A/N: I've officially finished planning the whole first half of the fic completely. Get ready for a wild ride, y'all. It'll be a bit until we actually hit episode 1 of volume 4, so hold on tight. (also, if you're a DDS fan, get ready to giggle at the OCs later in this fic. If not, don't worry about it.)
I'm sorry in advance for all the... sad. Scream at me in the comments if you must vent your feelings.
What We Call Home
They didn't find Pyrrha.
Weiss came back from the base of the tower alone, screeching about a white light which had turned the Grimm Dragon to stone. She wanted to retrieve her team leader, but the moment that the blinding glare had faded, hordes of Grimm from a twenty-mile radius had begun flocking towards the tower, the Dragon seemingly the epicentre of the conflict. So, she was forced to flee, leaving the younger girl alone.
Ruby was found only a short while later upon Beacon Tower's broken summit, mere feet away from the frozen, statuesque body of the Wyvern. A weary, shattered Huntsman was the one who brought her back down, clutching her in his arms and weeping. Nora recognized him due to his red cape and folded-up scythe- he was Ruby's beloved 'Uncle Qrow', the one whom she had constantly spoken about whenever they talked about training. But this man was nothing like the powerful figure the younger girl had always described with so much gusto. As Qrow carried her down, tears streaming out of his eyes, he shook and trembled and called his niece's name. The strong, stoic man could only fall apart without Ruby.
Nora watched numbly as he wept. Ruby was there, but Pyrrha wasn't.
Professor Port and Professor Oobleck rushed forward and dragged Qrow and Ruby into the airship after getting everyone else situated. A medic who had been on the ship announced that the young girl was merely exhausted and fatigued but had sustained no other injuries. Qrow had collapsed by her bedside in relief, nearly-hysterical giggles slipping past his lips as he held her hand tight.
The medic had already administered a painkiller to Nora to numb the pain while her own Aura recovered enough to begin the mending process. The drugs made her woozy, the world fuzzy around her- but she had a mission, a purpose. "What about Pyrrha? Did you find Pyrrha? Where is she?" Nora asked, stumbling over to where Ruby and Qrow sat.
Through his relieved tears, the man looked up at Nora. She kept her gaze fixated upon him as she begged, "C'mon, you must've found her!"
Slowly, understanding and recognition flitted across Qrow's face. "I… no, kid, shit." His eyes widened, and he looked down, searching through his memory. "No, I didn't see Pyrrha."
"You know who she is, right? How did you not see her?" Nora's voice grew louder and louder, drawing attention from everyone around them. She didn't care. "You can't tell me you went up there and Pyrrha simply 'wasn't there'! We saw her! She was fighting someone at the top of the CCT!" Because that golden armour glinting under the moonlight- it could have only belonged to one person. There was no way anyone could tell her otherwise. That had been Pyrrha- her Pyrrha, her sister. There was just no way that Qrow hadn't seen her up there!
But Qrow could only stare despondently back, unable to give her the answer she wanted. Nora balled up her fists, anger growing heady. "Don't give me that-"
"Nora!" Ren's words were sharp, cutting through her anger.
The orange-haired girl spun around. "But Ren-"
"We'll find her," he murmured, despite the fear and worry plaguing his own eyes. The boy had his arm in a sling, allowing his torn-up shoulder to rest whilst his Aura regenerated. Yet, despite his scant amount of energy, the dark-haired boy still managed to pull up some of his Semblance, placing a hand on Nora's shoulder. Instantly, she sighed, the tension draining from her body.
"Ren, don't- save it," she whispered after a moment. "I'll stop."
He smiled weakly, letting her go and dropping his Semblance. Immediately, the boy stumbled back, collapsing into the nearest seat. She squeaked and followed him, dropping to her knees by his side. "We'll find her, Nora," he winced.
She shuddered, pressing her forehead against his knees. "We will."
Suddenly, they heard a high-pitched voice mumble and moan in pain. "Ruby?!" Qrow yelped, squeezing his niece's hand tight. "Ruby, you're safe."
"Where- what…?" the girl mumbled, eyes cracking open by a hair. "What happ-" And then, her eyes shot open wide, terror painting her face. "Pyrrha!"
Nora lunged for the girl, practically pushing Qrow aside. "Ruby, what happened to Pyrrha?!" she pleaded, shaking the girl's shoulders. "Please tell me! Where is she?"
