Hey everybody, long time y'all!

Been busy with school and all that, but I really wanted to write this story (I see it as practice for my writing class) and I managed to bust it out in about two hours. Little background info: I originally started writing this as a Jaune x Penny friendship story but I changed it to be based around a series of events that built Jaune's character. The events are out of order but I hope you can see the overarching story throughout.

RWBY is property of Roosterteeth, not me.

"That's the thing about heroes," his mother said, "no matter what happens, they always get a happy ending."

Jaune smiled.

Jaune couldn't tell if he had made a mistake by calling Penny his "friend." The term seemed special to her, even magical. Since then he had been subjected to multiple bone-crushing hugs and paralyzing slaps on the back, but he endured them all. Though he had a strong aura (which mended his love-torn frame) he didn't have the heart to tell her to stop. Her smiles were too sweet.

Ruby had pulled him aside when he first met Penny. She had looked conflicted, nervous even, hands tugging at the side of her skirt, eyes lidded.

"Penny's special," she had said. "You might think she's weird but if she calls you her friend she will protect you forever. She saved my life and she'll do the same for you. Friendship is the only thing that makes sense to her. Can you give her that?"

Jaune had known she was hiding something, but he played along. Ruffling the smaller girl's hair, he said, "absolutely."

Sirens pierced the air and screams erupted from the rooms throughout the hall. Jaune had felt this panic before, at the breach. The fear, the anger, the hate, all were signs of the coming storm.

Pyrrha was the fastest up and already had her armor on. Nora was close behind her and Ren was just starting to open his eyes.

Jaune tried to call out to his partner but the air was ripped from his lungs as the walls crumpled inward and the windows shattered.

"Your swordplay has improved, Jaune," said Pyrrha. "By the time the next festival begins, I have no doubt that you will defeat many opponents."

"Anything will be better than last year," Jaune said.

"Positivity."

"I'm not talking about my poor scores. I hope nothing bad happens. I don't know if I could handle another breach." He sat down on the edge of the roof and glared at the broken moon.

Pyrrha joined him, setting her weapons behind her. "Torchwick is in prison, Cinder is defeated, and her pawns are scattered. What could go wrong?" she asked.

Jaune sighed and ground his teeth together. "Doesn't it seem strange? Cinder talked a big game, but I feel like she wasn't the end. I feel like she didn't know even a fraction of what was going on."

"You think there is still a threat?"

"Don't know," he said, "something just doesn't feel right."

"You talk too much," said Blake, the girl looked up from her book to glare at the blonde.

Jaune frowned at her and put down his sandwich. His mind was scrambling to find an example of when he had insulted her or given her any reason to be angry with him, but he could find none. They never spoke, never hung out, and didn't even enjoy the same things. The only reason they were alone now was because of blind chance and an oddly similar eating schedule.

"But you have a strong presence," she said. "That's important."

Jaune's grin beamed.

"Consequences, Mr. Arc. Your form is sloppy," Goodwitch sighed. "Now stand up and do it again."

"Strength, children, strength. Humans fear the unknown more than anything. We resist it, battle it, and hate it. That is the cause of the Grimm. They live on the hate of every human and faunus on this planet. Thus, the only way to stop the Grimm is through strength. And before strength comes bravery. You must have bravery, children, bravery to walk into the unknown, bravery to fight injustice even when it hurts, bravery to hold a friend's hand and offer a word of support."

Port glared at his class under the frill of his eyebrows.

"Does anyone here believe they can do that?" he asked.

A few heads nodded, but Jaune remained still.

The tears had long since dried up and the larger Arc had set aside the usable lumber from the old treehouse. Jaune had taken it upon himself to wallow in pity at the death of his favorite fort, but could do little against the positivity of his father.

"Buildings are meant to knocked over, son, thats why we build them."

"What?" asked Jaune, bloodshot eyes calculating and angry

"That's why we build them, to show our strength, but time makes victims of us all. Eventually everything we've built will fall down, blow up, or get covered over. Then one day people will be digging up our ruins."

"Shouldn't we just give up then?" The little boy was more scared than he cared to admit.

"Of course not!" His father pulled Jaune to his side and set him on his knee. "Humans are meant to struggle, we were born to test ourselves. If we sit around letting the world dictate our lives we'd be nothing but animals." He tapped his large finger against the boy's chest and said, "you have to fight, that's all you can do."

"Jaune?"

The boy sniffed and gripped his friend's hand a little tighter. "Yes, Penny?" He was passionate, an emotional soul. He hadn't tried to hold back the tears.

"I understand life, but what does it mean to die?"

"No one knows, Penny, but it's what makes life worth living for. Everyone has to face it someday." He paused and groaned as his broken leg throbbed. "Please don't be scared."

"Affirmative. I don't believe I am."

"That's good."

The remainder of the Atlas military was disappearing into the smoky haze of the horizon, General Ironwood at the helm, probably wondering how it all went so wrong. The city had fallen in days and anyone alive had been left for dead. Every man, woman, and child now had a fast approaching expiration date and the Grimm would see them through.

Penny blinked twice as a her body shuddered and somewhere inside of her a piece of metal snapped. The gash on her side had been spewing sparks since she took the blow but they had slowly begun to taper off.

"Jaune?"

"Yes, Penny?"

It looked like it was hard for the girl to speak. "Is Ruby dead?"

Jaune sighed and tried his best to not start crying again. "Yes, Penny, yes she is. I think everyone is."

"Oh. That makes me sad."

Jaune patted her head and said, "it's alright."

Penny spoke again, her voice much softer than before, "I hope there's a Heaven, a place where everyone is waiting for us. I know it sounds illogical, but I can't help but want it.

"I know it's real and you'll be there too. You're a hero, Penny. You'll make it there, I'm sure."

"Will I see my friends again?"

"Of course, and I'll be right behind you."

The girl's eyes flashed and all at once, the dull glow that separated her from every machine, android, or robot that came before flickered out of existence. Jaune lay both of her hands across her chest and closed her eyes lightly.

Standing up, he smiled at her restful form, trying to capture the image in his mind. Her life had been short, hard, and painful but it had been a good one, her friends had seen to that.

A howl pierced the crumbling city and Jaune knew he didn't have much time. It had been blind luck that he had lived where the stronger had died, but there he was, the only survivor. He was glad he had made it this far; he was glad he got to hold Penny's hand when she needed it.

He had been bluffing when he told Penny there was an afterlife. He had never given himself to religion or any school of philosophy, but he hoped she would find happiness in the end.

"Besides," his shattered body felt good under the noon sun, "dead or alive, she'll still be Penny."

The last hero of Vale raised his sword.

The boat came to a lazy stop at the edge of the wooden dock. Jaune didn't know if he was supposed to get off or stay on, but the land seemed much more inviting so he disembarked, armor clinking against itself.

The plains seemed to stretch on forever, but Jaune hoped there was something more; the smiling faces and warm smiles of those that he had lost.

Jaune knew to listen to his heart, so he set out to find his happy ending.

So, there you have it. Hope you all liked it, this is one of the first time I have tried to write a sad story so I hope it worked out ok. A little explanation about the ending. As I was writing the first draft of this story I came to like the idea of the series' strongest and weakest characters together at the end. Jaune's survival was dumb luck but he was able to fulfill the role of the courageous hero.

Review if you would like, much appreciated if you do.

Stay safe everyone and remember to smile!

You little bastards