3/26/18

Til Death Do We Part… and After

Originally this was a Tumblr RP between myself (snuckintobeacon) and my good griend Pyrrha-of-the-Grimm. It started out as a simple RP prompt, one of those things where you ask a question with a emoji or picture and it tells you the prompt. From that spawned this.

This is a long RP that we have kept up for years and it is still ongoing. People have asked that we transcribe our earlier arcs so that they can enjoy them and experience the ride that Pyrrha and I have been on. So to you, our dear followers and readers, we give you this. We hope you enjoy and will try to update this as much as possible.

*****

Pyrrha's head was bowed down and she was dressed in bloody rags that covered fresh wounds. Her hands and feet were bound together in iron shackles. She had once been a proud warrior of Vale, holding much promise and a bright future before she had fallen to the powers of the Grimm. Her once adulated and praised combat prowess was turned against her people and… she had relished in it. However she was struck down once again on the field of battle and taken as a hostage. Her armored bones were forcefully removed from her body, the wounds left to fester for she had not sued what little power she had left to heal them.

Dressed in tattered cloth, she had been brought to the city square where newly enslaved people were sold. The auction before her ended and she was dragged out onto the stage, chained to the post front and center. Pyrrha drowned it all out, the voice that spoke of her qualities as though she was a piece of meat, the forceful removal of what little garments she had, and worst of all the bids. She only came to at the very end.

"Sold! To the blonde knight for 10,000 lien!" the auctioneer cried out.

The haggard knight that had just purchased Pyrrha wore a tattered cape over ragged armor that had been repaired dozens of times, rust creeping along its edges. His cloak's hood hung loose half of his head, revealing tired, bloodshot eyes and long, unkept blonde hair. His beard nearly stretched to his chest but a small grin could be glimpsed through its forest. He walked over with a severe limp in his right leg to collect his purchase from the dealer.

Pulling back his hood fully, he looked over the ragged thing that he had just purchased. It looked like someone that he had known, intimately. Seeing the unhealed wounds on her body he winced, remembering a time when they used to be untarnished… and human.

"Finally… I've found you," he said, keeping a level and even tone.

Pyrrha was thrown at Jaune's feet by the auctioneer and she struggled to look up at who was speaking. She was surprised to see such a haggard looking individual come to claim her, even more so when he spoke to her so casually.

"Do I know you?" she asked with malice in her voice.

"I wouldn't think so… not now…" Jaune replied, paying the auctioneer and taking his name and company under note so he could report them later.

Jaune took the leash attached to Pyrrha's collar and dragged her to her feet, hobbling briskly away from the auction. The crowds thinned out and Jaune began to walk more smoothly as Pyrrha matched his pace.

"There was once a time," Jaune spoke as he walked, "that you knew me but i doubt that you remember. You've done so much evil, committed so many crimes, done countless murders, I doubt if you could remember me. There was a time you called me your ally… and your friend."

Pyrrha just stared at him blankly as he chuckled. He sighed, years of weakness and exhaustion overcoming him.

"There was once a time you called me your team leader…"

In Pyrrha's mind, vague images flashed. There were three other individuals standing beside her, but only one seemed to match the rogue pulling her along. Resemble was a stretch, the blonde man looking only faintly like a person she barely remembered.

"I can recall you, barely. You've changed quite a bit," Pyrrha said aloofly.

At that, Jaune's hopes failed and he donned his emotionless mask once again only this time it was cracked by a deep rooted agony.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. Come on," he grumbled, giving her leash a hard yank as he headed off to a hotel he was staying at.

Pyrrha stumbled and nearly lost her feet at the harsh jerking on her neck.

"Easy there, I'm till healing here. It's not exactly a walk in the park having your armor ripped from you skin," she muttered, keeping pace.

He ignored her quip, too consumed by the flashbacks of memories that he was reliving. Their walk took a while, going to the edge of town where a small run-down hotel and bar was. Stepping inside everyone stared at the two, mainly at the odd creature that the ragged knight had brought in. He went to the bar, not bothering to sit down, ordered and downed a shot before grabbing hold of a beer before heading upstairs. Jaune didn't bother to take off his armor or filthy cloak as he sat on his bed.

"Don't get comfy, we're not staying long," he muttered, taking a sip of his beer. "Here, let me take a look at your wounds."

Pyrrha just stood there, she really didn't have much of a choice, chained and leashed. The wounds on her body were everywhere her armor had once been through the skin had mostly begun to heal over thanks to her Grimm heritage.

