"Here you go, son!" said the blacksmith of the town. He was a faunus blacksmith whose features were the horns on his head. "It's going to be heavier than your used to but you'll thank me the next time you go against a set of claws!"

On the table, there was Jaune's armor.; the chest piece at any rate. With a nice shine to it, it was definitely going to be heavier than what Jaune is normally accustomed to but there was no denying the defensive benefits that it brings. Even better was that it did not in impede his mobility as much as most thought they would. There were separate pieces that didn't get in the way of the other should Jaune ever have need for more nimbleness in his fights. With how he had been approaching combat lately, the armor also doubled as a weapon by itself.

With the blacksmith was presumably the apprentice, also a faunus though his features aren't as obvious, it became clear when his tongue went out and grabbed a piece of cloth to wipe the sweat on his forehead; a frog faunus. He was busy cleaning and wiping the other pieces of armor that was currently on the model that blacksmiths use whenever they forge a set. Only after he was done did the pieces of armor were brought to the table for Jaune to try out.

Jaune, with help from his team, had cast away his old armor and donned the new set. His hoodie with its Pumpkin Pete mascot printed on it was in full display. Every other member of team JNPR shared a giggle amongst themselves as their leader still hadn't quite grown out of that. In his defense, it was a comfortable hoodie and was a limited edition. He had given fifty box tops for that and he was going to make full use out of it if he was going to.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Jaune's eyes sparkled at the sight of it. Barring the helmet that was still on the table, his entire body had armor on them. Now he really appeared like the knights that he read about while he was growing up. He really had started to look like the Rusted Knight minus the rust, of course. He was much closer to a shining knight with how well the metal gleamed in the light.

"Can't be a huntsman without a weapon," said the blacksmith, carrying with him the finished product of the upgraded Crocea Mors. With a click of its rather simplistic mechanisms, the shield expanded revealing the refinements on the shield from that used and practically battered shield and the sword hilt had brand new shagreen for the grip. "Those were fine metals you brought me, accents the white nicely. Personally, always did have an appreciation for the classics so I made extra sure that it was of the finest quality and then some as thanks, no extra charge. Making an old man like myself feel young again is reward enough."

The shield of Crocea Mors was reinforced and the sword was sharpened and reforged with new materials. However, the portion of interest was the bronze accents and the shape of Pyrrha's tiara near the bottom of the heater shield. Nora and Jeanne elbowed a blushing Pyrrha with the former creating waves with her eyebrows. The fact that Jaune did that simply because it was Pyrrha who started it all for him only served to make the champion's face redder. He didn't think about the implications of that before it was too late which made him blush as well. Jeanne only coughed into her fist and whistled. Jeanne personally found it cute.

With the visor still up, Jaune stepped out into the sunlight to get a better grasp of his armor. Sword on one hand, shield in the other and armor all over, the blonde knight felt more like a knight with each step. Closing his visor, he tested his vision. There were limitations to them but he could manage well enough. The same could be said about the audio. It was manageable however. Jaune had never been the nimblest of huntsmen but he was able to make his own fighting style work and with the armor, it would emphasize it while also covering the weaknesses.

"Fits, pretty well, doesn't it?" said the blacksmith pridefully. The rest of team JNPR agreed; their leader was becoming the kind of hero he always said that the wanted to be. "Bet you all that the kids would love you, boy. They'll be shouting ma look! The Rusted Knight! Can we go meet him?" The blacksmith's tone was higher pitched as he mimicked a child's voice.

"That they would, sir," Pyrrha said. As someone who had trained Jaune in swordsmanship, she couldn't be prouder than she is now. The Rusted Knight is a popular children's character and it wouldn't be surprising that most huntsmen and huntresses became one because of it. The competitive fighter herself was no exception.

The blacksmith leaned on the door post. "You sure you kids don't want to stick around longer? You've been real good to this town."

"Sorry," Jeanne said. "But we have other things to do."

"Get to Haven Academy as fast as we can!" Nora said.

"We made sure that the town is capable of defending itself," Ren assured the blacksmith.

The blacksmith only snickered. "Yeah, the things you're doing now would really help out the town. Huntsmen and huntresses are getting really scarce nowadays. It helps that the Grimm are getting just as scarce but that is still concerning. Never know when they would attack again, you know?"

"That is why we're heading to Haven," Pyrrha replied. "There is something there that might be worth looking into." As to what that thing that they are looking for, they cannot say. At the moment, that part of their quest needs to be kept in secrecy.

"Well, I hope you kids find what you're looking for." He waved them farewell and then returned to the inside of the smithy. "Take care out there, you hear?"

