Background Dancers

Wanted to do it in honor of this episode. Between Team RWBY and JNPR, I love the team dynamic between JNPR. They're the underdogs you root for. So here's something in Honor of them.

Oh, This is a gen fic no pairings

Should they spread out? Try and cover more ground? They didn't know how many White fang were there. It would be safer to stick together. But would they be fast enough. The scans show that the complex was large, quite large.

"20 minutes from drop." The pilot said in the front of the cockpit.

He nodded to himself. He had his hands clasped in front of him, his chin resting on them. He was nervous, always nervous. No matter how many missions he was sent on, no matter how many times he would be called in for back up. Always the same feeling.

"Plan?" His friend, roommate, teammate, confident and a lot of things asked him.

"Depends Pyrrha." Jaune replied. His mind's eye still remembering the map that Ozpin had shown him. General Ironwood had sent RWBY out, with Penny, on a strike against Cinder's main base. Dangerous, bold, and relied on a lot of faith. Sure normal troops would be storming the fronts, but they had to be fighting the White Fang and other henchmen.

Ozpin wanted insurance, so he sent the team most familiar with Team RWBY, JNPR.

"10 minutes to drop. Might want to get ready back there." The pilot informed them.

"Sure Church." Jaune replied. Jaune stood up, holding the railing at the top to keep him steady. He looked at the team, his team. Nora, Ren and Pyrrha looked different in combat gear. Not their usual clothes at school, no they had been given dust woven armor, as well as communicators. They had a Mic and an earpiece, and a beacon on their wrists.

It was not their first rodeo, backing up team RWBY, but this would certainly be the last.

"Ok, Usual suspects but different ballroom. We have around Thirty hostiles in the facility. Most white fang members are too busy engaging Ironwood's troops and our fellow hunters."

Nora smirked. "I hope Velvet's giving them hell." Her smile made her faint scar, across her cheek, ripple. She had gotten it after an explosions in one of the base. Jaune blamed himself for it, one of his first mistakes as a leader. It forced him to be ready for the unknown.

"Well, I hope Sun and Neptune are doing okay. Ever since Scarlett got hospitalized, they've been shaky." Ren commented. He had cut his pony tail, in favor of an even cut. He still had his pink highlight, but if one looked carefully they could see the scars on his scalp. Shrapnel blast from a White Fang raid. That one made him stop overestimating his friends abilities. He had been too naïve.

"They'll be fine. Professor Glynda's with them." Pyrrha finished. She had changed the least. Grown older, these past four years yes, but no major injuries. Jaune was grateful for that, having that pillar of strength behind him, helping him through his fumblings as a leader.

And now, it was his turn to be their strength.

"Alright." Jaune continued. "We find team RWBY, either by following the bodies, explosions, screams, or rose petals. Either way, we find them and support them. If they are injured, we take their place in formation."

Taking a deep breath, Jaune fortified himself. "Primary objective is to take down Cinder. Secondary objectives is Emrald and Mercury."

Jaune paused, before adding. "Don't need to tell you. But other primary objective is everyone getting out alive." Jaune stressed.

Ren snickered. "You'd think we just put up a sticky note for that on all of our briefing missions."

Jaune chuckled at the joke. All of them used sticky notes for their apartment. Who needed to buy what, what needed to be restocked, clean etc. There were even a set of sticky notes for Movie nights and dinner outs.

"I'll bring it up at the next staff meeting." Jaune joked as he looked towards the pilot. "ETA?"

"Five minutes. Opening up the back hatch."

Jaune nodded to his team. "Let's go. Hard drop. Nora, I wan't a breach through the roof."

"Yaaay!" Nora cheered as she grabbed Magnhild. Team JNPR Readied their weapons, as the prepared for the drop. Jaune took a deep breath as the hatch opened. He looked outside and saw the smoke, flames and battle. The waves of white and black versus a colorful assortment of troops. He could make out a couple mechs on either side. He couldn't, however, see any of his friends.

'They're not as far in as I thought they would be' Jaune thought, as he looked at positions of the troops. Ironwood's army was about three miles out. The mechs must have been giving him more trouble.

