And here's the next chapter, hope you like it! I actually teared up a little writing some of these parts.
Ironwood's body was stiff as he stood in their room. Blake's ears were pinned to her head as he talked.
"I'm sorry, but you have left us with no choice." Ironwood said. Yang threw up her hands in exasperation.
"I swear he attacked me!" Ironwood started to pace.
"Video evidence and millions of eyewitness testimony say otherwise." Weiss scowled.
"Yang would never do that!" She said.
"Yeah!" Ruby said, standing up from her bed. Ironwood sighed and looked back at them.
"You all seem like good students. The teacher's here speak very highly of you. They don't think you would lash out like that under normal circumstances. And I hope that this is all just a result of stress and adrenaline. I know that when you're out there on the battlefield that your judgement isn't always reliable. You'll see things the wrong way, or things that aren't even there. Even after the battle is finished."
"But-!"
"Enough!" Ironwood shouted. Weiss flinched, Ruby sat back down, Yang shrank away from the General. His face was stern, his jaw set. "The sad truth is that it does not matter whether or not it was an accident. All of Remnant saw you attack an innocent student, and it is my job to inform you that your team has been disqualified from the Tournament."
Yang's jaw fell as she stared at him in shock, her eyes starting to water. His expression didn't change. He turned and left, the door clicking as it shut. Yang looked up at them, worry swimming in her amethyst eyes.
"You guys believe me, right?" she asked.
"Of course!" Ruby exclaimed. Weiss nodded.
"I know you, Yang. You're not ruthless like that." she said.
Blake felt their eyes as they all looked at her expectantly. She stayed quiet, His face filling her mind.
Ruby's eyes widened, and she and Weiss looked at each other, Weiss' jaw falling.
"Blake?" Yang's voice cut into her heart. She saw Yang watching her, tears welling.
"I want to believe you," she finally said. Yang started to cry, her voice uneven
"Blake?" Weiss turned on her, her icy eyes full of anger.
"Just what do you mean by that! Yang would never do that!" She exclaimed. Blake's ears got flatter. "How can you say that, Blake? Yang has never lied to us!"
The guard was slumped against the wall, a puddle of blood surrounding him, his chest torn apart by buckshot.
"It was an accident. He tried to attack me," Adam said.
Blake blinked, shaking her head. She looked around at them, not looking at Weiss; she couldn't stand to see her lover look at her like that. She sighed.
"Adam's change wasn't done in an instant. It was gradual, and when it first started, he would say things like, 'it was an accident', 'it was self-defense', and he told me not to worry when all those accidents started to pile up. After a while I started to think that what he was doing was right." Blake looked away. "This just feels… really familiar." She looked over at Yang, each tear a cut on heart. "And you're not him but…" She took a breath. "You did shove me against this bed when I was obsessing over the White Fang. And you tore apart a club. And," Blake motioned to the scar on Yang's lip. "All of that. I want to believe that you wouldn't hurt an innocent person the way you did but…" Yang hiccupped, fresh tears spilling out.
"I'm willing to believe you." She finally said. "But I want you to look me in the eyes and swear to me that you saw him attack first and truly regret what you did." Yang nodded, sniffling. She wiped at her eyes before staring at her, their eyes locking.
"Mercury attacked me, and I attacked back." Her eyes were full of regret, sadness, loneliness. Blake couldn't see the lies or the rage like in Him. Blake nodded.
"I believe you. Sorry for doubting you." Yang wiped at her eyes again.
"I'm gonna get some rest. I kinda wanna be alone right now." She said. Blake stood up, Ruby and Weiss doing the same. She smiled at Yang.
"We'll leave you be," she said.
She went to the door, holding it open for Weiss and Ruby. She stepped into the hallway, and Ruby gently closed the door. Weiss sighed.
"This is such a mess." She said. Blake looked over as JNPR's dorm room opened. Jaune peeked his head out.
"How's she doing?" he asked. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora were watching them from over his shoulder. Blake rubbed her arm.
"As well as you can expect." She said.
"Mercury and his team all left after the incident so no one can ask him what happened until they land." Ruby said. Ren nodded in understanding.
"If there is anything we can do, just let us know," he said. Ruby nodded.
"In that case…" Ruby looked over at Pyrrha. Pyrrha had sat back down on her bunk, staring at the ground, her hands in her lap. "Pyrrha?" Pyrrha looked over at them. Ruby smiled. "Win this for our school, okay?" Pyrrha hesitated, her smile forced.
"I'll try," she said.
