It's interesting, already 2 weeks in a row, I hope to keep up the pace. I would also like to invite you to give a chance to the English version of this story, it's in my profile and it's called "BackTracking" ... With that said, let's go to the story.
Chapter 3
Fear
That was the first feeling Jaune Arc had when he saw the makeshift medical wing that the Beacon staff had created with Atlas support, he watched as the professors gave orders to the paramedics to tend to the wounded, his blue eyes could catch numerous civilians, some soldiers and students were also lying on the beds... multiple IVs connected to their bodies. His body shuddered as he heard the doctors' alarm as a patient's body jerked in pain, a few more beeps in different beds passed to a steady line, apparently a few more were joining the victims. God, he didn't know how many had already died, he watched as some looked away from those areas...he didn't blame them.
In the middle of this observation was when he felt a glance at him, when he turned his head in the direction he felt it he saw his former stalker Cardin, the sight of his bruised body and the cuts on his face were clear indications of the fight that had happened, the tired eyes of the boy with orange hair focused on him and gave a nod, as if indicating that he was glad he was okay, Jaune sincerely hoped that he would recover and that the rest of his team would not suffer casualties.
"It's amazing to see how even Cardin no longer shows his racism" Jaune's focus shifted to watching his black cat-eared friend, they both watched as Cardin responded in kind to the nurse with deer antler features.
"Near death experience can change anyone" Jaune took the glass of water offered to him by Blake who watched him with tired but attentive eyes.
"Nora and Ren are already asleep" the eyes of both saw the bed where the aforementioned couple was lying, the man's arms were around the ginger-haired girl.
"Their bodies finally gave in to exhaustion," replied Jaune.
"You should rest too," suggested Blake.
"Wouldn't it be the same for you Blake?" Jaune's eyes saw the bandages wrapped around her friend's abdomen.
"I can't do it, Yang, Weiss and Ruby haven't arrived yet and they won't let me out" Blake frowned at the guards' orders not to let anyone out so as not to increase the wounded.
"They're going to be fine, we all saw the dragon fall" the memory still amazed him, how he saw that beast fall from the sky, he knew he wasn't the only one who was speechless.
"Have they told you yet what time Pyrrha will go into operation?" Blake couldn't help but ask.
At this Jaune's gaze darkened "No, the last I know is what we both saw" he remembered how his teammate had fainted as soon as he arrived and the orders Master Glynda gave to get her checked out as soon as possible, even to the point of asking for explicit care of her, he supposed this preferential treatment had to be because of what Ozpin had hidden. "Although one of the doctors told me they would operate on her because of the damage to her ankle."
Blake hummed at the information "Cinder did a number on her, she couldn't even put little weight on that foot, she probably had it torn or ruptured the tendon."
"I hope the doctors can do something for her," Jaune murmured with concern. "Pyrrha is strong, but I don't know how serious her injury is. I'm worried it might affect her ability as a hunter."
Blake placed a comforting hand on Jaune's shoulder, "The doctors will do everything they can to save her and help her recover. We have to trust them and their expertise. Pyrrha is a fighter, and if anyone can get through this, she can."
They both lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, observing the turmoil and chaos around them in the makeshift medical wing. Jaune felt helpless and frustrated that he couldn't do more for his injured friends. He blamed himself for not being strong enough to protect them.
"I should be there with her," Jaune said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "I should have been able to prevent all of this. I'm her leader, it's my responsibility to protect her."
Blake squeezed her hand firmly. "Don't blame yourself, Jaune. We all did everything we could. The important thing now is to stick together and support each other. I know Ruby would say the same thing."
Jaune looked at Blake with gratitude. "Thank you Blake, I needed that."
