Chapter Two: Choices

As Jamie Black walked the streets of downtown Vale, he found they were eerily silent for the early afternoon. Most of the people who would normally be perusing the many shops and restaurants were gathered around the Council Building and City Hall in protest of the attack on Mistral. He would be among the people making his voice heard as well, if it weren't for the one thing, the one person on his mind. His fiancé Ember Haze.

When Jamie arrived at the Vale Airship Docks, he had to push his way through the crowd of people there to see if their loved ones had made it home. But by the time he got through there was no sign of his beloved. He only knew she was there because he had asked one of the Atlesian medics who was onboard the transport if they'd seen her, to which they confirmed she was on board. He knew Ember, with all that was good and flawed about her, he knew where she'd be. The same place she always went when she was upset, out to get hammered, or both.

A long line of motorcycles was parked outside the biker bar, at least a dozen. Hawk's Saloon was the name of the establishment. It was a rowdy place, somewhere where you could have a drink and engage in some fisticuffs afterwards. Jamie had come to know the owner of the establishment as he'd come to pick up his fiancé more than once after she'd drunk herself into a haze and beaten up a biker gang or two.

Jamie opened the door of the saloon and to his left a large burley man crashed through the window. He looked to him as the man groaned in pain and passed out.

He sighed, "here goes nothing."

Jaime entered the building and was immediately tackled to the ground, a chair smashing to pieces against the wall where he'd once been standing. The person who tackled him was Hawk Redwing, the owner of this establishment. She had a tall neon green mohawk, her head shaved to stubble on the sides. With that she also had a golden nose ring, black lipstick and eyeshadow, and her bare arms were tattooed heavily from shoulder to wrist. She also wore a zipped sleeveless black leather jacket with metal stubs strewn about it, with tattered blue-jeans underneath black leather chaps.

The two sat up behind the overturned table they were now behind. They quickly ducked their heads and covered their eyes as a heavy bottle shattered against the rim of the table and showered them in glass shards.

Hawk picked up the bottle and inspected it. She sighed and peaked over the table while displaying the broken bottle, "stay away from the top shelf! This stuff's expensive dammit!"

"Thanks for that Hawk," Jamie said as he brushed shards of glass out of his brown hair.

"Don't mention it," she replied with a serious tone. "Yo, you think you can get your girl to stop tearing up my bar?"

"Doesn't this sorta thing happen here regularly?" Jamie retorted.

"Well… yea… But this is something else," Hawk replied.

Two large men charged Ember. She redirected the first man's momentum and sent him stumbling away. The second, she swept his legs from under him and chopped her hand into his sternum, sending him crashing to the ground.

Another man smashed a stool over Ember's back causing her to stumble forward, but her aura dampened the blow. He attacked Ember once more, this time using the broken off legs of that same stool.

The huntress caught his makeshift weapons as he swung them down upon her. She wrenched them from his hands and headbutt him in the forehead. He fell over unconscious and she staggered, the bandages about her head coming a bit loose.

She was caught off guard and the first man who'd attacked her. He landed a heavy jab to her right jaw. Ember stumbled back, catching herself on the bar behind her. She quickly spun around to face her assailant and held up her hand, nonverbally asking for a second to catch her breath.

The man obliged and Ember proceeded to grab a bottle of rum from behind the bar. Her eyes met with the bartender who was hiding behind the countertop, fear filled him for a moment, but he was relieved when the drunken boxer looked away. She pulled the bottle's cork out with her teeth and spat it to the ground. She then took a hearty chug of the citrusy alcoholic liquid.

She slammed the bottle onto the bar and stepped forward from it, taking her 'proper' drunken stance. She beckoned her opponent to attack.

"Don't do it dude," Jamie said under his breath as he watched the fight.

The man charged Ember. She caught him by the wrist as he threw a punch and proceeded to throw him over her shoulder and into the shelves of alcohol behind the bar. With a great crash the bottles fell to the ground and shattered, spilling out their contents all over the stained wooden floors. The man groaned when he hit the ground.

The look Hawk had on her face after this was like something had died a little inside of her. She looked to Jamie, "you're paying for this."

He didn't look at her, "yea, send me the bill when you get it."

Jamie stood from behind the table as the fighting had seemed to die down. He approached his wife- t- be and grasped her softly on the shoulder. But Ember's adrenalin was still pumping strong. She whipped around, knocking his hand from her shoulder and grabbed him by the throat.

