Do You Believe in Destiny?
CHAPTER ONE: All the Kings Horses
The ship had to stop on an oncoming island to repair the substantial damage done to its body from increased grim activity.
Her breath showed in the freezing temperature. Crew members handed blankets and food to the dozens of travellers; many of whom were construction workers traversing for the reconstruction of vale.
With the threat of Solitas closing their boarders and threat of reducing or stopping dust exports, many fanatically were buying dust while they could in fear the mines would be blockade causing dust to be scarce. If that occurred, then both citizens and huntsmen would have difficulty protecting themselves from the grim who were more active from heighten negativity. A consequence from the Fall of Beacon.
She looked at the passengers being cared for before glancing at the boat. Thankfully, some of the passengers had offered to help with maintenance. However, it would surely be a few days before it was safe enough to return to sea. She looked behind her to the forest. She didn't fear the distance or the grim. The ship was merely transportation which should have gotten her to Vale the quickest.
She didn't want to wait. She wanted answers.
She took out her scroll in hopes she was close enough to Vale's network. Her eyes alight when it picked up a signal. Going to her contacts, she pressed her top contact. It was disconnected much to her dismay. Leaving a quick message hoping to be in contact soon, she put her scroll away looking back to the forest. She would continue to travel by foot, ignoring the twisting ache caused by her stomach.
The trek occasionally interrupted by the local grim—particularly ursa and beowolves.
It was then that she saw a group ahead of her. There was some familiarity but remained uncertain as to why. She had come across plenty of people, however, so brushed it aside. "Pardon me."
The caped girl's eyes widen, and she hurriedly looked around as if there was an oncoming attack. Once realizing there was only a petite blonde girl and no one else she sighed; her shoulders releasing their previous tension.
The tall blond looked towards the frantic girl before looking towards the other two on his other side. The girl with the giant hammer shrugged while raising her hands to her chest palms up. He looked back to the girl who held herself upright much like a certain former crush. "Uh…sure…"
She wanted to ask which direction she needed to travel to reach vale, but reconsidered. They looked rather young and it was clearly noted that they possessed weapons. Perhaps they were students. If so, they may be able to answer her directly rather than waste time fruitlessly. "Perchance, are you students from Beacon?"
The gloominess was expected. Much had happened suddenly. During a festival nonetheless. The looked amongst themselves. It was clear to her that they were each others' current support.
"My apologies. My intent was not for you to dwell on that incident. I am in search of someone who attended Beacon as well. She may have returned home but there is a substantial possibility that she remained in Vale. I have yet to reach her with communications down."
"I can't make any promises that we'll know. But if possible, we'd like to help." The man dressed in green replied.
The short blond girl, no taller than the hammer girl, took out her scroll. Pressing the screen a few times she brought up a picture. "She is a first year. Her name is—" The confronted group gasp. Tears in some of their eyes and no one wished to make eye contact. "—Pyrrha Nikos."
The unsettling twist in her stomach returned. Pyrrha was strong. She knew how to fight well and her intentions quite noble. Images of the last time she saw the girl, on broadcast television came forthright to her mind. The faintest memory of three of these students beside her. But did that mean...?!
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The caped girl said still not being able to meet the girl's eyes.
"Pyrrha… Pyrrha died," said the blond in a scratchy voice. The girl in pink placed a hand up on his shoulder.
"I see," she said in a voice cold and tense. "I thank you for the information. I ask your forgiveness for inquiring. I see your distraught." She walked past them before stopping and turning back to them. "Please remain safe on your journey. It is what Pyrrha would want."
The group and the girl walk in different directions. Both towards their destinations.
"It never stops being painful does it?" said Jaune.
"You really need to stop blaming yourself, ya know." Nora looked to her leader. It never really gets better. Death that is. You only learn to live with it. But self-blame? She had already seen Ren fall to the sentiment before. She didn't want her other teammate to go through it too.
"I know." Nora gave him a harder stare. He put his hands up in defense. "I mean it. It was Cinder. It's just… sometimes the mind doesn't match the heart."
"That's why we have each other. No one has to go through this alone. And we can stop more people from feeling this way," said Ruby with a small smile. She hoped at least. They needed to get to Haven to prevent another disaster. "Sooo…" She rocked side to side. "Who was that back there?"
"Uh… I dunno." Jaune scratched the back of his neck. "But do you think she'll be okay? She looked pretty young. Around your age actually."
"And she wasn't carrying a weapon," noted Ren. Something was off. Pyrrha was from Anima like Nora and himself. But Patch was further west than Vale. If she knew Pyrrha, presumably from her hometown, then she should have made it to Vale first. And local communication was up, so being uncertain whether she had made it home made no sense. Pyrrha had never left the continent before Beacon.
"Maybe we should have went with her to the closest village," pondered Nora with a finger on her cheek as she looked up towards the grey sky.
"NO!" The remaining members of Team JNPR stopped to blink at Ruby who had the modesty to cover her mouth in shame. "I didn't mean it like that!" Her voice explaining at the same speed as her semblance. "I mean that would have taken us back the other way. And she already scared me when we first met. I totally thought she was my dad. I don't doubt that he would try to chase me down. I mean I didn't really know how to say goodbye and he's such a worry wart. But sometimes it's just too much. I can make my own decisions too!"
"Wait. You ran away?!" Nora scratch her head. "But we met at your place."
"Well I did leave a note." Ruby smiled and shrugged not seeing the problem with the statement.
