The mountain shook like a snowglobe in the hands of a small child.

It could feel them….the bright, warm lights of all those souls. They called to it.

So much delicious grief.

So much tantalizing despair.

Begging to be ended.

With a mighty roar that shattered the mountain it had been sleeping inside, the Grimm dragon took to the sky for the first time in centuries, drawn to all the nearby negativity that lit up its senses like a beacon in the night.

As it flew, it began to get impressions of the area around it. Many things had changed according to its ancient memory. There were structures and people in more places than before.

None of these things were as it remembered. The world had changed according to its ancient mind, but not everything was lost. Some things were still the same.

The all-consuming need to destroy the light of souls was one. The drive to snuff out the light, to feast on the delectable negativity of the lights until the world was returned to darkness and silence.

And it's name.

While it did not have anything like agency, the need to destroy the lights taking all of its will, it did remember having a name once, shaken loose by the countless centuries of sleep and death.

It called itself Cumbersmaug.

And it was hungry.

XXX

Pyrrha was having a great day.

Most of the cocoa plants had been recovered, meaning that soon chocolate would be flowing through Vale. Cinder had been exposed as the evil, conniving, deluded harlot that she was. Most importantly though, Jaune had just sent her a text. He was on his way back from the lunch she had arranged with her father.

It had gone well. He was even bringing her a surprise!

'I hope the surprise is brownies, then this really will be the best day ever!' Pyrrha practically skipped down the hall doing a fair, unintentional impression of Nora on a pancake high as she rushed to meet Jaune at the school entrance.

She practically vibrated with excitement, eager to share the news of her latest adventure in person and find out all about how Jaune's meeting with her father went. By coincidence, Pyrrha ended up waiting for Jaune under one of the large oak trees near the entrance to the bullhead docks.

With her excited smile, school uniform, and current location, Pyrrha had unwittingly done her best impression of the eager schoolgirl waiting for her boyfriend cliché. She had become the embodiment of all those romantic cartoons that Blake and Yang loved watching together.

This became even more apparent when Jaune finally came into view, sipping a ginger ale, and talking animatedly to…

"Father?"

Pyrrha had just a moment to despair, 'That's not brownies,' before Jaune and her father noticed her. The duo began to make their way over at a brisk pace, and Pyrrha began to panic, all her previous excitement replaced with nervousness. 'Is my uniform straight? Does my hair look unkempt? Do I look disappointing at all in any way?'

Pyrrha's nerves became more on edge the closer Jaune and her father approached.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest faster than any time she exercised. Today had been going so well! It was perfect! Now the weight of her father's disappointed demeanor and judgmental stare was taking all the happiness and joy away from her perfect day.

'Wait, is he smiling? Like people? I knew this day was too perfect! This is a dream and I will wake up any second now. Although, if this is a dream…'

Pyrrha closed her eyes and focused for a moment, doing her best to recall the finer details from the article about lucid dreaming she had read last week. She slowed her breathing, counted to ten, and slowly opened her eyes.

Her father was still walking toward her.

Jaune wasn't wearing only a lacy, yellow apron.

He had no brownies.

The technique had failed, which logically meant-

'This is all somehow real…'

Pyrrha only had a moment to school the disappointment and confusion from her face, plastering on her best public relations smile before the two men noticed her.

Jaune reached her first, her father trailing behind projecting his usual confident and self-assured image. There were traces of other emotions as well, emotions Pyrrha had rarely seen her father express: Reluctance. Nervousness. Fear.

She was beginning to contemplate the likelihood that she had wound up in an alternate dimension, even as Jaune hugged her, and gave her a deliberate peck on the cheek, before giving her the widest, dorkiest smile she had ever seen.

It was adorable, and enough to stop her from contemplating the fabric of reality. "Jaune! When you said that you had a surprise, I didn't expect this!"

His adorkable smile faded a little, and he broke eye contact, glancing anywhere but at her. Now he was nervous. This was more normal and helped ground her myriad of feelings regarding her father's appearance.

So, when she next spoke, she was much calmer. "I'm sorry, Jaune. I was just...surprised. Did you have a nice lunch?"

He gave her another adorable smile. "I did! It was very nice. The food gave me lots of ideas for new recipes! Enough about that though!" His expression shifted, his gaze sharpened from her adorable partner to her team leader in an instant. "I'm glad you're okay. You and Nora will give me the highlights later, okay?"

In the face of such adorkable authority she could only nod. "Of course, Jaune."