Jaune now got a good look at the facility. It was a large building with several fences. A good defensive structure. But what was strange was the number of floors. 'only two? No, there must be basements' Jaune cursed inside his head. Basements meant explosives, or usually meant. It was easier to bury your enemies alive if they were underground. He would have to play it safe than, no unnecessary risks.

"Drop Location in Thirty seconds." The pilot called.

"NORA!" Jaune Yelled. "Front and center. Time to drop the Hammer."

He heard Pyrrha snort. He gave her a wide grin and a wink. 'Five' he thought. 'four, three two...'

"NOW!"

Nora ran past him and leaped out of the plane, with the rest of team JNPR very close behind.

"AND BOMBS AWAY!" Nora cried out, aiming Magnhild at the roof of the building. Jaune watched as three grenades hammered the roof, smoke billowing up. 'Decently sized hole' Jaune thought.

"COAT HANGERS!" Jaune called out to Pyrra.

Pyrra spread out her hands and focused. She pulled on the metal belts around each of Team JNPR's waists, slowing their descent to a more safer speed.

CRUNCH

They landed down on the ground. Jaune's eyes swept the room in a quick motion. They had landed in the main hall it seemed. It was open with plenty of cars and guns. Wooden crates lined up on either side, some with the words labeled dust on them. 'Six hostiles in front of them .Two guns a rocket launcher. Other swords.'

Jaune raised his shield and focused. A white sheet formed in front of him, spreading from his shield outwards.

The members of Cinder's army fired at them. The bullets and rocket crunched and exploded harmlessly against his aura.

"Six hostiles." Jaune spoke quickly. "Ren, Tap Dance. Pyrrha. North Pole."

Ren immediately ducked into the shadows and started to make his way around. As the gunmen where still firing at Jaune. The man with the rocket Launcher was still trying to reload.

Nora grabbed Pyrrha's hand and spun around. Pyrra ran with her, increasing the momentum. In one single motion, Pyrrha jumped and thrown into the air, Milo out. She fired several rounds at the Rocket wielding criminal. The man cried out and fell to the ground. But instead of falling down, Pyrrha stuck to the metal ceiling. She kept firing at the men, keeping them pinned down.

They weren't pinned down for long as Ren dashed out of the shadows and struck, shooting down the sword wielding men easily. The others, seeing the new enemy, fired at Ren. Ren ducked back into the shadows, avoiding the fire.

'Now!' Jaune charged forward, shield still up. He sliced at one of the man, cutting cleanly through the rifle and skin. The man fell to the floor limp. Spinning around on his heel, Jaune smashed his shield into the other assailant. The other one crumpled to the floor.

Jaune looked through the room once more. Nora had followed behind him and taken out the other criminals. "Roll call" Jaune called out.

He was responded with three "Clears!" Nodding as he continued to look around. Spying a staircase, he moved quickly towards it.

"Looks like the mooks are not that great." Jaune commented as he rushed forward, shield still out in front of him.

"Split up and hunt than." Rena asked.

"No, That means that the big guns are gathered in one place. You don't have small fish in one spot for a reason-"

He didn't need to finish. As soon as they hit the last steps, they saw their targets. RWBY were fighting Cinder, Mercury and Emrald. Roman was knocked out on the ground to the side. He didn't get time to assess though, as Cinder sent out a huge wave of flame. Team RWBY dashed backwards to collect themselves. Jaune moved forward, catching Ruby as she tumbled backwards.

She 'eeped' in surprise and turned to look upwards. A smile graced her lips.

"Hey Jaune. Late to the party I see."

Jaune smiled at her, before turning to face Cinder. Both Team RWBY and JNPR lining up side by side. "Don't worry Ruby. Your back up dancers have arrived."

"Boys night out huh." Jaune asked. As he looked at the building in front of him. "I thought we would be going Go-karting, or skateboarding, maybe even an action flick. But an arcade game?"

Ren smiled at him, before walking in.. "It's my man cave."

Jaune snorted, as he followed Ren in. Immediately, the neon lights, buzzing sounds, beeps and boops of machines hit him. Jaune looked around and saw that this place was small but had a good selection of games, a variety of games.

