a wrench to leave this place in Sami's care," Rouge said, "but how could I miss my own brother's wedding?"

She embraced Pyrrha and bade her brother's friends and comrades farewell, and as Jaune and his team made their way from the tall tower, Rouge rushed up the stairs, taking them two or three at a time, climbing stair after stair after dark and winding stair until she stood at the very top of the tower, the Arc flag fluttering above her head, one hand resting upon the crenelated battlements, and watched them walk down towards the train station.

The land was dull, everything was grey and brown, patches of snow and ice lay here and there; the winter weather had leached the world of color and left it desolate. But in that desolation, in that dullness that consumed all that the eye could see, Team JNPR shone like gems.

She could see Jaune's hair, like gold in a darkened mine, and Pyrrha's vibrant red burned like fire.

For Jaune's sake, Rouge hoped that she did not burn out.

"Said he, 'she has a lovely face, gods in your wisdom lend her grace,'" Rouge murmured.

She closed her eyes. For many, belief in the gods had waned, discarded as quaint and irrelevant, as science had advanced, conquering the skies and dissecting the soul, and yet … someone had sent these angels and these demons from the stars, these titans of steel to be their salvation — or their judgment. Who was to say that a celestial power had not done these things, ordained these things? Ancient walls bred antique thoughts, as Rouge had said to Jaune, and in this place of kings and lords, it was tempting to do as they had done and hope for providence.

They were so young, and like to die so young besides, she wished, she hoped, she prayed that it would not be so, but if no power had will or desire to hear that prayer … perhaps it would at least grant her that they be happy before the end.

"She has a lovely face, gods in your wisdom lend them grace. Lend it to both of them."

The Mistral Express resembled in some respects Mistral itself, a city where ancient temples to equally ancient gods rubbed shoulders with towering skyscrapers of glass and steel housing the headquarters of multi-kingdom investment banks. The Mistral Express was a modern train, and if nothing else proved that, then the array of anti-Grimm defenses to which, as the huntsmen guarding it, Team JNPR had access to did. Yet, at the same time, it was possessed of a great many old world trappings, from the designs of the carriages which trailed behind the modern engine to the opulent interiors of first class.

The Nikos family was not as wealthy as they had been in the old days of Mistral's empire, but Pyrrha was not poor by any means — the fees from the Pumpkin Pete commercials alone had been considerable — and … well, if she couldn't spend some of her money to travel in comfort with her fiancé and her friends on their way to her wedding, then when would it be permissible to splurge a little?

And so, Team JNPR traveled in style, each having a room to themselves — for which Pyrrha found herself grateful; it would have been most improper to … to consummate the marriage before the ceremony, and while Jaune would never be anything less than a perfect gentlemen, there was no telling to what gutter depths of speculation the press might sink — although they spent most evenings together, either in the dining car or in one of their rooms, or both, before retiring. The food was of far better quality than one would expect on a train, or on most forms of travel to be frank, and when they were not outside keeping watch against the Grimm, the train remained warm and welcoming, even as it grew colder without.

And so, taking leave of Rouge d'Arc, the Mistral Express and Team JNPR thundered on, devouring the miles of Vale's beautiful countryside, even as beyond the windows the first frosts of winter descended upon Sanus, lending everything in sight a crisp pallor.

It was a lovely sight to look at, at least from behind a window in a heated train, but at the same time, Pyrrha found herself somewhat concerned that the rapidly arriving winter would slow their progress; she had grown up in Argus, in the north of Anima, and she knew how easily the cold weather could make traveling difficult. Already, the train was beginning to slow down as a result of the frost on the rails.

Still, it could not be avoided; the academic year running when it did, the Vytal Festival taking place when it did, the results of the battle being what they were, there was no earlier time at which they could have traveled, and the alternative of waiting until spring…

No. No, that was not possible. Her spirit would not bear it. She had waited for Jaune to behold her in her love; she would not wait again for him to behold her as his bride.

They would wed this year if she had to get out, clear the snow aside with Akoúo̱, and drag the train along behind her with Polarity.

It began to look as though that might actually be what it came to. A snowfall fell upon the train as they were traveling through the foothills of the Ursa's Maw prior to turning northeastward to the coast; it came upon them in the night, with a stealth that warriors would have envied; when the passengers aboard the Mistral Express awoke the next morning, they found the train halted, blanketed by snow on all sides.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please, I beseech you to calm yourselves!" appealed Mr. Bouc, one of the directors of the railway company who was, by coincidence, traveling upon this train. He addressed the passengers gathered in the dining car. "We have received word that an avalanche ahead has blocked the tracks. A plow train is already on its way to clear the path, and until then, we are quite amply provisioned."