He gave her another adorkable smile, which set her heart to racing, and gave her another reason to lament her father being there.

How was she supposed to resist that adorableness?! There was no way he could be more attractive right now!

'How do I get rid of my father and politely ask Jaune to pin me against this tree and make out with me?'

His authoritative leader streak continued when he gripped her shoulders, turning her to face her father, who seemed to be doing his best to avoid eye contact with her. Suddenly, those parallel world theories seemed much more plausible.

Pyrrha shivered a little as Jaune's breath tickled her ear, his hair brushing against her cheek. It took a moment for the words to register when he whispered to her: "Talk to him…"

For the first time that she could remember, she was reluctant to follow one of her leader's orders. "Jaune, is this really necessary?"

She noticed out of the corner of her eye, that her father seemed just as reluctant to speak to her. What was going on?

Jaune leaned away from her to speak to her still silent father. "Remember, Iskander. You promised…"

She watched the two men stare at each other, doing that strange, non-verbal communication thing that all men seemed capable of. There was a definite tension between the two.

And then she saw something amazing: Her father looked away first.

He sighed deeply, all the air leaving him at once, like a deflated balloon, as he slouched in on himself, avoiding Jaune's gaze.

Pyrrha had to resort to deep breathing, and the meditation exercises that Ren had helped her with to keep control of her semblance. Her emotions were all over the place! On the one hand, watching the two most important men in her life stare at each other like contestants in the arena was nerve-wracking!

And yet…

'I was wrong. Jaune can be more attractive…'

Watching her leader take charge and get an indomitable man like her father to submit to his will was one of the sexiest things she had ever seen! It was taking every ounce of her self-control not to scoop him up, and find a room at one of Vale's nicest hotels!

That Pumpkin Pete's and exercise equipment endorsement money had to be good for something!

The Thirst must be quenched!

Pyrrha was brought out of her lurid plans to spend their weekend in a luxury hotel before they could reach Blake levels of hedonism when her partner spoke up to address them both.

"I'm going to go visit Ruby and the others, see how she's doing. I'm sure you both could use some time to talk…"

He punctuated this statement with another glance toward her father, before giving them both a jaunty wave, and quickly turning to march off to the infirmary in what the training portion of Pyrrha's brain noticed was an excellent tactical retreat.

The rest of her brain was too busy noticing that all that yoga was definitely working. She was going to need some warm oil to go with those hard buns…

Her further plans about booking that hotel suite were cut short once again by an awkward cough from her father. She stamped down on her apology reflex, skin flushing in embarrassment.

"He's quite the remarkable young man, Jaune."

Pyrrha put aside her bewilderment over the fact that Jaune and her father were apparently on a first name basis after meeting each other over lunch for the first time, but it wasn't easy.

Instead she focused on the familiar, easy task of supporting her partner. "Yes, yes he is…"

There was another pause of awkward silence that seemed to stretch on for several moments. She had no idea what to say to her father through text message, let alone when he was standing in front of her!

Where was a convenient giant Grimm when she needed one?

Luckily the silence was broken by the sound of her father clearing his throat. Her eyes snapped to him instinctively, and she braced herself for a new list of where she needed to improve, or the usual cool dismissal.

"I'm sorry…"

'What. I understand those words he just said, but when he puts them in that order, it sounds like an apology! Father doesn't apologize! That's one of the first rules of having a proper business mindset!'

"Jaune helped me understand that I have been a terrible father."

'What.'

"I knew that you didn't have a head for numbers, and lacked the killer instinct and ruthlessness to truly excel in the business world. I was trying to prepare you for dealing with it the best way I could, especially once you started becoming famous…"

'What.'

"My goal was to teach you the attitude you would need, help harden you to deal with an industry that would see you as little more than an exploitable resource. I never wanted you to follow in my footsteps, because I knew how unhappy you would be."

Pyrrha was completely bewildered. Nothing made sense. Hearing her father admit he was wrong, and apologizing was the Grimm handing out flowers and giving away puppies: It went against the natural order of the world.

Of course she was even more startled by the feeling of tears running down her cheeks.

She had just a moment to thank Oum for not wearing makeup that day, when she got yet another surprise.

Her father's strong arms were wrapped around her, like her hoodie blanket cocoon. She felt warm, safe, and slightly damp.

Because he was crying, too.

"I've never wanted you to think that I was not proud of you! You are my daughter, I love you! I've always been proud of you, and I always will be, even if you don't take after me in business!"