With that said Jaune walked away and went to the bed where his companions were, he took a seat next to them waiting for them to get up. Blake for his part stayed a few minutes longer as he leaned against one of the lower level battleship windows. It still amazed him how the ship had been adapted to serve as a temporary hospital so quickly, he supposed there was a reason Atlas was considered the most technologically advanced. His eyes focused on Weiss' sister... he watched as Winter gave orders to her soldiers bringing in more wounded, her hair had stopped being in a stiff bun to let it down, he could see cuts in her clothes and the dirt on them... apparently no one had it easy
Her abdomen ached from the wounds caused by the fight with Adam, no doubt she could have died if Silver hadn't saved her... she couldn't help but think with intrigue for that man who had helped her and her team, her thought was cut short when the air shook the window where she was the walls creaked at that, her eyes watched through the window as an Atlesian ship landed a few meters away, from there they watched as a trio of familiar women exited the ship, Weiss, Yang and Ruby looked tired, but the gaze of the 3 was fixed on the doctors and officers guarding a stretcher urgently, her sight could catch the black hair, although the blood on the sheets worried her, by the looks she saw in her friends she guessed that Silver had not gone well, without wasting time she headed for the exit to accompany her team.
Ruby watched as a few feet from entering Atlas' ship her companion in black approached.
"Ruby, girls, are you okay?" Blake asked as he caught his breath from his jog.
The three girls nodded wearily, but their faces reflected concern. Ruby took the floor and replied "We're fine, Blake. We just have a few cuts and aura almost at 0."
"The dragon was more durable than any Grimm we've faced, it still amazes me to remember how Ruby defeated him" Weiss couldn't help but praise her partner's skill, Ruby gave a tired, but happy smile, Weiss would have answered the same if she didn't remember the situation of the man on the stretcher "Silver was injured. The medics are treating him right now."
"What happened?" Blake couldn't help but ask.
"Cinder, that's what happened" Yang's eyes flashed red "We had nothing left when we defeated the dragon, and the damn thing came up with throwing the CCT tower at us, it would have crushed us if Silver didn't take our place with her semblance" Yang's fists clenched at the memory, he was still puzzled by the smile he gave them before he was crushed.
"We were able to pull him out of the rubble with the help of Atlas personnel, General IronWood himself helped us" Ruby saw his hands that looked slightly cut, she remembered every shout of the officers as they moved the rubble, how IronWood despite being injured helped. Just as she remembered the state Silver was in when they pulled him out.
"The doctors say it's a miracle he was still breathing after that" Ruby's attention was brought by Weiss' statement from whom she could tell concern from his look. Everyone's attention was focused on Silver's stretcher, a nurse was holding a mask to help him breathe, blood and dirt stained the wounded man's face, all personnel began to enter the temporary hospital under the order of IronWood who had caught up with his men.
Both officers and doctors rushed into the medical wing "We need Dr. Davies, it's urgent" one of the paramedics shouted drawing the attention of not only the patients and nurses but also the aforementioned doctor.
A doctor with approached the gurney, his lack of hair and wrinkles denoting his age, approached with alarm as the beeping of the cardiac monitor began to show cardiac arrest.
The doctor quickly began to perform resuscitation maneuvers on the patient. The atmosphere in the medical wing became even more tense, and the other injured and medical personnel watched anxiously as attempts were made to save Silver's life. Blake and the rest of the RWBY team rushed over, concerned about the situation.
The attending physician and nurses did their best, using defibrillators and administering medications to try to revive Silver. Finally, after several desperate attempts, the cardiac monitor beeped continuously, indicating that Silver's heart was beating again. The doctor and staff exhaled in relief as they continued to work to stabilize him.
Davies looked at the personnel helping him, his eyes focused on a specific officer, reading the badge on his chest he could see his name "Jonathan, what is the status" Dr. Davies asked the relief troop manager
He quickly replied "Punctured lung, the right arm is punctured, and his leg looks the same, we also detected a deep cut in the abdomen, the probable cause is a sword and not the collapse, we also diagnosed head trauma" some patients and staff shuddered at the list of injuries; for his part Dr. Davies closed his eyes, his mind spinning with ideas to execute.
"Take him to room 2" his eyes fell on a nurse "Get the OR ready and Dr. Melendez, we need to operate to prevent the perforated lung from collapsing, I also need a cranial x-ray to detect damage" both assistants and nurses followed orders.
The RWBY team watched with concern as the medical staff moved Silver to the operating room. Dr. Davies rushed to coordinate preparations and summon Dr. Melendez for surgery. Blake, Ruby, Weiss and Yang approached Dr. Davies for answers.
"Dr. Davies, how is Silver, will she survive?" asked Ruby in a trembling voice.