"Come on." Ren waved his hand. "Wanna go to a specific game."

Jaune followed. Passing by a couple classic games. Street fighter C: The Revolution, Halo 17: Legacy of the Spartan, and even Mortal Kombat Chaotic Devastation of Apocalyptic Hell... that one was a bit newer.

Ren went to the very back of the arcade, there were fewer people here. And what Jaune saw made his jaw drop.

"T-t-they actually have one!" Jaune was wide eyed as he saw the machine in particular.

Two Pads, metal bars on the back infront of a large screen with speakers.

Ren leaned on the railing and smirked. "One of the only one's in the country."

Jaune lookede in awe. "Wow, DDR: MO"

Ren smiled. "Yep. They don't even make DDR machines anymore. My cousins own this arcade. So they keep it in good repair. Annnd" Ren continued. "Since I saw you were really good dancer. Thought you might enjoy this."

Jaune flushed slightly. It was kind of embarrassing to be recognized as a good dancer, well embarrassment in a good way.

"So you come up here often?"

Ren nodded. "Yea. I didn't really hang with the other kids. So, I come here to chill."

Jaune nodded in agreement. "Yea, but hey thanks for bringing here man. This is awesome. So..." Jaune paused for a moment, unsure how continue. But looking at the DDR Machine, it seemed time to brush of the old rust. "Wanna go a couple rounds?" Jaune smiled.

Ren smirked. "Can you keep up? Or do you wanna start on easy."

The Team leader waved his hand in disbelief. "Watch and learn" Jaune stepped onto the pad and motioned for Ren to follow. Ren inserted a couple of coins, apparently he had already bought some.

"Still uses coins huh?"

"Yep. That old school." Ren smiled as he started looking through the songs.

"You think they're going to make a converter? It would be easier to use your Scroll to pay for this."

Ren shrugged. "They wanted to keep it classic. I don't mind. And..." Ren eyes lit up. "Let's Do this!"

And the Dou danced their way to the top of the score charts.

"RRGH!" A grunt. A clink of metal. Sweat dripping on the floor. "Fourty Eight."

"Come on Nora, Two more."

Clink. "HNN!" "Fourty Nine, Last one Nora, Come on finish strong!"

"FIFTY!" Nora roared as she pumped Barbell once more. Jaune grabbed the center of the Barbell and lifted it onto the stands of the bench press.

"Wow!" Jaune exclaimed as Nora laid there panting on the bench. He quickly grabbed a towel and a water bottle. Handing it to his teammate, he got to work adjusting the weights. "Fifty reps of 80 kg"

Jaune shook his head in disbelief. That, even for a hunter, was insane.

Nora gratefully grabbed the towel and started wiping her neck. Using her teeth to open the cap of the water bottle, she drank greedily. "Welp. I've been lifting ever since I was six. A little after." She paused for a moment. "After I met Ren." She finished, almost in a whisper.

Jaune, almost stopped adjusting the weights but ignored the change in tone. "Well, Time for you to spot me. Though I dont think I can follow your crazy reps."

Nora chuckled. "Don't worry fearless leader. You got plenty of time to catch up!" Nora hopped off the bench, dropping the towel and, now empty, water bottle.

Jaune settled himself under the Barbell, while Nora moved around. "60 kg again? How many reps?" Nora asked as she stretched her arms.

Jaune looked thoughtful for a moment. "How about Thirty. Ten more from last time."

Nora smirked. "Oh man. You are pushing it. Wanna catch up that bad?"

Jaune chuckled. "Yea"

He lifted weights with a grunt, as Nora eased over his chest.

"Alright, You count, I'll keep pumping them out." Jaune grunted as he started to lift.

"Hey Jaune, Have you ever thought about what you might do after being a certified hunter?" Nora asked.

Jaune, still focused on the weights, answered slowly. "Probably get a job nearby."

He grunted, the weights started to burn his arm. "Earn some cash, get myself an apartment."

He swallowed and started to breath deeply. 'eighteen'. " We're paid by the government for a good wage, but the private companies are the ones that pay the big bucks. Ugg!" He winced as he felt his arms shake. Nora was there to save him as she grasped the metal pole, stabilizing it. Jaune smiled in thanks.

