True Ending: Dead Hope's Hand
Why?
This question had tormented Hope for as long as he could remember. Why did his father disappear? Why did his first girlfriend, who had always been such an airheaded sweetheart, betrayed him and cheated on him? Why did his mother fall ill with an unknown, deathly illness? Why did he say those things to his best friend, knowing full well how emotionally and mentally fragile she was?
Why, Why, Why?
All of these questions... haven't mattered for a while now.
Ever since he came to Remnant, his mind stopped asking those questions. It reminded him nearly constantly of what happened, but it stopped asking why. And even as he layed there, bleeding, his mind still didn't asked him why. Because he already knew why he did the things he did.
He did it because he now had people depending on him. Who needed him.
Without him, things would've been so much worse. But as much as they needed him, he needed them as well. Without them, he wouldn't have changed his ways. He would have remained this pathetic, self-loathing, bitter loser with a broken heart. He owed them so much...
He just wished he could've paid them back, before the call of Gehenna came.
Unfortunately, where there should be the smell of ash and fire, was the scent of putrefaction and rotting corpses. The Wyvern's cold tongue wormed around his throat tightly, like a neck clasp meant to be as uncomfortable as possible. He should be choking, his throat restricted. But... Something warm held his throat, protecting him from asphyxiation.
Something unseen, something that should not be in this realm.
As soon as he acknowledged the unlikely warmth, a deafening shot cracked through the air, freeing him from the cold stench of the abominable Jabberwock. He landed in a heap at the feet of the monster, his tortured lungs emptied of air. He laid flat on the floor, his eyes flickering open. His sight set most hopeful upon falling on four vengeful, beautiful angels framed in the light of that Red Sun. The first angel, clad in a red cloak, arrived first on wings of rose petals.
"Cavalry's here..." he exhaled, his limp body almost unresponsive.
The red-clad angel, wearing a visage of a loving maiden scorned, uttered with venom a definite command as her eyes glowed a fierce silver.
"Get. Away. From. Him."
Hope scoffed out a chuckle, his throat hurting slightly.
Deja-vue.
The dark Beast growled lowly, it's omnicidal disgust and rage tempered by ancient knowledge of that holiest of silver light. As it did, the remaining three angels arrived, flanking their leader with equally wrathful expressions. They each uncheated their weapons, their deathly purpose imminent. The Jabberwock flinched, their anger and indignation, normally so nourishing felt toxic to the tongue. The monster made a strategic move by taking hold of the maimed seer between its vicious claws. The red angel's rage grew and she readied her weapon, fully intent on slaying the beast and freeing her love but the beast was far more cunning than its kin. The Jabberwock silently threatened her to stay still, squeezing Hope between its toes and clawing his sides and back. The pressure made his stump squirt out more precious blood than he could afford to lose. His pallor grew and his mind slipped into white.
The warmth that protected his throat earlier shifted from his neck to his head, softly tapping it to keep him awake.
He spat, a mix of blood, spit and air exiting his mouth. With his free arm, he gripped his stump roughly, both bringing great pain and restraining the blood flow. The agonizing ache kept him awake, a painful sign that his nervous system hadn't run out of steam yet. Although strong, the call of Gehenna couldn't be answered yet.
Let me say goodbye, at the fucking least!
He hit himself a few times to reinforce his wakefulness and, in his haste, hit the Jabberock a few times on accident. In response to being assaulted, the overgrown lizard of darkest shadow began to squeeze him between its claws. Creaks and snaps heralded the breaking of many ribs, earning a pained roar that delighted the sadistic beast. this only made the four angels' wrath grow, and all at once, their tempers boiled over.
The first to strike was the angel wreathed in gold, her fists shining like two burning suns as they collided with the terrible monster. The Jabberwock, cocky and proud, went to bat away the golden maiden like an insignificant gnat, but the ivory angel struck first. Like a magician of old, glyphs appeared from thin air, changing the density of the air to make it as hard as rock. The beast, stuck in solid air, was helpless before the golden angel's fury as she sent all of her weight and momentum into her fist. Her knuckles entered contact with the beast's wing, right at the joint. Pain shocked the monster's system as its cartilage bent painfully and its articulation creaked like an old door.
The glyph fainted, giving the monster the breather it needed to reposition, letting go of Hope in the process. The Jabberwock jumped back with its massive, muscular hind leg with a high-pitched cry. However, as it landed, a soft ribbon wrapped around its legs and made it stumble. Thus struck the ebony angel, her furious slit eyes wholly focused on the abomination that dared hurt her love. The beast tried to free itself, but the black angel refused, her muscles and veins bulging under the strain of holding back such a mighty foe. As the Jabberwock raged against its constraints, steel hailed upon its back. The red angel flew around the beast, firing upon it from all sides with her spewing scythe.
