A/N: Welcome one and all to the first in a series of One Shots that I will be writing until I can come up with a full plot. It may be based off one of the One Shots, it may not. Either way, enjoy.
Jaune Arc sat alone on a bed that wasn't his, in his room he didn't recognize. He kept his eyes fixed upon the wooden floor, hoping it would provide the answers to his questions. Why? His mind kept dragging him back to that night, making him relive every single moment in exquisite detail. The feeling of the cool night air, the breeze on his skin, that little pebble of fear that was growing into the size of a boulder in his chest as they ran down Beacon's main stairway. The memory always picked up at this moment, right as everything falls apart. Ozpin had told them to run, to get away so he could deal with Cinder. He'd said to trust him and they did. He let them down. Jaune's panic had nearly consumed him as he felt the rush of heat and wind. Cinder soared up the ravaged elevator shaft like a demon from the lowest depths of Hell.
What are we going to do now? He scanned through his Scroll, trying to get a hold of someone, anyone. It was no use though. Something was wrong with the connection, nothing was going through. He turned to see his partner; she was still as beautiful as ever, even when they were surrounded by chaos. Pyrrha was always the strongest on Team JNPR, always the rock, the ace in the hole, the savior, the get out of jail free card. Now though? She was just as lost as they were, Jaune could see it on her face. When she'd first said for him to leave, he thought she was joking. It didn't feel like the proper time to make jokes but he was willing to let it go for her. The look on her face betrayed that thought though.
Naturally, he told her no. Jaune Arc was not, he repeated, NOT going to leave his partner, his best friend, the love of his life, to fight alone while some maniac who just killed their headmaster and destroyed up the new home he'd come to know and love. He began to make his case when she closed the gap between them, sealing her lips over his. Even now, as he sat on the bed, he remembered how she tasted. Mint and strawberries was never something Jaune would've thought would go together but when he tasted it on her lips, it became his favorite flavor. What he'd give to have one more minute of contact with her, one more smile, one more laugh, one more kiss, one more anything… Tears were forming again now and he couldn't bring himself to stop them from falling down his cheeks. He watched them collide with the wooden floor beneath his feet. His hands clenched as he fell back into the memory. She had pulled away and shoved him back.
He hadn't even realized there was a locker behind him. Using her semblance, she broke the lock, confining him to a steel prison meant for one. A single word kept coming into his head at the time, even now if he was honest; why? Why did she want him to leave so badly? Was he really that useless that he couldn't even be counted on to TRY and help her? Did she have so little faith in him? Had all that training on the rooftop at night been for nothing? The Champion apologized one last time, punched in some coordinates, and sent him on his way. Jaune's cries of protest echoed through the night sky but if there was anything out there to hear him, they remained silent. He pleaded with any being in the skies above that night. Please, please, please let him go back. Let him protect her! Have the locker malfunction, send a pack of Griffons to take him back, something, anything! Just send him back to her. He'd have given anything to go back to her side so they could face Cinder together. Surely their chances were better as a team than alone right? The thought raced through his mind before he could stop it; that was the last time he'd see her, his Champion.
Jaune had put his head in his hands at this point, openly sobbing into his fingers.
"Pyrrha… Pyrrha… why?" More sobs racked his body. He fell from the bed to his knees. Why couldn't he go back? Why was he so useless? Why damn it, why?! His fist slammed into the wooden floor. "GODS DAMN IT!" Again he plunged his knuckles into the wood. Aura saved him any real damage so he kept hitting it, determined to feel the pain that was being robbed from him. He deserved it. If he'd legitimately gotten into Beacon, he might have been able to stand with her. If he'd stayed in Ansel and not become a Huntsman like his family wanted she might have gotten a half decent partner who knew how to fight.
If Jaune had stayed home she might like his family wanted him to. She would have gotten a partner who she'd have let stay. If he stayed home, maybe she'd still be alive. More fist pounding, screaming, cursing the gods, begging, and pleading. It wasn't fair. She didn't deserve to die like that, alone atop a broken clock tower. Murdered by a sociopath and her pet dragon. No one deserved to die like that but especially not her. She was the nicest person Jaune had ever had the pleasure of knowing. So kind and thoughtful. So patient and smart. So understanding and beautiful. She never judged him for his shortcoming, numerous as they were. Instead, she took time out of her day to help him grow into someone worthy of being her partner. Someone who wouldn't drag her down. It wasn't enough. I wasn't enough. She stuck by him when he didn't deserve it. When Cardin blackmailed him and made him into his lackey, she had tried to help and he pushed her away, saying that he had to deal with it himself.
