In memory of Monty, who inspired us to make this. More at the end, please enjoy Ch1: Ahead on Our Way.

"And thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. I guess… You're the kind of guy I wish I was here with. Someone who just saw me, for me."

The inky navy colored sky grew darkest as midnight drew nigh. The dance had finally begun to die down, and the departing students thinned the dance floor down to only a handful of remaining teams. As they watched their fellow hunters and huntresses pass by, their aching feet and full bellies told JNPR it was time to follow the others' example an call it a night. They made sure to thank Weiss and Yang on the way out for their contributions to the event's setup, and then with smiling faces they began the short journey back to their room.

Nora made sure to fill the warm night air with energetic chatter as they walked, focusing most of it towards Ren as he regularly revised the story she was telling. Jaune smiled as he listened to Nora, chuckling as the number of "Ursa squished" increased yet again. Her voice faded into the background as his mind began to wander, and he focused more on the clicking of their shoes on the sidewalk. Jaune's head tilted slightly while he listened to his inner monologue.

'Are dresses always this drafty?' He asked himself, letting his gaze shift up towards the stars. 'Then again, why do I want to know?' He shook his head with a small smile, catching the attention of the red headed girl walking beside him. Pyrrha gazed at his smile for a few moments, blushing as she caught herself. She forced her eyes to look forward, hoping no one had seen her.

"What's so funny?" She asked him with an amused smile, confident her subtle gesture had gone unnoticed. Her clear voice pulled Jaune out of his daze, and he looked over at the girl walking with her hands behind her back.

"Hmm?" He replied, glancing over to look at his partner. Jaune noticed she didn't seem to be looking at him and glanced around in confusion, wondering if there was someone else who had joined them. Pyrrha giggled at his antics.

"Yes, I'm talking to you, Jaune." Pyrrha smirked and let her eyes meet his, causing him to return the grin.

"Oh. Well, you can never be too certain!" Jaune laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head when he saw Pyrrha's smile grow a little larger. "So, what was the question?"

"I was just wondering what was so funny?" Pyrrha asked again, matching the blonde boy's stride as she looked forward at Nora and Ren. "I caught you laughing at yourself again. Sure, you're funny, but now I'm starting to get a little worried." Jaune gave a slanted smirk and shrugged.

"Oh, I was just wondering if dresses were always this drafty in case I lose another bet and have to wear one again." The idea of Jaune having to wear another dress on a different occasion made Pyrrha giggle.

"Yes, they can be quite drafty at times." Pyrrha confirmed playfully for Jaune. The two partners let a silence fall between them, leaving only Nora's voice and Ren's occasional comment or two to persist. Jaune's face flushed as he felt soft hands wrap around his arm; glancing down he saw Pyrrha resting her cheek gingerly on his shoulder, and he looked away quickly trying desperately to hide his flustered reaction from the girl's keen, green-eyed gaze, much to her amusement.

"Jaune?"

"Y-Yes, Py-Pyrrha?" Jaune stammered, nearly tripping as his brain short-circuited; it took all he had to maintain his composure, however flimsy it may have been.

"Thank you, for tonight." Jaune then felt her head move side to side as she shook it, hearing her scoff softly. "No. Thank you, for everything. I will always remember this." The girl's tender words calmed the boy's racing heart. He stared down at her as they walked, noting how relaxed Pyrrha was being led by him as she walked with her eyes closed.

"You're w-welcome, Pyrrha. I'm just happy you had fun!" He managed, feeling both relieved and oddly disappointed as she gently released her hold on his arm and returned to walking at his side.

"It was a great time, Jau-!" Pyrrha stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening as she froze in place. Jaune looked back at her, watching her face blush under the pale light of the street lamps. Following her gaze, Jaune's eyes fell upon both Ren and Nora; they had stopped talking and now stood with their arms crossed and grins plastered across their faces. Nora's smile widened as she watched Pyrrha squirm in embarrassment, and the orange haired girl tilted her face towards Ren smugly.

"Told you it was happening, Ren."

