AN- Thank you to the wonderful reviewers from last chapter!
Zeldawolffang- I am not too sure what you meant by that, but thank you for the review anyway.
Astra- I can be a super villain and kill off Hector and end the story right here if you want, just let Salem kill everyone and destroy Remnant then become the undisputed ruler of the world. ;) You never know with me. Oh just wait for what I have in store for this more happy chapter, something happened. Mercury ambulance joke, Im going to be honest, probably. Ironwood, oh most definitely, but with good intentions in mind. Poor Mercury, I really am doing a lot to the poor guy aren't I? Didn't really realize it until just now, but things will turn around, hopefully. Knolly reveal coming soon, only about twenty chapters more to go, give or take, more likely take. Dude, have you not played any video games? The underbelly is ALWAYS the weak spot, don't question it, just let it be. Lets just assume the legal drinking age is still 21, since RWBY is an american made show. I also really thought it was a good idea to have a callback to volume 1, I was just thinking that they have all come so far, from struggling to take down a single nevermore, to defeating a dragon. Also because I really want to pull out another OP OC card and have Hector kill it, or Rhea, or Yang, or all of the above. Yeah… about Tyrian… Let's just say I kinda regret killing him off so early now. But it is WAY too late to change that, so we'll just go with it for now. As for Hell, I'm glad I managed to pull it off, Hector needs someone to push him to his limits besides Maidens. Thanks for the review!
Tigervolcano5000- Thank you, thank you, and Thank you again! Here is the next chapter!
Bwburke94- Fuck that guy, no more needs to be said.
Guest- Wow, first time I got a review like that one. Thank you very much for enjoying my story enough to read it from beginning to end in what I am assuming is quick succession. Here is the next one!
Whew, now that is out of the way, thank you all for over 26,800 views! And we are very near 200 followers, and I gotta say, WOW. Thank you all for the support and praise, I am glad to have been able to entertain you all.
Also, the poll for Lemon scenes in this story has just ended, and lo and behold, the winner is Multiple Lemons with 63% of the vote. Well then, looks like I have some 'research' to do.
Now, I need your guys help with something. I want to change the title of this story, as it is right now, I just don't like it, i'm serious about this story, and thus I believe the story deserves a serious title besides "Oh Gosh", so please, help a brotha out. All I got right now, is something with 'Warrior' in it, maybe "Unlikely Warrior" or "Warrior from another time". Or something with 'Hero' in it. What do you guys think? Plz help.
Now let's get right to the story!
Chapter 35- Hero
One month after the battle of Atlas, and Hector is still unconscious, the nearly full day of fighting and killing Grimm, combined with the overexertion and exhaustion of the magical power he only realized he had just recently before. It was too much, he was fighting to keep himself standing near the end of the battle, he made a mistake pushing his limit even further by going Kaioken times twenty, the only reason he didn't end up killing himself from all of this is because of the efforts of countless medics, Rhea, and the soul of Ozpin, who has been constantly feeding his body aura to heal the body, while he tried his best to mend his mind.
His coma was unexpected, and at first all of his friends panicked, thinking he was dying or already dead. Jaune tried his best to use his semblance on him, has been for the past couple of weeks, but to no avail. As mentioned before, even Rhea's magic couldn't wake him up, she tried entering his mind to forcefully wake him up but Ozpin easily overpowered the girl and forced her back out.
Almost all of Remnant knows his name now, as well as the members of RWBY, and the former members of JNPR. Rhea has also been gaining some renown, as the girl with the extremely powerful fire semblance that saved hundreds of lives by burning hundreds of Grimm to ash, and then later on using her powers to heal several others. Some of the soldiers saw him fighting a horde of Grimm by himself, and slaying every one of them, even instilling fear into their hearts and making a good portion of them flee. As well as Ruby Rose, with the assistance of the one with the 'extremely powerful fire semblance.'
The news reached all the way to Vacuo, which concerned Ilia for some time, but soon realized that he was going to be okay. Soon she just knew that he was going to be fine, and made a note to thank him again for his selfless acts.
The Summer Maiden quickly found out the news, and quickly worked out that he is the one that the chameleon faunus was talking about months ago, and that he was the source of the burst of magical power she felt. She can't wait to be able to fight Hector, relishing in the thought of the challenge.
Luckily for Mercury, team RWBY came to his defence, so he was not incarcerated for all of his past crimes. Mercury, not expecting this, was more emotional than he ever thought to be possible post the death of his mother, and that earned him a lifetime of teasing from Yang, forced one sided hug from Ruby, challenges of every kind from Nora, and actual friendship he needs to get used to. Even Ironwood couldn't get close to him if he didn't have a smile on his face beforehand, and he'd be damned before he even thought of getting in between that friendship.
Speaking of Ironwood, sometime during the flight, Tai himself, while injured with a healing hole in his chest, forced himself into the cockpit and flew back to Atlas just a few minutes after the dragon was defeated. To this day no one knows how he was able to do that before, and now is bedridden and declared no longer able to fight due to his wounds.
