Disclaimer: I (still) don't own RWBY. And if I did, and RWBY were like this, it'd be rated M for gore alone.
/
/
The Never-ending Initiation Ends
/
"Ren!" Nora shouted as the boy collapsed, all but clawing at his eyes.
"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed, rushing to her sister. "What's wrong?"
"Pain!" Ruby whispered, cradling her head and covering her ears. "So much!"
Yang shot Weiss a look- but the girl holding Ruby was just as confused as Yang. "I don't know!" Weiss exclaimed. "She was fine, and then Blake and Pyrrha got back and it roared and-"
"It's Jaune," Ren said, staggering towards them. He, too, was leaning on his partner- though instead of his ears, he was cradling his eyes. "He's inside the Grimm- being consumed, body and soul," Ren explained.
"So much pain!" Ruby repeated. "He's screaming Yang! He hurts so much it hurts!"
"Well- he needs to get out then!" Yang demanded, angry at a pain to her sister that she couldn't punch. "Just- do his ghost thing and pop out!"
"It's not… that simple," Ren managed. "He's trapped by the Grimm- and himself. A spirit is naturally attached to its own body. There's an… an attraction, or a pull to the extension of your own soul. To something that matters a lot to you. It-" he cut off with a groan of pain.
Nora knew what he was going to say, though. "That's why most ghosts stay near their body," she finished.
Pyrrha's eyes widened. "Then- when I told him to get into his body-" she realized.
"He was trapped by its pull, and the Grimm's influence," Ren acknowledged. "He's being consumed, body and soul."
"But how can Grimm even do that?" Weiss demanded. "Trap a semblance?"
"How do they shoot feathers like bullets? Or dissolve into nothing? They're evil," Blake suggested, accepting it.
"I still don't see the issue," Weiss argued. "We all die. I can't believe I'm saying this, but- how is this different from an hour ago? His body was dead then. Even if I accept this- this ghost-semblance- can be trapped and hurt, how will it stop him? Won't he just… pass through?"
Ren shook his head. "Grimm don't just eat bodies- they devour us, body and soul. You know the legend of the first hunter, right? Why do you think the aura ritual was a funeral rite?"
"To give us more power to fight the Grimm," Weiss said confidently. "If just one spirit could protect just one living person, it'd be for the best and-"
A pink-gloved fist collided with Weiss's faces, sending their heiress tumbling.
Nora stood above Weiss, stunning everyone with how her fist was shaking with visible anger. "Are you crazy? 'I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee?' That's not about you- that's to protect them!"
"What is your problem?" Weiss demanded, rubbing her cheek.
"Selfish little girls who-"
"Enough!" Yang roared, stepping between the two.
"Let it go, Nora," Ren said softly. Nora glared at him- at him!- for just a moment, before relaxing and stepping away.
"I don't know the whole story, and I don't care," Yang said. "How do we fix it?" she demanded of Ren.
The creatures roared again. Ruby whimpered. Ren staggered from the sudden migraine in front of his eyes, but continued.
"Get Jaune's spirit out of there," Ren managed. "The state of the body affects the state of the spirit, but if he's outside of the Grimm, he'll be safe- for now."
"But he's trapped," Weiss reminded. "You said his body has a pull- that it was the extension of his soul. I mean, we have pieces and parts, but-" she trailed, gesturing to what they had to spend in any effort. An arm and a leg- and a spare leg for good measure.
"Extension of the soul…" Blake repeated. "You said that the soul can be 'pulled'- what else can do that?" she asked. "We're already far away from where he 'died.' And if the body affects the soul- well, he's gone through a lot physically, but you aren't worried. What else could he be he attached to?"
Ren tried to focus through his headache, but a soft voice beat him.
"His weapon," Ruby whispered weakly. "His weapon is the extension of his soul."
Yang looked at her. "Not everyone is a weapon dork like you, Ruby," she said, not unkindly.
"Not that," Ruby denied. "It's an heirloom. Belonged to his great grandfather."
"Classic," Ren grunted. "Family ties… that could help. Is it still up there?" he asked Blake and Pyrrha.
Blake nodded. "I didn't have time to pull it out," she admitted. "Just to catch the shield."
