Summary: Post Volume 3. Half a year has passed since the 'Battle of Beacon'. How does the world continue after all that has happened? What's left after everything has been swept away?
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Chapter Four
A Single Moment of Tranquility
RWBY
Whump. Whump. Whump.
Round and round the ceiling fan went. Round and round Jaune's eyes followed.
"Do you need another pillow? I can get you another pillow."
"That's not-"
"How about your leg? Is it raised high enough? It needs to be elevated, you know?"
"I'm-"
"The bandages on your arm look awful! God, is it amateur hour up in here? Gimme a sec and I'll- ow!"
"Nora," Ren lowered his hand. "I'm fine."
"Well you don't look fine!" Tears had welled up in Nora's eyes as she curled by his bedside. "I should've been with you. I could've kept you safe…"
A slight smile graced Ren's face. Deliberate delicate fingers reached down into Nora's hair, and slowly threaded through it. "I'm safe now," he said quietly.
Whump. Whump. Whump.
Round and round the ceiling fan went. Round and round Jaune's eyes followed. Hospitals in Mistral were much smaller than the ones in Vale, but if he closed his eyes, it still smelt and sounded the same. That's what drove Jaune crazy about hospitals. Apart from the too-white walls, everything was too clean; too procedural. Every inch you could walk on was free of dirt. Fumes of disinfectant radiated around each ward. Rather than being a place for the living, it felt more like a place for the dying.
Jaune Arc didn't used to believe that, but he did now.
Whump. Whump. Whump.
"How're ya feeling, Jaune?"
Jaune's attention was at his right hand, letting the bronze headpiece catch in the light. "I'm alive," he said slowly. "And breathing, I guess."
"Breathing's good!" Ruby's grey eyes brightened as she beamed. "I'd give you a high five, but um…" She indicated at his numerous casts. "Y'know."
When Jaune had finally come to, he was in a hospital ward. In his sleep, his aura had reactivated and had begun healing him. Things such as the wounds and burns would heal easily enough. Unfortunately, several of his bones had broken, and as his body regenerated many had set wrong. Due to the influx of civilian injuries, anaesthetic was saved for the more 'major' injuries. Jaune spent the next few hours with only a rag between his teeth as nurses broke his bones again to let them set properly this time around.
It was not pleasant, to say the least.
Whump. Whump. Whump.
A loud knock caused all heads to turn. There by the door stood Velvet Scarlatina, dressed head to toe in scrubs. Her hair tied back in a bun, and a mask was hanging off her face. She was one of the 'amateurs' as Nora had put it. The staff was being overrun by the sheer number of patients, so it was put to volunteers to take up the mantle. Team CFVY, having found their way to Mistral as well, quickly joined the cause.
"Sorry to interrupt," she said timidly. "Ruby, someone's here to see you. He says he's your uncle…"
"Uncle Qrow is here?" Ruby was on her feet in an instant, her eyes wide. "Did he find Professor Ozpin?"
Velvet shrugged. "He just told me to get you."
"Right! Okay, um." Ruby wheeled around to face her team. "Don't go anywhere, guys. I'll be back soon!"
"It's not like some of us have a choice."
Ren's tone was incredibly dry.
"Right, right…" Ruby scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "I forgot, you two with the- and the- yeah- I- I'm just gonna…" The door slammed shut, leaving what remained of Team JNPR behind it.
Whump. Whump. Whump.
The room was not exactly silent. The walls were not paper thin by any means, but listen hard enough and one could hear the muffled sounds of other denizens of the hospital. Some were taking their visit in stride, talking good-naturedly with each other. Some were frustrated, shouting down patients and attendants alike as they cursed their own uselessness. Some were scared, crying about their displacement from a home that no longer existed.
Jaune closed his eyes. Indeed, hospitals were where people went to die.
"Jaune." Ren's quiet voice cut through the subtle ambience, his hand still stroking Nora's hair.
"Yeah?" Jaune remained still; his eyes slowly opening.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For saving my life."