Arriving at the dormitory felt like it took much longer than it should've; the awkward silence hanging above them seemed as though it enveloped the four within a sphere where time did not exist. Nora's fits of giggling laughter didn't help the situation at all, nor her refusal to tell Jaune what exactly she meant by "it's happening."

Upon walking into the room, the sight of Jaune's discarded suit lying crumpled on his bed caused the NPR of JNPR to smirk in stifled laughter. Their expressions soon turned to those of exhaustion, and each of the four collapsed onto their beds with relieved sighs.

"Alright," Jaune groaned face-first into his mattress, "who wants the shower first?"

"You should go first, Jauney!" Nora exclaimed, sitting up, "after all, you're the worst looking girl in the room, you should probably clean up a little." The chuckles of Pyrrha and Ren caused Jaune to blush, and he quickly rose from his bed and darted towards the room's bathroom.

"I won't be long!" The door clicked behind the blonde and Pyrrha let out another sigh of fatigue, falling backwards onto her bed with her arms splayed outward.

"What a night," she stated, drawing a hand across her forehead gingerly before letting it rest by her cheek, "I never would have thought he'd actually wear a dress."

"Really?" Nora contended, "I wasn't all too surprised at all."

"Neither was I." Ren agreed, "Although I must admit it did take some serious guts to do it. He's braver than I." The magenta eyed boy nodded his head in respectful approval, opening an eye to shoot a glance at Nora from across the room. As if rehearsed their eyes locked, prompting Nora to take the cue to leap from her bed to Pyrrha's. She landed in a seated position, drawing a rather cute yelp from a startled Pyrrha. The red head jolted up, supporting herself on her elbows as she looked at the determined teal eyes of the girl now nestled in her lap.

"Uh, Nora? May I help you?" Pyrrha asked, the look in Nora's eyes inciting a feeling of slight trepidation within Pyrrha.

"What?" Nora asked with narrowed eyes and a sly grin, "Would you rather it be our "fearless leader" in this position?" The sight of Pyrrha's blush deepening stretched Nora's grin wider. She leaned forwards eagerly, causing Pyrrha to raise an arm in instinctual defense.

"W-what are you saying so suddenly? What if he hears..." Pyrrha trailed of as she noticed her friend's expression become more serious.

"So..." Nora began, crawling backwards to the end of Pyrrha's bed, "even after all that happened tonight, you still couldn't tell him?" Pyrrha averted her eyes at the girl's question.

"I-I, well, you see-" She stammered, attempting to find an excuse. Nora's expression turned sour, and she turned to Ren with a pout.

"She didn't do it." Nora grumbled to her partner in disappointment before sitting back with her arms crossed. "Seriously Pyr? Do you need any more of an opportunity?"

"I was going to!" Pyrrha defended meekly, "I told him most… b-but, what if he just doesn't… feel that way back? It would have been too awkward!"

"He came to the dance wearing a dress," Ren reiterated, "I'm sure you two would have been fine, regardless."

"Yeah, but-" Pyrrha stopped herself as Nora gave her a warm smile.

"Did you have a good night?" The orange haired girl asked, falling back and staring up at the ceiling.

"Yes. it was amazing." Pyrrha answered, allowing a smile to form and grateful Nora was letting her off the hook. "He made it so."

"Well, by the looks of it," Nora added, turning her head and eyeing over the assortment of clothing all over Jaune's bed, "I'd say he had a great time, too."

Despite his best efforts the huff that escaped Ren's lungs wasn't quite silent enough to escape the girls' notice, who turned towards him in curiosity.

"I didn't say anything. Stop looking at me..." He asserted calmly; his preemptively raised defenses piqued Nora's immediate interest, and the girl squinted her eyes at him suspiciously. Ren maintained his stoic composure as the girl crept up towards him, waggling her finger threateningly in his direction.

"What do you know!?" She demanded, "Tell us!"

"It's nothing." Ren insisted, but Nora wasn't about to relent. Pyrrha got up and placed a hand on Nora's shoulder.

