So this was an idea that I came up with while I was finishing up the one-shot series. Im not really sure how many volumes this'll wind up being, but so far I have 2 planned. Welp. Enough preamble let us begin!

-6 months after the battle of Beacon-

Jaune stared blankly out the window of the ship as it glided low along the tree line. Off in the distance, he saw the others; about half a dozen other air ships. From what he'd been able to gather during their briefing, each one was being sent to various areas in Vale that were in need of support. "Never say Atlas doesn't back up what their promises," he mumbled under his breath. After the fall of Beacon, Atlas had promised continued military support for their unintentional role in it, their mechs having been turned against the defenders. Vale, what could pass for it's military scattered and under equipped, was more than willing to take the offer.

Shifting in his seat, he glanced back at the sleeping forms of his friends. Ren and Nora were passed out in one of the larger seats, her head resting on his shoulder and their fingers laced together tightly. The sight made Jaune smile a bit, but also caused a pain in his chest as he turned away. "Don't you dare start that again Arc…if you'd said something to stop her, you could've had that too.." He whispered, his fists clenching tightly.

It had been six months since Pyrrha's death, but despite what everyone tried to tell him the pain he felt at her loss wasn't getting any better. If anything, the more time that passed by, the more he reflected on their painfully short time together. It had been her who believed in him first. When so many people wrote him off, she was there. Pyrrha Nikos, who could have had anyone, for some reason chose him. And in typical fashion, he'd been blind to it until it was too late to matter.

"I should have known..the look on her face right before she kissed me..she knew what would happen. I LET it happen, I mean I-" he had to stop, his voice choking up on him. How many times had be replayed those last moments with her in his head? A few thousand at this point, looking at the number of ways he could have kept her alive. But it all ended up the same. There was no way to turn back time, so here he was; all alone again. But..maybe he shouldn't be blaming himself so the moment of truth had come, it hadn't been HIM that ultimately failed Pyrrha and let her die. Ruby had. The one person he thought he could count on more than Pyrrha. He was pulled from his thoughts by a hand shaking his shoulder. Turning, he saw an Atlas soldier staring down at him.

"Sorry for disturbing you, but were approaching the landing site. You should probably wake your two friends up and be ready. After we drop you off, we have to get back to base in a hurry," he said, walking away before Jaune could even answer. He sighed heavily and went to get them up. He shook Ren's shoulder lightly, his eyes opening halfway to meet Jaune's.

"Hey man..sorry for this, but were almost there." He said softly. Ren nodded and carefully woke Nora who grumbled a bit, but didn't try to fight it. They had just gotten their bags together when they heard the hissing noises of the ship slowly descending for a landing.

"Jaune..when we enter camp, try to be civil with her at least, alright?" Ren said. Jaune shrugged off the hand he put on his shoulder.

"No promises."

"Jaune…" Nora sighed, but Jaune was making his way down the exit ramp before another word could be said. Nora and Ren exchanged a concerned glance before following him. The camp was a relatively large collection of pre-fab buildings and tents; including a medical tent and decently sized barracks to sleep in. This was one of a dozen or so of its kind scattered all across Vale, a safe zone for the forces trying to combat the increasingly rising tide of Grimm.

"Hey!" A voice called to them. They turned in time to see Weiss heading to them. She gave Nora a quick hug and smiled tiredly at Ren and Jaune. "I expect the trip treated you well?"

"It did, indeed. The Atlas soldiers were most kind to us," Ren said with a slight bow.

"Though they could stand to learn to take a joke," Nora said, causing Ren to run a hand over his face.

"I don't think pulling a security alarm to be the first one in line for food constitutes a joke," he sighed

"You just don't understand my sense of humor," she pouted

"No, I do. I just don't find it all that funny very often," he said, though with a small smile on his face. She returned the gesture and wrapped both arms around his. The sight made Weiss smile until she saw that Jaune had turned so he didn't have to see this. She'd hoped he had improved at least a little since last time she'd seen him, but obviously he hadn't.

"Weiss, is Ruby here too?" Nora asked, causing her to turn towards Ren and her again..

"She is, but she's out on patrol right now. We've had some reports of Beowolves nearby. She's actually due to check in shortly, if you'd like to be there when she does. Ren and Nora nodded, but Jaune said or did nothing. "Jaune..?"

"No thanks. I think I'll try and get some food," he mumbled. Nora went to protest, but Weiss shook her head and she dropped it.

"He's..still not recovered," Ren said as they walked to the command center of the camp. "It's been concerning, especially since Ozpin informed us we were being re-assigned here.

"So Ozpin is doing okay?"

