Main theme: Death Hymn by Lucas King
Arc theme: Rise from the Destiny 2 soundtrack
Theme: Athanasia from the Destiny 2: Beyond Light soundtrack

He pulled himself out from his slumber, and opened his eyes.

A dreamless sleep, for once.

The sterile light was blinding, pure unnatural light threatening to burn his eyes into nothingness as he forced himself to adjust to the light. Something continued to let out a beeping sound nearby, and with a wince, he turned his arm to try and silence the noise, but-

{CREAK}

{RUSTLE}

-Something stopped him.

Something was connected to his arm.

It felt like...

A needle.

In a panic, he threw himself up from whatever he had been laying in, and wrenched his arm to the side-

Nearby, someone noticed, "Beep boop!"

{RIP}

{SPURT}

-And pulled whatever was in his arms out with a splatter of blood.

As the needle and cord swayed from side to side against the blood transfusion set, he finally realised where he was.

A hospital?

Actually, no, an infirmary.

Beacon's infirmary.

Why was he here? Wasn't he perfectly fine? And besides, if he wasn't fine, shouldn't he be at a proper hospital, instead of a school's infirmary? Was that something that happened regularly with Huntsmen?

"Beep boop…"

He blinked.

"S-Stella?"

And indeed it was, the girl with stars in her eyes, dressed this time in a nurse's outfit, pressing the palms of her shaking hands together as she swayed from side to side uncomfortably, looking quite frightful as she stared at him with wide, flinching eyes.

"Ah..."

He had just...

He'd frightened her.

He looked away, and winced himself, "S... I'm... I'm s-sorry."

She looked away as well, "B-Beep boop…"

"...R... Right."

He looked at his hand, and realised what had been going on. He had lost a lot of blood, hadn't he? Back in the Emerald Forest. She was just doing a transfusion. Or, at least, she was overseeing someone as they had been giving him a blood transfusion. He wasn't too sure.

He looked down at himself, and saw that he hadn't been changed out of his clothes at least, though he had been covered by a thin sheet on the thin hospital bed that he had been laying on.

…

…

…

…

He couldn't stay here.

He just couldn't.

Bad memories, and all.

A shaking hand ghosted itself over his bloody arm. He looked to the side and found that Stella had healed his arm with but a single touch.

He knew- He somehow knew- That Stella didn't mean anything bad about it, but...

But still...

"I-I need to l-leave," Jaune muttered to her as he pulled himself up, a pain in his thigh shooting outwards, as well as in his shoulder, causing him to wince again at the dull aching in his body, but not stopping him as he forced himself out of the bed and onto his feet, screwing his eyes shut, but not paying it any more mind as he did before as he began to walk, noticing his sword on the side as he quickly-

{SWIPE)

-It from the table nearby, and looked back at Stella with an apologetic look-

"S-Sorry, I just... Sorry."

"Beep boop…"

-And then left.

(He didn't notice that Yang, Ruby, and Tai had been there as well until later.)

Walking down the corridors-

Yep, this was definitely Beacon Academy, though why had he been taken here instead of to, what was it called? The Greater Valerian Medical Centre? Yeah, there. Why hadn't he been sent over to the GVMC? Then again, maybe he was just wasn't injured enough to warrant being sent down to Vale below.

-He noticed the limp in his steps, and looked down at the still bloody hole in his trousers. Looking down his trousers, he noticed the ugly scar on his legs, and massaged his aching shoulder. His breathing was still shallow, but he was getting by, at least.

Others passed him in the corridors. All of them students, a few of them even being still-wounded former initiates. The initiates all avoided him. A few students asked him if he was alright. But in the end, all of them let him be.

Not their problem.

Pushing himself into the empty locker room from earlier today-

Today? Was it the same day as he had passed out? He had looked out one of the windows earlier. It was evening. Ships were bustling in and out of the school ground. He hadn't seen what was going on in Vale itself.

-He found his original locker, and fumbled in the keycode on the pad next to the door.