Her eyes went wide with realization. "Jamie?" The stench of alcohol lingered on her breath.

"Hey there Em," He replied with a nervous smile.

She let go of his neck as her arm and body went limp from exhaustion. As she fell, Jamie grabbed her and made sure she didn't hit the ground with any notable force. Ember buried her face into her husband-to-be's chest and began balling her eyes out. Jamie said nothing and just held her comfortingly tight.

Back at the hospital where Ruby was, her wife and daughter had stayed the night with her. It had been a while since the three of them were truly together and they'd wanted to make that time last for as long as they could. At least until the doctors cleared Ruby to return home. It was still hard though, seeing the once prolific huntress that was Ruby Rose in her current state. Bianca still beat herself up about what happened to her mother, but slowly she began to accept that it wasn't entirely her fault. Though, she still does blame herself a little.

Bianca had made her way to the hospital's cafeteria to fetch some breakfast for her parents and herself. It was a ways away, but not incredibly far. As she made her way through the maze of halls and corridors she glanced into an open and froze in her tracks. Lying unconscious on the bed was Cyrus, her partner. She entered the room quietly, her hands fidgeting nervously at her sides.

She looked down upon him. Bandages wrapped around his chest and shoulders, concentrating around where his right arm used to be. She pressed her hands to her face as she began to cry, saturating her palms in the saline drops. She hated herself for what happened to him. First her mother sacrificed herself to save her and then she failed at doing the same for someone she loved as well. At this rate she believed she wouldn't be able to help any of her loved ones or save their lives if the situation called for it.

"What the fuck are you doing in here!?" A familiar voice called from the doorway.

Bianca turned to see her teammate Lucas stomp into the room, closing and locking the door behind himself. The look on his face was full of nothing but anger and contempt for his team leader.

Bianca wiped the tears from her face, "Lucas… I-I'm…"

She didn't get to finish what she'd said as he coldcocked her across the chin, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground. Shock filled Bianca's body as she pushed herself to a kneeling position. Her hand was pressed against the spot where Lucas's fist had connected with her chin.

"Lu…"

"Shut up!" Lucas shouted. "You're not going to guilt trip me with your whole 'I'm not good enough, woe is me' bullshit!"

Lucas breathed heavy and angrily as he looked down up his team leader. She said nothing to him, staying quiet as he had ordered her to do. In her mind she knew he was right; she had no room to speak as it was her fault Cyrus was in the condition he was.

"You're a disgrace," he said with a finger in her face. "You know you're every bit as good as anyone else training to be a huntsman. But your goddammed pessimistic attitude is what holds you back. That's why my brother lost his arm!"

"I… I tried…" she replied timidly.

"Bull fucking shit you tried!" Lucas shouted in response. "If you really put everything you had into saving him you could've! But you didn't. If you really cared about my brother, you would've thrown yourself in front of that woman's blade…Just like your mother did for you."

Lucas reached down and grabbed Bianca by her bicep, aggressively yanking her to her feet. She didn't protest his harsh treatment of her.

"I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told Alyssa," Lucas glowered at Bianca. "I don't want to see or talk to either of you ever again. Especially you. If I do, I'll kill you myself. Is that clear?"

Bianca looked to the ground and nodded to Lucas's words.

"Good. Now get out of my sight before I gut you here and now," he commanded.

Bianca did as he said and promptly left the room. She looked back to see Lucas looking down over Cyrus, his fists clenched and full of anger. With a loud cry he punched the wall. His aura shimmered, dampening the impact to his knuckles but it still left a dent in the drywall. She closed the door as he glanced to see her still standing in the doorway.

Bianca quickly shut the door and ran as Lucas looked at her. She raced through the halls of the hospital, nearly knocking down several people on her way back to her mother's room. Her chin was throbbing from where she'd been punched, and was undoubtably bruised, but the tears streaming down her face didn't stem from any physical pain. Lucas hated her. Not only had she failed to save one of her teammates, but now another hated her because of it. She felt she was a failure as a leader. A failure as a friend. She began to think that maybe Alyssa hated her too because of this. If she did, she wouldn't blame her. Team BLAC was no more and it was all her fault.

Bianca approached the door to the room her parents were in. Ruby was still lying in the hospital bed, her nonfunctional legs covered by the plain white blanket the nurses had given her. Weiss on the other hand was sitting in a chair adjacent to the bed. The two were talking, they looked happy. Seeing them this way made Bianca's mood lighten a little, but it couldn't entirely overcome her self-hatred.

