Gray Fringes Ch.18: Reunion
Richard looked out at the night sky from the small window of the plane. They were above the cloud cover and could see the entire galaxy around them. He looked back towards the now distant town wistfully and wondered if he would ever live long enough to find a life that peaceful.
"I must be a fool to see a place that quiet and want to leave but there's still work to be done and friends to protect." He thought to himself as he remembered the last time he had seen a sky that majestic.
"One day this mess will end and maybe just maybe I'll be able to scratch some resemblance of a peaceful existence out of this life and maybe these will just be relics on a mantle." He smiled to himself as he looked at the two blades in his hands. He knew however that before any of that can happen the White Fang and his family would have to be dealt with. He exhaled deeply and looked at the ground at the thought of his family. He had tried to do his best to get away from that life but he knew that he could never run away from his name.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the plane descended below the clouds. He looked out the window to see the small twinkling lights of Vale below him. As he looked at the city he realized that his friends were somewhere down there probably worried and anxious to see him. He figured that Ruby and Weiss would still be at the Vale's general hospital so he would start there to see if they were ok. As sat there looking at the city he made a mental note of what he saw and remembered that this is what he was trying to save from criminals like Roman and Cinder. He wondered what plans they were making now and hoped that whatever they were trying won't come to being for a while. He would have to train and be stronger if he ever hoped to defeat his brother and the rest of the White Fang.
"Hopefully I won't have to worry about Adam anymore. I hope he got out ok and moved on to something better." Richard thought to himself as the plane landed on the runway and slowly grinded to a halt.
He grabbed the torn and bloodied armor he had and made his way to the front of the plane thanking the pilot as he got off. It was well past sunset as he made his way through the sparsely crowded streets towards the center of town. He had decided to take a small detour before heading to the hospital. He hurried to a small café hoping that it wouldn't be closed already. He arrived just as the old man running it was flipping the open sign to closed and leaving. He jogged over to the man and quickly tapped his shoulder to get his attention.
"Richard my boy what are you doing here? How have you been son?"
"To tell you the truth Mr. Dragonheart it's been tough. This fight has taken its toll on me and I don't know how much longer I can stand doing this." Richard said wearily as he leaned against the store wall.
"Here let's talk inside. I'll get you something to eat."
He quickly unlocked the door and let Richard in before heading to the back to cook something up. Richard slowly made his way to one of the tables and sat down looking around at the new repairs that made the place look like it was brand new. Mr. Dragonheart returned with a large sweet roll and a glass of hot chocolate. He put them by Richard and sat down in an adjacent chair as Richard thanked him and started eating the roll.
"Now my boy what is it that's been plaguing you?"
"Do you remember the four girls that were with me last time?"
"Yes I do."
"One of them is Weiss Schnee and a few days ago she was kidnapped by the White Fang along with another friend of mine named ruby."
"I see you're worried about your friends and if they're ok."
"No it's not that. A couple of nights ago the police raided the compound where they were and I got both of them out of there but when I was leaving I ran into my brother."
"Oh that's it." He said remembering the night all those years ago when he found Richard at his door.
"I had hoped I would never have to see those maniacs again but it seems he's back in Vale and he's stronger than ever. When we fought him he nearly he nearly killed me and it seems that he's going to be staying in Vale for a while. I don't know if I can take this anymore. Part of me just wants to get out of here and get away from all this anger and start over some place far away."
"Richard if what your saying is true and your brother really is back in Vale then you can't go anywhere." He said frankly
"Why shouldn't I be able to get away from this? I've done enough and suffered enough. What more does this world want from me?"
"You have given everything you have to this fight and you deserve nothing less than a long and happy life but the fact of the matter is this isn't about you Richard. Whatever the White Fang are planning is going to bring a tremendous amount of pain and suffering and it seems that without you they are going to succeed in whatever they are planning. Whether you want it or not you're a hero and a defender of this city. You're stronger than you think Richard and I know that you have what it takes to do this. You have the strength of a lion both physically and mentally and you have the courage to use that strength to help those around you."
"To be honest I'm scared. I'm afraid that I'll make one mistake that ends up destroying everything."
"Fear is a natural thing that can be overcome. Every time you feel that fear think of the regular people around you and you'll realize that they need you. Use that to drive your actions and don't second guess yourself because making the wrong choice is about as bad as doing nothing and if you're so focused on what would happen if you fail then you're doing nothing. You have the ability to be a hero inside of you but you need to be able to have the courage to use that ability to its fullest."
"I understand what needs to be done now. Thank you for everything you've done to help." He said as he got up and took his half empty drink to the door. As he reached the door and began to open it he was met with one last remark.
"Just remember Richard if you couldn't do this you wouldn't be here in the first place now do what has to be done."
He left the shop and began to walk toward the towering hospital near the center of Vale. It didn't take long for him to reach the two automatic sliding doors that led to the lobby of the hospital. He casually walked to the front desk and was met by a pleasant looking deer Faunus receptionist.
"Excuse me miss but do you know where I can find the rooms of Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose?"
"Yes but we were instructed not to let anyone in unless they had proper identification and were personal friends of them."
"I understand but you see my names Richard and I'm one of their teammates from Beacon."