"So where are we going oh team leader of mine," she jabbed.

Jaune pulled out an old medkit and doused some gauze with alcohol… after taking a swig of it himself.

Dragging it roughly over her wounds he scoffed, seeing her wince, "To an airship, that's all you need to know."

The wounds on Pyrrha had indeed festered and took some forceful scrubbing to grind away all the infected flesh.

"I'm going to take you home."

Pyrrha ground her teeth at the pain but made no sound. She knew this would keep her healthy in the end, but he didn't have to be so rough.

"And what'll I be doing? Am i just a prize, or maybe you'll have me warm you bed, or… Oh, you're going to try to make me 'normal' again, aren't you?" she sneered with her black eyes and pale grey skin.

Jaune cinched the last bandage tight to make her wince then threw the end of the leash at her lightly so that he no longer held onto it. It was a brash move considering she was a killer and he had just given up his hold on her. However he didn't care.

"All of the above, none of the above," he said aloofly, extracting a flash from underneath his cloak, "warming my bed would be a nice to start." That last part he said jokingly.

He sat back on his bed and moved to the corner where he could slouch against the wall, his chipped and cracked sword cradled between his legs.

"I don't fucking know yet what we'll do with you," he said, downing the rest of his flask in one gulp. "Try to run away though and I'll cut off your hand. Heard you hybrids can grow limbs back."

"Is that what we're called? Interesting," Pyrrha said as she cocked her head. "It's true, we can regrow our limbs, but I haven't eaten in a while, so I don't have the energy to do so. If I did, you think I'd still be cut up like this?"

Staring at her, Jaune tried to see a bit of the old Pyrrha but could barely see past the pale gray skin. He reached over and threw his knapsack at her which had a small ration of food inside.

"Eat. And yes, hybrids when we're not calling you beasts, fiends, demons, murderers or… traitors," Jaune replied.

Fumbling the shackles, Pyrrha caught the pack between her hands. She dug out the morsels and ravenously devoured them, having not eaten since that last battle.

"Now that's a bit unfair, don't you think? It's not like you call your pet cats murderers for eating mice," she replied with a full mouth.

"Let me guess, humans are the mice," he let his head roll back and bang into the wall. "And Nora is a generator because she can…" he stopped, accidentally saying more than he wanted. "What is unfair is the lives you took away and the pain you caused all of us."

"Well I do apologize for fighting to prevent our extermination," she bit back sarcastically, chewing into the last bits of the rations.

"Extermination? What the hell are you even talking about?!" he shouted, glancing out the window. "It was you who almost exterminated us!"

Pyrrha shrugged, sitting down on the floor of the room. "You're exaggerating just a bit, but I'm not going to bother trying to explain nuances to a soul, it's not like you'd actually care."

"No, I don't…" he lied.

He did care but what he cared about was Pyrrha. Jaune leaned into the corner of the wall and let his eyes shut. It took him a while but he slowly fell asleep, or what he knew as sleep. Jaune dropped in and out of unconsciousness, waking up periodically to scan the room or watch Pyrrha. When he was as close to sleep he could get, he would mumble and talk through nightmares.

Pyrrha took the opportunity to rest herself. She doubted the man who claimed to have known her would care for her sharing his bed, so she made herself comfortable on the floor, snagging a pillow from the bed. The carpeted floor here was certainly more comfortable than the cells she had recently been interned in. As she rested, Pyrrha tried reaching out to the Grimm hive mind, connect with Lady Salem and her brethren, but was met with nothing. Either they had been defeated, or she had been excommunicated by her mother, and she wasn't sure which was worse.

An hour before dawn, Jaune awoke with a start. Yelling wildly, he jumped onto Pyrrha with his sword drawn, pressing it to her neck until blood started to seep along its chipped edge. After a minute he regained his senses, standing and sheathing his sword.

"Sorry… old habits…" he breathed heavily as he heart rate slowed, "Get up, we're leaving soon."

Pyrrha woke with a start as the cold bite of metal cut into her neck, before suddenly pulling back.

"If you're going to kill me don't tease me like that. Just get it done with," she scowled.

She slowly got to her feet, rubbing the new wound. She was still too weak to heal it quickly, so she just held a hand there to staunch the bleeding.

"Look for the last time I'm not going to kill you. Although if you keep asking I might just out of annoyance," he heaved.

