Friends, we have lost one of the best creative minds of our time. Monty Oum inspired me greatly, though I never knew him personally, and I will be mourning his death for a long time. My heart goes out to his wife, Sheena, and the rest of his family and friends. Rooster Teeth has asked us to show our support by doing something creative, so I decided to write this in his honor. It's small, but it's something.
The members of Teams JNPR and RWBY sat silently in the hallway. Nora's face was in her hands and Jaune was trying his best to comfort her. Ruby paced back and forth while the others stared at the floor, walls, and ceiling. They pointedly did not look toward the busy hospital room.
The fight had come out of nowhere. One second, Team JNPR was on a routine patrol through the Emerald Forest. The next, they were fighting five Ursi. The fight was quick and ended with five dead Ursi and a severely-bleeding Ren.
Nurses ran in and out of the room. Whenever the door opened, the sound of a heart monitor could be heard, beeping tonelessly. Eventually, things grew calm and one of the nurses approached the anxious teens.
Nora immediately stood up, tears streaming down her face. "Is Ren okay?" she breathed, her hands trembling.
The nurse smiled comfortingly and nodded. "He is very lucky. A wound like that would have killed most other people."
Pyrrha frowned, sensing something wrong with the nurse's tone. "But?" she urged.
"But…" The nurse took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm afraid that there was extensive damage to the throat and vocal chords. We were able to get him to a point where he can breathe, and he will eventually be able to do so on his own. However, he will never speak again."
Nora let out a strangled hiccupping noise. "I-It's my fault…" she sobbed. "I didn't look out for him enough."
Jaune squeezed her shoulder and shook his head, sniffling loudly. "No, Nora. I'm Team Leader. I should've done a better job during that fight."
"I want you kids to stop thinking like that immediately," a new voice spoke.
Everyone turned around to see Professor Ozpin walking toward them, a grim expression on his face. He looked from one teen to the next before smiling gently.
"We are Hunters and Huntresses. Even if we weren't, tragedy happens. It can happen to the best or worst of people at any time. Often, we feel as if we are invincible, as if nothing bad could possibly befall us." He looked toward Ren's room, his eyes cloudy. "That simply isn't true, however. It is no one's fault. It's simply the way of the world. All we can do is cope with whatever we go through and try to find the strength to keep going. Ren may have lost something today, but he still has his life. He has you. With time, he will have his strength."
Nora let out a quiet sob, leaning weakly against Jaune's arm while Ruby used her cloak to wipe some of the tears from the ginger's cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.
Ozpin nodded. "You're welcome. Remember, if any of you need to talk, you know where to find me. That goes for any of the professors, as well." He glanced once more toward the room. "I'll visit him later on. Right now, I think it's you he'll wish to see first."
"Can we see him?" Pyrrha asked, looking toward the nurse.
"For a few minutes," she replied. "He won't be conscious for some time, but I do believe that a part of him will hear you." She opened the door and stepped aside, allowing the seven to walk in.
Nora immediately rushed to Ren's side and carefully took his hand in hers. She bit her lip at the sheer amount of IVs stuck in his arm. "Hi, Ren," she said, staring at his face. Tubes went down his nose and mouth and his throat was heavily bandaged. "It's us. We're here. All of us." Her lip trembled and she started to cry again.
Jaune, meanwhile, moved to Ren's other side and brushed some of his black hair from his face. "I'm sorry, Ren. This shouldn't have happened." He bowed his head as Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get through this. I promise. I'm crummy with languages, but I'll personally learn and teach you sign language if I have to. If that doesn't work, I'll become the best person at charades you've ever seen!"
Despite the situation, Yang let out a small laugh. "You playing charades? That would be something. Poor Ren will probably end up flailing his arms in frustration after just a few minutes."
"I know some sign language," Blake spoke up. "It shouldn't be so hard to learn." She looked toward Ren with a smile. "Thankfully, one doesn't need to talk to convey what matters."
"I'm still gonna miss hearing his voice," Nora sniffed, touching Ren's wrist to her tearstained cheek. "He'd always wake me up when I was having nightmares and tell me stories till I fell asleep again." She looked up as Weiss placed a hand on her shoulder.
"This could have been worse. What matters is that he's going to be alright," the heiress said firmly, though her voice betrayed a hint of tears. "You're going to need to be strong for him, more than anyone else. Remember that we're all here for you, though. Okay?"
Nora nodded slowly, the ghost of a smile coming to her face.
"That's more like it!" Ruby exclaimed. "That's the Nora he's gonna want to see when he wakes up."
At that moment, the door opened and the nurse poked her head in. "We're going to need to run some more tests, I'm afraid. You may come back in tomorrow."
Reluctantly, the teams turned away from their friend and walked toward the door. Nora stared down at Ren for a moment before bringing her finger to her lips, touching it to his nose, and murmuring a quiet "Boop." Afterward, she straightened her back, turned around, and followed the others into the hall.
She didn't notice that, as she walked away, the fingers of Ren's right hand moved ever so slightly.
I've seen fics and pictures that show Ren being dead in response to Monty's death, but I refuse to believe that. Kermit the Frog didn't die with Jim Henson. Andrew from Touched by an Angel didn't die with John Dye. Ren is a piece of Monty that has been left behind, along with all of the characters of RWBY. If RWBY continues (and I sincerely hope it does, as I know that Monty wouldn't want his brainchild ending after one season), I feel that this would be the best way to handle Ren. I can't see anyone else voicing him, but I feel that killing him would just be wrong. Until canon states otherwise, all RWBY fics that I write will keep this headcanon of Ren being mute. This is my way of acknowledging Monty's loss while saying that he will never be truly gone.
Rest in Peace, Monty. Thank you for all you have done. Every time I watch an episode of RWBY or RvB, I'll think of you.