"Amply provisioned and sitting ducks!"

"Amply provisioned and well protected," insisted Mr. Bouc. He half turned and gestured with one hand to Team JNPR, stood behind him, near the door leading from the dining car into their carriage. They were all dressed in their combat attire, and all — save for Ren, who kept StormFlower concealed, as was his habit — had their weapons in some way visible about them.

"Before we departed Vale, we, of course, secured the protection of Huntsmen against the possibility of Grimm attack," Mr. Bouc reminded the passengers, "and not just any Huntsmen, but the team of Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl, well known to you all, I'm sure, as the winner of the recent Vytal Festival!"

Pyrrha frowned a little; it was true, but the way that Mr. Bouc had phrased it made her out to be the leader of the team instead of Jaune, and anyway, all of them had fought with equal valor in the Battle of Vale, and surely, that counted for more than her victory in one more tournament, a victory which she would never have won without the aid of her teammates in reaching the one on one rounds in any case.

Are we not all the Pride of Mistral? Pyrrha thought to herself. Although I suppose that might count for more if we had actually made it to Mistral.

"I assure you all, ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Bouc continued, "we are perfectly safe until help arrives."

"Is that right?" asked one of the passengers. "Are we safe?"

Jaune took a couple of steps forward, back straight and shoulders back. "I can't promise that there will be no trouble," he said, "but I can promise that my team and I will do everything to protect you, even if that means giving our lives. Depend on us." He smiled. "And try to stay calm, okay? You'll only attract more Grimm otherwise."

"Yeah, relax!" Nora added, giving them a thumbs up. "We've got this!"

That seemed to mollify the anxious passengers, and afterwards, Jaune and Pyrrha fitted deeds to words by climbing up onto the train roof to stand guard awhile. Outside, the world was cold and still; so much of what the eye could see was blanketed in white, although Pyrrha could see less than she would have liked because of the thin sheen of mist that covered what the snow did not. Her breath — and Jaune's too — was visible before her eyes as it departed her lips, and the metal on the carriage roof, and on the rungs of the ladder that they climbed to reach the roof, was covered with a thin frosting.

Pyrrha's boots rang upon the ladder as she led the way up, and when she had finished her climb, they crunched ever so slightly upon the roof as she waited for Jaune to follow.

Jaune wore a slightly nervous smile upon his face as he joined her on top of the carriage roof. "It's cold, isn't it?" he murmured, the mist that emerged from his mouth with every word serving to emphasize the point.

"Yes," Pyrrha agreed. "I suppose it is."

That was why she had made a few alterations to her attire. She wasn't wearing a whole new outfit; she was still recognisably herself — if only for the benefit of the passengers who might be calmed by her presence — but with concessions to the fact that it was no longer summer or even fall. Yes, aura would work to keep out the cold, but it was unwise to rely too much upon aura for warmth if one also planned to rely upon it for protection in battle; it could only be spread so far before it ran out.

And if it did run out, then she would regret wearing metal against bare skin as she did in warmer months and climes. And so, she wore a pair of crimson stockings, as red as her hair, as red as the sash that she wore around her waist, rising up out of her boots and beyond her gilded cuisses before disappearing out of sight beneath her black skirt. Under her corset cuirass, she wore a light black top of a thin but insulated material, almost like a diver's wetsuit, with a high neckline that rose up to her chin and long sleeves reaching to her wrists. The thinness of the material meant that not only could she wear her cuirass over it, but also her long gloves and her vambrace as well, and with the covering of her skin, her armband could assume its customary place above her left elbow, and her gilded, glimmering gorget around her neck.

The only thing that unfortunately had to be sacrificed to the weather was her circlet, since there was nothing she could wear around her head to prevent it touching her skin — at least nothing that wouldn't have the side effect of making her look like an unlicensed ninja — and it was a wrench to have to leave it in her room, but it was for the best in the circumstances.

With good fortune, it would not be for too long.

Jaune himself had also made some concessions to the colder weather at the moment, although he needed it less than Pyrrha: an orange woolen hat sat on his head, concealing most of his blond hair from view, save where it descended over his forehead, and a scarf of that same orange was wrapped several times around his neck.