But Ruby's wide silver eyes filled with tears, a soundless scream escaping her throat. The despair morphed her features into an expression of pure fear and agony- and just like that, Ruby fell backwards, fainting again.
Qrow rushed the exhausted medic over to check on the girl again. Her condition was worsened, although stable. Nora had no choice but to crawl up to Ren, sitting on the seat next to him. "Ren…" she breathed, blue eyes wide.
Ren's face twisted into sorrow. "We don't know for sure," he whispered. Yet, when Nora lay her head on his shoulders, silently begging him to hold her despite his usual reservations about intimate touch, Ren didn't fight it. He trembled just as strongly as she did as he pulled her into his arms, wrapping his larger figure around her. They held each other, and Nora quaked down to her very core, the silent sobs ripping through her as Ren's shaky voice repeated those same words over and over again.
We don't know for sure.
Not knowing was almost worse.
The next few hours were a blur. They were rushed into the safe zone established in Vale, and all the civilians were put into emergency shelters. The injured students were taken to the makeshift hospitals erected within the area immediately, letting more experienced personnel deal with their wounds. The only one who truly needed immediate care was Yang- although they had managed to retrieve her arm after the White Fang left Beacon behind, it had been too late to save the limb. She would either have to learn to adjust to a new lifestyle, or get a prosthetic. Either way, it would be a long, long time before she would be a Huntress.
Normally, this would hurt Nora. Yang was one of her closest friends outside of her team. To see her so damaged would usually have destroyed Nora, setting her on a mad spree to both help the girl out and cheer her up. Now, however, despite how callous the thought was in her mind, Nora didn't care. All she wanted was for someone to find Pyrrha.
Jaune found them at the makeshift hospital. The blond was still somehow looking fairly undamaged, although his clothes did not fare similarly. Covered in soot and muck and grime, the boy charged into the room where all of the Huntsmen students had been sequestered, ignoring the pointed looks from the near-hundreds of students filling the grand hall. "Pyrrha!" he cried, frantically darting around, eyes searching for a shock of red hair and golden armour. "Where's Pyrrha?"
"Jaune!" Nora yelled, running to the blond. Ren was hot on her heels. The moment they reached the desperate boy, they threw their arms around him, holding him as if life depended on it. It felt so good to see him- with all of her fears about Pyrrha, the thought of the blond had almost slipped her mind.
When Weiss had come back to the airship, she had told them that Jaune had called her and told her about Pyrrha's location- so they had known that he was somewhere away from Pyrrha, away from the battle on the roof, away from the fire and gold and moonlit devastation. But to have the blond here at last- their leader, their friend- it was as if another piece of her had been returned to its place. She still wasn't whole, but it was something.
Jaune reciprocated with just as much fervour, a shuddering gasp breaking through his lips as he squeezed the two even tighter.
Nora asked, "Where have you been?"
"I got to Vale, and Pyrrha went to fight alone- where is she?" he sobbed, looking over Nora's shoulder. The orange-haired girl spun around, spotting a horrified, guilty-looking Weiss. The heiress watched their reunion from Ruby's bedside, where she sat in place of Qrow, the Huntsman having had to return to the battlefront. Jaune pulled himself out of Nora and Ren's grip and stormed over to the pale girl. "Weiss, what happened? I told you to get her-"
"Jaune," she began, holding up her hands peacefully, "I know, we went to Beacon Tower but-"
"But what?!" the boy shrilled.
Nora ran forward, grabbing the fuming blond's arm. She winced from the exertion of having to hold him back before he could get closer to Weiss. There was an unhinged glint in his eyes, a desperation which she had never seen before. "Hey, Weiss and Ruby did go," she murmured. "They went to the tower to save Pyrrha."
"Then where is she?" Jaune sobbed, grabbing Nora's arm, fat tears rolling unabashedly down his cheeks. "Why isn't she here? I need- I need to-"
"Jaune, we need you to sit down," Ren murmured, placing a hand on Jaune's shoulder. The boy had managed to recover a bit more Aura during their trip, so he cast his Semblance over Jaune, and the two watched as the blond's shoulders visibly relaxed, although the tears did not abate. Numbly, the boy followed Nora and Ren, and the orange-haired girl could only take a seat by him when he curled up against a wall out of the way of the other beds.
