Jaune and the Real Girl.

Chapter 3

Ruby Rose stared out the bullhead window to the white landscape below. From up here the grimm only appeared at moving black dots, like ants scurrying around a clean white floor. "That's a lot of grimm," she said watching it all pass down below.

She felt a hand touch her shoulder and she looked back at Yang giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry sis, it's Penny, she's a powerhouse, I almost feel sorry for any grimm dumb enough to mess with her. And Jaune's not a pushover anymore, he can handle himself."

Ruby nodded quietly giving her sister a smile she didn't feel, Yang was obviously just trying to keep her from worrying but ever since they got the message that Jaune and Penny's truck hadn't arrived as scheduled she had been nursing a bad feeling in her stomach. The last hour had simply been spent on standby waiting for the bullheads to be fueled and loaded up. That hour hadn't been good on her nerves and she wondered if this was how Jaune had felt waiting for her and her team to reach Argus after getting separated on the train.

"We've located the beacon from the truck," the pilot said his voice coming through the bullheads intercom, "adjusting our bearing."

Ruby looked back to the window seeing even more grimm in the distance. She sighed and turned back to the rest of their team.

"Ugh, I can't move very well in this coat," Weiss grumbled looking bulkier than usual in the arctic gear they'd been ordered to wear. Ironwood had briefed them that weather conditions were deteriorating and they should dress for severe weather instead of relying on their auras for protection against the elements. Ruby wasn't exactly happy wearing bulky snow pants and the heavy coat but she kept her complaints to herself.

"Combat skirts aren't appropriate for every occasion Weiss-cream," Yang reminded her from her seat, she adjusted the laces on her snow boots looking far calmer than anticipated.

"It's probably just some grimm or maybe engine trouble," Weiss retorted, "it's probably a whole lot of worrying over some mundane problem."

"If that was true we'd probably be in radio contact by now," Blake interjected sitting rather still in her seat eyes pointed to the floor of the bullhead. "Besides, if they did need assistance they could have had Penny fly back for help by now."

Ruby frowned at that, Blake was the one teammate not trying to make light of the situation, she'd been rather pleased to go off on a contract with Yang, apparently the bounty they'd hunted had been found quite easily drunk in a bar having drunk away the stolen money. Ruby wondered what she was feeling, she was the one originally meant to have been with Jaune.

"I'm just saying there's probably a reasonable explanation to all of this," Weiss responded.

"Yeah," Yang agreed making a fist and popping her knuckles, "and if things aren't then it's Team RWBY to the rescue."

The bullhead descended and Ruby looked outside the window once more. She spotted the truck, dusted with snow and tipped over on its side. The grimm meandering around the crash made her stomach sink, there was no sign of Jaune or Penny anywhere.

"Let's clear a landing zone!" Ruby ordered trying to focus on the task at hand. An Atlas soldier opened the bullhead door bringing his doorgun into position firing a few controlled bursts at the grimm. The chilly wind whipped into the bullhead and Ruby leapt out into a free fall deploying Crescent Rose, she swung the blade into the neck of a Megoliath using it to slow the fall as she ripped its throat open and took off into a burst of petals.

The two other bullheads circled around the door gunners firing on any grimm that approached their position. The rest of her team had already landed and was tearing into the gathered grimm. Weiss's giant summoned knight charged a Megoliath decapitating it with a single blow.