Chapter 32

Jaune normally woke up when the sun rose. Several months on the road had hammered the habit into him and his team. Traveling at night through Remnant was dangerous, so they had to use all the daylight they had available to them, before they would camp for the night, taking turns watching the perimeter for any Grimm that might creep, crawl, or slither upon them..

This was the first time Jaune woke up before the sun had crested the horizon, and for good reason. The dream had felt so real, like he was actually talking to Pyrrha and not a figment of his imagination. He could even still feel her kiss after waking up, and that never happened when he dreamed. Him feeling things from his dreams after waking up that is.

Any attempt to go back to sleep after that was met with miserable failure. After thirty fruitless minutes of staring up at the trees trying to will himself to sleep, Jaune had given up and gotten up to prepare the camp. He spent the next hour or so packing up supplies and relighting the campfire. In the back of his mind he knew what he was really doing.

Busy-work, to keep his mind off the dream. Off of Pyrrha.

It helped with the ache in his chest, but he couldn't shake his mind away from the dream. There had to be something more to it, something he had missed. Losing Pyrrha still hurt; maybe his subconscious was starting to be overcome with guilt. It wouldn't be the first time Jaune beat himself up over what happened at Beacon.

But this hadn't felt like a guilt-induced fever dream. It all came back to how it felt. There was too much coherency for it to just be a dream, but if that was the case… did that mean Pyrrha was alive? Really, truly alive? Even when reason suggested that line of thought was impossible, he struggled against it. If he gave up, he would lose hope, and he couldn't - wouldn't do that to his team: They needed him to keep moving forward with them.

This was what antagonized Jaune until the first rays of sunlight broke through the forest canopy. Mistral's forests were unlike anything he had seen in Vale; while Vale had oversized oak and pine trees, Mistral's had wide canopies and bare trunks that stretched dozens of feet into the air. The ground was different too, much more muddy and malleable, and overgrown with flora.

The bad news about this was that it railroaded Jaune and his team onto the road and kept them blind to anything that might be stalking them. Even their camp was only a few feet off to the side of the stone cobbled path. The good news though, was that foraging for kindling and firewood was easy.

When the sun finally did break through that thick canopy, the rest of team RNJR, as they had ultimately agreed to call themselves (much to Nora's chagrin), began to stir from their sleep.

Ruby was up first; she sat up with a bad case of bed head and yawned. She blinked her silver eyes when she saw Jaune sitting by the fire. "You're up early."

Jaune shrugged, "Woke up early. Couldn't fall back asleep. Breakfast is ready when you're hungry."

"Mmm, food." Nora red-head rose from her sleeping bag in a zombie-like stupor, and sniffed. "Is that toast?"

Jaune looked at the breakfast he'd assembled. They couldn't carry a lot of refrigerated items with them, so most of their supplies consisted of grains and canned goods. For breakfast it was a loaf of bread and energy bars. Again.

"Well, kinda?" he admitted.

"It's food! Gimme!" Nora replied.

And that was how the morning started. Nora and Ruby ate in relative silence until Ren finally woke up and joined them. Jaune suspected that while Ren had been awake even before the girls, he stayed wrapped up in his bedroll to savor the peace and quiet. Nora certainly gave them little enough once they resumed their trek. Once Ren had eaten, Jaune pulled out the map and they went over where they were headed next. With Xione a smoking ruin, they'd have to move on to the next village before they could pick up supplies again. The rest of the trip to the city of Mistral would still have to be on foot, an idea that none of them were particularly thrilled about.

They didn't have a choice though, Xione was the only village with an airship for miles. Without it, hoofing it was the only option left. Jaune had realized this the night before, but given what they had witnessed, he didn't want to bring it up at the time. Everyone had been exhausted on a physical and mental level after that night: Jaune didn't have the heart to add to it.

Ren rolled up the map once they had decided on the next path, and stood up. "We should get going. We've got a long walk ahead of us."

"At least we remembered the map this time," Ruby pointed out, and smiled weakly. Nora shrugged sheepishly, and swallowed one last slice of toast whole.

Afterwards, they doused the fire and packed up the rest of their camp, before heading on their way. Jaune was thankful he'd finally sprung for new shoes after all this time. His old sneakers had been worn all the way through to the sole, and his new hiking boots made the world's longest hike much more bearable. He adjusted his shoulder straps and sighed to himself as they walked. It may have been less uncomfortable, but it was still far from enjoyable.

It was a bit odd for Jaune to complain this much, mentally or otherwise, but he preferred it to thinking about the dream. By this point, Jaune had come to the conclusion that there was more to it than his subconscious shaming him. It was real, it had to be real.

A ray of sunshine pierced the canopy and hit Jaune square in the eye. He stumbled in surprise, but quickly recovered.

Ruby slowed to walk beside him and glanced at him in concern. "You okay, Jaune?"