"Nora, it's okay, he said he doesn't know any-"

"No." Nora maintained, "You don't know Ren like I do. He knows something, and I know just how to get him to talk." Slowly Nora brought her hands up, making "claws" out of her fingers. "Don't make me do it, Ren." She threatened. Ren remained still, his body showing no signs of concern. However, Pyrrha noted his eyes had a subtle but unmistakable look of tension as they darted back and forth between Nora's outstretched hands.

"Alright, you asked for it!" Nora's claws shot forward, aiming for Ren's sides. In one swift motion Ren shot his forearms up to deflect the oncoming tickle attack, leaping up and back away from the girls before Nora could try a second time. He landed on his bed and pat down his shirt, shaking his head at Nora as she raised her hands and waggled her fingers menacingly.

"Fine." Ren yielded with a sigh. A strange expression flashed across his face for a brief moment. this time piquing Pyrrha's curiosity. "In the interest of her not doing that, I'll tell you what I saw." Ren took another look at the bathroom door, affirming that their blonde leader wouldn't be walking out to hear their conversation. Once convinced they were safe he turned back to Pyrrha, his magenta eyes meeting her emerald ones. "After we ate, you and Nora went up to go dance with Sun, Blake and Yang," he began, "Jaune and I stayed back because he thought it'd be a good idea to raid the buffet some more. He ate 6 sandwiches- how he did so, I'm unsure. And, well…" Ren shrugged his shoulders, unsure if he was even betraying Jaune's trust or not, "Despite the buffet's best efforts, it was you who held his full attention. He couldn't keep his eyes off of you, and he was wearing the goofiest smile you've ever seen. Well, until I let him know he had a piece of meat stuck in his teeth." Ren's news made Nora frown before she burst into laughter.

"That's IT!?" She exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air, "That's the big reveal? Seriously?"

"I never said anything about a big reveal... it was just an observation."

"Oh, but that's just so lame! He was just looking at her? That's not THAT big a deal, right Pyr..." Pyrrha sat frozen, her face bright red as her eyes sparkled triumphantly. Noting Pyrrha's comically jubilant expression, Nora shook her head and shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"Crushes are so gross." She scoffed.

"It seems it was a big deal after all..." Ren whispered to Nora somewhat smugly, taking enjoyment in the girl's huffed expression. The bathroom door handle began to turn, and Nora took the time to stick her tongue out at Ren before turning towards a steam-followed, toweled Jaune.

Jaune rolled his shoulders as a soft sigh of relaxation escaped his lips. Smiling happily with his white dress in hand, he gestured over his shoulder to the open door. "Don't worry, there's plenty of hot water left!" He raised his hand and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "At least, I think there is." His teammates watched him in amusement as he slowly made his way to his bed, placing the dress at the edge of it neatly before plopping himself down; despite the now vacant bathroom, none of the other three made a move to claim the spot for next to shower. Nora suddenly jumped up once more, throwing her arms around Pyrrha. The orange haired girl grinned devilishly, inching her face close to Pyrrha's before whispering into the red head's ear. Nora giggled as Pyrrha's back stiffened a bit, then sent her on her way to the bathroom with a gentle push from behind.

"You're next!" Nora declared loudly, taking a seat back on her bed. Pyrrha paused for a second, but then nodded in thanks before slipping into the bathroom. Nora waited patiently for the lock to click and the water to start running before setting her sights on Jaune, who had just finished pulling his shirt over this torso. The blonde turned around to find both of his teammates staring at him. Surprised, he felt his face to make sure there was nothing on it; after deeming himself "blemish free," he looked down at his clothing to inspect it.

"Is… something wrong with my pajamas?" He asked, hoping he hadn't put them on backwards or inside out again.

"No." Nora answered, crossing her arms. "We're just happy for you!"

"Why's that?" Jaune scratched his head, unsure of what exactly his teammates were getting at.

"What you did for Pyrrha tonight," Ren clarified, "We're happy you did something about that."