She gave a weak chuckle, unable to suppress her surprised laughter. As she rested her head on her father's broad chest, her tears drying on his coat, she felt lighter than she had in years. This had been truly cathartic.

The chocolate was safe, her boyfriend was back, and she had the love and validation from her father that she had wanted for years…

Best. Day. Ever.

Eventually, once all their tears were shed, and their emotions were under control, Pyrrha and her father separated. He gave her a gentle smile, and a kiss on the forehead. "I'd love to stay and meet the rest of your team, dear, but I have to go. Your mother is expecting me…"

"I know. You had too much dessert again."

"How did you-"

"I can smell the baklava on your breath. You had two pieces too many…"

She giggled as her father began to shiver, muttering about bees.

"I'm proud of you. You've done well here in Beacon. You've grown. You have an excellent team, and a truly great partner…"

'Wait, does this mean what I think it means?!'

"I want you to know that I fully approve of your relationship. I believe you've found an excellent young man in Jaune, and I look forward to welcoming him into the family, if you so choose."

Pyrrha could barely breathe. It was so close. The Promised Land...

"Oh, and before I go, I have a message from your mother."

'This is it…!'

"She told me to tell you to 'Just do it'. Said you would understand…"

Pyrrha's gaze sharpened, eyes intent as if she was staring at a gifted opponent in the arena. She gripped her father's biceps, since she was unable to reach his shoulders, and looked up to gaze directly into his eyes. "Father, I need you to be certain. She said those exact words?"

"Y-yes. She did. That was the message, I promise!"

Pyrrha's gaze was suddenly all warmth and happiness. "Thank you, Father! I would walk you back to the airship docks, but I'm afraid I'm about to be tied up with training exercises. I must go."

She finally had it: Complete parental approval of her relationship. It was time. The Thirst would be quenched...

And with a happy wave, and a smile, Pyrrha left, singing to herself. "Yes! Yes! Yes~!"

As Iskander watched his daughter skip back into Beacon, he shuddered. 'Just like her mother…' He took a moment to pray that he was not about to lose his future son-in-law to dehydration, or crippling pelvic injury.

Suddenly, the bees didn't seem so bad…

XXX

Jaune strolled towards the infirmary after a quick stop to raid some of the last of JNPR's private stash, and check in with Ren. Business was going well, Pyrrha was reconciling with her father, and he had just received the message from Yang that Ruby was waking up.

This deserved a celebration.

As Jaune rounded the last corner leading to the infirmary, he noticed something very odd. Professor Port was wheeling the still frozen Cinder toward the Headmaster's private elevator on a hand truck, and apparently giving the frozen woman a lecture.

"Machines to transfer aura? HA! Back in my day, we did transfers the fun way! Aural tantric rituals! Let me tell you, aural healing is quite the lost art! I'm no slouch, though! In fact, I was known for my aural talents in my younger days!"

After he pressed the call button, the professor turned the hand truck, to back it into the elevator, and caught sight of Jaune, who wasn't quite fast enough to hide around the corner again.

"Ah, young Mr. Arc! Here to visit Ms. Rose? And you bought her cookies I see! Excellent! She's been asking for some since she awakened! Now, I must get this young woman down to the transfer machine so that we can remove the stolen aura from her system! Don't worry, Mr. Arc, soon you'll have a teacher for when your powers begin to fully manifest! Ozpin will see to it!"

And with that cryptic message, Port backed up into the elevator to deliver his charge wherever they were going. Jaune got a last look at the still frozen Cinder as the elevator doors closed. Was he imagining things, or was she trying to ask for help?

Jaune decided that repression was the better part of valor, put the issue from his mind. He entered the infirmary to see Ruby sitting up in her bed, with Weiss reading a weapons magazine to her.

Blake was perched in another chair, flipping through a dessert cookbook, and showing Ruby the pictures.

Yang was fluffing her pillows. Aggressively.

They all looked up in surprise as Jaune entered, but it quickly turned to joy.

"Jaune! You've come to see me! And you brought cookies!" Ruby exclaimed, nearly drooling, her eyes following the plastic container as Jaune brought it over to her.

"Yep! Grand-Mère Arc's specialty! The secret Arc family recipe made with three different kinds of chocolate!"

Once the cookies were passed out, with Ruby getting the lion's share, the friends did their best to catch Ruby up on current events.

"Wait, so I have laser beam eyes of death and destruction?! My wish came true!"

