Spear and Shield

"Okay, but hear me out-"

"Jaune, honey, no." There was a harsh cracking sound, followed quickly by a grunt of pain. "We're not having fireworks at our wedding."

"But-"

"No."

Jaune huffed, bringing his sword up to deflect a blade aimed for his abdomen. "You're no fun," he pouted as he slammed his shield into his assailant's face. Another charged him from behind, and he spun to meet her, catching both her knives on his shield. "Can you believe her?" he asked the faunus with a jerk of his head in the direction of his fiancé. "Who doesn't want fireworks at their wedding? I mean c'mon!" The blond sighed at the blank, confused look he got in return. His sword flashed downward, tripping up the woman and spilling her to the floor, where a swift foot to the side of her head knocked her out.

"I think you're looking for support in the wrong places, dear," Pyrrha laughed. He looked over to find her engaged with two short-sword wielders, Miló and Akoúo̱ in constant motion, deflecting every swing that came her way. Another faunus was sneaking up from behind, pistol drawn as he tried to get a bead on the crimson-haired Huntress.

"Pyr…"

"I know," she replied calmly, tucking her sword away on her back. Her two opponents must have seen that as their chance, as they swung horizontally at her in perfect sync and from opposite directions, one low, one high. Pyrrha jumped, spinning herself parallel to the blades, slipping in between them effortlessly. As gravity reasserted itself and she came back down, she transferred her rotational energy into her arm, whipping Akoúo at the gun-wielding faunus. The shield slammed into his chest and sent him sprawling. Pyrrha's feet hit the ground, and she spun to face the right opponent as Miló gravitated back into her hand in javelin form. She pulled the trigger as she threw the weapon, and it blasted forward into the faunus in front as the bullet struck the one behind. They dropped simultaneously.

"Show off," Jaune commented as he walked over.

Pyrrha smirked as her shield flew back to her. "You're just upset about the fireworks."

He threw his arms in the air. "Of course I am! Who wouldn't be?"

"Me, for one." He narrowed his eyes at her and opened his mouth to retort, but a peck on the cheek silenced him. "How about sparklers? Much less likely to set the surrounding buildings on fire."

She almost laughed at how his eyes lit up. "For real? Like, you're not just saying this to get me to shut up? You've done that before."

She nodded. "For real. We can put a few on each table."

Jaune did a victory fist-pump. "Aw yeah! Sparklers! Our wedding's gonna be awesome!"

Pyrrha placed a hand in front of her mouth to kill her smile. Many people would have found Jaune's persistent childish streak an annoyance, but Pyrrha loved it. It was part of what made Jaune Jaune, and she adored everything about him. Besides, sparklers did sound kind of fun. "Yes, but don't you think we should focus on dealing with the situation at hand before we get too excited about that?"

Her partner froze, eyes wandering around the room as if he had forgotten where they were. "Ah, right, yeah, mission." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I kinda got carried away, my bad." Sapphire eyes took in the men and women lying on the ground around them, moaning in various states of pain. He pulled out his scroll and checked the time. "12:06. Well that didn't take us too long," he said as he slid the device shut and tucked it back in his pocket.

The mansion he and Pyrrha had been assigned to tackle was enormous. A hulking, sprawling mass of hallways, dining rooms, bathrooms, and more bedrooms than Jaune could count across both of his hands. Frankly speaking, despite its grandeur, the Huntsman had never seen such an unwelcoming building in all his life. The roof steeped sharply, surrounded by iron spikes all along its perimeter to dissuade loitering birds. There were two turrets on either side of the back end of the house, both of which pierced the sky like great spears. Steel colored paneling covered all sides of the structure, with black trim on the windows and doors. The front steps and the columns beside them were cut from grey marble, and the wrought iron fence that ran around the entire property was topped with even more vicious points.

All in all, it looked like someone had decided to try and turn negative emotions into a house.

Credit where it's due, they succeeded. The inside wasn't too much better. The grey marble from outside seemed to have been the go-to material for most of the construction, and gave the whole thing a feeling of cold emptiness. The impossibly high ceilings only added to the air of loneliness. To be fair, Jaune couldn't really talk about the rest of the mansion, as they hadn't made it past the entrance hall before Roman's men had swarmed them en masse.

If they had realized who they were charging, however, they may have reconsidered their actions.

So here they were, the two of them standing amidst a sea of agony they had doled out.

