Sunday, the 19th of July, 79AGW.

Vale Limited, Vale.

The Vale Limited pulled away from the station, and he kept one eye on the window, watching as the city slowly fell away. The train was exactly the same as the last time he'd been on it, and almost immediately, he remembered why the original journey had been so torturous. There simply wasn't anything to do on the train other than sitting around and staring out of the window at the passing scenery.

The cabin he'd been assigned was actually empty of other passengers; the number of people leaving Vale was just not that many at this time of year. He wondered if he'd have the same luck with the Mistral Limited after they arrived at Port Line.

His scroll was burning a hole in his pocket. The knowledge that there was an unread message on his scroll was an unignorable draw on his attention. He had no idea what Ozpin wanted—his best guess was that it was something to do with Sage or Mistral, at the very least. He knew that the moment he pulled it out and actually found out what the man had wanted him to do that he'd find himself even more restless.

Then again, there was a chance that whatever he was supposed to do would require some preparation, and that would actually give him something to do in the meantime. Lima lasted all of two minutes before his curiosity overwhelmed him. A message from an unknown number blinked up at him, the sender's contact information denoted by a single, unremarkable 'O' that nonetheless gave him a pretty good idea of who had sent it.

The Grimm are considered the greatest threat to the citizens of Remnant, but they are not the only ones who walk its face. The Four Academies were designed to train the Huntsman and Huntresses who now safeguard the Kingdoms in which they reside. The Headmasters of those academies have long since worked together to ensure the continued protection of humanity. The Headmaster of Haven, Leonardo Lionheart, has long been a personal friend and confidant of mine. I fear now that this is no longer the case, despite his strict adherence to the maintaining of appearances. The reports he sends to each of us are now filled with inconsistencies, misleading numbers, and in some cases, outright lies. Each of the contacts I have been using for decades to corroborate those reports has gone dark. The last three accurate reports have suggested a stark increase in the Grimm activity throughout Anima and, in turn, an alarming rise in the amount of Huntsman and Huntresses dying through misinformation and mislabelled missions. The majority of deaths are in close proximity to Mistral proper. Leonardo's report, however, has shown nothing to indicate the true extent of the steady loss of force Mistral is currently undergoing. Attached are the identities and addresses of each contact. Your task is threefold. The first is to check each of the locations listed and determine if they are still alive; this may or may not require entering the premises. The second is to search for anything that may constitute a signal or message left behind for me to discover. The third is circumstantial, but if you have the opportunity, please make contact with Leonardo himself and, using your best judgement, ascertain if there is anything out of place with the man himself. As unlikely as it may be, there are certain Semblances with the power to distort, warp or control another's perceptions, and he may be under duress. Exercise discretion. Do not, under any circumstances, reveal your true intentions or the contents of this message out loud or to anyone. To do so will invite an extreme risk to your life. Do not make any attempt to reach me through call, message, or written post during your stay in Mistral. I will receive your report upon your safe return to Beacon at the culmination of the break. If at any point you suspect that your life is in danger, abort the mission immediately. Ensure you have deleted this message and its attached files before you reach Anima; the security is not enough to stop someone from reading the contents. I will answer any questions you have about the nature of this task once you have returned. Make no decision in haste, Lima Morta; I possess more than enough regret already.

A heavy burden to drop on a student you'd had a handful of conversations with at most, and an even larger show of faith in him to actually succeed in the task. If Ozpin had spies running around Haven double-checking Leonardo's homework, then his guardian's position as the first-year Combat Instructor at Haven was probably a known factor and one of the contributing factors for Lima being recruited for the task.

The idea that the Headmasters of the four academies were sending each other love notes didn't seem all that odd, but the knowledge that one of them might be covering up the deaths of his countries Huntsman and Huntresses? That was way beyond messed up and left Lima with a sudden, overwhelming dislike for the Headmaster of Haven, even considering the fact that they hadn't met.

If it was true that Hunters were dying more frequently, why would he want to hide all of this? Was he trying to stop the citizens from panicking and drawing in more Grimm if they found out what was going on? No, that wouldn't explain why his reports to Ozpin would be filled with lies or whatever—it sounded more like Leonardo was involved in some kind of deliberate cover-up.