Jaune was trying his best to think of a way to steer clear of this topic, but he wasn't having much luck, unfortunately.

Luckily, her team recognized where this was going, and did their best to nip it in the bud.

Yang reached over to pinch her cheeks, and muss her hair, making her hiss in a very Blake-like manner.

Once she was distracted, Weiss began her lecture. "Ruby, you cannot simply go about using this power like it is a toy! It knocked you out earlier! We do not know what your capabilities are! This will obviously require extensive testing, and-!"

Ruby interrupted her with a happy squeal that startled Blake into jumping onto a nearby bookshelf. "Ohmigosh! I can't wait to tell Penny! Now we both have laser death beam eyes! Magic is real!"

As Yang helped her partner down from her bookcase perch, she couldn't resist asking. "What do you mean, Sis? What wish?"

"Don't you guys see?! I am a weapon now! Truly, I have peaked and can go no further! This is the height of my evolution!"

Jaune laughed, even as he heard Weiss scoff. "While I am glad you've finally learned to use that word properly, I would hardly consider suddenly developing a new facet of your semblance grounds for declaring magic to be real! And just because you have it does not mean that you will stop growing as a Huntress!"

Jaune almost dropped his cookie when he heard Yang's response to Weiss's oblivious setup. "Of course she won't stop growing! She drinks milk!"

Ruby glared at her, letting out a petulant whine that reminded everyone of Zwei.

With his big brother instincts activated, Jaune sprang into action. "Ruby, are you trying to activate your death beam eyes?"

"Maybe."

"Ruby, no. No using your laser powers on people that aren't enemies."

"She started it…"

Deciding to head this argument off, Jaune quickly crossed the room, and shoved the cookie he had been saving for himself into Ruby's mouth. Her quiet, happy murmurs meant she was sufficiently distracted.

Unfortunately, her team was not.

"My, my, Vomit Boy! Shoving things into other girls' mouths! Whatever will Pyrrha say~?"

"Yes, really, Jaune! She could have choked!" Though Blake's tone sounded sincere, he could tell the gleam in her eyes was anything but.

Weiss glared as if she were trying to freeze him in place without her semblance. "Dunce!"

'Okay, desperate times call for desperate measures…'

Jaune stopped repressing the odd occurence that he witnessed during his trip to the infirmary. "Oh, did you guys see Professor Port carrying that strawberry stealing demon away on a cart? He was lecturing her the whole time!"

Ruby beamed at him around her half-eaten cookie, giggling like a megalomaniacal puppy. "I still can't believe that my awesome new eye beams did that! I do hope Professor Ozpin can fix it though. I mean, I don't want her to die or anything!"

"I wouldn't worry about it. She seemed to be still aware to me. Just unable to move while Port lectured her. Looked like she was asking for help."

Weiss' Schnee smirk was displayed in full, "Then she is truly suffering. Excellent."

The heiress was still more than a little angry at the fact that Cinder had caused whatever it was that happened to Ruby. She was happy to know that her enemy was suffering for it.

"Yeah, as he was leaving, Port said something about getting me a teacher for when my 'powers fully awaken' or something. Then he left. Weird."

"Maybe it has something to do with the ultimate power to reshape the world Professor Ozpin mentioned when he came to see me an hour ago," Ruby theorized as she gleefully ended her final cookie, "He said something about you and me wielding ultimate powers and being the key in the war against the Grimm. It sounded kinda scary."

"Sounds ominous," Blake decided, "I wonder what it means?"

"Yeah, Weiss-cream! Hearing something like that makes me wonder if Rubes thinking magic is real might not be so far off."

"Honestly, Yang! Magic is not real!"

"Well, yeah, but if it were, you have to admit that glowing death beam eyes with the power to turn the tide against the Grimm sounds like a pretty good example of it."

Jaune could tell by her unamused expression that Weiss was not convinced. "Okay, Weiss, what do you think would be an example of magic that would have you believe?"

The Heiress seemed to debate with herself for a moment, before declaring in an imperious tone. "Birds."

"Uh, I'm not sure if you've noticed, Weiss, but birds already exist. Remember that one Zwei put by Blake's shoes last week?"

"Ugh, don't remind me, Ruby…"

"No, Ruby! What I mean is something truly outlandish, like people being able to turn into birds! It's the craziest, most illogical thing I could think of!"

"You need more imagination. I have books for that." Blake declared.

