Arclight Foundries

It was a little past two weeks before Jaune was permitted - by Coco, Penny, or Ruby, all of whom glared threats of death whenever he mentioned leaving prior - to check out of the hospital and head to see Arclight Foundries for the first time after the attack. He'd hoped to walk on his own, but that plan had very quickly been shot down by the three women, and General Ironwood had refused to intervene. According to him, he had enough on his plate, and wouldn't be starting a small war over him needing to be in a wheelchair for a while. Just while his c.h.e.s.t and internals healed up all the way, and his body adjusted to having a heart that, frankly, functioned.

So in the end, he'd let Ruby wheel him out for Coco to pick up, the woman waiting outside in a little blue car of her own.

"Everything's destroyed…" He murmured, sitting in the passenger seat of the blue electric, the engine whirring mutedly while they slowly made their way through Vale.

"Not everything, babe. And not destroyed." She corrected him gently, offering him a small smile while an Atlesian soldier directed them onto a side-road to detour around the rubble-clogged and worker filled boulevard. "It was a bad hit, yeah. I won't lie to you about that even a little bit, but the damage isn't that bad. Not really, anyways."

"You think so?"

"Eh, I've seen worse." She shrugged, sighing and giving him a sidelong glance as they turned onto one of Vale's main roads again and she could pick up a bit more speed. Most of these roads were empty right now, too cluttered for most, but Jaune wasn't supposed to spend too much time moving around, so they were driving. "Right now, people are scared, so clean up is going slow. But that's no biggie, really. Once a few shops that are messed up get patched up

"Really?" He wasn't sure, personally. "This… Coco, this looks bad, you know?"

"Jaune, I'm a Huntress." She pointed out, rolling her eyes as something occurred to her and she chuckled. "Okay, I'm a Huntress cadet, or whatever. But I'm in my third year of training at beacon. Know what that means?"

"That… You could kick my a.s.s with your eyes closed?" He tried, smiling confidently and earning a good natured snort at the joke.

"No, jackass. And I wouldn't kick your a.s.s anyways, it's too cute and I wouldn't want to scuff it up." This time, she laughed outright at the way he flushed and stiffened in the seat. Feeding into it she added in a huskier, low tone, "And besides, the only a.s.s around here that needs a good beating is mine, babe. Just wait until we get to my house tonight and you'll see."

"C-Coco! I'm stuck in a wheelchair, for the love of Dust, you…" He paused, searching for the right words, before finally giving up and going with the obvious. "You ridiculous, thirsty, thirsty woman."

"Like a bitch lost in the desert, babe." She snickered, bumping her elbow against his and waggling her eyebrows over the rim of her new sunglasses. "Mind giving me a tall, cool drink of hot blonde? I know a great place. Best alleyway in town, dumpster blocks the road, lets into a nice house with a comfy looking bed..."

"No! Come on now, have some standards, god." He laughed to show he didn't meant it but didn't need to, the woman joining him in it. Shaking his head, he sighed and turned to look out the window, closing his eyes and flexing his Aura testingly like he'd been taught in the hospital. It worked as always, soothing the dull throb in his mostly healed limbs, and he murmured, mostly to himself, "Amazing…"

"Isn't it? My dad always said how magical it was. That Aura could solve just about every problem known to man." Coco chuckled dryly, something under her voice drawing his attention to her.

"Coco?" She was sitting stiffer in her seat now, and staring dead ahead at the road, lips flat and without a hint of the smirks and smiles she'd worn all day.

L.i.c.k.i.n.g his suddenly dry lips, he sighed and leaned away from the cool window, laying a hand on her forearm. He couldn't see her eyes through the lenses of her shaded glasses, not with the buildings shading them and the sky grey and overcast, but she turned to him ever so slightly. And, under his hand, he felt as much as saw her relax just a little. It was a small thing, but after so long with her and, oftentimes, sat or laid against her, he could feel the minute little movements and easings that she went through in something as simple as him touching her arm.

