"What the hell did you do to him?" Brie growled, slamming Aurora back into the desks. Beside her, Stella was supporting Rian's lifeless body while Citri kept the unfamiliar man in check with her swords.
"I will assume you are referring to the injection which, I will note, he applied to himself." Her tone was defiant despite her position. Umber transformed in Brie's hand, and she rested the hook on the end against the woman's neck. "I will also note that he specifically asked for me to give it to him."
"I-I don't think he's breathing!" Stella said in a panic.
Brie turned her head to look down at her partner. "Pulse?" The girl moved her hand to his neck and, after a moment, shook her head. With newfound anger, Brie pressed harder on her weapon, breaking Aurora's skin and drawing blood. "Why would Rian want to kill himself?!" she snarled.
The woman remained unfazed. "He is only … ah, how did you put it, Oswald?"
The man—the one responsible for all the people who had gone missing—looked down at Citri's swords nervously. "Uh, 'mostly dead,' ma'am."
"Yes, he is only 'mostly dead.' He will, however, be completely dead within a minute if you do not allow me to apply the counter-agent." The woman lifted up a second tube, holding it where Brie could see. The brunette glanced at it before releasing her, though she kept her weapon at the ready, just in case.
Kneeling down beside Stella, Aurora placed her free hand on Rian's chin and tilted his head up and out of the way. With the vial of counter-agent pressed against his neck, she pressed the end, causing it to hiss as the fluid was released into his bloodstream. After a moment, the teen's chest expanded as he took a deep breath before falling into a steady rhythm.
Stella was visibly relieved as she held Rian tighter, but Citri glanced over him with worry and skepticism. "Is he goin' ta be alright?" she asked.
Dabbing at the cut on her neck with a clean cloth, Aurora's cold facade broke, a look of frustration on her face. "Without my Semblance, I cannot say for certain, though subjects who have undergone similar … experiences have had a one hundred percent survival rate."
"How many subjects?" Brie asked.
"Two."
The brunette growled at the woman again, and nearly brought Umber up again to threaten her, but Citri spoke up first. "Da police are almost here."
Brie nodded, keeping her eyes on the scientist. "Good. Go make sure no one leaves before they get here." Metal slid past metal as Citri sheathed her blades, and she turned to leave the room. Over her shoulder, Brie added, "And have them get an ambulance over here once they do."
(- -)
Brie stood at the hospital room's window, watching him as he stared blankly up at the ceiling. It was strange, seeing him like this. There had been plenty of times when he'd been admitted to Beacon's infirmary for a few hours, but this was much more serious. Had this been what she looked like after Nitor Crater?
The door opened and a nurse stepped out, nodding at Brie. Stepping into the room, the brunette gently closed the door behind her. Being in the same room with him now, however, she wasn't fully sure what to say. "How are you doing?"
He briefly tilted his head up to look at her, then dropped it back down. "Well," he sighed, "my Aura isn't recovering as fast as it should be, I can't feel my right arm and yet all four of my fingers itch, and I'm basically in traction until it all heals over. So, yeah … I've been better."
Brie grimaced, but tried to offer him a sympathetic smile nonetheless. His right arm was suspended at his side, a brace preventing him from moving it around. It was clear just looking at it that more than just his fingers were missing, which told her replantation hadn't been a viable option. Still, she had to ask. "They weren't able to reattach it?"
He continued to stare up at the ceiling. "Aura damage. Apparently, it's pretty common for Hunters. Lose a body part, Aura keeps burning itself out trying to repair the damage and ends up scarring the flesh so badly that there's no way to reattach what got cut off without removing so much of what's left that you lose all of its original function."
Brie bowed her head. She'd never heard of anything like that before, but it sounded horrible. "I'm sorry."
"Don't." His response was curt, and he still didn't look at her. "It's my own fault." In a quiet voice, he added, "It's all my fault."
"You're right," Brie admitted moving forward to sit on the end of his bed. "You were stupid and reckless, but you're also a hero. You saved eleven—"
"I'm not a hero!" he snapped, finally looking up at her. There was anger in his eyes, but not directed at her. "I didn't go in there looking to save those people. I didn't even know that they were there. Citri's the one who saved them." His head sunk back down. "Let her be their hero."
The brunette looked at him in dismay. Humility was arguably one of his defining traits, but this bordered on self-deprecation. "You were still there. You still helped them escape. From their perspective, you were the one leading the whole thing."
"I was on a revenge trip. I didn't have anything to do with rescuing them."
She scowled. "Right, and the fact that Citri only knew where they were because you knew where the building was had nothing to do with it at all!" Her mouth clamped shut, and she looked down at her hands. Well, that was harsher than I meant it to be.
Silence hung in the room for almost a full minute before he spoke. "I almost killed her." His voice was quiet again, but cold.
