A deadly, almost painful silence hung in the courtroom, like a thick cloud of smoke suffocating everyone in close proximity. Dozens of eyes were piercing through the accused, who had sunk back in his chair uncomfortably, fear strikingly present all over his face. His lawyer was sitting next to him, browsing through a stack of papers, his glasses resting on the tip of his nose. The pressure felt smothering on the blonde's back, he wanted this to be over with, to wake up from his horrific nightmare, finding himself back safely in his dorm along with his teammates. Sadly, it wasn't that simple.

Everyone was waiting for the arrival of the judge, to seal Jaune Arc's fate once and for all. A fate that would most likely include a life of rotting away behind prison bars.

Their mission had gone wrong. So terribly wrong.

Aside from a lawyer, Jaune was accompanied by a pair of Atlas officers standing at his table. So this was what being a criminal felt like? Every movement you make constantly followed by the eyes of authorities.

Muffled cries resounded from the crowd, especially from a particular fiery blonde. Nearly sitting in the front row was Yang, mourning in her hands with choked sobs. Blake had taken a seat next to her, desperately trying to comfort the inconsolable girl. Hollow black circles had formed underneath the faunus' eyes, a clear sign of lamentation. She obviously hadn't slept in days. But neither did he.

Next to the cat-faunus, there was Weiss, barely recognisable without her makeup and enchanting blue eyes. They looked hollow, dead inside, forcefully holding back a wave of emotions. She was wearing a plain black dress. Black, the color of grief. This appearance of Weiss felt so strange, so contradictory to how Jaune would normally watch the white-haired heiress dart across Beacon Academy, looking so bright and pure in her light-blue combat dress.

They all looked extremely exhausted, yet so incredibly restless.

In another row, there were his teammates, or presumably his former teammates. Each one of them stared back at the blonde with estranged eyes, treating him no different from a complete stranger. He had become a disappointment to them, and he wasn't even near ready to describe how much it hurt him. Aiming an apologetic gaze towards Pyrrha, it wasn't met, as she stared towards the ground beneath her, afraid to meet his eyes.

The ground that felt as if it was pulled away beneath him.

Back to the days when there was nothing to worry about, except making it to their next class on time. The blonde boy knew very well those days wouldn't come back. Not after what has happened.

It was his fault.

Whispers from the crowd infiltrated Jaune's ears. Prejudices crushed the little amount of confidence he had left in his soul. He knew that in this room, disgust and anger were directed towards him, skewering him like arrows to the bones.

He felt a chill running down his spine as he looked back, only to stare right into the brilliant crimson eyes of Qrow Branwen. His orbs were shooting flames back at him. If looks could kill, Jaune would have been buried by now. Taiyang Xiao Long sat next to him, infuriated, devastated eyes stinging right through the blonde. He couldn't imagine the loss this man had experienced. For the second time in his life as well.

He was a monster.

With a heavy swallow, Jaune felt the color escape from his cheeks as he turned on his seat to face forward again, his shoulders shaking heavily in the process.

Deep in the back of his mind he wished for it, to be levelled with the ground and just disappear. To escape this wretched earth, away from his overwhelming guilt.

The room fell quiet as a heavy door opened, and a man clad in long, black robes stepped inside. Everyone raised from their benches, public prosecutors and court officer included, watching as the man sat down behind at his desk, at the top of the judge's table. Raising his hand, the rest of the court sat down, waiting for the trial to begin.

Once again a heavy silence fell over the room like a blanket. This was it, the moment of truth. The moment that some anticipated, and some dreadfully feared. For Jaune, it was definitely the latter of the two. Slowly, the world seemed to crumble beneath his attention as Jaune solely focussed all of his attention on the judge, who was about to speak.

Clearing his throat, the judge looked up from his sheets, gazing down at Jaune as he spoke, the courtroom, along with him on the edge of their seats.

"Mr Arc, you have hereby been charged with the disappearance of Miss Ruby Rose."