The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting a warm orange glow over the desolate ruins of Mountain Glenn. Team JNPR stood on a crumbling street corner, their makeshift headquarters for the past few days. It had been a few days of creative destruction, and now, as the last day of their mission arrived, they had one final task: ensuring the collapse of the tunnels between Mountain Glenn and Vale.
Of course, for Team JNPR, "ensuring" meant something closer to "obliterating every inch of space left standing."
"Alright, everyone," Jaune began with his best leader voice. "We've got one last thing to do before we head home. The tunnels."
"Got it! Smash everything, blow it up, and call it a day," Nora chirped, already hefting her hammer, Magnhild, onto her shoulder with enthusiasm that could be classified as weaponized.
Jaune chuckled, because really, there was no stopping Nora once the word "smash" entered the conversation.
"Indeed, Nora. But first, Ren, care to walk us through today's... menu?" Jaune asked, grinning mischievously.
Ren, with an air of mock seriousness, pulled out three little cards from nowhere, channeling his inner famous restaurant waiter. He cleared his throat.
"Ahem. For today's... destruction à la carte, I present a delightful selection," he began, somehow keeping a straight face. "To start, we offer service tunnels—a cramped, dull, and winding option. "For those with more sophisticated tastes, I present the Hole in the Street, crafted by none other than Pyrrha Nikos herself. A classic, yet bold choice."
Pyrrha smiled modestly, clearly flattered to have her work praised as if she weren't about to rip a hole in the ground the size of a car.
Ren continued, "For the main course, we have an exceptional variety of explosive delicacies. There's the Napalm Cocktail—perfect for those who enjoy their Grimms extra crispy. Or, for something more refreshing, the Liquid Ice Dust will freeze and shatter them on contact. And for the more... magnetic, I highly recommend our Polar Bouchées, mini mines that create a charming bullet-bouncing magnetic field."
"Delicious," Jaune nodded approvingly. "Nora, any preferences for the main course?"
"Oh, I'm feeling incendiary today," Nora said with a grin that could only be described as worrying.
Jaune smirked. "Of course, you are. I, personally, can't wait for dessert. Ren, care to introduce it?"
Ren leaned in for dramatic effect. "Our pièce de résistance: the Magnum Opus. For maximum devastation."
Jaune clasped his hands together, practically giddy. "A very exciting menu! I think the Hole in the Street sounds like the perfect appetizer. Pyrrha, if you would?"
"Already on it," Pyrrha said, her eyes gleaming.
She stretched out her hand, and under her Polarity Semblance, the metal rods of the weakened concrete popped out. A massive hole opened up in the street, ready for their descent.
"Hop in, everyone! We've got work to do!" Pyrrha called as she gracefully lowered herself into the hole.
The team followed, landing in what appeared to be an old train station. There was something unsettling about how intact everything looked.
"The tunnels are just ahead," Ren said, scanning the area.
"Uh, is it normal for a train to be just sitting here... ready to go?" Pyrrha asked, squinting at the rather suspicious locomotive.
"Definitely not," Jaune frowned.
As the team split up to investigate the surroundings, Nora wandered into the train itself. A sudden, blood-curdling scream echoed through the tunnels.
"NORA!" Jaune yelled. "We're coming!"
The trio rushed toward her voice, ready to battle whatever Grimm or enemy had dared cross their teammate. Instead, they found Nora standing in front of... something truly horrifying.
"What... is that?" Ren asked, his face as pale as a ghost.
Jaune looked at the object, and immediately turned a shade of green before throwing up dramatically. Pyrrha, too, had gone wide-eyed, her usual composure shattered.
"It's... it's a travesty," Pyrrha whispered.
Nora, however, was sobbing. "WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU?!"
Before them was the most pathetic, unoriginal bomb in the history of bombs. It was essentially a bunch of Dust tubes haphazardly strapped together with duct tape and a timer that looked like it came from a bargain bin. It looked like something someone threw together after watching one too many spy movies, relying entirely on Dust's volatility to explode—no finesse, no artistry. It was an abomination by JNPR standards.
Jaune wiped his mouth, his face solemn. "Ren. Change of plan. We're not just collapsing some tunnels. We're caving in this entire mountain. This little bomb deserves a proper send-off."
Ren nodded gravely. "I'll see what I can do for her." He patted the sad bomb like it was a wounded comrade. "She deserves better."
