A/N: Oh hey, chapter two! And released in a vaguely timely fashion! Thanks to all of you who read chapter one; it means a lot to know people are enjoying my work. For those of you just joining in, I'd like to thank you as well for giving my story a try. I released a one-shot between these two chapters, Matchmaker, and if you enjoyed this you may enjoy it and my other stories. But enough shameless plugs, on to chapter two!

Jaune watched helplessly as Ruby, still comatose, was redirected to the hospital, with Weiss following. He, Sun, and Pyrrha were told to continue on to the Vale Coliseum, where the Huntsmen were encamped. Jaune knew from Sun that Ren & Nora weren't badly wounded, so they would probably be there with Blake, while Yang would be at the hospital. Aura made for an odd relationship between Huntsmen and doctors, but the end result was simple; if a broken femur could heal completely inside two weeks with nothing but a cast and bedrest, Huntsmen didn't get rooms in hospitals. Jaune knew Weiss needed support, needed someone to help her, but he had to see to his own right now; Pyrrha had not spoken more than a few words since the locker.

When they arrived at the rapidly growing tent city, Prof. Peach supplied them with directions to their tents. The poor woman was aging months in minutes, coordinating hundreds of people on the fly. Sun split off to check on his own, while Jaune led Pyrrha to the tent JNPR would be sharing with RWBY. He had hoped bringing Pyr back to the team would lift the sense of dread that seemed to follow them everywhere, that seeing their teammates would relieve Pyr.

It didn't.

Ren was confined to bed, with Nora not even rising from her spot beside him to greet them. She was clearly happy to have them back, but she couldn't leave Ren's side. Blake, though, was a ruin. She sat as far from Nor and Ren as she could, crying softly. Pyrrha was clearly not the only one in distress. Jaune settled Pyr on one of the cots squeezed into the room, sitting next to her before he spoke up.

"How are you doing, Ren?"

His closest, okay only, male friend winced as he spoke: "I should be fine in a few days, mostly aura exhaustion. Though I may need a cast if you keep squeezing my hand, Nora." There was no bite in the comment, Ren was trying to assure his partner he wouldn't drop dead.

Jaune was far too familiar with what Nora was feeling right now. He barely had more control over it than she did. Jaune had to be a leader, he had to see to everyone, but if helping Ren in this meant leaving Pyr, he couldn't do it. He'd have to lead from right next to his partner, for now.

"Blake?" He could snap Blake out of it, at least. Or try.

"Blake!"

She looked up at him, shakily. "Ruby's getting seen to right now, Weiss is with her. Yang is at the hospital too?" She nodded slowly. "Well, the five of us are just going to stay here until they're with us, alright?" She didn't look swayed in the least.

"They are going to be fine, Blake. They are going to pull through, we are all going to pull through." He pulled Pyrrha closer at that. "And you are going to pull through, Blake."

Blake sagged a bit, not in defeat but as if she was putting down a weight. "Okay Jaune… we'll stay here until they're back." She didn't stop crying, but not looking like she would seep through the floor was a good sign.

Now for the hard part, Jaune braced himself: "Pyr?"

She didn't speak up, didn't look up, but her head turned towards him

"Pyr, it's alright. We're safe now, the team's here. You're going to be okay, too."

"…Jaune" She couldn't get out whatever she needed to say, though, and she still wouldn't look up from her hands. He reached over with his other arm and pulled her into a proper hug. He'd been holding her as much for his own sanity as for hers, but he knew she needed help right now. Needed someone to be there for her so obviously she couldn't avoid it.

"It's alright, Pyr, we're her." He felt her relax, just a little, so he just kept holding on. When he had been scared, this had always helped; he had never imagined Pyrrha scared before, but the solution was an obvious one.

Pyrrha couldn't keep track of the time, she just let herself stay in the moment as long as it lasted. She felt miserable, she felt like she needed to rush out of wherever they were and start throwing up, but Jaune was helping her stay in control. She could hear Nora and Ren talking, and she felt better knowing there were near and well, but it she felt like the only thing keeping her together were Jaune's arms. Like she'd shatter into a million pieces if he let go.

She hated feeling this weak, hated feeling helpless, but at least she wasn't thinking about… everything else. She started to fall back into the mantra, so she just buried her head into Jaune's hoodie, and tried to listen to anything, everything, besides her own conscious. It was a voice not from her team that pulled her out of her mental maneuvering, though.

"Miss Nikos? Miss Nikos, I need you to accompany me, we must discuss what happened."

She recognized the voice: Miss Goodwitch. She couldn't find her own, but Jaune spoke up.

"Miss Goodwitch, Pyrrha is still recovering, can this wait until tomorrow? Or just a few hours?"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Arc. I must know exactly what happened, to the best of Miss Nikos' memory."

"Please, Miss Goo-"

"S'alright, Jaune" she finally managed to get something out, though muffled by her hair and Jaune's shirt, "May Jaune come?"

Miss Goodwitch didn't respond immediately, Pyrrha still couldn't bring herself to look up, but she eventually heard the woman sigh: "Mr. Arc, please help you partner along." Steps away from the entrance.

"…Yes ma'am." She felt a gentle tugging, and she was on her feet again.

"Nora, watch out for Blake and team RWBY. And don't crush Ren, you both need some rest. I'll try and find out about meals on the way back."

"Alrighty, Jaune." The normal cheer wasn't there when Nora responded, but she was making an effort.