"Riiight." Jaune didn't know what else to say. It didn't seem like Ruby to just leave—who was he kidding. It was exactly like her. She and her team were always up to stuff. Honest to the 'ask for forgiveness rather than permission' logic.
"Sooo… When's lunch?"
"Nora!"
The encounter with the girl and Pyrrha momentarily pushed to the back of their thoughts.
She failed. Again.
She failed her kingdom.
She failed her people.
She failed at obtaining the grail; destroyed by her own hands. Failed to resist the command seals.
She failed starting life anew; the path she thought she should have taken.
She failed him.
She failed her once and now has failed her again.
No matter her actions, it always ended in failure.
It was always everyone else who paid her crimes. It was herself that deserved all the punishment.
A girl who could not live for herself or else she would fail herself. A girl who needed to atone for her sins. A girl who lived for other people. A person who could only be saved from a punishment she would never receive. For she could only see redemption by her own eradication.
Because how many others will die from her poor examples?
She stopped and sat on the cold, frozen ground and leant back against the tree. When was the last time she had a proper conversation with Pyrrha in person? She couldn't recall. "What happened…?"
She could recall Pyrrha protecting victims of bullying. Bringing home a rabbit with a broken leg. Early morning practices. Evening practices. Eating together. Clinging while she left that life behind. Congratulating half-heartedly when she called about getting into Beacon.
Fearing she would fall just like herself. Just like him.
A tear escaped and ran half way down her cheek.
"Ruby!" A male's voice could be heard in the distance. Repeatedly calling out the same thing. Presumably a person.
"Hey!" A pair of feet stopped in front of her. "Have you seen a girl? This tall." She raised his hand to compare her supposed height compared to his. "Black hair, red tips. Red cape. Silver eyes. Carries a giant scythe."
"I have." The man's eyes lightened with joy. "I fear it was over an hour ago and she was travelling. She will be long gone from where I saw her."
His shoulders slumped. Her placed a hand over his face as he sighed out Ruby once more. "Thanks for the help." He stared down the road and sighed before looking back the way he came.
She raised herself to be on equal footing—as much as their heights allowed. "If it allows comfort, she was with three others. It should allow for some protection. I do fear that someone was following them though."
"That would be Qrow. I'll have to trust him." He sounded almost bitter in the way he pronounces the words. "I've got another to worry about at home."
She allowed a small smile to takeover. "Your daughters?"
"Yeah. They got a lot of traits from their mothers. Why couldn't they get more from me? Besides my amazing humour." He looked at the girl. She couldn't be older than his youngest. Maybe more mature as she had a way of being charismatic just by how she holds herself. "But what about you? It's not safe for a kid to be wandering out by themselves. Especially without a weapon. The grimm have been pretty bad."
His shoulders raised as he felt her glare pierce him. "I'm hardly a child."
She didn't mind that she was stuck with a short height and small frame for life. She would not be called a child for it, though. She was far from such status.
"I'm sorry. A teen." He stressed the word teen mockingly, having gone through the same phase with both of his children.
"I'm old enough to have two children." It was a point to hopefully quiet the man from irritating her with her age. She felt satisfied when the man gapped. Not that he thought it was a big deal but now that he should stop referencing her as young. Then reality came crashing down on her. "Had two children."
The man's tone changed alongside hers.
"Sorry for your loss. Still, you shouldn't be out on your own. It's dangerous."
"I am capable of caring for myself." Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the surrounding forest. "Beowolves…"
"Huh?"
He used his arm to protect his face as a giant burst of wind blew in front of him. When he dropped his arm, the woman was gone. He turned hearing growls. He was too stunned to moved. She strikes without hesitation. Without wasting movement. Her hands grasped something he could not see, but there must clearly be something as her hands didn't connect to the beowolves as they were sliced before vanishing from existence.
Then in the time it took for him to blink, she was before him. He fell to the ground startled as she stabbed another beowolf behind him.
"Are you unharmed?"
He cursed himself at that moment. What kind of charisma was that, in which merely her fighting would blind him of his own surroundings. He was definitely blaming her and not his own inattentiveness. Nope. Not his fault at all.
How had he mistaken her for a child again? Because at this moment she looked nothing less that a hardened warrior.
"Uh. Yeah."
She extended her hand to aide him up.
"Pardon my rudeness. I have yet to introduce myself. I am Artoria Pendragon."
"That's…a strange name." She had gotten used to that remark, but she wasn't going to change her name to fit with Remnant's customs of colours.
"Perhaps yet it is my name."
"Sorry. It's not exactly a common name. I'm Taiyang Xiao Long."
A loud noise presented itself and Artoria's cheeks lightly flushed.
"You wouldn't happen to know of a restaurant around here would you."
Taiyang howled and Artoria scowled by his response.
Ferocious and charismatic as a lion to as small and needy as a kitten.
1. Honestly I wrote this while avoiding writing a book report to a really boring book so I don't particularly care too much for mistakes at the moment. (A rarity really).
2. I don't know if I am going to write more but if I do there will be loose elements of canon but mostly branch off from the beginning of Volume 4. With Remnant knowledge up to Volume 5 Chapter 6.
3. I just want to share a random plot bunny of Rin accidentally ending up in Remnant (always screwing up at a vital point) and ends up joining Roman and Neo simply because she has nothing and because Dust and Crystals are of interest and use of her. ;;;
