Remembrance.
Ever since the fall of Beacon, the fear of war has been looming over people's lives. Even Atlas had been greatly affected by it, since it was their machines that were hacked and attacked innocent people, which would lead to a lot of people loosing trust in the powerful Kingdom. In said Kingdom, Bernadetta was sitting in her room, having been forced back by her father after Beacon fell. Normally she liked being locked away in her room, shutting herself away from all the scary stuff going on in the world... But this time it was different, she was happy in Beacon. She had friends, people who actually cared about her... And Yang.
Bernadetta thought about Yang a lot. How scared she was of the larger girl at first, how angry she would get when Yang was being a perv to her... and how safe she would feel when Yang helped her... and how loved she felt when Yang held her in her arms... The memories made a tear fall from Bernadetta's eye. She missed Yang so much. She missed everyone. But now she was trapped in this cage again.
"You ok?" She jumped at the voice and looked to see who it was.
"Yuri..." She whispered as the young man walked in. One of the only friends she had in Atlas.
"I remember when you wrote to me that you had finally broken out of your shell during your time at Beacon. But all I see is the same old Bernie I knew back in the old days. It's like you crawled back in to your shell the moment you came back to Atlas" Yuri said as he leaned on the wall in front of Bernadetta.
Bernadetta sighed "I thought I had changed. I thought I was stronger, braver... But I am the same weak coward I've always been. My friends were the ones who were strong and brave. And they shared it with me, making me feel like I could finally move on with my life... But the moment I was ripped away from them, I was thrown back in to my cage... I haven't changed at all".
"I'm not so sure about that" Yuri said.
Bernadetta looked at him, confused "What do you mean?".
"Normally you would just make up excuses to avoid leaving your room. But now you are openly admitting why you are like this. I say that is a notable step forward" Yuri answered.
"Thanks? I guess?" Bernadetta said, not sure how to react to that.
"Anyway, your father has been speaking to Jacques Schnee. Apparently they are going to hold a charity concert in the coming weeks" Yuri said.
"A Charity concert?" Bernadetta asked.
Yuri nods "To show Renmant that we are still on their side. Or at least that's what your father said. Honestly, it's hard to know the true meaning behind all the bullshit he keeps spewing".
"Yuri!" Bernadetta said, a little surprised by Yuri's bad language.
"Just calling it as I see it. Anyway, he made it very clear that you must come along to this charity. Oh and Weiss will be performing at the event" Yuri explained.
Bernadetta sighed. Of course her father would hide how horrible he is behind a wall of charity. No one knew how he was treating her, or the things he tried forcing her to do. Still, at least she could see Weiss if she came along. The only friend from Beacon who Bernadetta was still in contact with.
But she had a bad feeling about this whole thing.
Back with the traveling team, Lucina was sleeping calmly in her sleeping bag. They had been walking for a while, and decided to make camp for the night. However, as she was sleeping someone walked next to her and knelt down... stroke her hair before licking her cheek.
"Found you..." Came the all to familiar voice of Cinder.
Lucina sat up quickly, breathing hard. She looks around, but Cinder was nowhere in sight. She sighed and rubbed her head.
"You ok?" Came the concerned voice of Ruby as the young Rose was looking down on Lucina with worried eyes.
"I'm fine... Just a dream" Lucina answered.
"You too huh...?" Ruby asked quietly.
Lucina wasn't surprised by her response. Of course Ruby would be having nightmares too. She was there... just like Lucina was. And experienced the worst horrors of the fall of Beacon.
Later all five members of the team walk down a sunny road. Ruby is in front, looking at a map.
"So the next town is... uh-huh... uh-huh... We're lost" She said in a hopeless tone.
Jaune walks up next to her "We're not lost. The next town is Shion. My family used to visit it all the time".
"Oh yeah. Don't you have, like, four sisters?" Ruby asked.
"Uh, seven" Jaune corrected and Ruby giggles.
"You know, that actually explains a lot" Nora said.
Jaune gave her an annoyed look "Wait, what do you mean?".
"Surprised you have so many. I don't have any siblings myself. Closest I have to one is my younger cousin" Lucina said.
"You never told us you had a cousin. Who is it?" Jaune asked.
"His name is Owain. He is one year younger than me and has an... interesting personality. He would've joined Beacon if not for..." Lucina trailed of and everyone knew what she meant.
Ruby tried to lift the mode "So, what did you guys do in Shion, Jaune?".
"Oh, all sorts of stuff! Over here is a great hiking trail, and over here is where we went camping all the time. I got my own tent because I was special. Also, so my sisters would stop braiding my hair" Jaune explained.
Ruby smiled in amusement "Didn't like the look?".
"Yeah, they just kept doing pigtails, but personally, I think I'm more of a warrior's wolftail kind of guy" Jaune said.
"That's just a ponytail" Ruby pointed out.
Jaune frowns "I stand by what I said".
Nora stops short, raising her hands to her lips as her eyes widen. Soon after, Ren stops, visibly tense "Uh, guys?"
Jaune and Ruby look up from the map. Their eyes widen and jaws drop. In front of them is a desolated village. The sky is gray and two columns of smoke rise in the air. A gazebo has a broken tower and lampposts are askew from the ground. At least one dead body can be seen on the side of the road approaching the town.
The map is dropped and all five rush forward. They briskly move into the town, looking around. Ren tosses his backpack on the ground and moves ahead while the other three gather in the middle of a road.
"There could be survivors!" Ruby said, looking around desperately for anyone who could still be alive.
"Over here!" Ren called out.
