Jaune had never been one to feel entirely sure about anything, and his wavering tendencies had only worsened after Pyrrha's death. Nothing, not even the opportunity for revenge or the prospect of fighting in her name had been enough to truly cement his resolve and drive him forward, and Jaune had no answer as to why. As much as he had been open and honest about his feelings and encouraged Corsac to keep going, Jaune knew that deep down he, too, was barely hanging on and simply faking it for the sake of everyone around him. Every time he had given Sun a confident smile and thanked him for his help, he had only done it with half-baked sincerity. The feeling of purposelessness and inadequacy was always in the back of his mind, even after his friends had helped him alleviate some of his fears.

Despite all of his hesitance, self-doubt, and fear, everything changed in a single sentence from Dr. Polendina in a way that Jaune never could have predicted. The sudden shock to his system made things click immediately. He knew what he had to do, and perhaps more importantly, why he had to do it. It all boiled down to one simple fact that meant more than anything else in the world in that moment.

Hope- Penny could actually be saved, and he was an integral piece in making it happen.

So much had happened since leaving Beacon that was based on pure guesswork. So many people that Jaune looked up to were uncertain about whether or not they could accomplish anything at all in the face of Salem. All of those doubts and that lingering feeling of no one and nothing ever being enough weighed heavily upon him every moment of every day. Hearing Dr. Polendina's confidence in his plan was enough to unshackle a great weight from around Jaune's ankles, and the plan being so straightforward and immediate spurred him into action. The return of Penny Polendina was something Jaune desperately wanted, and so, he vowed to give the fight his all. People were relying specifically upon him, and for once, he knew he could deliver.

A torrent of swords flew into Jaune's shield, each pinging off the surface hard enough to pierce through his aura had they not been deflected. Despite the danger, Jaune wasn't intimidated- he was determined, and focused only on his objective. If he could hold out for mere minutes, the mission would be a guaranteed success. Another ally would truly join the fight against Salem, and so much of the pressure and frustration weighing on Yang would disappear. He could be her knight and help her in a way that no one else could, thus giving back after all she had done for him. He could rekindle the life that Pyrrha had accidentally extinguished, thus righting one of the many tragedies of the fall of Beacon Academy. Jaune didn't believe in anything like destiny, but he did believe in seizing a golden opportunity no matter the risk.

"We can't keep this up forever!" Elm warned as she batted a flying sword out of the air with her hammer. "We're putting a lot on the line, especially if the doctor's plan falls through! If she takes off, we're screwed!"

"I don't want to hear it!" Jaune insisted as he moved in front of his ally and engaged a barrier of energy to extend from the sides of his shield. A barrage of swords crashed against the glowing material, becoming embedded in the shimmering blue trap. "Doctor, give us an update!"

"43% and counting!" Dr. Polendina called through their earpieces. "Just keep her busy! Yang's already informed Clover's team about Pax, and they've pulled back into Mantle proper to wait things out. I can't go any faster without risking damage to Hope's internal systems!"

"Take your time," Jaune reassured. "Elm, just… just trust me, and let me take the lead! I'll think of something to keep her with us!"

"Think faster!" Elm roared as she leaned to one side to avoid another flying sword thrown out by Hope.

It was then that Jaune saw a shimmer in the space between the android and the lashing blade. As he watched Hope reel the implement back in before boosting toward him, things began to come together in his head.

"I've got it!" Jaune cried as he clashed with Hope, taking on the weight of four blades backed by the force of her rocket boots with his shield. "Do you have a way of getting airborne?"

"What?" Elm asked as she circled to Hope's back side. "I… yes, I can fly if I need to! What are you thinking?"

"Just get up there and start circling!" Jaune ordered as he pressed into the back of his shield with his other forearm, barely resisting the push as more and more blades pressed into the steel. "I… I've got a loose idea for a plan! We'll make it work!"

Jaune stepped to the side, letting Hope's swords cleave downward into the snow where he had been standing mere seconds before as she flew on past him. Thinking quickly, he smashed his shield down atop one of the nearly invisible threads between Hope and her blades and slipped his arm free of the straps before stomping down upon the steel. Quite suddenly, the mechanical girl was jerked backward as she reached the end of her tether, and she whirled to face him as she righted her balance to hover in midair.

"Gotcha," Jaune proclaimed as he put his full weight onto the shield, which began to screech and whine as the sword beneath it desperately tried to pull free. "Now, I just have to get you to throw all of 'em at once…"

"Halfway there, and it seems to be working!" Dr. Polendina announced as Elm inverted her hammer and leapt atop the head of the hammer. Gouts of flame from the back of the weapon ignited and boosted her into the air as she began to circle above Jaune and Hope, catching the latter's attention. "Just a few minutes…"

"We've got it covered!" Jaune asserted as Hope threw a blade up to try to reach Elm. The tether came up short, causing Hope to redirect her attention toward Jaune as her free blades began to assemble above and behind her shoulders. "Uh-oh…"

Moments later, the tips of Hope's swords began to glow as each arrangement at either side of her circled faster and faster. Jaune was quick to leap off his shield as a pair of brilliant green sustained lasers flew toward him, just narrowly missing his side. The beams impacted the shack behind him, setting the house aflame as Jaune rolled and snatched his shield from the snow.

"You alright!?" Elm called as she steered herself to fly above and behind Hope.

"I'm good!" Jaune yelled back as he got up and began to run while Hope swept the lasers after him. "Disrupt her while she's aiming for me! I've gotta get in close, and there's no way I can block that!"