He rubbed at his eyes and noticed for the first time that he had fallen behind everyone else as they walked. Normally he was right up front with Ruby, while Ren and Nora kept a watch on their rear.

Jaune shook his head, "Yeah, I'm fine… just… fine."

A small frown tugged at her lips, and her voice dropped to a whisper, "Bad dreams again?"

When they had started this journey almost six months ago, Jaune had suffered more than a few nasty nightmares. Everyone had: They had survived the destruction or an entire city, and it would've been more troubling if they hadn't had nightmares. But Jaune's had persisted the longest, and loved coming back when he least expected it. If anything, they'd become more intense as the days stretched into weeks.

He sighed, "No, it's just… it's nothing Ruby. I'm fine, really."

If he told them about his dream and what he thought it meant, they'd think he was crazy. Heck, Jaune would think the same thing if someone told him they'd had a dream about their dead girlfriend telling them they were trapped in another world. Keeping it a secret might be for the best.

No, no it wasn't! It was the secrets and lies that dragged them into this mess in the first place. Jaune still had no idea what Cinder had done to get so powerful, or what that machine underneath the CCTS was meant to do. For whatever reason, Pyrrha and Ozpin had kept secrets from them, and Beacon was a Grimm-infested ruin because of it. He was not going to go down that same path, even if what he was about to say sounded absolutely pants-on-head crazy.

"Wait, guys…" Jaune said. Everyone stopped and looked at him. Ren's face was unreadable as always, and Nora looked perplexed. Ruby wore a concerned expression.

Jaune sighed and scratched at the back of his head, "Listen, this is going to sound… well, it's insane, but I think Pyrrha is alive."

Ruby's concerned expression promptly spread to Ren and Nora. The former put the map away and said, "Jaune, we've had a rough few days... Maybe we should camp early-"

"I'm not crazy Ren." Jaune cut him off, and his shoulders slumped, "I know it… sounds like it - I barely believe it myself - but last night I had this… well, I had a dream. Pyrrha talked to me in it, and she's alive. Just… not on Remnant."

Nora and Ren exchanged a look. Ruby looked heartbroken. "Jaune, what happened to Pyrrha was hard on all of us, but… I know what I saw."

"And so do I!" Jaune shot back. Was his voice harsher than it needed to be? Probably, but he was frustrated. Not with their disbelief, but that the only evidence he had was a damn dream! But it was real, it had to be!

Nora walked up to Jaune and put a hand on his shoulder, "Jaune, I miss Pyrrha too. People don't come back after that though, no matter how hard we want them to."

Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I know it sounds crazy, and maybe it is, but there's no way I can convince you guys for sure. All I have is that dream for proof, it's not like I can hold out my arms and expect her to fall from the sky!"

A flash of white light lit up the forest and the very sky above screamed as it was split in two, sucking in the air around with ferocious intensity, and… Pyrrha Nikos, dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans, and wearing a ratty pair of sneakers, fell from the hole and into Jaune's outstretched arms. He was caught completely off guard and though he caught her, he fell flat on his back with a groan. The sky promptly sealed itself shut as though nothing had happened, and the forest went dead silent.

Pyrrha blinked stars out of her eyes and cursed Molly for not giving her a proper warning before throwing her through the portal. It was a curse cut short though, when she realized she was sitting on something soft. Once her vision cleared, she looked down and saw Jaune laying on the ground, letting out a pained moan.

A smile rippled across Pyrrha's face, and she looked up to see Ren and Nora standing dumbstruck with their mouths hanging wide open. Ruby had pulled her weapon loose in the initial excitement, but upon seeing Pyrrha, it clattered to the ground. Her heart began pounding with excited relief, and Pyrrha said the first thing that came to mind.

"...Hello again!"

"Oh Pyrrha!"

After Pyrrha got off Jaune and helped him back to his feet, she immediately found herself glomped by a tearful Nora. It was a painful reminder that what had been a few days for Pyrrha had been months for her friends. It was also a painful reminder of just how strong Nora was.

Pyrrha gasped for air as Nora lifted her into the air and swung her from side to side while crying, "Oh I knew you were alive the whole time, I knew it and no one believed me!"

"O...kay…" Pyrrha gasped. "Nora… I can't… breathe… Crush...ing….me…"

Nora blinked and stopped swinging her like a ragdoll, "Oh, right," and loosened her grip, though she did not let her go. Pyrrha took in a lungful of sweet oxygen, and returned Nora's hug.

"It's good to see you again, Nora…"

That set her trembling again, and Nora might have started babbling too if Ren didn't interrupt with, "Nora, we don't know who that is. Step back."

A few hours ago, his words would have stung Pyrrha, but now she just closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Nora, on the other hand, released Pyrrha and glared at Ren with her hands on her hips. "Oh don't you start, Mister Wannabe-Ninja!"