"He is…managing. Cinder really did a number on him, but he's coping as well as he can. How about you and Ruby? Have things been well?" Weiss sighed softly

"I've been well enough, I suppose. Having to argue with my father that Im staying here wether he likes it or not was rough, but Im over it now. Ruby..I'm starting to worry for her. Shes working herself half to death with all these missions, and with Yang being worse than she ever has been-"

"Yang? What happened to her?" Nora asked

"Blake came back." The statement caused both of them to freeze up for a moment. "Ruby and I found her, and well..we expected it to make Yang feel better. But it didn't."

"She still refuses a new arm?"

"Refuses to even consider it. I told her I would happily pay for it, but money isn't the issue. I think she's just..given up. And Blake has been taking all of this like you'd about expect. Just dealing with it, no matter what Yang says or does"

"I see..forgive my interruption, Weiss. You were making a point about Ruby."

"It'll be easier to let her show you how she is. Were almost there now," she said. They entered a much larger tent, maps and books were stacked on a large table in the center and other Atlas and Vale military personnel were busying themselves with one task or another. "Carter, has Ruby checked in yet?" Weiss asked walking over to the man she addressed.

"Not yet, ma'am. Though it's only a couple minutes over the required time. I wouldn't worry," he said, brushing the bangs of his light brown hair out of his eyes. Weiss scowled at him, making him bite back a laugh.

"Ma'am? Since when do you have rank?" Nora asked Weiss in a half teasing, half surprised tone.

"I don't. Carter just decided I act so much like I do, that he will call me that just to tick me off," she said, punching his arm when he laughed

"Well it's true. You must be Ren and Nora, right? Well, welcome to the party. It just keeps getting more crowded," he said, turning back to the radio he was monitoring. Weiss guided them to a empty space around the table, pulling up two chairs for them as she did.

"Radios like that have a pretty short range don't they? Is it wise to use them for field ops?" Ren asked as he and Nora sat down with her.

"Those are Atlas tech, so no. A bit more advanced than the ones Vale's army had. Without the tower, scrolls are pretty much glorified cameras, so we had to set up something," she said. Ren folded his hands and studied the map of the area, trying to absorb as much as he could without needing to bombard Weiss with more questions. Nora, on the other hand, had no such self control.

"Are thing's around here as bad as we've heard? Are villages still being wiped out? What about Cinders crew, any news on them-"

"Nora!"

"What? We've been out of the loop for a while Ren!"she said defensively.

"It's okay, Ren. Honest. Guess I'll answer the most important question first..we don't have any information on Cinder's whereabouts. All we have is that she told Ruby they were from Haven once. But that was a long time ago, not to mention they were lying about everything else back then, that was probably a lie too. And even if it wasn't, they probably would have moved somewhere else by now. And as for the other questions…were not doing as bad as some other areas, but it's not going good either, and yes…villages are still being attacked. Sometimes we get there in time sometimes we don't."

"Oh.." Nora said softly, looking down at her hands

"Grimm attacks are becoming more and more frequent, and that's not even the worst of it. Their becoming more coordinated. Like someone is in the background, pulling the strings. Some of the best hunters and huntresses we have are struggling to fight even low level Grimm if theres enough of them in one spot,"she said, one fist clenching tightly. Ren and Nora continued to stare down at the map, trying to comprehend just how far things had fallen in only a half a year. It made them terrified of where they could be in another six months.

"Well..at least with Atlas giving us so much help, we have a good chance of containing everything right? It should give us time to find Cinder at least," Ren said after about ten minutes of silence. Before Weiss could answer, Carter jumped up from his station and waved her over. Sighing, she stood and walked to him

"Yes?"

"Ruby's on. Thought you'd want to talk to her personally," He said, excusing himself to talk to Ren and Nora. Weiss smiled a bit and slid the earpiece into her ear.

"Ruby? Can you hear me?" She said, listening to the crackling of dead air before a response came.

"Loud and clear, princess. You miss me?" Came the tired voice of her partner. Weiss rolled her eyes at the weak attempt to joke. Her concern was how exhausted Ruby sounded.

"Yes, I have actually considering you failed to check in on time. Again. Really, must we go over this a dozen times? When I'm out on missions you never quit reminding me-"

"Well Im so sorry, I was a little occupied with the Grimm chasing me. Next time I'll be sure to stop and call in so you can hear my last words," Ruby snapped, the biting tone causing Weiss to flinch. A moment of silence passed before Ruby let out a long breath. "I..I'm sorry. I didn't get to eat this morning because I had to go do this mission, didn't eat much last night or sleep worth a damn either. Then this simple patrol mission goes sideways because a pack of Ursa wouldn't get off my back for five seconds-"

"Ruby. It's okay..Im not mad. I know what you've been going through, and I shouldn't have scolded you like a child. You..said you had an Ursa pack on you. Did you get hurt?" She asked, trying to sound calm though her stomach felt like it was twisting in terror at the thought of Ruby being hunted down and harmed.

"I'm okay, Weiss. But I'm out of ammo for Crescent Rose and honestly I don't think I could stand another fight like that for a while. I'll be back at camp in about ten minutes."