"Nora, Pyrrha, find whoever did this. They can't have gone far. I'll check the rest of the train. I can hear them... the other bombs... crying out for help."
With a nod, the team scattered. Jaune quickly discovered the train was full of similarly pitiful bombs. He gathered them all in a dramatic pile, waiting for his teammates to return.
Soon, Pyrrha and Nora came back, dragging with them a group of disheveled Faunus and a red-haired man. They looked about as terrified as someone who had just witnessed Nora in action could be.
"A girl got away," Pyrrha reported, dusting herself off. "Brown and rose hair, illusion Semblance. But she didn't get away unscathed. She's probably picking shrapnel out of her face right now."
"We'll track her down later," Jaune said dismissively. He had more important things on his mind, avenging the honor of explosives.
The captives were lined up in front of the pitiful bombs, trembling.
"What you've done here..." Jaune began, pacing dramatically like a professor before a group of failing students, "...is a CRIME against proper bomb-making."
The prisoners exchanged confused glances.
"You don't just... mix Dust and hope for the best!" Jaune continued, eyes blazing with righteous indignation. "Each type of Dust has preferences! Fire and Wind? Best friends. Fire and Water? Mortal enemies. Water and Wind? They just... ignore each other. And what did you do? You just... shoved them all together! Disgraceful."
"But don't worry," Jaune said, a slightly unhinged gleam in his eye. "I'm going to show you how it's really done."
As Pyrrha was still fine-tuning her bomb-making skills (because there's always room for improvement in the art of explosions), Ren was given the task of escorting the prisoners to the Bullhead.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha, under the watchful eye of Jaune, was busy dismantling the White Fang's sad excuse for explosives and rebuilting it from the ground up.
During this time, Pyrrha dismantled the White Fangs devices to rebuilt one under the supervision of Jaune and Nora. It was massive, an agglomerat of raw cristals, tubes and wires. Nora, of course, hovered nearby, bouncing with excitement and offering helpful advice like "Ooh, that wire looks like it could explode twice!"
Before long, they had constructed a masterpiece—an oversized monstrosity of Dust crystals, wires, tubes, and what looked like a few old train parts for good measure.
"She may not look pretty now, Pyrrha," Jaune said, surveying their bomb-creation like a proud parent admiring their child's art, "but I assure you, she will be magnificent. I'll just add the finishing touch, and we'll be on our way."
In the Bullhead, Team JNPR was enjoying their final moments with Mountain Glenn. Nora, eyes red and puffy, sniffled as they flew away from what had been her personal demolition playground for the past few days.
"I'm gonna miss it... all those buildings... all that stuff to break..." she lamented, wiping a tear. "Why are the good places always blown to smitherings?"
Jaune, determined to cheer her up, waved the detonator at her with a mischievous smile. "Wants the honor of sending off Mountain Glenn properly?"
"It's your creation, Jaune," Pyrrha said with a soft smile. "You should do the honors."
"Well, technically, I had the idea, but it was a team effort. Nora, Ren—you both had essential roles in making it happen. And, Pyrrha, you built the thing."
Nora sniffled again, her bottom lip quivering. "Maybe... maybe we could do it together?"
Jaune's eyes lit up. "That's perfect!"
The team gathered around the detonator, each placing a finger on the button. It was like a bizarre friendship ritual, but instead of a group hug, they were about to vaporize a city.
"One... Two... Three !"
Click.
A blinding light exploded out from the mountain, filling the sky with a white-hot glow that could probably be seen (and indeed was) from the other side of Remnant. Mountain Glenn disappeared in a spectacular flash of light.
"Wow," Jaune whispered, blinking rapidly, tears running down his face. "That was... so beautiful..."
"Jaune, are you crying? " Pyrrha asked, squinting through the brightness, half-impressed, half-concerned.
"Yes," Jaune sniffed, wiping his eyes. "But not from sadness. It's just... I wasn't prepared for this level of beauty. She's blinding."
"Jaune," Ren chimed in calmly, "that's just the flash from the explosion. Don't worry, you probably get back your sight by the time we arrive at beacon."
Jaune blinked a few more times, still smiling like a proud parent. "Oh. That makes more sense. But still... So beautiful."
As the Bullhead flew off into the horizon, leaving a pile of rubble where a mountain once stood, Team JNPR shared a contented silence. They'd outdone themselves once again in the fine art of blowing things up.