The news about Raven's death struck hard, and Tai felt loss of a loved one for the third time in his life. But this time, he had the support of seven teenagers, - eight if you counted Mercury - the Fall Maiden, his longtime teammate Qrow, Ironwood, Zwei, - No one knows when and how he got there - countless others, and soon to be one more man, as soon as he woke up.
Yang becoming the new Spring Maiden also came with another shock, her eyes were now permanently red, the same red as her biological mother, and her bionic arm was repaired from all the damage it took against Hell. In private, she told her father Raven's last words. Which brought them both into tears, mourning for her. Yang blamed herself for not being strong enough, but that was quickly snuffed out by the company she had. Mercury has also been surprisingly supportive of her as well, along with Blake of course. Helping her out by telling her learning more about her new Maiden powers with the knowledge he had about it. Helping her train and summon her powers willfully. With time, Mercury has been growing on her, and she has forgiven him for what he did to her all that time ago, not that he knows anyway… yet.
Weiss and Winter have taken over the SDC, with their father dead, and their mother and brother deemed too mentally ill to be able to control such a company, the sisters have stepped up to the plate. Winter let her sister know that she will not be helping her for long, since she is a huntress and has her own duties. Weiss had no problem with this, and as the official boss of the SDC, has reclaimed her as family, officially making her a member of the Schnee family again, and not only by name this time. Fixing one of her father's biggest mistakes from the get-go, along with personally helped her mother and brother however she can, and yes, even her brother. Weiss promised herself long ago, that she will fix the SDC, and make sure that faunus aren't targeted anymore, got rid of any corrupt businessmen her father dealt with. Slowly but surely, the Shnee name will be one of honor again.
As for the other members of RNJR, Ren and Nora's relationship blossomed fast, and all their pent up romantic frustrations toward one another have finally been able to be release. Nora has been very aggressive in this relationship, not then Ren doesn't like it of course. Jaune has spent a majority of his time helping rebuild the kingdom, and has promised himself to go see his family again soon. But, they finally found out where he's been and what he has been doing for the past year and a half, and they sent him a very well thought message, one each from every member of the family, most were… pretty colorful to say the least, and Nicholas Arc's said that they are on his way, and to make sure Crocea Mors isn't in bad shape, and that is all it said… Looks like Jaune is going to have a lot of explaining to do.
Ruby has been by Hector's side almost every night, in the day she helps out with the reconstruction of Atlas, using her speed to bring supplies and tools needed to fix and rebuild parts of the destroyed fortress that was once the walls of Atlas. She never lost hope, and gets excited every time Hector groaned or moved in his sleep. The doctors said that he will wake up soon, they just don't know when, but it is confirmed that he will live. Ruby hasn't bothered to deny her feelings for him anymore, she is older and now understands a bit more about having true feelings toward another. She is no longer the naive innocent little girl that attended Beacon two years early. She holds his hand, which sparks a shock throughout her whole body.
Hours later, at about five in the morning, Hector woke up in a sweaty mess and with a yelp. Startling Ruby awake as she jumped out of her chair in the corner with Crescent Rose in hand and unfolded. Hector takes in several deep breaths, while looking around the room with his now permanently ocean blue eye. He feels himself up quickly, and notices the bandages wrapped around almost every inch of his body. He didn't even realize he was that hurt. Then his eye locks on the silver… and smiles the brightest smile he has ever smiled, instantly recognizing the younger girl to be Ruby Rose.
"Hector!" Ruby exclaimed as she drops Crescent Rose and closes the distance between them in less then a second. Rose petals fall behind her onto the floor, and even onto the bed she has just jumped in, literally.
"Ow." Hector said as he hugged her back tightly anyway. "Guess I overdid it a bit." He joked with a weak chuckle.
"Guess I overdid it a bit." Ruby mocked. "Of course you overdid it you big lug!" Ruby yelled as she bops Hector hard on the head, making him wince even when his aura protected him from any damage. "You nearly killed yourself, again! When I said I needed your help, I didn't mean go all out and throw me! Everyone was so worried about you! I was…" Ruby's voice trails off, tears streaming from her eyes as she buries her face into his chest.
"I…" Hector stammers, unable to make a full sentence out of the shock. "I… didn't mean to worry you all… I just wanted to make sure everyone got out alive, you understand right?"
Ruby didn't want to understand, but there's no way she couldn't. Hector was like her in that way, willing to help someone, even if it meant killing themselves for it.
"I care for you all... You are all precious to me." Hector said as he himself began to get emotional. "I'm sorry."
Ruby smiled and blushed deeply at his declaration, knowing the few words he said were genuine. Reluctantly, she pushed away and sat on the edge of the bed, looking straight into his blue eye.
"I know you do. Everyone is precious to me as well. I probably would have done the same thing you did if I were in your position." Ruby said with a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them up again with a glare. "But… that doesn't mean you are out of this yet mister!" Ruby exclaimed, grabbing Hector's arm and trying to pull him out of the bed. But even while low on aura, and weaker then he usually is, he still has enough strength to effortlessly resist her.
"Are… you trying to get me to stand up?" He asked sarcastically as he gently pulls back. "I thought you'd be stronger then this to be honest."