Ruby and Weiss looked over to Bianca as she entered the room. Her somber expression wasn't lost on them. "Are you ok honey?" Weiss asked.

"I'm fine," Bianca lied.

Ruby and Weiss looked to one another. They didn't for a second believe nothing was up. They quickly looked back to their daughter, stern yet soft expressions graced their faces.

"Bianca, sweetie," Ruby stated. "We're your parents. We know when you're lying to us. Besides, that welt on your chin gives it away, whatever you're hiding."

Bianca looked away from her parents and put a hand on where her teammate had punched her. "Lucas punched me. He said what happened to Cyrus was my fault, that it should've been me, not him to have gotten hurt or… died."

"That boy did what now?" Weiss's voice lowered to a growl; her question completely rhetorical. Weiss may have been the least intimidating of the whole of the former Team RWBY, but when someone threatened or attacker her daughter, she turned into a mama bear. Afterall, the Grimm hath no fury like a mother protecting her child.

Ruby placed a hand on one of her wife's balled fists. "Honey, please calm down."

Weiss unballed her fists and took a deep breath, "I'm still going to give that boy a piece of my mind whenever I see him."

"He also said he'd kill me if he ever saw me again," Bianca added.

At this Weiss just about jumped from her seat. She was only stopped by Ruby's iron grip on her hand. There was fire in her icy eyes. Had she had Myrtenaster with her, this hospital would've become a warzone. She sat back down and crossed her arms in anger.

"Weiss, you need to stay calm," Ruby said. "We need to be here for our daughter. This is going to be a tough time for her. Do you remember when our team broke up after the fall."

"We never fought among ourselves because of that," Weiss stated. "Not even Yang and Blake fought, and their partnership was hit the most by it."

"You have a point," Ruby conceded. "But we don't need to act rashly. They're children and they just went through a very traumatic experience, just like we did."

Weiss sighed. "Yea, you're right."

Ruby and Weiss looked to their daughter and urged her to come to them. They gripped their daughter in a tight embrace. The hug was long and full of love, the love the two mothers had for their daughter.

"We're here for you sweetie, you can come to us if you ever need to talk about something." Ruby said.

"Yea," Weiss added. "And please try not to hide things from us in the future."

Bianca hugged her mothers a little tighter. "Ok," she said softly.

There was a knock at the door behind them. The family turned to see a doctor enter the room. He was about Ruby and Weiss's age, maybe a little older. "Am I interrupting something? I can come back later if you'd like."

Ruby chuckled a little, "you're fine doctor. Please, come in."

The doctor approached the three women as Weiss and Bianca took their seats in a pair of chairs next to Ruby's bed. He looked down at his large scroll before speaking.

"Mrs. Rose, I feel it's time to discuss your options going forward."

"And what would those be?" Ruby inquired.

"Well, given the seriousness of your injuries you have two options." The doctor paused and held out his scroll, projecting a three-dimensional x-ray of Ruby's lower spine. "Option one is the simplest procedure. We'd go into your back and remove the damaged vertebrae and spinal cords and implant cybernetic replacements. With a short adjustment period of about three to six weeks you'll be able to not only walk, but also run, jog, exercise, all that."

Ruby and Weiss seemed happy about this news, but it came with a catch as the doctor soon explained.

"However, you won't be able to put a great amount of physical exertion on these cybernetics for a long period of time. If you choose this option, I'm afraid you'll have to retire from your duties as a huntress."

The room went a bit cold at this revelation, but the silence was cut by Weiss. "What about the second option?"

"The second option if much more complex," he said as he projected a three-dimensional outline of a human body from his scroll. "Keeping it brief, it involves the complete amputation of Mrs. Rose's lower half and its replacement with cybernetics and robotic prosthetics. With this option you'd be able to resume your duties as a huntress after a two to four month adjustment period."

Bianca, Weiss, and the doctor looked to Ruby as she milled over her options. Either way she would get to walk again. But only one option would allow her to continue living her dream as a huntress. The last twenty-five years of her life had been a great adventure, from her time at Beacon, to saving the world, and then finishing her training and becoming what she dreamed of. She thought of all the adventures she'd been on with all the friends she'd made. But then she thought of those she'd lost on those adventures, to this life she lived. She thought of her mother and how she never got to know her, and how her death affected Yang and their father. Not many Huntsmen get to retire and live peacefully. A lot die in the line of duty, and many more are mentally scarred for the rest of their lives from the things they've seen. Ruby was lucky to only have physical scars up to this point.