"Nora, he has a point," Ruby said. She never took her tear-filled eyes off Pyrrha, even as she spoke, "I know what I saw, Pyrrha-"

"Ep!" Nora snapped her fingers. "None of that!"

"But-"

"Nope! Everything is fine! Pyrrha is fine! Nothing bad. Ever. Happened." she glared at them both. "Ever."

Pyrrha put a hand on Nora's shoulder. Her short friend looked up at Pyrrha. The tall red-head smiled and said, "I appreciate the gesture Nora. But after what happened, I can understand why you would be skeptical."

She took a deep breath and looked at her friends, "I wish I could tell you how I survived, and how I've come back. But I don't know how I survived my fight with Cinder. Up until recently, I couldn't even remember my own death. I don't have anyway to prove to you that I'm who I say I am. All I can say do is… Is say I'm sorry for what I did, and what I've put you all through."

The tears started flowing from Ruby's eyes, and she rushed to Pyrrha, hugging her tightly. This was more what Pyrrha had expected, tears, lots and lots of tears. She looked up to see Ren, who still looked skeptical.

That is, until Nora grabbed his wrist and said, "Oh quit being a party pooper and get in there!" Then she dragged him into a group hug with herself and Ruby.

Pyrrha smiled, "Sorry Ren."

He let out a sigh, and remained silent, but his face conveyed all the relief he felt. After a solid straight minute of being hugged, Pyrrha was finally able to disentangle herself from the majority of team RNJR, leaving one more member left.

"Jaune…"

The blonde haired youth scratched at his head awkwardly, "Pyrrha, I… um, I had a dream with you in it."

Nora smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand.

Pyrrha smiled, "I know, I was there."

"You… you said you couldn't remember what happened, and that you were… in another world?" Saying it aloud reminded Jaune why the others hadn't believed him at first. It sounded like something straight out of a terrible fantasy novel.

"All true," she confirmed. "That's actually one of the reasons I'm here at all. I don't know how to say this, but I don't have a lot of time, twenty minutes at most."

"What?! Why?!" Everyone yelled.

She sighed, "It's complicated, and I don't have time to explain it. I just… after the past few days, I needed to see you all."

Jaune's face went somber, "Just the past few days?"

"Not like that," Pyrrha quickly assured him, "I literally just woke up three days ago. Whoever or whatever rescued me couldn't release me or had to wait. I didn't think I'd ever find a way back, but this world I've landed on, its…"

She took a deep breath and explained what had happened. Her arrival on Earth, her work with Harry and Murphy, the battle at UC, her solo-mission that brought her against Mercury and Emerald (Omitting the part where she was arrested) and the battle with the Nevermore that destroyed Harry's apartment. Like she expected, it sounded completely off the wall crazy, no matter how true it was.

When she finished, everyone looked stunned. Justified, she thought, since the idea of another world was the stuff of fiction. And the idea of a world without Grimm was just plain crazy.

"Wizards and vampires and monsters… but no Grimm?" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha nodded, "This world, Earth is… incredibly different from Remnant. There are literal gods who live there, so much more powerful than any of us; that's how I got here. It's not a perfect world, but it's been its own world with its own problems… And now the Grimm are coming to it."

"It'll be a slaughter." Jaune said. It was no sudden realization, they all knew it. No one had wanted to say it though.

"That's what Harry and I are trying to stop. We know how Cinder is sending them through, we just need to close the portals and then I can focus on a way to come home permanently."

"Well, bring us with you!" Nora said.

"Yeah, five huntsmen would be more useful than just one." Jaune agreed, and quickly added, "No offense."

Pyrrha smiled sadly, "I wish I could, but we'd have to find a way to bind you to Earth, otherwise the result would be the same. You'd all be dragged back to Remnant in a few minutes. This is something I have to handle alone, for now."

Jaune scowled, "That's not fair! You went through enough at Beacon, you shouldn't have to do this alone!"

"Jaune," Pyrrha said, her tone firm.

He grimaced and clenched his hands. Pyrrha took his hands in hers and felt them slowly unclench. She smiled sweetly at him, "I'm not alone. Here or on Earth, I have friends like you to help me. And when Earth is safe, I'll come home as fast as I can. I promise."

Jaune let out a pent up breath and met Pyrrha's eyes. They stood like that for a moment, hands intertwined, when Nora spoke up, "Oh, hey! I just realized, we forgot to do that thing!"

Everyone looked at her confused, "That...thing?"

"Yeah, you know, the thing!" She said, smiling. "Don't worry, I can handle it. Just to be sure though…"

She grabbed Ruby's hood and Ren's collar and started dragging them off, "I'll be taking these two to help me out! Be back in who knows when! Bye!"

Ruby looked perplexed, while Ren was resigned to his fate as Nora pulled them down the path and around a bend in the road… leaving Pyrrha and Jaune by themselves. Alone. With no one else around.

