A/N: Early upload. I'm busy tomorrow so here ya go.
That last chapter ended up sort of darker than intended. Oops. It was definitely a difficult one to write, since there's so little that JNPR does in that battle canonically. I'm glad it's out of the way, considering how that was giving me writer's block.
Also, some of y'all have been asking about projected length of the whole fic. I don't remember if I've answered that before, so I thought I might as well clear it up for everyone. I foresee it being 66 chapters, plus an epilogue, most likely. It works out so that semester 1 and 2 are pretty even in length/word count that way.
If you're still following along and enjoying this fic, let me know!
Laws of Attraction
Moving on from the breach into downtown Vale was an awkward task. They split up from both Team RWBY and Sun and Neptune fairly quickly after arriving back at Beacon's docks. Instead of hanging around, Pyrrha gently pushed her three silent, tired teammates towards the dormitories, ignoring the questions from peers and staff alike.
Everyone stayed silent.
No one spoke about the situation until a few hours later, when the lights were off and they were all tucked into bed. It was only late afternoon by the time they had been brought back to campus and had finished cleaning themselves up- the sun had yet to set, but instead of venturing out into the world, they simply closed their blinds and curled up under their covers.
The silence was broken when Jaune whispered, "People died."
"We were too late to save everyone," Ren murmured into the darkness. His voice was hollow.
Nora had also lost her spark. She mumbled weakly, "We did the best we could though, right?"
Pyrrha nodded on instinct, although no one could see her. "We did. We saved a lot of people. We did our jobs."
They all drifted off quietly after that. Pyrrha's dreams of running through the forest were plagued by smoke, and screams, and ragdoll bodies strewn across tree branches.
She awoke only after looking down, only to see her foot sinking into the flesh of a bloody corpse as she ran through the trees. Her body jolted upright, mouth open in a silent scream, black box wailing. You didn't save those people- you aren't good enough- no one believes in you, you let everyone die-
The final body count came in the next day in an official report, shared to them via Scroll by Professor Goodwitch, alongside a formal thank-you sent from Professor Ozpin on behalf of the mayor of Vale. Pyrrha didn't read the message on her Scroll. Instead, she deleted the unopened message and went about her day.
The tension slowly eased over the course of the week. It took a bit of time, but soon, Nora's voice was chirpy and bright, and Ren was making breakfast for dinner, and Jaune was just as clumsy and childish as ever. Three days after the attack, everyone was eating meals with Team RWBY again within the dining hall as if nothing had happened. The only indication that anything had truly gone wrong was the withdrawn, thoughtful look Blake would get every once in a while. The Faunus girl had been hit hardest, as the attack had been facilitated by Roman Torchwick- the orange-haired man taken into custody that day had turned out to be the same man whom Team RWBY had fought on the docks near the winter solstice- in conjunction with the White Fang.
Something was terribly wrong with the world, Pyrrha was beginning to realize. Although Team JNPR had mostly been away from the after-hours conflicts Team RWBY kept finding themselves in, now, they truly knew the pervasiveness of the White Fang's schemes.
She never asked Blake. The girl looked like she was so close to breaking.
It took JNPR the whole week for their bedtimes to be loud and jovial again.
To fill the silence, they studied. The extra time granted to them after having to cancel their assignment meant that they were able to prepare for midterms flawlessly. Ren took it upon himself to not only make Jaune pass, but to make Jaune beat the averages of their peers. While he handled the academics, Pyrrha was quick to train him in the evenings, their sparring matches the perfect opportunity to release their frustration over the events of that week.
Thankfully, the next week rolled around soon enough. With it came their midterm examinations, along with hordes of curious students returning from their own away-missions. The attack on Vale had been broadcast through the CCTS across the world, so everywhere they went, they were accosted by curious onlookers and quiet, yet gossipy questions. Having such an awful attack right before the Vytal Festival within the hosting Kingdom was an ominous, foreboding shadow looming over the entire world.
The news articles had been the worst. Much of the security footage salvaged from the incident had somehow been leaked to the press, meaning that many of the students had been exposed as the 'heroes in the breach of Vale'. While the title on its own might have been fine, images of Pyrrha herself had circulated, and due to her previous notoriety, the attention had quickly focused itself upon her. She hated it all with a passion- she had fought alongside so many people, so why was it only she who was being noticed by the tabloids?
She had no way to fight back, however. All she could do was throw herself into her studies and ignore the images of her, valiantly mid-battle, which continued to circulate across people's Scrolls every day.
Exams went surprisingly well. Pyrrha was confident in her performance, having aced the combat exam and the majority of the academic portions as well. The real surprise, however, came in the form of Jaune's performance- after all of the extra days to study and train, the blond had exceeded all expectations, ending up with an overall average that ranked higher than the mean. Even Professor Goodwitch was impressed by his performance, the Huntress commenting to Pyrrha after he had finished his combat exam, "Your videos seem to be working. You might become a great professor yet yourself, Pyrrha Nikos."
The girl had smiled and bowed, hiding the giddiness which spread across her chest at the praise. The training had clearly worked. She had done well.