"They didn't bring her back," Jaune cried, wrapping his arms around his knees and drawing them up into his chest. "They didn't- she can't have-"
"Jaune," Nora murmured, "what happened to you and Pyrrha at the tower?"
But the blond refused to speak, sobbing harder into his knees.
No one else spoke to them that day. Jaune cried until his eyes were dry. Ren eventually fell asleep, the exhaustion from the day finally taking a true toll on him. Nora lent him her lap as a pillow and sighed, still leaning against Jaune's shoulder. "We'll find her. We have to," she whispered over and over again, until she almost believed it.
Almost.
They were only addressed when Professor Glynda Goodwitch, their former combat professor, came into the room, calling out sternly, "Students! Please gather your friends and teammates into the central hall outside."
Wordlessly, all the conscious students stumbled into the hall. The Huntress had found a high chair to stand upon and looked over the crowd, concern growing on her face as she took in how drastically the number of students had dwindled. Nora didn't think too much on it- while it was clear that many students had either already fled Vale, or were still incapacitated much like Ruby or Yang, it was obvious that just as many had been likely lost to the creatures of Grimm and the White Fang.
She didn't want to focus on the loss.
Nora took a quiet mental check as to who was there- all of Team CFVY had survived, unsurprisingly. Everyone in Team SSSN was present except for Sun- where the Faunus boy had gone after landing in the safe zone, she didn't know. Team CRDL looked like it was missing one or two members, although Nora could never keep the awful boys straight in her mind. On the side, she even spotted a few members of her opponents from the past few days of the Vytal Festival- Ash and Terra, their opponents from the doubles round, were standing with their teammates, and Team BRNZ was whole, albeit battered.
The worst, though, was Team RWBY. Since Yang and Ruby were both unconscious, and Blake was suddenly nowhere to be found, the only one standing alone was Weiss. Nora paused. When did Blake leave? She was here when we all landed… But after another glance around, it was confirmed- Blake had disappeared.
So, Nora waved at the pale girl, beckoning her over. While the heiress was definitely her least favourite member of Team RWBY due to Jaune's affections for her and Pyrrha's eternal inferiority complex about the girl's looks, Nora would still defend Weiss as a friend at the end of the day. The pale girl gave her a grateful smile and stood by Team JNPR's side, awaiting Professor Goodwitch's announcement.
It was brief, cold, exhausted. There was none of the prim, stern discipline which the blonde usually held within her succinct explanations. Instead, her hair had fallen out of her bun, long and trailing in wisps around her head. Her glasses were mildly cracked, and her white blouse was stained with dirt and dried blood. A few runs had been torn up her stockings, and it looked as if one of her heels had broken during the fight for Vale. She looked nothing like the professor whom they had all grown to respect and admire. She just looked tired, and her monotone speech matched that exactly.
"If you are from a visiting Academy, then we will arrange for you to return home within the next few days. Further details will be given tomorrow morning once transport vessels and enough Huntsmen to act as security for them are found. For those who are Beacon students, but hail from a different Kingdom, you will also be allowed to return home should you choose so on these transports. Just speak to me afterwards so I may add you onto the lists. As for students of Vale, you are free to head to your homes whenever you like. There shall be a company leaving by the end of the week, journeying throughout the major cities in the Kingdom; you are welcome to accompany them if your home is on the way. Speak to me tomorrow if this should affect you." The blonde sighed, pulling out her Scroll. The screen was cracked, but it clearly still worked to some extent as she ran through a list of names onscreen, suddenly quiet.
One of the competitors from Atlas called, "But what about Vale? Who's going to help?"
Professor Goodwitch sighed, looking up at the crowd grimly. "Vale is almost completely secured, students. However, we are not done. More Grimm are flocking to Beacon's campus as we speak, and the civilians here are going to need a long time to rebuild, heal, and move on from this day. We are in dire need of Huntsmen and Huntresses who are willing to work with us to restore peace to this Kingdom, however dark these times may be." She locked eyes with each individual in the crowd. When they landed upon Nora, Jaune and Ren, however, the blonde's gaze filled with guilt, quickly glancing away.
Her voice lowered, and the students all leaned forward in unison to catch her final words. "This isn't fair for us to ask of you," she murmured carefully. "You are just students- just children. It was our duty to protect you, and we have failed. We will never be able to convey to you how sorry we are." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "But, if you would be able to step up, your services would do much in re-establishing peace and stability within this Kingdom. No, within all of Remnant. We are going to need as many people as we can get. That is why," she looked back over the crowd, determination growing in her face, "we are asking for your help."
