Hello! This is my first RWBY fic so reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
The night that Beacon fell. It was a night that no one in all of Remnant, especially the citizens of Vale, would forget. Many would recall the evening and mourn the unspeakable tragedy that took place, but a select few would look back and celebrate the beginning of a new era: an era of darkness. Little Neopolitan, or 'Neo' for short, should have been one of those select few celebrating on that night, but how could she when, in the wake of the rising chaos, she'd managed to lose the one person who was closest to her - her partner, Roman Torchwick.
Even now, days later, she could still see the events play out in her mind as if they had occurred just hours ago. Everything had been going perfectly - she'd busted Roman out of his holding cell, and together they had hijacked an airship and manipulated the general's robotic guards into attacking the citizens instead of the monsters.
Then that damn red-haired, scythe-wielding student from the academy showed up.
At first, it seemed like everything would still work out. The fight that broke out between Neo and the female student had resulted in the scythe wielder being disarmed, barely holding onto the side of the ship for dear life. Neo knew that a fall from such a height would most certainly result in death, not to mention that there were hundreds of griffons surrounding them that were eager to swoop in and gobble the girl whole. She had extended the blade inside her umbrella and pointed it at the red head, fully prepared to swing at the her hand and send her plummeting to her death as soon as Roman finished his little triumphant speech. Neo had not, however, expected the girl to press the button which opened her umbrella, sending her flying off the airship into the swarm of flying grimm.
Neo hugged her legs closer to her body. The sound of Roman's voice screaming her name as she was sent flying off the ship still haunted her.
Miraculously, she had managed to survive her terrifying descent through talons and feathers that night, but not without damage to both herself and her weapon. Her partner had not been so lucky.
Hesitating for a moment, she took her scroll out of her pocket and tapped the slightly cracked screen to view her messages. She swiped her finger until she found the ones she had sent to Roman on that very night.
- Hey, I've landed. Did you kick Little Red's ass yet?
But ten minutes had passed and she hadn't received any response back. Strange, he usually finished his fights by now...
- Roman?
- Roman!
- C'mon, stop messing with me! It's no fun down here!
And that was when she saw it: the airship she had just been on, falling to the ground, explosions erupting from all sides as it plummeted downward. She found herself paralyzed with fear during and moments after the crash. She feared the worst.
- ROMAN THE SHIP JUST CRASHED TEXT ME NOW!
She received no response.
- DID YOU GET OFF?!
Nothing.
- ROMAN!
Not a single word back.
- Please...Oh god please don't leave me…
- Please…
Tears were welling up in the girl's mismatched eyes as she finished reading the final message she'd sent. Putting her scroll away, she looked down by her feet. There, lying in front of her, were Roman's hat and cane. It was all that was left of him.
Neo picked up these two objects and held them close, shutting her eyes as tears streamed down her face. She wished this was all just a bad dream, that she'd suddenly wake up and find her partner in crime still alive and well. But every time she opened her eyes she was confronted with the sight of the ship crash, her injuries, the shadows of lingering nearby Grimm, and the two objects before her.
Why? Why did it have to be this way? Roman was the only one who ever cared about her, and the only one she ever cared about. Now he was gone; she was alone again.
Overhead, the sound of thunder echoed through the ruins, signaling the coming arrival of rain.
This… this tragedy could've been prevented, she realized. Her grip on the hat and cane tightened. If she and Roman hadn't been so foolish to start working for Cinder… if they had chosen to run away when they had the chance… the fight with Little Red wouldn't have happened. The ship wouldn't have crashed. Roman would still be here.
"Stupid...stupid...stupid!" her mind screamed, the hand which held the cane shaking as she gripped the weapon with all her might. "You made a horrible mistake! You didn't even try to go back! You left him to fight alone! How could you let him-"
Her anger boiling over, Neo stood up and opened her eyes just in time to notice a beowolf lunge at her. She dropped the hat. Gritting her teeth, she held the cane with both hands and fired despite the tears blurring her vision.
Her first shot nicked the Grimm's shoulder.
Her second shot hit its arm.
Her third shot missed completely.
She couldn't focus, not with the plethora of angry and mournful thoughts racing through her head.
Suddenly, an image of Cinder began to materialize before her. A smile was spread across the black-haired woman's face, giving a false sense of motherly love. "Neo, sweetie, I'm glad I found you," she said. "Roman was such a hard worker. I know you and him were very close. I'm so terribly sorry for your loss."
Neo gritted her teeth so hard her mouth began to hurt. The thunder rumbled overhead again. She aimed the cane at Cinder's heart. Like hell you are, she thought to herself. Screw Cinder and her plan. She didn't care anymore. She wasn't going back.
Ever.
She fired. The illusion shattered into pieces like glass as the shot passed through it, landing a direct hit on the beowolf. But Neo didn't stop firing. She imagined what Cinder's screams of agony would sound like as she shot round after round, acting as if the illusion was still there before her.
She fell to her knees as soon as she could take no more. As she gasped for air, the beowolf collapsed and after a few seconds faded into nothing. But the girl did not look up. She kept her head lowered and stared at the dirt underneath her, wishing that the liquid which was starting to drench it was not her tears and the pouring rain, but rather the blood of the one who started all of this. The one who led to Roman's demise.