Ruby's Sentinel

Jaune Arc would not consider himself a strong fighter. Granted compared to the general run of the mill soldiers used by the armies and security forces of the four kingdoms he was leagues ahead in terms of skill and training. However, compared to his fellow Hunters in training he was weak. This was mostly due to him having forged his way into the prestigious school with no prior useful expense aside from several years of self-training. One could be as bold to say that if he had the proper credentials and certified training before hand, he would have been one of the best in the school.

These are the thoughts that plagued the young Knight every hour of every day following the fall of Beacon.

Thinking that maybe if he was stronger, that if he had trained harder, that if he had earned his way to where he lied to be, that maybe Beacon might have stood and all those lost, saved. It's common for one to think of such things after a loss so great. Jaune was not the first, nor would he be the last.

He would be a threat to himself and others if he didn't have these thoughts. He would have blindly charged an enemy without even the slightest hint of what it was he was fighting. Thinking of the days and events that leads to something big gives insights to what needs to be worked upon to improve one's self.

It has been a month since the fall of Beacon, and Autumn was reaching the end of its cycle. Every day the temperature fell sending the lands into a freezing embrace. The first snowfall had yet to drop but the morning frost and chilling lakes and streams signaled that Winter was just around the corner. However, the cloudless skies and warm rays of sunshine would say differently. However wrong they be.

Sadly, just as the temperature fell so did the spirits of Nora, Ren and Jaune. They had hoped that once either Yang or Ruby awoke things would get better. They were wrong. As soon as Yang awoke she screamed. It escalated to the point that it took both Taiyang and Qrow to hold her down as she thrashed around in a panicked frenzy.

Once she calmed down to the point where she was able to talk, instead of doing so she became catatonic. To be fair learning that your baby sister was in a coma, your partner that you trusted with your life had abandoned you, and that two friends were now dead would do that to you. So instead of having a moral boost. It fell. And hard. It had been a weak since Yang awoke and now she was in a withdrawn state of mind, unwilling to talk or even eat some days. It wasn't right.

Matter of fact nothing was right.

The city of Vale was under constant assault by Grimm, Beacon, which had stood for well over one hundred years according to some, was overrun with the spawn of evil, and the people of Vale were cut off from the rest of the kingdoms with little to no hope of help from outside forces aside from the soldiers already there from Atlas. Even now millions braved the open oceans on massive flotillas of fishing boats, cargo ships and tug boats as they abandoned the city to find refuge in the other kingdoms. Even General Ironwood's ploy to use Jaune as a poster boy of unity fell flat on its face due to the inability of communication between kingdoms. And above all Ruby…

Ruby…

Well Ruby was still in her coma. Or as Qrow described, acute aura depletion.

Speaking of the old scythe wielder.

For some reason or another the man trusted the young knight. Be it voluntary or not was another thing entirely. When Jaune had first met the man he was sitting to the side keeping watch over Yang and Ruby in a medical tent. They had talked off and on periodically since then, involving multiple issues such as Vale, Beacon, Ozpin, Pyrrha… and even a topic that Jaune had sworn not to discuss with anyone outside of Qrow and General Ironwood.

Their talks combined with Ren's help in controlling Jaune's bouts of depression helped the young blond move through the stages of grief. Now whenever he thought of his late partner he was able to do so without ending up in a catatonic state that made the Grimm search for their next meal. Which led to him wanting to help more around the home that now served as Team JNPR's base of operations.

To which Taiyang had agreed to allow Jaune to watch over Ruby when he was not there. How or why Qrow convinced the elder blond to allow such a thing threw Jaune for a loop. He wasn't a good fighter nor did he have complete control over his aura. When asked why Qrow just said Ruby trusted him and that was enough for him.

So here he was sitting next to the young prodigy as she slept. Jaune glimpsed at the IV bag that hung near her, it's fluids the only thing necessary for her to survive. Unlike hospitals where IV bags were a constant sight. Ruby only needed to be hooked up to one every few hours to get her nutrients that were needed. Watching the small drops of liquid drip into the tube that enabled her to live made Jaune ponder on what exactly was going to happen after she woke up… If she woke up.

He knew she was strong. Ruby was a skilled leader and fighter even compared to the older more experienced fighters that attended Beacon. Heck her scores in the Strategic, tactical, and logistics understanding class as well as all the others proved that. She may have been childish, naive and socially awkward but she knew her stuff. But could she take on a whole new team out of the blue just to find out who perpetrated the attack? Could he fallow her like Pyrrha, Ren and Nora followed him? Would she even do what Qrow said she would?

As he asked these questions to himself he watched her as her face twitched and move as if it was trying to awaken itself. Her dark red hair sat like a halo around her head making her ghostly pale skin seem like it was glowing. She was his first friend at Beacon. She was also the one who installed his drive to become the best leader possible. She and Pyrrha were the first ones to believe in him besides his family.