The audience of students was silent. Everyone was torn, glancing around at one another. The exchange students started murmuring amongst themselves slowly, concerned voices beginning to rise over the crowd. There were just so many questions- what was happening? Who was really responsible for the attack? Why did all of this happen?
What was going to happen from here on out?
"…but that dragon is dead, right? It got turned to stone," one student from Vacuo called worriedly.
Professor Goodwitch sighed, shaking her head. "It's… it's not exactly dead, we don't think. Further analysis is required."
That knowledge sent up a wave of anxious murmurs through the crowd.
Another worried voice called, "Didn't the CCT break? How are we going to use the system now?"
The blonde bit her lip, taking a deep breath before admitting, "There is no CCTS anymore. Not with Beacon's main tower down. However, local communications still work with smaller towers, and we've luckily been able to find local merchants and mobile sellers. If you are staying in the area, I would advise you to pick up an old phone to stay in touch with one another. If you decide to help out here, we will gladly supply those for you. Those systems work separate from the CCT, so while they aren't much and rely on your close proximity and a lack of interference between radio towers, they are still something."
The murmurs only grew. Not having the CCTS? But everything was on the CCTS- banking, journalism, entertainment, education, work. How would they communicate with anyone without it? How would they contact their families? How would the world go on?
Nora traded worried glances with Ren. "What should we do?" she whispered.
"I… I'm not sure yet," he replied, forehead creased in a perpetual frown.
After a few moments of uneasy chatter amongst the crowd, it was Jaune who raised his hand first. "I'll stay," he called, voice hoarse and eyes puffy.
Professor Goodwitch lowered her glasses to look at the blond. "…Mr. Arc, are you sure?"
His lip wobbled, but his expression remained resolute. "I'm not leaving Vale until we find Pyrrha. I'll stay and help until then, at least."
Ren's smile filled Nora's heart with warmth. Okay. That's our leader. In unison, the two childhood friends raised their hands, too. "We'll stay as well," Ren announced.
Nora added brightly, "We're a team, after all!"
Something in the Huntress's eyes flashed- something just a little broken, a little regretful. "Thank you," she finally muttered.
But their words had sparked something within everyone. Soon, more hands began to raise- Beacon students mostly, but some exchange students, as well. "Me too!" "So will I!" "I'm gonna get those Grimm back for hurting everyone!" "We've got to take back Beacon!" Their words rang clear through the air despite their exhaustion, and their expressions of grim defeat and fear quickly turned into willpower, confidence, and excitement.
The woman's eyes lit up as nearly every single student raised their hands, proudly banding together. "Thank you all," she breathed, her face surprisingly soft, pride growing in her smile as if a fire had be rekindled within her. Instantly, her entire demeanor changed- she pulled out her riding crop, smacking the end of it into her hand. "Well, in that case, we'll be putting you to work. Go outside and find the makeshift Huntsmen's barracks- we'll put you up in there for now. For those of you who still wish to leave- do not feel pressured to stay. This is a completely optional task, and I will not force it upon anyone."
That final line brought relieved smiles onto the faces of the few abstaining students, mostly consisting of the exchange students. They would be allowed to go home and finish their school year within their own Huntsman Academies. Nora didn't mind- she had no desire to go anywhere else. Beacon was her home now, and she was going to take it back, Grimm Dragon be damned. If others didn't feel the same way, though, that was their decision to make.
Once the majority of students had left the room, however, Jaune jogged up the Professor Goodwitch. "Have you heard about Pyrrha?" he asked breathlessly, hope shining in his eyes.
The woman froze for a moment, then replied, voice strained, "Not yet. I will keep you all updated once we have more thoroughly investigated the remains of the Wyvern."
"…we have no choice but to wait, is that it?" Jaune whispered.
"I'm sorry." And she really, truly did look so.
He let out a deep sigh. "…Okay. What should we do to help?"
The Huntress crossed her arms, shifting her weight. Nora gawked as she suddenly realized that the woman was still wearing her signature heeled boots, despite the fact that they were in the middle of a warzone. How the heck is she still standing?