She nodded for a moment as she collected her thoughts and came to a decision. "I'll go with the first option."

Bianca leaned forward, "mom, are you sure?"

"Yes," Ruby replied with a light, yet confident tone. "I've spent most of my life fighting to protect others. To protect those I love, not caring for a second what happens to me. That's the very reason I'm in this situation now. I'd do it all again too. The last twenty years of my life have been some of the most rewarding times for me, but I turned forty while I was in a coma and I'm not getting any younger." She looked to her daughter and then her wife, "I think it's time to hang up Crescent Rose."

"Very well," the doctor nodded. "Now, I understand that your brother-in-law, Mr. Whitley Schnee will be covering the cost of the operation plus your hospital bills correct?"

"Yes," Ruby said.

Bianca sat up a moment, hearing that her Uncle Whitley was paying for her mother's operation gave her and idea that brought hope and life back into her heart.

"Alright," the doctor typed something down in his scroll. "We'll begin the operation in two days' time. Does that work for you?"

Ruby nodded.

"Ok, I'll leave you three alone now."

"Thank you, doctor," Weiss said.

After the doctor left the room, Bianca stood and began to leave as well gaining the attention of her parents.

"Where are you going sweetie?" Ruby asked.

"I need to make a call," Bianca replied. "Do either of you know where the CCT room is?"

"Head down the hall to your right, it'll be on your first left," Weiss said.

Bianca followed her mother's directions and soon arrived at the hospital's CCT room. She sat down at an empty terminal and typed in the number of the person she wished to call. After a few moments a man a few years younger than her mother Weiss answered. He was clean shaven with neatly groomed hair was just as white as hers and he possessed a similar eye color as well. Most of his clothing was cut off by the edges of the screen, but Bianca could make out that he was wearing an icy blue suit jacket with a matching dress shirt and a white tie.

"Ah, hello there Bianca! How's my favorite niece doing today?" The man said.

"Hey Uncle Whitley," Bianca smiled. "It's nice to see you, how've you and your family been?

"We've been doing great," he replied. "Your Aunt Ada is away on a business trip at the moment and your cousin Bernadotte is currently at school. But anyway, did you want to talk about something or were you just calling to say hi?"

"Actually, there was something I'd like to ask you," Bianca said. "But first, I just wanted to thank you for offering to pay for my mother's operation and hospital bills."

"It was no problem," Whitley waved his hand nonchalantly. "Ruby is family after all. And I'd do anything for my family."

"Even so, thank you uncle." Bianca said.

"Now, what is it you wanted to ask of me Bianca?" Whitley inquired.

"Well, during the attack on Haven," Bianca paused as she remembered that horrid night. Like a waking nightmare it flooded back to her mind. She had to take a moment to compose herself.

"Are you alright?" Whitley asked as his niece sat silent.

"Sorry, just spaced out for a moment," Bianca said. "What I was trying to say was that during the attack on Haven, one of my friends got badly hurt…"

A few hours had past since Lucas's confrontation with his former team leader. His anger had subsided for the most part as he watched the tv across from his brother's bed. Lucas pondered his verbal and physical assault on Bianca for a while as part of him seemed to feel guilty for it. In his mind he knew himself to be right, that she'd given up on saving his brother, but he couldn't help but feel conflicted by his disdain for her. Then there was his partner, Alyssa. He'd cut ties with her as well. Before Alyssa came to the defense of her cousin against him, Lucas had considered Alyssa to be his best friend, the two had bonded and become close over their time on Team BLAC. He wanted to be angry with her as much as he was with Bianca. He wanted that anger without the sickening feeling of guilt that came with it. Why would he of all people right now feel guilty? It wasn't his own fault that Cyrus was hurt.

Lucas was pulled out of his thoughts by a light rustling next to him. He saw his brother push himself to a sitting position with his left arm, groaning a bit as he moved. Lucas quickly jumped to his feet to help Cyrus to a sitting position.

"Whoa there Cyrus, take it easy now," Lucas said.

Cyrus groaned lightly, "how long was I out for?"