Slowly, Pyrrha made her way out of the tent, Jaune beside her, and the two trailed after Prof. Goodwitch. She supposed she had to face a reckoning eventually; at least Miss Goodwitch would make it quick.

The three walked in silence through the bustling, somber crowd, eventually breaking through to one of the various halls beneath the stadium. Miss Goodwitch continue on until they arrived at an office, where she motioned for Pyrrha to enter. When Jaune made to follow her, the professor stopped him.

"Mr. Arc, I have to speak with Miss Nikos alone."

Jaune stood taller at that, and glared at the professor: "Haven't secrets caused enough pain today?" She knew the words weren't for her, but Pyrrha still flinched at them.

"Jaune", the softness in the teacher's voice caught her off-guard, "Someone very dear to me has disappeared, may be dead. You know how I must be feeling. But I need to speak with Pyrrha about what happened, and I need to do it alone. I can't let what you say or feel or do cloud her memory. If I need to know more, I'll talk to you as well, and Pyrrha won't be present for that. You can either wait outside this door, Jaune, or I'll use my semblance to fix you to the ceiling."

"It's alright, Jaune. I can do this." Pyrrha considered that may have been her first proper sentence in hours. She wasn't sure it was the truth, but she knew Jaune needed to hear it. He looked at her as if he could look into her soul, and reluctantly let go of her shoulder.

She felt cold immediately, but she had to do this.

"Alright, Pyr. I'll be right here." With that, Pyrrha stepped in with Miss Goodwitch.

It started off slowly. Pyrrha didn't want to remember that night, didn't want to remember the things she did and almost did. She certainly didn't want to talk about it. Miss Goodwitch wanted answers though, and slowly but surely Pyrrha began to talk.

She described what she saw in the last moments of her fight with Penny, the pressures of success piled on her own fears of the previous week. Her freezing after it happened, and only snapping out once Jaune charged her. She narrated through the fight for Beacon, and her being drawn off by the headmaster. To the chamber.

She worked her way slowly through that part. The pain and fear of her moments in the device, of feeling when Amber died through whatever tenuous bond they had. Through she and Jaune's retreat form the chamber at Ozpin's orders.

Pyrrha did not keep control of herself when she discussed her "plan". She left out kissing Jaune, Miss Goodwitch didn't need that, but she told her the rest, through the tears. Miss Goodwitch had laid a hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to continue.

It wasn't Jaune, but it would have to do.

She finished, relaying what Sun and Weiss had told them of Qrow and Ruby's actions, though she had no idea what any of it meant. The professor's face had never changed through her story, but she looked pained when she mentioned Qrow's ascension of the tower.

When she finally finished at the Bullheads, Pyrrha fell silent. Miss Goodwitch was looking off, no doubt turning the whole series of events over in her head, trying to find something, but Pyrrha already knew it.

"It's my fault, professor."

This brought her head up: "Pardon, Miss Nikos?"

"What's happened, this is all my fault. Had I accepted the Fall Maiden powers sooner, this wouldn't have happened. Had I not fallen for the illusion in my fight, this would not have happened. If I was strong enough to help the headmaster, this wouldn't have happened!" She hadn't realized she was shouting by the end until she stopped. Miss Goodwitch looked at her with such sorrow, Pyrrha had to look away. Still, she felt the woman sit closer to her beside the small table.

"Oh, Pyrrha. Pyrrha this is not your fault; the headmaster, or Qrow, or Gen. Ironwood, or myself could have done dozens of things differently and this would not have happened either. What happened tonight is our fault, the fault of people in a position of power. It is most certainly not the fault of a first-year student who was pulled into this a week ago.

"What has happened is awful, terrible. I do not know if Beacon and Vale can ever fully recover from this. But I do know that none of the blame for this is on you. Don't hate yourself for this, Pyrrha."

"Why shouldn't I? I…I have nothing now. Beacon is gone, the world saw me kill a friend, my team hates me!"

She heard the older woman rise from her seat and walk towards the door. "Pyrrha, I need to you look up at me." Pyrrha did so, and Miss Goodwitch lifted the blinds from the door's window. Jaune was standing sentinel outside it, and at the sound of the blinds he whipped around to look inside. His face was equal parts panic and determination, but seeing Pyrrha caused him to ease. The blinds dropped back down, and Pyrrha turned her attention to her teacher.

"That. Is most certainly not 'hate', Pyrrha. I would gladly pound it into your skull that these past events are not your fault, but I suspect someone is already at work." The exasperation in her teacher's face gave way to a small smirk as she spoke, before she returned to the chair next to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, dear; do not hold blame so closely. What we have all been through is difficult, but I must tell you again that you may not blame yourself. And that you must reach out to your friends. Let Jaune and Ren and Nora help you. And help them in return. We will all need our loved ones in the days to come." She smiled at Pyrrha then, though Pyrrha could tell it was forced, the woman was trying to calm her.

"Now, go join your team leader and take some meals back to your tent. Food and water is being dispensed a few halls from here."

"Yes, ma'am." Pyrrha rose on unsteady legs, heading for the door. She stopped to face her mentor, though. "Miss Goodwitch?"

"Yes, Pyrrha?"

"…thank you."

"I have done nothing that deserves a thank you, Pyrrha. But please, take care of yourself."

Pyrrha gave a weak nod, but she turned to leaving with a strength in her step she had not felt before. When she stepped outside and Jaune stepped close, she didn't feel like he was holding all the pieces together anymore.

That didn't mean she wanted him to let go, though.