"She seemed a little down, it was the least I could do- but what do you mean by 'about that'?" Jaune quizzed, "Of course I would honor the bet we made. She's my friend!" Nora furrowed her brow a bit and cocked her head to the side.

"That's it?" Nora argued, "That's the only reason you did that? To keep a bet with your friend?"

"Well, yeah. I wanted all my friends to have fun together, and I did make her that promise after all. It was only fair." Jaune replied with a triumphant smile, "Why else would I do it?" Ren and Nora looked at each other, their dejected expressions telling each other how disappointing it was to have their assumptions be proven false. Jaune took no notice of their plight, and continued smiling happily.

"Oh, you know... this and that..." Nora mumbled as she tried to hide her annoyance at her leader's continued clueless behavior. "We're just happy you did it. It really made the night, especially for Pyrrha." Ren recognized the tenuously aggressive lilt in his partner's voice as she said Pyrrha's name and swiftly reacted to prevent any escalation.

"And now we know you'll always keep your word." Ren commented as he put his hands on Nora's shoulders. Jaune nodded decisively as he crossed his arms.

"That's right! An Arc never goes back on his word!" Jaune exclaimed, aiming a thumb towards himself. Ren nodded and began to take off his suit and button down, but Nora hesitated and waited for Jaune to become distracted. When she saw him look into his desk drawer, she briskly walked to the bathroom door and rattled her knuckles on it a couple times.

"Save some hot water for us, jeez!"

Pyrrha looked up, the warm water rinsing the apple scented shampoo from her hair. The sound of two knocks and Nora's voice finally came, and she mischievously smirked.

"Save some hot water for us, jeez!" Pyrrha heard Nora yell, the phrase Nora had previously whispered for her to listen for. Following her friend's instructions Pyrrha focused her aura and channeled it into her inner ear to augment her hearing. She paused for a moment, wondering if this was morally okay to do. After mulling it over she dismissed her concern and blocked out all noises not associated with the voices coming from the next room.

"So, Jaaaauune," she heard Nora say in a sly tone, "I have another question."

"Sure, Nora! What's up?" Jaune complied happily. Pyrrha could hear the slight rustle of paper along with his voice; she shook her head, knowing he was reading X-Ray and Vav.

"What exactly do you think about Pyrrha?" Pyrrha stiffened at the sudden inquiry; even though she had basically inferred Nora intentions from the girl's behavior it was still plenty embarrassing. Time felt stagnant as Pyrrha awaited Jaune's response.

"Oh, she's great," Jaune answered, making Pyrrha blush slightly. She could hear him turn another page of his comic. "She's the most helpful person on this planet! She also hasn't given up on me yet, which is surprising. She a great warrior, and she's super strong, like seriously, she could totally lift a car, or maybe an elephant-"

"Yeah, yeah we know all that! It's totally an elephant!" Nora interrupted anxiously, "But what elllllse do you think about her?"

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat as she heard his voice tremble a bit.

"I dunno. I'm just curious, because you went through a lot of trouble just to make her smile tonight. So… describe her! Who is she to you?" The Mistralian was unsure how far Nora was willing to push this for her sake, but it felt as though this was enough. Besides, Pyrrha still thought eavesdropping like this wasn't right; unfortunately, she knew that if she stopped now she would torment herself wondering what Jaune's response was.

"Describe her? Well… she's tall, has red hair, green eyes-"

"No, idiot! Describe what you THINK about her, not stuff we know!" Nora barked loudly, making Pyrrha's ears screech a little. Silence overcame her for a moment, before Jaune spoke again.

"Oh. Well, she's really nice. The nicest person ever, actually. And like I said, she's helped me so much; she's a natural at solving problems. My problems, mostly. She's smart, funny… a-and she's really pretty! She's really… what's the word? Elegant! She's very elegant. I still can't believe no one asked her to the dance! But... she's great friend, and I'm glad she's my partner. I'd never want anyone else."

Pyrrha clutched both her hands close to her chest in happiness as she smiled shamelessly. She released the aura from her ears and relaxed, standing blissfully in the steady stream of water as it flowed down her body. While Jaune did not say explicitly what she hoped for, hearing his kind words still filled her with happiness.

