Remember the Heroes

Chapter 6

The Failure


Her scroll rang, Duffy. She didn't want to tell him what she found out. She didn't want the police to storm Jaune's house. She needed to talk to him, friend to friend. That was the only way this could go down. She stopped at Jaune's apartment, found door 311 and knocked. No response. She opened it and stepped inside. The same messy apartment greeted her, unfortunately for her, the place was empty. Shen went through every pile, dug through every drawer. No sign of velvet's weapon. Nor any sign of Jaune. The reality of it was beginning to hit her.

Her scroll rang again. Duffy again. She answered it.

"Miss Rose, there has been a development." Duffy said. "Witnesses say they heard screaming coming from a motel by the waterfront. Reports of a figure in black wearing a skimask dragging a body into the motel."

"So our killer struck again?" Ruby said. "Did you release Cardin?"

"We're holding him until confirmation." Duffy said. "We have the motel surrounded, looks like a hostage situation. We're waiting for our negotiator."

"I'll handle it." Ruby said. "I think I know who it is."

"You do?" Duffy asked. "Who?"

"Just let me handle this." Ruby said. She hung up. She heard a knock on the door.

"Where's Jaune?" Yang asked.

"Long story, I'll tell you along the way, I need your help." Ruby said.

"You got it." Yang replied.

They arrived to find the Motel a mess. They couldn't see into the motel room, though snipers were set up anyways. Ruby and Yang approached Captain Gorlois and Duffy. The captain didn't look too happy.

"So I'm being told you are handling our negotiation?" The captain asked. "A lot of risk we're taking here. This could end with the hostage being killed."

"I can handle it." Ruby said. "I know the killer, I can talk him down."

"We've got this." Yang said.

"Who's this?" Captain Gorlois asked. "Another huntress?"

"My sister, we'll handle this Captain Gorlois. You can count on us!" Ruby said.

"I should have just retired." Gorlois mumbled.


They approached the room. Yang kicked the door down. They found two figures in the room. One tied to a chair, the other standing behind him. Him. Jaune was tied to the chair. Ruby froze. Did she have it all wrong? The figure removed her mask. Orange hair and blue-green eyes. Ruby shook her head.

"Nora. What did you do?" Ruby asked.

"What I had to do." She said.

"But why?" Ruby asked. "What could possibly make you do something like this?"

"Haven't you ever thought about it Ruby?" Nora asked. "How these scumbags got to live? When everyone else..." The words were stuck in her throat. She paused for a moment. "...didn't make it. They did. It's not right Ruby."

"Ren died a hero Nora." Yang said. "He wouldn't want this."

"You don't know that!" Nora said. "He's gone, how can you possibly know that?"

Ruby studied her. Her nervous twitch, her eyes were wide. She looked derranged. She didn't have her weapon out, but she could see Velvet's weapon on her belt. Ruby needed more answers. She wanted to understand.

"How did you get Velvet's weapon?" Ruby asked.

"A few years back I found it cleaning his apartment, I took it." She said. She glanced at Jaune. His eyes were glazed over. "He wasn't using it."

"How did you move the bodies without being caught?" Ruby asked.

"She helped me." She said.

"Who's she?" Ruby asked.

"You wouldn't understand." Nora said. "She found me, she helped me understand. I must do this. I must free this city of it's filth, to honor those who died. To remember the heroes that gave their lives for this city. For Pyrrha..." She paused again. Her eyes were starting to water. "For Ren."

"It sounds to me you are being manipulated." Ruby said. Nora shook her head. "This doesn't honor them. They died defending everyone in this city, scumbag or not."

"Not true, not right, not fair." Nora said. "I don't want to hurt you Ruby, or you Yang. I'll do it if I have to, nothing can stop me. I'm on a quest."

"You need help Nora." Yang said.

"Like you're one to talk." Nora said. "You've spent ten years moping about because your too proud to admit you need help."

"Not anymore." Yang said. "I'm done with that."

"That's true." Nora said. She drew a hardlight copy of the rapier, Myrtenaster. "You are in my way, I clearly have no choice."

Ruby and Yang drew their weapons. Jaune stood up at last.

"No." Jaune said.

"No?" They all asked.

"This isn't happening." Jaune said. "We are not killing each other over this."

"Jaune." Nora said. "I'm doing this for us. For JNPR."

"No you aren't." Jaune said. "You're doing this because you are scared. You're doing this because you let yourself listen to some psycho out there."

"I'm honoring them." Nora said. "You're starting to sound like them."

"What of it." Jaune said. "Are you going to kill me too? How does that honor Pyrrha? How does that honor Ren?" He walked towards her. She backed up, aiming Myrtenaster at him.

"It. It. Get back!" Nora cried out thrusting.

"Jaune!" Ruby shouted. The blade had pierced his chest. His aura didn't even stop it. He continued walking. Blood dripping from the hardlight blade. Nora froze.

"I'm sorry." Nora said. "I'm sorry, I didn't. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

Jaune pulled her into a hug. Nora started sobbing. Blood continued to drip from the wound. The blade vanished. His legs started to buckle. Nora held him up. Yang went took a step forward but Ruby stopped her.

"I'm so sorry." Nora said. "I was. I thought I was. I was doing it for us."

"I know." Jaune said. "I know you were."

"She told me to do it. She told me it was the right thing." Nora said.

