Shattered Past Book 1 Chapter 2
I DO NOT OWN RWBY
A young seven year old Pyrrha darted awake. She found herself in a comfortable bed with crimson comforters over her. She looked around the room, it was a rather quaint room. It had red carpeting with a desk off to the side, right up against the window. A nightstand was right beside her bed with a few books on it with a picture frame on it. A closest was directly opposite from her bed. The room looked familiar, a little too familiar.
She picked up the picture frame, she saw her face in between two familiar people, an older man and woman, yet he couldn't make out their facial features. Each face had a large 'x' scratched over their faces. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud
*THUD* *THUD*
Coming from the door that led out of the room. *THUD THUD THUD THUD* It grew more intense. *BANG BANG BANG* It shook the room. Pyrrha leapt out of bed and scrambled underneath her bed. Maybe no one would noticed.
*CRACK* *CRACK *BANG* The door was kicked down with a tremendous force that made the door come down which made the child yelp in surprise. She scrambled to get her hands over her mouth. A pair of heavy boots walked into the bed room. *CLUNK* *CLUNK* *CLUNK* *CLUNK* "Where are you girl?" A voice quietly said with sinister intent. The boots moved over to the closest "Are you in the closest?" *Clack*
*Click*
*BRAAAAAAAAAAP* *BRAAAAAAAAP BRAAAAAP BBBBBRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAPPPPP*
Pyrrha held her hands to her ears to block out the loud crescendo of an automatic rifle firing.
Bullet casings fell to the ground. "Not anymore." The man chuckled as he ripped open the closest.
"Shit." The man cursed. "Girly come on out, we just want to talk."
"What the hell are you doin up there?!" Another man shouted.
"Trying to find that damn girl!" The man in the room shouted.
"Well let's get going, it won't matter, we're burning the housed down, boss' orders." The other man shouted back.
"Fuck." The man in the room said as he walked out of the, he dropped the empty magazine on the ground and loaded a fresh one. Pyrrha just laid under her bed. Who were those men? Where was she? What just happened? Most importantly, why did he want to hurt her? She never did anything wrong to other people.
A few minutes went by, Pyrrha could smell smoke. She quickly rolled out from underneath her bed. She quickly got up and scrambled down the hallway. That was when she noticed the staircase that led to the main floor of the house was an inferno. The fire was quickly spreading up the stairs, consuming everything it touched.
The redhead ran back into her room. The fire was quickly spreading through the hallway. Pyrrha frantically looked around the room frantically thinking. There was one way she could make it out. She ran pulled her desk away from the window. She opened up the window to see the house consumed by fire. She backed up and sprinted towards the window. She darted out of the window and tried to tuck into a ball and brace for the ground.
She expected to land on the ground but she didn't. She landed in a thick water, she gasped for air but realized her mouth was being filled with this odd tasting water. Realizing it was water she scrambled towards the surface for air. She swam up and reached clawed at the surface. She gave a might heave to pull herself on the surface. She surfaced, panting for air. She looked at the water, it was a lot thicker… and redder then normal water. That when she realized… it wasn't water.
It was blood. She was in a pool of blood, and was pulling her down. She resisted as much as she could, but the pull was too strong to resist. She slowly sank down until all she could was see red and taste blood, everything went black.
John watched the poor girl go through the nightmare. It was a stark ending to what he assumed would have been a peaceful and calm sleep. He mentally berated himself, realizing that she was abandoned, and also shot, who could tell what her dreams were of. She was now thrashing around as much as she could even with her shoulder being injured.
John stood up and gently shook Pyrrha's good shoulder. "Pyrrha." Her eyes darted open immediately. She looked confused, bewildered, and sad. "You were having a nightmare." He said gently.
"Oh." She replied with. "I'm sorry." She looked down, hoping to avoid John's concerned face.
"Do you want to talk about it?" John asked. She shook her head.
"If you ever want you, just let me know. You know you never have to be afraid to talk to me." He said with a reassuring smiling. The young redheaded girl looked up and gave a small smile and nodded. "Thank you."
