"Get up… Come on, you just destroyed an entire warehouse but you can't wake up? Get up damn it!" The assassin shook the boy harder, her demands being ignored as Roland's eyes remained closed. The world was still dark, the dim twinkle of stars floating above the city casting down a dim glow. She could see red and blue lights in the distance, hear the sound of sirens and cars racing towards them. Helicopters could be seen tearing through the sky, their spotlights casting down random circles of light.
"Something tells me the police won't be very happy if they find us here… Especially not me." The cars were almost there but Roland remained still, his body limp, breaths small and barely noticeable. The assassin had already found Elisabeth but like Roland she stayed unconscious, lying a few feet away, propped up against one of the many chunks of concrete that surrounded the trio.
On the other side of the docks a group of cars screeched around the corner of the buildings, their headlights beating back the darkness as bits and pieces of the broken warehouse came into the driver's view. "Alright, time to go."
The assassin lifted Roland up, slinging the boy over shoulder then doing the same with Elisabeth. They weighed her down a bit, her body not used to the extra pounds, but after a few seconds the assassin started jogging away as fast as she could. Helicopters appeared overhead, shining their spotlights around the piles of rubble as the police tried to find the people responsible.
The assassin hid under the chunks of concrete, avoiding the lights and staying undetected. After a few heart pounding minutes she reached the safety of the buildings, disappearing into one of the many always as she heard the voices of police behind her.
"You two are way more trouble than you're worth…"
"Where did you find them?"
"In their room. There was no one else there."
"And how did you know they were in their room?"
"There was a knock on my office door. When I checked to see who was there all I found was a note telling me to go to their room."
"You found a random note outside your office and did exactly what it told you to? Ozpin, do you realize how dangerous that is?"
"What would you have had me do Glynda? The note said they were in the room and they were both in concerning condition. And thank the gods I did follow it, otherwise who knows what might have happened to them."
"That might true, but Roland seems perfectly fine."
"Maybe, but what about Elisabeth? Did you see her? Shes covered in burns Glynda, it looks like she's been tortured!"
"But she is alive."
"Barely…" Ozpin turned away from Glynda and started pacing across the waiting room. It was late, the hospital wing almost dead silent. Glynda sat in a chair, secretly just as worried as the headmaster but seeming to be perfectly calm. Both of them had been aware of Roland's threats to go after Elisabeth but neither believed he would actually do it, but what made them feel even worse was the condition Elisabeth had returned in. Her body had been covered in burns and bruises, a few bones fractured but nothing broken.
"But who brought them there anyway? It wasn't the police, or anyone from RWBY or JNPR. They would have told us immediately." Glynda asked, talking to herself more than Ozpin.
"Perhaps Roland made a friend out there."
"Please, Roland? Make a friend? I'm amazed he's gotten this far with Elisabeth, so for him to even talk to a stranger while on some self assigned mission? Insanity."
Ozpin opened his mouth to respond when the doors of the room suddenly burst open. In ran Roland, stopping dead in his tracks when he recognized Ozpin. For a moment he stood there and stared, the look in his eyes making it obvious that he just woke up.
"Where is she?"
"Roland, I don't think you should be moving too mu-"
"I didn't ask you what you think. Now are you going to answer me or should I repeat the question?"
Ozpin sighed, knowing that he would never beat Roland in an argument. "Floor two, room sixteen."
"Thank you." Roland dashed off again, moving amazingly fast for someone who was wearing Beacon hospital robes. The robes were specially made to slow people down, making it easier to prevent people from doing what Roland did every time he was sent to the hospital wing; get up and run all over the place. They were incredibly heavy, made from special materials that could be condensed to the point that the robes could restrain a full-grown man and leave him completely immobile. The robes at Beacon weren't usually so extreme, and so Roland found it easy to run down the empty hallways at full speed.
Behind him few doctors tried to keep up, amazed at the boy's ability to move so quickly while wearing the special robes. By this point not a single person was surprised that Roland didn't stay in bed like he was supposed to and most of them had even placed bets on how long it would take for the boy to get up and run away this time. No one had guessed over two hours.
But they still pursued him, knowing that this wasn't good for his health. They were doing fairly well and almost caught him at one point, but the moment he burst through the door to the stairway they knew he was gone. A few of them followed and looked up, seeing the boy ascending the stone stairs at an alarming rate and slamming through another door before any of the doctors even set foot on the first step.
"He's going to die if he keeps doing this." A faunas doctor said, his head still tilted up as if he expected Roland to come running through the door again.
"I'm willing to bet he knows that himself. I just don't think he gives a damn." Another of the doctors shook his head then turned and started walking away, knowing that even if they caught Roland none of them would be able to do anything.
"Twelve… Thirteen… Fourteen… Fifteen… There!" Roland slammed into the door, maybe a little too hard, nearly breaking the door and his shoulder as he burst into the room. It was small and dark, the only noticeable features being the hospital bed that sat next to a large window and the medical machines dotted around the room. It only took a split second for Roland to confirm that the small figure laying in the bed was the girl he was looking for.
"Oh god, Elisabeth!" He dashed to her side, not bothering to grab a chair and instead dropping to his knees, taking a hold of one of her hands. The sheets from the bed and the robes covered up most of her arms but Roland could still see a few burn marks and worrying number of cuts that covered her hands and face.
"Elisabeth… I'm so sorry… This is all my fault…" He bowed his head, barely managing to hold back the tears that wished to be released at the sight of Elisabeth in a state such as this. "I never meant to get you involved…"
He squeezed her hand slightly, wishing things could have been prevented. Elisabeth was all that mattered to Roland and so the thought of losing her tore the boy to pieces, which meant seeing her injured like this made him feel absolutely terrible.
But his head shot up when he felt Elisabeth squeeze his hand back. His vision was fuzzy but he could see her eyes barely open, the purple orbs a welcome comfort. "This… Isn't… Your fault…" Her lips curved upward, the smile weak but reassuring none the less.
"But it is… This is all because I never solved the problems I had before."
"You couldn't… Have prevented it… But you do have… Explaining to do…" She squeezed his hand again as her smile grew just a little bit more, filling Roland with warmth and comfort.
"Alright Elisabeth… Its one hell of a story, but you deserve to know it…"
"Now go back… To your own room… Before you hurt yourself again…"
Now it was Roland's turn to smile, his eyes suddenly gaining a mischievous gleam. "Hm, I could, but that sounds awful boring. Think I'll just go for a stroll."
"I'm… Going to kill you… When I can move…"
"Well then…" Roland stood up and gave Elisabeth a quick peck on the forehead. "I guess I get a nice head start."
End of Section 1
Okay, so just a few things to say. I'm sure you all noticed the bit in bold directly above this sentence. Trust me, this isn't the end of Roland's story, but this is the end of this section. I've started to realise that the writing just isn't as good as it should be, and so I'm taking a good break from this. I plan to do a bit of story boarding and take a good while to figure out the rest of the plot, so that way when I bring this back it'll be as good as you guys deserve. How long will I be gone? I can't really say honestly. Like most writers I made up half of this as I went (The assassin character was never even planned, but hey, things happen) and so things are a little crazy now. But don't worry guys, when Roland's story continues its going to be better than ever.
But until then, thank you all so much for reading. I never thought I'd get anywhere near this far, and it makes me feel amazing that so many of you have given me a chance. Thank you to anyone who's left a review, they really help me a lot, and I hope you guys are enjoying. I'll see you all as soon as I can, I promise.