If Ozpin's contact had been killed, and the unspoken implication that Leonardo was somehow responsible for it was true, then Lima knew he had all the more reason to actually succeed in the task he'd been given. If this guy was willing to kill people to keep whatever he was doing a secret, then Lima needed to handle this carefully. The more useful information and proof he could bring back the Ozpin, the more likely Leonardo Lionheart ended up in a cell.

"What a mess," Lima frowned.

He read through the contact's identities but didn't recognise any of them from his time in Mistral. The addresses, on the other hand, were easy enough to remember. All three of them were in low-income areas, not too far from the bar that Sage had frequented when they'd lived here all those years ago. Ozpin was a wily guy, sending in a student whose family was already established in the city and one who had a reason for being there. Although his status as a student of Beacon might be enough to set off some radars if Leonardo was watching for something like that.

Lima found himself re-reading the last line of the message, wondering why it sounded so familiar. It took him a few minutes, and it wasn't until his thoughts drifted back to Claire that the spark of insight finally blossomed into something useful—it reminded him of a line from Ozymandias' journal that Lux had spoken aloud to the whole team.

"Of decisions made in haste and an eternity spare for regret," Lima murmured.

#

Monday, the 20th of July, 79AGW.

Vale Limited, In Transit.

"Good morning, Lima," Pyrrha said, carefully sliding the door to his cabin open. "We were wondering if you would like some company?"

Lima kicked himself up into an upright position, slipping sideways to let his legs dangle off the side of the top bunk. Jaune stood behind her, looking much better than the last time he'd seen them—the blonde boy raised a hand in greeting.

Pyrrha was usually a very straightforward person, but there was something in her tone that spoke of an unusual hesitance. Given that the last time the three of them had spoken had been on the airship and her chastising him, she might have been unsure of where they stood. Lima looked down at them for a moment before clearing his throat.

"I've played eighteen PVP matches of Scroll Monsters in a row," Lima said, "If I lose one more match, I'm going to throw myself out the window—please save me from myself."

Pyrrha's smile grew into a far more natural state on her face, and she slid the door the rest of the way open before stepping inside. Jaune followed behind her, eyeing the three empty beds before shutting the door behind him.

"I got the entire cabin to myself, so sit wherever you want," Lima said, waving a hand towards the bunk beds. "How did you guys fair?"

"I got a pair of elderly men," Jaune said, "They seem pretty cool; I think they were playing chess when I left."

Pyrrha sat down on the bench that ran underneath the window, while Jaune sat on the edge of the bottom bunk directly opposite him.

"Not too bad," Lima said, considering. "Pawpaw?"

Jaune gave him a funny look at the name, but Lima just grinned.

"I—have a young couple and their baby in my cabin." Pyrrha admitted, "I'm not sure how much sleep I'm going to be getting over the next couple of days."

"Having children should probably be a criminal offence," Lima said, in complete agreement. "Taking them out in public? Straight to the electric chair."

"I don't think it's quite that dire," Pyrrha said, laughing. "Although, I'm almost certain I will want to reconsider that stance in a few days."

"Babies are cute," Jaune said, staking his position out in the open. "My two younger sisters didn't really cry that much when they were little either."

"I'm not sure those are mutually exclusive," Pyrrha said, unconvinced.

"If you get too sleep deprived, feel free to crash in here," Lima offered, "That goes for you too, Jaune—if the chess playing gets too competitive."

"Thank you," Pyrrha said, pleased. "I may take you up on that offer."

"We won't get in trouble for switching rooms?" Jaune wondered.

Lima dropped down onto his side and planted his cheek on his palm, watching them.

"It's not like they're running out of room or that they do spot checks," Lima said, shrugging. "Jaune, you mentioned you were going to stay with your older sister, and just now, you mentioned having two younger ones as well—just how many Arc siblings are there?"

"I have five older sisters and two younger ones," Jaune offered like it was something completely normal. "Saffron, the one I'm going to stay with is the second oldest—"

"Good god, man," Lima said, alarmed. "Seven? Jaune, you don't have a family; you have a clan."