Its bones cracked and its flesh split as the quartet rained punishment on the beast, its own boiling rage impotently bouncing back as if fortune itself smiled at the avenging Huntswomen.
Hope felt his heart swell at the beautiful sight of heroes taking down a monster. His head lulled uselessly, the warmth still keeping him away from death's door. A shadow stood over him, one he thought to be one of his world's Gravedigger, or maybe even a Reaper. But the figure was not clad in black and their faces weren't hidden.
It was the face of a scared fallen angel with minty hair and dark skin.
The fallen angel grabbed him by the chest, squealing in disgust as his blood stained her hand. She began dragging him away from the battle.
"Eme...rald." He called out weakly.
She looked down, horrified.
"Oh gods..."
"Why...?" he asked.
She frowned pathetically, doubling her efforts to safeguard him.
"I... Don't know..." she admitted. "I don't know! Why am I helping you?! I-"
The beast, its fury erupting, unleashed an ear-piercing roar. All fell to their knees, their ears ringing and their vision splitting. The fallen angel fell to a knee and cried, plugging her ears and feeling blood seep between her fingers. Hope felt the warmth move to his ears, protecting him. He held his hand to his ear...
And felt warm hands holding them.
Whatever this benevolent phantom was, it only wanted him safe. Unlike the Jabberwock, whose almost single-minded desire to see Hope die would not resolve itself peacefully. Hope pushed Emerald away, throwing himself to the side with what little strength he had as the beast broke off from the fight to end Hope. The beast held its talon high above the seer, ready to gore him like a pig...
Until a ray of fire threw the beast onto its back.
Hope looked back to where the fire came from and came upon a demoness with eyes like embers. Held in the arms of a shocked, iron-legged demon, the demoness scowled furiously at the raging beast with her smoking arm held out.
"He... Is... MINE!" She bellowed.
"Are you serious?!" The iron-legged demon exclaimed. "You've got to be kidding me!"
Taking advantage of the situation while the Wyvern was caught flat-footed, the ivory angel redoubled the strength of her glyphs, utterly locking the beast in place even as it tried with all its might to free itself. The red angel turned to her maimed friend who writhed on the floor next to the fallen minty angel.
"Blake!" She yelled. "Go get him out of here! We'll hold it off!"
"Roger that!" Blake replied hastily.
The black angel ran like the world was falling apart, running over debris and deftly traversing the war-like landscape. She skidded to a halt next to He Called Hope as the fallen angel held down his bleeding stump with revulsion. The two looked at each other, one filled with bile while the other winced impotently. instead of a biting remark, the only thing that left the black angel's mouth was an annoyed groan. She knelt down to his level, her eyes threatening to cloud with tears at the sight of his sorry state.
"Oh gods..." she muttered.
the fallen angel felt her stomach churn as more blood spurted out of the stump.
"He needs a tourniquet!" she blithered. "For gods' sake, he's bleeding everywhere!"
The black angel nodded, removing an old but soft ribbon from her pocket. Once upon a time, it was to hide who she truly was to the world. Now... Now she would use it to save the life of the man who stole her heart. She wrapped the stump's end tightly after wrapping it in scrapped cloth from his shirt. The white cloth immediately dyed red, but it seemed to hold for now. Next was his leg but strangely enough, there wasn't much blood flowing, as if something was stopping the flow of ichor. Still, she likewise applied a scrap tourniquet.
Despite their best efforts, the limited medical aid meant that Hope's life still hung by a thread. The iron-legged demon rushed to them, demoness in hand, looking beyond panicked.
"Emerald! We have to go!" He urged.
The fallen angel looked at the first man to ever show her true kindness with a pathetic, pleading look. Hope's hand lifted, taking her head and putting their foreheads together.
"Go..." He pleaded. "If you're lucky... The Witch won't know... And you'll be... Safe..."
He let go, looking at the demon's charge. The demoness's eyes flickered open and shut, mumbling deliriously.
"He's mine... He's mine..." She repeated. "All... Mine..."
Hope sighed.
"It's up... to you if you want... that bitch to live..."
The fallen angel's lip trembled as she clenched her eyes shut. Her fear fought with her sense of obligation. The potential death of her boss and the wrath of the Witch, or the death of the only person who genuinely cared for her...
In the end...
"Gods damnit..." she exclaimed.
Fear won.
The fallen angel got up on her feet and walked away with the demon in tow. She looked back sadly at the seer, who smiled back.
"Don't die..." He said.
A tear fell down her cheek.
"That's my line..." she blurted before running away.
Hope and the black angel watched as the dark triad left, disappearing into the shadows to where their escape hid. The feline cradled the seer, stroking his face with teary eyes.
"I'm so glad we got here in time..." she almost sobbed, managing to hold back the tide of her emotions.
Hope coughed up blood, his torso wound still very much a thing.