"I… am trying… to be mad at you!" Ruby yelled as she pulled harder.
But Hector pulled back harder, making her trip and fall right into his lap with a soft thud. She stayed there for a moment before grunting in frustration. Hector laughed and pulled her back up. "I missed you to Ruby." He said with a softness in his eyes that gave Ruby butterflies in her stomach. "I think I made a promise to you before we separated from each other right?" Hector rhetorically asked as he swing his legs over the bed.
"W-wait!" Ruby said. "I don't think you should be moving yet, you've been out for weeks." She said as she went over to the other side of the bed just in case he fell over.
"Weeks?" Hector asked, eyes shaking a little at the thought of being out for so long, that put a wrench in plans for sure.
Ruby timidly nods, a little ashamed for revealing sensitive information so abruptly. "Yeah, the doctors said that when you woke up, you should be okay to leave, but not to push it."
Hector took another look at his body, luckily he seems to have some sort of sweat pants on for whatever reason, so his privates are obscured from view. But the only parts of him that are visible, are his hands and face. He moves to remove one of the bandages on his right arm, since that was the one that broke, and his for some reason not in a cast. But a small hand grabs his wrist and stops him.
Ruby looks him dead in the eye again, with a sad arch of her eyebrow. "I haven't seen yet, I don't know if it's bad or not, but I saw you after what happened with Hell… I don't know if it healed looking… appealing."
Hector nodded, but continued to work on it anyway. He took a deep breath as he made it to the last layer, which has plenty of blood soaked into it. His eyes widened at the sight.
"I bled this much?" Hector asked under his breath as he gently touched the last bandage. "How am I still alive."
"Miracles and magic." Ruby answered straight away with a shrug.
Hector nodded and took another deep breath, and ripped off the last bandage in one go, eager to get it over with, and the look of his arms shocked him.
It's… normal? Nothing Wrong? AGAIN!?
He blinked his eye a couple of times to make sure what he was seeing was what he was actually seeing, not a single scar, nor any signs of having a broken arm in the first place. But it is still there, and he looks to see Ruby standing with her hands behind her back and a smug grin on her face.
"I'm guessing you knew about this then." Hector chuckled as he flexed and stretched out his arm a couple of times. He is very, and his muscles scream in protest with every movement, but the satisfaction of having his dominant arm back and in good shape is enough for it not to ruin the moment.
"Maybe~" Ruby drawled.
"Heh, so what are all the bandages for then?" Hector asked as he started working on his other arm and the rest of his body.
Ruby looked away but couldn't help but take peeks at his well sculpted body, not too big, and not too small, somehow just perfect. She doesn't know how he was able to get that body in such good shape in such a short amount of time, but she can't deny that she likes to sight of it.
Ruby goes beet red as she thinks her own thoughts, and pries her eyes away then pulling up her hood in an attempt to hide her red face. Ugh, is this what Yang meant by my hormones finally starting to kick in?
"I-I think the doctors said that it was necessary…"
Hector nods, and begins to push himself up off the bed. Most other men wouldn't have even been able to push themselves up into a sitting position, and here he is trying to stand up already, just minutes after waking up after a month long coma. The sound of the bed creaking makes Ruby turn back around, just in time to catch Hector as he almost falls as soon as his legs take his full weight.
"Are you okay?!"
"Y-yeah." Hector said as he let himself sit back on the bed. "Looks like my legs aren't one hundred percent yet."
"I don't think any part of your body is one hundred percent." Ruby pointed out. "You need crutches, I want to surprise the others by bringing you to the celebration, it's going to be just us so don't worry about any reporters. They have been coming from every corner of the world just to try and speak to you. How does it feel to be the savior of two kingdoms now?" Ruby asks as she walked over to a corner of the room where crutches laid.
"Heh, again, I don't deserve all the credit-"
"You single handedly took on about… I don't know, a thousand Grimm?" Ruby cut him off with a smile as used her speed to reach him again. "You may not think it, but you played a part in nearly every part of the battle, you were the reason we won, if you hadn't defeated your clone, or drove away those Grimm, Atlas would have fallen." Ruby points out as she leaned the crutches against the bed and taking his face in her hands. "You're a hero."
Hector gets a bit red himself at the intimacy of the act, as well as the praise he just recieved. Eventually he just lets out yet another chuckle and takes her hands in his. "Well, I know I definitely missed you."
"Y-yeah… I still have the rose you gave me." Ruby said, causing both of their cheeks to darken. Hector slowly releases her hands and scratches the back of his head, using the other to reach to his crutches that for some reason were in the corner of the room, far from the person meant to use them. He recovers first from hus flustered state.
"Before we end up melting how about we go see the others?" Hector asked as he slid one crutch under one of his arms.
"Wait… Before we go, why did you yell when you woke up?" Ruby asked hesitantly, grabbing her elbow as she awaits an answers.