"We will!" Nora waved the blacksmith goodbye.

It had taken JNPR a few more hours before they could leave. They had to check their supplies and double-checked them in case they had forgotten something. Part of them thought about getting a cart just for their journeys but they chose against it due to the rough terrain that they expect they would encounter in their journey. It was the good choice as it didn't take long for the road to become a little rough.

The weather had been kind to them at least. Clear cloudless skies made it so they could see far and wide, especially when the trees were sparse that their vision wasn't that obscured. Light breezes also help offset the otherwise hot rays of the sun. Jaune and Pyrrha were unaffected by the heat on their metals for the most part, though they did bring a kind of cloth that was usually meant to be used under the blistering days of Vacuo just in case. Jaune wasn't wearing his helmet and let it hang; there wasn't a need to wear it unless they were approaching dangerous territory or expecting combat. With how far away their vision had provided them, they should be able to tell when combat would be inevitable.

With each long trek, team JNPR also rested to recover their stamina. They were carrying a rather large load on their journey and those things eventually weighed down on them. Finding shade under trees or large rocks, JNPR made sure they weren't about to get their skins burnt from the sunlight. Water and rations made their packs lighter.

They resumed their journey. At times they noticed that somewhere in the distance, the odd Grimm could be seen headed somewhere. They were too far from it and it didn't seem to be heading towards any town or village that they are aware of. They left it alone as to chase it meant a lot of time and it would be nothing more than a distraction of their objective.

"Strange," Ren commented though. "This is the first I have heard of Grimm acting like this."

"True," Pyrrha replied. "Then again, there is little much else we know of the Grimm. For all we know, this is just how they are when there isn't any negativity drawing them in."

Only a little of their time was spent thinking about it. There was nothing to be gained and any conclusions formed had holes to begin with. There was certainly that theory where Grimm are akin to animals and thus behave like one. Their movements certainly were animalistic but that wasn't enough to convince people that Grimm were animals that have turned evil or something.

More hours passed before they eventually would rest for the night. Unsurprisingly given the circumstances, no stray Grimm had been found and the roads had been safe when they should have expected some kind of attack. They were still thankful for that since they were able to travel for longer distances than they initially thought. After stretching out their muscles, team JNPR then began to train. Without armor and without their weapons; they didn't want to damage nor use any of their ammunition when they could have used that for the Grimm. Instead, it was more on physical conditioning and what sticks and stones they could find as a substitute. It wasn't perfect but their training today—other than the unarmed aspects—were light for the most part.

For Jaune, it came in the form of hand-to-hand combat tutored by Lie Ren. Out of all members of the team, it was Ren who had the most experience and training in unarmed combat. Given the melee range of his weapons, it was expected that he would mix in some form of martial arts.

Ren's own martial art was much closer to mimicking animalistic movements. Tiger, Crane, Snake, Mantis, Leopard and Dragon though the last one isn't an actual animal. For Jaune, Ren opted to stick to the principles of Tiger: power. Grasping, clawing and ripping all influenced and further cemented Jaune's own fighting style as more of a brute force than any finesse. Combine that with the aura training that Ren also gave and Jaune's brawn has started to compare to Nora's own.

They didn't have his session with Pyrrha since they needed to dedicate as much quality as they could. As such, Pyrrha's swordsmanship training came another time. Instead, Jaune used the sword forms as a form of cooldown. There was no force behind it as the focus was closer to the technique and posture. With Jaune and Pyrrha's differences, the former didn't have as much technical movement since his was just a sword and shield. His had become more grounded with wider stances and utilized much more of his weight into his swings, resulting in greater power as opposed to Pyrrha's superior hip rotation.

Dinner was had and sadly, JNPR didn't have much in the way of gathering with how little there was around them. As such, the rations that they filled their bellies for the night before they could turn in for the night.

By the fire, Jeanne was the one who handled the watch. She could watch the whole night since she doesn't feel tired in the same convention as the rest but the team insisted that they all take turns at that rotation. The night was dull and quiet with only the crackling of the fire as the source of both light and sound. No stars hung overhead but there wasn't any sign of rain either.

"Hey," Jaune then called out. He had awoken earlier than his expected shift. "Should be my turn now, huh."

"We still have a few minutes," Jeanne replied. "I'll have my hours down to the second, if you don't mind."

Jaune laughed. "Sure, let me join you."

The two sat by the fire in silence. Jeanne's eyes never once left the sky above them and Jaune eventually followed suit.

"Something bothering you, Jeanne?" Jaune asked, breaking the silence.

"I've been thinking," she replied. "About what happens after."