He tried to drink from his flask but forgot he drained it last night. Sighing heavily at the onset of sobriety, Jaune threw on his pack and then gave a spare cloak to Pyrrha.

"Let's go, I've got an airship waiting."

"Don't want to be seen dragging a slave around I see. Too good for that?" she mocked as she struggled to don the cap with chained hands.

The leash around her neck went taut and she got dragged into Jaune's face. He took the cloak and fastened it for Pyrrha.

"No i just… thought that you'd rather not have the entire town staring at you," he said softly.

"Not having chains on me might help," she stated sarcastically, but the emotions in his voice hit her. "Thank you."

Jaune offered up an attempt at a manly grunt which didn't sound manly at all.

"As for the chains," he began, leading the two of them outside as he held onto the leash, "they'll stay on until i think i can trust you."

Outside was purple darkness tinged by the orange rays of first sunlight. He limped quickly towards the edge of town where the airship was waiting.

"Worth a shot," Pyrrha mumbled, following behind the man as far as the chain would allow her. Just because she was a slave now didn't mean she had to be complacent.

The streets were silent and cold as they walked, Jaune's eyes darted every way, searching… They reached the last set of buildings and went through an alley to see a rusty, dilapidated airship waiting… surrounded by half a dozen Huntsmen and Huntresses.

"Remember when you asked what I was trying to do with you?" Jaune asked as their ambushers readied their weapons. "It's cause I was trying to protect you from these people."

"So what now then? Think you can take them?" Pyrrha said nervously. She had taken down scores of huntsmen but now she was weak, tired, and bound. She wouldn't be able to survive a confrontation like this.

Jaune drew his sword from under his cloak and readied what remained of his shield, putting his weight on his good leg.

"Maybe… maybe not…" he whispered to her.

"The traitor Jaune Arc and the hybrid!" one of the Huntsman said. "Surrender now and you won't be harmed… much. We promise to end your lives swiftly. There is no way you can escape us."

Jaune edged toward Pyrrha and whispered, "Will you help me?"

"Is that even a question, oh great leader. I think we both want to live," she whispered back.

"Good," he slashed at the chain holding her wrists together, snapping it in two before spinning of the nearest of fighters.

Intercepting their weapons with his shield, he swiped at their legs causing them to fall to the ground while the other four quickly closed on the him and his new ally. Pyrrha was glad now that she'd conserved her energy by not healing herself. Oh too naturally a sword and shield of bone grew from her forearms. With a swift motion, she cut the chains around her ankles and jumped into the fray, stabbing at one of the huntsmen who had his back exposed. In the midst of the fight, Jaune turned and almost swung at Pyrrha, his reactions getting the better of him. At the last moment he shoved her behind him with his shield hand, slashing the arm of another attack. Now they stood facing the remaining three ambushers, blood splattered all over Jaune.

"Got any tricks up those rags?" he joked, his bad leg aching in pain.

Pyrrha raised her shield to block an attack coming at Jaune from behind. The maneuver felt familiar as she swiped across the offending woman's torso.

"I'm tired, hungry, and lack a soul, we're lucky I can do this!" she shouted back, a bit less scared now.

"Ditto, minus the soul part," he shoved back an attacker from her side, swinging at air as his leg gave out.

He slouched into Pyrrha for a moment, waiting for the agony in his leg to pass.

"I just want to put out there, I am winning if we're counting," he chuckled, bashing the face of a Huntress, leaving only one left.

Pyrrha snapped the shield off her forearm and tossed it at the last huntsman, vaulting over Jaune's raised shield to stab the last survivor.

"Now we're even. That was too easy," she sighed as the last body dropped to the ground.

Pyrrha quickly fell to her knees and, to Jaune's horror, began digging into the nearest corpse with her claws and devouring the warm flesh. Blood coating her pale gray hands and dripped off her lips as she ate. It looked like an animal tearing away at its prey, yet Jaune saw a person eating another person.

"What are you-STOP," he shouted, dragging her off the body.

He slumped back against the side of the airship, his side suddenly in pain and soaking red.

"Shit… not fast enough," he muttered to himself. "Look fiend! They may have tried to kill us but they were still people… once our friends. We don't treat them like that!"

He tried to limp over but fell to his knees, feeling incredibly weak. The adrenaline was leaving his body and the pain of his leg and his new wound were sapping his strength.