"Something like that," Jaune said, laughing. "Do you have any siblings, Lima?"

"My guardian had an adult daughter before he took me in," Lima managed, switching gears. "But I didn't grow up with her in the same way normal families do, you know? I love her, though; she was there for me a lot when I was younger."

"That's cute," Pyrrha said, smiling.

"What about you, Pawpaw?" Lima said.

"I'm an only child as well," Pyrrha admitted, "I think my mother wanted to have another child, but my father died when I was very young—I don't really remember him at all."

That seemed to be a pretty common thread amongst the hunters-in-training, the state of the world leaving far too much room for tragedy to befall the average person—fucking Grimm.

"A lot of us seem to share stories like that, don't we?" Lima admitted. "Remnant is a rough place."

There was a short silence following the comment, and then Jaune spoke up.

"Hey, Pyrrha?" Jaune said, bemused. "Why does he keep calling you Pawpaw?"

Pyrrha seemed a bit startled by the question but managed to drag her own thoughts in order.

"The two of us both attended Sanctum in Argus, but we'd never actually spoken to one another while there," Pyrrha said, laying some context. "I actually spoke with Lima for the first time during our trip to Beacon."

Lima eyed her for a moment, the topic verging dangerously close to Sage's attempt to torpedo his reputation.

"I'd heard his name before, but he had no idea who I was. He started guessing at colour-related names in an attempt to figure it out," Pyrrha laughed, "In the space of fifteen seconds, I went from Piper to Pepper, to Pomegranate and then Pawpaw."

"Pomegranate?" Jaune said, blinking.

"People name their kids after fruit all the time, and it's a red fruit," Lima insisted, "What does Pyyrha even mean, huh? Defend yourself."

"I believe my father named me for the expected colour of my hair," Pyrrha said, trying not to smile. "I'm not sure about his reasoning, but if I were to guess, it might have been based on the flames of a pyre?"

Lima gave a kind of half-shrug at the answer.

"Pawpaws are green, aren't they?" Jaune said, scrunching his face up.

"Her eyes are green—it makes sense, damn it," Lima said, huffing. "What's a Jaune supposed to be, anyway?"

"I think it may be an old word for Yellow?" Pyrrha said, "Is that right?"

"More or less," Jaune admitted. "All my siblings are blonde as well, but I'm the only boy, so I guess that name was kind of set in stone, you know?"

"What about your name, Lima?" Jaune asked.

"There is a colour called 'lima,' so that's probably where my parents got it," Lima admitted, "But it's possible they just thought it sounded close enough to Lime."

#

Tuesday, the 21st of July, 79AGW.

Port Line Station, Port Line.

Port Line Station was practically empty, and Lima watched as almost half of the people who'd shared the ride here left the station on foot. The line to the check-in desk for the change-over was barely a dozen people long.

"We're going to have the entire train to ourselves this time," Lima said, impressed. "What's the bet Pyrrha somehow gets stuck babysitting again?"

"I have it on good authority that this was their final destination," Pyrrha said, eyeing the Mistral Limited. "They have done a good job repairing the damage; it's almost as if nothing happened at all."

Jaune looked up at the comment, turning to follow their gaze to the train, his confusion clear as day.

"What damage?" Jaune asked. "Did something happen to it?"

"Oh, I never mentioned that did I? During our journey to Beacon, there was a Grimm attack on the Mistral Limited," Pyrrha said, lowering her voice to avoid the others from hearing them. "A flock of Giant Nevermore attacked while we were over the ocean, and the train took quite a bit of damage before the situation was addressed."

"I saw the news report on that," Jaune said, blinking. "I didn't realise you were on that train."

Lima eyed the train, trying to estimate which cabin he'd been in, but it was difficult to figure out when they all looked identical from the outside. He glanced down at his ticket, but he couldn't remember if it was the same one or not.

"It was so cool," Lima said, distracted. "We helped the two hunters on board kill all the Grimm—they even gave Pawpaw a spanking over it."

"Yes," Pyrrha said, voice dry. "I distinctly remember you vanishing once everything was settled down—you have a habit of doing that, don't you?"

