A/N: This is something I thought up regarding the tragedy we faced in the RWBY season 3 finale, mostly from Jaune's view on how he copes with Pyrrha's death.
I Will Shoulder Your Destiny
Jaune raced as fast as his legs could take him back to Beacon after ordering Ruby and Weiss to save Pyrrha. He was afraid, clear as one could tell. When he reached Beacon Academy, he could spy the shattered remains of the tower's top, and the Grimm Dragon nestled above. Nearby, he spotted Weiss and Sun together. "Weiss! Where's Ruby?!" he called.
"I sent her up to the tower, like you wanted!" she answered, heading to his side. Before Jaune could ask any further, the sky grew bright with a blinding light, forcing them to shield their vision. When the light subsided, they could see that most of the tower was incased in ice, including the dragon, now completely frozen in place. Jaune looked to Weiss, but she shook her head, indicating it was not her. "Pyrrha…" Jaune mumbled before breaking into a run towards Beacon. Behind him, Weiss followed, and behind her, Qrow. They entered the main hall and went for the elevator to Ozpin's office. Seeing that it was gone, they had to climb the service ladder inside.
Upon reaching the top and climbing in through the elevator itself, they came upon a startling sight: the entire office was encased in ice. Nearby, Cinder was forever frozen in a state of astonishment, and the dragon as well, looming over them. "Ruby!" Qrow called, dashing over to the unconscious girl. Weiss went over and helped her up.
"Pyrrha?" Jaune called, searching everywhere. She was nowhere to be found. "Pyrrha!" He spun around multiple times as he walked until his foot clanged against something. Looking down, he saw Pyrrha's shield, Akoúo̱, laying there. He picked it up and stared at it. "Why would she leave this behind?" he wondered. Nearby, he saw her spear, Miló, but he did not have a chance to gather it when Weiss called his name, pointing down at Cinder's frozen feet. Sitting there was Pyrrha's circlet. Jaune dropped the shield and took up the circlet in both hands.
"Weiss, call Pyrrha on your Scroll," he ordered. She nodded and dialed Pyrrha's number, but all there was was a dead tone. Jaune pressured her to try again multiple times, but it all ended in a dead tone.
"Look, wherever she may be, I'm sure she's fine. Once Ruby wakes up, you can ask her where Pyrrha Nikos is," Qrow reassured the blond. Together, they exited the office and made their way back outside and headed into Vale with their fellow Huntsmen.
–Four Days Later–
Jaune sat by Ruby's bedside in her house in Patch, awaiting her awakening. In those days, he has personally swept all of Vale searching for Pyrrha, but he found nothing, and his worry grows more and more each day. Ruby soon woke up, and Jaune wasted no time in questioning her about Pyrrha.
"Ruby, where is Pyrrha? Is she safe? Where is she? What happened up at the tower?" Questions like these spewed from him like a gushing faucet, and it was only when he had finished did Ruby remember what had happened. It all came flooding back, how she watched Cinder shoot the arrow into Pyrrha's chest, watched her gasp in pain, and then disintegrate her into ash. Ruby began to tear up and she had to look away from Jaune. "Ruby, tell what happened."
"She's…gone…" Ruby choked out. The tears came down her face.
"…What?…What do you mean?…"
"Pyrrha…Pyrrha is…she's dead, Jaune. I saw it happen…Cinder shot her with her bow and she…turned her to…ash…" Ruby broke down in tears, unable to speak anymore. Jaune stood up an backpedalled towards the door, his face twisted into shock. Jaune left the room, but not before taking Pyrrha's circlet, which was sitting on a small nightstand by the door. Jaune stared at the circlet as he wandered aimlessly around the house until he wandered into the sitting room where Qrow, Ren, and Nora were. His teammates immediately went to his side, asking if Ruby knew anything, only to have him fall to the floor in tears and bawling like a child.
"Pyrrha's…dead…" he eventually choked out, resulting in Ren and Nora shedding tears of their own.
A week passed, and Jaune soon had to return home to his family, though Ren and Nora were given permission by Taiyang and Qrow to stay at Patch. When Jaune returned home, his mother, Clair, embraced him in a tight hug, telling him how worried she was about him ever since she saw the invasion on the live screens. His father, Gris, expressed his blessings for Jaune's safety as well. Juan ignored them both and headed up to his bedroom with just a bag at his side, which contained a few clothes Taiyang gave to him, his armor, Crocea Mors, and a couple personal items. Upstairs, he found his seven sisters, Verte, Noir, Violet, Bleu, Liath, Rouge, and Blanc, all in their rooms. When they noticed Jaune was home, they abandoned all that they were doing and gave him a big hug a piece and asked if he was alright. He lied to them all and excused himself to his own bedroom. There, he locked the door, pulled down the blinds, undressed, crawled into bed, and cried himself to sleep.