'Okay last five' Jaune took a deep breath through his nose. Nora was holding it until he was ready. " The explorers. Weiss told me about them."

"That's Thirty."

"Finally" Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. He and Nora lifted the weight onto the stand. Jaune stood up, letting his arms sag down. He was beat. Nora sat down next to him, handing him the other towel and water bottle.

Jaune started to wipe himself down. As he was doing so, he noticed Nora was looking a bit pensive, contemplativ.e

"What's up?" Jaune asked.

Nora shrugged. "have you ever thought about staying with the group? Team JNPR. I mean." Nora fiddled with her hands. Her nervous tick, Jaune observed. " We got a good thing going. You, Pyrra, Me and Ren. It's not unheard of having a group of hunters."

That was true. Since many schools employed a group system, it was not uncommon for a Team of hunters to be employed. But in many cases, these teams would disband in the future due to conflict of interests or just different goals. Growing up changed people, or at least some of them.

Jaune leaned back and sighed. "It'd be cool." He hadn't really thought about it. "I'll think about it."

Nora gave a smile, not the wide grin she usual had, but a small one. Jaune returned it.

"Well better hit the showers, Ren's making pancakes tonight!"

Nora leaped up, all tiredness and previous emotions gone. "YES!" She ran off to the showers, humming a happy tune.

Jaune slowly trotted after her. Team JNPR huh.

Why were they being so mean? She just wanted to be friends. Mommy told her to put a big smile on her face and be friendly .Didn't she do that?

"You're so weird. Always smiling. Weirdo." The boy kicked dirt in her face.

She flinched away. But the dirt still stung in her eyes. She wiped her face, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Now look your crying. What an baby!" The boy jeered. He was taller than most of the boys in the class. He had three goons behind him. No one on the playground wanted to come near the bullies. She was alone.

"HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE!" A voice cried. She couldn't see through the tears and dirt, but she kept rubbing her eyes to see.

"What your the new kid? Learn you place you little-" She heard a shove and someone stand in front of her.

She finally got to open her eyes as she saw a boy with black hair and a green shirt stand tall in front of her.

She saw the main bully leer at him. "That's it your gonna get it!" He swung at her savior. NO! He was going to get hurt.

But the boy did something amazing. He blocked the first and kicked out with his foot. A loud snap was heard.

"AHHH!" the bully fell to the floor clutching his right leg. "YOU BROKE MY LEG! AHHHHH!" He rolled on the floor crying.

Nora was awed at her savior. The boy turned around, away from the crying bully, who was being taken away by the other children. He smiled at her as raised a hand to help her out.

She smiled as she grasped it, and lifted herself.

"You ok?" He asked.

Nora gave a big smile. "Yea, I am now. My name's Nora."

Her savior smiled. "Ren."

She opened her eyes as she realized it was a memory. She yawned silently as she realized her pillow adjusted slightly.

"Finally awake Nora?" Ren asked, looking down at his book reading.

Nora smiled at him. "Yea." She reached up and pecked him on the cheek.

Ren blinked in surprise at the sign of affection. "What was that for?" On the outside, he looked calm. But Nora knew her Ren was a bit flustered.

She just smiled. "I just wanted to."

Ren chuckled quietly. "Ok than."

She went back to resting on his shoulder. And he went on reading by her side.

Pyrrha slashed forward, flipping her blade around. Spinning on her heel, she slashed once more. It was a quick move, originally made for a short sword, but her Milo could act as the same thing. She stood and up and breathed deeply. She had been going at it for a while. Jaune was out weight training with Nora, so Pyrrha decided to get some quality time in the Arena. It was good to brush up on these skills.

"Nice move there!" A comment from behind her.

Pyrrha turned around to see who it was. Ren was smiling back at her, in casual jeans and a green t-shirt.

"Oh, Hello Ren." Pyrrha smiled. She found Ren to be pleasant company. His calming presence really offset Nora's abundant energy. It was a team of opposites they were. Ren's and Nora's opposite personalities, yet they were tied with a childhood friendship. She and Jaune opposite in skill but they still helped each other, even if Jaune didn't know it.

