AN: I hate writing action.

Chapter 46

Jaune dropped to his knees, watching in horror as Pyrrha fell to the ground. Blood pooled under her body as she lied still. Jaune's vision started to become misty as tears filled his eyes.

"Pyrrha…" he said, still not quite believing what he was seeing.

"It's truly a shame," Seymour said. "She would have done well, but she chose to reject Yevon's gifts. It couldn't be helped." Jaune's eyes snapped to the man in front of him. The man who kidnapped Nora and the Professor. The man who enslaved people.

The man who killed Pyrrha.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Jaune screamed, his body suddenly glowing a bright white. His eyes burned as unshed tears evaporated, his muscles felt like they were bulging, and his exhaustion seemed to wash itself away.

Under normal circumstances. Jaune might stop to wonder what was happening.

But now, he had someone to kill.

He charged at Seymour, raising his shield to block another one of those blasts. But this time, it didn't hurt as much as it used to. In fact, within seconds, he felt as good as new. He smiled wickedly.

"What?" Seymour asked. Jaune swung Crocea Mors at him as hard as he could, and Seymour blocked it with his staff. But this time, Seymour was forced back. "Where are you getting this strength from?"

"I don't know," Jaune said. "And I don't care." Seymour backed up, making Jaune stumble forward a little bit. Jaune saw the staff heading towards him, and bashed it away with his shield. He raised his sword to attack the man, but another blast knocked him away. Another wave came over him, and he was back to feeling refreshed.

"How are you doing this?!" Seymour yelled. "Is this your Semblance?!"

"I don't know," Jaune said. "But I'm not complaining!" He raised his shield to block another blast, and replenished himself again. When he lowered his shield, he noticed that Seymour had his arms raised.

"I've had enough!" he yelled. "I am the one chosen by Yevon to lead His people! I will not be defeated by a wannabe Huntsman! Aeon, I release you!"

The giant creature behind Seymour roared, and the chains pinning its arms and wings down fell away. Jaune's eyes widened when the creature punched him faster than he could react. Another punch hit him, and before he knew it, he was being slammed by a barrage of attacks faster than should have been possible.

Finally, with one last punch, Jaune felt his Aura shatter, and with it, his ability to boost it. He was thrown backwards, landing hard on his back. Seymour slowly approached him, raising his spear.

"This could have been so simple if you had just surrendered," the man said. "Your deaths could have served a greater purpose, and instead, you all died like dogs, rejecting the grace of Yevon." He pointed the spear right and Jaune's chest. "Just know that you earned this." Bullets suddenly impacted Seymour's chest, bouncing harmlessly off his Aura. Jaune turned around and saw Ren with his guns raised, standing protectively over Pyrrha's body. "It's always something with you people," Seymour growled, pointing at Ren. Seymour's monster started charging up another attack. Jaune knew that with both of their Auras having been depleted, there was nothing they could do.

"Nora smash!" a voice yelled, and a ginger-haired girl dressed in pink (sort of) flew through the air and smashed a halberd against the monster's face, breaking the shaft of the weapon in the process. The girl stood triumphantly, holding the broken weapon in her hands. "You get away from my friends!"

"Nora!" Jaune and Ren said happily.

"Curaza!" another voice said, and Jaune turned to see the Professor with her weapon raised over Pyrrha's body, the redheaded girl glowing with a green light.

Pyrrha's eyes shot open, and she gasped for air.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled, quickly scrambling towards her and taking hold of her hand. "You're okay?"

"J-Jaune?" Pyrrha asked weakly. "It hurts."

"It's okay, I'm here," he said. "I'm right here."

"I did what I could to heal her, but her wound was severe," the Professor said. "We need to take Seymour down and get her back to Beacon as soon as possible."

"Right," Ren said.

"Did you call for a Bullhead?" the professor asked.

"Jecht did," Jaune answered. "There's something going on in Vale, but they'll send something as soon as it's available."

"Okay, you two stay here and keep Pyrrha safe. Nora and I will deal with him."

"This creep's going down!" Nora said.

"Nora, here," Ren said, tossing her hammer back to the girl. She caught it and quickly hugged the weapon.

"Aw, thanks Ren!" She said. "You're the best!"

"How did you two escape?" Seymour asked.

"You underestimated a Huntress," the Professor answered. "It's that simple."

"Well, I won't be making that mistake again."

"Kids, I'm going to need you to keep what you're about to see a secret."

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked. Instead of answering, she pointed her weapon at them, and the three of them were surrounded by a dome of transparent hexagons.

"That barrier should keep you safe," the professor said. "Now just leave this to us."

"Okay," the boys said, before turning their attention to Pyrrha.

Aqua had never seen anything like that giant…thing behind Seymour. She assumed it was powerful, and she really didn't want to find out exactly how powerful. She raised the Master Keeper.