"Not that I really expected it to take us that long," Jaune commented as he collapsed his shield and sheathed Crocea Mors. "That was a cakewalk compared to that nest of Deathstalkers last week."

"Admittedly."

"There should definitely be more, though. Sun said there were at least twice this amount." He grinned at her. "Shall we go find the rest?"

"Why don't we just ask one of these ones?" Pyrrha motioned with an arm to the group of injured faunus. "I'm sure they can tell us where we might find the information we're looking for."

He pressed a kiss to her lips. "I knew there was a reason I was marrying you."

She quirked an eyebrow. "So you didn't know before?"

He shrugged and teased, "I was sort of playing a hunch."

Emerald eyes rolled. "Oh, that'll make for a great wedding vow."

Before Jaune could say anything, a cough sounded from their feet, followed by a raspy, "If you two are just gonna sit there and flirt, please just kill me now." They glanced down to find one of the two final opponents Pyrrha had brought down, the one she had shot. The fox faunus was lying on his back, hand pressed to the bleeding bullet wound in her right shoulder. "Seriously," he coughed again. "I'll take my chances in hell.

Jaune glanced at his fiancé. "I think we just found a volunteer."

The faunus rolled his eyes. "Oh goody," he sneered sarcastically, "does this I mean I-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He sentence promptly became a scream of pain as Pyrrah's heel dug into the bullet wound.

"Pyrrha doesn't like it when people patronize her," Jaune said evenly, blue eyes watching as the man grasped desperately at his partner's boot. His voice grew dark and threatening as he continued, any trace of the cheer from before gone. "So I suggest you cut the attitude, and tell us what we want to know."

"Alright! Alright! I'll tell you! Just, please stop!" Pyrrha relieved the pressure, pulling back her foot so it no longer pressed into his injury. She rested it right beside the torn flesh though, a clear warning that she would not hesitate to continue her earlier ministrations should his answers fail to satisfy them. "Fuckin' Hunters."

"Where's Roman?" Jaune asked. All he got in response was a glare. The blond sighed. Why does no one ever take the easy route? He looked at Pyrrha, whose foot immediately shifted back to the fox's wound.

"I don't know!" he cried panickedly, defiant attitude broken in a heartbeat. Pyrrha's heel froze, hovering just above the bullet hole. "Please, I really don't know!"

His eyes were wide, full of fear. He wasn't lying. "Is he still in the city?"

"Yes! He doesn't tell us much, but he'll let us know when he's leaving Atlas."

"So this isn't the first time he's been in Atlas since the Siege," Jaune mused quietly, receiving an enthusiastic nod in return. "Okay, good. Next question." He could have sworn the faunus almost whimpered. "Why are you stealing Dust? And so help me, if you tell me you don't know…"

"But I really don't! Look, after the White Fang was dismantled, we didn't have anywhere to go. The organization we worked with in the past stepped forward and offered to take us in, on the conditions that we'd do whatever they said and not ask questions. We didn't have a choice! They keep us in the dark about everything. All we get are the current orders, given to us by Torchwick. Beyond that, we don't know anything!"

"Probably in case something like this happened," Pyrrha observed.

Jaune nodded. "Okay, last one, and I know you know this one. There are more of you here. Where are the rest? And where do you keep any and all records you have?" The man gulped, avoiding the piercing eyes staring down at him. As his gaze shifted over Jaune's shoulder, his body jolted for a second, before a smile slowly pulled at his mouth. He chuckled, but Jaune cut him off, never breaking eye contact. "Oh, that's just adorable." The faunus' face grew confused and slightly concerned. "You think they can help you, don't you?" His captive's eyes widened. "What? You thought we didn't notice them trying to sneak up on us?"

Jaune had felt the telltale shiver course through his Aura before the faunus had ever seen his comrades coming up the hallway behind them. His ability to sense danger may not have been on Ren's level, but it was nothing to scoff at; he was a Huntsman. Their new opponents would be here momentarily. "You want to take this one, Pyr?"

"Only if you get the next."

"Done." Pyrrha nodded and walked away toward the far end of the room, where they had felt the approaching enemies from. "Now that that's taken care of, I suggest you start talking."

"Your partner's going to die," he spat as he pulled his torso up.