He slipped a little upon the icy roof, but kept his balance nevertheless. He looked back, towards the snowbound front of the train. "How long do you reckon we'll be stuck here?"

"Not long, I hope," Pyrrha replied. "The plow train won't be long, I'm sure."

"I hope so," Jaune said. "The longer we're stuck here, the more people will start to get nervous."

"There has been no sign of any Grimm since we left Vale," Pyrrha pointed out.

"I know," Jaune said, "but we've been moving pretty fast up until now; they might not have been able to catch up to us before. At least not between stations."

That made sense, unfortunate though it was. Pyrrha hesitated for a moment. "We should try and keep our spirits up," she reminded him. "After encouraging the passengers not to panic, we don't want to be the ones to draw the Grimm ourselves."

Jaune chuckled. "You're right; that would be embarrassing."

Nevertheless, he got out his scroll and called up the controls for the train's defenses: gun turrets, window shutters, armor plating, bulkhead doors between the carriages. With just a swipe of his thumb, Jaune could activate any or all of them.

He did not, however; he would not, unless the need was on them; to activate them now would only spook the passengers in the train below.

"And besides," Pyrrha reminded him, as they began to walk towards the far end of the train, "most trains don't have four Huntsmen to protect them, only one or two; the Mistral Express is quite well defended."

"It is with you around," Jaune said.

He had spoken in a light tone, and likely with a light heart too, but Pyrrha felt her steps slow regardless. Her voice was soft, despite the winds that blew around them and tugged at her long ponytail. "I wish that Mister Bouc hadn't said that."

Jaune looked at her, smiling despite the circumstances. "Why not? It's true."

"That I won our bracket in the tournament is a fact," Pyrrha admitted, "but I would never have made it that far without my teammates, without you."

"Me?" Jaune asked. "I—"

"Devised the plans, gave the commands," Pyrrha reminded him. She walked to the left side of the carriage — her left — where the train had stopped upon something of a ledge; the snow had piled up on the right side, as well as in front, but to the left, there was a drop and a forest of snow-covered evergreens rolling across the landscape beyond. Pyrrha's eyes swept the drop, looking for any sign of Grimm in the forest below that might try to climb up to attack them.

She could see nothing and hear nothing, nothing but the howling of the wind which nipped her face and blew strands of her hair to buffet her cheeks.

"The so-called heroes of old fought alone," Pyrrha said, although she had never found much that was particularly heroic about them: violent, brutish, chaotic, and thoroughly self-centered all, for all their gifts. "They won their deathless glory alone … and then they died alone, and the glory was all that remained of them." She turned away from the edge of the carriage to look back at Jaune. "I am not alone," she declared. "I know in my heart that I will never be alone, for I have you, and so…"

Jaune waited a moment for her to finish. "And so … you don't fear death?"

She smiled at him. "Not while I'm with you." She paused a moment. "I'm sorry, that sounded … too much, didn't it?"

"Maybe it should have," Jaune conceded, with a wry amusement in his voice, "but it didn't. It sounded … I can't wait to become your husband."

"Nor I to be your wife," Pyrrha replied. A sigh escaped her, issuing forth in a visible breath as though she were some smoldering dragon in a cave. "Would that the sun would burn away these clouds and melt the snow."

"Not too fast, or we'd be flooded instead of snowbound," Jaune pointed out with a smile.

Pyrrha covered her mouth with one hand as she laughed. "I guess that's true," she conceded. "All the same … it feels as though our whole lives are stuck in this snowdrift alongside the Mistral Express, snowed in, stuck, waiting. We've left our old lives behind, but we can't begin our new lives until we are formally joined as husband and wife, and so, until then … we're snowbound."

Jaune was silent for a moment. "Have you thought much about it?" he asked. "Our future, I mean. Our life together?"

"Not as much as I should have, perhaps," Pyrrha admitted. "Our work, the situation of the world, it complicates things, but at the same time, I'm not sure how much of an excuse that is. I suppose I assumed that we would live in Mistral, since we both call it home and so do our families, but … if I had plans, I would have mentioned them by now."

Jaune nodded. "Me too," he agreed. "I mean, living in Mistral, that makes sense; it is home, after all, and with what a mess Lionheart left, they could probably use all the Huntsmen they can get, but … well, Mistral's huge, so what does living there even mean? Mistral itself? Argus? Or are we going to build a cabin in the middle of nowhere like Ruby's dad to raise our children in the outdoors?"