"And i'm literally starving. I feel as bad as you look, which is saying something, and if we get ambushed again I'd like to survive," Pyrrha growled back.

She slipped away, going back to her meal. The other souls had already passed, she needed to eat while this one was still tethered to its body. They needed to be fresh to give her sustenance and to rebuild her strength.

Jaune wanted to stop her but couldn't gather the strength to stand, much less fight her too. He watched disgustingly as she fed.

"And I thought… that I was just beginning to see an old part of you… You still fight like her," he rummaged about to find the medkit in the airship's cabin. "Can't you just live on normal food?"

"Can't you just live on grass?" Pyrrha stood up, wiping the blood from her face.

With the renewed strength, Pyrrha closed her eyes and focussed. After a moment, her old wounds began to close and within second were fully healed.

"Much better. You see dear leader, I could eat normal food as you saw yesterday, but the soul's of sentient beings are much more filling." She stepped onto the airship and gave him what passed as a look of concern. "Are you going to be okay?"

Jaune shuddered at the thought of her eating more people. "Well if you don't help me stitch up my side I won't be," he said, hoping that she would help because he had done all that he could with alcohol and gauze. "You should grab some of their clothes while we're still here, those rags don't suit you. And hey… at least you now know that we're both wanted dead," he mused weakly.

"That makes me feel so much better," she said sarcastically, moving to take a look at his injuries. "What did you do to piss them off?"

"Oh I don't know," he chuckled, "buy a highly wanted hybrid from an auction, go on rogue missions for years, utilize government funds for personal goals, steal, backstab, abandon them. OH did i mention the handful of Huntsmen and Huntresses that we attack and killed?"

Pyrrha shrugged, "That explains that then."

She didn't know how to go about treating Jaune's wounds being too used to healing herself instantly. Instead of using alcohol and gauze, she laid her hand over his wound and suddenly grew bone around it.

"That's should do for now," she said as Jaune visibly recoiled from the new growth.

She stepped away to strip one of the female corpses of her clothes. Unfortunately both has gaping holes in their garments so she'd have to deal with a bloody hole either way. It was still better than the rags. Pyrrha sighed as she dressed. She'd much rather regrow her armor, but with as weak as she was she couldn't afford to do so.

"This isn't contagious is it?!" he shouted, standing up shakily. "Tha-," he froze, watching Pyrrha undress.

Although she was covered in blood and her skin was a deathly gray color, he had a flashback of another time, walking up to her and helping her with her clothes. Subconsciously he walked over and brought up a hand to caress her cheek but stopped, forcing himself back to reality.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Pyrrha had raised an eye questioningly as he approached and touch he cheek.

"It's flesh, nothing more, nothing less. I don't have that kind of power, the one needed to bring back the one you are searching for," she whispered.

Jaune said nothing but inside he wanted to scream, to cry, to almost give up. Instead he picked up his meager belongings and got into the pilot's seat. Priming the engine he turned the start key and with a plume of smoke… the engine sputtered… and nothing happened.

"Well shit. Did you hit the airship when we were fighting?! Nevermind. Okay… now what?" he said aloud.

"If those six were hanging outside the ship, don't you think they might've taken precautions to prevent our escape?" she suggested, standing behind him with arms crossed over the bloody torn shirt she wore.

A loud clunk sounded through the cabin as Jaune let his head thunk against the headrest.

"Why doesn't anything ever work out for me," he bemoaned, picking himself out of the airship. "Come on, we're not going anywhere in this and I doubt you could fix it. Might as well see if these dead Huntsmen have an airship we can steal. Maybe more souls for you to eat," he shuddered.

Pyrrha grinned when he said that. "Quite the 180 you've made there. After you, 'master,'" she said the last word sarcastically.

"Want me to get the chains and leash back out? Feeling kinky?" he shot back, chuckling and for the first time in years, actually feeling a small ounce of joy. "I'll still cut off a limb just to check the theory."

"Oh master, but we're in public," she said sultrily, laughing as well

What had gotten into her? This… this wasn't normal. The only time she laughed was when she had torture others.

"And the shackles are kinda busted," she held up her wrists to show the broken chains

Jaune felt disgusted and yet had this tingling sensation run across his skin.

"I don't think that would bother you," he sighed, now using his sword as a clutch, "Oh and that."

Reaching into his pocket he threw the key for her shackles at her.

"Obliged," Pyrrha said, hastily undoing all the shackles. "Much better. Come on now, you need to move faster," she hooked one of Jaune's arms around her neck. "Where to?"