Pyrrha suddenly found the ground to be extraordinarily fascinating, while Jaune kept coughing awkwardly. While studying the ground though, Pyrrha noted the new gauntlets that he was wearing.

"I… like your new armor. It looks nice…"

"Oh, that?" Jaune looked at himself, "It's pretty nice I guess, I mean, if you think it is, I...um…"

Pyrrha let out a long sigh, "Right… Jaune, I… I'm sorry. About what I did at Beacon, what I did to you. Putting you through that, it… it wasn't fair."

Jaune looked off to the side and didn't say anything. That was alright, Pyrrha had plenty to say, things she had been wanting to say for a long time.

"After… well after everything that happened that day, I didn't know what to do. I fell back onto the only thing I did know how to do."

Jaune closed his eyes and nodded with understanding. "Fighting, I get it."

"But it cost me my life, and it hurt everyone." Pyrrha wasn't going to cry, not this time. She'd gotten all her tears out, but that didn't make the truth of what she did hurt any less. What she was going to say next, though, would hurt more.

"So, I'd… I'd understand if you didn't want anything to do with me after that. I just hope we can still be friends if that's true."

Pyrrha might as well have been pulling teeth, the words hurt so much to say. But they needed to be said, because her actions had been selfish and immature and had caused everyone far too much pain. Ruby alone had proven that.

Jaune took a deep breath and looked at Pyrrha. He didn't say anything for a moment, just looked at her, completely inscrutable to her.

"Pyrrha, when this craziness is all over, I know this great arcade back home if you… I dunno, want to hang out there or something?"

She stared at him for a long moment, understanding slowly forming in her eyes. "Are… are you asking me on a date?"

He shrugged, "Well… it's a year late, I admit, but better late than never, right?"

"Yes!" Pyrrha gleefully yelled. "Of course, I'd love to!"

Admittedly it wasn't the most romantic idea of a first date, but it was a start. Besides, something about it was just so… Jaune. Of course he would suggest something like an arcade, video games were the only thing he could consistently beat her at.

Jaune smiled, "Great, then I guess we've got double motivation, right?"

Pyrrha opened her mouth to respond, and felt a wave of nausea roll over her. Her body went numb and her eyes started to roll into the back of her skull.

"Pyrrha?"

She took a step back and fell to one knee, and saw the cobbled pathway beneath her start to blur into an indistinct blob of grey. A cold sweat broke out along her brow; no way, it couldn't have been twenty minutes yet, could it?

Jaune knelt next to her, and steadied her with one hand. "Pyrrha, what's wrong, what's happening?" he asked.

She scrabbled for one of his hand and grabbed it tight, only to feel it slip from her grasp like sand. One look at her hand and horror overtook her. Pyrrha was slowly fading out of existence, her body being dragged back to Earth bit by bit. She looked down and could see through her legs and abdomen.

"Jaune…" the effort of speaking was greater than it should've been, but Pyrrha forced herself to speak.

"I'm here," he assured her. "What is it?"

"I'm… being pulled back… but I'll… I'll see you again soon… Tell the others I'm… sorry I didn't get to say goodbye."

Jaune brushed his hand against her cheek, reassuring her without the words. Pyrrha leaned into his touch, savoring it for what may be the last time in a long time…

Then she was gone.

And Jaune was alone.

Pyrrha rematerialized in the Carpenter household and bounced off the hallway wall flat onto her back. She stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, savoring the lingering silence. It didn't last.

A shadow fell over Pyrrha and clamped a hand over her mouth, muffling her scream of surprise. Her eyes went wide and she punched at the shadowed figure, only for them to duck out of the blow.

Murphy caught Pyrrha's arm before she pulled it back for a second go, and held it there. Pyrrha stared at Murphy in surprise, mostly for the sudden attack. What was going on? Where were Harry and the others?

Slowly, Murphy released Pyrrha's arm and mouth, and raised a finger to her lips in a 'quiet' gesture. Pyrrha nodded and sat up, quickly looking around. They were upstairs, right outside the guest room she'd been staying in. She gave Murphy a questioning look.

The short woman pointed down the hall, and whispered, "Molly had to leave for a minute… And Torchwick's invaded the house. He has Maggie."

A/N: Surprise!

I'll admit, I didn't expect to update this fast, but I'd been waiting to write this scene for sooo long I just jumped right in. I've been writing since this morning and never really stopped. It might be like this for the rest of the story, as it was the beginning and end that I really wanted to write.

Now, how the hell did this happen? Torchwicks escaped to cause havoc again? Haha! Not for long, he's about to learn exactly how bad he screwed up.

And it will be glorious.

Anyway, lemme know what you guys thought in the reviews, don't forget to leave your thoughts and critiques and I'll see you guys next time!