As the weeks passed, where Fall gave way to Winter, burying the once-beautiful autumn leaves under the snow. During that time, Jaune barely left his room, and when he did, it was only to use the bathroom or to eat, though his sisters or mother often brought up a plate and drink for him, of which he would take, sometimes giving them a mumbled "thank you" before locking the door. All day and all night, he would either cry, stare off into space, think about Pyrrha and what her last moments were like, stare at her circlet on his nightstand, which sat next to a framed photo of him and his team the first night after initiation, and, of course, think about the kiss they shared. "Why couldn't you ever tell you how you felt about me, Pyrrha?" he asked the circlet one day. "Were you, the great Pyrrha Nikos, too embarrassed? Too shy? Why?"
Just then, a knock sounded from his door. "Jaune, I have some lunch for you," called Liath. Jaune trudged out of bed, where he then opened the door far enough to take the plate of a sandwich, chips, and a glass of iced tea. "Jaune, do you need–?" Liath began before Jaune closed the door on her and locked it without a spoken word. Liath returned downstairs, where she ran into Noir. "Is he still silent up there?" Noir asked her sister.
"Yes, he doesn't say a word to either of us, and he keeps the door locked."
"Geez, I can't begin to comprehend what's he's going through…"
"What do you mean?" asked Verte, who came up to them.
"Don't you get it? Haven't you noticed that the first night he came home, he asked for that photo of his team he sent home to us? Plus, when I went up to give him some dinner last night, I saw that circlet on his nightstand; that's the same one that girl in his team photo wears." Liath cupped her hands over her mouth to hide her shriek.
"Are you suggesting…?" she stuttered.
Noir nodded. "I think Jaune lost that girl in the invasion, and I think he blames himself." The three sisters stared up the stairs for a moment, worried more now than ever for Jaune.
Upstairs, Jaune hastily ate his meal and left the plate and glass outside his door, then retreated back into bed. He stared longingly at the photo of Team JNPR, wishing that things were the way they were, when everyone was happy and the biggest worry was one of Professor Port's surprise quizzes. "Pyrrha, I miss you so much," he told the circlet. "I know I've said that so many times, but it's true…I wonder where you are right now; are you in AboveRealm, like the church always said where we go?" Jaune let out a sigh. "You know, I was going to tell you how I felt about you back before you had your match with Penny, that is until you went off on your destiny speech and smacked me into a wall…if I knew then what was going on with you, I would've said it differently…"
Jane sat up out of bed and took the photograph to look at it closer. He gazed at the happy faces he and Pyrrha wore side by side and he felt his eyes grow watery with tears. A couple teardrops fell onto the photo staining it wet. "I miss you so much, Pyrrha," he sobbed. He wiped his nose a few times, but his tears continued. Just then, Noir knocked on his door.
"Jaune, we're going out to dinner. Do you want to come along?" she asked, knowing what his answer would be anyway.
"No, I'm staying home," he answered.
"Oh, okay…" A footstep could be heard, a pause, then another, this time closer to the door. "Jaune, I know you're upset over what happened, but you can't hide in your room forever. You need to come out eventually. Besides, would Pyrrha want to see you sulking around like this?" Noir left him alone with that, leaving with the rest of the Arc family for dinner. Jaune sat by himself for a few minutes, thinking about what Noir said. He got up eventually and slipped his sneakers on. He went into his parent's room and took some Lien from their drawers, even though he knew he should not have done it. He went back for the circlet, and went to the garage, where Verte keeps a motorized scooter. Jaune hopped onto the scooter and headed into town which was a few miles away. There, he headed to the local jewelry store and met with the owner.
"What can I do for you, young man?" the owner asked. Jaune placed Pyrrha's circlet onto the counter.
"Do you think you could melt this down to make a pendant out of it, as well as fuse the emeralds together into one stone to fit into it?" Jaune asked.
The owner took a look at the copper circlet and the emerald earrings. "I suppose I could, but it will cost you a pretty Lien." Jaune placed the stack of Lien totaling a few hundred onto the the counter. "Money is no issue here," the teen told him.
"I'll have it done in three days then," the owner smiled, eyeing the money. Jaune returned home and spend the next three days in his room. During that time, he thought about what he should do, and he figured it out. When the three days ended, Jaune went back into town and picked up the pendant; the copper circlet was now a wonderful oval-shaped pendant with a large green emerald set in the center. Jaune then picked out a sturdy grey chain and linked the pendant to it, paid the owner, and returned home with it around his neck.