"I'm still going to have to do a background check of you now what's your full name sir."
"It's Lionheart, Richard Lionheart." He sighed
"Wait did you say Lionheart."
"Yes"
"If you think I'm going to allow a Lionheart to see the heiress of the Schnee dust company then your insane now get the hell out of this lobby before I call the police." She said sternly as she grabbed a phone lying next to her.
"You don't understand. I'm the person who rescued them. I'm their teammate and friend just look me up on that computer." Richard explained trying to calm her down.
"Yeah right like a Lionheart can be friends with Weiss Schnee. All you White Fang goons do are destroy property and make life hell for all of us other Fauna now leave and don't come back."
"I'm not a member of the White Fang. I just want to see my friends. It's been a few days and I know they're worried about me." Richard pleaded.
"If it'll mean you leaving then I'll do a simple background check but if I see anything suspicious I'll have the police here in a heartbeat." She said as she quickly tapped keyboard on her computer. After a few minutes of searching her eyes widened and she directed Richard to their rooms without any further comments.
He slowly walked to the elevator and took it to the top floor where the nurse had told him to go. He reached the small two bed room where Weiss and Ruby were both sleeping. He looked at his two teammates resting peacefully in the beds in front of him. They looked a lot better than the last time he saw him and both looked like they wouldn't have any permanent scars or injuries. He found a small chair and quietly sat down relaxing. A nurse came in a short while later to check on them and asked Richard if he wanted her to wake them up to see him. He told her that wouldn't be necessary and that they needed as much sleep as they could get. She nodded and left Richard alone in the quiet room. Before he realized it he began to doze off into a peaceful sleep sitting in the chair. He woke up to see the sun rising through the windows and noticed that both girls were still sound asleep. He got up and began to walk to the small coffee shop in the main lobby. He reached the shop and ordered a simple small cup of coffee and a biscuit to eat for breakfast. As he was finishing his breakfast he looked across the lobby to see his two other teammates walking through the front doors towards the elevator. As he got up to meet them he saw that Blake had noticed him first. He saw her eyes widen and jaw drop before she rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Yang looked confused until she noticed what Blake was looking at.
"Sorry I'm late but I was occupied for a little while and couldn't get back to Beacon until last night."
"Richard I- uh everyone thought you were" Blake stuttered dumbfounded
"dead. They were nearly right but I wouldn't leave you four alone to fight the White Fang." Richard finished.
"But how did you survive three nights in Forever Fall after an entire night of fighting the White Fang?" Yang asked astonished at the fact that her teammate was alive.
"That's a story that I'll tell you later when we have more time but for now I think it's time to see how our two friends are doing in the hospital."
"You're right let's go. You know Ruby hasn't stopped asking about you and Weiss is pretty torn up even if she doesn't show it." Blake said as they walked into the elevator and took it up to the top floor. They rounded two corners to find both girls sitting up and looking out the window.
Blake and Yang walked into the room first.
"Hey Ruby Hey Weiss, how are you guys doing?" Yang asked in her usual cheerful voice.
"Fine Yang but I just want to get out of this hospital and start looking for Richard." Ruby replied with a worried tone as she continued to stare out the window.
"You won't have to look far Ruby." Richard responded as he turned the corner and walked into the small room.
Ruby's face lit up as she saw her missing teammate alive and unharmed while Weiss sat there dumbfounded.
"Richard you're here thank dust. How did you get out of there in one piece?" Ruby exclaimed jumping up and down in excitement.
"Easy Ruby just calm down for a second. You're still recovering remember now just sit still for a second and I'll explain everything." Richard said as he tried to calm Ruby down.
"Yes Richard can you please explain to me why you would try to fight the shade alone without any help and nearly get yourself killed." Weiss yelled with a deep scowl settling over her face.
"His name's William."
"Excuse me?"
"His name is William Lionheart and he's my twin brother." Richard said as he looked around to see the surprised and shocked looks around him.
"You mean to tell me that one of if not the most notorious criminal and murderer in Remnant is your brother and you still thought it was a smart idea to challenge him one on one."
"He's strong Weiss but he's not stronger than I am. We always used to fight and no matter how hard we tried we could never seem to beat each other. We both can outmatch most foes with our strength but against each other it's always been an even fight. If what he did to me nearly killed me then I hate to see how he fared with the injuries I gave him."
"What do you mean by nearly killed you Richard? Where have you been for the last three days?" Ruby asked catching him off guard.
"Now that's a long story but I guess we have plenty of time now." Richard said as he sat down and explained his experience in Forever Fall leaving out the bloodiest details then moving on to his eventual rescue and time spent in that little village before concluding with the night he spent in Vale leaving out the whole conversation he had with Mr. Dragonheart.
"Wait you were here last night and you didn't wake us up or anything." Weiss scowled.
"You two looked like you needed the sleep and I didn't really want to deal with the whole 20 question thing that night but that doesn't really matter at this point. When are you two supposed to get out of here and get back to Beacon?"
"The doctors said two days at the least but I've been trying to get out of here sooner." Ruby replied as she restlessly moved around in her bed.
"Ok. Hopefully we can get a little reprieve from the White Fang and enjoy a little relaxation." Richard said as he looked out of the window towards the sprawling forest at the edge of the city.