Hector's eye widens, and whatever blood rushed up to his face flows away just as fast as it came. He really doesn't want to answer this, but things have been bottled up for far too long. His first kill, that is not even that long ago, the loss of his eye, all the pain his body has gone through, befriending Raven, then watching her die days later, killing innocent people that have been transformed into Grimm in brutal ways, had to literally fight against his evil self, living with another person in his body, not being able to save everyone he can. But worst of all, he lost his family at the start of all of this, he lost the friends that he had, hell, he lost his dog to. He hasn't been able, nor did he want to, think about any of it, he has been so focused on being the hero, that he had bottled up his emotional pain. But with Ruby here, someone he trusts, and loves. He is going to finally let some of it out.
"I saw my family."
"C'mon Merc! Work those robot legs!" Nora shouts as Mercury runs around the room, setting up the party they planned weeks in advance. They are in the Schnee household, which has been rebuilt, and cleaned up. Weiss, even though that the celebration is in her own home, may not be able to attend because of her very busy schedule.
"Nora… please, I need a break." Mercury said between pants.
"Nuh uh mister! You have a lot of making it up to us to do." Nora said as she rests her head on Ren's shoulder, who has not been able to move from that spot for the past thirty minutes.
"I thought having a hand in saving a kingdom would have been enough…" Mercury said under is breath. While he did manage to get most of them to forgive him for the manipulation and lies he spat in their faces during his time at Beacon, he has had to work for Nora's forgiveness, basically having to treat her like the queen she is.
"What was that!?"
"N-nothing, miss!"
"That's what I thought. You're almost done, when you are, I shall allow you to attend this celebration." Nora said just as she gave Ren a hard kiss on his cheeks. He has become so used to her affections that he just doesn't get flustered over them anymore, at least externally.
"C'mon Nora," Yang calls out from the doorway, she wears her usual outfit, but this time without the jacket. She got an upgrade for her bionic arm, making it look more human than a machine, now skin colored to match her own, it can be mistaken for a regular arm until you get close enough to tell. "Mercury has done a lot for us, and for me." Yang said as she walked up beside Mercury and wrapped an arm around his head and pulled him in. "I think he can go a while without your ordering around for a while, he's earned it."
Mercury flushes for a bit before slipping himself out of Yang's grip once he sees Tai's eyes looming over them. "Thanks, Yang." He mutters as he takes a seat at the table.
"No problem. Say, where's Ruby? I thought she'd be the first one here." Yang says as she scans the room with her eyes.
"Went to go see Hector again." Blake answers. "I thought you would have guessed that by now, she's been there every day."
"Yeah, I know." Yang sighed as she took a seat for herself. "I'm just surprised my dad over here hasn't gone and killed him yet."
"I will you know, if you actually want me to." Tai said as he stroked Zwei's head. Still no one knows how he got there.
"Dad, you can barely stand up without help as it is." Yang points out with a snigger. "Besides, I'll do it myself if I have to."
"Or, and listen closely now, you can not get involved in your sisters love life." Weiss suggests as she enters the room herself. The others eyes light up, they haven't been able to see her for two weeks. "Yes, yes, I am happy to you see you all to." She adds with a smile.
"Weiss!" Almost everyone exclaims in unison. Nora dashes up to her and picks her up into a hug, where Weiss awkwardly patted her on the back in an attempt to reciprocate the hug when her arms were pinned to her sides.
"I thought you weren't going to be able to make it." Blake admits, but has a smile on her face anyway.
"I make time for my friends, even as the owner of the Schnee Dust Company." Weiss said with another smile as Nora finally let her down.
"Great! Jaune, you here?" Nora asks out loud, not even looking around the room.
Jaune falls down from through the ceiling just as his name is called. He has been training intensely so that he does not find himself useless in another battle, combine that with him helping rebuild, and he has been getting much stronger and faster pretty quickly. "How did that even happen?" Jaune asks no one in particular as he sees stars appear in his vision.
"Great! Now all we have to wait for is Ruby! And Hector maybe, who knows, maybe he woke up early." Nora says as she jumps into Ren's lap. Ren rolls his eyes and pats her head as she makes herself comfortable.
"You're always good at making entrances Vomit Boy." Yang says as she helps Jaune up from the ground.
"I don't see the science around what just happened to me…" Jaune answers. "And please don't call me that."
"Nope, I saw what sweet little Rhea did, good job Ray!" Yang yelled toward the Fall Maiden, who has been sitting quiet for the past couple hours. She perks up after being called, and waves happily toward her fellow Maiden.
After the battle, Rhea lost her mentor, he's not dead of course, but in a coma. Despite knowing that she wouldn't have made much of a difference in the fight, she blames herself for not being there for Hector, to at least try to help him so he wouldn't have had to push his body so far to win. But what she doesnt know, is that if she had stayed with him, then Blake and Taiyang would have most likely died, or get even more injured, along with hundreds of others if she didn't blow away a whole city block worth of Grimm. She has even been praised personally by Ironwood himself, but also was warned about not showing off her powers like that again.
"Hey Ray." Her thoughts are cut off as the Spring Maiden takes a seat next to her. "You know I can tell something is wrong right?" Yang asks rhetorically.
"W-what do you mean?" Rhea asks, looking away from Yang and back to the table.