Pyrrha's eyebrows rose. "'Our children'? So you have done some thinking, then?" she asked, a smile crossing her lips.

Despite the cold, a faint flush of color rose to Jaune's cheeks. "I guess you could say that. I mean, if you don't—"

"Penelope would be a lovely name for a girl, I think," Pyrrha said. "Or maybe Ariadne. I admit, I'm not so sure about names for a boy."

Jaune chuckled. "So when you say you haven't done any thinking—"

"There is a difference between wishful thoughts and serious plans, between dreaming of what our children's names might be and knowing where we would raise them, how we would support them—"

"As Huntsman and Huntress, that's easy enough," Jaune replied. "We might want to quit down the line, but not right now; at least, I don't, anyway."

"Nor I," Pyrrha agreed. "Certainly not with the world in its current state. As you say, there is too much need for Huntsmen, in Mistral especially."

"Then that's one question answered," Jaune declared. "And I think that those are both very beautiful names. Although if we don't take at least a middle name from one of my sisters, I will never hear the end of it."

Pyrrha laughed. "I suppose we don't have to make any major decisions right away. There are places we can stay until…" She trailed off, looking towards the back of the train.

"Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha reached across her back and drew Miló, holding out her left hand to summon Akoúo̱ onto her wrist with a brief flicker of Polarity. "I think I hear something," she said, her voice soft, as she began to advance towards the rear of the train.

Miló formed into a spear in her hand, and Pyrrha held it up, poised and drawn back to strike, above the rim of Akoúo̱.

With a screeching, shrieking cry, a Griffon lunged out of the mist, flying barely higher than the carriage roof, its foreclaws practically scraping along the frosted metal.

Pyrrha dashed forwards, her boots thumping upon the cold metal, her red hair flying out behind her as she rushed to meet the Grimm.

The Griffon shrieked at her, all four red eyes glaring balefully at her as it raised its claws.

Pyrrha raised Akoúo̱ before her, holding her shield up before her face as though she meant to meet the Grimm head on and take its charge directly, but as the Grimm leapt upon her, Pyrrha turned, pirouetting upon one toe as nimbly as the most graceful dancer, her sash wrapping around her waist as she spun; the claws of the Griffon scraped lightly across Akoúo̱'s surface as it lunged past Pyrrha, who drove Miló straight into its unprotected flank.

The red and gold metal of her spear lodged in the oily black surface of the creature; there was a bang, and the tip of the spear leapt forward like a rocket upon Pyrrha's command, Miló extending in length by another foot. The Griffon shrieked in pain, convulsing, its wings and all its legs twitching back and forth before the Grimm dissolved into ash and smoke, scattered upon the chill wind that blew all around them.

Below her, Pyrrha could hear the whirring of mechanisms and the grinding of engines, and around her, out of the roofs of the carriages, she could see an array of automated turrets, each a pair of small brass — or brass-lined — cannons upon a swivel mounting, rose up into view.

Pyrrha looked back to see Jaune running his fingers over the tabs on his scroll to activate all of the available defenses.

Pyrrha looked away from him, staring out into the chill mist that surrounded the train. She couldn't see anything out there, but it seemed that the turrets could, because they began to fire, each gun roaring with a burst of flame as shells leapt from the mouths of the guns into the all-shrouding fog. The autocannons fired, and as they fired, Pyrrha fancied that, guided by their firing, she could see the dark outlines of the Grimm hiding in the mist, circling the train, waiting for their opportunity.

You may have waited too long already, for we are aware of you now.

"Ren, Nora," Jaune spoke into his scroll, his voice sharp and commanding but not afraid; there was no trace of panic there. Urgency, yes, but he remained absolutely in control of the situation. "You need to get up here now; we've got company."

With that duty discharged, he put his scroll away and drew his shining sword in a single smooth motion. Though there was precious little light, what light there was caught the blade of Crocea Mors as he brandished it towards their cowering foe.

His shield snapped into shape upon his other arm as he gripped it tight and held it before him.

Pyrrha, for her part, began to move towards him, sidling closer with slow steps; it was better that they not be separated.

As she had just told him, it was better that they not fight alone.

Another Griffon emerged out of the fog, coming not at Pyrrha but at Jaune, swooping through the air, rolling and diving to avoid the fire of train turrets which flew all around it without striking it, passing through the maelstrom of their fire before correcting its course to dive straight at Jaune.