*A WEEK LATER*
"Jaune! Can You help me get the mattress?" A woman's voice could be heard from an attic.
"Coming mom!" A young scraggly blonde said. Jaune darted up the stairs, today was the big day. Dad was finally coming home with the guest. Her mom explained that a girl needed some place to stay for a while, of course Jaune was excited of meeting someone new, someone besides his seven sisters.
A younger child with hazel colored hair that came down to her shoulder with her bangs that rested right above the eyebrow, stopped Jaune. "Jaune whatcha doing?" His five year old sister, Abella, asked.
"I'm helping mom with the mattress?" Did Abella forget what today was?
"Why?" Apparently so…
"Don't you remember? The new girl is coming." Jaune grinned with excitement.
"Dang it!" Abella stomped her feet. "I don't want her here!" She fussed.
"But why not? You haven't even met her?" Jaune frowned.
"She's going to take all of my stuff! She's going to take my room!" Abella threw her hands up in the air.
"I don't think that'll happen. She's getting the guest bedroom." Jaune tried to calm the irate five year old to no avail. "… and I won't let that happen" That made Abella smile.
"Pinky promise?" Abella held out a pinky. He took her pinky with his own.
"Pinky promise." Jaune reaffirmed. Abella grin.
"Well I guess she can stay here." She pouted.
"I'm so glad she has your permission." Jaune chuckled.
"Jaune, hurry up!" His mother called for him from the attic. "Gotta go Abella, sorry!" Jaune ran up to the attic to his tall muscular mother with her amber hair coming down to her shoulders, her brown eyes filled with frustration. "Sorry mom!" Jaune said with a smile.
"I'll head down the stairs first, I just need you to hold onto the other side first." His mother instructed.
"Got it." Jaune nodded. After a few minutes of arduous work, they managed to get the mattress down from the attic. "We'll take it to the guest bedroom." She said as he nodded. After carrying down the hallway and into the bedroom, they gently placed it on the bed frame.
"Thanks Jaune." His mother smiled. "I'll get lunch after I get the room set up."
"Sounds great!" Jaune scampered off. Joan gave a sigh of relief. The room was relatively in good condition that. It was a little barren, but with time it could made into a proper bedroom. The bed was tucked away in the corner, beside it was a small desk, with a dresser beside the desk. The closest was opposite of the bed.
In a few hours, her husband will be back from his hunting mission in Mistral with the newest addition to the Arc family, a seven year old Mistralian girl who was apparently orphaned and shot. What the heck was the world turning to?
Pyrrha hadn't spoken much for the past week. She was worried and concerned with meeting new people. How would they react with her staying with them? Would they accept her with open arms? Stack these on to the constant nightmares, it was starting to take a toll on her.
John offered to talk to her about it, but she resisted every time, she didn't want to unload all of her troubles on to someone else who had others to take care of. She could manage it, she hoped.
They arrived at the small but quaint house in the town of Whitehill, just outside the kingdom of Vale. In the northern mountains in the kingdom. It was small town compared to Mistral, a rather beautiful town compared to the large city of Mistral. The house had a small white picket fence with an oak tree in the front yard. She could see a forest towards the backyard. The house had a porch with a few chairs on the outside. It had multiple windows for the first and second floor. It was rather quaint.
John paid the taxi driver as he climbed out with Pyrrha joining him. He moved to get the bags he brought with him, while Pyrrha carried her duffel bag. He grunted as he hefted two extra bags, filled with clothes for Pyrrha, which were rather heavy, but he didn't mind it, she didn't have any other clothing besides the crimson shirt with shield and spear and her pants. She refused to be parted with it and her weapons, so John wasn't going to argue.
He opened the gate holding the young girl's hand. Pyrrha opened the hatch realizing that John's hands were a little preoccupied. "Thanks." He chuckled. They followed the path to the porch where they ascended. "Pyrrha could you get the doorbell please." She nodded as she reached. She hesitated, her hand shaking. "It's alright." John reassured her. With that Pyrrha pressed the door bell.