"A few days," Lucas replied. "But listen to me for a second. Now, don't freak out but you were hurt bad…"

Cyrus glanced from his brother to where his right arm had once been when he noticed he couldn't feel it. He stared at the stump upon his shoulder for a moment as Lucas prepared himself to try and calm his brother down for the impending freak out.

Cyrus sighed and then looked back to his brother. He smirked at Lucas, "tis but a scratch."

"A scrat…!" Lucas rolled his eyes and buried his face into his palm, "did you seriously just quote Motley Python and the Sacred Relic?"

"I could have quoted Life of Briar too, but this one was a better fit," Cyrus said with a giant smirk. "Even so, we always should look on the bright side of life."

"God dammit Cyrus!" Lucas raised his voice. "This isn't something to make jokes about!"

"Hey, calm down bro." Cyrus said. "Would you rather me make jokes or be freaking the fuck out right now? Because this is the only thing keeping that from happening."

"I want you to take this seriously," Lucas stated.

"I am taking this seriously… In my own way," Cyrus replied.

Lucas sighed, "whatever. I'm just glad you're alive."

There was a brief silence between the brothers as they were happy they got to see one another again. Lucas had been in a dark place since his brother was on death's door, but now that he was awake and mostly well he was happy.

"So… did Bianca and Alyssa make it out of Mistral ok?" Cyrus asked.

Lucas looked away from his brother as his expression soured and his fists balled tight. All were noticed by Cyrus.

Before Lucas could find a way to change the subject, one of the doctors walked into the room. A middle-aged woman with brown hair and golden eyes. "Oh, Mr. Grey, you're awake. Tell me, how are you feeling?"

"Tired, a little sore, and my right side feels a bit lighter than normal," he said with a joking tone.

Lucas rolled his eyes and sighed at his brother's continued humor at the situation, all the while the doctor took notes down in her scroll.

"Any pain in your right shoulder?" She asked, ignoring his joke.

"No," Cyrus replied.

"That's good," she said.

"Did you come to check up on my brother or is there anything else you need doctor?" Lucas interjected.

"Yes actually," the doctor said. She pulled up some information on her scroll, "it seems you two have friends in high places. A Mr. Whitley Schnee, the Owner and CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, has offered to cover your medical expenses including the cost of a prosthetic arm."

"Whitly Schnee…" Cyrus pondered the name for a moment. "Oh! That's Bianca's uncle. Lucky us!" Cyrus looked to Lucas. His brother subtly sneered at Bianca's name. Cyrus looked back to the doctor, "can you give us a minute please?"

"Of course," she said with a nod.

After she'd left the room Cyrus looked to Lucas. "Hey man, are you ok? You seem upset about something. What happened while I was out?"

Lucas turned away from Cyrus, "we don't need their money."

"Dude, it's Bianca. She's probably blaming herself for this right now, not that she should." Cyrus motioned to his missing arm. "Besides, you know how rich people are with their money; she probably had to grovel and beg her uncle to help us."

"We. Don't. Need it." Lucas stated.

"How much did they say a replacement arm would cost?" Cyrus inquired.

"Fifty thousand," Lucas said quietly.

"Yea, and do either of us have fifty grand laying around? No, we don't," he said condescendingly. "Not even Sonny has that kind of spare cash. So how are you going to pay for…" Cyrus's eyes widened. "Lucas, you weren't thinking of what I think you are, are you?"

"I've already got a meeting scheduled with Junior Xiong." Lucas said. "He needs a job done and is willing to pay handsomely for it."

"Lucas you can't," Cyrus said.

He turned back towards his brother, "it's the only way Cyrus!"

"No, it's not!" Cyrus shouted back. "Bianca just got her uncle to…"

"I'm not taking any money from her or her family when she's the one who got you put in here in the first place!" Lucas yelled.

Cyrus sat up. He was stunned by his brother's words, "you don't believe that, do you?"

Lucas was silent.

"You know damn well she tries her hardest to protect her friends," Cyrus continued. "Besides, that woman we were fighting was more powerful than any of us could handle. I doubt we could've taken her even if we were fully trained huntsmen. She could've died."

"Then she should have," Lucas sneered.

"Get out," Cyrus said sternly.

Lucas turned to walk out of the room, his expression was one of complete and utter contempt for this whole situation. He said nothing to his brother as he made his way out of the room.

"And send the doctor in if you see her!" Cyrus shouted. "I'm taking that offer whether you like it or not!"

Lucas slammed to door as he left the room.