Chapter Twenty-Two: Recovery
"That was some cra-Gaahh!" Phoenix yelled as he tried getting out of the bed he was in. When he tried to move he felt excruciating pain in his torso. "Holy shit, it wasn't a dream," he muttered as he looked around and saw he was lying in hospital. At least that's what he guessed, seeing as his vision was blurry. "But that means-"
"Hello Phoenix. Good to see you're awake. I was worried," Ozpin said as he walked into the room, a relieved tone in his voice.
"Please tell me my identity is still secret," Phoenix said, a panicked tone in his voice.
"That's the first thing you say? Don't worry, the only people who've found out are some members of the medical staff. They should keep quiet," the professor replied.
"Wonderful," Phoenix responded sarcastically. "How long have I been out?"
"Four days."
"And the good news just keeps getting better. Did Jenkins grab my gear?"
"Jenkins? Oh, yes, the pilot. Don't worry, your gear is in your room. You're lucky he came when he did. If he hadn't, as he put it, 'gotten bored and wanted to go see what you were up to,' you may not have made it."
"Huh, I'll have to remember to thank him for that. Any idea where I can find a 'Thank you for saving me from a sociopath terrorist' card?"
"I'm afraid not," Ozpin answered with a grin.
"Blast. One more question. Can I have my glasses? I can hardly see a thing."
"You're okay! The doctors said you might not wake up! I was so worried!" Ruby exclaimed when she saw Phoenix, running over to him and embracing him.
"Gah! Ruby, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I've got a few broken ribs so…"
"Oh, right. Sorry," she said, quickly releasing him and turning slightly red.
"Hate to break you two lovebirds up, but what the hell did this you Phoenix?" Yang asked, as Ruby glared at her. Phoenix had just given up on trying to convince Yang otherwise about their relationship.
"I got into a fight with White Fang prick named Adam." Blake's reaction to the name made it clear it was someone from her past, something he pressed her on.
"Adam was… my partner back when I was in the White Fang. If you fought him you're lucky you survived."
"I'm well aware. I was barely able to keep up with him," Phoenix replied.
"Still, surviving a fight with him is impressive."
"I can't believe you got half of Atlas to come on a rescue mission for you. How'd Ironwood even know where to go?" Weiss asked.
"How'd you know about Atlas coming?"
"We were only told the basics," Pyrrha explained.
"Well Atlas wasn't there to rescue me. Actually…" Phoenix explained everything that happened.
"Wait, you actually got some of the White Fang to laugh at your joke? That's freaking awesome!" Yang exclaimed after he finished his story.
"Ooh! Ooh! Ren, now that he's finished with his story can I give him the gift?" Nora squealed, jumping up and down while holding a small wrapped package. Ren simply nodded in agreement. When he opened the package Phoenix couldn't help but laugh, though he quickly stopped due to the pain. Inside the package there was a small box with "Hug a Sloth" written on it and a stuffed sloth sticking out of it.
"It's a little friend for you while you get better. They had a ton of different things but…" Nora explained, going into one of her long winded rants. Everyone else just ignored her and continued their conversation.
"When she's done tell her I say thanks."
The next week were a blur, consisting of talking with visitors, looking over some of the get well soon cards he'd gotten over the four days he was out, the occasional bandage change, and doing some exercises given to him by a physical therapist. The highlight of the week was when Ruby brought him some food. "Finally! Decent food!" He cheered when Ruby handed him a fast food bag. He checked the contents and grinned. "Ruby, you're awesome."
"I just got you a bag of fries."
"'Bout damn time I got out of this bed!" Phoenix declared when he finally got permission to leave.
"Now there are some things you need to know. You're going to want to-" the nurse who had just informed him of the news tried to say.
"Look, I know you're just doing your job, but I've received every injury I have right now at some point or another before this. Maybe not all at the same time, but that's beside the point. I know how to handle injuries, so I'll be going now. Oh, and thanks for the whole keep me from dying thing," Phoenix said as he got together his stuff.