While Brie knew he was talking about Aurora, she wasn't sure what to make of what he'd said. "I almost killed her myself," she joked. Half-joking.
Apparently, joking wasn't the right mood, not that it would have mattered anyway. He continued to stare up at the ceiling, as if he hadn't even heard her. "I had her beaten, blade against her neck. I'd won, but that wasn't enough." He paused. "I was going to kill her."
The scene he described was hauntingly familiar to the brunette, bringing back memories of fire and pain. She shook it off. "But you didn't."
He closed his eyes with a sigh. "Ra—" His voice caught in his throat and he closed his eyes tighter. After a moment, the muscles relaxed a small amount. "Rain talked me down."
Brie allowed herself a small smile. "Well, at least you have him to act as your conscience."
"He's gone."
That … That wasn't … "What?" Rain couldn't be gone. How could that have even happened?
"I tried …" His voice was choked, and he brought his good hand up to cover his mouth. "I tried so hard just to set everything right, but I-I couldn't do it."
"What do you mean he's gone?" Brie asked, a little more insistently. She knew that he was struggling with this himself, but she needed to know what had happened.
Tears had begun to well up in his eyes. "We completed the transfer," he whispered. "It was his idea. It was the only way to … It was the only way this was all going to work out."
"I …" Brie genuinely wasn't sure how to react. Counting their time at Beacon, she had known Rain for almost three years. He'd been a reluctant ally, a friend and partner, an enemy, and then … what? She had forgiven him with the help of the person who, up until the previous day, had considered her to be his closest friend, and she realized that a small part of her had always expected Rain would come back, that maybe they would be able to have a second chance. It was foolish, but she'd hoped it nonetheless. Now, he was … gone. "I'm sorry."Those had been his words.
"The worst part is … he was right," the teen lying in the bed continued, blinking away the moisture in his eyes. "He said it was for the best, that neither of us had anything left for us where we had come from and I can't help hating myself because he was right. My fam—" His hand ran up into his hair before bunching up into a fist. "My family and friends are there, but I'm not attached to them, and I don't even know what I was doing with my life, and—"
Brie placed her hand on his arm and gently pulled it away from his head. Once it was out of the way, she leaned forward and wrapped her left arm around him in an awkward hug. She could feel him shaking as he began to weep, and his tears began to dampen her shoulder. This wasn't the time for her to help herself cope with Rain leaving; the boy in the room with her had given her more support than she ever deserved, and now it was time to return the favor.
What was she supposed to say, though? She couldn't remain silent—leaving him to wallow would only make things worse—but she also wasn't sure how to comfort him easily. When she was struggling with her responsibilities as the leader of their team, he'd always had something to say to her, even if she didn't want to hear it. Maybe that was it, then; perhaps there was no easy truth she could give him. Taking a breath, she gave it a shot. "I don't know a lot about your life back there, and maybe you didn't have a whole lot to be attached to, but you've got us now. You have Stella. You have Citri, Team RWBY, Wayland, and you have me. We'll all be here for you, and we're going to help you move forward."
After a minute, his arm moved up and wrapped around her back to return the hug. "Thanks," he whispered. When she pulled away, he wiped the moisture away from his eyes with the base of his palm. "You know, Rain's probably better off now." Brie looked at him patiently, though was admittedly a little curious what he meant by that. "He's taking my place, so he'll have a family again, even if it is mine." He glanced toward the window, then back at her. "Though I guess I have a new one, too."
Brie smiled. She knew better than to assume he was completely alright so soon, but it was definitely a good start. "Speaking of which, the others are probably eager to see you." He nodded understandingly and she stood to go to the door. "I think Wayland is here, too," she added.
He hesitated, but nodded again. "I'll talk with him after the others."
Brie returned the nod and walked over to the door. As she placed her hand on the handle, she stopped and looked back at him. "I'm glad you're okay, Rian."
(-)
Aurora had not expected a cell on an Atlas military vessel to be comfortable, and in that respect she was not disappointed. The room was small and impersonal, with just a short cot in the way of amenities. A window in the door allowed light to filter in, though it only offered a view of the cell across from her. From what she could tell using her Semblance to see through the cell walls, however, only the one next to her contained another prisoner.
One who seemed to be a little chatty.
"So, they got me a neighbor, huh?" the unseen man said, his core a mirthful orange. "What could you have done to get stuck up here with me, I wonder?"
Aurora frowned. "I do not see any reason I should tell you."
"Eh, fair enough, but why don't you tell me anyways? I'm actually curious." When she didn't respond, he let out a huff. "Tell ya what; I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours. Deal?"
Aurora considered the unusual offer for a moment. The man did not seem to be particularly perturbed by his situation, meaning he was either insane or had a plan for escape. While her own, similar situation was not ideal, she had no reason to attempt a getaway either. Still, if she were going to be stuck with this man, it may do her well to act friendly. "I accept."