Dr. Davies sighed as he removed his surgical gloves. "His condition is serious, but we are doing everything we can to save him. The injuries are severe and will require immediate surgical intervention. The punctured lung is especially worrisome, but we will do everything in our power to stabilize him and treat his injuries."
Weiss looked anxiously at Silver as he was wheeled into the operating room "Is there any estimate of how long the operation will take?" the doctor denied the question
"We don't know, it may be a few hours, but we also run the risk of the operation being extended in the face of the severity of the injuries...if you'll excuse me" the entire team watched as the doctor left to follow the team moving Silver to room 2.
"She's going to be all right, isn't she?" the silence of her friends was the only response Ruby got.
"Come on girls, staying here won't solve anything" Blake attracted the attention of her companions "We should go and get them checked thoroughly" the 3 of them nodded at her friend's suggestion. Seeing this, Blake called a nurse to tell her about the situation, who nodded quickly.
The three RWBY girls were taken to the medical review section, where they were treated by the temporary hospital staff. Each of them was evaluated to determine the severity of their injuries and receive appropriate treatment. Ruby was the first to be examined, followed by Weiss and then Yang. Blake did not move away from the 3 of them. Each of them was x-rayed and aura gauges were run, when the tests were finished the 4 women of the RWBY team were moved to a private room where Winter was waiting for them, she lost all military decorum and hugged Weiss, who still surprised by the show of affection hugged her sister tightly.
"I was so worried" Winter's embrace tightened. Weiss for her part buried her face in her sister's neck, that familiar warmth comforted her, the weight of the last few hours settling on her body; the embrace lasted a few seconds longer, until Winter became aware of the onlookers and tried to regain some control
"Sorry for the loss of composure" Winter apologized to her sister's classmates who gave her a smile.
"Never mind, we know the situation, we shouldn't worry or grieve you" Yang shook his hand dismissing the military woman's actions.
Winter's mouth formed a slight smile "Thank you" the eyes of the specialist looked at each of the 4 girls "I prepared this special room for you to rest, no one will disturb you".
Ruby at Winter's words was alarmed "No, no, no, no, we don't want preferential treatment."
"Nonsense, they deserve it, it was prepared by special order of General IronWood as a thank you for their support in the defense of the city and their contribution for the defeat of the Wyver" the RWY of the team were overly embarrassed "As well as for the help in bringing Miss Nikos back safe and sound, the General is overly grateful for the latter" with that said Blake joined her teammates in embarrassment.
"Will Pyrrha be okay?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.
"Right now she has the best doctors treating her, as well as her friend who was injured in the CCT tower collapse" all 4 moved uncomfortably at the reminder of Silver's injuries. Winter did not want to press this any further
"Please rest, you deserve it" with that said Winter left the room.
Seeing the room empty, the four of them took a seat in each of the four beds in the bedroom.
"Is it over?" 3 pairs of eyes focused on Yang, all knowing what the question referred to.
Weiss was the one who dared to answer "Yes, the Grimm in the area were defeated".
"But Beacon fell" Ruby spoke softly, Weiss let out a sigh at that.
"Yes, he did."
"And Vale is in critical condition" Blake added his thoughts, once again Weiss had to agree with him.
"We'd better rest" Weiss knew there was no use beating around the bush, the best thing was to rest as much as they could; the others had to listen to their friend, it was no use to keep lowering their mood, each one went to bed and closed their eyes, they hoped to wake up with better news.
/
The sounds of messages from her scroll woke Ruby up, on autopilot she picked up the device to see the cause of the message, sleep left her when she saw the content. Without wasting any time she proceeded to get her companions up.
"5 more minutes sis" a pillow wrapped around Yang's head to avoid the sound, the monochromatic duo mimicked the blonde's action.
"Pyrrha is out of surgery and is in a private room like ours, Jaune, Ren and Nora are already there" that information cleared the sleep of the trio who without wasting time got dressed, the RWBY team immediately left their bedroom in the direction of their friends' room, when they saw the indicated door they wasted no time and entered, there was already the whole JNPR team, Ren and Nora were sitting on a sofa on the right side of the bed that was in the middle of the room and where Pyrrha was lying, she gave them a smile when she saw them, an intravenous line was connected to her hand, her injured leg was in a cast to reduce the movement, as well as multiple electronic devices that measure the vital signs were connected to her body, Jaune was sitting to her left; no one missed how Pyrrha and Jaune's hand was intertwined.