"I know you miss him, we all do." Yang points out, before smirking. "Ruby definitely does. But chill, it's only been a month and the doctors said he's been showing nothing but improvement, he saved us, and you saved my dad and partner, and countless others." Yang makes Rhea look her in the eyes, crimson red boring into burning amber. She widens her own as she realizes what she has done herself. She did save people…
"So chin up, and have some fun for tonight, im sure he'd want you to after everything that has happened." Yang ended with a bright smile.
Rhea thinks hard about what she said, and ends up laughing about how she has been acting. "Thanks Yang. You really helped."
"Eh, us Maidens need to stick together right?"
They both share a laugh again, this time much more wholesome then before.
"You mean your family before you came here?" Ruby asked after a couple of moments of processing what Hector had just said. He has dreams about his family? I never knew… it's been so long since we were able to talk. This can't be the first time this happened, not by a long shot. She thinks to herself ways to help him out in this situation, and now that she knows something is wrong, she is not going to leave his side until he is better, she owes him that much after everything Hector has sacrificed so far.
Including his humanity… If the look in his eyes- well… eye is anything to go by.
"Yeah, that one." Hector confirms. "It's only been about eight or nine months I think? Maybe a year? Yet it feels like it has been so much longer since I last saw them." Hector said as he rested his hands on the bed, and gestured for Ruby to sit next to him, which she did without hesitation. "But that's not everything… Ruby, I've found out things about myself that really shook me. Things that involve Salem."
Ruby widened her eyes slightly of the mentioning of the Queen of the Grimm. What worries her more is the look in his eye, it was so full of happiness before, but now, it's just empty sadness.
"What about her?" Ruby asked slowly, hoping that it is not too soon to ask such a question.
Hector let out a single sad chuckle before shaking his head and leaning over his knees, resting his elbows on them. "She… is the reason I am here." He revealed. "That's not all, she has been speaking to me, in my dreams that is, I don't know if it is real or not but she is still there. I was summoned to this world, and I was supposed to be what Hell is."
Ruby tried to hide her shock at the revelation, but ended up gasping. She then found herself unable to formulate a response to that, and after a couple of moments, Hector noticed.
"Heh, yeah, I had the same reaction when Oz told me. Speaking of which, guy must be resting or something, hasn't said a word yet." Hector changes the topic, losing confidence in himself to continue the story and explanation for his sadness. "We should get to that party, everyone's worried like you said."
"No, not yet," Ruby stops him before he can stand up with the crutches. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier, I was just speechless. But I know you're hurting now, and I want to help, tell me how I can help." Ruby pretty much begs him, holding onto his right arm with both of hers and staring into his eye.
Hector feels a warmth burn up inside him, and he raises his left arm to pat her head, she doesn't resist this time, and just lets him do it. "You already are," He says with a small smile. "But as flattered as I am, and as much as I would love to make up for lost time, I have two Maidens, two teams worth of angsty teenagers, and a former villain to catch up with, and that is not even counting your dad and Qrow." He said as he stood up, much easier this time because of the crutches.
Ruby nods her head, reluctant to go through with it after what has just been revealed to her, but accepting Hector's decision to catch up with the others, she almost gets lost in thought as she walked out the door, and realized that Hector was about to walk out of the room without a shirt on…
"Wait!" Ruby exclaims that word for the third time, blocking and closing the door before he makes a mistake and has to walk in the night without a top on.
"What is it now?" Hector asks playfully. He notices Ruby eyeing him down, he looks down at himself and realizes that he is indeed topless still, it doesn't really bother him as much as what he thinks is going through the silver eyes warriors head though. Of course, he jumps to conclusions right away, because that's how anime works. "U-uh, Ruby… I don't think this is the right time… I mean, if I wasn't barely able to stand maybe but-"
Ruby catches on to his meaning finally, and blushes to a color more red then he hood. "No no no! That wasn't what I was thinking!" Half-lie. Without opening her eyes she points to the table up against the wall in the room while standing as stiff as a board. "Your clothes are in that bag, just put your shirt on and lets go, I don't want to keep them waiting any longer." Ruby said as she sped out the door and leaned against the wall outside, clutching her chest where her heart is beating around light speed levels.
"Did he say… maybe?"
Back to the Schnee household, the party has just gotten started, Qrow came in late as he usually does, flying into the window at an attempt of making an entrance, and ended up breaking right through it and transforming back into a human right on Tai's lap. He reeked of alcohol but everyone is used to it by now, the death of his twin sister has been tough on him after all. But that is just the beginning, Weiss yelled at Jaune for destroying part of her home, and he was cradling himself as he attempted to protect his ears. Ren and Nora were doing… things in the corner of the room. Mercury has engaged in a conversation with the two Maidens about actual happy things, he listens to them open up about their past, which was a good thing for him, he is becoming closer with those he used to want to kill.