"I'll be at the arena tonight, encase you're picked. I'll be rooting for you!" Ruby said. Pyrrha's smile fell, and she looked back down at the floor.
Blake sighed, resting her hands on her hips.
"I'll be skipping the rest of the tournament. I've had enough fight's for this year." Weiss nodded.
"Same," she said. Weiss looked at her and smiled, offering her hand.
"Coffee sound good?" Blake smiled back, grasping Weiss' hand.
"Tea sounds better."
Nora chewed on her lip as Jaune watched Ruby, Blake and Weiss leave before shutting the door. Nora watched Pyrrha sit on her bunk and stare at the floor with those solemn eye. She glanced over at Ren. Their eyes connected, and he nodded in agreement. Nora smirked as she turned to Pyrrha.
She jumped in front of Pyrrha, their faces centimeters apart. Pyrrha yelped in surprise.
"You heard em, Pyrrha! We need to get your butt into fighting shape!" She stepped back, flexing her rather impressive muscles. "This could be the most super-duper important fight ever, and we can't have you go and lose that now can we?" Pyrrha watched her, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Nora's right," Ren said. They looked over at him to see him shaking an energy bottle, the contents a slime green. "You're going to be fighting in the most super-duper important fight of your life; you'll be defending our school's honor. And this right here," he held up the drink. "Will help you do it. A mixture of kale, and a few other vegetables and vitamins. A super drink for a super warrior. No thanks will be necessary." Nora faked a gagging noise.
"Thank you? Pssh, why would she want to drink that vegan garbage?" Ren shot her a pointed stare.
"Try it for yourself, mighty hammer swinger," he said, handing her the drink. She looked at the thick green liquid before taking a drink. It tasted delicious, like everything he made. She made a retching sound, handing him the drink back, dramatically gagging and falling to her knees.
"Ren! Help! The vegetables! They're too much for me!" She flopped onto the ground, a dying groan escaping her lips.
"Hmm. I'll use less lake bed algae next time." Ren said. Nora perked her head up, looking up at Pyrrha. She was smiling, resting a hand on her lips.
"Thank you." She said. Nora sprung to her feet, resting her hands on her hips.
"Any time, Pyrrha!" She looked over at Jaune. He motioned towards the door with his head. Nora looked back at Pyrrha. "Let's go out for some fresh air. I bet I can win you a ton of stuffed animals."
Pyrrha laughed.
The door was unlocked, and slid open noiselessly as Qrow entered. Yang was laying on her side on her bed, her hair covering her face. He shut the door and leaned against the wall.
"Hey there, firecracker," he said. Yang turned, her hair falling to the side. Her voice was quiet as she spoke.
"Hey, Uncle Qrow." He crossed his arms.
"Why'd you do it?" Yang's lip quivered as she spoke.
"He attacked me Uncle Qrow. I swear he did." She sat up, resting her hands in her lap, her head hanging low. "You believe me right?" Qrow stepped away from the wall, his hands in his pockets as he paced the room.
"Maybe. Hard to say." Yang was quiet for a little while before he heard her sniff. He looked over at her to see her wipe at her eyes.
"Uncle Qrow?"
"Yeah?" Yang looked over at him, her eyes wet and puffy.
"I met my mom." His lips parted and Yang looked away as she spoke. "Before the Breach, I took a really bad hit." Her hand rubbed at the white scar on her stomach. "And I thought I was gonna die. And out of nowhere a woman with a red sword showed up and scared her away. She left without a word, and left me an aura booster." Yang swallowed. "After the Breach, I woke up to a bird at my window. It was like it was calling to me, to come down to the courtyard. I went down there and… it was her."
"Let me guess, she asked you to come live with her?" Yang's head snapped up, her eyes wide in surprise.
"How'd you know that?" Qrow went to the bed opposite of Yang, taking a seat.
"I don't see my sister very often but she does try to keep in touch." Anger flashed in Yang's eyes.
"You've been talking to her this entire time?! Why didn't you tell me?! Why didn't she visit me?!" Yang looked away, fresh tears running down. "Why, Uncle Qrow?"
"My sister and I… we don't really see eye to eye. We disagree about a lot of things, and I don't particular agree with her world view. She wanted me to tell you something though."
"Tell me what?"
"That her offer still stands." Yang frowned, her hands curling into fists.
"She said a lot of weird stuff when I met her. That…that Beacon was going to fall, and stuff like that. And…" Yang's nose wrinkled with disgust. "She called Ruby my brother." Qrow sighed.