Now… now she was vulnerable.

All her skill.

All her natural talent.

Everything special about her.

Was worth nothing in her current state.

Instead she was left with him to watch over her.

Him, a boy who up until a year ago never killed a grimm, didn't know what aura was, and who's only weapon was a relic from a bygone age of war and death.

Jaune's lips drew into a line as he thought about his shortcomings. At the same time the small constant voices of Pyrrha and Ruby broke through the cloud of negative thoughts and reprimanded him. He let a small smile replace the line that decorated his face. Even when they weren't able to, they encouraged him to believe in himself.

Jaune had promised Qrow that day in the hospital tent that should Ruby call he would answer. And an Arc never breaks a promise. Even if she didn't he would still hunt that woman down…

He remembered hearing about medical stories involving coma cases. He remembered hearing about how the loved ones would talk to the individuals trapped in their own bodies until they recovered. He remembered how the patients told about remembering every word spoken to them.

Seeing that he was driving himself to madness thinking about the situation they were in he decided to put those stories to the test.

He drew in a breath as he prepared himself to talk to someone who couldn't talk back. Talking to yourself is easy… someone else? Its… difficult, to say the least.

"Hey Ruby… what's new." He began softly, mentally slapping himself for such a stupid question.

…

"Man this is strange. Talking to you like you can hear me. Well, I don't know if you can or not…" He stopped as he collected his thoughts. It was harder than it sounded.

…

"Qrow said that when he found you, you were on the tower… I-" The blond paused as he fought to control his emotions. Although he didn't have to worry about anyone interrupting him with Taiyang in the village, Qrow off doing who knows what, and Ren with Yang as Nora kept watch, he still refused to shed tears in front of others… Especially not Ruby.

…

He felt a crocodile tear fall from his eye. "I want you to know Ruby. No… I need you to know. I don't blame you for what happened to Pyrrha… I know you did your best and i-it wasn't your fault…"

…

The blond's eyes narrowed as the image of a black haired woman danced across his memories. Her smile cruel and void of any positive emotion. "The person behind that voice however…" Jaune said with an edge in his voice. "She's the one at fault. And If I find her- When I find her… Pyrrha, Penny, Yang…" he gripped her small hand with his own. "You… Everyone hurt by her will be avenged. I promise."

…

His eyes flashed gold for a moment before he let out a breath. His eyes reverting back to normal hue as his shoulders slackened. He closed his eyes as he let out a sigh.

He didn't see the white light travel down his arm before vanishing in the younger girl's' hand. Nor did he see the flicker of movement underneath Ruby's closed eyes.

The door opening broke his concentration as he snapped his eyes to the open door frame as his body sprang up, his hand instantly grasping his sword's hilt.

Qrow and Taiyang both raised their eyebrows at the display of protection. At Qrow's small smirk and nod of approval, Jaune relaxed his stance and removed his hand form his blade. Taiyang stepped up to the young knight and led him back into the hallway. "Get your team together. Qrow said that there's a large pack of beowolfs near the edge of the village. Go vent some frustration." With that he closed the door.

Jaune's shoulders sagged before he squared them ready for battle. He went to Yang's room to find Ren sitting quietly next to the boxing blond as she gazed outside the window. Ren looked over to his leader before nodding. He placed a hand on Yang's shoulder before stepping out alongside Jaune.

Once outside Nora landed next to her boys her hammer at the ready. Jaune gave her a smile before running off towards the village that now acted as the capital of Vale, the two following closely behind.

From inside Ruby's room Qrow watched Taiyang fiddle with the radio as he tried to get any signal. A task issued by the Council of Vale. After a few moments Qrow grew annoyed at the sound of static and told his brother in law to turn it off. They talked for a few more moments before Qrow left to tend to Yang, leaving Taiyang alone with his daughter. The elder blond soon found himself falling into a slumber as he sat in the chair. Exhaustion of the month's events taking a heavy toll on the hunter. Not moments later did the eyes of Ruby Rose snap open revealing her silver eyes to the world.

Author's Note: Now this was a tricky one to get done. At first I wanted Ruby to be awake and have a nice chat with everyone's favorite idiot. (I say that with the most respect possible.) But to fit it in with the mode of the story Arc of the other four, I changed my mind and rewrote it so Ruby was still in her coma/sleep

Now I haven't decided on whether or not I would include Blake or just leave the last one with Yang and her story. So like the lazy American that I am, you get to decide... Yay!

And yes all these stories are linked in one overarching arc... Pyrrha's Knight. Weiss's Guard, Nora's Leader, Lie Ren's Captain and Ruby's Sentinel in that order. Feel free to check them out if you want. Or not. I won't be able to tell if you do or don't.

And please Review what you liked, hated, or you can critique my work, point out errors, worship my mastery of the written word... You know, the works. Thanks and I'll see you in the next one.