She quickly turned her attention back to the woman's face as Professor Goodwitch said, "You need to get your rest. But if you are able to help immediately…" She paused, then turned to Ren. "Lie Ren. Your Semblance allows you to mask emotions, correct?"
He nodded sagely. "It can hide the presence of emotion from the Grimm."
She smiled wickedly. "There is the main evacuation camp down the road for those who have not already fled on the boats. How many people can you mask at once?"
He turned to Nora on instinct, at a loss. She answered for him, "He usually only tries with just one or two people at once, although we have had to use it on a group of ten before. It worked, though!"
The woman sighed. "Okay. It's a start."
Nora raised her hand. "What about me and Jaune?" Because Nora didn't want to just follow Ren aimlessly, dealing with civilians. She also didn't want to go home and rest, or see all the others. If I don't get something to do, then I'm either going to go recharge by electrocuting myself again, or the moment my Aura recharges I'm going to bust into Beacon myself. She knew it was an awful idea, but the urge was niggling at the back of her brain, and it was hard to say no.
Professor Goodwitch's smile grew even wider. "We can always use manual labour. Thankfully, you two are strong."
Nora looped her arm through Jaune's, squeezing it reassuringly. "You got it!"
The blonde nodded, briskly motioning for them to follow her. "Come with me."
Before they left, however, Jaune interjected, "Wait, um-" But Nora just squeezed his arm again.
"Not now, Jaune," she whispered as she dragged the boy along behind the professor. The blond was about to speak, but she added, "We'll find Pyrrha. She's our Invincible Girl, right?"
But the blond didn't answer, and Nora knew that her heart didn't really believe it, either. Not with the image of cinders and ash at the top of Beacon Tower still so fresh in her mind.
And so, the reconstruction process began.
The next two days were nothing but a blur. No news of Pyrrha ever came. Instead, it seemed as if everyone was dead-set on figuring out how to move on as soon as possible. People came and went. Exchange students disappeared, and even more Huntsmen arrived to aid in the relief efforts.
The rumours of how one of the Beacon students had used a secret power to stop the Grimm Dragon circulated around the safe zone like wildfire. Everyone gossiped constantly, contemplating who exactly had hidden an ability so powerful in magnitude that it could stop such a fearsome beast. The students knew the truth, though. It was Ruby- it just had to be. She was the only one up there, according to Weiss.
But, rumours stayed as only that- rumours. The young girl and her older sister were shipped off back home to Patch before anyone was the wiser, so thankfully they endured none of the questions that outsiders longed to ask.
Soon, both the Huntsmen and the civilians around them had begun referring to the night of the attack as the 'Fall of Beacon', in an effort to find a neutral name which they could use, rather than referring to it forever as 'that night'.
Nora didn't like that there was a name. Naming something meant that it was real. But if the Fall of Beacon had really happened, if everything which name insinuated had actually occurred… then that meant that she'd never go home again. She'd never again bounce on her bed, or giggle at Pyrrha over facemasks in the bathroom while they locked Weiss out, or make pancakes with Ren in the lounge, or poke fun at Jaune in class and over board games in the library. She'd never again arm wrestle and hold food fights with Yang in the dining hall, or nap while Blake read some boring novel by her side, or play video games with Ruby on the weekend in Team RWBY's bunk beds. She'd never again do any of that.
She didn't like the name, the 'Fall of Beacon'. She wanted it all to be nothing but a bad dream.
But every morning, she woke up in the small room she had been assigned with Jaune and Ren, and the day would begin anew. And it wouldn't be her bed in Beacon. And Pyrrha still wasn't there.
It was easy to get lost in her work. She was assigned to helping the engineers rewire the electrical grid so that they could get off the emergency power, since the Grimm had destroyed many of the main powerlines. Thanks to her Semblance, she was able to handle any of the errant sparks that came her way amidst the takedown of broken wires and mainlines, so her usefulness never faded. Soon, with her help, the entire city was back up and running off of their normal generators, and she could divert her attention to helping clear the rubble and carry equipment to rebuild.
The only bad thing was that her Aura, once it had finally recovered even just a little, was spent again almost instantly healing her damaged ribs. So, when she accidentally got hit in the face by a falling beam, the black eye didn't fade. When she had to fight an angry Ursa by hand without Magnhild by her side after the demon had snuck into the outskirts of the safe zone, the splits on her knuckles and the blood under her torn-up nails didn't heal. When she dropped a cinder block out of exhaustion onto her foot, all she could do was grimace and endure the pain as the doctor bandaged up the broken toes with a look of pity in his eyes, before sending her back to work on the power grid.