*Diiiinnnngggg Dooooonnnngggg*
"They're here!" A boy's higher pitch voice could be heard. *Thud thud thud thud* The sounds of running could be heard as the door was opened. A small blonde boy opened the door. Pyrrha looked at him, he had the same kind of hair as his father, same eyes as his father, the same smile as his father. The boy darted from the house and tackled the older man. "Hey there champ!" John said as he put down the bags to return the hug. "Hey Dad!"
Pyrrha watched with a smile, it was heart warming to see, but something nagged at her deep down. "Jaune I have someone I would like you to meet." The boy let go. "Jaune, this Pyrrha Nikos." John gestured to the girl.
Jaune looked at the little girl. She had had long crimson hair done up in a ponytail. Her emeralds eyes watched him. He something behind those eyes, loneliness, sadness, anger. Jaune smiled and walked over and hugged her. "Hiya! I'm Jaune! It's nice to meet you!"
The girl baffled by this boy's outward display of emotion. She winced in pain.
"Oopsy! I'm sorry…." Jaune frowned.
"No that's alright." The girl smiled. "It's nice to meet you Jaune, I'm Pyrrha." The girl gave a small smile. Jaune reached out to take her duffel bag.
"I can take your stuff" He offered.
"Thank you, but I got it." Pyrrha politely declined. Just then, an older woman stepped out. She stepped out of the house. Her brown eyes watching her son trying to be chivalrous knight to this little girl. She knelt down to be eye level with the little Mistralian girl.
"You must Pyrrha. It's nice to meet you." She smiled. "You can call me Joan."
"Thank you. It's nice to meet you as well." The redheaded girl smiled while Joan softly patted her head which made the little Pyrrha smile even more. "Well come on in everyone! We don't want anyone catching a cold!" Joan ushered everyone. Jaune took Pyrrha hand gently and pulled her in.
"Come on! I'll show you where you're room is." He was almost giddy with excitement.
As soon as they were insight Joan helped her husband with the bags. "Thanks" he gave goofy grin.
"Sooo… how is she?" Joan asked with a hush tone.
"To be honest, I don't know. She fine physically, but emotionally, there will be some damage. She has a nightmare every night." John frowned.
"Gods… I can't imagine what the poor girl has been through." She frowned. "Well you did the right thing though." Joan tried to reassure her husband as he went to the kitchen.
"I hope so…" He said as he filled a cup with water. He handed her a small hand written note. "Read that." He said quietly as he sat the large retanglular table. Joan took the note and read it. Her eyes widened slightly.
"Gods…." She muttered to herself. "and you found her wounded, with no memories?" John somberly shook his head.
"Maybe it's for the better." Joan took a seat infront of her husband. He looked up at her with an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Well maybe it is better that she doesn't remember her past, maybe there was something so traumatic… that she blocked it out… and if we were to make her remember, it would be like making her relive it." She frowned at the idea that a poor girl may have gone through so terrible that it would force to forget everything.
"What about her parents? Does she have a right to know who her parents are?" John voice raised slightly.
"She does, but what if they are dead? What if they died in front of her? John, there are too many unknowns." Joan calmly replied.
John sighed. "Who are we to make these kinds of decisions?"
"I don't have an answer for that, but I do know that she needs us now and that is what we should focus on." Joan looked at her husband who was deep in thought.
He then smiled. "Always thinking outside of the box and thinking about what is most important… Hehe, I guess that's why I married you." He chuckled.
"Oh stop it." She chuckled right back.
"So this is your room." Jaune opened the door for Pyrrha. "Sorry it isn't very decorated." Jaune looked down slightly.
"Don't worry, it's perfect." She smiled which made him smile back. To be honest, it was perfect to Pyrrha. It was better than a dark alley, or a hospital bed, she wasn't going to complain. "Thank you so much." She said as she walked over to the bed. It was rather big for her. She sighed as she plobbed up on it. The blonde boy was watching her intently. She won't lie he was definitely on the politer side.