"So… what's the plan?" Yang asked. "Jump on the bird again, pull the sword out, and drag Jaune's soul out with it?"
The Nevermore screeched again. Ruby whimpered, and Ren staggered. "You'll have to do it," he said. "Anyone sensitive to ghosts-" he couldn't continue as he fell to his knees again.
"I'll protect them," Pyrrha promised Yang, who looked hesitant to leave Ruby. Yang nodded, and followed the rest.
"So, how do we get it down here?" Weiss asked as she, Blake, Yang, and Nora walked outside.
"We'll need bait, like last time," Blake said.
Weiss scoffed. "Who's crazy enough to volunteer to do that?"
/
"So… come here often?" Yang asked from up high on a pillar, trying to break the ice.
"…" Nora wasn't talking, even as she stood on her own pillar a few meters away.
"You know, usually playing distraction would be easy for me," Yang continued. "If this were a guy, I'd just puff my chest a bit and he'd come straight for me."
"…"
"You got a nice chest yourself," Yang complimented. "I bet there's not a straight guy around who could resist you if you tried."
"…"
Yang gave up being subtle. "So, how about dem ghosts?" she asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," Nora claimed, her first words since she hit Weiss back in the ruins.
"Really? Because I do," Yang said, not one to be deterred so easily. "This all seems crazy to me. I mean, I love my sister but I always wondered, you know? Even if I'd punch anyone who was mean to her about it. But it sounds like it's more than that with you. What's your reason for caring?"
"I really don't want to talk about it," Nora said, and sighed. "It's… personal. Really, really personal," she said. "Sorry."
"Okay," Yang said, willing to accept that sort of reason. "I got skeletons in my closet too. I just wanted to let you know I appreciate it. Even if you're doing it for your friend, you're helping my sister, so you're good with me. Just know I'll listen if you want, okay?"
Nora gave a bit of a smile. "Listen to the crazy girl trying to save dead people from monsters?" she asked.
Yang flashed a thumbs up. "It's not crazy if it's true!" she claimed. "So…. what are you going to do after we, uh, save Jaune?" she asked.
"You mean after we play worm-bait for the giant bird that wants to eat us too?" Nora asked, smile returning in full.
"Exactly!" Yang smiled. "Me, I'm going to take the longest shower I can. I got to say, bloody-blonde isn't for me."
"Mm… I'm thinking pancakes," Nora claimed. "I'll fight almost anything for pancakes."
"Really? I pictured you as fighting for higher cause. Like, revenge. Or boys. Or ponies."
"Pancakes are the cause," Nora retorted in utter sincerity, and Yang snickered.
"Are you two done bonding yet?" Blake asked from down below. "It's coming around!"
"Sheesh, you'd think she was jealous and afraid of losing her partner or something," Yang said.
"I am not!"
"She can't be jelly," Nora reasoned, pointing at the reason why not. "Weiss is over there."
"Jelly… Weiss?" Yang repeated slowly.
"Oh, Dust no…" Weiss moaned. Like she'd never heard that one before.
"Oh yeah, you and I are definitely going to be good," Yang cackled. "If you were a guy, I'd kiss you for that. Still might," she winked.
"Yang? Nevermore?" Blake reminded, relieved to get this over with.
There was no more time for- the Nevermore was right upon them, angling for Yang.
They leapt. Yang leapt for the maw- much like Pyrrha had before- and secured it open. "I- hope-you're-hungry!" she exclaimed, punching fire down its gullet.
Somewhere down below, something caught fire. It smelled of human flesh.
"Sorry Jaune!" Yang called down. "Now shove that ghost butt of yours onto that sword so that Nora can nail it!" A pause. "In a completely non-creepy, non-sexual way!" she added.
Nora, meanwhile, had leapt high- above a wing that would have tackled her had she let it. A swing of her hammer had caught on the wing like a scythe- not cutting it, just catching, but with enough to make the Grimm scream in addition to what Yang was already doing.
Swinging herself down, Nora stabilized herself on the bird in the sky- cloud surfing, if you will- and found the sword in the back. It was in deep- too deep to move, really- with only a bit of blade between the Nevermore's feathers and the hilt.