"Just some rough memories, babe." She assured him, letting a wan smile crack her flat expression before, with a sigh, breaking the grip he had on her arm long enough to make a turn before using her hand to hold his. "I'm fine, promise."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. And hey, if you're worried about my mood-"

"We are not doing it in an alley, Coco…"

"But Jaune-"

"Not buts, we aren't doing it in an alleyway and that's that. A bedroom or nothing, Coco. I have standards." He hmphed and she w.h.i.n.ed, before the duo devolved into a chuckling fit. After that, they fell into a more comfortable silence, at least until they turned onto the last road.

The last road on the way to what would have been home, a couple weeks ago.

The industrial and shipping zones, news had talked about, had been used by the White Fang for a long time to smuggle in weapons, soldiers, Lien and whatever else they needed. Which apparently, at some point leading up to the so-called Fall of Beacon, or more accurately put the Battle of Beacon, had included Grimm. Beowolves, Creeps, ursai of all sizes, even a few Deathstalkers apparently.

Only a fraction had been airlifted to Beacon and dropped into the stands, while the rest were unleashed at the docks to wreak havoc. With the Fang busied at Beacon, and how quick the control over the droids had been shattered along wit the internal schism, the Grimm had broken free. Or been released by the fanatics, maybe, or even on accident in the middle of the fighting.

Regardless, the result was the same and predictable. Devastation where the Grimm had managed to get to before being cut, or shot, down.

The cars abandoned or destroyed had long since been removed by the Atlesian aid workers and droids that had made up the bulk of first responders. Part of him had wondered why anyone let the drones continue their work, after what happened, but the simplest explanation was a simple lack of choice.

Vale didn't exactly have a very sizeable military to handle this, after all, and the Kingdom Engineers were far too busy planning repairs, sourcing supplies and coordinating efforts. But, in the blasted, smashed and burnt front buildings lining the sides of the road, he could make out the white uniforms pulling out Grimm plating, destroyed robots, debris and, in some cases he was sure, bodies.

But the droids were working, even if there were more soldiers than normal, so that meant ironwood had been telling the truth about things being resolved, at least.

"It's not bad, Jaune, really." Coco said again as they rolled over a pile of low rubble, made of broken brick and mortar from a storefront that had sold Dust right on the edge of the market area. A rare sight, but not a nonexistent one. "It's mostly superficial. Once the Engineers have gotten everything catalogued and cleaned up, and some supplies sourced, the repairs won't take a month."

"It looks like a warzone…"

"Okay one, no it doesn't, and I would know. I've fought in them personally, so trust me, 'kay?" He did, and nodded to show it. Smiling, she shot him a playful wink to try and distract him from the damages, "Perks of dating a Huntress, beyond the tight a.s.s and toned stomach I mean."

A Huntress like her, especially with a weapon and skillset like hers, would probably be deployed to places that would look a lot worse than this. The Grimm weren't clean houseguests, after all, as his mom used to say. Vale looked bad, at least around here, but he knew for a fact more than eighty percent of the city wasn't even damaged.

It was just a shock here, where he lived, even when he knew it was isolated to the more oceanic sections of the city, where the Grimm had burst free.

"Oh Brothers, Jaune…" She murmured as the Scroll between them chimed, letting them know they'd reached their destination. "We're here, but…"

"Home…" He murmured, "Or what's left of it now, I guess…"

The Dust had cooked off at some point, either from electricity, a fire, or maybe even an explosive, there was no way to tell now. The front half of the store and workshop both were rubble now, wood and steel hanging loose and piled in front of it by the first wave of cleanup teams. Half of it had gone, and the rest wasn't much really better off, the structure burnt out and, in places, still smoldering from Dust that had only relatively recently done its work. The entire building would have to come down now and be replaced, blackened and burnt as it was, even if its neighbors didn't.

His livelihood had been the reason he lost his livelihood, and that struck a chord in him that almost earned a laugh and almost earned a cry.

"Jaune, I…" Coco hesitated, sitting behind him while he stared at his house and career, smoldering and ruined now. Weakly, voice quiet and almost cracking, she took his hand and promised. "Your insurance will hold and get you a new place, Jaune. And I'm your investor, I won't let you go under right when… Right when you were getting up and into the air."