"So, I tell Jaune Im being a good guy now, of course he didn't believe me at first and got ready to fight me." Mercury continued the funny story about how he met Jaune after officially becoming a good guy, apparently Yang finds this hilarious and laughs about it every time it is told. "At the time I didn't know I was covered in blood, but in my defence it was Grimm blood. So he told me to turn around and head back toward you guys, and then Nora out of nowhere, just jumps out and grabs both of us, pulling us together in one big group hug. I was startled of course, and I pushed air out of my feet and launched us into the air, somehow landing right next to you." He finishes with a chuckle of his own. "That Ren guy was so out of breath trying to keep up with us." Mercury adds, the laughter from Yang being too contagious to resist. Hell, even the Fall Maiden is laughing along with him.
But his laughter is cut short when he once again notices the blue eyed death glare from Taiyang, who he has been avoiding for as long as possible, a kick from under the table snaps him back to reality however.
"Go talk to him, he won't stop glaring at you until you go make nice with him." Yang said, her laughter suddenly stopping.
"How do I even begin doing that? 'Hey, sorry I made your daughter out to be a dishonorable huntsman and ultimately caused her to lose her arm, we good?' I know how to read people Yang, and he wants me dead." Mercury explains, resting his head on his hand.
"Oh, please. You didn't cause this." Yang waves around her robot arm. "He glares like that to any boy that looks at me or Ruby, it's a dad thing. I honestly don't know how Hector survived it." Yang said with a grin.
"Oh, are we changing the topic? Yeah let's do that- OW!" Mercury gets kicked again, somehow causing him pain when she is kicking him right on the metal leg.
"Go, now." Yang basically demands before turning around and waving to her dad and uncle. "Hey! Dad and Uncle Qrow! Mercury here wants to talk to ya!"
"I SAID NO SUCH THING!"
"Oh does he now?" Taiyang asks. "I'm willing to listen to what he has to say." His grin turns maniacal, and that does nothing to calm Mercury down in the slightest.
"Finally growing balls Black?" Qrow asked with an arched eyebrow, sitting with his arms outstretched and with his leg on a half broken stool.
Mercury swallowed nervously, and seeing no way out of this besides running, he pushes himself up from the table. "I hate you." He mutters before working up the courage to go talk to them.
"Nah, you don't anymore." Yang points out with a victorious smirk.
Mercury shook his head and grunted as he made his way toward them, already regretting his decision and hoping for a second Marcus would make an entrance just to distract them all. But he pushes that thought back far in the back of his mind.
"Sit." Tai gestured to the seat in front of him and slightly to the right. Mercury obeyed without question. "So, finally stopped being afraid of me?"
"Not exactly, no, Yang just kinda pushed me into this." Mercury answered honestly. Man, my past self would think i'm such a pussy.
"I noticed." Tai pointed out, even though it was already obvious for Mercury to tell. "I don't know why you're afraid, I can't fight anymore, everytime I try to even exercise I would run out of breath in just the warm up and my body would just give up."
"And if you could still fight?"
"Then I probably would have made this talk happen much earlier, and much more physical then it is now."
"And that's why I didn't come here."
"Why did you do it?"
"Huh?" The question caught Mercury off guard. He thought he'd already know, given the fact that he has been around almost a dozen people who probably know the truth about it.
"Why did you frame my daughter?" Tai rephrases, his tone not changing in the slightest.
Mercury was tempted to lie, to say he didn't want to, but he is not that person anymore. He needs to tell the truth, even if it causes him his robot legs. So he did.
He told the truth.
"At the time… I wasn't a good person, you know I was an assassin, and I liked to see people suffer. I had an order, an order given by the Fall Maiden, and she wasn't exactly fond of her underlings failing. I completed my task, threw the match, and made sure my aura was down all the way, the last step was to just get close enough for her to attack me so my partner can make her think I was attacking her." Mercury explained, the whole truth about that particular day.
"Huh, so she wasn't crazy at the time." Qrow said after a pregnant pause, and drank from his bottomless flash.
"Tsk, I knew something was up when I saw the footage, you could have easily dodged it if it really was real." Tai pointed out, to which Mercury and Qrow both nodded to. "Qrow, why are you so lenient toward him? After what he did, I expected you to bring me his head."
"Kid proved himself to me, the first time I fought against him, his heart wasn't in the fight, he didn't want to fight, he just wanted to get his girlfriend out of there and move on with his life." Qrow pointed out, making Mercury hang his head at the memory of his deceased friend. "The second time I fought with him, I saw him ready to take on a horde of Grimm, and Marcus Black in an effort to defend civilians and military personnel. And this time, his heart was in it, he had a drive, determination. That was when I forgave him, because he dragged himself off of the wrong path." Qrow explains.
His explanation shocks both Mercury and Tai, he really meant it, every word. Qrow of all people. Qrow fucking Branwen, forgave him for turning his niece into a depressed mess for a good amount of time.
"But that doesn't mean I like you kid, you still got more to prove." Qrow added.
"Train me." Mercury said suddenly, locking eyes with Qrow as he widened them.
"What?" Qrow doesn't quite believe what he just heard.
"The first time I fought against my dad, I thought I killed him, the second time, I thought he was going to kill me. I don't want the third to end up like the second, and I want to be the one to put the bastard in the ground for everything he did, but I can't do it the way I am now." Mercury explained in more detail, piquing the interest of the two huntsman, as well as Yang who has been listening in on the conversation. "So, I want you to train me, because if you don't, I'm just going to train myself, but by then he may be at a point where I won't be able to reach him."