"That would be one of the things I don't see eye to eye with her about." Yang looked down at her lap, her fists uncurling. There was silence and Qrow pulled out his flask, twisting the top off.
"Uncle Qrow?"
"Yeah?" Yang paused, taking a deep breath before speaking.
"How…how did Summer die?" The flask fell from his hand.
Her silver eyes as they widened, her sharp gasp of pain. The crimson soaking through. Her lip quivered, blood drooling down her chin. Her voice hardly above a whisper as she spoke.
"-Qrow?"
He looked up, shaking his head. Yang was watching him, concern on her face.
"I said are you okay, Uncle Qrow?" He shook his head, picking the empty flask off the floor. His eyes were watery.
"I'll tell you that when you're older, kiddo." He pocketed the flask, going to the window, feeling Yang's eyes on his back. He wiped at his eyes before speaking. "I believe you, Yang. About seeing him attack you. You're my niece, and I'll stick by you to the end. And if you ever wanna get in touch with your mom." He turned to her, flashing a smile. "I can help."
Yang smiled back.
The air was frigid, a gentle breeze blowing, golden brown leaves blowing in the air. Pyrrha walked under the archway next to the cafeteria, her head hung low. She shivered, wrapping her arms around her body, her exposed arms thankful for the warmth.
Amber's scar ridden body, her labored breathing.
Pyrrha stopped, her arms falling to her side, and squeezed her eyes shut. She heard flapping and then a loud caw. She opened her eyes and looked over; a large black raven sat in the bare branches of a tree, its red eyes staring at her. She looked at it warily, and started to walk again. She gasped, looking down as she stepped on something. A slip of paper. She bent down and gingerly picked it up, turning it over.
Don't trust them
Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, looking back at the raven. It cocked its head to the side, before letting out a loud caw. The raven cawed again, jumping off the branch and flying away. Pyrrha looked at the slip of paper again before sighing, pocketing it.
She sat down, leaning against the cafeteria wall, closing her eyes. The wind blew around her, the world quiet and cold. She pulled out her scroll, swallowing before opening her eyes. She pulled up her contacts, all eight of them, and pressed the one she dreaded the most. She put her scroll to her ear, listening to it ring.
"Hello, Pyrrha." Her mother said.
"Hi, mom." she said.
"I saw your fight in the last round. You need to step up your training." Pyrrha sighed.
"Mom?"
"What?" Pyrrha rested a hand over her eyes, her tears warm against her chilled hand.
"If I were to disappear… if I couldn't be a Hunter or fight in tournaments anymore. Would you still lo-" she shook her head. "Would you care about me at all?" Her mother was silent for a moment.
"What kind of a question is that?" Pyrrha sniffed, the tears warming her cheeks.
"What would you do if I died?"
"Pyrrha? Pyrrha you're scaring me. What happened?" Pyrrha lip twitched; this was the most concern she'd ever heard from her before. She shook her head, as if her mother could see her.
"I can't tell you." Pyrrha didn't bother moving her scroll as her mother's shrewish voice blew up her ear.
"What do you mean you can't tell me! You call me out of the blue and say all those things and won't even tell me what's wrong? Pyrrha, what is going on?"
"Mom."
"Yes, Pyrrha, what?" The fire in her voice had died off.
"Do you love me?" Her mother hesitated.
"Of course I do," she said. Pyrrha smiled; a comforting lie.
"Thank you." Pyrrha hung up, pocketing her scroll. She rested her head on her knees, her body trembling.
She was sitting alone, her body trembling as he walked up. He stopped next to her, and cleared his throat. She looked up at him, her eyes red and watery. He held out the bag of popcorn he had, offering a weak smile.
"It's no vegan juice, but I thought you might like this," he said. She hesitated for a moment before taking the bag, resting it in her lap.
"Thanks."
The wind blew, the gust icy. Pyrrha shivered, goosebumps crawling up her legs and arms. Jaune's expression fell, and he sat down next to her, resting his hand on hers.
"Hey Pyrrha."
"Yes, Jaune?" she asked. He gave her hand a squeeze.
"You were the first person believe in me. Did you know that?" Pyrrha shook her head.
"My family never thought I could be a Hunter; I was too weak and frail. The only subject I really did well at in school was first aid. I got along with all of my sisters but none of them thought I could be like Dijon or our grandfather. And my dad, well, he thought I was a failure for most of my life. I never told them that I was coming here. I just took the family heirlooms and left." Pyrrha intertwined her fingers with his. "But you? You've always been there for me. Even though I never deserved it." He paused. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can tell that something is bothering you, and I want to help. I want to be there for you like you've been there for me."