Finally, with midterms over and the wreckage in Vale cleaned up completely, Pyrrha found herself sitting within one of Professor Oobleck's classes. The history lecture had soon dispersed into a discussion period, speaking about tactics regarding a particular battle between a pack of aged, wizened Grimm and a small group of Huntsmen patrolling in Atlas.
Professor Oobleck's excited, hyperactive voice faded into the background as Pyrrha circled up with her team to discuss the topic. Just one look at everyone else's face proved that they were just as invested within the lesson as she- that is to say, not at all.
Out of the blue, Nora chirped, "Hey guys, shouldn't we talk about Semblances?"
Ren raised an eyebrow, expression otherwise neutral. "What about them?"
The orange-haired girl simply swung her legs back and forth childishly from her seat. "Well," she pouted, "since we did so well during midterms, we kinda have to get into the Vytal Festival now."
Pyrrha's heart sank when she saw how Jaune instantly paled, shaking his head. "We don't really need to talk about those-"
Nora brushed off his worries with a casual wave. "You'll figure out your Semblance soon, Jaune," she insisted. "But like, for the rest of us, wouldn't it be good to know how to team up and stuff?"
"Ooh," Jaune squealed, eyes suddenly sparkling bright with innocent excitement, "we can figure out more team attacks. Amazing!"
"More?" Pyrrha asked, frowning amusedly. She settled back into her chair though, relaxed, seeing how Jaune's focus had been taken away from his own hidden Semblance. Aura was eternally a sore spot for the blond, after all.
A quick glance at Nora and Ren proved fruitless to answering her question, however, as the two simply shrugged back at her, just as ignorant. Since when did we do that?
The smaller girl was the first to raise her hand. "I can explode stuff with electricity!" she announced cheerfully.
The quiet boy next to her rolled his eyes, bemused. "She can conduct electricity and convert it into energy, using a quick charge to momentarily power up her strikes."
"Wait, so you can get struck by lightning and live?" Jaune asked incredulously.
Nora propped her hands upon her hips and puffed out her chest proudly. "M-hm. I'm a lightning rod!"
The redhead giggled quietly. "I'm not surprised, you know," she teased. "You have to get your energy from somewhere."
Nora stuck her tongue out at her, only making Pyrrha's laugh grow louder.
Ren sighed. "Mine allows me to mask negative emotions," he explained simply. "I can use my own Aura to dim the intensity of emotion which others experience."
"It's super useful," Nora added, beaming. "With it, the Grimm don't notice you, even when you're scared."
Pyrrha blinked slowly, taking in the implication of those words. In the past, there had indeed been times when a reassuring touch from Ren had calmed her down. To think, it had been because of his Semblance…
Her own doubts crept into mind, the little black box whining, creaking open. That would be the perfect Semblance to get rid of all my worries, she thought ruefully. She shook her head, trying to free herself of the thought immediately. She was never scared on the battlefield, and she never would be. She didn't need a Semblance like that.
"It's too bad it's such an exhausting Semblance," Nora continued, ruffling Ren's hair. "Otherwise it would be perfect for long stealth missions!"
Ren stared at his open hands, balling them into fists before settling them back into his lap. "One day," he acknowledged, determined. "I intend to master it one day."
It took all Pyrrha had to fight back the blush which wanted to colour her cheeks when the redhead saw the devotion in Nora's eyes, in her gentle movements, as she reached forward and lightly tapped Ren on his nose.
Dragging her eyes away from the intimate moment, Pyrrha interjected, "I'd rather this not be known too widely, but… my power is polarity."
Jaune's eyes widened. "Wait, is that why you can use a spear-"
"Magnets, Jaune, not polearms," Ren butt in, hanging his head in his hands at Jaune's silliness.
The image of Ruby and Weiss have nearly the exact same encounter months earlier made Pyrrha laugh. "I can't believe you and Ruby had the exact same reaction," she chuckled.
Before they could continue speaking, however, Professor Oobleck drew their attention back to the front of the lecture hall, and soon they were engrossed within the history of guerrilla tactics once more.
As class finally let out for the day, Pyrrha found herself face-to-face with a familiar pair of round, wiry glasses. Coffee cup in hand, Professor Ozpin stood outside of the lecture hall doors, quietly greeting the students who filed out and headed to the dining hall for dinner. When he locked eyes with Pyrrha, however, he silently raised a hand and beckoned her over, then meandered, without waiting for her, to the empty hallway branching off the side of the main hall.
Pyrrha stilled, unease growing within her gut. Jaune noticed her pause in the doorframe, not having seen the headmaster. "Pyrrha, you good?"
She shook her head and snapped out of it, sidestepping out of the way of the other students. "Of course, Jaune," she soothed, although in her heart, it felt like she was comforting herself, not him. "I'm going to be a bit late to dinner- save me a seat?"
Big blue eyes narrowed, flashing with concern and distrust. "Did… did she message you again?" he asked carefully, steeling himself for the response. "You know that you shouldn't listen to whatever it is she says to you, you're-"
Immediately, embarrassed affection surged up within her. Pyrrha shook her head. Although he had obviously been worried about her familial situation ever since their previous argument, he had never pressed her for more details. "No, no- Professor Ozpin just wants to talk for a moment."