"We need you to fill out some forms first," the nurse said, grabbing onto his arm as he left.
"You've got to be bloody kidding me!"
"Don't worry, it won't take very long."
"Seriously! It was worse than the bloody police station," Phoenix ranted as he and Ruby walked back to his room. He'd met up with her when he finally left the hospital, seeing as she'd been coming to visit him. She couldn't help but laugh at the way he seemed so enraged about this.
"I don't see why it's such a big deal," she said, but he seemed too caught up in his rant to notice.
"You're starting to sound like Nora." That immediately caught his attention.
"Really?"
"Yep."
"I blame the sloth," he said ha he held up the tiny stuffed sloth Nora gave him. This caused them to both start laughing, Phoenix quickly stopping due to the fact that his ribs hurt.
"Gaahh! Well, we're here," he said as they reached his room.
"Uh… bye I guess," Ruby said as she walked off, sounding slightly dejected. "Hey, if I remember correctly we never got to play that tiebreaker round. Want to try your luck against me?"
"I'm not sure how I feel about beating someone who just got out of the hospital," she answered, clearly trying to get a reaction from him, which worked.
"You think I lost my edge? It's on now! You are battling me whether you like it or not!"
"Paying the pizza guy extra to come to Beacon was so worth it," Phoenix declared after taking another bite of the pizza he and Ruby ordered. They were sitting on his bed watching fantasy movies. "I still can't believe you got him to come," he continued.
"That sword that guy just drew looks a lot like the one on your wall," Ruby pointed out as the knight in the movie drew his weapon.
"That's because it's an exact replica. It's not sharp or anything, but it's still pretty cool. I've got some other weapons from this series as well."
"Just how durable are they?" Ruby asked, looking like she was planning something.
"About as durable as most of our weapons. Why?"
"No reason."
A few hours later they had finished watching the series. "That. Was. Amazing!" Ruby exclaimed after the credits were done.
"I know!" Phoenix responded, excited that he had gotten his favorite movies a new fan. The two of them spent the next hour talking about the movie. Topics included favorite scenes, favorite characters, and theories about it. Most of their favorites were the same, but they were split when it came to the best weapon.
"All I'm saying is that the elven daggers could cut you to pieces before you could counter," Ruby pointed out.
"However, you'd have to get past the shield first," Phoenix retorted.
"There's only one true way to settle this!" Ruby declared before grabbing the replicas of the weapons in question off the wall.
"You planned this from the start didn't you?"
"Yep"
"In hindsight, getting into a sword fight just after being released from the hospital probably wasn't a good idea," Phoenix groaned, holding his shoulder, which was still extremely sore. "And for the record this doesn't mean the daggers are better. You were fighting an injured opponent. Not that it stopped me from beating you in that game."
"I am so sorry! I forgot you were still recovering and I-" Ruby apologized, cut off by Phoenix.
"It's fine. Besides, it was still pretty fun while it lasted." Before they could continue, someone knocked on the door. When Phoenix opened it he saw an annoyed looking Weiss.
"So this is where you've been you dunce!" she yelled at Ruby. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Uhh… 7:30?" Phoenix guessed.
"11:30! You two both need to get some sleep!"
"But-" Ruby tried to say.
"No buts. Now!" Weiss ordered as she dragged Ruby out of the room.
"Bye Ruby. See you tomorrow!" Phoenix called after her.
"Okay! Thanks for inviting me!" she replied, still being dragged by Weiss.
Couple things I figured needed explanation. First of all, I figured since Aura could heal minor wounds almost instantly, recovery time for larger wounds, say, from being stabbed, would be much faster. Not Wolverine level fast or, fast enough to keep you alive after suffering a fatal wound, but still much faster than the average human. As for the French fry thing, I figured I'd give Phoenix a similar taste in food to me. Also, I'm kinda getting low on ideas for what to do pre festival. Considering the fact that everything happens over a few days I probably won't be able to fit any ideas in there. If you have any, now's the time to share them. Anyway, thanks for reading.