A dark chuckle shot out of Jaune's mouth. "Yeah," he snorted. "Whatever, buddy."
"I'm serious." Ren turned his head to face him. "Had it not been for you, my injuries would have been worse." He swallowed heavily. "Or I'd be dead."
"Don't say that," came Nora's quivery voice.
"But it's true."
"I don't wanna hear it."
The memories were still fresh in Jaune's mind. He could feel his bones crumble as the Nevermore smashed into him. He could smell its putrid breath as it roared down on him. He could see the pure hatred in its eyes as it readied to end his life. Jaune was lucky to be alive. Had Ruby not come in time, he'd be just another body left in the Grimm's wake.
Just like the villagers he had failed to save.
"I'd rather be dead."
Whump. Whump. Whump.
Ren and Nora's argument ceased. Jaune could feel their eyes on him, but he didn't care. His had eyes only for the bronze headpiece in his hand. Closing his eyes, he could still feel her touch. He could still hear her laugh. He could still see her smile. "I should be dead," he said aloud.
Beacon may have fallen all those months ago, but to Jaune it felt like yesterday. Whenever he slept, he dreamt of that day. From the cool night air to the warmth of her lips, every day he relived that nightmare. It haunted him. It plagued him.
"Do you think she's lonely?" he said softly. "She's gotta be lonely, because she's dead. And we're still alive." He sighed heavily. "I should have died. That way she wouldn't have to be alone anymore."
Whump. Whump. Whump.
Jaune laughed sardonically. "Hell, maybe we both should have died. Then at least we'd both be there with he- AUGH!"
The shattering of aura trilled across the room. Blood heaved out of Jaune's mouth. Spluttering, his eyes bulged in their sockets. His free hand shot up, feebly scrabbling at the fist which had hit him in square in his stomach.
"Nora," he gasped out. "What-?"
"Shut up."
Nora's fist resurfaced. Air suddenly flowed back in Jaune's lungs, causing him to wince. His newly mended ribs had definitely cracked again. Nora's shoulders shook. Her eyes were downcast. The room was filled with the sound of her heavy breathing.
Whump. Whump. Whump.
"Don't think," Nora grit out. "Even for a second that your life is that freaking important." Her eyes shot up as angry tears fell. "We lost her too, Jaune. WE LOST HER TOO!"
Nora's scream pierced rocked Jaune to his very core. He could only stare back at her in shock, one hand clutching his stomach while the other held the headpiece. "Nora," he tried.
"Shut up!" Nora shook her head violently. "It's been over half a year Jaune, and nothing's changed! All you've done is mope about, feeling sorry for yourself. Feeling sorry about how you felt. About how you hurt. And in all that time, did you ever think that we were hurting too? JNPR has four letters, not two!"
"We?" Jaune looked over her shoulder. "Ren?" he said weakly.
Ren refused to meet his eyes.
"Pyrrha is dead, Jaune." Nora's voice was softer now. Yet anger was still rich in her voice. "She's dead. There's nothing we can do to change that. All we can do is get back up and keep fighting. So get the hell back up!" She looked him in the face, determination burning in her eyes. "And keep fighting, dammit!"
Whump. Whump. Whump.
"I…" No words came to Jaune. "I don't know if I…"
The fire died in Nora's eyes. "Forget it," she said coldly. "I'll go get someone to check on you." She stood up, her head angled towards the door. "If Pyrrha could see you now, I wonder what she'd think of you?"
And with that, she left. The door shut, leaving the boys to themselves. Jaune's hand holding the headpiece slowly made its way to his chest. There it lay as he looked up at the ceiling. Pangs of pain shot through his body, but he didn't much care. Not at present, anyway.
"She right," Ren said quietly.
Round and round the ceiling fan went. Round and round Jaune's eyes followed.
Whump. Whump. Whump.
