Slight trigger warning for this chapter. Nothing unspeakable, but definitely uncomfortable to some people.
Wolves of Remnant
Chapter 13
The night of the Docks Incident
JNPR Dorm room, Beacon Academy
Later that night
Teams JNPR and RWBY sat together in a loose circle, drinking cups of cocoa or bottles of soda as they unwound from the events of the night. It was well past midnight when the debriefings and interrogations ended for them. The entirety of Team RWBY had been put under the Headmaster's microscope for the most of the night, while only Jaune and Pyrrha had been asked any questions by the man. Afterwards, the eight teenagers decided to unwind for a while, and finally talk things through.
Blake told them about her time in the White Fang, and that she was done with the whole organization. Something about her told Jaune that she wasn't completely done with her past, but he stored that away for later. Instead, he tried to persuade her to lose the bow.
"I mean, what purpose does it really serve?" he asked. "Even I was able to find out who you were before your own team, so it's obviously not that great of a disguise."
The cat-eared girl looked down at the bow in her hands. She had taken it off at Yang's insistence, citing how cute and fluffy her ears were, and that it must get stuffy keeping them cooped up all the time.
"I hear what you're saying, I really do." She replied, "But outside of this core group, I just can't. I know that not all humans are bigots and racists like Cardin was, but neither are they all as accepting as you guys. I can't risk running into someone I hurt in the past.
"I was pretty high up in the organization in terms of reputation, and that came with the freedom to wear whatever I wanted on missions. I kept the mask, but aside from that, what you see now is what I wore in the field. The fact that I haven't been found out by more people is nothing short of a miracle."
"Or you already have been, and they're keeping quiet like we did." Jaune pointed out, making Blake cringe.
She looked him the eyes. "I'm sorry, Jaune, but I just can't."
He nodded. "Alright. Your body, your rules. I can respect that."
She smiled weakly and whispered her thanks.
"So!" Yang said, clapping her hands to dispel the tension. "Any more revelations to be had or can we skip to the really good stuff?" Her gaze quickly turned to Jaune and Pyrrha, who sat next to each other on Pyrrha's bed, leaning on each other. "You two, dish the dish, bishes."
"I knew this was coming, but I'm still not ready for it." he muttered.
Pyrrha giggled. "What do you want to know?"
"Limit three questions each, otherwise we'll be here all night." Jaune interjected. It was a tactic that was developed quickly as his family continued to grow. He saw no reason to not use it here.
"Aw, man, where do I start?" Yang asked aloud.
"You got two." Jaune said, with a small grin.
"Oh, come on! That doesn't count!"
"Two. Make 'em count, people."
"So, you're, like, official?" Ruby asked.
"Yes." Pyrrha answered, with Jaune nodding his agreement.
"Exclusive?" Weiss asked.
"I mean, I don't know about Pyrrha, but this is my first relationship ever. I'm more focused on not screwing this up than anything else."
"I'm in much the same boat." Pyrrha replied.
"Neither of those are really answers." Yang pointed out.
"I think it's safe to assume." Blake said, taking a sip of her People Like Grades soda. "PDA?"
Jaune considered it for a moment. "I'm open to it, but I think I'll let Pyrrha take the lead on testing those boundaries."
"What?" Pyrrha asked, turning to him.
"Pyr, I grew up around women. I'm comfortable with displays of affection. You, on the other hand, lived a very different life, and I won't assume you feel the same way as me. Test the waters and see what you're comfortable with, and I'll pick it up as we go."
His girlfriend blushed and pecked him on the cheek. "Thank you, Jaune."
"Oh, Gods, and now we gotta deal with that, too." Yang groaned.
"The sweetness overload from this will be real." Weiss agreed with a grimace.
"Deal with it, Ice Queen." Nora said.
"Hey!"
"We should probably call it there for tonight." Ruby said nervously. "I don't know about you guys, but today was a heck of a day, and I am dog tired."
The four girls stood and made their way across the hall, Jaune closing the door behind them.
"So, Fearless Leader, what's up?" Nora asked from her bed. "You said at the docks you needed to talk to us later."
"But then Headmaster Ozpin came along to question you two." Ren added.
Jaune sighed. This was gonna be even harder to explain than the transcripts and the beast within.
"It's more crazy talk, isn't it?" Nora guessed. He nodded. "As bad as it was last time?"
"Crazier." He replied. "Like, I need to be committed crazy."