"Thunsaga!" she shouted, and hit Nora with another lightning blast. Nora charged at Seymour, and Aqua noticed the giant creature's eye begin to glow. It fired a blast of energy, and Aqua threw her Keyblade at it to stop the blast. Nora continued running undeterred, and Aqua resummoned her Keyblade and charged at him, too.

"What?!" Seymour yelled, diving out of the way of Nora's hammer swing and blocking Aqua's Keyblade with his staff. Aqua dismissed her Keyblade again, making him lose his balance, and struck him in the chest. He stumbled back, and then a man engulfing in flames ran past Aqua and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Phew, made it in time for the party," the man said, dispelling the flames and revealing that it was Jecht. He turned around, took a look at Aqua and Nora's outfits, and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't ask," Aqua said.

"Why won't you people just die?!" Seymour yelled. "Aeon, kill them!" The creature opened its mouth, building up energy.

"Get behind me!" Aqua shouted, and her Keyblade started glowing. The creature fired a beam of energy out of its mouth. Aqua held the Keyblade in front of her, and it started spinning, blocking the projectile. "Nora, get him!" she yelled, and Nora stepped out from behind her, pointed her grenade launcher at the monster, and fired, hitting in the face and stopping the beam.

Aqua and Jecht ran forward, their weapons raised. Aqua slashed Seymour across the chest, finally breaking his Aura and making the creature disappear.

"Mercy!" Seymour yelled, but it was too late. With a roar, Jecht raised his massive sword, swung down and buried the blade halfway down Seymour's torso. He pulled the weapon free with a disgusting squelch, and Seymour fell to his kness.

"Praise be… to Yevon," the man said, before falling forward onto his face.

"And stay down," Jecht said, returning his sword to its position on his back. The wind kicked up around them, announcing the presence of an arriving Bullhead.

"Oh, now they show up!" Nora said.

The ride back to Beacon was tense, Jaune refusing to leave Pyrrha's side while she laid down on a bench. They had hastily wrapped bandages around her chest, and she had lost consciousness. Ren and Nora sat next to each other, while Aqua and Jecht stood off the sides. Ren kept stealing glances at Nora, who was still wearing the outfit the Yevonites had made her wear. She noticed him looking, and blushed.

"I-Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Uh, no," Ren said. "I was just wondering where that outfit came from."

"They put it on me," she said. "Is it weird?"

"No!" he said. "I mean, it's very revealing, but, uh…" He was blushing, too, a rare sight. "I'm just glad you're okay." Nora smiled.

"Thanks, Ren," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Is Pyrrha going to be okay?" Ren asked.

"I think so," Professor Branwen answered. "I called in to get a medical team sent our way when we get back to Beacon, so she should be fine."

"Thank goodness," Jaune said.

"Those were some fancy tricks you pulled off," Jecht said. "How'd you do that anyway?"

"A girl is entitled to a few secrets," The Professor answered.

"We're approaching Beacon Academy now," the pilot said over the intercom. "A medical team will be greeting you when you land." They felt the Bullhead begin to descend, and Aqua opened the door, gesturing for the medical team to take Pyrrha. They loaded her onto a stretcher, and carted her away. She stepped out, the rest of her team following after her.

"Mom!" she heard Ruby's voice say, and she turned to see Team RWBY approaching. "What happened?"

"And what are you wearing?" Yang asked.

"It's a long story."

"Wow," Ruby said when Aqua finished telling the story of Team JNPR's mission. They had relocated to Aqua's residence so she could get changed out of the outfit the Yevonites gave her. She was now wearing her blue blouse and black pencil skirt.

"A sex cult, huh?" Yang asked. "And we thought the White Fang was nuts."

"I hope Pyrrha will be okay," Weiss said.

"I used a pretty powerful healing spell on her, so she should be fine once the doctors take a look at her," Aqua said. "I'm just glad we all made it back. I just hope your mission was uneventful." The girls exchanged looks. Aqua's eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

"Well…" Ruby said.

Pyrrha's eyes slowly opened to the sound of a heartrate monitor beeping away. She was lying down in a hospital bed, her head slightly elevated. She was wearing a blue hospital gown, and could feel bandages wrapped tightly around her chest. For having been impaled on a spear, she honestly felt a lot better than she thought she would. She tried to move her hand to rub her eyes, but something stopped it.

She looked down and saw a hand holding hers tightly, belonging to a blond boy whose head was resting on the side of her bed.

Pyrrha blushed fiercely. Had Jaune been there the whole time?

"Jaune?" she asked, and he blearily lifted his head up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He looked at her for a solid three seconds before it finally registered what he was looking at.

"Pyrrha!" he said, his voice full of relief. He took her hand in both of his. "You're awake! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

"I'm fine," she said, smiling. "Well, relatively, I guess." She noticed that they were the only two in the room. "Where are Ren and Nora?"