"You think?" Jaune glanced over his shoulder at his fiancé just as a group of eight faunus entered the room. Pyrrha was on them in an instant, and before they even managed to properly bring their guard up, two of them were down. Her weapon blurred between sword, rifle, and javelin as she weaved through their ranks fluidly. "I think she's gonna be just fi-"

A loud gunshot cut him off, and his head jerked to the side. The fox faunus they had been questioning had managed to snatch a pistol from the floor while Jaune was distracted, and put a bullet right through his temple.

At least, he had tried to.

Jaune glanced to the side at the man as the crumpled lump of lead clattered to the ground. The faunus' eyes were wide, horror and disbelief shining through them clearly. The bullet had struck the Huntsman in the head and stopped. It was as if it had hit a solid wall.

"Good try. If I hadn't activated my semblance the moment I walked through the door, you may have had a chance. Do you know who we are?" The injured faunus numbly shook his head. "Have you ever heard of Beacon's Spear and Shield?"

Color drained from the fox's face. No wonder. No wonder these two had annihilated them in mere minutes. No wonder they hadn't seemed the slightest bit concerned about his comrades. If what this man was implying was true, these two were the strongest duo to graduate from Beacon Academy in the last decade.

"I see you've finally caught on." Jaune held out an arm towards Pyrrha, who was finishing off the remaining three enemies. "Spear." The Huntress had one knee to the ground as Miló spun about her neck, transforming into its rifle form. She snatched the gun as it finished, and blasted one opponent backward. One of the last two raised a rifle while the other charged forward, sword glimmering in the light as he slashed viciously. Pyrrha twisted around the swing, threw Akoúo at the other faunus before he could squeeze the trigger. He stumbled backward, spraying a few erratic bullets at the ceiling. Miló spun in Pyrrha's gripped, switching back to javelin form, and she slammed its shaft into the blade-wielding enemy's face. Without missing a beat she turned and wailed the weapon at the final opponent. The tip tore through his left shoulder, carried him across the room, and pinned him to the wall. He hung there limply until Pyrrha summoned her weapon back to her hand.

Jaune touched his own chest as his sapphire eyes blazed at the cowering faunus. A white shimmer passed over his body. "Shield." Pyrrha strode over to them, standing over his shoulder and crossing her arms. "Do you understand exactly what position you're in now?" There was no response, but the trembling was more than enough of an answer for Jaune. "Good. Now…about that question…"

"You didn't have to threaten him like that."

"I didn't threaten him. I merely told him who we were."

"Clearly implying what we could do to him if he didn't cooperate."

"Hey now, I'm not the one who stuck my heel in his wound."

"I don't like doing those types of things, Jaune. You know that."

The tone of her voice made Jaune pause in his trek down the infinitely long, infinitely creepy (seriously, those paintings were watching him), hallway and turn to her. He grabbed her hands and gently tugged her towards him until their forwards rested together. "I know you don't. I don't either. Unfortunately, sometimes it's something we have to do."

The Huntress closed her eyes, trying to take comfort in Jaune's presence. "I just wish it wasn't."

"Me too, Pyrrha." He began pulling her along the corridor. "Guess if we had known all the shit being Hunters was going to put us through, we might have avoided it entirely. Or at least stayed away when we had the chance," he murmured quietly. The comment sparked a series of memories of the worst time of Pyrrha's life.

"If you hadn't come back-"

Jaune gave Pyrrha's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm not saying I regret it. I just sometimes look at that moment, and wonder where I'd be if I had taken the other path." His eyes hardened slightly. "But I didn't. I chose to be a Huntsman, and I'll see it through, even through the less than favorable parts." His voice was steel, tempered by the conviction he had forged in the years since the illusion of the world as they had known it had been viciously shattered.

Pyrrha couldn't resist a light chuckle. Jaune's head snapped around. "Wh-What? Why are you laughing? Did I say something stupid again?"

"No," now it was her turn to tighten her grip. "I was just wondering exactly when it was that you started giving the inspirational speeches."

"Hey! I've always been inspirational!"

"I think 'always' is a bit of stretch."

"Oh, you do, do you? Name one time I wasn't inspirational. And motion sickness doesn't count!"

Pyrrha just smirked. "Freshmen year."

"You'll have to be more specific, a lot happened that year."

"Oh, I was referring to the whole thing," Pyrrha teased as Jaune huffed. "But if you're looking for an exact moment…how about when you asked Weiss to-"

"Ah da da da!" Jaune hurriedly cut her off, ears tinged red in embarrassment. "We agreed we would never talk about that again."

