Author's Note: This is my first fanfic. Please roast it and thank you in advance.
Maybe it would been better to leave them alone quietly. Might've ruined the moment. Oh well, no use thinking about it now.
Jaune was walking through the corridors of the Schnee Manor, having decided that it was best to let Ren and Nora have their heart-to-heart alone. He yawned, having gotten no sleep in the past day or so like the rest of the group. Still, given Ironwood's ultimatum to group less than an hour ago, it seemed wrong to take a nap right now. Things had gotten far too serious to waste any more time. With that, he had opted to check if Klein needed any help in treating Penny. The android girl had thus far been able to fight the virus implanted in her programming, but it was becoming increasingly clear that she could not do so forever.
He opened the door, only to be met with a pair of red eyes. Luckily not Penny's viral red eyes, but that of the now-former member of Cinder's faction.
"If you're looking for Klein, he stepped out for a moment to grab some more medical supplies. He asked me to keep an eye on Penny in case she wakes up." Emerald was standing next to Penny's bed with an unreadable expression on her face. At the very least, it didn't seem like she was planning on hurting Penny. Jaune didn't have his weapon on him, but he supposed that Emerald could have attacked any of them by now if she really wanted to, but she hadn't yet. Then again, maybe his lack of sleep was getting the better of his logic.
Jaune nodded to her warily and took a short look around the room. It, like most of the other rooms in the manor, had intricately patterned blue walls, pristine furniture, and a spotless marble floor. On one side, Penny was lying down unconscious on an ornate bed. On the other, was a desk with a first add kit, an X-ray machine, and a few other medical tools he didn't recognize. He eventually settled on leaning against one of the walls near Penny's bed.
Neither spoke for several minutes; only the ambiance of the room's heater prevented complete silence. Eventually, Jaune cracked.
"You look awfully sad for someone who just survived an encounter with an immortal witch."
"Doesn't everyone these days?", Emerald replied. She looked away from Jaune and toward Penny, then sighed. "I killed her once, you know. During the Vytal Festival, I cast an illusion on Pyrrha to force her to use her semblance at its max power."
"Yeah, I figured as much." Jaune answered solemnly.
"Anyway, I want to apologize to her when she wakes up." That caught Jaune's attention. "It's ironic, two years ago I killed her in the Amity Colosseum without a second thought. While yesterday, she spared Cinder and I in that same place. I don't know if I could've done the same in her position."
Jaune mulled over her words before replying, "…Do you regret it? The Fall of Beacon?"
"I-I'm not sure if I regret joining Cinder. At least at first. She did save me from a life of poverty and thievery, after all. That said, I know that I should've never stayed with her for as long as did. I helped her with plans to destroy Beacon and Haven, and in doing so, I let so many people suffer, including you. For all that, I'm sorry." Jaune notices tears beginning to form on her red eyes. "But I also don't think my apologies will ever be enough to make up for what I've done."
"I'd be lying if I said that fully trusted you right now." Emerald looked crestfallen at his response, but Jaune continued anyway. "But I do think everyone deserves a second chance, including you." Jaune paused for thought and sighed. "…And even Cinder."
He surprised himself a bit with that last part. Looking down for a moment, Jaune fiddled with his red sash; with Pyrrha's sash, one of the few mementos he had left of her. He looked back at Emerald with a renewed sense of determination.
"But you need to want to change, to be better than what you were before. Maybe one day I'll find the courage to forgive Cinder for killing Pyrrha, but only if she ever finds it within herself to feel remorse for everything that happened that night. I get that she gave you purpose, but you shouldn't be so willing to forgive all of her abuse when she clearly hasn't changed at all."
Emerald's eyes went wide open, clearly surprised at Jaune's opinion. She took a deep breath, then sighed and plopped down into one of the expensive chairs in the room.
"…You're right. You and Mercury. He told me that Cinder never cared about me, but I was too deluded to listen to him."
Emerald looked away from Jaune, having decided that see didn't want him to see the tears on her cheeks anymore.
"My semblance has allowed me to cast illusions on others to survive for years, but I guess the worst illusion I ever cast was the one on myself."
Jaune pitied her. A part of him knew that Emerald was just a victim of circumstance. That she had potential to do some good in Remnant with the right support system. And well, his father told him to do what he could to comfort his friend if they ever cried.
"Someone once told me that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. And while I no longer believe that applies to everyone, I think one day, if you're willing, we could become friends. I'm sure Team RWBY and the rest of my team would agree. Heck, Oscar already does."
Emerald turned around to face Jaune. A few seconds later, Jaune slowly raised his thumb towards her face and wiped away each and every one of the tears on her cheeks. Emerald, with a slight blush on her face, genuinely smiled for the first time in a while.
"Thanks, Jaune."
"Happy to help, and if you—" The sound of a desk crashing to the floor startled the both of them. It appeared that Penny had woken up amid their conversation, and her viral red irises pointed at them did not seem very promising.
"Uh, Penny, where are you going?" Jaune slowly got up with the exaggerated swagger of an animal behaviorist training a group of Teryxes.
"I have to open the vault and self-terminate."
"Please don't self-terminate."
"I will self-terminate."
"You could, I don't know, 'semi-terminate'? Like just press your off-button or something?" Emerald offered.
"Negative. I will open the vault and—"
"And 'self-terminate', we get it already."
"Sensational. I will be going there now."
"Penny, no."
"Jaune, help me restrain her!" Emerald said while drawing out Thief's Respite in its kusarigama form. Jaune sprang into action, quickly putting himself in between Penny and the door.
"Hey Penny, the sun's getting real low…" Jaune held out his hand for her to latch unto with a wide, but forced, grin on his face. Penny stared at him for a moment, then grabbed his hand. Satisfied, Jaune continued to try and talk her down.
"Good, now if we can just- "Penny interrupted Jaune by throwing across the room, leaving a more than noticeable dent in the wall. Emerald tried to corner her, but Penny unfortunately managed to slip past her and broke through the room's window.
"Penny, yes!" The winter maiden yelled out as she began to make her escape.
"Ow." Jaune took Emerald's hand as she went over to his side to help him up. "Dammit. Quickly, Emerald, see if you can get any of the others to help us stop her."
"Got it." With that, Emerald bolted out of the room toward the dining room where she last saw Oscar, Blake, and Weiss. Her apology would need to wait a bit longer.
Jaune let out a deep sigh, then began dashing towards the Schnee Manor's entrance.
"I really should've taken that nap yesterday."