Jaune's expression instantly melted into one of easygoing trust. "Oh, alright! I'll grab you a tray then!" With that, he waved goodbye and jogged after Nora and Ren, who had left the room before her.
She sidled into the quiet adjacent hallway, approaching the awaiting Huntsman carefully. "Sir, may I help you? What is it?"
Taking a sip from his coffee, the professor coolly examined her from over his glasses. "Miss Nikos, I am going to be frank with you. I wanted to know how you felt about the incident in Vale."
The redhead paled, not ready whatsoever to bring up what had happened. She paused, taking a deep breath, before sliding a perfectly-controlled, neutral mask upon her face. "It was a tragedy, sir. I wish I could've done more."
Those words caught his attention. "But surely, you realize that you and your peers did more than we ever could have expected from you?"
She nodded, although her mind was focused on locking away the images of bloated corpses within the black box in her heart. She never wanted to think of those images again. "This is what we are all here to one day do. Being students doesn't change the fact that we were able to help. Of course we'd do what we could." She sighed, adding quietly, "It doesn't change the fact that so many people were injured and lost."
"You're right. It is indeed a tragedy." Taking another long sip, he asked neutrally, "What would you do to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again?"
Pyrrha paused, unable to stop herself from frowning suspiciously. "Sir, what do you mean by that?" His words had been level, but as she met his gaze, his eyes were burning. "I'd… I'd do anything."
He hummed to himself quietly. Then, just as suddenly as the whole conversation had begun, he commented, "Your midterm results were excellent, by the way. You needn't worry about placing within the Vytal Festival. There are many people cheering for you." And with that, he simply walked away.
She gaped at him, aghast. Before she could stop herself, Pyrrha called, "Sir, why do you keep calling me out like this?"
He paused, looking over his shoulder. "Is there a problem, Miss Nikos?"
She shivered, then shook her head slowly, hesitantly. "You don't have these conversations with other students. I've been asking my teammates, and I'm the only one who's had these talks. I…"
The man sighed, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I understand why you may be concerned." The man snorted ruefully. "Maybe you're right for that. Still, you told me when you first came here that you wanted to be a Huntress to protect people. I would have you uphold that dream. That is all."
As he walked back into the main hallway, Pyrrha wrapped her arms around herself, furrowing her brow, deep in thought. As far as she knew, she was the only person who he kept speaking to like this. What was Professor Ozpin up to? Why did he keep singling her out in such an odd way?
And why did it feel like he kept testing her resolve?
The discomfort left from that conversation lingered for the rest of the day, following her into her dreams. Her mind drifted off, body aching, the blankets wrapped up around her body so tightly they burned as she pondered what the headmaster was scheming.
Suddenly, she was transported to a familiar room. Her hands were small, the tabletop far above her head. Every molecule in the air seemed to vibrate from the stifling heat, each pore in her body suddenly swimming in sweat. She stumbled forwards, anxiously peeking around the edge of the table, desperate to find out why the room was so unusually hot and stuffy and it was so hard to breathe-
Flames spilled out of her father's forge, the licking tongue of the fire crawling out of the metal casing and up the walls of the room. A terrified scream escaped her throat, tiny and childish and not strong enough. Thick black smoke took the opportunity and poured into her mouth, forced itself down her throat, choking her. She gagged and coughed, falling onto her chubby hands and knees. They stung as burning embers crunched under her tender skin.
It was all burning down- her favourite place in the world was burning down.
Suddenly, she felt strong hands pick her up, wrapping her in a thick woollen blanket. The heat trapped underneath the material was both stinging and soothing all at once; too hot, yet cool from being insulated from the violent flames. A thick, corded arm shifted around her young form, and her face was buried within a strong, wide shoulder, a familiar beard tickling the back of her damp neck.
"Daddy, we hafta go," she sobbed into her father's shoulder.
He didn't move. Instead, he just stood there as the flames spewed out farther and farther from the forge, the entire workshop catching alight around them. Pyrrha could feel the heat eating through the blanket, could feel the heat growing and growing and she cried. "Daddy please," she begged, but he didn't move.
Instead, she heard his voice, the deep rumble echoing through his chest and into her heart. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee." He tapped her nose. "Little fireball, you're safe here. Don't bother fighting the shadows. I will protect you."
Suddenly, she was fully grown once more, and she pushed the man away from her. Her feet stung, her skin crackling as it roasted over her flesh. She couldn't see his face. She didn't care.
"You're just a dream. You're not him. What 'paragon of virtue' ends up like this? This isn't protecting anybody- this is letting you and me die! You have no right to say those words to me," she hissed, panting, feeling the heat eating away through her bones.
And then, she awoke. Sweat-drenched sheets were quickly discarded and replaced, and soon she stood underneath an icy spray of water, pushing her burning, sweat-streaked hair out of her eyes, out of sight. The mere colour of her hair, fiery strands sticking to her hands, running down her body underneath the water spray, was enough to make her tremble.