His fiancé continued unabashed though, "Yang said you were so confident with your little guitar…"

"I'm gonna smack her," the now crimson-faced blond muttered, and Pyrrha giggled. "Anyway," he cleared his throat, "I think we're here." They had reached the end of the hallway, to their right was another large room that Jaune couldn't tell the purpose of, nor did he care. The staircase on the left was what drew his attention. He ignored the marble steps climbing upwards, and instead led them down. They drew their weapons as they descended, ready for whatever may lay ahead. Which happened to be a large, metal door, sealed seamlessly shut. A keypad set in the wall glowed a gentle green in the surrounding darkness.

Apparently creepy mansions come complete with poorly-lit basements. Who knew?

"Do you think they know we're here?" he whispered.

"Given that they sent reinforcements to help out the others, it would probably be a safe assumption that they are fully aware of our presence," Pyrrha answered in a normal voice. "Plus…" she pointed into the shadowed corner high up the wall. Jaune squinted and was barely able to distinguish a tiny reflection off light.

"Cameras," he stated, to which Pyrrha nodded. He sighed. "You know, it's times like this when I really miss Ren. Knowing the number and position of enemies before you break down the door is always useful."

"Not that Nora would wait around for us to put the knowledge to use."

Jaune laughed. "No, no she wouldn't. Well then." He walked up to the door and proceeded to pound on it four times with his fist. "We know you're in there, and you obviously know we're out here. You saw what we did to your comrades, so you know what we can do. You may think this slab of metal is gonna protect you, but I promise you it will not. So, I have a proposition for you." Jaune paced back and forth, eyes burning holes through the door. "Open the door, let us get what we want, and we won't break your legs." Pyrrha imagined that elsewhere in the city, one Nora Valkyrie felt a shiver climb up her spine at the mention of her favorite method of persuasion. She somehow always knew. "Sounds fair, right?"

There was no response from the other side of the door. Nor did it open. They waited there in silence for another minute before Jaune exhaled tiredly.

"They never want to do it the easy way. Why do they never want to do it the easy way, Pyrrha?"

"I suppose because life would be too boring then."

"You know, sometimes I think we could do with a little bit more boring. Would you mind getting the door?"

Pyrrha crossed her arms. "Oh no, Arc. I think we agreed you'd get the next one."

"The next group of guys!" he protested.

"Pretty sure I only specified 'the next one.' Never said anything about it being people." She grinned.

"Fiiiiiiine." He spread his legs and held his sword down and back. "But we're even after this."

She pressed her lips to his temple briefly. "Whatever you say, darling."

Jaune tried to pout, but Pyrrha could see the smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. And then it was a thin line as he concentrated. Jaune closed his eyes and summoned his Aura, pushing it down his arm and into his blade. Following his discovery of his semblance and basic Aura control during the Siege, Jaune had learned many things. Chief among them, though, was why his family, a family of celebrated heroes, used such an outdated weapon as Crocea Mors. Sure, it didn't have a gun attachment, or any sort of Dust embedded anywhere within it, but it was designed to channel and focus massive quantities of Aura, something his family seemed to have in spades, often with devastating results. The first time he had accidentally discovered this feature, Jaune had leveled half of one of Beacon's training facilities. As it happens, buildings need support beams to stay upright.

His eyes snapped open, and his sword sliced through the air diagonally. A wave of pure white energy roared from its tip, cleaving apart the air and smashing into the door. With a horrible keening, it sheared right through the metal, and crumpled the entire thing out of its frame. As the two halves fell away, they revealed a large, white paneled room, full of computer equipment and stacks of crates. And around dozen stunned faunus staring wide-eyed at the scraps that had, until quite recently, been a door.

Jaune and Pyrrha stepped through the fresh opening. The blond hefted his sword onto his shoulder, smirking at the expressions that greeted him.

"I told you it wouldn't protect you."

A/N: Heya, guys! Sorry this one's a little late. Got a late start this week

Anyway, what'd we all think? Some Jaune/Pyrrha to help showcase some of there new stuff, though I promise we have even more stuff to discover. Little hints to what they went through in the interim, too :)

To those of you missing WBY, next chapter will be back to our girls, so worry not

Please drop me a review, and let me know what you think! You guys are the best!

Oh, before I forget. I'm changing my updates schedule to either Wednesday or Thursday, rather than just Wednesday. It'll give me an extra day of leeway during week's like this one. I won't feel rushed to try and get it out on time if it feels like I'll need more time.