They just didn't have time to slow down.
Jaune was set up with building shelters for the civilians within the safe zones established. His work kept him busy- but every single time Nora crossed his path during the day, his eyes were hollow, his heart empty. He was never focused on the work. Instead, his eyes kept drifting back to Beacon in the distance, the sounds of Grimm shrieking and invading their beloved campus audible even from downtown Vale.
It was Ren who suffered the most during that time, however. Thanks to his Semblance, he was invaluable in the camps, constantly searching for the most volatile groups and projecting his Semblance over them, praying that it was enough to dull their scent from the Grimm still streaming in from the rest of Vale, heading towards Beacon. However, that meant that he was never allowed to rest. The civilians- men and women, old and young, everyone- they were all constantly scared.
In another world, the fear wouldn't matter. In Remnant, that mass hysteria meant death- and if Ren was only person who could block that out, then the Huntsmen in charge of watching over the civilians wouldn't grant him any respite if they could help it.
"You can't keep this up," Nora finally protested after three days of nearly-nonstop work. Ren's face was pale and haggard, but he shook his head, stumbling out from under his covers. "You've barely slept, Ren! It's only morning. Go sleep a little more, they'll be okay without you!"
"Nora's right," Jaune mumbled. "You have to stop."
Before the dark-haired boy could reply, his feet touched the ground, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed in a heap.
Jaune didn't even have time to flinch or process the ensuing thud before Nora had already leapt forward, scooping the taller boy up in her arms and kicking the window open. Glass shattered, the pane splintering as she shot her foot out, but she didn't care. Instead, she leapt out of their second-story room and sprinted to the infirmary a few streets down, ignoring Jaune's frantic cries following her through the camp.
No, Ren. You're going to be okay.
He had to be.
Soon, she had arrived at the infirmary. Bolting up the stairs two at a time, she heaved the boy up to the second floor where they were treating the Huntsmen. Her voice came out in babbling squeaks, intelligible even to her when she was finally intercepted by a doctor. Thankfully, they recognized both her and Ren, and quickly situated him in an empty bed. It was just exhaustion and overwork, they said. IV drips were hooked up to the unconscious boy's arms within the half hour, and a sedative was administered via needle to ensure he stayed asleep to rest. Nora was grateful he wasn't awake for that- Ren didn't like needles very much.
The beeping of his vitals, along with those of the numerous other injured Huntsmen, Huntresses, and students resting within the large room, echoed off of the white, sterile walls. Flimsy curtains were all that afforded each cramped bed some privacy, but Nora didn't mind. She immediately took the scant isolation to shuck off her shoes and crawl half-into the bed on his left side. She curled against him, holding the hand that was connected to the IV tenderly. "You'll be okay, Ren," she whispered, pressing a kiss into his shoulder. "You'll be okay."
He had to be okay. The thought of losing Ren suddenly struck her, sending her into a dizzying panic. For just a moment, her vision fell to black, and her heart leapt up into her throat, suffocating her. She couldn't breathe anymore.
She wouldn't breathe anymore, if Ren wasn't there.
But just as suddenly, she felt his hand twitch between hers, and the movement yanked her back down into reality. She took in a deep, gasping breath, calming herself. It's overwork. I'll make him rest. He'll be okay.
Jaune finally burst into the room, finding their little curtain-bound stall in a frenzy. "I'm so sorry, I was stopped by some injured kids along the way, I would've been here sooner," he babbled, taking a seat on a chair by Ren's right side. Worried eyes darting between Ren's sleeping face and Nora, he asked, "How is he?"
"Just overwork," she replied.
Then, the doctor swung by. "Look, kids," he murmured, pushing his greying hair out of his eyes, "you've all been working hard these last few days. Take tomorrow to rest. You all look like you need it."
"But-" Jaune protested, but the doctor held up a finger to silence him.
"No buts. I'll prepare some other beds in here, and you'll sleep here tonight."
"I don't need a bed," Nora murmured, curling closer into Ren's side. "I'll stay here."
The man's eyes remained impassive as he sighed. "Alright. Less work for me."
"Same here," Jaune murmured. "This chair's good."