"Got it. Ruby..after this I think you should take a break from doing so many away missions alright?" There was no reply, just the sound of dead air filling her ear again. "Ruby? Did you get that?"

"I did. And you know that I can't do that Weiss," she said. Weiss let an aggravated sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Weiss I just-"

"It's not that you can't Ruby it's that you won't, and you know damn well that's what it is," she said. "Your not going to be any use to us half-dead to the world from not sleeping or wearing yourself down so much out there. Your doing enough missions for three people for gods sake!"

"I have to do this! I thought you understood that.."

"How the hell could I ever understand wanting to run yourself in the ground?" Weiss demanded angrily. Ruby was silent for a couple minutes before replying

"I'll be in to see you after I get some food. I can see almost see the camp now," she said. Weiss took a calming breath before nodding

"Get some food and come straight here. You hear me..you dolt?"

"Yeah..I hear you Ice queen. Ruby out."

"Well..that went about as good as it usually does," she said as she let Carter have his station back. The man said nothing, just patted her shoulder a bit before sitting back down. Sighing one last time, Weiss walked back over to Ren and Nora to wait for Ruby.

-dining area-

Jaune hadn't recognized her right away. Her hair had grown out longer, almost past the tops of her shoulders and the red highlights in her hair had faded, but there was no mistaking that weapon strapped to her back. Ruby. Seeing her made his teeth clench and his fists clench so hard, he felt as though the nails would cut his palm. When she turned and saw him, he saw her eyes go wide before looking away. She walked in his direction, but went to a different aisle, never making eye contact with him. When she sat down, he cleared his throat loudly. "Not even going to have the guts to look me in my face?" He asked, not bothering to hide his anger.

"Why bother? So you can call me more names and act like I don't feel bad enough already?" She said softly, picking at her food. She'd been dreading this ever since she heard what was left of team JNPR was going to be joining them here. Jaune scoffed and pushed his tray of food aside. "What? Am I wrong?"

"Just think it's funny you twist this to being my fault. If you had just done what I'd asked-no BEGGED-you to do, I wouldn't feel like this. Pyrrha would be alive," he muttered. Ruby sat her fork down and looked a him, her mouth twisted up into a scowl

"Your right, Jaune. It was ALL me. I'm the one who shot Pyrrha with that arrow and I'm the one who burned her body away afterwards. Shame on me, your totally right!" She snapped. Jaune stood and walked over.

"Don't you dare get a condescending tone with me, got that? I haven't said anything that wasn't the truth. You were right there and didn't ANYTHING to help her!"

"I did my best, damn you! I ran up that tower as fast as I could, but by the time I landed on top, she'd already been shot! What could I have done differently?! You tell me, since your such a fucking expert!"

"I'm just surprised that someone that liked to brag about her speed so much could fail so amazingly when it really mattered," he said jabbing her shoulder with his finger. She smacked his hand away and stared daggers at him.

"Do you have any clue what I'd already gone through that night?! Im surprised I even had enough energy left to climb the whole tower, but of course you don't give a damn about that part."

"We all fought that night. You don't get bonus points for that," he growled

"Oh, okay. You fought some Grimm in front of the school, then you know what you did Jaune? You let Cinder kill Amber because you couldn't keep your eyes on the damn elevator for more than a minute. So you basically gift wrapped the fall maiden powers, bravo on that one. If you had just done that right, Pyrrha might be have been able to stand a chance. I meanwhile was fighting on the deck of a highjacked airship with two people, one of them my sister couldn't even stop, surrounded by dozens of flying Grimm! And then after all of that, I STILL ran up there to help!"

"Well, great fucking job. Sometimes I wish it had been you instead of her!" He yelled, feeling a pang of guilt as Ruby's face switched from furious to hurt. But he couldn't stop himself now, he was shaking he was so angry. "I hope Weiss never needs to have her life saved because if it depends on you she's as good as dead!"

"JAUNE ARC!" Weiss yelled as she stormed in to stand beside Ruby. He saw Ren and Nora staring in shock. He hadn't realized their shouting match had drawn a crowd. Ruby's shoulders were shaking, her head hung as tears ran down her face. If looks could kill, Weiss had already done so ten times over. "I ever catch you talking to her like that again, you'll live to regret it. Do you hear me?" She growled, guiding Ruby out of the tent.

"Jaune..what were you-" he didn't allow Ren to finish. He shoved by his teammates and walked towards the forest. He didn't know where he would stop, and didn't care. He needed to be away from here for a while.

And theres chapter one in the books, I do hope you enjoyed it guys. If you did, please leave a review/fav/follow this will be a long story and I'd love to hear how you all are liking it. Next chapter we check in with Yang and Blake, and also get a look at what Mercury and Emerald are up to these days. See ya'll next time

-DB