In an instant, the door opened up, and his cloak clumsily fell out onto the ground.

Huh? Hadn't he put it in more carefully?

Maybe he hadn't.

He really didn't need his mind playing more tricks on him than it already did.

…

…

…

…

Summer, and every other voice in his head, remained silent.

His sword started to hum against his waist. Something inside him was telling him to look at it.

Without a word, he picked up his white and gold cloak and threw it over his shoulders, before closing and securing the locker behind him, and making his way through the corridors of Beacon Academy once more, hoping to find an empty classroom, or just a room in general, where he could-

There. An unused classroom. Perfect.

During on the lights to the dim classroom, and then closing and locking the door behind him as he walked out into the middle of the classroom, now lit by a much softer, and easier on the eyes artificial light, he pulled up Crocea Mors, placed it into both of his hands.

Easing his grip around the sheath and the sword's handle, he pulled his seemingly glowing blade out of its scarab...

And, upon looking at his blade, was met with a pair of silver eyes looking at him through the metal.

Jaune did his best not to jump as he focused himself on the silver eyes looking through his blade like a glass mirror. There was more than just the silver eyes. They were connected to a face, with soft, yet also sharp features. Pale skin with rosy cheeks, with black to red hair tied partly behind herself, with a white cloak tied around her shoulders, and a saddened expression on her face.

Summer Rose.

"Jaune…"

"Summer."

He looked away from his sword for a few moments as he placed his scarab back onto his belt and held Crocea Mors into one hand, twisting it against the light as he looked at the face shining against the blade.

He winced against the shine of the light, "How is this... How are you... How are you talking to me?"

"I don't really know," Summer responded with, though somehow Jaune was only able to hear it in his head, "I think... I think I'm just... Think of this as a sort of... Manifestation into your world."

"The real world?"

"One of them, at least."

"What does that mean?"

"I-I'd rather not say."

"Well, I'd rather you did," Jaune scowled as he glared at the face projected onto Crocea Mors, "I've got a- You know, I've got a lot of questions, for you."

"I-I imagine."

"Do you? Do you really? Do you even-" Jaune looked away, a frown on his face as he turned around and narrowed his eyes on the visage of Summer, "Do you know how long you've fucked me over, Summer?"

"I know."

"Do you know how long you- I thought I was going mad! Gods, I was mad!"

"I know."

"Do you know how fucked up I was?!" he almost screamed at the blade. Perhaps he was being inconsiderate at the moment, but right now, he didn't care, "I- Oh god, was that you, in my head, all those years ago?"

"..."

"The one who wouldn't stop screaming?"

"...Yes."

For the longest time in his life, Jaune had despised the voices in his head.

For the longest time, he had utterly hated what he had thought to be his insanity. His, what, schizophrenia? An undiagnosed mental illness that he was disturbingly aware of?

It felt less like an illness and more like a madness.

And now, to learn that what he thought was an illness... To learn that it wasn't an illness at all. It- It felt like a betrayal. A betrayal of himself, by himself, and by- By another.

He didn't know anything anymore.

He didn't think he wanted to.

"Oh my god, do you-" he tilted himself away from his sword, tweezing the bridge between his eyes, before looking back to his sword and going, "Do you know what you made me do?!"

"Oh, don't try to pretend that what happened at Tipoca was purely my fault, Jaune! I have accepted my part of the blame! You should accept your share as well!"

Jaune just growled, and resisted the urge to chuck his sword across the room, and just settled on asking, "How are you even in my head?"

"I don't know," was Summer's answer.

"Surely you must. You're the one who-"

"I came into your head screaming, Jaune. I- We were connected to you because I- We died! Do you think-" then, a pause, "Hang on, do- Do you think I wanted to be with you? Do you think I wanted to die and suddenly pop up in your- Ugh!"