Jaune was a great leader, a strategist, strong and brave, but he was not fleet of foot as Pyrrha was, he did not have her nimbleness, and faced with the Griffon bearing down upon him, he had little choice but to do what Pyrrha had feinted at doing: take it with his shield, head on, letting the Grimm collide with him, taking its claws upon his shield.

Pyrrha tossed Miló up into the air and thrust out her now-empty hand towards her fiancé and activated Polarity. With her semblance, she grabbed hold of Jaune's armor, his short cuirass — in Mistral, they might look at getting him something that offered a little more comprehensive coverage, and possibly the same for her also, though she had less need of it — and his shoulder pauldrons, holding him as though she were standing right behind him, her hands upon his back.

He was not bowled over by the Grimm's charge; it did not knock him off the roof of the train and out into the snow; rather, with Polarity holding him tight, Jaune stood firm against the Grimm, as solid as a stone wall, the Griffon's momentum dissipating.

The Griffon roared into Jaune's face, but he was not deterred, and with a single swing of his sword, he cut off both its forelegs.

His second swing took off its head and turned the creature to ashes.

Jaune looked at her, a heart-flutteringly grateful smile upon his face.

"Any time," Pyrrha assured him, holding out her hand to snatch Miló out of the air as her spear fell like a thunderbolt back down towards her. Scarcely had her fingers closed around the weapon than Pyrrha reversed it in her hands to ram it into the chest of another Griffon that had attempted to swoop down upon her from behind.

More Griffons were emerging out of the mist now, coming into view as they seemed to decide that there was no more advantage in delay. But they had arguably delayed too long, as the fire of the turrets was joined by the grenades of Magnhild, the pink trails they left unmistakable, as Ren and Nora joined them on the roof.

"What's the plan?" asked Ren.

"Nora, keep doing what you're doing; keeping them away from the train is our top priority," Jaune ordered. "Ren, cover Nora in case any of them get too close. Pyrrha and I will deal with any that make it onto the train."

"You got it!" Nora said, throwing Jaune a salute before resuming launching grenades in the general direction of the flying Grimm. "That's it, come on! There's plenty to go around!"

Pyrrha considered switching Miló to rifle mode, so that she could add her fire to Nora's and the turrets', but decided against it; Jaune had made her part in the plan clear, and sword and spear would serve her better in that role.

Spear, in particular, to better keep the Grimm at better than arm's length.

She joined Jaune, standing by his side, her shield protecting his flank, while the turrets thundered and Nora's grenades blazed trails like comets across the sky. The Grimm shied away from the grenades more than from the fire of the turrets — Were they so much more dangerous? How much dust was Nora putting in those things? — flowing in a black mass more towards the rear of the train.

"We need to get down there," Jaune said.

Pyrrha should have waited for him to give the order, but in truth, she had been moving even before he spoke, her legs pounding upon the roof as she sprinted towards the far end of the train and the Grimm that waited for them there. Clearly, it was because they were so in sync with one another, so tightly bonded that she could predict his orders before he gave them.

She rushed into battle, with Jaune following behind her as fast as he could, and as she ran, Pyrrha threw Akoúo̱ towards the Grimm who were starting to land upon the rearmost carriages, ripping at the turrets with their claws. As soon as the shield left her hand, Pyrrha switched Miló into rifle mode, raising it to her shoulder and firing as she ran, blazing forth even as she closed the distance with the Griffons.

Akoúo̱ decapitated one Grimm as it flew through the air, and Pyrrha's fire turned another to ash — another one roared in pain, but it did not perish — as she closed the distance. The Griffons, who had destroyed both turrets on the caboose, charged towards her, but as Pyrrha ran, she changed Miló back from rifle to spear, the weapon switching smoothly and swiftly in her hands, the transformation complete before the Grimm reached her.

Miló whirled in her hands as the Grimm approached, spearpoint and butt alike striking at the monsters. She thrust into the neck of one, stepped back as another slashed at her with its claws, then retreated again as a third brought down its beak to try and swallow her whole, before driving Miló into its open mouth in turn to slay the creature. Akoúo̱ returned to Pyrrha's waiting hand, spinning through the neck of another Griffon as it did so, and Miló switched from spear to xiphos in her hands.

For the Griffons were all around her now, and it was a matter of dancing between them, avoiding their claws and beaks, while slashing with the blade at any that came too close and left themselves exposed to her.

