The group arrived back in the city, and all of them were swiftly admitted to the hospital.

Besides Oobleck, it was mostly formality, making sure they were healthy after their mission. The only ones who were incredibly injured from the whole thing were Oobleck (who would be staying overnight for observation) and Pyrrha—who was given medication to help with the lingering phantom pains she felt in her chest. Jaune was given similar medication—albeit a weaker variety since he was only stabbed in the side.

Jaune sat outside the doctor's office, Ren next to him and Nora next to him, waiting on Pyrrha to finish up her physical. Jaune stared at the ground, eyes running across it in contemplation. Ren and Nora looked at one another, wordlessly communicating that their leader definitely needed some help right now.

"Jaune?" they said in unison.

"Hmm?"

He looked up, staring at them with a warm but distant stare. His eyes looked worried, tired…almost broken, in a way. "What's up?"

Nora leaned forward. "Are you okay? I mean, you did get shishkababed by that thing."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just worried about Pyrrha."

Ren placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Don't worry, Pyrrha's one of the strongest huntsmen in training alive. She's alive, and she'll be strong enough to deal with what comes after."

Jaune frowned, recalling the terrified expression on her face when he and Blake had found her. "I hope you're right about that."

Pyrrha walked out a few minutes later, giving a faint smile at her teammates. Her armor still had the hole in it, but that was something that probably wasn't getting fixed any time soon. After all, there weren't many blacksmiths in Amora. "Hello, everyone!"

Jaune walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you okay? No lingering phantom pains or anything?"

"Not particularly strong ones. You?"

"Nope. None at all."

Nora smiled, "Sweet! The gang's all healed and back together! Top it all off: we just killed a predator grimm? I say that's cause for celebration!"

Jaune looked over. "And what did you have in mind?"

Nora rolled her eyes. "Ugh, we're on an island with some of the prettiest beaches in the world, and not one of us has been to one yet. I say we get the others and have a beach party!"

Ren nodded. "It would be a nice way to relieve stress after going through that mission. My muscles are still sore from all the combat."

Jaune nodded. "Well, let's talk with team RWBY and team CV and see what they say."

Nora nodded, the group heading out of the main hospital and into the lobby, where the respective teams were waiting. Ruby dashed over, wrapping her arms around Pyrrha. "Oh thank dust you're okay! I was sooooo worried when I saw the scans showing you had heart damage!"

Pyrrha's brow furrowed. "I…didn't have any heart damage, Ruby. The blade missed."

Ruby looked up, tilting her head. "You know, it occurs to me I don't speak 'hospital scan.'"

Jaune chuckled. "To be fair, I don't think anyone here does."

Nora leaned forward. "Hey, cookie dust! You and your team wanna go beach partying with us?"

Ruby looked at her. "Beach party? I'm down! What'd we say, team WBY?"

Weiss looked up. "I'm fine with it."

Blake's face tinted pink as she looked away. "Fine."

Yang pumped a fist in the air. "Sweet! Finally get to wear my new bikini!"

Coco looked over. "Are me and Vel invited to this little shindig?"

Nora nodded. "Duh! You were on the mission, too!"

Velvet frowned, eyes flicking to Coco before looking away, rubbing the back of her head. "I don't know, I didn't pack a swimsuit or anything…"

Coco smirked, wrapping an arm around Velvet. "Relax, Vel! You can borrow one of mine!"

"Oh…yay…"

Ruby smiled, finally hopping off Pyrrha. "Woo-hoo! This'll be awesome!"

…

The group arrived around eleven the next day.

They made their way to the beach changing tents set up near where the sand became dirt, all walking in and changing into their respective swimwear. Ruby, Blake, and Jaune looked exactly the same as the time they went into the pool, wearing the same swimwear.

Weiss was wearing a white one-piece with a blue snowflake pattern on the front, her head covered by a white sun hat and a pair of bright blue sandals keeping her feet off the hot sand.

Yang, meanwhile, was in a yellow sling-bikini that barely covered her at all—so much so that the moment she walked out Blake covered Ruby's eyes. "You're seriously wearing that in public?"