"Ah, fantastic! So, did you happen to hear about the Grimm that managed to get into the city?"
"I did. I was under the impression that the White Fang were responsible?"
"Well, they were, but I was the one calling the shots, hence …" He trailed off, gesturing toward the confines of his cell, though he did not know she could see him. That made sense, however; a Faunus terrorist group working for a human was rather curious and bore note. "Now, it's your turn."
"I conducted a series of experiments of questionable morals on a number of Human and Faunus, shall we say, volunteers."
"Ooh, experiments and kidnapping! I like it, though that still doesn't explain why you're up here and not down in an actual prison."
Aurora allowed herself a rare smile. "I believe that would be because the Atlas government has been conducting similar experiments."
The man's laughter was the very definition of raucous. Through the walls, she could see him slapping his knee. "Oh, that is rich!" After a few more seconds of laughing, he let out a short huff to recover his composure. "What should I call you?"
"Aurora."
"Well, Aurora, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You can call me Roman."
(-)
A cool breeze blew through the village, bringing with it the scent of rainfall and pollen. Vegetation had already begun to reclaim the scorched ruins, but many of the foundations and streets were still visible amidst the overgrowth. As Rian walked through what used to be the town of Vacille, he couldn't help but think that it would have been a nice place to live.
"It's right over here."
Following Wayland, Rian examined the remains of the building their small group was approaching. It wasn't much more than a pile of blackened wood and stone, collapsed in on itself below the foundation, but he could easily imagine the quaint, two-story house that had been Rain's home.
"This is where he lived," Brie breathed. It was a statement, not an observation, one that carried an acknowledgement of the site's history and the weight that carried.
Rian looked over at her. "You alright?"
The brunette looked tense as she scanned the ruin. "I … Yeah. I just … never fully understood how horrible the things my father did were until now." She turned to look at all the other buildings around them. "I think I get why Rain burned all of this down."
Rian reached over and laid his hand on her shoulder, metal fingers clicking as they brushed against each other. Shaking her shoulder gently with a reassuring smile, which she returned. Letting his hand slip off, he looked to Wayland. "I take it it's out back, then?"
The man nodded, and began leading them around the ruin. As they walked along the side, Rian sensed two of their members stop behind him. Pausing, he turned to see Stella standing near the front of the building, cradling her arms in front of her chest and clearly avoiding his gaze, while Citri simply stood passively beside her. "What's up?"
Stella fidgeted, keeping her eyes on the ground. "I just … kinda feel like I'm intruding."
Rian smiled to himself. "We wouldn't have asked you to come if we didn't want you here. C'mon," he said, gesturing toward them with his hand. Stella looked up at it for a few seconds before nodding and following, Citri beside her.
Behind the house, what had once been a yard was in a similar state as the rest of the village. Stepping through the overgrown grass, the group came to a stop in front of a small slab of stone half-buried in the dirt. Rian knelt down and bent some of the weeds aside to get a clearer look at it.
While it was far from professional, the lines of text had been carved into the surface of the slab, the first of which being, "Cobal." It was clearly intended to serve more as a symbolic headstone, given that Rain never had the opportunity to bury his family. Rian brushed his fingers over the second line of text. " 'The Hunters are Coming,' " he read absently.
"Like the nursery rhyme?" Brie asked, crouching down beside him to inspect the stone.
Wayland hummed an affirmative. "R told me his mother used to sing it to him and his sister whenever Grimm would attack. During the first night, he had to sing it for her to keep her calm."
A "Midnight Song." Rian smiled sadly to himself. I guess that makes this a lot easier. Reaching over his shoulder, he removed the large weapon from his back with a click. The still-healing seam between flesh and metal burned under the weight, but he ignored the pain. With one last look at the name of the axe, he laid it down in front of the gravestone, the spare magazines in his satchel following soon after.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Brie asked gently.
"Yeah. It's going to be hard to get closure if I'm carrying that around all the time." Rian stood up, and she followed suit. "Besides, I need to start making an actual identity for myself."
"What are you going to do for a weapon?"
"I've got a few ideas," he said casually, stepping back from the grave. He held up his hand to her. "Besides, it's not like we'll be fighting in the Tournament." Ozpin had been gracious enough to have a special combat-grade prosthetic like Stella's made, though where he'd gotten the funds, Rian didn't want to know. His Aura had recovered as well and the healing was coming along well—he did have the occasional phantom pain—but he would be spending the majority of the next few weeks in physical therapy, in addition to learning how to properly care for the prosthetic.
Lowering his hand, he looked to Wayland. The man had a faraway look in his eyes, directed toward the makeshift memorial. "Do you, um … want to go first?" Rian offered.