The Griffons flocked around her like carrion birds surrounding a tasty carcass, but not only was Pyrrha not dead yet, she was not alone, and no sooner had they surrounded Pyrrha than Jaune burst in upon them from the rear, slashing at their hind legs with Crocea Mors. The sword of kings sliced through the Grimm as though they were nothing, hamstringing them, leaving them defenseless for Jaune to strike the killing blows.

Before the two of them together, the Grimm were as nothing.

Pyrrha smiled gratefully at him.

"Any time," Jaune assured her.

The Grimm seemed to be aware that they were outmatched, for where they had swarmed towards the rear of the train to escape Nora's fire, now, the diminished flock of Griffons fell upon her to stay at the other end of the train from Jaune and Pyrrha. Ren was beside her, of course, StormFlower's barrels blazing as the Grimm circled around them both, but Jaune needed no words — and gave none — to send both himself and Pyrrha charging back up the train, leaping the gaps between the carriages as they raced to Nora's side and aid.

Pyrrha was the swifter, killing any Grimm that tried to impede their progress on the way. As she drew nearer, she saw Nora switch Magnhild from grenade launcher into hammer, striking down Griffons with mighty swings that shattered their bony skulls.

As she drew nearer, she saw the numbers of Griffons dwindle to almost nothing.

As she drew nearer, she saw a single Griffon burst out of the snow, knock Ren off his feet before he could react, grab Nora in its claws before she could swing her mighty hammer against it, and carry her off the train and out towards the snow-covered forest.

"NORA!" Ren screamed, firing both halves of StormFlower to no visible effect.

Pyrrha did not cry out. She saved her breath as she leapt, her sash and her long hair alike flying out behind her, off the roof of the carriage and over the drop and into the empty air beyond.

She flew, and as she flew, she slung Akoúo̱ across her back and raised Miló, now in spear form once more, above her head, gripped in both hands.

The Griffon turned its head, aware of her, and being aware, it tried to evade, to move, to twist in mid-air, but it was too late; Pyrrha was too close, and like a thunderbolt, she fell upon it and drove Miló hard into its black flesh.

The Griffon screeched in pain, wings beating, legs flailing, its whole body tumbling as it fell, and as it fell, so, too, fell Nora and Pyrrha, falling with the dying beast, the rocky side of the drop flying past them as they plummeted towards the snow-covered ground below.

The Griffon died on impact, seeming to burst like a balloon, its body turning to smoke and ash on impact. Pyrrha felt the blow of the impact in ways that she had never felt any blow in any arena in her career, and she let out a wince of pain as she rolled down the slope. She felt the snow upon her face, she could feel it getting into her hair, she could feel and hear it crushing beneath her weight as she rolled downwards.

With a great crack and a blow that dented her aura and drew another pained sound from between her lips, Pyrrha struck a tree that lay athwart her path, coming to a dead stop. She lay there for a moment, breathing in and out, before she pushed herself up first onto her hands and knees and then simply onto her knees.

She had lost her grip upon Miló as she fell, but it hadn't landed far away from her; with the blows that her aura had taken in the fall, she didn't want to use any more of it summoning the spear into her hand with Polarity, so she got up and walked the short distance separating her from her weapon and thrust it over her shoulder to rest between Akoúo̱ and her back.

"Nora?" she called, looking around for her teammate. "Nora?"

There was a groan of pain. "I'm over here."

Pyrrha couldn't see where 'over here' was, but her voice sounded as though it was coming from behind a tree not far off, and when Pyrrha covered the distance, her boots sinking into the snow up to her shins as she walked, she found Nora there, looking as snow-covered as Pyrrha herself — except that, her hair being short, there was less of it for snow to get stuck in — sitting with her back to the trunk of the cypress, clutching her shoulder with her other hand.

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked. "Did your aura—?"

"Yeah," Nora said. "Kind of a hard landing, wasn't it? I think I hit a couple of rocks on the way down."

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha murmured.

Nora scoffed. "Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"Well, if I hadn't—"

"If you hadn't made the jump, then that thing would have carried me who knows where," Nora declared. "I think I busted my shoulder, but I'll still take that over the alternative."

Pyrrha knelt down in front of her. "Is it broken or just dislocated, your shoulder?"

Nora grunted. "The second one. It feels like it's out of place; I can't move it right."

"Open your mouth," Pyrrha said. "I'll pop it back for you."

"Hang on," Nora said, and with her free hand, she unfolded Magnhild into its hammer form and, craning her neck a little, bit down upon the metallic handle.