Jaune squealed as his wound stretched underneath the armor plate and his knee had been worked overtime. Pyrrha's skin also felt clammy and cold against his skin.

"Well… they couldn't have landed far but they couldn't land in the town if they wanted to stay hidden. So my guess is the forest," he suggested, hobbling next to her.

"Think we can walk that far quick enough, or are we going to have to find another mode of transportation?"

"Uggghhh… Walking would be the safest choice but it would be quicker looking for something else," Jaune thought aloud.

Pyrrha honestly could easily have abandoned Jaune. Hell she could've eaten him and then made a break for it. But… the faint memories beyond her grasp of this ragged knight kept those notions at bay. Jaune however, saw the hunger in her eyes and immediately felt more vulnerable, clutching his sword tighter.

"Did you happen to see anything in town that we could steal?" he asked.

"Maybe, kind of hard when I was chained and dragged through by slavers. Do you even know how to drive?"

"Pyrrha… I flew an airship here. Yes i can fucking drive. Sheesh, lead the way," he said, holding onto her tight and pulling up the hood of his cloak.

Pyrrha picked up her previously disposed cloak, likewise pulling the hood up over her head. Leading Jaune out of the alley, she led them along the streets until they hit a crosswalk with stopped traffic.

"There, first car, middle lane. Only a driver. Think you can handle them?"

"Me? Me?!" he shrilled. "You're the damn criminal here!" he sighed. "Fine!"

Jaune exaggerated his limp as he trudged out into the road, stopping in front of the car. All Pyrrha saw from the shadowed alley was this flagrant waving of his sword, a violent shaking cloak, and the awkwardness of Jaune tossing out the driver into the street.

"Come on!" he shouted at Pyrrha as he began driving away.

Pyrrha jumped through the passenger window, landing in the seat after bursting through the glass.

"Gotta admit, I was surprised you did that as well as you did. Too bad you didn't take that meal to go," she said, looking back.

"We are NOT feeding you any more than we have to little puppy. And… being on my own… and on the run looking for you… yeah i picked up a thing or too. Hard life lessons 101," he said as he raided the compartments for more supplies.

"You're going through a lot for someone who barely remembers you, let alone is an enemy of your species," Pyrrha said curiously, keeping an eye out for anyone that might try to intercept them.

"Well, that's what we do," he said, finding a candy bar and immediately tearing off the wrapper with his teeth. "You stay by the people you love no matter wha-..." he paused, unnerved that he was talking so casually to 'an enemy of his species'. "We all had things we had to do, choices we had to make, things we had to sacrifice…" he said, taking the car on the highway out of town.

"For someone you love?" Pyrrha cocked her head. "Oh my, you did buy me to warm you bed!" she said loudly.

Jaune scowled, trying to think of a retort, but noticed that she hadn't bothered to fasten her seat belt. He slammed the brake before letting go, his seat belt stopping him from flying forward. On the other hand, Pyrrha's forehead smashed into the front dash.

"Sorry, what was that? Something about 'wanting to be fed'?" he joked, snickering.

Pyrrha rubbed her head, feeling the black blood now dripping from her forehead and cursing the blonde under her breath.

"Is now the time to be fooling around with our ride while the souls are trying to kill us?!" she growled out.

"For that look on your face, absolutely," he grinned, finishing the rest of his candy bar. "So how about that huh? Still feeling like having me as your master and warming my bed?" he was laughing so hard now that the car was beginning to swerve.

"If I knew how to drive I'd throw you out of the car and drive myself," she shot back, unamused by his antics.

Jaune's laughter eventually subsided and he continued to drive, glancing over every so often at Pyrrha. The mood was silent as day turned into night and they drove deeper and deeper into the forest. He pulled over on the side of the road by a rock face, gently shaking Pyrrha awake.

"Hey, we've got to walk the rest of the way."

"You find the airship yet or what?" Pyrrha yawned, waking up and stretching her neck with a crack.

"Airship? I was finding a nice place to dump your body. KIDDING! KIDDING!" he shouted the moment he saw her face become dangerous. "And yes, they hid it farther out than I thought," he informed her, stepping out of the car with his belongings.

"Next question, and answer seriously or I swear I will skewer you. Where are we going?" she followed him out.

