He found Pyrrha standing on the same balcony as before, the very one that they always used for training before Beacon fell. She held her spear and shield in a fighting pose, "Ready to begin?" she said. Jaune looked around, but the balcony was empty. "I don't have my gear with me." Jaune explained. Pyrrha chuckled and said, "Jaune, this is Your dream. If you wish for something to be here, it'll be here. Just focus."

Jaune nodded, that made sense. "Alright, I'll try." Jaune imagined his sword and shield in his hands. Recalling the familiar weight and feel of them, and suddenly there they were. Jaune smiled at his success and looked up to tell Pyrrha. "Look, I did it." Pyrrha returned the smile and said, "Then let us begin."

They closed the distance between each other cautiously, shield up and weapon ready. Jaune had decided to attempt a feint against her, and waited for his chance. He tested her defences with a few short jabs, which she easily deflected, and then swung in a wide horizontal arc at her side.

She braced herself to block it against her shield, but wasn't ready for him to suddenly pull back on his swing at the last second, and follow up with a shield bash. He drove it forwards with his sword held back and ready to attempt a stab. She recovered quickly enough however to shift back and block his sword on the edge of her shield, throwing it aside and thrusting with her spear. Jaune blocked and struck again.

The rest of the duel didn't take very long. Soon enough, Jaune was once again on the ground with a spear aimed at his face. Jaune sighed and said, "Alright, you got me." "It's alright Jaune." She said while helping him up. "Your feint nearly worked." Jaune frowned and replied, "Yeah, nearly."

Pyrrha smiled and stepped in closer, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. "You're doing well Jaune." She said while taking his hand. "Let's take a break." Pyrrha guided him over to the wall and sat down. Jaune sat next to her and felt all too aware of how she shifted closer to him till she was leaning on him.

"So, what's next?" Pyrrha asked, gazing up at him expectantly. "Oh, well… I guess, i-if you're alright with it, we could… hold hands?" Jaune replied nervously, staring at the floor as he spoke. Jaune had actually wondered if they could kiss again, but he couldn't work up the nerve to ask. He waited for a moment, yet heard total silence. He was wondering if she would ever reply to him when he heard a strange muffled sound.

He looked at Pyrrha only to see her with her hand covering her mouth, fighting to hold back laughter. "What?" Jaune asked her, and with that she lost control. Pyrrha burst out laughing at him, clutching her sides and fighting for air. She tried to sneak in a word or two in between, but it was quite a struggle.

"J-Jaune… I meant, what are you planning… to do next…with the team?" With her sentence finished, she was free to finish laughing at him till she settled down. Once Pyrrha recovered, she saw the grimace on Jaune's face and felt guilty. Feeling bold, she reached over to pull him into a short kiss, and took him hand in hers.

"How's this?" Pyrrha said comfortingly. "Better, thanks." Jaune answered. "Anyway, wouldn't you already know what's going on? You said that you're a part of my soul, right?" Jaune asked. "I don't believe that's how this works. I'm no expert in any of this Jaune; I just know what I've experienced so far." Pyrrha said.

She gazed up at the tower in silence for a moment to collect her thoughts. "I… feel, as if it has been a while since I… died." Pyrrha squeezed Jaune's hand and took a deep breath before she continued. "When you encountered 'me' last night, that was the first time that I've been truly awake, aware. Before that, it's as if I've been asleep for months."

Jaune squeezed back, and asked. "What's the last thing you remember?" Pyrrha visibly concentrated, and then blushed. "Ummm, it was when I shoved you into the locker. Right after I…" Jaune's face mirrored her own as he said. "Well, that makes sense, right? If your soul was connected to mine, it would have stayed behind with me when I last saw you."

Pyrrha thought this over and agreed. "Yes, I think you're right." So tell me, what happened after that?" Jaune stared at the peak of the tower before them. "You went up the tower, and fought Cinder alone. Nobody really knows how the fight went, since Cinder ran away, and there was no recording of anything. Ruby ran up the tower to help you, but… she got there just in time to see you…die."