He had apologized for that but he couldn't forgive himself for hurting someone he cared about, not then and definitely not now. How could he make it up to her now that she was dead? Jaune lifted himself up, resting on his knees. What he'd give to hear her voice one more time… wait a second… hear her voice…. My Scroll! He remembered that she had put a training video on it for him so he could practice when she wasn't able to do it in person. She was still with him! He reached into his pocket, fumbling to pull the amalgamation of plastic and glass from its prison. With shaky hands, his fingers moved across the screen navigating menus until he found what he was looking for. The thumbnail showed her face, smiling bright. His returned it, fresh tears still running down his cheeks. Clicking the video, she sprang back into this world, back to him. Her voice rang out.
"Hello Jaune" He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffled.
"Hey Pyr." She transitioned into talking about stance, form, balance, technique, blah blah blah. She could have been reading the dictionary for all he cared, as long as she was talking. As long as he could hear her voice, it was like she was still alive. Jaune kept staring at her, trying to conjure up every good memory he'd made with her and the rest of Team JNPR. From their first introductions when the blond had no idea who she was and Weiss had to tell him that she was the Pumpkin Pete's cover athlete. At initiation when she'd saved him from being a stain on the ground with her javelin and then unlocking his Aura. When they'd fought and killed a Deathstalker together while Team RWBY slew a Nevermore that very same day. The formation of Team JNPR as well as the look she gave him when he'd been named leader. Their time on the rooftops training together and talking while watching the stars above campus. All of these should have made him smile; these were all good memories, happy memories. When he looked back, they were life changing events that shaped him into who he was today!
So why did they all make him hurt more? Why did thinking about the good times bring the tears back? Why did those pleasant thoughts give way to an anger he didn't know he had in his heart? He let out another sob, squeezing the hand that held his Scroll. "Why?" He said to no one in particular. In a flash of movement, he reared back and pegged the piece of technology into the far wall. Through excellent craftsmanship or his own lack of strength, the Scroll simply bounced off the wall, clattering to the floor. The impact must have paused the video as when it landed, screen up, Pyrrha's frozen smile was all that could be seen. He bellowed in rage and hurt, returning to smashing the floor. All the while his former partner, friend, and love stared back in silence. Her eternal smile wasn't the comforting gesture it normally was. No, now it mocked Jaune, a monument to another thing he couldn't protect. Gods damn it all.
A knock on the door brought him from the Hell he'd formed in his own head. He couldn't muster up actual coherent words so he grunted his entry approval to the visitor, hoping that it would be understood. Jaune didn't bother looking up, he didn't care who it was because it wasn't her. A hand clasped over his shoulder and he turned his tear stained face upwards. He saw Ren and Nora who looked about as bad as he felt. Ren's hair was a mess, a web of knots and scorched edges. His normally calm pink eyes were now misted over; the marks of previous tears were still on his cheeks. His clothes were disheveled and ripped, StormFlower hung on his hips, the blades looking much duller than they had at the beginning of the semester. Sniffling drew his attention from his battle brother to the ginger girl at his side. Water still flowed from her eyes and her hands shook. Her arms and legs were covered in dirt and scrapes; Magnhild was nowhere to be seen. She fell to her knees, pulling the blond close to her. Clutching him like he'd be taken away from her as well if she didn't hold on for dear life. There, she sobbed into his chest and he on her shoulder. Ren joined them at their sides, his own silent tears falling onto them.
They remained clinched together for what felt like days, but was probably only minutes. Their weeping had given way to quiet crying, then to sniffling, and finally silence. Jaune dared not look up, lest he see her face again still on the screen of his discarded Scroll. Ren spoke, his voice quivering.
"I'm sorry Jaune." He didn't know how to reply so he didn't, for a time. He still held Nora to his chest, Ren on his shoulder.
"She's gone." As if saying it out loud did anything other than make it feel more real. "Why?" They gave no reason. Even if they had, it wouldn't have been enough, it would never be enough. Guilt and pain continued to pour from his chest. "I failed her, I failed you both, and I failed everyone at Beacon." Nora squeezed him tighter than he'd ever felt before. Her voice was muffled by his hoodie.
"No! You didn't fail anyone Jaune, you are our Fearless Leader. No one fails with you leading us." Her heart wasn't in her words but he could hear how she tried, oh Gods how she tried.