The Hunter slowly sucked in a deep breath, then just as slowly released it. "Rain was always like the son I never had and, to be honest, never wanted. He had a good head on his shoulders, though, better than a lot of people twice his age. Always knew what he was after, and never gave up on trying to get it. He might have lost his way in the end, but he was a good kid, and I'm proud to have been able to bring him up after he lost his family." He reached up a hand and rubbed it over his chin. "That's … That's all I've got to say."
Rian nodded and looked to Brie. Her eyes met his, and she sighed. "Alright." She looked down at the axe. "You … learn a lot about someone when you spend pretty much every day with them for two years. He might've been motivated by revenge, but Rain had a strong sense of morality. He didn't tolerate discrimination, and he never stood by when people needed help. When he killed my father, though, it was like all that went away. I spent so much time hating him that—" She stopped, pressing the bases of her palms against her temples. "I—I'm sorry. I'm not really great at this."
"It's fine," Rian said. "Just … say whatever."
She sighed again. "I guess I just wish I could have had a chance to tell him I forgave him." Moisture began to collect in the corners of her eyes, and she closed her mouth, indicating that she was finished.
Rian took a moment to think about what he was going to say. "I never got to meet Rain, not really. He was always just this voice in my head that sometimes gave good advice." He smirked. "He was actually kind of an ass at first, wanted nothing more than for me to leave and give him his body back. Over time, he warmed up more; he was still an ass, but I think he genuinely wanted to help me sort everything out. Maybe he even wanted to give life a second chance." He ran a hand through his hair. "When we got to Atlas, though, things changed. I think that was the point where he realized things weren't going to go back to the way they were before, and there was nothing we could do about it." He squeezed his right hand into a fist, letting the pain run up his arm. "Ultimately, he made the decision to give up his life here so I could be happy. One of the last things he said to me was, 'Sometimes the peace we're looking for isn't where we think it is. Sometimes it's already right in front of us.' "
Silence fell over the group, leaving them all to their thoughts. Eventually, Wayland spoke. "Rian." The teen turned his head toward him. "If you ever need anything, or even a place to stay, feel free to call me."
Rian blinked in surprise, then smiled. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
"It's no trouble. Now, we should probably leave before any Grimm get curious."
The four teens made sounds of agreement but, as they began to walk away, Rian gently tugged on Stella's shoulder. "Hey, can we talk for a minute?" She hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and followed him as he stepped away from the group. When he stopped, he had to take a few breaths to relax his nerves. His heart was beating quickly in his chest and the fleshy parts of his hands were sweating. The two of them had barely spoken since he'd woken up in the hospital and, as a result, hadn't had a chance to actually talk about them. Now seems as good a time as any. He took another deep breath. "So, do you remember when I told you that Rain gave me his memories?" She nodded uncertainly. "Well, I just wanted to clarify that he only saw and heard what I did, so I don't … I don't have the same feelings for you that I used to."
Stella nodded again, looking down. "Yeah, I kinda figured that."
"Right. Well, the thing is …" He coughed nervously. "… I think I'd like to maybe give it another shot."
Her head came up, yellow eyes addressing him with surprise, skepticism, and a little bit of hope. "You're sure you don't want to focus on trying to get home anymore?"
He looked at her in confusion before her meaning finally dawned on him. Looking down at his hand, he smiled. "Nah. This place is kind of a part of me now." Stella laughed—Has it always sounded that nice?—and then suddenly she grabbed him and pulled him in for a kiss. He stiffened, and she pulled away. "That's, uh …" He coughed again. "That's a little fast."
Stella smirked. "I don't care." With that, she kissed him again, draping her arms around his neck. After a moment, he gave in and wrapped his arms around her.
Fair enough.
519 days and 141,785 words later, my first fic is finished! What started as a few notes and sketches of guns is finally complete. It's not perfect, but I'm damn proud of what I've been able to do with it. Before I get any further, I want to thank you all for giving this story a chance and reading through it. Every time I get an email that someone has followed or favorited this story, it instantly makes my day better. Thanks.
With that out of the way, I guess I'll talk about this chapter.
Firstly, I want to say that, for the time being, I don't have plans to write a sequel and that all events in this chapter are intended purely to provide closure while leaving it open enough to write more if I do come up with a story to tell.
Next, I … Actually, I don't have anything else to say about this chapter. Kind of a dull note to go out on, huh? In all seriousness, though, there is a lot I do want to say about the story in general, and I'm not going to cram it all into this little bitty space and blow out my word count. What I'll probably end up doing is writing out a proper retrospective piece and tag that on as a separate chapter.
And with that, I suppose this story comes to a close. For a long time, I've been closing out my chapters with either "Au revoir" or "Adieu," but I eventually learned what the difference between them was and exclusively used the first one. As it turns out, "adieu" is meant to be used in a more permanent sense, when you don't expect to see someone again. While I do hope to see some of you read my other stories, I suppose it is now fitting for me to bid you farewell.
Adieu.