"General Ironwood offered to contract me to make armored suits for him." He commented simply, turning to meet her eyes and fighting back the tears that threatened to crack his facade. A trick he was good at, from years of bitter disappointments passed. "My Scroll got smashed in the fighting, can you… Can you call him for me? Set up a meeting?"

"Of course." She nodded, waiting for a long moment before coughing awkwardly and asking. "U-Um, are you… Okay?"

"I will be if we can get out of here, yeah. Somewhere-Somewhere nicer than here, less… Torn up." That was what he needed, really. To go back into the nicer, less damaged part of town, and at least pretend none of this existed until he got something to replace it. "I can't… Be here, Coco."

"Yeah, okay, got it. How about, um…" She grimaced and bit her lip, chewing on it in thought while she flipped through addresses on her Scroll. Smiling, she turned the Scroll for him and asked, "You like spicy food? I know a great place that serves the best Vacuoan traditional I've ever had. You, uh, you into it?"

"I think… I think I'd prefer room service, actually." He answered quietly, the woman blinking at the suggestion in momentary confusion. Gently, he prodded, "You know, like… In a hotel? I mean, my heart is safe now-"

"Oh, bitch, you just stepped on a landmine and don't even know it." He thought he had, really. At least until the woman snapped the gear shifter forward and she took them zooming off, pulling a break neck turn in the middle of the street to head back the way they'd come. "No take backs, and I am going to need to stop at a store for bottled water."

"Bottled water…?"

"Well we don't want to get dehydrated, do we? I have some business to make damn sure you forget about, like a good girlfriend, after all." She asked innocently, grinning ear to ear as they cruised off and away from the ruined building. Still smiling a terrifying smile, the woman added over the sound of the engine growling, "Because, babe, you are getting some cardio tonight. And not a lot of sleep."

Tomorrow or the next day, he'd meet with Ironwood and deal with his workshop problem, and his housing one too he was sure. But for tonight, he'd just try and survive the minefield he'd so willingly walked into. But they'd been together long enough for the next step, and he could technically survive that now, so he'd go with the flow for Coco's sake.

And, of course, an excuse to forget. He'd been through enough to give him a good reason to be a bit selfish for a few days.

XxX----XxX----XxX

Ironwood was, understandably, incredibly busy between running the repairs, meeting with officials to verify that, legally, Atlas had been cleared and generally being the diplomat to his general and Councilman title. So Jaune spent the next several days with his girlfriend at the hotel she'd rented to stay in while Beacon was also repaired, an entire dorm needing to be rebuilt after the Battle of Beacon. As it turned out, Grimm dragons were heavy, and one had fallen on a building once the Atlesian Navy had regained control of its… Well, Navy. Regardless, they weren't exactly, well, gentle days to say the least for all he enjoyed every last moment of them.

Coco was far too energetic with her 'night time training regimen', as she liked to call it, for 'gentle' to be an accurate description of anything happening in that hotel room.

But the hotel food was good, the one bed in the glorified bedroom was soft and study enough, and he was… Well, enjoying himself, spending time with his girlfriend. Watching movies, eating good food, and… Doing things were all good ways to pass the time. Even if, as now, he spent a lot of his time laying in the bed and staring boredly at the ceiling, waiting for the time when he could do something that wasn't the overly energetic brunette currently hogging all the hot water.

Again.

As usual.

And no, he wasn't being petty for liking hot water for his showers, or at least he didn't think he was.

Finally, though, he heard a knock at the door that interrupted his internal debate about the seriousness of Coco using all the hot water. So he sat up, adjusted his sweatpants and pulled on a shirt to cover up the pale white scar in the center of his c.h.e.s.t.

And, though he wouldn't admit it, the dozens of pockmarks along his c.h.e.s.t from Coco's… Affections.

And her teeth.

Mostly her teeth, in fact.