"Anytime." Jaune grinned.
She laid her back down her legs dangling over the side. "Hey Jaune." She started.
"Yeah?"
"I hope you don't mind if I stay here." She sat up looking at him.
"I don't mind, I think you're pretty cool." He smiled
"Cool? But you don't even know me." Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but mom said that strangers are friends you haven't met yet." He gave a toothy grin.
"I like that saying." She said laying back down, looking at the ceiling.
"Me too." He said as he leaned on the door frame. "You wanna be friends?"
Pyrrha immediately sat up looking at the boy. He was rather blunt and straightforward. He was also funny and goofy. Forget the dumb note. "I would like that." She smiled back.
"Awesome."
"Not awesome!" a voice from behind Jaune
"Abella…." Jaune started to warn the little girl. It didn't go heeded.
"So you're the new girl?" The child looked at Pyrrha who was a little surprised.
"I-I-I am." Pyrrha stuttered from the hostile little girl. "I'm sorry, I don't know you. I'm Pyrrha." She started to get up.
"Just stay away from my stuff." The girl with hazel hair said.
"I'm sorry, don't worry I won't touch anything." Pyrrha raised her hands to an attempt to soothe the little girl.
"Good." She ran off as Pyrrha frowned. Jaune scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah… sorry about that… That was Abella… she'll loosen up." Which made her smile come back ever so slightly.
"Did I do something wrong?" The red asked with slight heavy tone. Jaune walked into her room and sat on her bed beside.
"Nope… she just doesn't like new things." Jaune tried explain.
"I'm sorry." Her voice heavier now.
"It's not your fault" He placed on hand on the sad girl beside him. "Nothing to worry about it." She looked up at him which made him grin, her own smile grew.
"So Pyrrha, tell me about yourself" Jaune was eager to get to know his new friend. The smile instantly faded.
"I'm afraid there isn't much to tell." She confessed as she was eager to avoid the uncomfortable subject.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.
"I don't know who I am." She looked down at her feet in shame.
"How…? Why?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I…" She hesitated. "I… don't know…"
"I'm sorry." Jaune apologized, he clearly made the poor girl sad.
"It's fine." She lied, she tried to put on her convincing smile, which worked. Why can't I remember anything? She practically shouted in her mind in pure frustration. It was just a blank slate, white noise, just nothing.
"You like X-Ray and Vav?" Jaune suddenly asked trying to lighten the mood.
"X-Ray and what?" She raised an eyebrow. Jaune grabbed her by the hand. "Come on! Follow me!" He led to her the room right across from her own. Jaune opened the door and srambeled over to a large book case. He pulled a magazine that was in a clear plastic sheath. "X-Ray and Vav! Here." He opened up the sheath, and gently pulled it out. "Be careful, this is my first magazine ever in my collection."
"Collection? You collect these." She took it as he held it out. Jaune nodded.
"Yeppers. I have one hundred and thirty six." Pyrrha giggled.
"What's so funny?" He pouted.
"That is a pretty big collection. When did you start?" She asked.
"A couple of months ago." Her eyes shot back at boy.
"Wow." She said in disbelief.
"I know it's crazy, but I love it." Pyrrha sat on the floor and read through each colorful page. After the first page, she was instantly hooked. She didn't look up for a whole thirty minutes. After she read the comic, she put it back in its protective wrapping. "Sooo?"
She smiled. "Can I read the next one?" She asked kindly.
"Sure! Let me…"
"Dinner is ready!" Joan called from the kitchen.
*THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD* Abella rocketed downstairs.
"You hungry?" Jaune asked. Pyrrha nodded shyly. Jaune offered his hand which she took.
"Come on." Jaune led the way with Pyrrha close behind. They entered the kitchen and took a seat at the large table. Jaune sat beside Abella as Pyrrha sat across from Jaune. John sat one end of the table. Joan fixed everyone plate with spaghetti and meatballs.