The other four rush to where Ren is leading them. On the ground, sitting propped against a broken building wall is a young man in armor. He breathes heavily and holds his hand against a bleeding wound in his abdomen. Ren drops by his side and puts his hand on his shoulder.
"A Huntsman!" Ruby said.
"What happened? Who killed all these people?" Jaune asked.
The Huntsman coughs "Bandits. The whole tribe... Then, with all the panic...".
The Huntsman can't finish and coughs repeatedly,
"Grimm" Ren said as he stands and walks a few paces away, placing his hands atop his head. Ruby, Jaune, and Nora step away to confer while Lucina tried to comfort the Huntsman.
"It's ok... We will get you help" She tried to assure the dying man.
"Thank you..." He said weakly.
" Alright, we can get him to the next village and try to find a doctor there!" Ruby said.
Jaune nods "Yeah. Ren and I can take turns carrying him there".
"I don't know if he'll make it" Nora admitted sadly.
"He will. He has to" Jaune said.
"If we get going now, our chances will be better. I can run ahead and look for help!" Ruby offered.
"Guys" The others turn and discover that the Huntsman has already died.
Lucina closed his eyes and lowered her head. Once again she had failed to save someone who was right in front of her...
"Should we bury him?" Nora asked.
Ren walks right past them without a backward glance "We should go. It's not safe here".
"Ren..." Nora turns and follows him.
Ruby puts her hand on Jaune's arm. He is looking stressed and sad "It'll be okay".
"I'm just tired of losing everything" Jaune said in an angry tone.
Ren stops and looks at something on the ground, his eyes widening. A cloven hoofprint is impressed into the ground. Nora comes up to his side. She sees the same mark and her eyes also widen in recognition. The two of them silently make eye contact.
A while later the team, the team once again made camp to catch some sleep. Lucina tried to sleep, but her dreams were far from pleasant.
In her dream, she was trapped in darkness. But she wasn't alone. All around her were people who had died during the fall of Beacon... one of them being Pyrrha. Suddenly, all the people where ingulfed in flames and burned away like ash. Lucina looked horrified until she noticed someone walking through the flames. Lucina's eyes became wide with horror as she saw Cinder emerge from the fire.
"Some warrior you are. You failed to save them, and you tried to run away from me. But you are not going anywhere now" Cinder said, though her voice sounded far more demonic, and her eyes were glowing red "Now, I don't believe you will be needing those clothes anymore".
Lucina was suddenly lit on fire, but the flames didn't harm her and quickly vanished. Lucina looked down and gasped when she saw all her clothes had been burned away, leaving her completely naked from head to toe. Cinder was suddenly in front of her, placed a hand on Lucina's chest and pushed her down. Lucina landed on her back, and before she could get up, Cinder grabbed her legs and forced them apart, smirking with disgusting lust at the sight of Lucina's exposed vagina.
"You belong to me, Lucina. No matter how fast or how far you run, I will always find you. And you will always be mine" Cinder said in a demonic voice.
"No! No! NO!" Lucina screamed.
Suddenly she woke up and quickly pulled out her blade as she sat up, breathing hard. She was pointing her sword at nothing and realized it was just another nightmare. She slowly calmed herself down and rubbed the sweat from her face, and noticed Ren and Nora had somehow not woken up. Looks like Lucina wasn't as loud in reality as she was in her dream... However, Ruby and Jaune were missing.
She heard something nearby, so she got up and followed the sound. She found Ruby who was watching Jaune. He poses with it and the shield, before dropping his shoulders and turning to his right. His Scroll is set up on a stump.
"Alright, Jaune, just like we practiced. Follow these instructions. Shield up" Pyrrha said and Jaune lifts his shield so that only his eyes up are not protected "Keep your grip tight" Jaune tightens his hand on his sword "Don't forget to keep your front foot forward" Jaune hasn't forgotten and doesn't need to move "Ready? Go".
Jaune steps forward with the sword, cutting at the air and making a fighting cry.
Pyrrha "Again!".
Jaune moves forward with his other foot, again slashing the air and releasing a cry.
Pyrrha "And again".
Jaune spins in a circle, putting a lot of feeling and effort into his next cry and slash. It has cost him a bit, and he pants.
"Okay. Now assuming you aren't cheating, we can take a break" Pyrrha said.
Jaune stands upright and lets his head fall forward a bit, closing his eyes.
"I know this can be frustrating..." Jaune turns toward Pyrrha's image on his Scroll "And it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've never met someone so determined to better themselves. You've grown so much since we started trainingAnd I know this is just the beginning".
Pyrrha turns her head, struggling with her thoughts for a moment.
"Jaune, I-I..." Jaune takes a step closer to his Scroll as Pyrrha finds the words and confidence, placing her hands over her heart as she speaks "I want you to know that I'm just happy to be a part of your life. I'll always be here for you, Jaune".
The Scroll rewinds the video of Pyrrha without being touched. Jaune stands before it, holding his sword, his head bowed. He then resumes the exercise.
Ruby watches with pained eyes before turning away. Only to notice Lucina who put a finger to her lips to hush Ruby, and she didn't want to disturb Jaune. Ruby nods and they walk away.
Once they were far enough away, Lucina spoke "Ruby...".
Ruby looked at her "Yeah...?".
"You are not alone in this. We are all here for both you and Jaune. We will make things right again, together... Ok?" Lucina said, doing her best to smile.
Ruby was silent before a tear runs down her face and she hugs Lucina, burying her face in to the older girl's chest. Lucina hugged her back... They had been through so much already... All they could do now was hope that they can prevent a tragedy like Beacon from ever happening again...
Hope was all they had left... and it was fragile...
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Well... Tell me what you think.