The sound of slippered feet pounded through the hallway. Hitting cold tiles, wobbly knees crashed to the floor. Frantic hands fumbled the toilet's lid, and a waterfall of yellowy-green gushed into the bowl. Its putrid texture was thick and slimy, like pus oozing out of a pimple. It came in waves. Fast. Slow. Fast. Slow. The only constant was the dreadful sound of a human retch.
The nausea passed, but Weiss didn't care. The porcelain was cool against her cheek. Breathe in. Breathe out. The scene played again in her mind's eye. The dust bomb consuming the man's body, tearing apart his innards while his face gaped in an eternal scream. The skin tearing from his face, showing what remained of his degrading skull. His rabid, unseeing eyes as he reached towards her. The stringy red pieces stretching across the dome.
Bile rose in Weiss' throat. She opened lid and heaved. Nothing came out. There was nothing left to throw up. All she could taste was the sour spit in her mouth. With tears streaking from her eyes, she forced the lid down and blindly reached for the handle. The roar of water strong in her ears, she slumped to the floor.
She didn't know how long she lay there. All she knew was that eventually there was a rap on the door. "Miss Schnee?" called a maid. "Is everything okay?"
Weiss groggily opened her eyes. They were unfocused. "Everything's fine," she croaked out. "Just leave me be."
Weiss lay rigid in her bed. Exhausted as she may be, she dared not close her eyes. For whenever she did, she could only see that man. Over and over, she could only see him crying. Over and over, she could only see him dying.
By the time the guests had left, the remnants of the man had disappeared, cleaned up by house servants. It was as if he had never existed, and all were none the wiser to it. From the top of the staircase, she had seen her father. Oh how freely he talked with a smile on his face! Looking at him, one would never think that he had murdered a man in cold blood just moments ago.
And as for the man, there was no family left to remember him. He would go down in history as nothing a statistic. As his body had disappeared, so too would his memory. Vanishing without a trace.
Weiss had been with him in his final moments, and didn't even know his name.
He said he cut them off, she thought. Did he mean his ears?
Faint murmurs of recollection dredged through Weiss' mind, like picking up shattered glass and reforming it into a vase. Maybe his hair looked a little frazzled to cover up his surgery. Maybe it wasn't and Weiss was just projecting. She didn't know. The man's face flashed in her head. He had looked so carefree, so happy. If she had just picked up that something was wrong beforehand, perhaps he'd still be alive.
My father, she thought. He might know something.
BZZZZZZZZZZT. BZZZZZZZZZZT.
The sound of her scroll going off startled Weiss. International communication systems had been up since last month. She'd gotten the occasional call from Ruby when her former leader had the time to talk, but her scroll spent most days collecting dust, unused. Blindly groping her bedside table, she raised the scroll to her ear.
"Hello?" she said.
Static ambience was on the other side. Then, "Hey."
Confusion marred Weiss' face. "Jaune?" she asked. "What's-?" Blood drained from her face. Her grip tightened around her scroll. "Is Ruby-?"
"Ruby's okay," he said hastily. "We're all okay."
"Oh." Her heart steadied as she closed her eyes. Breathe in. Breathe out. "Then why are you calling so late?"
There was a pregnant pause. "It's… I just…" A loud sigh crackled over the receiver. "I didn't know who else to call."
Silence reigned over the both of them. It wasn't the most awkward of silences. But still, it was strange. It was like they were on the balcony again, outside in the snow. Jaune sounded so scared over the line; so afraid. And yet he said nothing, and Weiss didn't know what to say.
"I've had a rough day," Jaune finally whispered. "A really, rough day." His voice cracked at the end.
Hot tears singed Weiss' eyelids, but she stubbornly held them back. "Me too." Her voice was tight. "Me too."
"Can we-?" Jaune took in a ragged gasp. "Can we stay like this? Just for a while?"
It was all too much. The dam broke. Weiss' pent up emotions got the best of her. Weeks of frustration and angst flowed through her unrelentingly. They came at her, ragdolling her out into the sea. "Yeah." She curled tightly into a ball as tears freely ran down her cheeks. "I'd like that very much."
Chapter Four Fin
- Narutochaos22