"Pyrrha!" Ruby's voice echoed in the room as she rushed to embrace Pyrrha, being careful not to touch her wounds. The rest of Team RWBY did the same, expressing relief to see Pyrrha awake and recovering.
"We're so glad you're okay!" Weiss exclaimed, her eyes filling with tears.
Pyrrha smiled warmly at her friends. "I'm fine, thanks to all of you. And Jaune has been by my side the whole time."
Jaune gently squeezed Pyrrha's hand, his expression full of relief and concern. "I couldn't leave her alone, not after all she's been through."
Yang walked up to Jaune and patted him on the back. "The knight in shining armor wastes no time, eh" Yang's laughter made Jaune turn red at the implication of the yellow bombshell, still, he never let go of Pyrrha's hand.
Ren and Nora nodded their heads, their faces showing a mixture of emotions. They had been through a harrowing experience and the relief of having Pyrrha back with them was overwhelming.
"We missed you so much," Blake said softly, his voice full of genuine concern. "We were all very worried."
Pyrrha's gaze shifted to Blake and she held out her free hand, beckoning him closer. Blake hesitated for a moment before taking Pyrrha's hand between hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"I'm sorry," Pyrrha whispered, her voice barely audible. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help."
Blake and the others shook their heads at the Amazon's apology.
"It wasn't your fault Pyrrha, no one but Cinder has anything to pay" Blake's hands began to stroke her friend's hair.
"Also Mercury and Emerald" Yang's frown was one shared by all. Ruby took her sister's hand.
"We'll get them, sooner or later we will" Ruby exclaimed with conviction.
"Cinder is strong... very strong, I could barely do anything against her" Pyrrha drew everyone's attention "If it wasn't for you Ruby, I would have died for sure" the girl's body jerked at the memory.
"Pyrrha is not joking" Jaune shook his hair with his free hand, blue eyes roamed over each of his friends "She alone could against Ozpin, a teacher with years of experience and killed him, and even with that fight she still had the strength left to sweep Pyrrha" the atmosphere became tense at that.
"How does he get it...how does someone get that power?" the voice of Nora expressed the doubt that everyone had, only 2 people had an idea.
"Because she's a maiden" All eyes focused on the door opening letting in a veteran hunter.
"Uncle Qrow" Yang and Ruby exclaimed as they hugged him.
"Firecracker, puppy, glad to see you well" both nieces received a tight hug from their uncle.
"Mr. Brawner" Pyrrha greeted politely.
"No sir, girl, just Qrow...Mr. Brawner was my father" Ruby took his flask from him before he could take a sip of his drink at Pyrrha's salute.
"Hey!" Weiss looked away from the man, she watched as he fought with her niece trying to retrieve her alcohol, it still surprised her that he was an expert hunter on a higher level than her sister.
"Sorry to interrupt, but you said it was why is she a maiden?" Blake couldn't help but let his curiosity prevent the moment.
"Silver mentioned that too" Qrow raised an eyebrow at Weiss' comment.
"The guy who arrived escorted by IronWood?" the RWBY team nodded "Interesting, I should have a talk with him, only a few people are supposed to know that information" the red eyes focused on Pyrrha "Did you say anything to that guy?"
Pyrrha denied the question "I don't even know him, I only got to see him for a moment when he helped us, it seemed like Yang and Weiss know him" everyone's eyes focused on the aforementioned. Yang waved his hands in sign of also not knowing.
"I summoned him" Weiss bit her lip as she saw everyone's doubt, Qrow's eyes narrowed.
"Did you summon him?" Yang whispered the question.
"Summonings are not your family's special technique" Weiss nodded at Blake's question who shook his head in disbelief.
"My whole family can summon things that have an impact on our souls, Winter is an expert at it and taught me during the tournament" Memories of that afternoon flashed in Weiss' mind "I tried to summon a knight like the one guarding the Schnee estate, I remember the aura filling my body and the image flickering in my mind, I was sure I would succeed in summoning it."
"But it wasn't like that was it?" the blue eyes saw the silver ones "It was Silver who appeared instead" Weiss valid her friend's conclusion.