The man shrugged. "Let me know if you need anything later, then." With that, he walked away, giving them some privacy.
Nora didn't know how long they sat there in silence. She drifted in and out of consciousness, the weariness from the past few days finally catching up to her. Each time she woke up from her daze, her eyes immediately sought out Ren's face- but every single time, he was just as still and colourless as before. Her heart would seize and ache every time, and she'd close her eyes again, letting herself drift off once more.
It was only when footsteps approached their tiny cubicle that Nora allowed herself to focus on anything other than Ren himself. Standing suddenly at the foot of the bed were Professor Goodwitch and Qrow, Ruby's uncle. They both look utterly exhausted.
However, now that she was seeing Qrow under actual lights, she felt something uneasy shift in her heart. There was something familiar about his profile, but she just couldn't place it. How… how do I know this guy?
She didn't have time to think on the details. Qrow mumbled, "Glynda, should I really be here? This isn't my place."
Nora traded a troubled glance with Jaune. Do you know why…?
He shook his head slightly, then turned back to the two Huntsmen.
The Huntress took something out of Qrow's hands. Nora strained her neck slightly to see what it was. To her surprise, it was a large, bulky bundle, wrapped up in multiple layers of black cloth tied up with twine. The woman then placed it upon the free space at the foot of Ren's bed. "We found this. It belongs to you now." Her voice was uncharacteristically gentle, and to Jaune's surprise, she walked over, ran a kind hand from his hair down to his shoulder, squeezed it, then stepped back. The actions were both so mechanical and so organic that Nora wanted to look away, feeling as if she were intruding. Something was going on, and she didn't like it.
"Professor-" she tried to say, but her voice squeaked and caught in her throat.
Thankfully, Professor Goodwitch stopped her. "Know that I- we- are so, so sorry for your loss... I wish we could convey to you just how much we regret not being there in time."
Loss? Her eyes darted down to the parcel, back up to the woman's pale green eyes. Dread blossomed in her chest, and she almost gagged. No. No, it can't…
The weary man by her side shoved his hands into his pockets. With a frustrated sigh, he explained, "We found it in the… in the wreckage after the Fall. When Ruby found out about this, she begged us to hand it off to you. We thought there may be family who'd want it, but the kiddo wouldn't stop, so here we are."
Professor Goodwitch looked as if she were about to say something, but she caught herself in time. Instead, she said, her sincerity shining sadly in her eyes, "You're her team. You deserve it."
Jaune attempted to pull open the package, but Qrow stopped him. "Your buddy over there has been using his Semblance for days, kid. If you open it while he's unconscious, he'll probably automatically extend his Semblance over you two again. He doesn't need that kind of strain right now. Let him rest."
The blond didn't respond, allowing the weight of those words to settle around the occupants of the room like shackles binding them in place. Nora gulped heavily. We'll need Ren. We're going to be broken if we open that, is that it? When no one spoke, she clarified, "We'll… we'll need his Semblance?"
"Ren has been invaluable in quelling some of the panic over the last few days," the woman replied. "Downtown Vale may never have been pushed off the radar if he hadn't masked the emotions in the evacuation zones from the Grimm during the height of the panic. And, I wish we could say we won't need him again once he recovers, but…"
There was nothing but silence. Nora's eyes were affixed upon the bundle. We're going to have to do this without Ren.
She made no move to touch the parcel. No- I don't want to touch it. Jaune muttered in her absence, "I'll open it outside," as he hugged the black baggage to his heart.
Instinctively, she reached out, grabbing his sleeve. "I'll stay here." She locked eyes with him, holding him firmly in place. "Just… maybe you should calm down before you come back." Ren can't afford to calm us down if we fall apart.
"We can trade after." I won't come back unless if I'm okay, his eyes replied.
She smiled, relieved at his understanding. Now that that was taken care of, she pushed the thoughts of the parcel out of her mind. Closing her eyes, she let herself drift off again, gently stroking Ren's hand. We'll keep you safe, Nora thought lovingly. Just get better for us.
She didn't know when Qrow and Professor Goodwitch and Jaune all left, but when she awoke once more, it was after nightfall. Jaune shook her awake. "Nora. It's your turn."