"Eh, okay." Qrow said with a shrug, placing his flask back in his shirt pocket.
Mercury's eyes widen. "What?"
"I said okay, I'll train you." Qrow repeated. "It's been way too boring around here, I need something to do while we wait for the next step of our plan."
"Are you being serious? You're not just screwing with me are you?" Mercury felt the need to ask, just in case. This is Qrow we're talking about.
"Black, just shut up and accept it. You're a good guy now, so you're gonna be treated right now." Qrow waved his arms around like it was some sort of ritual, and ended it by pointing at him with both hands. "Congratulations, you are now an official student."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
"Are we just going to forget the topic we were just on?" Tai asked, even Zwei barks happily in agreement.
"Meh," Qrow shrugs. "You know i'm not one for serious topics." Over time, Qrow and Tai have slowly reconciled, now much less hostile toward each other. The death of a mutual loved one brought them together, now the last two members of their team, they have to make the last years of their lives count, if not for their sake, then for Summer's and Raven's.
"We're not done yet Mercury." Tai warns with a shake of his head. "I don't like you, but I can tell that my daughter likes your company, despite everything you did. So i'll tolerate you… for now."
"That's the best I can get. I'll try to win you over." Mercury says with a small smile, satisfied with the progress that have been made, albeit the very small amount.
"You can try. Now go before I change my mind, and for fucks sake change that hair style, it just pisses me off looking at it." Tai snarled.
"O-okay." Mercury said as he quickly moved away, somehow making it back in one piece to where he was originally seated. As soon as he sits down he slumps his head face first against the table.
"That wasn't that bad was it?" He could just feel the grin on Yang;s face as she asks him that.
"Fuck. Off."
"Ouch, my feelings are hurt, I need to tell my father of all the problems I face." Yang said with fake sadness.
"No! No no, don't do that!" Mercury stammers.
"Haha, oh you are going to be so much fun." Yang said with a giggle.
"... Great."
"AAAAAHH!" Nora's piercing scream nearly makes everyone fall off their seat. Next they hear a thud and something fall to the ground with a clatter.
"I didn't even enter the room yet…" A familiar voice said with a groan.
Everyone looks toward the doorway, only to see Ruby beside Nora who is hugging Hector with every limb, presenting them like it was some sort of magic trick with a smile. Mercury waves with a small smile, not knowing that Hector already knows he's a good guy now, while all the others scream his name, besides Ren that is, he's just trying to catch his breath.
"Yes. Yes, I am awake. Yes, thank you for worrying. Nora please, everything hurts." Hector said as he lowered her to the ground then turned to Weiss. "You are going to need to explain to me why part of your house is a hospital."
Weiss giggles and shakes her head. "After being asleep for a month, and not being able to speak to us for longer, that is the first thing you say to me?"
"Group hug?" Hector asked with a smile, toward pretty much everyone in the room and spreading his arms out wide. The first is Ruby, since she is the closest and can run at the speed of light, and to the surprise of some, Rhea comes flying in next, clutching on to one of his arms and rubbing her ears against it with a cute smile on her face. Then Nora, once again, jumping onto his back, cementing him in place.
"'Bout time you woke up," Yang said as she walked toward the group. "I was actually starting to get worried about you."
"Eh, I like to make things dramatic." Hector said with a shrug, and a wince since Nora has once again climbed onto him.
Yang shakes her head and chuckles, joining in the hug gently. Hector looks over his shoulder and sees that last two remaining girls and gestures for them to join with a flick of his head.
"I already have four attached to me, what's two more?"
"You're insufferable." Weiss said with a roll of her eyes, but joined the group hug anyway. Blake remains silent but joins in anyway, completing the group hug with every girl from RWBY and RNJRR.
After a few moments, they break apart, finally giving Hector the breath of air he needs for the first time since he entered the room. Hector's red undershirt somehow is still in one piece, but he keeps the hospital pants on because he deemed them comfortable enough to walk around in. On his way here he ignored the murmuring and praising by almost everyone he walked by, even when some of the comments touched his heart. His focus was reconnecting with his close friends first, then answer whatever questions the world may have for him when he is able to walk around without the need of crutches.
"Can someone pick that up for me?" He asks when he looks down to the one of the crutches that fell from his side.
Ruby picks it up for him right away, and places it back in its original position.
"Thank you Ruby." Hector starts to move away, only to be gently pulled back by someone he has been unintentionally neglecting. He looks down to his left to see the Fall Maiden he saved a short while back, and with the aura connection they have he can tell that she is in need of some affection and comfort.
Hector raises his other hand and pats her head just as he always did before, making sure to get behind her wolf ears that are underneath her hood as well. "Sorry for scarin' ya."
"Hmph, good because we need to finish our training!" Rhea points out with a pout.
"You mean in this whole month you haven't been training?" Hector asked with a soft glare.
"Well… uh." Rhea stutters.