"Nothing we have to worry about now, that's for sure!" Jaune announced, "We have a history exam to finish studying for! I just got the text from Professor Goodwitch that the dance has been cancelled thanks to everything, so we have a few extra days to cram for our midterms!"

Ruby groaned at that, especially as Weiss retrieved her history book from her bag and looked as though she was about to go into full lecture mode. "Jaune makes an excellent point, Ruby, and you have three classes of missed material to catch up on!"

Ruby groaned in despair, turning to pout as adorably as she could at her partner.

Unfortunately for her, Weiss was immune, "None of that! As a leader you must set an example! And I will not have my leader failing her midterms just because she refused to study!"

"Well that's my cue to leave. I have a project of my own I need to finish adjusting before lunch ends." Blake made a hasty retreat.

Jaune was about to follow her, intent on waiting for Pyrrha in the dorm, when he was distracted by a sudden breeze that gusted into the room. He barely had a moment to register the presence of his partner.

"Hello again, everyone!" his partner declared with her usual polite cheer. With that taken care of, she scooped Jaune up in a traditional bridal carry.

His face felt so hot, he was sure his semblance had subconsciously activated.

"Jaune, your everything is on fire~! He's pretty hot, right, P-Money?"

Huh. Looks like it could activate from sheer embarrassment. He would have to tell Ren so they could add it to his semblance training journal.

"Jaune and I have a mission debriefing and training to do. I'm afraid we'll be tied up for the rest of the day! See you tomorrow!"

Jaune felt the rush of displaced air as Pyrrha carried him out into the hallway, and toward their dorm. Wait, Pyrr-AHHH!"

Team RWY was left to stare blankly at the spot where Pyrrha had made off with her partner.

"Since when does Pyrrha have my semblance?"

"Maybe it's magic~!" Yang carrolled.

Weiss threw a pillow at her face. It did nothing to stifle her laughter.

XXX

The strange happenings of the day were not quite over, however.

In the hallway that the cafeteria was on, Blake was muttering to herself while arranging a group of plushies on a nearby windowsill to look as though they were cuddling.

This was not the only set of plushies though. There were plushies for many of the teams in Beacon, and even a few of the more popular guest teams such as NDGO and SSSN. It was a who's who of up and coming Huntsman teams from across Remnant, in plush form.

Blake hummed softly to herself as she worked, arranging all the poses just so for maximum shipping. The plushie team she was currently arranging in the most embarrassing poses she could think of, complete with props, would surprise many.

The plushies were of Team CRDL.

Once Blake finished her arrangement of CRDL cuddling, cackling to herself while making careful notes in her journal, she smiled at a job well done. 'Soon all my pairings will become canon…all according to keikaku…'

And if she got revenge on a team of bigots for mistreating her friends? That was just tartar on the tuna.

Thoughts of her friends made her think of Velvet. Knowing she would appreciate a good picture, Blake made certain to take several shots of her work, for posterity and criticism.

With a smile on her face and shipping in her heart, Blake made her way to the cafeteria. It was tuna sandwich day, and the line would be short.

She would regret not staying.

Whether it was a gust of wind from the window not being properly shut, or an act of Oum, a domino effect began to take place. One by one, the plushie teams began to fall over into even more compromising positions. Soon enough, the hallway looked like a plushie reenactment of an ancient Mistralian Tantric Aural healing ritual.

Some students leaving lunch early would even take note of a brief glow like Aura surrounding the plushies, though this was met by scoffs and derision by most.

Inanimate objects having aura? Sounds like a fairytale.

XXX

Heat and fire.

Pain.

Darkness.

Warmth.

Positioned perfectly above the target. Taking the shot.

The carefree smile of a blue-eyed blonde as he laughed with his team.

Nestling in a cocoon of warmth and softness.

So. Thirsty.

The world came back into focus slowly. The first thing she noticed was sound, or rather the lack of it. Everything was completely silent. Where ever she was, there were no other people around.

The small rectangle of plexiglass provided the only view of the world beyond. It was dark. She could barely see anything in the dim light provided by a nearby computer monitor. Not for the first time, she wished she had been born a Faunus. Being able to see in the dark would be very helpful right now.

She was in some sort of small, confined space. The metal was cold against her skin. 'A machine? Am I in the hospital? What happened to all the lights? I have to get out of here…'

Pushing against door did nothing. The small space robbed her of leverage, not that it would have done her much good in her weakened state.