"I hope you don't mind Pyrrha, I wasn't too sure what you liked." Joan said as she gave the first plate to the little redhead. She smiled to covered up her real feelings. Unfortunately she didn't remember what her favorite foods were or even what certain foods tasted like.
"Anything is fine." Pyrrha said warmly. She politely waited until everyone was served before she dug in herself. She forgot what real food tasted like, but this was sure better then any hospital food she ever had. She dug in like someone who had never eaten a meal in real life.
"This is amazing!" Pyrrha exclaimed as she stuffed another fork full of noodles. John and Joan both chuckled at the redhead's innocence. "Thank you so much."
"Anytime Pyrrha." Joan said.
"Where is Mabel, Catoline, Bridget, Crystal?" Jaune asked as Pyrrha listened intently while she continued to eat. They must have been the other sisters.
"Well they were invited to a friend's slumber party." Joan explained.
"No fair!" Abella raised her hands up. "I wanna have slumber party!"
"Well you kind of think we are having one with Pyrrha." John winked to Pyrrha which made her smile.
"She doesn't count." Abella shot her down, which made her smile fade away.
"Abella, don't be rude." Joan scolded.
"What?! She doesn't! She doesn't belong here!" She crossed her arms in defiance.
"Go to your room!" John stood up, quite angry now.
"But!"
"NOW!" A sharp finger pointed towards the hallway leading to the stairs. Abella huffed and looked at Pyrrha. "This is your fault." She growled as she left.
Pyrrha had a tear coming down her cheek. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to cause any problems. I didn't want to be burden."
"Ignore her." Jaune said "She's just being mean."
"Pyrrha, you're a guest here, I want you to feel welcome." Joan said as walked up to her and hugged her.
"You're a part of the family." John said.
"and a friend." Jaune chirped in happily.
"Family? Friend?" Pyrrha repeated. The idea was foreign to her. She didn't remember what it felt like to be a member of a family, or even a friend. It was too much, something started to crack.
"May I be excused?" Pyrrha asked politely but with a sense of urgency. Joan let go and nodded. Pyrrha headed up the stairs and back to the room that supposed to be hers. She felt a sudden wave exhaustion hit her. She climbed up didn't bother pulling back the covers. She drifted into a deep, deep slumber.
"Is something wrong with her? Is she sick?" Jaune asked.
"Honey… she's been through a lot…. And well… she was alone and hurt when I found her." John tried to explain delicately. "She doesn't remember a whole lot, so she is going to need to some time to get settled in."
"I can help with that." Jaune said with a heart warming childish smile.
"I'm glad Jaune. She needs a friend right now, but I think she may be tired. Let her sleep." Joan suggested.
Pyrrha looked down at her hands which were covered in blood. A poor raven haired boy with a streak of magenta lied at her feet dead, in a pool of his blood. Her sword was on the ground. "Murderer." A voice called out to her.
She turned away to see a little girl behind her. She was extreme familiar. It was a younger version of Pyrrha. "Why?" She asked.
"Why what?" Pyrrha responded.
"Why did you do what?" A male voice spoke up from behind her. She turned around to see the dead boy was now in front of her eyes, his pale magenta eyes hollowly staring back at him. "But I didn't do it."
"But you will." A distinctly familiar voice said. She turned around again to see Jaune in front of her, as the same childish little boy, his blonde hair caked in blood.
"I haven't done anything!"
"You will! Just like before!"
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha collapsed to the ground pleading.
*Cock* A round was being chambered, a gun's receiver being pulled back
*Click* The safety was being turned off
She scrambled to turn around. "You monster." John said as he pointed a gun at her. "No wonder you don't have parents."
"I thought you wanted me…"
"A monster, threatening to destroy my family? No." He pulled the trigger. *BANG*
The ground up from underneath her. She fell for what for an eternity until she reached the bottom. She landed in a room as the opening closed. Pyrrha looked around to find herself in a mirrored room. The walls, floors, and ceilings were mirrors, the entire room was just a mirror.