"Sheesh, Grimm have no sense of humor. I'm guessing that they landed out in a clearing past these cliffs. Only place hidden enough and wide enough. Now the real question, get lost in here at night when we can't see or camp out until morning?" he said, relying heavily on his sword as a cane.

"Unless you're confident we can't be tracked in the next six hours by that stolen car, I suggest we move at least a little bit before camping out," Pyrrha replied.

"Okay but you take the lead. I'm not much use in this kind of terrain right now. Can't Grimm see in the dark?" he asked, lifting his shirt to check on the bone bandage. Jaune would need some serious medical attention soon but he didn't tell that to Pyrrha.

"That's a misconception. We can't see in the dark, but we can see you," she hooked Jaune's arm over her neck again and they began hiking through the forest.

"What do you mean?" he asked, putting his weight on her shoulders.

"For Grimm… well, your souls glow, literally. It's sort of like a sixth sense, letting us see you when others normally would not, which is why we can 'see you' in the dark," she explained.

Jaune looked down at his chest, then back up, then back down, then back up again.

"Perverts. Well, I see a nice cave up ahead… to SLEEP in! Nothing dirty you're probably thinking of," he said.

Pyrrha gave him another curious look. Had she really served under him?

"Could you be any louder, I don't think the Beowolves heard you well enough… in Atlas!"

"What? Don't want your buddies to come help you with your next meal?" he sneered back at Pyrrha but remembered him screaming, hanging off the stinger of a deathstalker years ago.

"Don't tempt me," she said half jokingly, pulling him in. "We gonna set watch or what?"

"Hmmmm let me see. Get eaten in my sleep by you or get killed by potential Huntsmen. Ugh, why did I save you again?" he leaned against the sidewall, pale from the blood loss. "I'll… I'll take… the… first…" he slumped to his side, passing out from the drive.

Pyrrha sighed, apparently she wasn't sleeping tonight. She set the poor sod in his bedroll before taking a perch outside the cave, keeping an eye out for any approaching Grimm. Again she wondered why she hadn't fled yet? Was it an unconscious sense of loyalty? A desire to see what he wanted from her? Love?

She shook off that final notion, when Jaune had said that he was probably not in the right state of mind.

Despite hunger and fatigue, she managed to stay away until morning when Jaune awoke. He bolted up like usual, reaching for his sword until he came to his senses. His dreams had become less of the nightmares he was usually tormented with and more of old memories of Pyrrha. It made waking up even harder, seeing the Grimm here now.

Yet… he was thankful.

"Pyrrha, you should've woken me," he said, taking off his cloak and wrapping it around here since she looked cold in the morning chill.

"You looked like death and you needed the sleep. At least I can walk on my own," she replied, rising to her feet. "We should get moving now, 'master'."

He cringed, picking up his things but grabbed her by the shoulder before she left the cave.

"Look, I'm not your damn master. If that's what you want to think then go ahead but stop calling me that. If you want to leave and go join your damn Grimm friends go right ahead. But I… But I will keep following you," Jaune said quietly.

"You'd die," she said flatly. "You look most of the way there already. And I have a feeling I'm not welcome anymore…"

"Dying… Might be a nice change of pace," he muttered, half jokingly but half believing himself. Jaune had seen so much death that he had begun to question when it was his own time to go.

"Don't you have your fancy aura to heal you up?" she asked.

"I've been trying to save my energy like you. I spent 10,000 lien on saving your bony butt so I don't have any money for food and supplies to have the energy!" he shot back.

"Should've just stalked whoever bought me instead, stabbed them, and taken me. Would've saved you a lot of trouble," she said nonchalantly as they moved to leave the cave.

"Oh yes, because a trained Huntsman thinks like a criminal. Not like I was trying to stay discrete either," he said. "Come on, the clearing should be just ahead," he picked up the pace.

"Well you said you've essentially been one for years now, I would only assume…" she began but said no more when Jaune shot her a dirty look.

Pyrrha easily kept pace with the injured man as they walked. Such a fool, why would he let himself get hurt so easily? A couple of faded memories came back to her of the man, younger and seemingly just as foolish, taking hits for others without a moment's hesitation.

"Excuse me Pyrrha I am not a criminal. I prefer the term rogue," he mused about his self image. "Just cause I'm doing bad things doesn't mean I'm a criminal. Look! I see the airship!" he exclaimed, wanting to get away from the nagging guilt that Pyrrha was reminding him of.

"Is there a difference?" she asked, enjoying challenging a soul's contradictory view of morality.

