Jaune and Ren carried the candy-haired girl into the EVAC ship. Seeing the wounded woman, Dr. Oobleck began to examine and bandage her as best he could. Everything was amplified in that ship. Looking around, the injured were plain to see, and the missing were all too noticeable. Every footstep made a clang and every whisper made an echo. Yet all was quiet, all was still, and not a word was passed.
"I didn't know that you were a medical doctor, Dr. Oobleck," Ren broke the silence.
"I'm not, but a Huntsman must be well-rounded and prepared for anything. It's good to know how to help as well as to hurt! You would all do well to heed that advice!" The motor-mouthed man continued for a bit, Ren listening attentively, like a good student would.
Nora was laying on a bench seat, her usual happy smile replaced by a close-eyed grimace. A few feet away, Jaune sat, his head lulled against a window, staring at the stars and smoke as the ship flew past the wreckage of what had been his new home. He considered the girl he had lost, and the girl he had found, and felt himself break down. He stood up, hoping the rush of blood would help him to feel better. It did not. Nausea from the plane and from the day's events welled up with in him, as his sorrow tried to push past his eyes.
No, he decided. He had to stay strong. He wasn't the only one who had lost someone dear to him. Pyrrha was gone, but he had to stay here for Ren, Nora, Ruby, and everyone else.
He turned to the doctor, "Any idea what happened to her?"
Oobleck made a humming sound, gathering his thoughts, before he returned to his quick yet long-winded speech, "She seems to have fallen from an abnormally high height. Perhaps she was thrown from one of the crashing Atlas ships, or fell out of a window of one of the taller buildings. Matters not. She seems to have a very strong aura, which helped tremendously; anyone else falling from that kind of height would likely have died, while she only has a concussion, nine broken ribs, completely shattered fibula and tibia, a fractured femur, a dislodged shoulder plate, a broken arm, and a few miscellaneous cuts and bruises."
"Only?"
"Well it could've been worse! An ordinary person wouldn't have been able to stand up after the fall, since their all bones would have been destroyed simultaneously, and their muscles torn to shreds. Her lungs could've collapsed, or her heart could've exploded! She'd have been like a paste covering the ground!"
Jaune sighed, "That isn't funny,"
"No, but it is true!"
"So what's the treatment for all that?"
"Well she'll likely be in a body cast for a few weeks, but with an Aura like her's she should heal at an extraordinary rate!"
"And what about her memory? She couldn't even remember her own name."
"Ah, that would be pure retrograde amnesia, my dear Jaune! It's an extremely rare result of brain damage not unlike what would be found in a concussion such as this. It would take time, days, months or even years, but eventually her memories should come back, bit by bit."
"Well, that's good at least. Was anyone able to identify who she is, or where she's from?"
"I'm afraid not, Jaune. She's a mystery woman, no home to go back to or family to claim her."
Jaune thought for a moment, muttering an absent minded, "I see," to fill the air. After a huff, Jaune finally spoke up, "Ren, Nora, we need to talk in private."
Ren woke Nora from her false slumber, and Jaune led them both to the far side of the crowded ship.
"That girl has nowhere to go. We can't just abandon her, dump her in Vale somewhere and hope she figures everything out on her own."
"Jaune…" Ren put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"I'm serious! She's helpless, and if Yang is anything to go off, no one's going to help her."
"Jaune," Nora cooed, "We lost Pyrrha, you're hurting, I know, but trying to fill her spot with a stranger isn't going to help you any."
"I know, Nora, but it might help her. Are you with me on this?"
Nora gave a soft smile, "Of course. Ren?"
"Yeah, I've got your back."
Jaune turned and smiled. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ruby, with Weiss and Yang sitting beside her, and her uncle leaned over her, trying to make sure she was okay. He and Yang made eye contact for a moment. He expected a glare, but got only a sad head-shake instead. Jaune made his way over to them.
"How's she holding up?"
The gruff uncle spoke up, "She's fine, but out cold."