"What? I don't see anybody complaining~"

Coco walked out a moment later, wearing a simple black bikini-top with a pair of incredibly tight jean shorts. If it weren't for the obvious black bikini-bottom beneath, there'd be no hiding anything. She walked over to Yang, smirking as she placed a hand on the taller girl's shoulder. "Lookin' good, Yangarang!"

"You too, Cuckoo."

Next came Nora, who was wearing a simple pink bikini with little white lightning bolts covering it. Ren followed shortly after, wearing a pair of green trunks that exposed his rather muscular physique.

The two walked over to the others, looking back at the tents and waiting…and waiting…and waiting…

Nora frowned. "Pyr? You comin'?"

"Just a second!"

Pyrrha came out a few seconds later, her face matching her hair as she held her arm. She was wearing a bronze-colored bikini, exposing her toned stomach and abs alike. "H-How do I look?"

"Great!" That was Ruby.

"Cool!" That was Nora.

"Hot." That was (muttered by) Blake.

Coco walked over to the last tent, pulling at the flap a bit. "Hey, Vel? You comin' out or you gonna make us wait all day?"

Velvet peeked her head out, glaring at Coco. "I didn't think this was the swimsuit you meant when you said you 'picked out your favorite'!"

"What? That's one of my best ones! Besides, no one's around but us."

Velvet whimpered as she slipped back in, only to walk out what was basically a brown thong and a loose-fitted white t-shirt that said 'Beach Babe' on it. Velvet immediately covered her chest, her cheeks a rosy red. "You could've at least given me a swimsuit with a top to it!"

"What're you talkin' about? That is a top!"

Velvet gave her one of her harsher glares. "Are you kidding!? This would be like you walking around without your lower piece and just those jeans!"

"It's not that bad, geez."

Nora smiled at everyone. "Okay, now that that's settled, let's have some fun! Last one to the beach is a rotten egg!"

Nora dashed off, Ruby dashing just after her.

The others went about setting up their umbrellas and towels, Coco laying back on hers and undoing her bikini bra before grabbing a bottle of sunscreen. "Hey, blondie, come help me with this, yeah?"

Yang, preoccupied with her towel, didn't answer.

Jaune, on the other hand, walked over and started doing so.

Coco gave a faint moan as Jaune trailed his hands over her back, slathering her down. "You're hands are softer than I remember, Yangarang."

"Oh, you meant Yang…"

She looked over her shoulder, eyes widening and face going red as she saw Jaune leaning over her. "You…heard nothing, got that?"

"Let us never speak of this again."

Jaune walked back over to his own towel, spraying down with sunscreen before rubbing his face with a separate bottle. Yang, meanwhile, just sprayed herself down all over, like a crazy person. "You know they make sunscreen specifically for your face, right?"

"Eh, it'll be fine."

Ruby and Nora, meanwhile, were already thigh-deep in the water, yelping whenever a wave came by and washed over their waists. Ruby took a few breaths, looking at Nora. "Ugh…you gonna go deeper?"

"You first."

"Okay…" she took a deep breath. "Hesitation is for cowards!"

She dove in and came up sputtering. "GAH! COLD! COLD!"

Nora laughed and pointed at her, only for Ruby to dash over and pull Nora under with her, Nora sputtering and shivering. "Holy mama, that's freezing!"

"I told you!"

Jaune held his hands to his mouth like a megaphone. "Ruby! Nora! Come back and put sunscreen on!"

Nora rolled her eyes. "Okay, dad!"

Ruby looked over. "For real, we should probably put sunscreen on. I don't wanna be red all over after another beach vacation."

"Another?"

"Let's just say my name was very literal for a few days when I was ten."

The two made their way back to shore, toweling off and applying sunscreen like everyone else. Nora, meanwhile, looked over at Pyrrha, who was simply sitting back on her towel, face-down with her head on a second towel she'd rolled up into a pillow. Her eyes flicked down her back, stopping at the string-top on her bikini.

Do I let the bad thoughts win?

Yes, yes I do.

Nora crept over, showing a subtlety more befitting Ren than anyone else as she crouched over Pyrrha, reaching over and gently undoing Pyrrha's top. She then, without hesitation, grabbed the string and yanked—pulling it out from under her.

Pyrrha yelped as Nora dashed away, cackling like a madwoman. Pyrrha pulled her towel up with her, staring after Nora with a red face. "That little—argh! Can someone please get my top back?"

