Jaune sat at the bow of the yacht, leaning on the railing, and gazing into the moonlit waters near the horizon. Every few seconds, he caught sight of something disturbing the water. He did not need to see it to know what it was. Honestly, it surprised him he had lasted this long. He waited a few more moments, before turning around and walking back to the main part of the boat, the rear deck. He picked up his sword from where it lay, strapped on his armor, and readied his shield. He double checked all the straps, and made sure the plating covered as much of his body as possible. The improvements he had made in the past year were quite extensive, though he had taken weeks of self-convincing before he finally decided to modify his grandfather's armor.

He was alone on this voyage, as he knew he must be. He had to protect those he cared for. Pyrrha... He furrowed his brow as he thought of the fierce huntress. He didn't have much time to think before he heard the telltale slosh and clink of someone heaving themselves over the side of the yacht. He drew his sword; the metal sliding from its sheathe with a stealthy wooden sound. He breathed, readying himself for the ferocious conflict to come.

His opponent was not long in waiting. He gazed at the starboard side of the ship, where he had heard the sloshing sound earlier. Whu-thunk. His left ear tingled as a red and gold spear dug itself into the board behind him. He wasn't lucky. She was just being dramatic. It slowly eased itself frim the deck, and began to float back to the port side. He furrowed his brow at this turn of events. Of course she wouldn't make a beeline to him.

He saw the metal band in her hair appear first, though Jaune's eyes widened as it revealed itself to be a full face helmet, with a bright red crest. Her shield was large enough to cover her from shoulders to knees, and her spear had returned to her hand. Jaune couldn't see her eyes, but the constant stare told him all he needed to know.

"Just like old times." He whispered as he readied himself, and began walking forward. She stepped into full view of the light Jaune had focused onto the rear deck. They circled, spear and sword and shields, waiting for a sign of anything out of the ordinary. The world was holding its breath. Not even the waves made a sound, not that the two warriors would know. They were both stalking their prey in plain sight. Waiting. Watching. Predicting and anticipating.

Silent.

Jaune moved first, a swing intended to knock her helmet askew. She casually raised her shield and thrust with her spear. Jaune sidestepped, not even leting it touch his shield. Then, they were circling again. After a few moments, she took several rapid steps, her shield in front, intending to run him overboard. He braced, and slammed his shield into hers as he twisted, and let her momentum carry her past, slashing at her back as he turned. She didn't even look as the rear of her spear blew the blow askew. Jaune recovered before she turned. They began stepping silently once more.

Time after time, they clashed. Neither losing ground, and both stopping after a short exchange. Jaune licked his lips, as if to say something more, but an abrupt slash with a spear cut him short. After their short exchange was over, he said aloud, "I think this is a stalemate, Pyrrha." The spartan remained silent behind her implacable mask, and it merely stared eyelessly back at him. "Though I have to admit, the helmet does throw me." Again, silence was his answer. After a few more short bouts, he was beginning to sweat. He wanted to wipe it from his brow, but her spear was always ready to respond to such a move. He tried speaking again. "I know want to kill me, but will I at least be able to explain myself?" Nothing changed from the implacable wall of bronze. "I am not a traitor." He said resolutely.

"I don't believe that, Jaune," she finally spoke, her voice rendered harsh and metallic by the helmet.

"Well, I do," he said, pairing the last word with a swing of his shield, his intent to knock hers away. Whilst she was almost unprepared, she still managed to leap out of the way of his follow through. There was a much larger space between them now, and Jaune saw the wind beginning to rustle the crest of her helmet. He heard the waves beginning to lap at the keel of the boat. The light from the moon had faded, clouds hiding it's shattered form from view. The only light now was the spotlight Jaune had positioned for this occasion.

"I was protecting people," He exclaimed, sword thundering forward now. "I can't be a traitor! I was saving them!"

"You protected no one but Cinder!" she replied, with a block and a slash.

"She never needed to be saved!" a sidestep and a stab was his riposte.

"Because she put people in danger!" a deflection, and shield swipe. "We saved people from her!"

"You don't understand me!" He replied, stepping forward, guard down, chest exposed. The shield and his breastplate collided, staggering him, but breaking the shield. "I was saving you!"

Pyrrha stopped. She had her spear under his chin, past his aura, cold metal touching his flesh. Jaune looked back at the metal that hid her face from the world. After moments that stretched into millennia, Pyrrha Spoke again, her voice distorted by more than the metal "How could you have saved me?" The helmet remained emotionless. The crest was beginning to flutter more now.

"I made her leave you... for last." He said, as tears began to peek at the edges of his eyes. "So long as you lived, so could I." He didn't hear a response, but he saw drops of water coming from underneath the cold metal. "You still stopped her, didn't you?" The spear was still at his throat. He dropped his sword to the ground with a loud thud.

"Yes. We stopped her." Pyrrha lowered her spear from his throat. Jaune breathed deep again. Rain was starting to patter the wooden deck. His tears were being lost as the drops struck his face. His chestpiece was cracked, but still in one piece. The same could not be said for Pyrrha's shield. It lay scattered about in pieces. After glancing at her broken pieces, Jaune looked at Pyrrha who was taking off her Helmet. Her hair was done in a bun, so it did not fall past her shoulders. Jaune breathed in sharply when he say what Pyrrha had been hiding.

Her right face was horribly burnt. Like melted plastic, her mouth could barely close, and her eye could barely open. The burn was old and dark, not fresh and pink. Jaune could not breathe. "You didn't save me," she said, "Not all of me."

Jaune had her in his arms in a moment, where she wept quietly onto his broken breastplate. His chest felt like it was being ripped in two. "I should have stopped her."

"But you didn't Jaune. You let her do worse to other people."

"I had to save you."

"No, you should have saved those people!" she was feebly hitting him with her left hand. "They were more important than me."

"How... how can you say that," he said quietly, as he looked into her green eyes.

"Because I am a Huntress. I protect people. Not a person. People."

Jaune could only hold her tighter. Her feeble strikes had weathered away the rest of his breastplates integrity, and it crumbled, turning to Dust as it hit the ground. He sobbed immensely, shaking; with every heave leaning on Pyrrha more and more, until she was the one holding him as the rain fell and the waves began to crash.