"They went back to the room so Nora could change her clothes." Pyrrha looked at him in confusion. "Oh, right, you didn't see that. It doesn't matter. They should be back soon." There was a silence for a few seconds. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"How long have you been here?" she asked.

"The whole time."

"Jaune, you didn't have to do that," Pyrrha said.

"I know," Jaune said. "But, I was just so worried about you. I was afraid that you'd be gone the second I left you out of my sight."

"Thank you, Jaune," she said, smiling warmly. "That really means a lot."

"I thought he killed you," Jaune practically whimpered, looking down with tears in his eyes. "I was just so afraid of losing you." She placed a hand on his cheek and turned his head so he was looking at her.

"I'm here, see?" she asked. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You'd better not," he said.

"I promise." He wiped the tears from his eyes.

"There's something I need to say," he said, straightening up a little. Pyrrha looked at him puzzlingly. "When Seymour stabbed you, I thought you had died. I just went berserk when I saw you hit the ground. It was like I had lost a part of myself when I thought I lost you."

"Jaune?" she asked.

"I finally realized something that's been staring me straight in the face," he said, looking at her in determination. "It's you. It's always been you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you were the first person in my life to ever truly believe in me. You were the first person to give me a chance at being more than I thought I could be. I can't believe it took you almost dying for me to realize this, but I don't think I can live without you. You are the most precious person in my world."

Pyrrha gasped, putting her hands in front of her mouth. Was he really saying what she thought he was saying? He leaned forward, and took both of her hands in his.

"Pyrrha, I finally realized that… I love you."

Tears burst from Pyrrha's eyes like a dam broke.

"Jaune," she said through her tears. "You have no idea how happy that makes me. I love you, too." She grabbed both sides of his face and pulled him close, their lips touching.

It was her first kiss.

It was a little sloppy, but it was full of passion.

It was everything she could ever hope for. She felt his tongue prod at her lips, so she opened them to allow him entry…

"Uh, should we come back?" Nora's voice broke them out of their kiss, the two of them separating very quickly, massive blushes on their faces. Nora and Ren were standing in the doorway, carrying plates with stacks of pancakes. They were smiling at the couple.

They were a couple now, right?

"Nora, Ren!" Jaune said accusingly. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you two finally come to your senses!" Nora said. "I mean, it's about time!"

"In all seriousness, though," Ren said. "I'm happy for you two."

"…Thanks," Pyrrha said sheepishly.

"I think this calls for celebratory pancakes!" Nora said happily.

"Nora, you think everything calls for pancakes," Jaune said.

"…What's your point?"

As her team laughed, Pyrrha felt a flutter in her heart.

After years of searching, she had finally found a place she truly belonged.

And it was all thanks to a clumsy, goofy, wonderful blond boy.

"Apparently Pyrrha and Vomit Boy got together," Yang said after checking a message on her scroll. Team RWBY were in their dorm room, and had all changed into their pajamas. After the day they'd had, all they wanted was to sleep.

"Oh, good," Weiss said. "Maybe now he'll stop bugging me."

"Well I'm happy for them," Ruby said. "I think they're perfect for each other."

"Honestly, I'm surprised it took so long," Blake said. "You've seen the way she looks at him." Yang sighed happily.

"Ah, this is what being our age is all about. Kicking ass and finding love. I've got Mercury, Ice Queen has Neptune…"

"Hey!"

"Blake's got Sun…"

"I wouldn't say we're in love…"

"Rubes, don't think I haven't seen the way you look at Cindy…"

"Uh, well, I—"

"And now Vomit Boy's got Pyrrha. Does anyone know if Ren and Nora have stopped pretending to not be a couple yet?"

There was a knock on the door instead of an answer.

"I wonder who that could possibly be at this hour?" Weiss asked, opening the door.

She was immediately knocked to the ground when cables were thrown at her, wrapping around her arms and pinning them to her sides. Several Atlesian soldiers poured into the room, one of them bending down to lock a leather strip over Weiss's mouth. Before the other three girls could react, cables were wrapped around them, too, and soldiers were placing gags over their mouths like Weiss.

"Ruby Rose, by order of General Ironwood, you and your team are under arrest."

AN: And now we're done with Team JNPR's mission, and now we've got new problems to deal with.

So yes, Jaune unlocked his Semblance much earlier than in canon. I actually think that Jaune unlocked his Semblance back in Volume 1 when Cardin punched him and he glowed. He just didn't know what happened, so he couldn't do it at will until he used in on Weiss in canon. Here, seeing Pyrrha "die" was enough to get him to use it, if only to boost his own Aura so he could power through Seymour's attacks.

And Jaune and Pyrrha are now a couple. This was something I had planned from the beginning, getting Jaune to stop being such an idiot and realize what he could have with her.

So, now we've got to deal with Ironwood's stupidity next chapter.

As always, thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next time!