"Jaune? Are you in there?" Nora called.
Silence. She knew better than to expect anything- and it was probably for the best- but she could have sworn it wiggled a bit. Maybe the wind, maybe the bird, but maybe not.
With a mighty swing Nora nailed it.
/
They say that when you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
And in this case, that's actually a pretty good analogy. Jaune's family blade, straight as it was, was designed to pierce. To split bone and sinew apart as it drove in, much as how a nail was intended to drive apart matter from the tip. It might not have been as perfectly designed for this function as a nail- but then, nails aren't generally cutting apart entire monsters in a single swing either. The hilt of Crocea Mors was also sturdy and reinforced- maybe not ideal shaped for receiving a blow, but more than capable of giving or taking one. A hilt to the head had dented more than one helm in the blade's long life.
Meanwhile, Nora's Magnhil made an excellent approximation of a hammer by virtue of being, well, a Warhammer. A two-handed shaft, and the exploitation of the physics of an arc, allowed a great deal of centripetal force to be concentrated on the exceptionally reinforced hammer-head rather than distributed across the length of the shaft. This provided a great 'sweet spot' effect- in the sense that when a fully-swung hammer hits you, it conveys the entire force through a smaller point of contact than if it hit.
Massive force, onto sturdy hilt, transmitted through straight blade intended to split, and bam. Hammer and nail.
The explosives Nora had incorporated into her hammer to go off on impact were really just showing off. Really. Completely unnecessary.
Crocea Mors pieced the Nevermore more- through the back, into the stomach cavity, and through the heart of the not-quite departed Jaune Arc himself. Perhaps it was luck- perhaps it was intentional- maybe it wasn't even needed, but even so it worked- and something stuck, even as the blade cut through the other side and emerged from the Grimm a moment later.
/
Ren felt rather than saw the moment Jaune left the Nevermore. Could feel the moment he escaped the Grimm- his crippling migraine cleared, just as Ruby let go of her ears, and both looked towards the descending object.
"Is he-?" Pyrrha asked.
"He's out, but-" Ren began, unable to recognize what was wrong. Then he realized- he saw the sword before he saw Jaune. There wasn't a spectral body- but the glow was there, around the blade. It was- "He's inside the sword!" Ren realized. He wasn't holding the blade like he had before- he was outright (or would it be inright?) possessing it.
"Jaune!" Ruby called out. "Jaune!" she tried again. "He's not- he's still hurting," she worried. "He's there, but he's not in control."
"Can we catch him?" Ren asked. If the blade tumbled into the chasm- if they couldn't find him-
"I can," Pyrrha said, and extended a hand. Jaune's blade ceased to tumble- stabilized, angled itself- and fell towards them at an unnatural angle. It flew- even accelerated- until Pyrrha caught it with ease.
"Semblance," she explained. "Can you keep it a secret?" she asked, and they nodded. There were more important things to worry about.
Jaune's spiritual aura was carried by the blade. When Pyrrha caught it, though, the aura kept going- and Ren saw the spiritual body leap out, like a man breaking the surface of water and taking a desperate breath. Jaune's spirit tumbled forward and through him, and Ren felt the familiar unnatural chill as the body passed through him, as two life forces tried to exist in the same spot.
It didn't matter- it was normally harmless- but Jaune was harmed. Ren could still see him- still make out features, still make see the faint outline of the boy it had once been- but it was fainter than it had been. Dimmer. And flickering- every three heartbeats, Jaune disappeared for half of one, completely disappearing from even Ren's sight.
Jaune looked at him, and mouthed something. The spirit tried to sit up- to float up- but a grimace passed across its face, and the flickering intensified.
"Its fine, Jaune," Ruby reassured. "You're safe. Just rest."
Jaune shook his head reached up and grabbed at Ren- eyes wide as if he were still alive and needed to shake him. Again, Ren felt the chill feeling where the fingers touched his chest.
Ren looked to Ruby for translation.
"He's- he's delirious. He's telling us to run," Ruby translated.
"Run away?" Blake asked as she returned, displeased. "After this much, I really don't want that bird to get away."