"Hello, best-friend Jaune!" He smiled when he opened the door, the cheery android waiting with a beaming smile as always. Her eyes flicked up and down him rapidly and, chipper as always, she noted, "You appear to be in good health, though my scan has detected bruising to the t.h.i.g.h region along with inflammation on your c.h.e.s.t and-"

"T-Those are just, uh, side effects to my… Exercise regimen. Yeah." He tried not to imagine what he did for that 'exercise regimen', instead grabbing a lithe, mechanical shoulder and pulling the young woman in.

Or trying to at least, the mechanical woman not budging an inch when he pulled and c.o.c.king her head at him curiously until he sighed defeatedly. "Look, I'm trying to pull you into the room before people start heckling you… Or me. Or, well, you know, you."

"Why would people heckle us, best-friend Jaune?"

"Noise complaints!" A woman, older than thirty and short, said as she strutted by haughtily, giving the young man a baleful, judging look as she went.

"I, uh, listen to music when I do my workouts?" He tried, smiling in what he hoped conveyed some kind of confidence but was fairly certain just looked like a wide grimace. Sighing, he let his arms droop and waved into the hotel room, asking as politely as he could manage. "Please, come inside and-"

"That's my line, Jaune!" Coco called, poking her damp head and b.a.r.e shoulders around the door of the bathroom behind him in the little, low-cost hotel room. Grinning and tightening the towel around her bust where he could see, she added, "Or, well, once I get the birth control it is."

"Coco, come on!" He hissed, turning on her and glaring at her in faux-petulance. Behind him, Penny stepped through and pulled the door shut behind her, Jaune waving a hand at her and adding, "Preserve the innocence of the little android! You don't have to corrupt everything!"

"Yes, Jaune, I will try my very best to preserve the innocence of a girl connected to the internet at all times." She rolled her eyes and gave the confused looking woman a wink, grinning a cheshire grin and trying not to laugh at Jaune's groan. "Don't worry, honey, mommy and daddy were just wrestling last night. And daddy lost, wound up on the bottom, so he's a bit worn out."

"Coco!"

"Oh, I understand!" He turned to give Penny a confused, and concerned, look and the girl beamed. Like she was pleased to be able to participate in some game, she bounced on the spot and clapped her hands. "You two were engaging in the a.d.u.l.t i.n.t.e.r.c.o.u.r.s.e! And not the kind girlfriend Ruby and I do, yours was the unclothed, a.d.u.l.t variety which we are not old enough to partake in."

"Penny…"

"Also, girlfriend Ruby is far too shy for it." Penny nodded simply, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which, to be fair… It kind of was. "And I am not built for such functions, unfortunately. Oh! I must request for father to begin researching the means to produce a body for me for the eventuality."

"Penny, I really don't need to know all this…"

"Do you think friend Coco would allow me to inspect her body for the appropriate measurements and sensations?" Penny asked curiously, a finger on her chin while she thought. Before he could answer, she turned to the bathroom and asked, "Friend Coco, may I inspect and measure your body for my father to replicate for girlfriend Ruby and I?"

"Wait, you wanna what?" Coco, for once, actually flushed at the question, unused to Penny's, er, forwardness in things like this. To be fair, he was barely any better, but still. "Jaune, I don't… Know how to answer that question, actually."

"Uh… Maybe we can talk about this later?" Jaune sighed, playing defense for the rarely stunned young Huntress. "Maybe closer to if- When!" He amended when Penny pouted at the implications behind his phrasing. "When we get closer to you needing it, we can… Talk about it."

"Oh." She blinked and nodded, the young couple relaxing until she added, "Perhaps friend Yang will allow me to, then, if you do not or are unavailable. She is very open, and promised to support our relationship no matter what we needed."

"Wait, that's not what-"

"No, no, I understand, best friend Jaune." Penny waved him off, smiling almost sagely and bobbing her head. "In truth, I should have asked friend Yang first, as she offered. It would be impolite to accept friend Coco's assistance without offering friend Yang the chance first. And I would hate to be rude, after all."

"Yeah…" Jaune sighed and gave up on the argument. "Then, uh, ask Yang I guess. See how… See how that goes, when time comes that Ruby… Wants that." He blinked as something finally occurred to him and hissed a breath in, "A-And get in here, this is not a conversation to have in a hotel hallway!"