The darkness and the confined space were beginning to cause feelings of claustrophobia. Her heart began to pound. It was all she could hear in the quiet of her cold metal prison. 'Out! I have to get out! I need to get...OUT!'

This time as she pushed against the door, her panicked struggles were aided by a brief surge of Aura that enhanced her current meager strength. The screeching sound of tearing metal filled the room as the metal door of her prison was torn from its hinges to land a few feet from her.

She was now free, but the use of aura on her weakened body cost her. She collapsed to the floor, panting and sweating with exertion as though she had just run a marathon.

She laid on the cold floor for what felt like hours, simply too exhausted to move. Everything hurt, and she felt as weak as a newborn. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting provided by the computer monitor and a few other consoles in the room, she could make out more details.

She was in some sort of laboratory judging by all the equipment, and computer consoles. There were far too many switches and buttons for this room not to have some sort of important purpose.

She was still no closer to understanding why she was there, though.

Once she felt strong enough to stand, she decided to explore the large chamber, searching for the exit, or at least a clue that would explain where she was and what she was doing there.

Her legs wobbled like a toddler first learning how to walk. Luckily, the many banks of consoles and other mysterious machines gave her plenty of surfaces to use as support during her exploration.

This proved to be a blessing, because just as she was moving toward what she believed to be an elevator, she nearly fell on her face thanks to a large cord running along the floor.

As she straightened up from her near fall, however, she spotted a hand-truck, its wheels and handles facing toward her, giving her a view of what appeared to be human hair.

'Someone else is trapped here as well? I have to help them! Maybe they can tell me what's going on!'

She made her way forward slowly, until she could touch the cart. Her fingers brushed against the hair of the figure, revealing them to be a woman. No man she knew had hair that long and luxurious. "Are you okay, miss? Do you know where we are? Do you know why we are here? Don't worry, I think I was an exit! I can lead us out of here, where ever that is!"

Her torrent of chatter, brought on by the relief of contact with another person after so long without it, died in her throat when she reached the other side of the hand-truck and got a look at the woman imprisoned there.

Long dark hair. Fair complexion. Dark eyes. Older.

She gasped as the memories came flooding back.

'Please...don't!'

'That slut!'

Feelings of fear from seeing her attacker again were quickly replaced with a near all-consuming berserker fury. Her exhaustion and weakness fell away like a discarded piece of clothing as she beheld the woman that had tried to kill her.

Her attacker's eyes flashed with recognition, and fear. She was bound to the hand-truck by heavy, metal restraints, though she couldn't even speak, despite the fact her mouth was uncovered.

It seemed every part of the woman was immobile except her eyes.

The woman was frozen. Helpless. Just like she had been.

Aided by her fury, her Aura responded much easier this time, flooding her body with energy, and bathing the room in a soft glow. 'Cinder!'

She had no idea where the knowledge came from, but the name felt right. The woman frozen before her, pleading for compassion with her eyes was named Cinder. She would give her the same amount of mercy she had received.

"Round two, bitch!"

Amber's hands filled with hungry flames.

XXX

"I can't believe you managed this on such short notice!" Jaune's look of childlike wonder made Pyrrha giggle. Admittedly, it was a very nice hotel suite, one of the best in town. She had been planning this for months, after all.

The look on Jaune's face as he laid down on the king-sized bed that dominated the room made the expense worth it. 'I'm just glad to be putting all that Pumpkin Pete's lien to good use. This is going to be so much fun!'

Pyrrha's smile as she did her best to saunter over to the bed would have made Blake and Yang proud. "I hope you aren't too tired, Jaune. I wasn't lying when I said I planned for us to be tied up with training today!"

She was startled as Jaune sat up suddenly, nearly crashing into her. "Bathroom!"

"I'm sorry?"

"I just...I need to visit the bathroom really quick! I'll be out in a minute! Also, I'm a bit hungry!"

Um...okay, Jaune. Promise not to take too long, okay? I'm really excited for this training session!"

"I won't be long!" Pyrrha watched him dash into the bathroom, concerned. 'I hope it's not his nausea acting up again. We are rather high up. I hope that doesn't trigger his motion sickness.'

Pyrrha was relieved not to hear any retching sounds over the fan in the bathroom. After a few moments, she heard the sink running, and Jaune's surprised shout. "Pyrrha, this shower is huge! I bet four people could do yoga in here without even touching each other!"