"No, I-"

"I didn't get a choice, Orion!" she said his old name with a sharp degree of spite, "I didn't get a choice! I died! I died and I was in pain, and then all of a sudden, I'm in a place I didn't recognise, surrounded by people that I didn't know, watching the world through the eyes of a child! How the hell did you think I was supposed to react?! Just calmly accept the fact that I'll never get the chance to see my husband and children ever again!?"

He was about to reply just as harshly to her, but then...

He stopped.

He stopped and thought to himself.

And then, came to a realisation.

"Well... Now you can?"

She blinked through the mirror of Crocea Mors, and then looked to the side, "...Yeah... I can, can't I?" she paused again, "Not in the way I'd like, but..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...What am I going to say?"

Summer looked at him though his sword, "Huh?"

"To Yang and Ruby," he told her, "What do I say to them? And their dad as well. Tai, you said his name was."

"..."

"I mean, they're not going to trust me, you know. At least, Yang won't."

Summer hummed, "Yes, I-I saw. I must be honest, for as long as I knew her when she was a child, Yang was always headstrong, but I never imagined that she would become so..."

"Hard-headed?"

"For lack of a better word, yes," Summer added on, "I guessed that she might've become more protective of Ruby when I died, but... I don't know. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but... It certainly wasn't her being so violently... I don't know? Violent? Violently violent?"

"..."

"...I don't know. Just... Not that."

"So, what? How do I talk to them? What do I say to them? I can't just go up to Yang and everyone else and say 'Hey guys, what's up? Oh, by the way, your dead mum's been living in my head for a decade'. Can't just say that."

"Well, with more tact, you can."

"Summer, this is me. You and I both know that... Well, that tact isn't my thing."

"I wouldn't say that. You're not stuttering right now, are you?"

"Only because I'm talking to someone that I've practically known all of my life."

Summer sighed, "Point taken," a pause, and then, "I think that you just need to mind your wording. Cut straight to the point, and don't try to string them along. From what I've seen, Yang seems to be quite temperamental, concerning myself, and the fact that the Cult, if Ruby is right, have my body- My actual body... Then it might just screw with their ability to listen to us- Or to you, I guess."

"That might work with Ruby and Tai, Summer, but I doubt that Yang will-"

"Believe you? Be willing to listen to you?" Summer nodded, "I know. But, it would be best to just get it over with, anyways. The sooner you get it out there and say it, the better. Besides, I doubt that Yang will give you any real choice on the matter, if what we've seen so far is accurate."

"Can't I just leave it for later?"

"No: That'll just make it worse. Best case scenario, everyone will think that you're stringing them along and confront you about it. Worse case, Yang will-"

"Beat the crap out of me?"

"Y-Yeah, that," another pause, "Look, if they ask you to prove it to them, then I can provide you with the information that you'll need. Just take your time, answer their questions with enough clarity for them to understand, don't be needlessly ambiguous, and just, you know..."

"Don't die?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Jaune looked to the side, and, "What about... What about the teachers? What about Headmaster Oz-"

"DON'T!"

He jumped back in surprise, almost dropping his sword in recoil as he recovered himself.

Summer saw this and winced, "No, I just... No. Don't tell him."

"But-"

"Jaune," she looked at him with deep, saddened eyes, "Please. Don't let him know."

"...Are you sure?"

"Positive."

That answer was a little too quick.

"A-Alright then..." Jaune muttered out, both to himself and to Summer, not entirely sure as to how to respond to that request, before continuing on again, "But... I don't know. Yang's already made up her mind about me, I think. She won't trust me. Hell, I doubt that anyone trusts me at all, and for good reason."

"I trust you."

He jumped again, and so did Summer through the mirror of his sword as he looked to the side underneath his cloak, and saw-

"Hey there."

-Nana Shaula looking at him, her head tilted to the side and her blue eyes hiding a glow behind them against the dim artificial light as she leant against the door frame that he swore had been locked.

Hadn't he locked it? Gods, he was going barmy.

"I mean", she continued as she pushed herself against the doorframe, "You haven't betrayed my trust yet."