One of the walls started to crack. The crack widened and opened up. A large piece of the mirror broke away and fell to the mirror room. On the other side was nothing. Nothing but a room. A familiar room with a bed with crimson blankets and red carpteting. A man in dull grey armor, protected his vital points, but everything else he wore was midnight black kicked down the door. He wore a midnight black balaclava that covered everything on his head except for his eyes.
He had an assault rifle. "Where are you girl?" He said as he reloaded his gun and pointed it at the closet.
"NO!" Pyrrha felt compelled to scream out. As she said a familiar little girl scrambled out from underneath her bed. She grabbed for a familiar weapon, but it was too late. The man already saw her and slapped her away. Pyrrha watched as the little girl was tossed aside.
"Bitch!" The man roared as he kicked the little girl in the multiple times. Another man came up wearing the same gear. "Just end it." He said as he waved his hand. The man aimed his assault rifle, but nothing happened.
Everything froze.
Pyrrha looked around the room to see that room started crack. Pieces started fall away. Until there was nothing but blackness. Pyrrha lost all sense of awareness, it was just a sea of black. She tried to scream, but there was nothing in the void. "Pyrrha! Don't go!" A familiar voice said. She knew it sounded familiar, but she couldn't pin it. "We love you!" A voice cried out right before heart wrenching scream.
Pyrrha darted awoke trembling and sweaty. She looked at the window, the sun was down, the shattered moon over its peak. She looked over at the desk beside her bed. 4:00 AM. She got out of her bed. With ever so care, she opened the door quietly, not to disturb the other sleeping inhabitants. With light footsteps she made her way down to the kitchen.
She turned the faucet on and splashed her face with water. What was all of that? She thought to herself. Those people looked so incredibly familiar to her. That voice that begged her not to go was incredibly familiar. It was driving her mad. Ever since she woke up in that ally, her dreams were not peaceful, they've been of one horrifying vision after another. She almost dreaded having to sleep. She pounded her head in frustration. What did it all mean?
Lights flickered on. "Pyrrha?" A familiar voice called out sleepily. She whipped around to see Jaune rubbing his eyes.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to awake you." She apologized, sincerity from coming from her voice.
"Ah don't worry about it, I'm thirsty he said." He said as he got two cups. He filled one and gave it to Pyrrha then filled one for himself. "What are you doing up anyway?" He asked to took a sip of water.
"I had a nightmare." Pyrrha said.
"About what?" Jaune frowned.
"I don't remember." She lied.
"Have you been having nightmares for awhile now?" Jaune asked, worry etched on his face.
"No." She lied again. She didn't like to lie to people, but she also didn't like worrying for her on her behalf.
Jaune knew she was lying, but she just got here. As much as he wanted to help her, he didn't want to push her away either or to make her feel uncomfortable. "Are you going back to bed?"
Pyrrha shook her head. It she wasn't eager to go back to bed where nightmares and pain only awaited her. "Well let's see if there is anything good on t.v." He led her to the living room, trying to distract the poor girl from whatever her nightmares were.
A/N
Hey guys.
I just wanted to thank all of you for your support. It meant a lot. I basically took off yesterday from student teaching and went home for Easter Break not having to deal with stupid stuff back at school lol. I need some time to relax. Well one of the best ways for me to relax is through writing.
I also wanted to thank all of you. All of your support has really touched me and I mean that. Thank you for all of the work. It means the world. As such, I'm still dealing with stuff that is going to slow the upload speed up, but I promise for those who have followed Arkos Book 2, Next upload will be the first chapter Book 3. I don't know when that will be, but hopefully sometime this week or next week.
Thank you for all of your support and outreach it means the world.
That being said if don't worry, my current state of mind will have no affect on the story plot wise.
If you like this story, leave a review, a follow, a pm. If you have feedback, opinion, reactions, predictions, suggestions, or questions leave a review or a pm and I'll get to you afterwards.
Thank you for everything
-Lordxsauron