Ruby smirked, getting into a sprinter's stance. "I'm on it!"

She bolted away, covering Pyrrha in sand.

Nora may have made it a good dozen yards by the time Ruby started running, but Ruby was probably the fastest person on Remnant, or at least Amora. So, it was safe to say she caught up rather quickly. She slammed to a stop in front of Nora, lowering herself slightly like she was in an old western. "Alright, pancake bubbles, give me the bra!"

"You want it? Go GET IT!"

Nora threw the bra over the ocean.

Ruby dashed after it.

Ruby ran on the water for a good three seconds before snatching the bra and running back, bringing a very large wave with her. She skidded to a halt just before Nora, winking at her before dashing back the other way, leaving Nora facing down the colossal wave. "Uh-oh."

SPLASH!

Next thing she knew, Nora was laying back on the sand, covered in water.

Ruby, meanwhile, dashed back to Pyrrha, stopping just in front of her. "Got your bra back!"

Pyrrha grabbed it, muttering her thanks as she slipped it beneath her towel, tying it back behind her. "That's the last time I go anywhere with Nora in a string bikini."

She turned to Ruby, sitting up and giving her a grateful smile. "Thank you so much, Ruby. I owe you."

Ruby smiled. "Aww, you don't owe me anything…buuut," she held out her arms. "A hug would be nice."

Pyrrha smiled, standing up and walking over to Ruby. "I'll do you one better."

She leaned in and kissed Ruby on the cheek.

Ruby's face went red as she stepped back, rubbing her cheek. "Hehe…the fair maiden kissing her knight, huh? That was…usually played out differently in story books."

Pyrrha giggled. "Well, you've certainly earned the title of brave knight. You're quite the little hero, Ruby."

"Aww, it was nothing," she said, trailing her foot in circles in the sand.

Jaune, meanwhile, walked over to Blake—who was simply reading her book in peace. He cleared his throat, causing Blake to look up. "Hey, you wanna come swimming with the rest of us? Or are you just gonna read your book all day? Either is totally fine, before you think I'm making fun of you, I'm just asking."

Blake gave a faint smile. "I'll see."

Jaune turned, heading toward the water with the rest of his team. He and Pyrrha were the first ones in, Pyrrha yelping as she entered the cold water. "Ruby was right, it's freezing!"

Jaune chuckled. "That's weird."

"What?"

Jaune turned to her. "I mean, you're this brave, powerful warrior, and you give a cute little yelp when you hit the water? It just doesn't make sense in my brain."

Pyrrha's face tinted pink. "C-Cute?"

Nora dashed over, wrapping an arm around Pyrrha. "Who would've thought Pyrrha had the capacity for adorableness, am I right?"

Pyrrha pushed her off. "You stay away from me! I'm still mad at you."

Nora frowned, lowering herself to where only her head was above the water, about the same level as Pyrrha's waist. "Aw, come on, Pyr! That was just a little fun!"

Pyrrha turned away, crossing her arms. "You're little fun almost left me exposed."

Nora stood up, walking around to the front of her. "Ah, so what if someone sees your tatas, at least yours are good!" she looked to Jaune, "Or were you worried about a certain someone seeing them, huh?"

Pyrrha's face went red as she splashed Nora in the face, leaving her sputtering. "As if you wouldn't be worried about someone seeing you half-naked!"

Nora smirked, going under for a moment before producing the top half of her swimsuit. "Oh yeah? Hey, Jaune, wanna see my tits?"

Jaune instantly covered his eyes, despite looking in the opposite direction. "Nora, please for the love of dust, put your swimsuit back on!"

"You didn't even look at me, how do you know it's off?"

"Call it a hunch."

Nora frowned, putting her top back on. "Fine."

Meanwhile, Ruby came over to swim next to Jaune, spitting water at him as she came up. "Come on, guys! Water's fine—eventually."

Jaune smiled, diving in next to her before Nora did the same, swimming around and motioning Pyrrha in. Pyrrha sighed before eventually dunking herself under, coming up sputtering and soaked. "Well…I suppose it does get better over time."