"Yes there is. I am fighting for my own greater good," he thumped his chest but cringed, forgetting about his wound.

"And what would that be? You have your partner who barely remembers you and you're both on the run. What's the end game?" she prodded, wanting to have a bit more of an idea of what she was getting into.

"I don't… I don't know. I don't know anymore. I just… want to be with you, even if you're not her," Jaune whispered.

Jaune really didn't know. He wanted to scream at her, shout at her, hug her, so many things but he couldn't remember the reason he started this crusade. All he could remember for the longest time was that he needed to find her and that kept him alive, kept him going.

"That's just sad," she said flatly, pausing her steps for a moment to just stare at him.

"Well it's all I got."

"So what, once we take off we have no idea where we're going?"

"YOU THINK I'M AN IDIOT?!" he paused, staring back at her. "Don't answer that. I have a destination. It's a safe house. Supplies, food, beds, medical supplies, and weapons. Come on!" he sighed, stalking over to the ship that was now in view.

"As you say, 'masters'," she chuckled.

If she was following him to their end, at least she could get some kicks out of it. Not like she had much else to do now.

Jaune whacked her with the sheathe of his sword to get her attention.

"You've seen what I can do with a car, you sure you want to tempt me with an airship?" he teased, hopping into the dropship and quickly starting the engine.

He waited for Pyrrha to hop in and get secured. Jaune clipped in his harness too, doing a double check of all the systems and fuel before taking off.

"So what did you mean back there by you're not welcome by the Grimm?" Jaune said into the headset he wore.

When Pyrrha couldn't hear him, he slid another headset over her head and repeated the question.

"I'm cut off, disowned, excommunicated, etcetera. I can't feel the hive anymore. Salem must've thought I was done for," she mumbled that last bit, the full extent of her mother's betrayal just starting to sink in. All of a sudden her demeanor became quite sullen.

Jaune noticed what he thought was her first show of genuine emotion. Without thinking he reached out and squeezed her hand.

"You and me both Pyrrha," he said, thinking that the desperation may be the one thing they had in common.

The feeling of another's hand squeezing hers in such a way, not to harm but to comfort, was alien to her, yet no less pleasant. Unconsciously she returned the gesture in the confined cockpit of the Bullhead.

"Why am I so important to you Jaune? I can't have been your only friend. Why give it all up for a Grimm?" she looked at him.

Jaune made the Bullhead gain more altitude slowly, wind whipping through the cabin. He looked into the distance but rather than look upon the blue sky, he saw his past.

"You were my first friend. My first love. You taught me how to fight and gave me the power to protect my friends. And to me… You're not a Grimm," Jaune said quietly.

Pyrrha looked at him, really looked at him. For a moment she didn't see the bedraggled and injured man, wistful, and tired, but instead a boy, scared and yet determined and ready to walk into hell. The vision of Jaune was pulled in close, then promptly pushed back into a metal coffin, Jaune yelling and shouting as the coffin took off. At that point, she saw Jaune in the cockpit once again.

"You do know that even if I remember, even if her.. Uhm, soul returns, I won't be the Pyrrha you…" her voice trailed off.

Jaune's eyes emptied for a few moments as he stared out at the horizon.

"That's fine…" he whispered, although it ached his heart to think of it that way. "Like I said, I'm going to protect you until I die. I don't care where it takes me or how much it devours my soul. I'm staying," Jaune announced, rubbing his bad leg.

Pyrrha just didn't know how to respond to that. So she just moved back into the bay of the ship, hooking herself up in one of the seat harnesses in case he felt like knocking her around again.

Jaune didn't mind being alone in the pilot's seat. He enjoyed the silence, allowing him to think about the chaos that was his rescue mission. Then there was every single thing that Pyrrha brought up and had made him remember. It was another full day of travel before they reached their destination. The bullhead looked like it was approached the side of a mountain but Jaune was calm. He slowly brought the dropship into what looked like the mouth of a cave but inside turned out to be hanger of Atlas design.

"Pyrrha… Pyrrha…" he said softly, as he turned off the dropship's engines.

Throughout the ride, Pyrrha had fallen asleep. For once, she dreamed not of the other Grimm's thought but of something… different, something she remembered. She couldn't tell really, seeing Jaune, herself, and a boy in green and a girl in pink. There was laughter and adventures together, fighting other soul's and Grimm. Most importantly though, they were happy. She awoke with a start, hearing Jaune's voice.