Ren nodded to her, his face impassive. "I came to get you. It's movie night downtown."

Pyrrha blinked and remembered. "Oh yea, Jaune wanted us to go out as a team."

Ren gave a small, knowing smile. "Fearless leader chose a comedy."

Pyrrha's eyes lit up. A grin, a genuine smile, found it's way to her face. "I'll go get changed."

Ren held the door as she walked past, she nodded her thanks.

"That technique" Ren started, as they were walking. "It doesn't seem like it was meant for your weapon."

Her face stiffened slightly. Ren noticed the change in posture. The Invincible warrior was sometimes hard to read, but in certain matters she was an open book.

She looked away for a moment. "It was given to be me by a friend. A former friend."

"Ah." Ren felt his gut wrench. "I am sor-"

"No!" Pyrrha's voice raised slightly. "She's not-. Well," Pyrrha stopped in the hallway. Her eyes clenched. "We just aren't friends anymore. When I umm..." She grasped her elbow and looked down, the memory weighing on her.

"When I became champion. She didn't like me being in all the interviews. And all the spotlight. I-" She looked up at Ren. His face was not judgmental, it wasn't even understanding. It was simply blank as he listened to her.

"We drifted apart." She finished shortly. Pyrrha kept looking at Ren. Trying to discern what he was thinking. But she didn't have to.

Ren reached out and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. She stiffened at first, her shoulders scrunched, fists gripped. She stared into Ren's eyes and saw calmness, sereneness. Her shoulders loosened, fists became open.

"You may have figured out, but Nora is the only friend have had for a long time. But that is only the half truth." Ren smiled, it was bitter. "I had a friend, a good one, before I moved to another school. The reason was" Ren swallowed deeply. "my friend died. In an accident."

Pyrrha felt her gut wrench. "Ren you don't have-"

"Let me finish" Ren cut her off. He took a deep breath and sighed. "I have learned, even in my short time. That people are in your life for a certain amount of time. We may drift apart. We may die one day. Or we may end up hating each other. What matters-" Ren smiled at her. "Is that we cherish the time we have with each other. Every moment, every second of it. Stop thinking about if we will drift apart, don't let it distance you from us. We're your friends for however long." Ren paused, and his smile widened. "And if it's up to Nora, it's probably a lifetime."

They share a chuckle and continued to walk down the hallway.

"You know" Pyrrha said in a thoughtful voice. "for a quiet person. You really had a great speech there." She gave a teasing smirk.

Ren shook his head and laughed. "I have my moments."

Nora glared at her enemy for the day. She always liked a challenge. It made her measure her growth. Every time she fought something it made her stronger. Stronger to help her friends. But this challenge, this was something else.

She banged her head on the table, pen slipping for her hands. She groaned in anger. "I HATE MATH!" She growled, but in a low voice. She was in the library, after all.

"You ok there Nora?"

Nora turned to see who had come in, and smiled at Pyrrha. "Hey Pyrrha. How are you? I'm terrible right now"

The red haired girl giggled slightly. "Just fine Nora. Still stuck on homework?"

Nora nodded and let out a long sigh. "It's so annoying. Why do we even needs to know this stuff?" She grumbled.

Pyrrha opened her mouth to answer but Nora stopped her. "Don't tell me. Ren told me a million times."

Pyrrha closed her mouth with a click and leaned over to see Nora's work. "Oh. This is tomorrow's homework."

Nora nodded vigorously. "Ren promised to take us out to a pancake house nearby. Had to finish all of my homework?"

Pyrrha blinked, remembering that Ren did say something about going out. It was his choice for the team's night out. They did it once every week, ever since Jaune made it tradition.

"Well let me see if I can help" Pyrrha pulled a chair from another table.

After a few hours of rigorous work, complaining, and explanation, they finally finished.

"Ahh, finally" Nora sagged in her chair. She looked at Pyrrha with a smile and gave her a thumbs up. "why are you so good at everyting?"