Two days later, the Arc family went out to do some shopping, leaving Jaune home alone. He decided now to spring into action. He made a backpack of some dry food, some clothes, and a few supplies, then he left a note for his family which he left on his nightstand. He tucked the team JNPR photo into his pocket and left his house on Verte's scooter.
Jaune reached the train station in no time and headed for Patch. When he arrived at Ruby's house, he was greeted by Ren and Nora. Once he was inside, he sat down with the two of them and Ruby in the sitting room. "I've been thinking things over these last few weeks since the invasion, and I think the attack on Beacon was only the beginning," he told them. "While I don't know everything that happened with Pyrrha, the Maidens, or with Cinder, I know that this is not the end. Cinder was working for someone, I just know it."
"Well, what are we to do?" Ren asked. "We have no idea where their trail may lead to, and honestly, we are at a dead end with the CCT tower down and unable to get any calls from the other Kingdoms."
"Sounds like you kids need some help," said Qrow, who appeared in the doorway. "So, you want to find out who was responsible for the attack, huh, Jaune?" Jaune's hand felt around his pendant as he gave Qrow a nod. "Well, I happen to know that our enemy's trail has lead to Haven Academy, given that that was where Cinder and her minions claim to hail, though whether she truly did or not, we don't know, but it's all we got to go on."
"Uncle Qrow, why…?" Ruby began until he hushed her.
"I know you kids have been through a lot. Hell, we all have, but fact is, we will need all the help we can get. It's time to stop being students and start being Huntsmen. I know you kids haven't had full training yet, but I know you're capable enough to handle this, and I know someone will be happy to help you four too." Qrow nudged his head towards the other sitting room doorway, where a tall man wearing all black, except for his red shirt, stood. He was garbed in a black trench coat and his messy black hair hung just over his forest green eyes.
"Hey, kids, I heard about Beacon. Name's Kyler," he told them.
"I know you'd rather have me come with you, but Kyler is a better Huntsmen than I am, believe it or not, and I have to tend to other matters." Qrow passed by them all, stopping at Jaune and going down to his ear. "I heard everything from Ruby. Are you alright?" he whispered to him. Jaune clenched his hand and gave him a nod. Qrow nodded back and exited the room.
"We shall leave for Haven today, so finish anything you need to do and we should go immediately," Kyler told them before leaving. Nora and Ren left the room, but Jaune and Ruby stayed.
"Jaune, I'm so sorry I couldn't save Pyrrha in time," Ruby quivered, soon breaking down in tears.
"Ruby, it's not your fault. It's mine," Jaune told her on the verge of tears himself.
"No! Don't say that!"
"Ruby, it's my fault! Had I been stronger than I am now, I could've gone with Pyrrha up to the tower. I would've stand a chance. I would've been able to protect her as much as she protected me so many times, and yet I ended up being the lovable idiot stuck in a rocket-propelled locker while Pyrrha sacrificed herself for us…for me.
"Pyrrha went up to that tower knowing she was going to lose. She did it because she was the only one strong enough to stand up to Cinder and be able to hold her off long enough for help to arrive. She did it not because she wanted to, but because she had to as a Huntress…" Jaune had to wipe his eyes and inhale deeply to avoid breaking down. "…Well, I'm not going to let her sacrifice be in vain. I'm going on this journey, I'm going to become stronger, and I…I will shoulder her destiny. She told me she believed it was her destiny to become a Huntress and protect the world, but she was so unsure if she could do it. Well, I'm not going to be unsure. I will become stronger so I will be the one who will protect the world so no one else has to die like she did. I will become stronger using the knowledge she gave me so there no longer needs to be warriors unsure if they can protect themselves, their friends, or the world. I'll become a Huntsman and carry on Pyrrha's legacy and…" Jaune grit his teeth and clenched both hands into fists. "…I'll get my revenge…"
Ruby went over and threw her arms around him, to which he accepted. "Well, we've got a long way to go to reach Haven, so we'll have plenty of time for training," she told him with a smile.
They all packed for the journey and met Kyler by the front door, where he escorted them out into the snow-covered land of Patch. "Hopefully the Gods above give us a safe journey," Kyler remarked as they set off for Haven. Jaune, however, was focused on the pendant around his neck. He rubbed his thumb over the emerald and he gave it a kiss.
"Pyrrha, I'll work hard to become a stronger Huntsman, and I'll make you proud while you watch me. Thank you for everything, Pyrrha…I love you…" Jaune thought as they headed down the pathway.
"…It is in passing that we achieve immortality…" - Pyrrha Nikos.