Pyrrha smiled at him, and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"You're already helping," she said, closing her eyes.
They sat together for a moment, the only sound the gentle breeze and the swaying of the trees.
Pyrrha let go of his hand, moving her head, and scooting away.
"I don't know what to do, Jaune." He cocked his head to the side.
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha looked at him, her body stiff.
"Do you believe in destiny?" she asked. Jaune cocked an eyebrow.
"I-I don't know. I've never given it a lot of thought." Pyrrha looked away, resting her hands in her lap, her hands fidgeting as she spoke.
"To me, destiny isn't some predetermined fate that the Gods have put you on that you can never escape from. Your destiny… it's like your final goal. The thing that you spend your entire life aiming to achieve."
"Make sense," Jaune said.
"So what would you do if something that you never expected were to come along and stand between you and your destiny?"
"Lik-" Pyrrha's hands shot up, motioning with them rapidly.
"Or what if something came up that could help you achieve your destiny right then and there, what would you do? What if that something came at the cost of who you are?" Jaune reached a hand out to Pyrrha's shoulder.
"You're not making any sense." Pyrrha stood up, brushing past his hand. She took a few steps, wrapping her arms around her body, her voice thick with emotion.
"Nothing makes sense! I never wanted it to be like this!" she said. Jaune stood up, stepping towards her.
"Pyrrha, please, talk to me. I want to understand." Pyrrha sniffed, her back rigid.
"I've always seen my destiny as being someone who helped Remnant. I wanted to do that by becoming a Huntress. I want to protect this world." She snorted. "And it's become clear to me that that I was right about what my destiny was." She turned to him, the golden orange light glinting off her armor. "And I don't know if I can go through with it."
"Pyrrha, if you think your destiny is to protect this world then I know for a fact that you can do it. You've never backed down from a challenge, and I can't see you failing now."
Pyrrha's mouth fell open, and she covered her mouth with her hands, squeezing her eyes shut as she started to cry, her hands muffling her hiccups. Jaune's heart sank, and he stepped towards her.
"Pyrrha?" She shook her head, turning and bolting, running away from him. "Pyrrha wait!" He ran out from under the canopy; she was already gone. His lip trembled. "What did I say?"
Her camera clicked as she snapped another photo of Sun and Neptune. Velvet flashed them a smile, and motioned for them to do another pose. Sun and Neptune looked past her, smiling. Velvet looked behind her and smiled as well.
"Ruby, so good to see you," she said. Ruby waved.
"Hi Vevlet. Hey Sun, hey Neptune. What are you up to?" Ruby asked.
"Oh nothing, just having those two help me with my photography." She smiled, shoving her camera towards Ruby's face. "Whatcha think?" Ruby looked at the photo, cocking an eyebrow before smiling.
"You've certainly been improving," she said. Velvet smiled, collapsing her camera and stowing it away.
"Thank you, Ruby." Velvet crossed her arms. "How has Yang been holding up?" Ruby rubbed the back of her head.
"She's doing okay. She's resting in our dorm right now." Velvet nodded.
"I think it's awful all the stuff the news and everyone else are saying about her. They've never seen combat, they have no idea what it's like when you're out there. Everyone gets scared on the battlefield, and sometimes that starts to affect that person mentally." Velvet shook her head. "Yang's a sweet person, she doesn't deserve all of this." Ruby sighed.
"Glad you think so." Ruby blinked, giving her a look. "Wait, what did you say?"
"Hm? Which part?"
"About fights affecting a person's mentality, what did you mean?"
"Just that with all of the things we see, some of us are bound to develop a few mental disorders. If it can happen to Coco, it can happen to anyone." Ruby cocked her head to the side.
"Coco? She has a mental disorder?" Velvet nodded.
"She swore she saw Yatsu with her in the forest during her fight with Emerald and Mercury. But he never made it out of the geyser fields. After the fight she visited Doctor Duerf and he said her PTSD caused her to have a stressed induced hallucination." Velvet uncrossed her arms. "Maybe Yang should give him a visit, she has been through a lot."
Ruby frowned, appearing deep in thought.
"Yeah." Velvet smiled, pulling out her camera. Ruby cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Care if I take a few pics?" Ruby smiled, and struck a pose.
Ruby opened the door to the dorm, the hallway light brightening the desolate room. She walked in, looking around the room as she entered.