Pyrrha answered with silence. "I'm not too clear on what she did there, but the giant Grim we saw flying around was frozen to the tower." Jaune said. At this Pyrrha roused herself. "Frozen?" Jaune nodded. "Yeah, it keeps attracting more Grim though, so Beacon is closed for now."

"How is everyone else? Are they alright?" Pyrrha asked, clearly concerned for her friends. "Yeah, they're all okay." Jaune said to reassure her. Jaune then hesitated, remembering something. "Well, not exactly. Everyone's alive at least, and I'm sure that Yang will recover soon, but…" Pyrrha gazed at him expectantly. Jaune continued. "Blake met a leader of the White Fang, Adam. I guess she was tired from fighting all the Grimm and, she wasn't doing well. Yang found them, and she fought Adam alone."

Jaune paused for a moment. "Jaune, what happened to her?" "She lost her right arm, just above the elbow." Pyrrha looked distraught at this. "But I'm sure that she'll be okay. Yang's always been pretty tough." Jaune said, attempting to reassure her. "Where is everyone now?" She asked.

"Well, Yang is staying with her dad for a while, Weiss' dad came to pick her up and took her back to Atlas, and Blake… I'm not sure. After checking up on everyone, she kind of disappeared. The other Beacon students are either with their families or helping to keep the Grim in check, while everyone from Haven, Shade, and Atlas went back home." Jaune explained.

"As for Ruby, Ren, and Nora, they're… with me." Jaune said. "With you? Jaune, what are you up to?" Pyrrha pressed. Jaune hesitated, but admitted. "Ruby's uncle, Qrow, let on that our enemies were planning something at Haven academy. She called us shortly afterwards, and after taking part of the winter to rest up, we set out together."

Pyrrha's expression was unreadable. "You're going to try to stop them?" she asked. "Of course. We can't let them do to Haven what they did at Beacon." Jaune answered. Pyrrha seemed concerned. "That's quite a mission." She said. Jaune met her eyes. "Do you think we can't handle it?" He asked sincerely.

Pyrrha stared back for a moment, and answered. "No. I believe that you can. You'll rise to the challenge Jaune, I'm sure of it." Jaune smiled. "I'll do my best." Pyrrha smiled back and laid her head on his shoulder, at ease. Suddenly, she moved slightly apart and looked at him. "Wait, I just thought of something."

"What is it?" Jaune asked curiously. "What's the name of your team now?" Pyrrha asked. Jaune looked dumbfounded. "Uhhhhh… huh. I hadn't thought of that." He admitted. "Then let's think of one." She suggested. "Alright." Jaune replied. "Let's see, what do we have to work with? J-A, N-V, L-R, R-R. Right?"

They considered this for some time, popping suggestions here and there but quickly scrapping them. "What about JRRN, like Journey?" Jaune said. "It's nice, but that isn't a color." Pyrrha replied. "RRJN, like Orange?" She suggested. "I don't know. It matches the initials, but it doesn't really fit the team." Jaune replied.

After more pondering, Pyrrha said. "How about Team RNJR, for Ranger? There's a color called ranger green." Jaune seemed excited, then hesitant. "Wait, but that puts Ruby as the leader." "Aren't you helping Ruby with her mission?" Pyrrha asked. "Well yeah, but…" Jaune started to say, but then interrupted himself. "I've got it! JNRR, for Junior!" Jaune shouted.

Pyrrha seemed reluctant. "It still isn't a color though." Jaune pouted. "I guess." He said. "Just ask the team what they think. It's a group decision now." Pyrrha said. "Yeah, you're right." Jaune replied. They spent the rest of their time together in silence, savoring the moment and gazing up at the night sky.

To be continued…

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Author's note: To be perfectly honest, I'm not too happy with how this one turned out. Much of this chapter was simply having Jaune explain to Pyrrha what's been going on in the world so far. As a writer, I chafe at raw exposition as it's typically fairly dull, 'show don't tell', but there was no way for me to continue the story without having this done early in the series. Rest assured however that the chapters from this point forwards should be much stronger, as we'll finally be directly alongside season 4 of the main series. Chapter 3 will take place the night before team RNJR's fight against the Geist, and we'll go on from there.

Thank you for reading my story, and I hope that you will enjoy the next.