"Yes, that is right, I suppose. Pardon me, then. Ah! And do remember to drink lots of water, best-friend Jaune." She chided gently, pushing past him and the mostly nude, sniggering woman, into the hotel room proper. Opening the fridge, she retrieved a bottle and offered it to him, beaming all the while. "Men are more prone to dehydration and exhaustion after long bouts of coitus and-"

"Okay, we're not talking about this at all." Jaune interrupted, taking the bottle and stepping past the woman to sit at the edge of the, thankfully, cleanly made bed. Opening it and taking a sip - he was thirsty! - he sighed and asked, "Can we not make fun of my… Relationship stuff? Or, you know, me for that matter?"

"Oh babe, no one is making fun. You don't have to worry about that, I'm nice and satisfied and Penny is… Well, she's Penny. She doesn't tease anyone, really. Not a bone in her body built for that." Coco assured him, walking out of the bathroom and smirking at the way he still flushed, his eyes trailing up her long legs while she pulled out her travel bag and started rifling through for clothes, ignoring Penny entirely.

"Technically, I have no bones." The girl pointed out, "I am an artificial construct, made of metal superstructure, and so do not need bones like organic people do."

"Not what the saying means, doll." Coco pointed out with a small snicker. Grinning mischievously at Jaune, as though to ill.u.s.trate, the Huntress added, "And besides, you have more stamina than I would have though, so what's to laugh-"

"Coco!" He flailed weakly, waving a hand at the bathroom. "Get dressed please, before I regret volunteering for this minefield?"

"I mean, if you start regretting it, I can get between your legs again and do that thing with my-"

"Bathroom! Now! Clothes, please!" He hissed, chasing the laughing Huntress away with a hurled pillow, smiling all the while. He loved her to death, but teasing him - both with penny being around, standing across from him between the fridge and television with a pleased smile, and those long legs of hers - was insufferable.

He'd never trade it for the world, though, he knew for a fact.

"So," he started once Coco's incessant teasing and soft, smooth edges were safely behind the shut bathroom door and unable to distract him, "what's up, Penny? I mean, I don't mind you just popping by for, you know, a visit, but I'm going to guess there's a reason you're here."

"Why would you think that?"

"Intuition, or maybe just a lucky guess." And the fact that, until now, she'd told him she was too busy to visit whenever he messaged, asking if she wanted to hang out. Part of him wanted to point that out, but the way the girl fidgeted told him she was already worried, and he didn't really want her to feel bad about being busy with work. Smiling to reassure her, he repeated the question, "So what's up? Why are you here now? I know you've been busy, so it must be important if Ironwood could spare you."

"I came to say goodbye." She started, smiling sadly when Jaune's smile vanished. Seeing it, and knowing he was upset, she rushed to explain as best as she was probably allowed to. "Girlfriend Ruby has been asked by General Ironwood and her uncle, Qrow Branwen, to participate in a mission to Mistral with her team. Beacon has approved, and General Ironwood has ordered me to accompany them. For protection."

"Can I know what the mission is?"

"You may not." She grimaced, "I am sorry, but it is… Classified, and incredibly important and dangerous to know about besides. I would not knowingly put any of you at risk."

"I know. You're a good friend like that. I just… Figured it didn't hurt to ask, you know?" Worst that asking a question could get was a 'no', after all. So if it didn't get anyone hurt to ask, he didn't see a reason not to. "I wish you luck with it, though, whatever it actually is. Be safe out there, okay?"

"I have already died once, best-friend Jaune. I do not intend on making it habitual." She spoke softly and smiled gently with the words, but he knew the pain behind her words. The fear. It was why she didn't give him that beaming smile like she normally did.

"You better not." He nodded, giving her a stern look for a moment before he let a smile crack through it. Fighting that same smile, he asked, "So… Going to be spending a lot of private, quality time with Ruby, huh?"