It hardly looked like it had been lived in; the beds were immaculate, no laundry anywhere, no personal belongings on the shelves, walls, or desks. She went to the closet, and opened it; nothing. She frowned, and closed it.
Emerald watched her, scowling. Ruby went over to the bathroom door, opening it, and peeking her head inside. Ruby frowned again and shut the door, resting her hands on her hips.
Emerald reached for her sickles, drawing them, stiffening at the sound of the chains extending. Ruby's head snapped over to her location, her silver eyes appearing to glow in the low light. Emerald held her breath as Ruby stared at her part of the room for several minutes.
Ruby shrugged, and turned and left the room, the door clicking shut behind her.
Emerald exhaled, sheathing her sickles.
The sun was setting, its orange light casting her in shadows. Penny rested her chin on her knees, the breeze gentle as it blew. She held her hand out in front of her; her synthetic flesh was so smooth, so free of any disfigurement. So fake. She sighed, lowering her hand.
All of the flowers in the gardens were beginning to wilt, all of the bugs that had lived there were dead or gone now. The red roses she had loved sniffing so much were just withered husks, Ms. Black Widow's web having long disappeared.
Her chin slid down, her forehead resting on her head.
Not real
She lifted her head, looking up at the tree she sat under; it's leaves a golden brown. The breeze blew again, a leaf breaking free and dancing in the wind.
"Penny?" She looked over; Ruby stood in the grass, her head cocked to the side. "What are you doing out here? Aren't you cold?" she asked. Penny shook her head, looking down at the grass. She heard Ruby sit down next to her. She saw Ruby playing with her hands from the corner of her eye before Ruby reached out, hesitating slightly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Ruby leaned against her, resting her head on her shoulder.
"Ruby…"
"Yeah?" Penny looked away, the brown grass swaying with the breeze.
"What happens when we die?" Ruby lifted her arm off of her, raising her head. Penny looked over at her; her eyes had widened in surprise, her mouth parted.
"W-why? Is everything okay?" Penny wrapped her arms around her legs, tucking her knees to her chest.
"I'm different than you, Ruby. My body, my… my s-soul were all given to me. Forced onto me." She watched the dead leaves dance. "When I 'die', this body will just be brought back. But what made me me, what makes me a real girl, that will all be gone." She hiccupped, feeling the tears start to slide down her cheeks. "Where will I go, Ruby? When I finally shut down, what happens to me?"
Ruby was silent, opening and closing her hands several times before resting them in her lap.
"I don't really know, Penny," she said. "After my mom died I asked Yang that question, and she told me that we don't go anywhere." She snorted. "She might be right, there's no way to know. But…" Ruby slid her hand towards Penny, and Penny grasped her hand. Ruby gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "I know some people believe that when we die, we just come back. That what makes us, us just comes back in a new body."
A new body
Penny's eyes darted to their held hands. She leaned her head against Ruby's shoulder. She looked at the setting sun, at the dying trees and plants, the air icy.
"It's like the seasons," Penny mumbled.
"I guess so. I don't really think about that kind of stuff." Ruby said. She snorted. "I remember hearing how the Faunus think that when you find your soulmate, you run into them every new lifetime." Penny looked up and saw Ruby smile. "I never really gave love or any of that stuff a thought until I met you." Penny closed her eyes, giving Ruby's hand a squeeze.
"I hope that if that is true, that we keep running into each other." She felt Ruby kiss the top of her head, her lips gentle.
"Me too."
It was loud as Ruby climbed the stadium steps, and walking down the aisle to get to her seat. People were talking loudly, the remaining combatants standing in the center of the arena. The logo of the Vytal Festival spun on the gray screens around the arena. Oobleck's voice boomed over the loudspeaker.
"Alright, it's time for the randomization process!" The screens began to spin, slowing to a stop. Ruby smiled, a beep signaling the first fighter.
"Penny Polendina of Atlas!" Port declared. The second picture slowed to a stop.
"Versus Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon!"
The other contestants left the stand, Pyrrha and Penny going to opposite ends of the arena as it rose into the air.
Ruby saw a flash of mint green on the other side of the arena and narrowed her eyes, squinting.
"Is that? Emerald?" She saw Emerald take a seat in the front row, smiling as she watched Pyrrha and Penny. Ruby's eyes widened, her mind racing.
I swear he attacked me!
She swore she saw Yatsu with her in the forest
The sound of chains in an empty room
Ruby sprang from her seat, beginning to hyperventilating.
"Oh no."
And that's it.