"I'm sure she did." Jaune said. "But that doesn't matter. It's over now."

"What do I do Jaune?" Nora asked. "I did things. Horrible things?"

"Do the right thing." Jaune said. "Turn yourself in."

"But." She mumbled. "I'm scared."

"It's okay." Jaune said. "I'll visit you. I'm still your friend, your leader. I'll look out for you..."

He started to slump over. Nora started shaking him.

"Jaune?" Nora asked.

"We need to get him to the EMTs." Yang said. "I can carry him."

"Nora, come with me." Ruby said. "Leave the weapon."

"Okay." Nora said. She placed a wooden box on the floor. "I'm so sorry Ruby."

The police arrested Nora Valkyrie for the murders of twenty four people. When interrogated she confirmed that the faunus were former members of the white fang. Some were still proud members. The Torchwick connection, was the discovery that Torchwick armed the white fang with dust and weaponry during the months before the Battle of Beacon. Torchwick was shortly apprehended. His trial is in a months time.

Nora kept mentioning "her" or "she". She didn't say who she spoke of, but whoever they were, they manipulated her into action. She said that "she" made so much sense at the time, she seemed so righteous. Ruby didn't like the sound of that. There was a loose end. She hated loose ends. Duffy laughed at her, he told her she was beginning to sound like a detective.

Jaune recovered. He claimed she lured him out to convince him to join her crusade. He said he'd honor his bargain with her. He'd look out for her. She deserved it. Jaune decided he needed to make strides to better himself. Nora brought up a good point to him, what was he doing to honor his team. JNPR might be no more, but their memory deserved veneration. Jaune set off to become a hunstman again.

Cardin was released, he took his mask back and told Ruby he was continuing as the Martyr. He wasn't quite ready yet. He thanked her for helping her. Ruby never liked Cardin, but it was strange now she might even consider him a friend after this. She never thought she'd see the day.

Yang offered to continue hunting and asked Ruby if she'd like to hunt together again, just like old times. Yang acknowledged she needed help sometimes, but was always nervous asking for help from her little sister. She always thought it needed to be the other way around. Ruby gladly accepted her offer. She missed hunting with her friends.

Duffy and Ruby parted on good terms. He was a good friend. She promised to help him out from time to time, or as she put it, to do his job for him again sometime soon. He laughed it off.

Beacon Academy had a ceremony for the fallen. Weiss showed up for it. They stood under the statue of Pyrrha. James Ironwood gave a speech, he was booed by the crowd. But the few huntsmen and huntresses who fought in the battle saluted him. He fought and bled alongside them during the battle, no matter what the people said about him, he was a hunstman.

Weiss gathered them together. The remnants of team RWBY. She held out her scroll.

"There is something you guys should know. This came in this morning." Weiss said. Her voice shaking. "I think you need to see it."

Sun's face appeared on the screen. His eyes were watery and he looked like he was trying very hard to keep a straight face. Ruby already had a bad feeling about this. He tried to smile, but it quivered and broke.

"Hey guys, all of you. If you get this there is something you should know." Sun said. "I found Blake. It's over now."

He started walking. He turned the camera around. He was in some sort of tunnel. Before him was the body of Adam Taurus, still preserved despite the years. Gambol Shroud was through his chest. Sun kicked his body for good measure. He continued walking, following a trail of blood. A lot of blood. Ruby felt here eyes watering. Sun turned the corner. Resting against the wall, still as beautiful and young as she was ten years ago, preserved in time. Blake Belladonna. Their old friend. Clutching her stomach. In her hand was a photograph. Sun picked it up. It was a picture from the dance. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Sun, Neptune, Pyrrha, Jaune in a dress, Ren, Nora. All gathered around a table. Ozpin took the picture for them. A better time, a better day. Her last moments were spent with her friends after all.

Ruby didn't realize she was crying. Tears were just running like rivers down her face. Sun caught himself, but looked like he was going to cry at any moment. Yang buried her face in her hand.

"I'm sorry." Sun said. "It couldn't have been better news. But now we know."

After the festival, Weiss spoke with Glynda Goodwitch and arranged for a new statue to be built. One for the unspoken hero of the Battle of Beacon, the one that took the extra step. The one that put an end to Adam Taurus's threat. Blake Belladonna. Within the month the statue was placed next to Pyrrha and the others.

Ruby returned to her apartment and sat down. Nora wasn't working alone. Someone pushed her. Someone made her snap. That someone was still out there. It was only a matter of time before the struck again, sent another miserable, misguided huntress into distress. Into violent action. Ruby needed to figure things out, she needed to find the truth.


A/N

I think I got most of the typos along the way, I probably missed a few and spellcheck certainly missed a dozen. I know certain scenes are still rough, or janky but I preferred to keep the story as written rather than rewrite areas because people really liked this one and I didn't want to ruin anything. If you are rereading the story, welcome back. If you never read it before, thank you for giving it the time of day. Given the circumstances of which this story was written I'm still amazed that anyone bothered to read it, let alone liked it. To me this is either lightning in a bottle never to be caught again, or a testament that I might be a better writer than even I think. Probably the former or a mixture of both.

I still think about the possibility of working on a sequel, but like I said about the lightning and the bottle, it's probably not the best idea for me to try to improve upon what worked. Let me know in the reviews if you think you are up for a sequel to this little story or if you like it better as a one shot.

Anyways, that should be it. Thanks for reading.