Chapter 40

Jaune swallowed as he pulled the curtain to the side and entered. "Hey, Pyrrha."

"Hey, Jaune." His partner responded. She put her book down and smiled as he walked over and sat beside her bed. It wasn't the most private of areas but she wasn't in a critical state so the doctors had pushed her here with a dozen other wounded people. The curtains provided some privacy at least. "How's it going?"

Jaune froze for just a moment as he admired his partner. How did I never notice how pretty she is with her hair down? He mentally shook himself awake and answered her before it got awkward. "Alright. Everyone's working hard to get everything back to normal. Professor Goodwitch is hoping to start clearing out Beacon in a couple days."

"That's good."

"Nobody knows how long it will take though. Some of the older teams are really hyped about getting in there though. I heard Coco yelling about it earlier."

"Hopefully they can take it back soon." Pyrrha's smile seemed slightly forced. Jaune you coward! Just say it!. He took a deep breath.

"Hey, Pyrrha?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to talk about… about the uh… the kiss." His cheeks burned. Her face went red as well.

"Ah... uh…" She trailed off.

"Why did you do it?"

"I… well I…" Her face was crimson and she kept stammering and trailing off.

"Do you… like me? As in… more than partners?"

"I… yes." She almost squeaked out. She's as bad as I am!

"So do you want to, I don't know… try going out?" If asked later he would fervently deny his voice cracking as he asked.

"Yes!" Pyrrha immediately answered. There were a couple beats of silence.

"What do we do now?"

"I have no idea."

After a moment the pair burst out laughing. Jaune felt a weight fall off of his shoulders. They'd figure out how this whole relationship thing worked, there'll probably be a few hiccups, but it'll be worth it.

"That felt good to get off my chest." Jaune said with a sigh.

"It did, didn't it? Well, imagine how I feel! I've been trying to get you to notice for most of the year!"

"That… explains a lot. I'm such an idiot."

Pyrrha giggled. "Just a little bit."

Jaune pouted. "It's not my fault!" He said, struggling to keep from smiling.

"The first step to fixing a problem is acknowledging it." Pyrrha's hand came to rest on his shoulder, she had a massive grin on her face. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he pulled his chair closer to her.

Jaune spent the rest of the day with her, having fun. Time seemed to fly by as before he knew, visiting hours were over and he had to go, at least for the night.

Ruby still felt a little sore as she slowly padded her way down to the guest room. Her mind was abuzz with everything her uncle had revealed. Beacon gone. Ozpin gone. Weiss was in Atlas. Adam is preparing to leave. Cinder escaped. It was all a mess. But the biggest mess lay behind the door before her.

She sucked in a breath and entered. "Yang?" Her sister didn't turn to face her. She just kept staring out the window. Ruby walked over and sat on the chair next to the bed. "Hey, Yang. How are you doing?" Ruby winced as she asked.

Yang sat silently, unresponsive. Ruby sighed. "I… I'm sorry. I should have been there! I shouldn't have gone and fought Torchwick! If I'd gone with everyone else I could have… I could have stopped this." Tears streamed down Ruby's face. "I'm sorry Yang!"

"It's not your fault," Yang whispered. "It's hers." She spat, voice full of venom.

"Yang…" Ruby trailed off, unsure of what to say. "I… I hope you feel better soon." Yang didn't respond. Ruby nodded and left, tears still running.

A week later and Adam was gone, he'd run off with team SSSN. Team CFVY had been one of the many older teams to join the Huntsmen in their reoccupation of Beacon. Other teams were being transferred to other schools. Most had gone to Haven or Shade, with only a small few heading to Atlas.

It was hard for Ruby to stay positive given the situation, but seeing Pyrrha out of the hospital helped, even if she was in a wheelchair. She, along with her team, were doing their best to help out around their new base in the library. Ruby hurried through the sea of tents, passing by a huddled CRDL, and burst into the library.