The group turned and watched as everyone but Velvet went into the water, Blake and Weiss sticking to the shallower end to avoid wetting their bow and hair respectively. Though, based on Yang slowly approaching Weiss, it appeared as though she had other plans.

SPLASH!

Weiss was pulled under as Yang yanked her beneath the water, only for her to emerge moments later a sputtering, angry mess. The group laughed at that, only for Yang's eyes to widen as Weiss created a glyph beneath her. Suddenly both her hands were slammed down into the water and, unbeknownst to the others, frozen to her feet, leaving her bent over in the waves.

Yang yanked against her icy bonds for a few seconds before looking up. "Okay, Weiss, you got me. Can you let me go now?"

Coco smirked, letting a hand rest on Yang's rear. "I dunno, I'm certainly liking this view."

"Hey! What're you doing back the—AIR!"

Yang yelped as Coco slapped her behind. "That."

Yang glared at her from over her shoulder. "Oh I am so getting you back for this later."

Coco chuckled, casually patting Yang's behind a few times before walking off. "Enjoy your frozen feet, Yangarang."

Meanwhile, Nora swam around Ren before hopping on his back, smiling as she looked over. "Hey, Jaune, Pyrrha! Wanna play chicken?"

Pyrrha frowned. "What's 'chicken'?"

Nora smirked. "Ren, if you'll demonstrate."

Ren, without a word, went under, letting Nora climb onto his shoulders before standing. "You get on Jaune's shoulders, I get on Ren's shoulders, and we try to push each other off. First one dunked in the water loses."

Ruby smiled. "Oh! Can I play too?"

"You need a partner, Cookie Dust."

"Blaaaaake!"

Blake sighed, walking over and lowering herself slightly, letting Ruby clamber onto her shoulders. Her face was a faint pink as she reached up, grabbing Ruby's surprisingly muscular thighs. Don't think about her thighs crushing your face, don't think about her thighs crushing your face, don't think about—bah, who am I kidding?

Jaune, meanwhile, lowered himself so that Pyrrha could climb on his shoulders. As she did so, Jaune reached up and grabbed her thighs, his face tinting pink as he felt the surprisingly soft flesh of his Amazonian partner. Wow, I figured her thighs would be all muscle, but they're actually really soft, like pillows.

Nora smirked, slamming a fist into her palm. "Alright, three-way chicken fight commence in three!

"Two!

"One!

"Go!"

Ren and Jaune rushed forward, Pyrrha and Nora clashing immediately as Blake hung back, her and Ruby's combined heights not giving them much of an edge. Ruby pat Blake's hair. "Come on, Blake! Get me in there!"

"Fine."

Blake walked forward, Ruby pushing on Nora with all her might. But the girl was solid as an oak tree, holding steady with her legs' grip on Ren's shoulders and her balance alike. She pushed Ruby once and Blake nearly tumbled over, Ruby waving her arms wildly before wrapping them around Blake's chin, Blake finally finding some footing on the sand. "Ruby, you're…crushing my mandible…"

"Oh, sorry."

The two hung back as Nora and Pyrrha clashed, Jaune and Ren's feet both digging into the sand to try and get a clear edge over the other. Nora's muscles sparked with lightning as she began winning out, Pyrrha's eyes widening. "Hey! You're—"

SPLASH!

"—cheating."

Nora smirked, flexing her arms atop Ren. "All's fair in love and war, Pyr-Pyr! I win!"

Ruby smirked. "Not yet you don't!"

Blake's eyes widened as Ren charged toward them, Nora grabbing onto Ruby's hands as the two clashed. This time though, Ruby vibrated her hands at rapid speeds, causing Nora to let go, only to be punched a good dozen times in less than a second, causing her to fall back.

Ren grunted as Nora fell, her thighs wrapping tight around his neck to the point breathing became a problem. Seeing no other choice, he let go, taking a deep breath as Nora fell back into the water.

She stood, brushing her hair out of her face before glaring at Ren. "Ren! Come on, I could've gotten back up from that if you hadn't let go!"

"I couldn't breathe Nora."

"Oh…yeah, that is kinda important."

Ruby hopped off Blake's shoulders, looking at Nora before turning back to the sand. "Hey, Nora, all that wet sand got you thinking anything?"

Nora smirked.

Then, the two spoke in unison: "Sand castle time!"