Taking advantage of her stupor, Jaune patted her on the head.

"Good Grimm. Grimm nap good? Grimm want a treat?" he teased. "But seriously, we're at my house now, well, ship sort of. Can you help me to the med bay before I bleed out?"

She may have been dazed, but she wasn't stupid. She was this close to biting his hand off as a treat, but the shift to a more serious personality had her hold that thought for the time being.

"Your ship?" she asked, confused yet again with the events that had transpired.

Pyrrha got out of her seat and took Jaune's arm over her shoulder, walking with him away from the Bullhead.

"Yep, my ship," he said, holding onto her tight

Sitting in the chair had made him sore and the bone bandage was at its limits holding back his blood.

"This is my safe house, my home," he explained as he walked through a hanger with various atlas dropships in states of disrepair. "After the battle at beacon, many of these Atlas airships crashed. This one did too, but survived well enough to become my new hideout. It's main power drive is done for but enough of its systems work," he said, directing her down some of the lit hallways.

"I'm surprised Atlas didn't come to try and salvage it," Pyrrha stated, looking around the mostly intact interior. "I'm sure there are some pretty fancy bits and bobs in here that they'd like no one else to have."

He held Pyrrha back at a working monitor on the bulkhead, keying up an external camera of the craft.

"That's why they didn't," he said, the view outside showing how what remained of the ship had melded into the mountainside, completely covered by trees.

The tips of the wings of the ship had broken and the nose of the ship was crumpled but the main body was intact. To the naked eye though, the ship looked like another piece of the mountain.

"Here, medical is just up ahead."

"Well wasn't this a lucky find for you then."

She hauled him into the room filled with machines and items she really had no idea about.

"So what now?"

"I got it from here," he pushed off of her onto a center table surrounded by half rings.

He slid himself onto it, laying back as he keyed something on a panel. Arms sprouted from each of the rings, scanning his body. They cut open his shirt and grabbed hold of the bone on his side, tearing it off fairly violently. Jaune blacked out for a moment, the machines still continued to work as they sutured his side back shut. He woke up int time to see them finish, grabbing a nearby injector to shoot some painkillers into his side.

"The great thing about Atlas technology… Robots. And they're entirely automated," he said through gritted teeth as he stumbled to his feet.

"What about your leg? It certainly didn't look like they even bothered with it. Was it an old wound that healed incorrectly?" she asked.

Rubbing his leg out of habit, he looked away from Pyrrha.

"Yes," he said softly, finding a shirt nearby and throwing it on. "It was from the first and only time I challenged Salem," was all he said as he walked out.

"Wait, what?" Pyrrha ran after him, shock and confusion adorning her face. "You challenged Lady Salem? How'd you find her in the first place? More importantly how'd you not die? Even more importantly, how did I not know this until now?" her mind was in overdrive now, completely messed up by those few words.

Jaune continued walking, using the hand rails to steady himself. On the walls were photos, newspaper clippings, half of them were clues to Pyrrha and the other half were of his old teammates and friends. THey were even quite a few of Pyrrha. He continued down to the mess hall where he collapsed into a chair.

"Why do you even want to know?" he perused a case of alcohol and random meals, the walls lined with cases and cases of supplies. Even more photos were here.

"Are you that dense? You fought the mother of Grimm, something few can claim to have done, and survived, which I can only think of one individual who has accomplished such. If that's not an impressive feat, i don't know what is," Pyrrha said, astonished.

She looked through the supplies for anything of the carnivorous variety, pulling out a bit of jerky to chew on while waiting for a response.

Jaune popped open a bottle and drank, which was a bad idea considering that it would only thin his blood more. He prepared noodles, a preserved chicken, and rice using a microwave while he listened to Pyrrha's childish excitement.

"Survived…" he scoffed, "that's a good way to put it. As to how I found her, what? You thought you would be the first one i tracked? You were dead according to the news so my first efforts were to locate Salem. Then you came back to life and so i split my attention but looking for you was like looking for her, wherever i found you i would find her too.

"I accidentally ran into her back when I was still with the Huntsmen. She was watching another large battle from a hilltop where I found her. Of course I challenged her to a duel where… she toyed with me… I didn't even have a chance… At the end, she either thought I was dead or didn't want to waste the effort on a boy like me…" Jaune chugged the rest of his bottle.

"Maybe… it was because she wanted to use me against you."