Nora seemed to take that as a challenge and eagerly sat up criss-cross on her bed. Ren gave Pyrrha a look, and she nodded before looking toward Jaune.
"Hit us." She said.
XX
That same time
High Orbit above Remnant
The Allfather's Honor
The Chapter's leadership was convened in the ship's strategium, with even Bjorn being roused for it. The seven post-humans and singular Dreadnought were gathered around the holo-projector, which was currently displaying a rotating image of the planet below.
"The last reports are in from across the fleet." Grimnar announced. "Every Navigator on every ship we have agrees: the trail ends here."
"So why aren't we making planetfall already?" Blackmane asked impatiently. "If our father is down there, let's go down and find him!"
"Patience, young Thunderfist." Ulrik said sternly. "The situation is not that simple."
"The Slayer is right." Grimnar agreed, shutting down his young captain. "Were this any other Imperial world, I would have already given the order, but that is not the case. We're outside the borders of the Imperium, and without a direct route back to Fenris for supplies and reinforcements, we need to be careful.
Njal Stormcaller stepped up. "I have spoken with High Priest Ulrik and Iron Priest Stormfang, and we believe that it would best to gather information at this time."
The Wolf Lords nodded their heads. For all the bluster and barbarism the Space Wolves liked to project, they were not fools- or at least they weren't once they'd grown a few grey hairs. Everyone of the men present was a veteran of a hundred campaigns, and were skilled tacticians in their own right. They wouldn't be Wolf Lords otherwise.
"While also risking minimal exposure to the populace of the world below as well, I assume?" Morkai said.
"Yes. We know absolutely nothing about this new world, including how they would react to the sudden appearance of nearly five hundred genetically-enhanced warriors from the stars."
"If we assume they are ignorant of the Emperor's light, I think we can agree the answer would be 'poorly'." Blackmane joked.
"Quite." Stormcaller nodded, turning toward Grimnar. "My lord, the Priesthoods advise caution at this time."
"Any objections?" He asked, receiving only shaking heads and grunts in the negative. "Very well. The fleet will be moved behind what remains of this world's moon, while we plan multiple long-range exploratory expeditions of this new Frontier World. We shall meet again in two standard weeks' time to discuss what we have learned so far. Dismissed."
XX
Jaune suddenly stopped his revelations when heard a loud thud come from across the room, and Weiss shouting.
"Ruby!"
He was in motion instantly, tossing aside his chair, ripping open his door and nearly kicking open Team RWBYs. He stopped in the doorway just as fast.
"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, moving in past him, only to gasp when she looked down.
Ruby lay on the floor, her back arched on her heels and the back of her head.
Ruby Rose, his best friend at Beacon was having an epileptic seizure.
He glanced around the room, looking for a clock.
'1:32.' He noted mentally behind rushing to Yang's side next to her sister.
"What kind?" he asked her.
"Ruby!" Yang said hysterically, shaking her sister's shoulder.
"YANG!" Jaune shouted, getting the brawler's attention. "What kind of seizure?"
She shook her head. "Uh, I think the doctor called it tonic-clonic."
"Okay, I can help. You all get ready, the really bad part's coming."
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, alarmed.
Suddenly, Ruby began to convulse as though every part of her body was twitching all at once.
"That." Jaune said calmly.
"We have to help her!" Blake yelled moving to hold Ruby's legs.
"NO! Don't touch her! We just have to ride it out."
"Well, we can't just stand here with our thumbs up our asses!" Blake retorted.
"I know." He turned back to his team. "Pyrrha, take Nora and Ren. Go down to the kitchens, get plenty of ice water and a few packs of frozen veggies."
"Jaune- "
"Pyr, the best thing we can do right now is get ready for when she wakes up. Go." After his team had left, closing the door behind them, he turned to Team RWBY. "Weiss, get a fresh set of pajamas ready for her. Once she's good, we'll get her changed."
Weiss nodded and went over to he assumed was Ruby's dresser.
"What should I do?" Blake asked. Jaune nodded toward Yang, who was practically crying at this point. Blake sank to her knees and hugged her partner.
"Weiss, time?" he asked.
"1:35, why?"
"Assuming a one-minute margin of error, if this lasts much longer, we have to call Dr. Grey."
"Why aren't we calling her now?!"
"Because it's not a medical emergency yet." He explained. "A seizure is only an emergency if it lasts more than five minutes."
"How do you even know that?" Blake asked.