"Thank you, Nora." She whispered to herself, allowing only a couple of seconds to pass before reaching for her bar of soap and finishing her shower. To her, the night couldn't get much better; unless, of course, Jaune could just take a hint for once and maybe see her as more than just another friend.

The rest of the night transpired as would any other; each of the four went about their own business, whether it be playing games on a scroll, maintaining gear, or checking their calendar. While no one said it out loud, there was something that had them quietly buzzing inside with excitement. This would be the week they started their missions.

"Oh man, Goodwitch looks piiiiissed..." Nora whispered as she and the rest of her team stood beside RWBY, CFVY, and half of SSSN, drawing muffled snickers from Sun and Yang. Alongside them stood Professors Port and Oobleck, who straightened their postures along with their students as Goodwitch drew closer. They relaxed as her scowl softened enough to be considered friendly.

"Good work, all of you." She complimented as she looked around at everyone, "Thanks to your efforts the breach was... manageable, and casualties were minimized. Not to mention we also managed to take Roman Torchwick into custody."

Goodwitch paused, her expression becoming stern again. "Having said that, you're all required to return to the academy at once. Now, if you please, there are airships ready and waiting to fly you back." As quickly as she had arrived she was gone, already aboard one of the said airships and flying off with Oobleck and Port. CFVY also waved goodbye as they boarded their airship for departure. With only one ship left, RWBY, JNPR, Sun and Neptune looked at each other.

"Dibs!" cried Sun and Neptune suddenly with raised right hands, lowering them slowly as the others glared at them. "Orrrr not. We're junior detectives anyways! We don't need your fancy, dumb ships!" With that the pair let out a hoot before fist bumping and running off.

"Guess we'll see ya around!" Sun yelled, waving as he and Neptune turned down the main street back towards the center of town. Teams RWBY and JNPR returned the gesture, and then maintained their stares to the single, team-sized airship.

"So who gets it?" Yang asked, looking at her teammates, "I think, y'know, considering we were here first, we should get the last airship out. And by that I mean it's mine."

"I agree." Weiss added, "We've been run through the mill these past couple of nights."

"It would be nice if you let us have it." Blake remarked, her fatigue blatantly obvious to team JNPR.

"I mean, I'm not gonna argue," Jaune announced, "You guys deserve it, we can just walk to the nearest airport! Right guys?" He turned to his team, who were no longer behind him but instead crowded around Zwei.

"I want him." Nora stated bluntly. "I'm willing to pay 20 Lien."

"No, he's not for sale…" Ruby insisted loudly, Nora's piercing eyes unsettling her a bit.

"25."

"S-sorry, no can do!"

"He is quite a cutie." Pyrrha observed, scratching behind Zwei's ear, "Ruby, is the school okay with him living there?"

"Prof- I mean, Dr. Oobleck said he's going to put in a request for a permit to let him live with us!" Ruby answered, "Apparently teams can have pets, as long as they're approved by the school." She watched as Ren, Nora and Pyrrha pet Zwei, who seemed to be enjoying the extra attention.

"That's great to know." Ren said, looking up towards Jaune. The blonde shrugged and chuckled, amused that his team was so easily incapacitated by a cute animal; especially Ren, who seemed to be mesmerized by the little corgie.

"We'll look into it," JNPR's leader said, "But for now let's head home, I'm beat." The rest of his team nodded in agreement, saying their goodbyes to team RWBY and Zwei before making their way through town and to the airship port.

Arriving, Jaune could already feel his stomach churn as he took his first step onto the vehicle, and he had to assist himself by leaning against the hull.

"Already? We haven't even started moving…" Pyrrha commented, watching the boy lean against the back wall of the small transport ship and slide down it.

"I know..." he groaned weakly.