"How am I anything but a failure? I couldn't protect my own partner, hell I couldn't even tell she had feelings for me until she kissed me and sent me away in a rocket locker. I let her down and I can never make it up to her now." Nora was silent for a time until she gave a mirthless laugh, wiping her eyes on his hoodie.
"She would tell me all the time about all the things she was going to do to get you to notice her, did you know that?" Jaune turned his eyes to the Scroll still on the far side of the room.
"Really?" The Valkyrie nodded, the three pulled apart but remained in close proximity to one another, pink and blue eyes turning to the girl.
"During the Forever Fall trip she thought about finding a beowolf and pretending to be hurt by it. She'd call out to you and you'd come by and 'save' her. She had this whole plan after that where she'd kiss you in the forest and it would be all romantic and you'd fall in love right then and there." Fresh tears fell from her eyes as a sad smile found her face. It faltered after a few seconds. "It's not fair." Ren pulled her into his embrace.
"You're right." He squeezed her tightly, resting his head atop hers. "It's not fair, it never was fair, and it never will be fair." Jaune could hear his voice quivering again as he spoke. So strange to see the typically calm and collected Lie Ren not in control of his emotions. Add it to the list of things they lost last night. Yang's arm, Ren's control, Nora's smile, Jaune's heart, Ruby's innocence, Pyrrha's life… His hands clenched into tight fists again. Angry tears stung his eyes now.
"Damn her, damn her all the way to Hell!" They didn't lose anything last night, that implied they did anything wrong. No, all of those things were taken, stolen, by Cinder. Jaune rose to his feet, walking with purpose across the room. It was Nora who spoke.
"Where are you going?" He turned, his face a mask of rage and fury.
"I'm going to find Cinder and make her pay for everything she's done to us!" Both of his teammates hopped to their feet. Nora wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"You can't!" The blond looked back to his teammate and snarled.
"Why not? Someone needs to make her pay for Pyrrha!" Ren spoke as he placed a hand on Nora's shoulder.
"And someone will but not tonight." Another snarl. They don't think I can do it either. They don't think I'm strong enough. I'll show them. I'll bring back Cinder's head on a spike. "Jaune, we need to recover and come up with a plan. Going out and hunting Cinder down right now isn't going to bring her back to us" He threw his hands up, angry tears stinging his eyes as he yelled.
"I know it won't bring her back! If I kill her tonight though, it will make sure that she doesn't do this to anyone else." Ren sighed as Jaune turned back to walk out the door. Nora shot from her partner's side, planting herself firmly between her leader and the door. She put a hand on his chest.
"Please don't go." He pushed her hand down, reaching over to retrieve his discarded Scroll. Her smile was still there. With a swipe, he closed the video and pocketed the device. No more stolen smiles, no more graves, no more pain, no more Cinder. Jaune was going to end this or he was going to join Pyrrha in the afterlife, wherever she was. It was a win/win situation.
"Why not? Give me one good reason to not track her down and make her pay." Nora closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around her leader.
"Because I don't want to bury anymore friends! Neither does Ren." She paused for a beat. "Please just stay with us Jaune, we're hurting too." A small part of Jaune's brain not infected with fury spoke up amidst the chaos. She's right. Now is not the time for action, now is the time for healing. The Arc's back straightened and he stood there motionless for what could've been hours or seconds, he didn't know. The furious resolve that had taken over his heart finally broke, seemingly at the end of its rope. He closed his arms around her, the anger in his chest beginning to dissipate. "She was our friend too." He felt a hand on his shoulder again.
"Now isn't the time to get angry. Now is the time to grieve." As the last of his anger flowed from his body, the blond looked up and past Nora to the door behind her. There she stood, silent tears rolling down her face but her mouth was turned upwards in a smile. Her hair was a mane of vermillion tresses. His Champion opened her mouth but no sound flowed forth. Still, Jaune knew what she said. One final goodbye. He raised a hand in a wave, a chance for closure. As he moved his arm, flecks of gold began to break from her body, flowing out the open window like dust in the wind. It started with her legs and moved north. As she began to fade away for the last time, she closed her eyes, mouthing one last thing.
"I'll always love you." An instant later, she was gone, leaving them to grieve her loss together. The last remnants of Jaune Arc's Champion rest in his pocket and in his heart. It was enough, it would have to be.
A/N: The ending scene is inspired by art created by CSLucaris called "Hello Again" Go check out his work, it's gorgeous. His Tumblr and Deviantart have the same name. If you didn't like this short, maybe you'll enjoy my positive outcome on that night in Destiny on my page. As always, May fortune favor you all.