"Personal experience. Here, take my Scroll and be ready to call Grey." As he did, Ruby suddenly went limp on the floor. Jaune placed his ear to her chest and heard her heartbeat, slow as it was. "She's okay."
Everyone sighed, Yang hardest of all.
"Thank the Gods." Blake muttered.
"Alright, let's get her into bed." Jaune said, grabbing her under the armpits, while Yang took her by the ankles.
"She can take mine." Weiss said.
"And you can take mine." Yang said. "I'm gonna sleep with her tonight, just in case."
Once she was settled in bed, Jaune turned to the girls. "I'll step out and call Ozpin while you guys get her changed. Cool?"
"Thank you, Jaune." Yang said, hugging her fellow blonde. "Thank you so much."
"No problem." He said, hugging her back. Stepping outside and pulling out his Scroll, he had to wonder if Ozpin knew about this to begin with.
XX
Five minutes later, he hung up on an alarmed Ozpin and knocked on Team RWBY's door.
"Come in!" he heard Yang call.
Opening the door, he saw Ruby asleep under her own blankets on Weiss' bed, with Weiss laying her own on Yang's bed. Yang was, of course, sitting at her sister's side, while Blake was stood nearby staring at the floor.
"Ozpin is on his way," he informed them.
"'Kay." Yang mumbled, staring at her sister.
Jaune sat down on the floor next to her. "And how are you doing?" he asked her. She remained silent, but he had expected that. "It's not easy, is it? Seeing your little sister going through that, but being unable to do anything about it?"
"So, you really do have personal experience with this, don't you?" Weiss said, sitting down on Blake's bed.
"Mhm." He nodded. "My younger sister Lucy has epilepsy, ever since she was 11. One night she was folding some laundry Mom had done for her, then she went real still like. Next thing we know, she's convulsing like mad. Dad was trying to help calm Mom down and Artoria was trying to calm us kids down. Then, Lucy gets loaded up into an ambulance with Mom and Dad, and Tori is up till one in the morning waiting for them to come back from the hospital."
"We're back." Pyrrha said, walking in with two pitchers full of ice water, and Ren and Nora close behind. "We couldn't get into the kitchens, so this is the best we could do." She set the pitchers down on a nearby desk. "How is she?"
"Still out. She'll come out of it, though. She's stubborn enough."
"What I want to know is how this even happened." Weiss said, trying to mask her concern with snootiness.
"As do we all, Ms. Schnee." An older voice said as the door opened. On the other side stood Ozpin, Goodwitch and an older man in the white coat of a doctor.
"What happened?" Goodwitch asked.
Jaune quickly stood. "We took some time to ourselves once you finished with us, to decompress. After about an hour, we returned to our dorms. A few minutes later, I heard Weiss yell, and rushed over to see Ruby having a tonic-clonic seizure on the floor."
"And how do you know anything about that, Mr. Arc?" Goodwitch frowned at him.
"Unsurprising, really." The older man said as he walked over to the bed where Ruby lay. "According to his file, Mr. Arc is the middle child of eight, one of whom has a similar problem herself. It is natural he would have some knowledge of such things. Now, can any of you tell me what happened before Team JNPR entered?"
Everyone expected Yang to speak, but she remained focused on Ruby. Jaune looked to Weiss, hoping she might step in, but she shook her head and held her arms. He didn't blame her; even witnessing a seizure was a rough experience, let alone having one yourself. The way Lucy described it, it was nothing more than a blink: you closed your eyes, but when they opened, you weren't where you last remembered and everything hurt. He breathed through his nose and walked over to Yang.
"Yang," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "One older sibling to another, tag out. I'll keep an eye on her, you go talk to the doc." She looked at him sideways, and nodded, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. She stood up and saw the one individual she didn't recognize looking at her with a slight smile.
"You're not Dr. Grey." She said.
The man smiled. "No, I'm not. Emily works the day shift, but the graveyard shift is more my speed. I am Dr. Mallard, but you can just call me Ducky if you like."
"Yang."
"Yang, I know this is beyond difficult for you, but can you tell me what happened with your sister prior to Team JNPR coming in?"
Yang took a deep breath. "We were getting ready to call it a night. Weiss and Blake were ironing out some details between themselves, and I was standing ready to play referee. I didn't notice it at first, but Ruby had been acting weird all night. Losing focus and staring into space mostly. Then she just stood still after she put Crescent Rose down for the night and boom." Yang snapped her fingers. "She went down. JNPR came in just after that."