"Well, why not? Didn't we accomplish what we set out to do?" Weiss asked, also coming back in. Blake followed her- and not far away, you could see Nora and Yang landing on the ruins and making their way in.
"How's Jaune?" Nora called first as they ran in. "Did we get him?"
"Yeah," Ruby said, to Yang and Nora's obvious relief. The two bruisers traded high fives.
"He's… stable," Ren elaborated. "He just needs to regain aura, and he'll be fine."
"How does he do that?" Blake asked.
"By resting on something he's attached to," Ren said. "Most ghosts stay near their graves, but as long as you have something your spirit is attached to-"
"Like his weapon?" Weiss asked, and Ren nodded.
"-he'll recover in time. More attachment is better, of course."
Pyrrha realized what he was suggesting, and brought out the shield-sheath of Crocea Mors. Sheathing the weapon- reuniting it- had an obvious beneficial effect- Jaune's flickers stopped, even if the paleness remained.
"So… what next?" Yang asked. "We done here, or we go back out there for round... what round would it be?" she wondered, having lost count.
Pyrrha ignored the question. "Do we need to do anything else to save Jaune?" she asked. "Is he in danger?"
Ren shook his head. "Nothing immediate," he said. "All ghosts fade away eventually. But-" he trailed off.
"But?" Pyrrha prompted.
"The spirit is connected to the body, right?" Blake prompted, remembering him. "Jaune could get by without the rest of his body, but he'd be better off with it."
Ren nodded. "He'd recover faster. And better resist corruption of spirit."
"Corruption of- never mind, tell me later," Yang dismissed. "Beat a Grimm, help a friend," she said. "What's the counter-argument?"
Six heads turned towards Weiss. She blinked back- and was sure she felt a seventh attention on her as well. "I am not opposed to helping people!" she defended herself.
"Um," Ruby began, drawing the attention towards her instead. "I'm not opposed, but Jaune- "
"Huh? Jaune what?" Yang wanted to know. Opposed it?
Ruby held closed her eyes and took a breath. "He's- he says he saw things inside the Grimm's stomach. I'm not sure he knows what he saw- but there were other remains in the stomach. Bones of other students- like us," she conveyed. "Students who tried to fight when they didn't have to, and failed."
"He's worried," Ruby realized. "He doesn't want us hurt for him."
There was a silence- and then Nora rose. "Meh," she shrugged. "Then we won't. Coming, Ren?"
Ren rose. "Someone has to watch over you," he said.
"If that's how it is, that's how it is," Yang said, tossing her arms behind her head. "Don't leave me behind."
"I agree," Blake nodded, rising herself. "There's only one sensible course of action."
The four of them rose, leaving only Ruby, Weiss, and a silent, considering Pyrrha. Ruby looked at her partner with hurt in her eye.
"Weiss," she tried not to plead as the other girl rose. "We can't just leave-" she began.
Weiss paused and spun around, a scowl on her face and a bloody finger pointed at Ruby's face. A speckle of blood flew from it to Ruby's face.
"Who's leaving, you dunce?" she asked, a scowl on her face… but a smirk in her eye.
"We're going to gut that overstuffed turkey. And you're going to help us not get hurt doing it."
/
Despite Weiss's words, it was actually Pyrrha- and Jaune, once he gave up protesting- who came up with the plan.
"It comes down to the cave paintings," Pyrrha explained.
"Cave?" Blake asked.
"Ooh! The totally awesome mystery cave of darkness… cave?" Nora remembered.
"There was a cave like that here?" Yang asked. "That sounds awesome!"
"I know, right? It's in the name!"
"Ahem!" Pyrrha said, getting their attention. "I think we misunderstood the purpose of the caves, even this region," Pyrrha said. "I'm not sure the cave paintings were meant to warn keep people out from the Deathstalker- I think they were meant to tell people the Deathstalker was in."
"What's the difference?" Ruby wanted to know. Or maybe Jaune wanted to know, and Ruby was asking for him.
"Obstacles," Ren explained, taking over. "If people wanted to trap the Deathstalker, they would have sealed the entrance- instead, they left it open. And if you remember the cave paining- how it had people with weapons behind a deathstalker… who was facing another person…"
"Faunus sacrifice," Blake whispered. A couple of odd looks came here. "What? It probably was. Racism and all that."