Nora expected a bashful comment. A humble pyrha. But she saw something breif but all the more worrying. It was fear, a tensness, a bitterness. She didn't expect that from Pyrrha. But than again, Pyrrha was good at hiding things but so obvious at other times.

"What's up?" Nora asked. Pyrrha may want to hide her emotions but it made Nora annoyed that Pyrrha held everything in.

Pyrrha looked down, her hair covering her face. "I'm not that special Nora." Pyrrha turned and tried to fake a smile, but Nora had gotten used to seeing through those.

'Gotta cheer her up.' Nora bit her lip. She didn't know why Pyrrha was down, but she knew it was her fault. So she had to fix her mistake, Nora Valkyrie to the rescue!

Nora bumped shoulders with Pyrrha. "Don't worry Pyrrha no matter what. We got your back. If something bothering you we can take em as a team. If they got knees we'll break em."

Pyrrha blinked in suprise. She looked dumbstruck at Nora's encouragement. But after a moment, Pyrrha smiled and than giggled.

"Its good to have you as friends than. If I ever need someone I'll call"

"Pssh." Nora waved the comment off. " You don't need to call. We'll be friends for life. Promise." Nora gave Pyrrha a patented Nora hug.

Pyrrha stiffened but after a moment returned the hug. Nora didn't need to see her face to know Pyrrha had a smile on her face.

"And thank you, To all the brave men and woman help bring this criminal to justice." The president of Vale spoke at the podium. The other leaders of Renmant stood behind him. "I would especially like to thank the brave team RWBY" He waved his hand behind him. Team RWBY stood at the front, proud and tall.

Ruby walked forward, as the President moved out of the way to let her speak. The little bumbling girl, now a strong grown huntress stood and stared out into the crowd. She gave a bright a smile. "A couple of years ago, all I wanted to be was a normal girl with normal knees."

A couple chuckles filled through the crowd.

"But now." Ruby paused, looking back at her team. She turned, her face now solemn. "Now I want to make the world a better place. Faunus and Humans, We are all people. We should be treated that way. I call for everyone too look at the person next to them and understand that it doesn't matter if we have cat ears or not, we are all people." Ruby finished. A huge roar of applause followed and people cheered their names.

'Good o'l Ruby' Jaune thought, as he leaned on the railing from a parking garage. JNPR had declined going on stage, or being mentioned in taking part of the fight with Cinder. They were listed as combatants, but Jaune wanted to keep their spotlight to a minimum. Jaune stood straight and winced slightly as the bandages on his chest and arms rustled the burns. Cinder had got him good.

"We're all packed and ready to go fearless leader." Pyrrha stood next to him. She wasn't in her armor, instead a set of casual jeans and a shirt.

Jaune smiled and nodded. "Yea, let's head out. We got a whole three months off before Ozpin wants us for another OP. "

Pyrrha nodded and turned to walk around. Jaune followed.

"Man, my arm still hurts. I need to apply burn cream again, Ren." Nora grumbled as she rubbed it.

"Well stop rubbing it, it'll only make it worse." Ren chastised as he dragged luggage behind him. Pyrrha herself was sporting a duffel bag. Jaune had already put is stuff in the trunk of his car.

"So." Jaune asks, as they walked towards the back. He took out his keys and pressed a button. A small van beeped in response. It as a somewhat large van, enough to hold all of them comfortably. "Where to?"

Jaune opened the door, and the rest of JNPR took their usual spots in the Van.

Nora, leaned back,, stretching. "Hmmm. I saaaay. Pancakes. It's tradition to celebrate after a mission."

Ren chuckled. "It sure is."

Jaune looked at Pyrrha who gave him a small smile and a wink.

Jaune gave a wide smile and a hearty laugh. "Pancakes it is. Next stop. Pancake House Deluxe."

They were the background dancers. They didn't go on amazing adventures. Crazy missions. Saving the world. Their best moments were standing on the roof of a Pancake house screaming out on the top of their lungs. Making an accidental bonfire at a beach because someone wanted to cook fish. And even chasing a thief across three continents trying to get back Nora's hammer.

But these are stories are for another time.

Please review guys :D! Also if you have other ideas for one shots review too!