Lima cleared his voice and then held his hands up in front of him.

"My name is Lima, a dreamer; killing Grimm is my schema. A problem solver? I'm the danger resolver." Lima rapped, "The train's in a poor state when the Grimm are left to evaporate. The Hunters state Pyrrha's Fate. You're in trouble, but I can't relate—cause when the punishment comes, I evacuate."

Jaune actually looked a little bit impressed. Pyrrha, however, lifted a hand to cover her mouth as she laughed.

"Oh god," Pyrrha managed, "I thought you finally stopped doing that."

"I'll never stop," Lima said, preening. "Seeing you cringe sustains me."

#

Wednesday, the 22nd of July, 79AGW.

Mistral Limited, In Transit.

Lima stared up at the shadowed ceiling of the cabin, the hum of the train barely audible to him now. Claire's unread message pulled at his attention and made it impossible for him to sleep. He felt trapped, his mind circling through each of their interactions.

Fighting together in team exercises, sparring together before class started, working together to tease the others, and teasing Claire herself. Sneaking out in the middle of the night to hunt Grimm and testing out their equipment in the forest.

The small, quiet moment they'd spent on the roof together. The way she'd opened herself up to him and how he'd dragged her into his lap to hold her as she cried. Their talk in the forest, where she'd asked his parent's names, and he'd revealed the death of his mother.

How she'd wrapped her arms around his throat in the library when she'd tried to bully him into sacrificing his weekend to spend time together as a team. When she'd leaned against his back after he'd given in to her demands. The way her shirt had ridden up on her belly while she was sleeping and how she'd kissed him goodbye—

"God dammit," Lima muttered, digging his scroll out from under the pillow. "Fine."

He paged through to his inbox, Ozpin's message already long deleted and found the one belonging to Claire. Lima hesitated a moment longer before swallowing and opening up the message. It expanded to fill the screen.

Astra came home for the break. She's going to be here until the Vytal Festival is over—so around mid-November. It felt different seeing them this time, and I'm not really sure why. I showed them some of the recordings of our team spars, combat scenarios and the other ones in the tournament you rigged. I guess they never really understood the kinds of things we can do because Astra took me outside and made me show her a bunch of stuff. It was fun, showing off to them, you know? Teak's mum is the sweetest person in the entire world, by the way. Lux spent the entire visit hiding behind Teak. She was super worried about making a bad impression. Lux stayed over at my house for the night rather than go back up to Beacon. I'll probably try and bully her into staying for the rest of the break. It was weird spending the entire day with them and then realising that you weren't there as well. Teak told his mum a story about the day of the initiation? I can't believe you dragged him all over the forest to kill Grimm, idiot. You're lucky Goodwitch didn't fail you both for taking so long. I told Astra about the Yogurt god and how we pray to him every morning during team Yoga; she thought it was hilarious. I caught myself setting up a joke today, expecting you to finish it, and then remembered you weren't here. It made me realise just how much time we all spend together every day. It's only been three months, but I feel closer to you than almost everyone else from Signal. I'm sorry I cried again, I don't like saying goodbyes, and you looked so sad sitting by yourself when we left. You should probably just call off your break entirely and come back already; that way, I can stop feeling bad. I bet you spent all night thinking about how I kissed you. How embarrassing.

"As if," Lima managed, feeling a bit flustered. "What a brat."

He tapped the reply button with a bit too much heat and then started writing out a message of his own. Given that they were clearly outside of the CCTS range, it probably wouldn't even send until they'd reached Anima unless Port Line had a mini-tower that reached out onto the ocean. He typed it out three times, deleting each iteration until finally settling on one when he'd managed to find some measure of cool again.