Ren nodded. "It happened. There were ancient empires who sacrificed people to the Grimm as a diversion- or appeasement."
"Those were primitives, and I'm not sure how it applies to us now," Weiss said. "It's not like we-" she trailed off, realizing where it was going.
"Don't you find it suspicious how such an old grimm- who should learn better- keeps falling for the 'dangle bait' trap?" Blake asked. "Almost like it was conditioned for it?"
"We're not in an ancient temple," Nora said with surprising cheer. "We're on a Grimm feeding table!"
"And Jaune," Pyrrha said, patting what little of him remained, "is the main course."
Blake unconsciously licked her lips.
/
It was ambush, in other words. The building at the edge of the canyon- perhaps where prisoners long ago had been forced to stay until told to run across the bridge and to their deaths- remained their hiding spot. Jaune's remains were laid out in clear sight- in what they hoped might have been some ancient ritual of appeasement- and it was only a matter time until it came.
It did. And unlike before, the trap worked perfectly.
The Nevermore landed cautiously- just as they expected it would. It landed at a distance, looking around before hopping closer like a giant overgrown sparrow. It examined the giblets, chose the one it wanted first, and with a final look for danger is drove it's beak into Jaune Arc's legs, splitting them apart once and for all.
Aw man, why'd it have to go for my balls?
It was rewarded by finding an iceberg in its face. Or it's face in an iceberg.
Same difference, really, as Weiss was rocketed overhead, flying by the hyper-tension slingshot of gambol shroud. Held on both ends by Yang and Nora, Ruby didn't even wait for them to regain their footing before she sped with a recoil-assisted sprint.
"Charge!"
Ruby declared, and did, racing towards the bird before it could break free of its ice prison. Though Ruby had to angle around the ice, in her passing she was still able to get a full swing against the Nevermore's leg. It screamed, it bled, and it fell to a… knee? Do birds even have knees, really? It lost a foot, at least.
Behind her, the rest swarmed the bird as well. Some, like Ren and Pyrrha, fired as they ran- doing what damage they could before they were in melee range. Others, like Yang, fired to run- using their recoil to move faster. Yang punched her way around the ice as well, and put herself right between the birds legs before giving a spinning uppercut-
"Shoryuken!"
-right between its legs. The scream reverberated through the ice, making it crack.
Yang grinned. "I think this bird's a guy, girls!"
"Not after that," Blake snarked to herself. While she was fast on her feet, she was still slower without a movement-booster- and instead settled for swinging gambol shroud at range, overhead and directly at the Nevermore's win muscles. "Time to clip its wings," she muttered as she felt the meaty thunk she was looking for.
"Hey, Blake!" Yang called. "Way to… clip it's wings!" she cawed.
Blake paled. "No one heard me say that. Ever," she threatened everyone around.
"Too late!" Nora claimed, before leaping into the air as the ice shattered fully.
The Nevermore raised its head. Magnhild sent it straight back into the ground- and as Nora landed to the side of the bird, she spun under gave a return swing so strong that it lifted tailfeathers above tongue- if birds had tongue.
Completely by coincidence, of course, Magnhild hit right where Yang had.
/
"I don't think that was any student at all that time," Glynda noted approvingly.
"See Glynda? It all worked out," Ozpin claimed, even as he subtly crossed his legs in cross-species male sympathy.
Glynda shot him back a bemused look… and then a smirk. "You're still going to have to explain Mr. Arc to his family, Ozpin," she reminded.
"…let me enjoy my coffee, Glynda," Ozpin asked.
/
It screamed in pain some more, and it did what all beings in pain do- it reacted blindly. The Nevermore slammed open its wings blindly, knocking away all those near it, and sent its wings forward in a blind storm of feathers. It wasn't aiming. With Nora directly beneath, it didn't need to.
"Nora!" Ren cried in alarm, but he needn't have- a floating shield was between Nora and the Nevermore. It didn't stand up for long- spun by impact and sent spinning across the stone floor until Pyrrha pulled it towards her- but it lasted long enough for Nora to escape.