Pyrrha placed her hands on Nora's shoulder. "One, two—" She shoved the other girl's shoulder back into place.

Nora let out a wordless growl of pain, but she was smiling — sort of; there was more than a little of a grimace about it — as she stopped biting her own hammer. "Thanks," she said. "I mean it; thanks for the save."

"What else was I supposed to do?" Pyrrha asked lightly. "Leave you to be carried off by a Grimm, never to be seen again?"

Nora was silent for a moment, save for her breathing, which was coming somewhat heavily. She was silent for longer than Pyrrha was entirely comfortable with. "Well," she said, "I mean—"

"Nora," Pyrrha said reproachfully, "I thought you knew me better than that."

"I do know you," Nora assured her. "I also know you've got a lot to live for these days."

"I'm not dead yet," Pyrrha replied, "and besides, how could I live happily with Jaune if I let it turn me coward? I would … it would haunt me, all my days, and Jaune would despise me for it." She rose to her full height. "Can you walk, or shall I carry you?"

"Princess carry?"

Pyrrha chuckled. "If you wish."

Nora grinned. "That sounds nice, but I can probably walk." She got up herself, although she was more wobbly than Pyrrha had been, and when her sway brought her shoulder against the tree trunk, she groaned.

"Let me help you," Pyrrha insisted, taking Nora by the arm — the uninjured arm — and draping it across her shoulders. "Lean on me."

"Makes a change," Nora muttered as she put her weight on Pyrrha. "Not you, I mean, but … Ren, Jaune sometimes."

"And I, too, at times," Pyrrha said.

"When you aren't trying to beat me up."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes a little as the two of them started back in the direction they had fallen from. "I did not beat you up."

"Yes, you did!" Nora insisted. "You can call it anything you want, but the truth is, you were angry at me, so you kicked my ass."

Pyrrha was quiet for a moment. "I suppose you're right," she murmured. "I'm—"

"No need to apologize," Nora said quickly. "I was out of line. I mean, if I hadn't said anything, then Jaune might be on his way to get married to Ruby right now, so a little gratitude might not go amiss, but all the same, I was out of line. Ruby wasn't doing anything wrong." She paused for a moment. "Hey, Pyrrha?"

"Yes, Nora?"

"What's it like, having someone who sees the stars in your eyes?"

Pyrrha found her pace slowing slightly. "It … it's wonderful," she said. "It's the most wonderful feeling, the very best thing that's ever happened to me. The best thing that's ever been mine."

She paused for a moment. "The world … the world feels as though it's gone a little mad over the last year, doesn't it? So much has turned out to have been going on all this time, so many secrets have come out. Aliens, Relics, Maidens, Salem … but none of that matters when I'm with Jaune. When I'm with him, everything makes perfect sense." She glanced at Nora. "But then, you already know what that's like, don't you?"

Nora laughed, and it was a laugh that had an edge of bitterness to it. "Now how would I know anything about that?" she asked. "Ren and I aren't 'together-together,' remember?" She shook her head. "You know, you might struggle to get up that cliff carrying me."

"We'll manage," Pyrrha assured her. "Our men won't simply be standing around idly waiting for us, after all, and I'm sure that Jaune will think of something."

"'Our men,'" Nora repeated softly. "Jaune won't be standing around, that's for sure."

Pyrrha was silent for a moment. "You're very important to Ren, you know."

"Do I?" Nora demanded. "Do I know? How do I know, Pyrrha? How do you know?"

"Because…" Pyrrha trailed off for a moment, thinking about it. "Because you're always together."

"You mean I'm always with him," Nora said. "I'm always there, always ready, always … always waiting. Sometimes, I feel like I'm pushing at a locked door. All I want is for him to open up, to let me in, but he never does."

"Well…" Pyrrha murmured, "Ren is a … complicated fellow."

"I know," Nora said. "Complicated, brave, smart, patient … handsome. I look at him, and … and he doesn't see me at all. He never has."

"Yet," Pyrrha said. "That you know of. I could have said much the same thing about Jaune, not too long ago, and now … we're on our way to get married. Perhaps … perhaps if you were to tell Ren how you feel…?"

Nora looked at her. "Really?" she said. "Really? That's your advice? Coming from you?"

"I know, I know," Pyrrha murmured. "But at the same time, for all my monstrous hypocrisy, what's the alternative? To suffer in silence?" A slightly mischievous smile crossed her face. "I could mention it, if you like."