Look at you, getting along with dinky little Astra. I'm glad you're feeling a bit better about your family. I hope the video of me rolling across the arena wasn't one of the ones you showed to anyone. I'm kind of mad that I didn't get to meet Teak's mum with the rest of you, but I guess I'll have to wait until I come back. The imagery of Lux cowering behind Teak will see me through the darkest of nights to come, I'm sure. You're right about the whole proximity thing; I've been thinking about that for a while now. I didn't really have anyone like you guys back home, but now I'm not sure I could go back to being a loner, at least not without self-destructing. I'm a bit worried about what happens after we all graduate, considering how diverse our team's origins are. Vacuo, Mistral, Vale. Do we stick together? Where do we take missions from if we do? Three years is a long time, but I guess I can't help but think about what will happen then. Jaune and Pyrrha are travelling back to Argus on the same route as me, so I'm not completely alone. I miss you guys already, and I may or may not have cried after you horrifically abandoned me in the cafeteria. Claire, if you want me to spend all night thinking about how you kissed me—instead of just the vast majority of it—you should probably work on your aim.

#

Saturday, the 25th of July, 79AGW.

Mistral Limited, In Transit.

"He's been a Huntsman for decades at this point," Lima said, hands folded beneath his head. "I talk a lot of shit about the man, but the first years at Haven are lucky to have someone like Sage teaching them how to fight."

"I kind of want to meet him," Jaune admitted. "It's a shame we don't really have any time to spare between the change-overs."

"Huntsman and Huntresses travel all over the world, Jaune," Pyrrha said, "Perhaps we will end up in Mistral at some point, and you can meet him then."

"Yeah," Jaune said, "I guess you're right."

"What about you, Pawpaw?" Lima said, rolling over so he could get a good view of her. "Is your mother a Huntress—and what's her name anyway?"

Jaune sat up, looking interested in the question.

"My mother's name is Pan, and yes, she is a Huntress," Pyrrha said, smiling. "She is the one who taught me how to fight."

"Which academy did she graduate from?" Jaune asked. "Haven?"

"Yes, she is a graduate of Haven," Pyrrha confirmed, "Because our home is in Argus, most of her missions tend to be focused around that area, although she has travelled to Atlas fairly frequently as well."

"Can you beat her in a fight?" Lima wondered.

"In a straight melee fight? Most definitely not," Pyrrha said, shaking her head. "My fighting techniques are a direct derivative of her own, and she has a level of mastery over them that I've yet to reach."

"You're still levelling up, huh?" Lima said, amused. "When you do beat her, will she bestow upon you the title of Invincible Woman?"

Pyrrha laughed out loud.

"I'm not sure that's how titles work, Lima," Pyrrha managed, "I'll be sure to tell her that, though; I'm sure she'll find it quite endearing."

"What's she like?" Jaune asked. "I'm picturing you, but taller? I think my imagination is broken."

"I'm actually quite a bit taller than my mother; she's only about as tall as my shoulders." Pyrrha giggled, "I look a lot like her. We share the same eye and hair colour, although she wears glasses, and her hair is only about this long."

Pyrrha reached up and tapped a single finger against her cheek.

"She's beautiful, intelligent, kind, and very patient," Pyrrha said, smiling. "She's not afraid to speak her mind, and she always takes the time to explain things properly."

"Huh," Jaune said, blinking. "She sounds a lot like you, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha flushed as the comment washed over her, causing her to turn her cheek into her palm in an unconscious gesture he'd seen once before.

"Damn," Lima said, impressed. "That is the single smoothest thing I've ever heard you say."

"What?" Jaune said, startled.

He'd said it out of pocket, without any of the overblown confidence the guy regularly used in his doomed attempts to win over Weiss, and somehow he hadn't even realised what he'd done.

"Damn," Lima said again. "Pawpaw, you're blushing."

Pyrrha made an aborted motion to cover her face and then gave an embarrassed laugh.

"I'm feeling a little bit hot, is all," Pyrrha managed, quickly standing up. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom; I'll be right back."

Pyrrha vanished out of the door, fleeing the cabin with speed only a Huntress could claim. Jaune stared at the partially open door for a long moment and then glanced up at him, looking lost.

"Lima?" Jaune said. "What just happened?"

"Pyrrha listed off all the things she admires about someone that she loves and looks up to—and you just told her she was practically describing herself," Lima said, walking him through it. "Are you following yet, Ladykiller?"

Jaune turned to look at the door again, suddenly looking a bit red himself.

"But I wasn't trying to—" Jaune managed before cutting himself off. "What?"

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