"...How long have you been standing there?" Jaune asked. The hum of Crocea Mors had stopped, and it no longer glowed.

"Long enough to know that you've got voices in your head," she pointed to her own noggin, "And that you're trying to find a way to talk about it by chatting with your sword," she laughed, "One of them, at least."

Jaune looked down at himself, and then at Nana, "Hey..." he whined, before going, "I really would've liked it if you hadn't-"

"Oh, don't sweat it, Jaune, I've got your back," she gestured her thumb outside of the classroom, "There's no one else here, and there was no one else here before, that could've heard. I made sure of it," she tapped her nose, "Your secret's safe with me."

"R-Really?"

"Your stutter's back?" she giggled, "That's cute."

He blushed and looked away, "S-Shut up."

"Nah, I don't think I will," Nana said as she closed the door behind her and walked up to him, "You know, credit where it's due, Jay- Can I call you Jay? Is it alright if I call you Jay?"

"Er, um... S-Sure."

She smiled, "Credit where it's due, Jay, back in the Emerald Forest? You were spectacular out there."

He blinked, "Wha- No, no no no. Don't be silly."

"Hey, I wasn't being silly. I was being honest. You've got quite a knack for leadership. A real savant if I must say so," she nudged him on the arm with her fist, "You've got the makings of a team leader, if I must say so."

"Ah, shush- Stop it," he looked away bashfully, "Y-You're just- You're just trying to massage my ego."

"Is it working?"

He gave her a raised eyebrow as his cheeks flushed a tint of red, but then looked to the side mournfully, "Yet... People died because of me."

"No they didn't."

"I gave them the orders to stay."

"No you didn't. You told Pyrrha that she was in charge, and you told them to be brave whilst we were taking the troop carrier. You didn't tell them to stay put. They should've had the common decency to run before the Cult had surrounded them. A fight against several Husk Grimm at the same time was never going to end well."

"It's all my-"

Nana flicked Jaune on the nose.

"-Ow! What was that for?"

"That was for the self-pitying BS," she told him, before poking him in the still armoured chest and going, "It's not your fault, Jaune, and if you try to make it your fault, then you're just being selfish."

"Selfish?"

She nodded, "Yeah, you are. If you try to soak up all of the blame like a sponge, then you're just trying to make it about you: If you actually believed that it was your fault, then you wouldn't be standing around moping about it: Instead, you would actually be helping people get better from it, and then getting better yourself, instead of wallowing in self-pity about it."

Jaune blinked, and then looked down at his feet, underneath the shadow of his cloak, and realised...

Yeah, she was right.

He had never really liked thinking about his own past, anyways. He had never really liked the whole self-pitying thing either. Thank the gods he had Nana here to help remind him of that.

"Yeah, you're right," Jaune told her as she smiled at his response, "I should- I should start helping people instead of moaning about it," he smiled at her in return, "Thanks, Nana."

She closed her eyes at the praise, "Yeah, praise me more. It's fuel for the ego."

"Really?"

"Hey, one of us needs to pick up the slack around here."

The 2 of them let out a shared, quiet laugh at their attempt at humour, before Nana tilted her head to the side and gestured her hands towards the door, "And speaking of helping other people, I believe that you have a chat to be getting to. Best not keep them waiting."

"Right, right," he waved her off as they both walked through the door and into the hallway. He spared a glance down at his sword- Summer's face was gone- Though he doubted that anyone could've seen it anyways- And then sheathed it, before bundling his cloak into his hands and going, "You know, with that pep talk that you gave me... You might be getting the team leader position yourself."

"One of them, surely," Nana laughed, folding her arms behind her head as they walked through the now empty hallways, "But then again, maybe not. You're the one leading me along, after all."

"Well, I just remembered where Yang, Ruby, and Tai are, so..." he paused, and then gave her a dry look, "Hah hah."

"Yeah, I'm hilarious," she barked out another laugh. It was so different from the cool professionalism that she had displayed in the Emerald Forest, "Still though, nothing's been decided. Ozpin was supposed to have held the final initiation ceremony at this moment."