It took her only a minute to reach JNPR's secluded space where they waited for her. Pyrrha was the only one not outfitted for combat, wearing a burgundy hoodie with a pair of loose black pants and boots, which hid the bandages around her leg. They quickly shared greetings before everyone settled down. "So. Plan of action." Jaune said. "Ruby, your uncle said Cinder came from Haven right?"

"Yup. He said he was going to investigate there. If we want to get involved that's where we need to go."

"Alright. So, just to make sure, everyone is up for this right?" Jaune asked. Everyone nodded. "Perfect. So we'll need a map and supplies for the journey. Meaning food, ammo and probably some money too."

"I have a large amount stored away from when I participated in tournaments so I can get you guys some money but…" Pyrrha said, pausing for a moment to think and to push some of her loose hair behind her ear. "I'm still recovering. I can't walk too well yet. I don't want to slow you down or anything."

"It'll be fine. You won't slow us down." Jaune replied.

"Jaune. A wheelchair is not a good way to travel across two continents, and if you want to catch up to Cinder you'll need to leave soon. I can stay. Recover and train. I can look out for Yang too." She looked to Ruby.

"If you want to stay it's your choice. I… would appreciate it if you kept an eye on Yang."

Jaune bit his lower lip. Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's fine Jaune. I'll be fine. I don't want to be responsible for someone else getting hurt because I'm still injured. I'll catch up with Yang when we're both ready. Okay?"

"Alright." Jaune sighed.

Nora giggled. "One week and you're already clingy, that's not a good look Jauney!"

"Hey!" Jaune whined with a pout. Nora cackled in response. Ren exasperatedly shook his head.

"So we can take less food and camping gear then." Ruby interrupted, bringing them back on topic.

"We could ask Doctor Oobleck for a map. He'd know where to get one." Ren added.

"Alright then. So we split up and get our gear. Pyrrha and I can go get the extra funds for later. Ruby and Nora can get the food and ammo and Ren the map and camping gear. Does that sound good?"

"Yup!" Ruby said. Ren and Pyrrha nodded. Nora wiggled her eyebrows at Jaune suggestively. He coughed a little awkwardly.

"Uh, a-anyway!" He stammered, causing Nora to laugh again. "R-ruby! You said Adam left you a letter right? What'd it say?"

"Oh yeah!" She fished it out of her pocket. "To summarize: lots of apologizing! He's sorry for what happened to Yang, for the White Fang, for not being there for Yang and for leaving. Oh and for not coming around to talk to me. Apparently, he wanted to but didn't want to make Yang even angrier." Ruby shrugged and handed it around.

"He's not the best at communicating is he?" Nora said.

"At least he left a note." Jaune said with a shrug. "I can't blame him for not wanting to annoy Yang."

"Yeah…" Ruby whispered. My team broke up while I was asleep. How was she supposed to deal with that?

"Shall we get started?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yup! Let's get going, team JNPR and friend!" Jaune announced.

"Yeah!" They, mostly quietly, cheered.

Pyrrha felt happy, ecstatic even. Despite all of the destruction around them she had finally confessed to Jaune and he had reciprocated! She felt like she could jump over the moon! If it wasn't for her leg of course.

She shuffled a bit awkwardly as they made their way back to the library to meet up with the others. Jaune was behind her, pushing the wheelchair along. It felt just a little bit romantic. They hadn't done much as a couple yet and wouldn't be able to for a long time with her staying behind, but that didn't matter much.

We're together now and that's all that really matters.

Of course, she wished she could go, more than anything she wished she could go but with her leg as it was she'd only be a liability. She didn't want that. She glanced down at the offending limb. She couldn't see the bandages but could feel them. At least she could when feeling returned to her leg. It came and went. Sometimes she could feel it in its entirety like usual, always accompanied by pain from the injury itself, but other times there would be an odd numbness to her limb.

Sometimes it felt like she'd been sitting on it too long and only felt pins and needles, except she hadn't been sitting on it at all. The only sure feeling was pain whenever she tried to stand. She could maybe be on her feet for a second before collapsing, but it was in constant pain.