' And people think he's slow on the uptake. I didn't even consider the shower! That's my strategic genius boyfriend!' Pyrrha smiled as she began to revise their workout plan to include some time doing hot yoga. She was still considering the best pose to greet him with when he came out of the bathroom, when Jaune rushed out, heading for the exit.

"Sorry, Pyr! In the mad rush to get here, I forgot a few things! I'm just gonna go down to the lobby and see if the hotel can get me what I need, I'll be back soon, I promise!"

"Yes, I'm sorry we rushed here so suddenly, but-" He changed direction abruptly, almost startling her as he gave Pyrrha a gentle peck on the lips.

"I'll just be a few minutes, yeah? I wouldn't leave if it wasn't important. Why don't you get relax, and get comfortable?"

She gave him a gentle smile as he started back toward the exit. "Okay, Jaune. Hurry back, okay?"

As the door closed, Pyrrha began to reconsider her boyfriend landing strategy. Clearly something was not working. She began to dig through the bag that Nora had helped her pack just for this occasion, when inspiration struck.

She pulled out the nearly transparent lingerie from her bag.

It was perfect: A racy green bra and panty combination that matched her eyes. It had taken hours of shopping to find. It was cut perfectly to enhance and just barely cover her assets.

'This will definitely work better than my armor.' Pyrrha grinned ruefully. All that planning nearly forgotten in her excitement. Now she was glad Jaune had taken some time to go to the lobby.

Once her combat uniform, brought along to convince her friends of the training narrative, was tucked away neatly in her bag she began to consider more options.

Then she saw it.

Tucked away in one of the front pockets of her bag, was one of the Pumpkin Pete's hoodies that she curled up with to keep warm. It was an exact match for Jaune's.

Pyrrha's smiled like Blake at an all you can eat fish buffet. 'Perfect!'

XXX

Jaune panicked as he quickmarched himself into the lobby. Weeks of planning had been undone by Pyrrha's excitement. Granted, he appreciated the lengths she had gone to to get them such a nice hotel room.

'I just wish she had given me a few minutes to go back to the dorm and grab my backpack. I don't have any of my supplies.'

Jaune wanted this to be as perfect for the two of them as he could manage. This was a significant milestone in their relationship, and he was not going to screw it up! With his resolve reaffirmed, he marched up to the desk clerk.

The man appeared to be somewhere in his late 40's, making him of an age with his father. This helped relieve a great deal of his anxiety as he arrived at the front counter. A guy this age probably gets questions like this all the time! There is nothing to be embarrassed about!

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Hello, how may I help you, young man?"

"Um, yes! You see, my girlfriend and I had this great weekend getaway planned, and well, I need…" The words caught in his throat. He couldn't even move his lips to mouth the word to the clerk.

'Come on, dammit, you nerdy wuss! You have seven sisters! Seven! Are you really ready to make that sort of commitment? Do you really think you have a high enough dexterity modifier to chance that roll of the die? No? Then get your shit together, Arc and ask the man if they have-'

"We actually get this sort of thing from time to time. Not to worry, sir. I believe that we have exactly what you are looking for." The man ducked down under the desk, disappearing from Jaune's view..

He reemerged a few seconds later holding a small, black bag. "One complimentary honeymoon kit, sir. Will you require anything else?"

Jaune took a moment to rummage through the bag. 'Let's see: Condoms, lubricant, handcuffs, two large bottles of electrolyte water, and...batteries?'

"Um, uh, I don't think so, but what are the batteries for?"

The clerk's smile was professional, but Jaune could see the amusement in his eyes. "I'm certain you will find out soon, sir. Now, is there anything else?"

"Actually, yes. Since we have the room for the entire weekend, I'd like to order the extra large chocolate fondue and fruit arrangement, please."

The clerk's eyebrows rose, and while his tone remained politely professional, he seemed hesitant to comply with the request. "Sir, you are aware that fruit and chocolate arrangement serves six people, yes?"

Jaune found it odd that after their previous conversation, this gave the clerk pause, but he stared into his eyes, and mustered every ounce of command and authority he possessed as a team leader. "I know what I'm about, sir."

The clerk gave him a nod. "Very well, sir. Would you like that charged to your room, or will you be paying now?"

Without breaking eye contact, Jaune pulled out his wallet, and laid out the lien for the fondue on the counter, plus a generous tip. "I'll wait here for it, and take it back to the room myself. It's supposed to be a surprise."

"Very good, sir. I hope your stay is most...pleasant." With that, the clerk turned away from him to continue whatever he had been doing before Jaune showed up.