Nora grimaced, shifting upright on the bed. She had clearly slept the day away. Thanks to that, she felt much better, she realized- she wiggled her toes quickly and felt much less, and a quick touch to the area around her eye proved that the skin was no longer as swollen. Even the wounds on her hands had mostly healed. She clenched her fist, feeling alive and vibrant again. It wasn't perfect, and it would take a lot more time for her Aura to replenish completely, but it was something, at least.
She took one look back up into Jaune's face, and that life drained out of her instantly.
His eyelids were bloated and so inflamed they seemed almost purple in the darkness. Normally sky-blue eyes were glassy and bloodshot, looking past the girl, at the wall behind her head. His lips were parted, swollen and torn after clearly being bitten anxiously over and over again. In a hoarse voice, he repeated, "Nora, go. It's your turn."
In his arms was the bundle. Nora reached out, grabbing hold of it for the first time. She could clearly feel in the darkness the shape of metal pressing against her hand. As if electrocuted, the orange-haired girl let go of it, jumped off of the bed, then carefully pushed Ren to the side of his bed. He didn't stir. Patting the empty space she had left for him, she whispered, "Sleep. Don't touch Ren in your state, just sleep."
Wordlessly, the blond complied, handing the bundle completely off to her before crawling onto the stark white bedsheets. It looked almost ridiculous- two tall, fully grown young men desperately trying to fit on a single bed. Nora didn't laugh.
She waved goodbye and darted out of the door. Everywhere she turned, there were people. She didn't want there to be people. She just needed Ren, she needed to be alone, she needed Pyrrha.
And she got her.
She found herself back in their barracks. Turning on their lamp, she lay the parcel upon their desk, unwrapping it slowly. Some of the material was slightly damp. She knew it was from Jaune's tears.
After what felt like an eternity, everything was laid bare before her. Pyrrha's circlet. Pyrrha's shield. Pyrrha's sword.
But it wasn't Pyrrha's stuff, not really.
The circlet was charred and dirty, soot staining the once-breathtaking golden piece. One of the chains that used to dangle down around her ears was broken, falling limply. The other chain was missing outright. This wasn't the piece that used to sit on her forehead every single day, whether they were in their battle armour or not. Closing her eyes, Nora could easily see the bright, shining ornament sitting on top of perfectly manicured brows- oh god, how she had hated those brows at first, and the fact that Pyrrha didn't have to pluck them since they were natural and that just wasn't fair and- and the most honest, sincere, open jade eyes she had ever seen.
The shield was bent and scuffed, but other than that, it was whole. Nora didn't care. It wasn't sitting on Pyrrha's back, underneath her long mane of deep crimson hair. It wasn't upon the girl's arm, acting as the perfect platform to launch Nora up in the air so she could deliver a finishing strike. Therefore, it wasn't Pyrrha's.
The sword wasn't even a sword anymore. The weapon had been melted apart into three separate pieces, the wounds upon them ugly and garish. The blade was utterly dulled, and the colours were leaden and lifeless. Nora numbly picked up the hilt, pushing the trigger she had seen Pyrrha press so many times before. With each press, she waited for it- would it become a rifle? A javelin? A robot suit? She didn't know what the weapon was capable of. It wasn't as if she had seen Pyrrha use it for very long.
It had been only seven months.
I only had her in my life for seven months.
And so, Nora curled up on the desk, clutching the hilt of Miló in her hand, whispering, "Transform it already, Pyrrha," over and over and over again until her freshly-healed voice was hoarse and raw once more. There were no sobs which wracked her frame, no wails to ring through the town, no curses at the heavens for taking away Nora's closest friend, her family. The tears just ran silently down her cheeks, and she let them.
She would cry fully, wholly, completely tonight. And after that, she'd focus on helping Ren and Jaune heal. They needed her to be the happy Nora they knew- because if they lost both Nora and Pyrrha that night, the boys would break.
I won't let that happen, Pyrrha. I'll take care of them for you, I promise.
She sat there for a long time, letting the sorrow intermingle with the pride she felt for the other girl. For every pang of heartbreak and misery, she would think back to the times that made her smile. For every single horrible thought that crossed her mind, she let herself revel in the warmth that Pyrrha had always made her feel. And, by the time she had dried her eyes and wandered back to the makeshift hospital, bundle rewrapped and clutched close to her chest, and she had curled up at the foot of the bed while the two boys slept away their exhaustion, her heart sang with love and affection for the other girl, vowing to do whatever she could to live up to the heroine she had grown to adore more than anything.