"Whatever that big flash was, it did a number on her," Weiss added, "What even was that? I sent her up the side and then bang! A big white explosion destroyed the top of the tower."
Qrow was silent. Yang clenched her fist.
"What about you?" Weiss continued, her voice slower and more concerned, "I mean, you must be pretty shook up after what happened to…" Weiss trailed off.
"I'm not great, but thanks for asking Weiss."
Yang sighed, releasing her fist, "Listen, Jaune, I'm sorry for earlier. But really, you need to be careful with Neo, she may look small and innocent, but she's sadistic and dangerous. I don't want you or Ren or Nora getting hurt."
"She's right. She was working with the White Fang when they broke into Vale, and she nearly killed Yang."
"I know, but… It seems wrong to punish her for something she doesn't even remember doing. She deserves a second chance, y'know? Everyone does."
Yang turned away. Weiss spoke, if only to avoid the silence, "You're right. You're doing the right thing, Jaune, just don't let her hurt you okay?"
"What, worried about me now, Ice Queen?" Jaune put on a good act, but he wasn't fooling anyone; His uncertainty and worry were written plain across his face.
"She's serious, Jaune," Yang spoke back up, "She's one of the best fighters I've ever seen, don't even give her the chance to hurt you."
Jaune tried to change the topic to something a bit lighter, "Where's Blake?"
Yang voice cracked, "She ran off. Weiss says she was with me while I was out cold, but she was gone when I woke up. Can't believe she's doing this."
"Go easy on her, everyone deals with stuff differently right? Give her a second chance," Jaune replied.
"Actually, this would be her third chance," Weiss corrected.
Jaune was about to say something, but stopped himself. His attempt to lighten the mood had utterly failed, "I'm sorry."
Yang huffed, "You didn't know."
"I'm gonna go back, see how Neo is doing."
Yang nodded, but Qrow stopped him, "Wait, kid," he handed him an odd looking umbrella, "This is hers. I wouldn't give it to her right away, but she'll need something to fight with once she recovers."
Jaune gave his best try at a smile, but it looked too pained to be happy, "Thanks."
Neo was awake now, unable to move but trying her best to interact with Dr. Oobleck. Meanwhile, Dr. Oobleck was having a field day, "This is amazing! Her eyes can alternate colors on the fly, and even more amazingly, she can control them! I've been trying to communicate with her through morse code and…"
Jaune tuned him out, having a seat next to Neo's medical bed, "Feeling any better?"
Neo gave a weak smile, her eyes both a light pink. Suddenly, she spoke, "Yes."
Aaron here. So today's finale for RWBY was pretty heavy huh? I certainly didn't see Pyrrha's death coming, not after dodging all those other deathflags. Hell, I actually expected the opposite; I thought Pyrrha was going to almost die, then Jaune would push her out of the way and take the hit. That'd be why I didn't include Jaune in the first version of Chapter 1, got a couple messages about that. Speaking of Chapter 1, that's been revised. Go ahead and check it out, but the only major change is that Jaune stopped Yang, not Pyrrha.
Just gonna share a few random thought I guess: I like where RWBY is going, I don't like that it'll probably be at least half a year before we see where that is exactly. I like Salem, and I'm pretty sure she's the source of all Grimm, or is some kind of human-Grimm hybrid. Either way fun stuff. Also, I don't think Oz or P-Money are dead; why wouldn't we see Oz's body, and why would Cinder finish Pyrrha like that, but leave her circlet? If she couldn't magic the circlet, why were Pyrrha's greaves magic'd? Very fishy to me. In addition to this, you can combine Oz's conversation during the start of the first episode and Salem's monologue at the end of this one to get a more logical exchange that would indicate that Oz is alive and likely a captive of Salem. How could Cinder send Oz to Salem so quickly and without being noticed? Probably with the same fire magic she used on Pyrrha. Here's a link to the combined exchange: /45rqza
So I'm filled with feels. I'm gonna try to watch Gatchaman Crowds, and if that's not good I'm gonna rewatch JoJo. New chapter Wednesday-ish.