Ren saw Jaune's spirit flow out of his weapon- like a drunkard leaving a bar- but as Jaune's spirit body formed he looked at the bird and soon gestured frantically. Ren understood why in a heartbeat.
"It's trying to fly away!" Yang realized as the demonic bird awkwardly lurched towards the side. "Weiss, freeze it!"
"I can't!" Weiss claimed. "No more dust!"
"We can't let it get away!" Blake vowed.
"Nora! Smash it!" Ren called.
Nora leapt, swinging- but her blow, even as it spun the top-heavy bird around, only sent it over the edge where it could open its wings.
It had no stability- it might not have even been thinking- as it flew directly into the center tower of the canyon, the one that almost looked like a birdcage. Stones fell and it awkwardly tried to move forward, but it was away from them for the moment. It would get away.
"You won't get away!" Ruby vowed, gunshots sounding as she accelerated to the edge.
"Ruby, don't!" Yang warned, but Ruby had already leapt. She was high- she had momentum- but would she- could she?
No, she would not.
Jaune flashed in front of Ren, making desperate gestures even as Crocea Mors collapsed from a shield to the dark-like sword and sheath.
Sword. Pyrrha. Ruby. And the pantomime of a mimed wall, and slamming his fist against the flat hand the represented the wall. Jaune didn't even wait to see if Ren understood before he flowed into Crocea Mors once more, collapsing it into sword and sheath.
"Pyrrha! Nail it!" Ren relayed.
Pyrrha's eyes widened- maybe more so when Corcea Mors flew towards her- but she didn't hesitate. Her rifle unfolded into a spear. Power- magnetic and ghostly- bound Crocea Mors to Milo. She aimed, she corrected, and she threw.
Weiss saw the spear fly by… and whirled towards Pyrrha with an accusing finger.
"It was you!"
/
Ruby knew she misjudged the distance as soon as her feet left the ground. A trick of the light? Overconfidence? She wasn't sure.
She wouldn't make it to the bird cage.
That didn't mean she was going to die- probably. She had Crescent Rose. She was on an angle to impact the tower. She could force a landing onto the side, cut into the column, and use the momentum and her recoil shots to jump to a lower stone area. It would hurt- she'd probably break a leg- but she'd live. As long as the bird didn't come back to make easy pickings of her.
She prepared herself for the impact- for the pain, and the pain to follow- when she heard a whistling behind her.
Hang on, Ruby! I'm coming!
Ignoring that she didn't have anything to hang on to, Ruby twisted to see what was coming, and realized that it was a thrown spear- a rather familiar spear- coming straight at her.
Is this what Jaune saw before he died?
She wondered that, wondered what might happen to her, and then a strange thing happened. The spear separated into two. The main spear rose above her- and whistled past her safely. The smaller thing- a dart from this perspective fell and went below. Both impacted before she did.
Ruby!
Darn, she forgot to turn back arou-
She must have only blacked out for a moment, because she hadn't finished falling to her death yet.
Ruby heard things- voices- mostly those of her friends and sister. She groaned, sore on her feet, and tried to stumble forward towards them.
Stumble?
She woke when she realized that she was walking into nothing. Before she could fall- why was she not falling?- something pulled her back by her cape. A glance behind her saw only stone. It was her cape that pulled her back.
I've got you.
"Jaune?" The cape seemed to- no, did- move, wrapping around her comfortingly, pulling her back.
Yeah. Don't move- you've only got a foot of space. Are you alright?
"Yeah," Ruby managed, looking down and wishing she hadn't. A foot of space? Less- a crescent moon crest of a shield, halfway into the wall, was all that held her up from oblivion.
Can you reach up? I think you gave your sister a heart attack when I let go.
Let go? Ruby looked up to where she'd jumped, and saw Yang- fright passing, but still so pale that Ruby knew she'd be in for a bone-crunching hug before the lecture. Ruby raised her arm to wave- and her arm encountered something thin and round. Looking up further, she saw the spear- and that part of her own cloak was tied around it. Had she fallen, it might have saved her. Maybe not- but it might have.
I didn't want to pierce, in case it tore. Or I missed and hit you. I know how that feels, trust me.