The ride back home wasn't nearly as taxing as Jaune had anticipated it would be. He had only thrown up a little bit after they arrived, which was a vast improvement from last time when Ren was forced to rub his back for a solid two minutes. Ren swiped his student ID down his team's door lock, and the four walked inside with a sigh. The pale orange sunlight glowed softly in through the window, and the slight breeze was enough for the room to be a perfect temperature. After putting their things away the four crashed onto their beds, each thinking about the day's unexpected turn of events.

"Sorry about having to change the mission, guys." Jaune suddenly said, breaking the comfortable silence among them.

"Sorry for what?" Nora asked, sitting up on her bed. "I had fun!" Jaune shook his head at his teammate's odd definition of "fun."

"I think you did the right thing, Jaune." Pyrrha reassured. "They needed us, and you led excellently."

"Yep." Ren added. "It was obvious where our priorities had to go. We'll do the village next time."

"Thanks, guys." Jaune breathed in relief, "I'm glad you all think so."

JNPR took the time to get in some much needed rest and relaxation; Jaune and Nora both drifted off to sleep for a nap whilst Pyrrha and Ren casually studied for their Grimm Studies class. After an hour or so Pyrrha went to wake up her two snoring teammates in order for them go down and get dinner together, but before the group had even left the room they each received an alert on their scroll. Ren read the message aloud as they all pulled out their buzzing devices simultaneously, "Team JNPR. You are all hereby ordered to report to headmaster Ozpin's office. Immediately." He looked to Jaune and shook his head. "You're in troublllllllle."

JNPR looked around in wonder at Ozpin's office. Behind them, the two Beacon guards posted outside closed the large, wooden double doors the team had just passed through only moments before. Now standing in the middle of the circular room, the four gazed at the decor, mesmerized by what they saw. Above them a full glass ceiling let them see into the clock tower's inner workings, and they watched as massive copper gears turned and spun. Similar gears were also visible through openings in certain parts of the wall and made for a room that felt busy and alive. At the back of the room stood Ozpin, standing idly as he sipped his coffee; it took them a few moments to realize the window he was looking out of was actually the face of the clock tower, and as they approached him Ozpin turned his head slightly in their direction to acknowledge their presence.

Ozpin had already given a school wide announcement to the general student body via the speaker system addressing the events that had transpired that evening, so Jaune wondered what he could want with them. They had passed their friends in team RWBY on the way in, so Jaune knew they had met with him beforehand. JNPR reached Ozpin's desk, lining up and standing at attention stiffly as Ozpin turned towards them.

"No need to be so formal, team JNPR. Relax." The four students relaxed their tense muscles, grateful they wouldn't have to hold such an uncomfortable pose the entire meeting.

"You wanted to see us, sir?" Jaune asked, receiving a nod from Ozpin as the headmaster settled into his chair.

"Yes. I wish to know why you didn't go on your mission, and instead went to assist team RWBY?" Ozpin's question made Jaune's stomach sink; after all that reassurance from his team, it seemed his decision was a mistake after all. Doing his best to display himself as a capable leader, Jaune decided to commit wholly to his decision.

"T-that was because of me. It was my decision to help team RWBY." Jaune said as confidently as he could, "There were sirens going off. Not only that, but last night I had received a strange call from Ruby's scroll. I couldn't shake the suspicion that something was wrong, so I... I made the call to assist Vale over going on our mission." Jaune lowered his head a little. "I'm sorry, I should hav-"

"Why would you be sorry?" Ozpin asked with a grin, drawing surprised looks from the group. "You made the right choice as a leader and went to assist your colleagues. I would have done the same." Jaune felt a crushing weight lift off his shoulders and smiled as his team flashed him looks of encouragement.

"Thank you, sir."

"However, now we must get back to business." Ozpin activated a holographic screen on his desk, the display containing all the pertinent information concerning JNPR's original mission. "Earlier today we received multiple worrisome reports from the village you were meant to go to. It seems the situation is dire, and the Grimm infestation there is much greater than we previously thought. I am sending the full report to your scrolls now, so please make sure to review it thoroughly before arriving at the village."

"Yes sir." JNPR confirmed in unison.