Elm coasted downward on command and flew in close to Hope from behind to give her a fly-by shoulder tackle. Hope was knocked forward and off-balance as her swords lost formation, giving Jaune a short window to close the gap. The boy capitalized on the opportunity and reached out with his gauntleted hand to seize a few of the threads holding Hope's swords to the compartment on the back of her body.

"And now what?" Elm asked as she took to the sky once again. "You'll never be able to hold those, and they can't be cut!"

"I won't have to!" Jaune answered as he quickly began to entangle his gauntlet within the threads. "You will!"

"What?"

Jaune didn't have time to answer as Hope whirled on him, extending a blade from each of her forearms and beginning a whirling assault. Her motions only furthered the tangle of thin wires around Jaune's gauntlet, tethering him to her and making his job of blocking more difficult. With a grunt of effort, Jaune managed to slip under a blade and grab one of the nearly invisible wires from Hope's other side, adding it to his collection as he turned away another blow with his shield.

"What are you doing!?" Elm demanded as she made another pass, knocking the head of her hammer into Hope's shoulder to unbalance her once again. "You're going to get killed at that range!"

"Just trust me!" Jaune yelled. "Get ready to drop!"

"65%!"

"Drop what? Where!?"

Jaune felt a blade skirt around his shield and impact his side, the blow glancing off his armor and causing his aura to flicker dangerously. A follow-up flurry was enough to break his protective barrier entirely, and before he could react, searing pain shot up through his right leg. He didn't need to look down to know that he had been impaled through the thigh. Jaune could feel the implement pressing up against bone as Hope pulled the sword out, coating his pantleg with blood as he stumbled to stay upright through the shooting pain. Jaune finally let out a cry of agony as the blade was wrenched free, and he barely managed to block another stabbing attempt as he gathered the last of Hope's tethers around his armored glove.

"70%! This last bit might take a while! Hang in there!"

"That's enough!" Elm insisted. "I'm incapacitating her before you get yourself killed!"

"Don't!" Jaune shouted as he moved in even closer to Hope and slung his shield as far away from himself as he could. "Here goes everything!"

Elm steered herself downwards to prepare for a descending smash, only to stop in place as she watched Jaune seize Hope's wrists and hold the attached swords away from his face. Suddenly, the gravity dust embedded in Jaune's gauntlet began to glow, as did the crystal socketed into his shield. Jaune quickly slipped out of the glove and let it fly off toward the fallen shield, pulling all of Hope's tethered swords along with it. As the wires reached their maximum lengths and became taut, the result had Jaune's glove floating and vibrating in midair as it desperately tried to reach the shield. Jaune himself managed to wrap Hope into a bear hug, squeezing desperately to keep her from using her wrist blades.

"Now! Pin down all of her swords at once!"

Elm couldn't help but grin as she leapt off the head of her hammer and dropped like a stone out of the sky. Her feet impacted the transparent wires around Hope's swords and pulled them down to the ground under her weight, ripping Hope and Jaune off their feet and down into the snow. Just as quickly as the pair fell, Elm manifested a coating of green crystals around her feet and over the tethers, anchoring the entire collection of swords onto the ground and depriving Hope of nearly all of her weapons.

"Perfect!" Jaune called as he tightened his hug around Hope to keep her arms locked at her sides.

"…alright, you had a plan," Elm admitted as she remained in place watching the swords and gauntlet clatter and twitch together as they desperately tried to reach Jaune's shield. She reached down and seized the armored glove, disengaging the dust crystal to allow Hope's swords to go limp from the lack of attraction to the gravity dust. "And a damned good one, at that. Still risky…"

"It was worth it," Jaune insisted as he kept pressing his weight into Hope. "Doctor, how are we doing?"

"I don't quite follow what just happened, but looking through her eyes, it seems like she's pinned down. Good work, Jaune. 82%. Just hang in there."

"She's down," Jaune confirmed as he looked back to see the snow beneath his right leg reddening. "I took some hits, but she's down."

"We need to get you to a medic as soon as we can," Elm said. "And you need to stop taking risks like that going forward. If that sword hit your femoral artery…"

"I know," Jaune replied through clenched teeth. "I know, but just… I'll be alright. Nothing we can do now."

Jaune closed his eyes, trying to focus on anything other than the pain. Slowly, eventually, he managed to block some of it out, though he couldn't tell if part of it was from the snow numbing his entire leg. Jaune had no idea how much time had passed before Hope suddenly went limp beneath him, and her struggling against his hold stopped entirely as her wrist blades retracted. He opened his eyes to see Hope's closed while his earpiece crackled to life once again.

"It's done. Penny should be in there…"

Jaune held his breath as he slowly eased his grip around the android and leaned up onto his knees. Slowly, the girl's eyes fluttered open and locked upon his own. There was a certain warmth within them that Jaune couldn't quite explain. Even though they were robotic, Hope's eyes were full of life in a way that he hadn't seen since Beacon Academy. As seconds passed, her eyes darted back and forth and her expression soured, looking very much like panic.

"Penny…?" Jaune tried.

Faster than he could react, the robotic girl leaned upward and wrapped her arms around him in a crushing hug as she buried her face into his shoulder. Jaune returned the gesture immediately, holding her close.

"Jaune?" the android asked. "Am I… I have data that doesn't match my experiences. Information is missing over large periods of time. Where am I? What happened? After the Vytal Festival, how d-"

Jaune reached a hand up to cradle the back of Hope's head and hold her closer to himself as he closed his eyes. Despite the panic in her voice and the freezing environment, he was filled with a strange warmth that he didn't quite understand.

"…it's alright," the boy reassured. "We'll explain everything in time. All that matters right now is… you're alive."

Author's Note:

Next week- the wrap-up of Sun's situation… and then the aftermath and whatever the hell Ironwood's doing with the staff will come out.

-RD