He stopped and stared at her, "Wait, are we- Are we missing it?"

She shook her head, "No, no, it's been cancelled. Apparently Ozpin's got bigger things to be dealing with right now."

"Really?"

"Yeah," they continued walking, "Hate to tell you this, but that Cult lot have kinda set the world on fire. From what fresh rumours I've heard, Ozpin's reputation has officially gone down the toilet, and he and his lot are trying to do damage control. You know, stuff like that."

"A-Ah," was all that Jaune could say as a response, "I... I see..."

Soon, finally, they found themselves right back outside of the infirmary-

"Thanks for helping me back here. Sorry about forgetting where it was part way through."

"Ha, no problem Jay. Happy to help out a friend."

-And Nana opened up the door for him.

"Your meeting await, my liege," she chuckled.

He just chuckled, "Thanks, Nana," and stepped inside.

His mirth died instantly as he saw who he was going to have to talk to.

Ruby, Yang, and Tai were all together, Tai on a chair next to Yang's bed as the girl had an abundance of bandages wrapped around her chest, whilst Ruby sat on the bed next to her with bandages wrapped around her waist and one thigh, an blood transfusion set connected to her as the one that had been connected to him had been taken apart and emptied, placed into the corner for later use.

Stella was nowhere to be seen. Neither was anyone else in the infirmary.

Good. Not to sound rude, but he really would've liked it if no one else was around.

Behind him, Nana closed the door and left them in solitude. She could read the mood well, at least.

You still with me, Summer?

YEAH... I AM NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS...

He internally sighed, Neither am I...

He had caught the Rose family's attention, now. Ruby was looking at him with a slightly parted mouth and wide silver eyes. She went to fidget in place, but winced and thought against it. Tai was looking at him as well, though his face was more calm, with a mixture of possible hope and suspicion to be found on him.

Yang was just staring at him with narrowed, baleful eyes, tinted slightly red.

…

Well, no time like the present, then.

He walked over to where Ruby was sitting- Yang made a motion, but winced and stopped herself- And then...

His cloak was like a security blanket for him. He had said this before. Or at least, he had thought it. It had been one of the greatest constants in his life, and he really did not wish to part with it...

But then again, like he said before, Ruby might need it more than he did.

And right now, she might need it more than ever.

"Here," he said as he held the white and gold fabric out to the girl in red and black.

Ruby just looked up at him with wide, unsure eyes.

"...I, er, I always had this for me when the times were rough," he hesitantly said as he continued to hold it out for her, "I figured... You might need it more than I do."

"..."

Ruby looked down at the white cloak, and then to him, and then back to the white cloak.

Greedily, yet with an equal amount of hesitance on her part, she took the cloak out of his hands, and held it close to her chest.

Sitting himself down on the bed opposite her, he fumbled his hands together, and looked up at them.

"I know, now at least, what happened to Summer."

Reviewer response time:

C3l3st14: Ooh, good idea. Honestly, I hadn't thought about that. But no, not that.

Greer123: I hope that you are doing well too! And yes, Ozpin's got his work cut out for him.

ReDestrobo: Personally, I think Ozpin is a bastard trying to be a good man again. He does wrong things, but it's a lot deeper than just 'Ozpin is an unambiguous immoral bastard that needs to burn in the same hell as Salem' That a lot of people in the FNDM seem to believe. It's going to be this view of Ozpin that I'm going to be exploring in this fic.

merendinoemiliano: Requestion? What does requestion mean? What requestion? I need answers!

And here we are! The beginning of the aftermath, where I put the entirety of the battle of the Emerald Forest and its consequences into perspective!

Yeah, I've still got a lot to go over. Goddamn me for this...

In the meantime, I hope that you all enjoyed this incredibly short chapter. In the meantime, please follow, favourite, leave a review, stay safe, stay healthy, and I shall see you all next time!

Titanmaster117 out!