The doctors assured her that she would heal quickly, especially with her Aura. But it would still be weeks to walk normally, let alone fight. And there was every possibility that she would never reach her previous ability ever again.

But maybe I can reach it in other ways. My leg may be weaker, but with how I used my Semblance up on the tower maybe I can become stronger without relying on my body as much. It'll be tough and a drain, but for important moments? She'd need the right kind of brace but it could work. She was a master of her sword and shield but what she needed to focus on was her Semblance. It would need to evolve before her next battle with Cinder.

I won't let her win again.

Weiss sighed as she looked out on the beautiful cityscape of Atlas. The bright lights shone, breathing life into the city. No matter how beautiful it was however it hid a darkness. Her father was just one part of that. The Atlesian elite gave no care to those below.

I can't change that. At least, not yet.

The private vessel slowly came to rest on a private dock, exclusively for Jacques Schnee, near the Schnee Manor. The SDC guards quickly moved to secure the area and provide a peaceful journey for the returning family. Weiss followed her father silently.

The Manor, which she had looked at as a testament to her family's talent, drive and skill, now stood as a reminder of their hubris. Walking down the long driveway brought to mind how she had acted in those first months at Beacon. The arrogance she had shown. The righteousness she felt. The reverence she thought she was owed. All of it stemmed from this house and what occurred within.

She swallowed bile as she looked back on it. This was not the home her grandfather had built. It was the gilded cage her father had constructed.

They were welcomed by a dozen human servants bowing at the front door. Weiss could remember when the Faunus servants were expelled from the manor. She had felt righteous at the time, there was just too much risk with the White Fang and all. But now? Now she felt awful. The whole place felt awful.

I want to go home.

The golden bracelet sat there, now polished and cleaned of the blood that had covered it. It sat on her desk, waiting for her to decide what to do with it.

Blake didn't know what she wanted from it. It was a weapon, used by a foe who had tried to defeat her. A foe she had forced to lose an arm. Adam had looked so distraught. I'd only meant to show him what a fool he's being!

The golden weapon gave her nothing.

The deep voice of her Lieutenant called out from the flap of her tent. "Ma'am. We are almost ready to move out. Those Humans came through with the boats."

Blake sighed and stood. "Understood." She called back. "Let us leave Vale. It's about time we met with Khan."

Soon he would realise. She'd make sure of it. He would see how wrong he was to leave.

Ruby took a deep breath and knocked on Yang's door, entering a moment later. Yang was still there, staring out the window as the snow began to fall.

"Hey, Yang. I know we haven't talked as much since… since Beacon but I wanted to make sure we talked one last time. I'm going away, with Jaune and Ren and Nora. We're going after Cinder. We're going to stop her. Pyrrha's staying to recover and she said she'll visit so… make sure to get better, okay? I know you can. I know that you can make it through this and become stronger than ever before!"

Yang's fist clenched but she didn't respond. Ruby nodded solemnly. "I love you. Goodbye Yang."

The blonde didn't reply, even as Ruby left the room. Ruby took a deep, shuddering breath and silently made her way out of the house. Snow crunched under her feet as she joined her friends.

They had just one more stop before they left.

Ruby smiled as she cleared snow and dust from her mother's grave. "Hey, mom. I'm just stopping by to let you know I won't be around again for a while. I'll be back someday. Take care of Yang and dad for me, okay?"

Ruby stood, hefted her bag onto her back and set off with her friends with hope in her heart.

A/N: A much shorter aftermath, but no less important. So RNJR sets out with their goal in mind while Pyrrha stays to recover and Yang's mad. Weiss longs for home and Blake almost has a second thought. So close, but so far. I'm working on an outfit idea for Pyrrha for this fic but not the same one I used for Mission Successful. We'll see if it's a better one. Oh, and Arkos is canon here I guess. Let's hope the hormonal teens don't screw it up!

I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!