"After?"

She nodded. "Somewhere down the line. Maybe when we're all old and eventually die. I wonder if I'll ever remember any of this in any other summoning."

"Even if you didn't, who says that we can't see each other again?"

"That confident? Sir Knight?"

"It happened once, didn't it? Holy Maiden."

The two shared a laugh. It wasn't something that was said out loud between the two of them but it rather a common feeling that they both could understand. Despite the Maiden's powers and them being separate from each other most of the time, Jaune and Jeanne still possessed that connection through the soul that binds them together. Whatever Jeanne was feeling, Jaune could feel it too and vice versa. It wasn't exact but it also made it difficult for them to hide anything from one another.

"Still," Jaune then said. "It really would be nice if the end does come, we'll meet again in another time."

"Are you sure? We might not even be allies the next time."

There was a moment of silence from Jaune. It had never occurred to him once and he knew from their connection that Jeanne wasn't lying. Even if it were possible for the members of Team JNPR to reunite, it may not always as allies. There may even be a number of times that they would enemies.

In the end, Jaune replied, "well, I'm not going to make it easy for you."

Jeanne, unsure at first, eventually answered, "you're on."

After a few more minutes, Jeanne eventually went to sleep, leaving Jaune with his own shift. She didn't really need to sleep but she might as well enjoy the pleasures that a night's rest could give her. As she did so, her thoughts lingered on the rest of her team being heroes. Remnant's own heroic spirits, Jeanne wonders what that would be like. Given the inspiration of Jaune's upgrades, she could already guess at what a prospective Servant her brother would be. Much like those heroes they all looked up to, team JNPR had also answered many calls as they traveled. Whether they realize it or not, Jeanne could see that JNPR's reputation had begun to take form here. She personally looks forward to it if it meant that they could stay together for longer than what a mortal life could bring.

/-/

Jeanne awoke in a field. She was alone and in a different location; when she looked around her she concluded that she was in some kind of garden. It had been a long time since she had a dream that didn't feel like an ordinary dream; it was much closer to a vision than a dream. Her eyebrows furrowed as it all seemed familiar to her, like she had seen this before. A long time ago. Her eyes then widened as she remembered the exact moment that her life had changed from that of simple farm-girl to the person she would be known later in that life.

As she traveled further in the garden, she found that there was an object at the center; it was a carved throne, simple by modern standards but definitely one that carried status the further back in time one goes. She could picture it as well, a grand throne meant for a lord or a king for an ancient people that would have been before her own time. It was something that she didn't see that time but it is present now. The individual sitting on that throne wasn't the same angel that she had seen in that life but rather someone else. The very familiar individual that Jeanne never thought she would ever see here on Remnant.

Wearing simple clothes—akin to a shepherd—the bearded man looked at Jeanne with a strict look as he judged her features. She had never felt herself so vulnerable in that moment. Despite the fact that she was clothed, she felt as though she needed to cover herself. Instead, she went down on her knees like a knight to his lord. Her lord. The one who had filled her vision on the day that had changed her life from that simple farm girl into the person she would eventually be known for, Jeanne d'Arc, Maiden of Orleans, a patron saint of France.

His hand raised, finger out pointing at her. Choosing her. Jeanne could see the hands that bore the nails. He said nothing but his look had changed. His once strict demeanor was replaced by a kind and gentle one. A voice, not his, was heard. It was the cry of someone in need, a woman by the sounds of it and it was most certainly not hers. Jeanne understood. She was being tasked to help someone. Rather than an entire nation, it would appear that her task this time was for this woman.

"Let your Will be done," Jeanne responded. The clouds flew overhead as strong winds blew. Despite not moving from her spot, everything around her changed as though she was being forced to move. The shepherd didn't move from his spot either and his smile still remained.

/-/

Jeanne was stirred from her slumber. It wasn't enough to gain notice of Ren who had taken the shift at this point. As far as they would be concerned it would be nothing more than a mere twitch that one gets in their sleep. She stayed as still as she tried to return to sleep. There was no denying what it was that she had seen. As a canonized saint, Jeanne has been declared a servant of the Lord's will. In her legend, she had received a vision from Heaven of her purpose. She had received it again. Rather than liberate a nation, she had been tasked to save an individual. As to who that individual is, she does not know.

Someone out there was in desperate need. Jeanne didn't know who that person was nor the significance of that individual that she had to be tasked specifically for her. But Jeanne only ever had her faith and so she would. He works in mysterious ways as they say and this was going to be no exception.


AN: Deciding to take a risk on this one. Rather than introduce it later, I think it would be best to do it early.