"And there has been another Maiden that could have helped you."
"Uh…"
"As well has literally everyone else in this room."
"... I missed you?" Rhea stated.
Hector chuckled and patted her head again.
"You're lucky i'm nice." He said as he walked over to Jaune and Ren, who are standing next to each other smiling at their leader. He gives them each a fist bump, since he is burned out on hugs at the moment, before taking a seat at the table, right next to Mercury.
"I think it goes without saying that if you try anything i'm going to make you feel more pain then Cinder did when I killed her." Hector threatens.
Mercury nervously gulps, but forces himself to look into his eye, that he notes is now an ocean blue rather than it's previous dark brown.
"I'm not going to, it's a promise." Mercury said in as brave a tone he can muster up to the one who killed Cinder.
"Great!" Hector exclaims in a much happier tone, surprising Mercury with the sudden shift in the atmosphere. "We're good then, good to have ya on the team." Hector said as he gave him a hard but playful pat on the back.
"Uh…" Mercury doesn't know what to say.
"So, what have I missed?" He asked the others as they took all took a seat around him, Ruby to his left and Rhea sliding in between him and Mercury after he slid over to the other seat to give her room.
They went on explaining to him on what they have been doing, Weiss coming the new big boss, Yang and Rhea actually training to learn more about their powers with the help of Mercury. Hector wondered why Rhea didn't tell him this when he first walked in, but shrugs it aside. The aftermath of Raven's death, which everyone drank to. Hector apologized to Taiyang, feeling partly responsible for not being able to defeat Hell in time to save her, but he gets bopped on the head by Qrow, telling him it wasn't his fault and that he did his best, and ultimately was the one who avenged her, assuming that Hell is dead. Hector nodded and listened on to he short stories of Jaune and Rens whereabouts. Proud of Jaune for wanting to get stronger, but warning him to not train himself to death. And then after that…
"Renny and I are together-together-together~!" Nora exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Rens neck and pulls him into a kiss, one where Ren was barely able to turn his head in time to press his lips against hers.
Hector threw his head back and laughed hysterically, at first they all thought he was making fun of them, but his next words are the opposite.
"About damn time! You know how long I was waiting for this to happen?" Hector asks the couple, who blink and tilt their heads in confusion. "YEARS! F'ing years! About time you to, I couldn't be happier for you both." He said with a smile as he wiped a tear from his face.
"Yay!" Nora exclaims, kissing Ren on the cheek, actually making him blush a little for once.
"Hopefully it doesn't take years for you to find love." Ren said to his leader.
Hector knows what he meant by this, and gets a bit red at the thought, as does Ruby who had just stopped functioning all together, feeling some eyes on her from her friends.
"Heh, maybe." Hector got back to normal as he said that. "With all the times I almost died, or was taken over, I think I'd do more damage than good."
"Nonsense." Taiyang cuts him off, as well as silencing the rest of the room. "You can't see it that way Hector. You do what you do because if you don't, people would die. I have a lot of respect for you for that trait, your selflessness and willingness to help others, even if it means dying." Tai explains, leaning over the table on his elbows and staring Hector in the eye.
"One day you might fall," Qrow continued for his teammate. "You might actually give your life to save another, in your final moments do you really want to think 'Why didn't I just go for it?' Trust me, not a good way to go, I've seen it happen."
Hector looks down at his hands, the hands he has used to keep himself and others alive, the hands he used to beat down two Maidens, countless Grimm, and himself, both literally and metaphorically. He smiles at the praise, albeit a little shocked it's coming from those two, but smiles nonetheless.
"Ruby was waiting for you every night you know." Qrow continued, this time with a smug grin on his face, the news makes Hector widen his eye and Ruby go beet red, but she doesn't deny it. "I've been getting sick of the way you two dance around each other, Yang told me everything."
Ruby glares at Yang, but her older sister just shrugs and waves it off, silently saying "Meh,"
"Probably not going to happen soon, but just get it over with before you two end up getting separated again." Qrow said as he took out his flask, looked at it, then shakes his head and puts it back in. "I might have to save that for later." He finishes as he goes back to the fancy looking couch he has claimed for himself.
"Well, ignoring that happened." Jaune said after an awkward silence. "Hector, did you know that your eye is blue now?"
All of Hector's previous awkwardness is blown away with this single question…
"IT IS!?"
AN- Okay, I know what you're thinking, why end it here? And the answer to that one Billy, is that if I continued writing I would use up all of the ideas I have for this filler arc. This arc will mainly be focused on the relationship between Hector and Ruby. I am inexperienced with Romance, but I will do my best to make it as heartwarming as possible. Might last about 3-4 chapters, maybe more or less.
I guess you could call it the… Red Rivers? Y'know, a river, Hector's last name, and red… which is on pretty much all of Ruby's clothing. If you have something better please help.
Please review and tell me what you think, just to clarify, there was a time skip of one month, give or take a couple of days. Post Atlas arc. Ask me any questions you need answered.
Also, please read the AN I had in the beginning, it has some things that are important to the story.
Disclaimer- I do not own RWBY in any way shape or form.