Qrow stood thoughtfully for a moment, then spoke. "Summonings are a special ability unique to the Schnee Family Semblances. Each member can summon something that reflects their soul and personality. It is a rather rare and powerful power. I'll have to investigate with the ice queen as to whether something like this had happened, maybe old Oz had something that could help us."
Weiss eyed the hunter suspiciously "You know a lot about my family's semblance."
A sardonic laugh came from Qrow "You learn a thing or two from working with your sister."
The talk was interrupted by Ruby: "Uncle Qrow, speaking of Silver, do you know anything about, him?" everyone's attention was focused on the raven who grimaced at the question.
"The last I heard of old Jimmy was that he was in intensive care, he made it through the operation well, but his body suffered a lot of damage... at the moment he has aura suppressants so that he can focus on recovering instead of focusing on healing his wounds, the best I can tell you is that he will be under constant observation" everyone grimaced at that "These are the risks of facing a maiden, no matter how novice they are they are still something to fear" Qrow took a sip from his bottle.
"They still haven't told us who the maidens are" Nora showed everyone's impatience.
Qrow let out a sigh at that "I shouldn't tell them this...I don't even want to tell them this" red eyes focused on her nieces, she wished she could keep them from entering this dark world "But in view of the fact that your friend already knows and will most likely tell them if I don't" Pyrrha had the decency to blush at the truth "Okay, where do I start".
"For the principle may be a good idea" Yang suggested to which Qrow stared at her.
"Shit, what a cliché phrase," Yang's knees hit the floor at her uncle's blunt retort.
"Bah, well, let's start like old Oz... What's your favorite story?"
"Snow White" replied Weiss.
"Little Red Riding Hood," said Ruby.
"Alice in ever after" was Blake's response.
"Pinocchio" Ren and Nora answered at the same time.
Qrow wilted at each response
"The magician and the 4 maidens" was Jaune's response.
"At last, someone of culture" Qrow celebrated the answer "Ahem, well, what if I told you that some of them are real, especially the maidens."
"Wait" Yang interrupted "You're telling me that there really was a pedophile magician who gave powers to 4 women he wanted to sleep with" Nora's laughter burst into the room, the others for their part blushed at that.
"Funny way of putting it, but yeah, pretty much yeah, but in more PG-13 terms is that."
"PG-13?"
"Stop interrupting me!" Qrow burst out at his nieces... hell, this is why he hated children "You see, Maidens, are special beings who possess a power known as Elemental Magic. This power is said to be linked to the natural elements: fire, water, earth and air, though many have developed their powers in unique ways."
"Wow, how come we just found out about this, and how can we get it" Nora blurted out the question everyone wanted to ask.
"Because we have taken it upon ourselves to hide it, Ozpin before everyone else has made this information non-public. And on how to obtain it, Maidens are chosen by an ancient selection process. When a Maiden dies, their power is transferred to a new person, usually if they die naturally their powers can go to the last person in their minds, but if they are killed there is a last chance for the powers to go to their killer" the weight of the words shook everyone.
"Did Cinder murder the old maid?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.
"I'm trying, but, I managed to save her...not enough though" Qrow clenched his fists at the memory of her slowness...curse his bad luck.
"The maiden was the one who was locked in Beacon's basement wasn't she?" his friends' eyes looked at Jaune "They were going to transfer her powers to Pyrrha weren't they, she would be the new maiden if Cinder hadn't ambushed us wouldn't she?" Qrow answered yes to every question.
"And now?" Pyrrha couldn't help but ask, she felt so lost.
"Now all that's left for you to do is rest, Glynda IronWood and I will take care of this in the absence of Ozpin" Qrow turned to leave the room "You guys shouldn't have gotten involved, but unfortunately you had no choice...sorry" with that said Qrow left the room leaving a deep silence, one that no one dared to break for minutes.
The only sound was generated by Weiss's Scroll who saw a message from her sister, when she saw it her brow furrowed "As if she didn't have enough" Ruby looked worried at her friend when she heard that.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go out, my father just arrived" Weiss apologized to everyone before leaving. But no one could help but think of everything that was coming up.
And cut
I hope you liked the chapter, and you know you can leave me any questions or doubts in the comments or by PM if you wish
Greetings!