Nora's eyes narrowed. "Do that, Pyrrha, and you and I will be having another training session sometime in our future."

There was a moment's pause before the two of them began to laugh.

"Don't give up," Pyrrha urged. "Yes, it can be … difficult, at times; at times, you may find yourself wondering what it's all for. But take it from me, the reward is very definitely worth it, when he starts to see the stars in your eyes."

"Pyrrha?" Jaune's voice echoed through the trees. "Nora? Pyrrha?!"

"What did I tell you?" Nora murmured. "He came."

"We're here, Jaune!" Pyrrha called back.

She heard footsteps, or rather, she heard feet crashing through the snow before Jaune appeared into view, dodging through the trees towards them.

Ren was right behind him.

"Nora!" he cried as he saw the two of them, and he rushed past Jaune, tearing through the snow to reach her. He cupped Nora's cheeks with his hands and rested his forehead against hers. "I … I'm sorry," he said. "I should have … I'm sorry."

Nora smiled, although to Pyrrha's eyes, it seemed that there was something a little sad about it. She reached up and tapped Ren's nose with one finger. "Boop."

"Pyrrha," Jaune said, his voice tender, "are you okay?"

"Yes," Pyrrha replied. "I'm fine."

Jaune put his hands upon her neck and kissed her. "I'd say 'don't do that again,' but if you didn't, then … well, you wouldn't be you, so … just keep being okay."

"I plan to," Pyrrha vowed.

After all, she still had her wedding to go to.

Author's Note 1 (Cyclone):

First off, surprise guest author today! Much of this chapter was actually written by Scipio Smith, as Cody needed a bit of a break, and Scipio wanted the opportunity to write more Arkos fluff. You can probably tell what he wrote from what I wrote rather easily. For anyone who doesn't know who Scipio is, he is the author of this 'fic's mirror universe sister story, SAPR.

Second, we have a picture of Rouge d'Arc, once again courtesy of sreshtiyer on DeviantArt, which can be viewed on the other sites where we post this story: Space Battles, Sufficient Velocity, and Archive Of Our Own.

So, anyway, bits and pieces of this part have actually been written for quite a while, and we've got ourselves some worldbuilding here. I can't remember for sure if it was intentional when we first plotted this out, as it was quite a while ago, but I do like that we're essentially doing a parallel of canon Volume 4's journey to Mistral, except transportation infrastructure is still running. Oh, and it's generally a good idea to activate automated anti-Grimm defenses when Grimm are attacking, as that is literally the only time they would be useful. *glares at Volume 6's writing*

For the record, I always pictured Pyrrha and Nora's "training session" being more a case of Nora collapsing from overexertion, but throwing some sparring in there too is hardly a stretch.

Once again, no Transformers or really anything in the way of Hasbro stuff this chapter, but oh well. Although we did very briefly consider a train fight with Astrotrain, it was rejected for a multitude of reasons.

Now, readers of SAPR might recognize some stuff here. They might also notice some very distinct differences from SAPR too. That is all very intentional, and that's all I'll say about that.

Author's Note 2 (Scipio Smith):

When Cody asked me to help him and Cyclone out with this chapter, I told myself that I wasn't going to try and pastiche their style, and I think that shows more at certain times than others (I'm not sure Rouge would have spoken quite like that if Cody or Cyclone had been writing that part, for instance).

Despite that, I hasten to add that the decision to include minor SAPR characters was not mere wilfulness on my part, but something that Cody mentioned as an idea they'd been kicking around in the plot outline he gave me before I got to work. In any event, the character feels so different here in her brief appearance that she hardly feels the same at all.

My biggest contribution to the plot in this chapter was the attack on the snowbound train, mostly because the image of the snowbound train itself, so familiar from myriad Murder on the Orient Express is such a cool one that I really wanted to play with it a little bit, and Cody was amenable to indulging me.

While the writing is mine stylistically, I did try and be conscious of the fact that I was playing with Cody and Cyclone's toys and be true to the essence of the characters - the best example of this being that Pyrrha doesn't rise to Rouge's elevated language as she probably would have if I were writing my own story.

Although I think there may be a feedback loop going on with Nora where Cody and Cyclone's portrayal of her influenced my portrayal in SAPR which is now feeding back into Spark to Spark.

In any case, getting to write more Arkos fluff is always fun, and I quite enjoyed this trip over to the mirror universe, so thank you to both the actual authors for giving me the opportunity.