"When will we be departing?" Jaune then asked, pulling the file up on his scroll and reading through it, "Tomorrow morning? It says we need to prepare for an overnight stay."

"Hmm?" Ozpin replied, "Oh, no. Due to the drastic nature of the situation we can't afford to waste time. Your airship leaves in approximately 45 minutes." Ozpin grinned mischievously over his steaming mug. "I'd run if I were you."

"45 MINUTES!?" JNPR cried in shock, following Ozpin's advice and bolting out of the room back towards their dorm to pack. Ozpin chuckled to himself as they sprinted away, taking another sip of his coffee while he slowly turned his chair and returned his gaze to the bright cityscape visible through his office's enormous window.

"Are you sure about this, Ozpin?" Goodwitch's voice sounded across the room as she walked through the doors to his office. Ozpin continued to look out his window as the sound of Goodwitch's heels clicking on the floor drew closer, taking another sip before responding.

"Always the worry wart, Glynda. You saw what they did out there today, did you not?"

"I'm serious, Ozpin. From what those reports say, the mission changed. This is no longer a mission such an inexperienced team should be undergoing alone. Even taking into account their performance in today's attacks." Goodwitch placed a hand on Ozpin's desk, her voice lowering a bit, "Are you truly certain they're up to the task?" Ozpin remained stoic, his eyes scanning the city lights.

"I'm not sure. I guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

JNPR crashed into their room, scrambling through their belongings in a frenzy to pack all the essentials they thought would be needed before bursting back out the door and hastily making their way to the airship docks. Upon arrival Jaune collapsed in a panting heap, the most winded of the four by far. He looked up at the starry night sky as he tried to catch his breath. JNPR checked their scrolls, relieved that their efforts had allowed them arrive a full ten minutes before departure.

"My sides are going to split," Jaune moaned as he lay still wheezing on the stone floor, "I'm going to die."

"Don't die on us just yet, captain," Pyrrha cheered, "Our first mission hasn't even begun!"

"Yeah, Jauney. That would be really embarrassing if you died before the mission even started!" Nora agreed, putting a finger to her chin, "You should wait for a dramatic moment during the mission where you can sacrifice yourself to save the rest of us!" Nora gave out a small squeak as Ren landed a light chop to the top of her head.

"It's not in good taste to speak of our leader's untimely demise right before a mission, Nora." Nora stuck her tongue out cutely, winking one eye before bonking the side of her head.

"Oops, sorry Jaune! It's only because, well, you're you!" Nora apologized, making Jaune laugh as he sat himself up and felt his breathing return to normal.

"It's fine, and I know. We're all just excited. It's our first ever mission as JNPR after all." With a determined grin he looked over at Ren.

"Told you we'd help this village, Ren." He said.

"I didn't doubt you for a minute. An Arc always keeps his word, right?" Ren's words filled Jaune with determination, but his confident smile began to fade as he watched their grey airship come into view. His stomach turned as it drew closer and closer before landing next to them.

'Twice in one day? Come on…' He thought, taking a deep breath and drawing in confidence.

"Team JNPR's first mission," Jaune said, nodding to his teammates while he fought his nausea, "Let's do this, guys!" The airship's side doors opened and the four climbed aboard as one of the pilots beckoned towards them. Jaune quickly tossed his bag into the cargo hold before taking his seat; he gripped the padded seats tightly as the ship reverberated. Before he could brace himself the ship took off, and his teammates watched in sympathy as he was instantly overwhelmed with airsickness.

"Seriously..?"

Hello, everyone. If you're reading this, good- we're (my editor and I) trying something new. We're excited to write this story. It will follow canon heavily, however, it will be a parallel story primarily focusing on, you guessed it, JNPR. It will follow their missions, add new enemies, and branches off of Vol2. Vol. 3 characteristics will absolutely be here. Yes, everyone else will be in as well. As for ships, you will have to wait and see.

We'd categorize this as action/romcom/whatever who cares! Hope you enjoyed, and PLEASE review if you can. Positive or negative, we like to hear what you have to say.

Next chapter out soon, if you all like it. Thanks!