"Y-Yes, we intend on spending a lot of time together. Campfires, and scary stories, and snuggles by the fire, and… And other fun, young couple things, I am sure. I am quite excited." Penny stammered, smiling excitedly where she stood, shifting side to side and pressing her fingers together the way Ruby sometimes did when she was excited but nervous. The young woman was rubbing off on her, apparently. "Whatever Ruby wants to do, I know it will be fun."

"I'm sure it will be." And he could sympathise, even if what Coco wanted to 'do' seemed to just be him at the moment, he didn't mind. As long as he was with her, things were better.

"I-I will of course miss you, best-friend Jaune!" She added, as though realizing only now that she'd forgotten all about that, eyes wide with worry and hands waving before her like she was trying to blow away the thought that she could forget about him. Talking almost fast enough he couldn't hear, she rambled in a very Ruby way, "You are my second friend, and my favorite person that isn't my father or Ruby. I would never forget you! I couldn't, you saved my life, and I love you like a brother. I told father how I felt, because I was confused, and father explained, when I told him about it, and-"

"I'm sure you won't forget me, Penny. I was joking. And I love you too, in the same exact way. You're like... like the little battery-powered sister I never knew I wanted." Spreading his arms and smiling while he chuckled, he asked, "Want a hug, before you run off on another adventure and leave little old me behind?"

"Oh, yes! A hug would be most satisfactory." She nodded, shooting across the room fast enough that Ruby would have been proud, but pulling him into a warm, gentle hug.

And a long one, too, like the kind his sisters might give him. In a way, they were family, he mused to himself. She and he had been one person for a while, and her Aura had suffused him, the duo fighting together to survive.

An image of her body torn and vivisected cut into his eyes and he tightened his grip on the girl, enough that it should have been uncomfortable. But Penny let him, squeezing him back, and he let the memory fade away.

"Better?" He asked, letting her go and reminding himself that she was alive, even if her body was a new one. He'd saved her, like a big brother, or a hero.

Or a Huntsman, though he knew he'd never have the title.

"Much better, best friend." She nodded, returning to her previous spot and pulling out a small, blue keycard that she offered to him. "This is for you."

"Okay…?"

"It is identification and access allowance to the Atlesian Garrison command here in Vale." She explained the unasked, but obvious, question as he slid it into a pocket. "General Ironwood would like to request that you join him for breakfast tomorrow morning at nine in order to discuss licensing rights for your engineering armor, and possible revisions for military applications. He also wants material listings and cost analysis on the civilian variant for construction, and a possible police variant as well."

"Really?" He'd known Ironwood was interested in his armor, but he'd thought it was just in an armored up, military variant. "Police and civilian, too?"

"Yes."

"Awesome!" He crowed, the girl nodding excitedly while he fought the urge to clap and bounce like a giddy schoolgirl. Taking a breath and forcing himself to calm down, he offered a simple, "I, uh, I mean I look forward to the meeting. Thanks for letting me know and bringing me the card, Penny."

"You are very, very welcome." Penny nodded, smile fading after a second, "However, I must leave now. I have arrangements to make before Ruby and I leave tomorrow afternoon."

"Of course, yeah, you've got a lot to do. And good luck on your mission." He stood, giving her another hug, and the woman left with not much but a wave after that.

Only once she was gone did Coco leave the bathroom, pulling a brush through her hair and grinning. He saw it and froze, watching her like a mouse caught by a cat and, eventually, murmuring a, "What?"

"That was so sweet!" She fawned, grinning ear to ear for a moment before her eyes narrowed. "But tsk tsk tsk, Jaune. Telling other girls you love them? How rogue of you~!"

"Coco…"

"I'm telling Yatsuhashi!" She threatened, the blonde's eyes panicking and artificial heart racing at the implications of that. Whether Yats knew it was a joke or not, he wouldn't hesitate to get to play big brother again, he was sure.

"Coco, no!"

"Coco yes!" She crowed, the blonde young man surging towards her and the woman squealing as she was pushed into the bathroom and the sound cut off, dragging into a groan as the door banged shut. When in doubt, distract Coco with something more fun and she'd lose track of her teases, he knew from experience.

And he also knew how to distract Coco very easily, after the last couple days.