"Thanks," Ruby said sincerely. Reaching up, she tested the spear's stability. Liking it, she put both hands on and pulled herself up, leaving the shakey platform behind.
The feeling in her cape departed as the shield wiggled itself out of the wall and raised. When she wobbled in getting her balance atop the spear, the shield was there to catch her, pushing against her until she regained balance.
Whoa there. I can't catch you on my own if you fall.
"Where's the Nevermore?" Ruby asked.
Still up there. It's caught in the bird cage, but not for long.
"Then we need to get up there and finish it," Ruby said. "Can you help me keep my balance if I run up there?" Already her mind was calculating the necessities. A recoil-assisted jump, wall running, swinging the scythe over the lip of the birdgace to pull herself in… beside her the shield hovered, angled upwards, as if seeing the same things she was.
That's not- you don't care how safe it is, do you?
"Nope."
And telling you I'm not worth it wouldn't work either, would it?
"Nope. It ate my imaginary friend."
I'm not imaginary.
"Nope- and that's why I'm going to kill it. Will you help me?"
Do Arcs go back on their word?
Ruby paused, and looked over at the floating emblem of the Arcs.
"Do they?" she asked, honestly unsure.
The shield snapped shut in pique.
No. They do not.
"Then when I asked if you'd help me-"
There was a sigh, and the collapsed weapon floated into her grasp.
Hold onto this. I don't want to lose it.
Crocea Mors fell motionless, even as her own cloak began to move on its own again. Somehow, it felt like more than an even trade.
On three-
"Jaune? Did you ever promise your family you'd come back alive?"
…no.
"You should have. Can you promise me?"
I don't think I can, Ruby.
"I don't want to lose more friends like you. Promise me you'll try?"
… I won't go unless you want me to, Ruby. Promise.
She smiled. Ruby stepped back, readied her weapon, and prepared to jump and run. Her cloak encircled her, and instead of any chill- it felt warm. Alive.
A glyph formed on the wall, and out of the peripheral of her eye Ruby could see the support of an acerbic partner trying to help. Pyrrha was there as well, hand extended. A weak sense of fillings in her teeth pulling up passed through her, and Crocea Mors seemed just that much lighter.
Ready, Ruby?
"Ready."
Three-
"Two-"
One-
Bang.
/
She ran.
Up a wall, defying gravity, defying not just laws of physics but of life and death.
Her cloak raced her. It did not just follow- it pushed, pulled, encouraged and worried for her.
The beak of the Nevermore jutted out, and looked down. The monster saw its last prey.
She jumped. She swung her scythe perfectly, catching the lip just so.
The beast lunged, trying to grab her red shadow in midair.
The cloak moved- out of the way, over the ledge, pulling her where as she needed to go.
She stumbled. It made one last bite. He pulled her forward, and she took that step and swung her weapon in a perfect blow.
Straight between the legs. Right down the middle. Open the throat- and everything else, in one single cut.
What was left of Jaune fell out of the Nevermore before it finished dying.
/
Sound came back with the beat of her heart and the sound of her lungs. Cheers, in the distance, as her friends- she could call them that now, she had earned them- celebrated.
"We did it! We did it. We- whoo," she said, collapsing to her knees, exultant. "Don't worry," Ruby warded off any ghostly concern. "Just tired."
…yeah. I know what you mean.
"You did great, Jaune! We both did!" Ruby cheered. "It's going to be easy now. Happy times, from here on out."
That sounds… nice.
"You alright? Sound a bit out of it there."
…I'm… sorry. Just… tired.
"Don't die on me now, haha- haha- ha? Jaune, why aren't you laughing?"
"I'm just… going to... stay here... awhile..."
"Jaune?"
…
"Jaune?"
….
"Jaune!"
/
/
End Week Five
/
/
Author Note:
Cliffhanger! Is Jaune dead? Will I ever improve at writing fights? Will this story ever start being funny again?
Can you read all of the above with a straight face?
Finished a long trip, and currently moving into a new home. I'll be trying (key word- trying) to have a special update of sorts up by Halloween- or at least punch through the first part of Beacon. We'll see how next week rolls- it may be very busy or very empty for me.