It only took ten minutes for the order to arrive, tastefully arranged on a wheeled cart. Jaune put his bag on the cart, and wheeled his purchase to the elevator, secure in his knowledge that Pyrrha would be very pleased.

Of course, that train of thought began a downward spiral to the gutter that served to remind him of exactly why he was here and what he would be doing with Pyrrha when he got back to their room.

By the time the elevator arrived back on his floor, Jaune had almost worked himself into a panic attack. Now that this was actually happening, all of the lectures from his parents, and the advice from his sisters seemed to disappear.

Well, everything but all the charts, and diagrams his mom had shown him involving STD's. As a nurse, she had access to some truly scary stuff. Really, it was amazing that he had any nieces or nephews at all.

So, he found himself outside his room, pacing and muttering to himself. "Get a grip, Jaune! You can do this! You already know that you care about each other! Just go in there, take your time, and make this night special!" He ended his little pep talk by slapping his face to psyche himself up.

When he went back to the chocolate cart, his eyes alighted on the massage oil in his bag. 'That's perfect! I'll start with a massage! Those are relaxing! And wholesome! No pressure, I've given massages before!'

With a plan firmly in place, Jaune got out his card key, and opened the door. "Pyrrha, I'm back! And I brought chocolate fondue!"

The sight that greeted him could have been straight out of his most daring, vivid fantasies. Pyrrha lay on her side, clad in little more than a pair of barely there green panties, one of his hoodies, and a smile.

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to appreciate this amazing scene, before Pyrrha pounced, going from prone to executing a perfect combat roll to pop up standing in front of him.

"Hello again!" And with that cheerful greeting, she pulled him and the cart inside, slamming the door behind them.

XXX

"Ahhhh~! Jaune, that was incredible! You always find just the right spots!"

She heard him laugh as he put away the massage oil. Pyrrha felt truly relaxed for the first time in days. In fact, if she relaxed anymore, she was afraid she would fall asleep, and they hadn't even done anything yet!

"Hey, it's what I'm here for! Jaune Arc, boyfriend extraordinaire! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue! I know you love it!"

Pyrrha giggled. "It's true. I do. Now how about we switch places, and I'll see about returning the favor, hmm?" Massages were a great starting point! They were safe, and wholesome! The perfect ice breaker for the evening!

Pyrrha had just retrieved the bottle of oil, and Jaune had just taken off his shirt when things began to go horribly, terribly wrong.

Outside, the sounds of people screaming and panicking began to fill the air. Jaune and Pyrrha turned toward the window and were greeted with a sight straight out of a nightmare.

A giant Grimm dragon.

It let out a roar that shook the windows, and continued flying toward the hotel. Without even thinking about it, Pyrrha ran toward her pack to retrieve her combat armor, thankful now that she had brought it.

She was dressed and ready for combat, weapons secure, in under two minutes. She was glad that Jaune was only a little slower. "Come on, Jaune! We have to hold it off!"

"What are we going to do? As high up as we are, the stairs are gonna take forever, and the elevators are likely locked down!"

"The window!" She ran toward it, pushing the metal around it outward with her semblance. The window nearly fell out of the frame before she hit it, crashing through like a stunt double in the latest Spruce Willis film.

"Oh man, I am so glad my semblance lets me fly!" With the adrenaline pumping through his system, it barely took a moment for his semblance to activate, and Jaune was wreathed in flames, and flying a few inches off of the ground next to Pyrrha just as she got her weapons ready.

"Do you think we can take this thing?" she heard Jaune ask.

Did she? Well, over the last few days she had dealt with crazy stalkers trying to steal her boyfriend, an evil plot to deprive Vale of chocolate, reconciling with her father and getting the approval of her parents to finally date Jaune.

Now, after finally getting the chance to move their relationship to the next level they get interrupted by an Oum damned Grimm attack just as things were getting good? For the first time in her life, Pyrrha let her control of her semblance waver.

Her aura flared, bathing her in a dark, grey miasma. Even her ponytail seemed to be floating behind her, whipping back and forth like a leaf in a hurricane.

Never before had she felt such seething, burning RAGE!

Were any of her fans there, they would be shocked to hear the image of the Invincible Girl marred so carelessly by their own idol. Pyrrha Nikos didn't curse, after all. However, in Pyrrha's mind, there could only be one response, one outcome to the battle ahead.

"Come get some, you bitch!"