"I see. And does she take any medications for this?"
"Yeah. Keeps them under her pillow."
Hearing this, Jaune stood, keeping his eyes on Ruby and reached under pillows until he found something hard and rectangular. Pulling it out revealed it to be a pill case with two sections for each day of the week, the contents of which made Jaune scoff.
"Well, there's your problem." He said, handing it to Ducky.
Each section of the case was filled with at least four different kinds of pills. "Mmm, yes, I see what you mean, Mr. Arc." Ducky mused. "This explains much."
"How so, Dr?" Ozpin asked.
"Well, suffice it to say, that if I was Ms. Rose's father, and I saw this veritable cocktail of anti-seizure drugs she was taking on a daily basis, I would be suing her neurologist for malpractice." He handed Ozpin the pill case when a groan could be heard.
"Ruby!" Yang yelled and came back to her sister's side, Jaune moving out of the way.
"Ugh, whahappened?" the crimsonette mumbled groggily.
"Well, hello, Ms. Rose." Ducky said cheerily, kneeling next to her bed. "You gave your friends and sister quite a scare."
"What?" she finally opened her eyes. "What happened? And why does my everything hurt?""
Yang helped her sit up and took the glass of water Pyrrha handed her. "You had another seizure." She explained. "JNPR heard and rushed over."
"JNPR?"
"Hey Crater Face." Jaune said jokingly. When he saw Ruby begin to drink, he added, "Take it slow with that. Small sips for now."
"Ms. Rose, do you remember when your last seizure was?" Dr. Mallard asked.
"Um, a few months ago, maybe? Before Beacon for sure." Rose said uncertainly.
"About a month before Beacon started." Yang confirmed.
"And how long have you been seeing your current neurologist?" he asked.
"Since I started at Signal."
"For all the help he's been." Yang grumbled audibly.
"Yang…"
"No Ruby, I will not stop." Yang said angrily. "It's been years and this guy has been next to useless in getting this shit under control!"
"Ms. Rose, I must agree with your sister." Ozpin spoke up. "Not only will this condition prevent you from obtaining a driver's license, thereby effecting your everyday life, but it will also prevent you from becoming a Huntress." Yang was about to protest when he held up a hand. "Now, that is not to say her chances are nil. Doctor?"
"Well, by law, if Ms. Rose can go a minimum without loss of consciousness due to a seizure, she should be fine on both accounts. In fact, as the senior physician of Beacon Academy, I am hereby ordering you to see a neurologist I know at Vale General."
"Doctor, I don't know if we can afford that." Yang said worriedly.
"I will cover the costs." Weiss said, stepping forward.
"Now you throw your money around?" Blake said with a weak smile.
Weiss returned the smile with narrowed eyes. "I prefer to think of it as philanthropy. Besides, I promised, didn't I?"
Ozpin chuckled. "Generous as that is, Ms. Schnee, it is unnecessary. Beacon has a fund set aside for just such situations, rare as they may be."
"Well, with all that settled, I must insist that everyone who does not live here leave. Ms. Rose, I will personally see to getting you the best care possible, as soon as possible. Until then, I suggest you take things easy and continue to take your medications."
"I thought you said they were the problem in the first place." Yang frowned.
"I said that." Jaune said. "But taking them is still better than not doing it at all."
"Correct, Mr. Arc." Dr. Mallard said, "Additionally, my colleague will need to do blood tests before he makes any changes. Now, all of you, out."
As the teachers and JNPR filed out of Team RWBY's dorm to return to their own homes, Jaune couldn't help but spare a glance at the departing form of the Headmaster. This was a man who presumably knew his transcripts were fake and yet let him into Beacon anyway. To him, it stood to reason that he would also know about a serious medical condition in one of his students, so why did he let Ruby into Beacon two years early, knowing her condition?
Everything Jaune had gleaned of the man in the short time he had known him reminded Jaune of a single person from his life as Leman Russ.
He reminded him of the Emperor. And Jaune did not like that.
I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving and a moderately successful Black Friday. Sorry this didn't come out sooner, but burnout is a bitch, especially when combined with the releases of AC Valhalla and Shadowlands.
I may have said this before, but I'll be the first to admit that this feels like one of my weaker chapters. It sucks when most of my favorite ideas are for stuff post-Vol. 3. By the way, the seizure bit is completely from personal experience. Been living with epilepsy for most of my life, so it's a bit of a fusion of my knowledge and that of my family.