"Woods are dark... Need to get out first... Before saying we made it..."
The black angel nodded, caressing his face one last time.
"Right... I need to get you out of-"
Before she could finish, the golden angel tumbled into view. she landed a few meters away before skidding to a halt at Hope's feet. Her beautiful mane was a mess and her body was covered in bruises. She fell to a knee and panted heavily, squinting in pain.
"That bastard's tough..." she groaned.
The black angel winced.
"You good?" she asked her partner.
"No, we're getting our asses kicked and that thing's not going down easy."
Hope groaned, pushing the black angel away and towards her battle-sister.
"Take that fucker... to his grave. Come and get me when... You win."
The black angel obviously didn't like the idea of separating from her love. Even the golden angel looked reticent to leave him alone, but a cry of pain from her red sister reminded her that although she hated the idea, things would get far worse if they didn't go. She took her comrade's shoulder with a pained stare.
"Let's kill it, then we go home. With him."
The black angel bit her lower lip until her Aura sparked. She nodded somberly, wearing a bitter frown and with hearts as heavy as lead, the pair dashed away to aid their battle-sisters in their herculean endeavour. To conquer the beast and win the day, they had no choice but to leave their beloved behind.
For if divided, they will fall.
Alone, the seer laid on the floor uselessly, watching as the quartet's assault on the beast began anew. His ragged, difficult breathing was not helped by the blood still clogging his throat. his heart burned, both metaphorically and literally.
Knowing my luck, I got fucking lung or heart damage from Cinder's burning blade.
He crawled away slowly, intent on using the rubble as cover in case of collateral damage. the closer he got to the remains of Beacon Tower, the less strength he had. he heard the slowing beat of his heart in his ear, the previously unbearable pain in his severed arm, pierced leg and torn torso now felt awfully dull. His usual pallor now looked ghostly and his eye had difficulty focusing. he rolled over, now facing the battle. His eye drifted around as his dearests in this world and any fought for their lives against a beast only seen in the ancient past and legends. but although they were battered, bloody and bruised, they fought on with a desperate strength.
They knew that if they didn't hurry, Hope would die of his wounds.
He called Hope watched helplessly as their efforts led up to zilch. The monster would not fall, no matter how hard they tried to knock it down. In fact, as their energy drained, the beast remained maimed but unwavering. Its lone eye glowed evilly, burning with sickening glee as Team RWBY came to realize how truly dangerous and harrowing their endeavour truly was.
To put it plainly, they were completely out of their league. Slowly but surely, they were running out of steam.
The beast found their realization gratifying, to say the least. A small, cavernous cackle left its ancient maw. Its malicious mirth made the Angels' skins crawl. It began circling around the brutalized team with merely a small limp hampering its cruel stride. Their rage had slowly been subsumed by worry and fear, emotions much more palatable to the ancient evil.
Hope's hand scrunched into a fist and his teeth gnashed.
No...
The monster came closer and closer, every forward step making the angels flinch. Hope felt blood rise again from his throat, his heart burning and thumping painfully.
No...
The warmth came back, pulling his sleeve tentatively. His eye had difficulty refocusing but once it did, the glimmer of something close by stole his attention.
There, bathed in the Red Sun's light, layed his friend's salvation: Morrigan.
Hope mustered what little strength he had left and began the harrowing journey to his AMR. As he did, his delirious mind wandered.
He remembered his old life, so drab and grey, so mundanely painful despite the horrors that lurked in his home. He came closer to Morrigan, one drag at a time. He remembered the first day he came into Remnant, where he met a minor antagonist, his greatest ally, his worst nuisance but most of all...
One of his most precious friends.
Morrigan was only a meter away now. He remembered his first month at Beacon where he met everyone else: a paladin, a champion, a wuxia, a valkyrie, a giant, a fashionista, a blind warrior, a loving rabbit...
His beloved snow princess, his beautiful beast partner-in-crime, his awesome sun dragon...
Hope's mind blanked once the AMR was in his off-hand. he blinked, dumbfoundedly.
I'm... right-handed...
The warmth held his shoulder, whispering into his ear that all would be fine.
She would guide him.
...
Ruby landed in a heap after another failed charge backfired. Her arms failed her as she tried to push herself up, her Crescent Rose laying limply beside her, its edge stripped. She looked around, her companions just as defeated and beaten as her. They tried so hard...
It wasn't enough.
Their strength, their wits, their courage. All ran thin when faced with the abomination that still stood before them. She looked up at the Jabberwock, its wounded frame standing tall and imposing. It brought its face close to hers, staring her eye to eye. Her scared, exhausted silver eyes met with its olden, awful yellow eye. Her pupils shook frightfully as the beast's gaze focused on her. Tears stained the corner of her eyes as she began to tremble from the sheer malevolence emanating from it. It looked past her at her teammates, looking just as amused by their misery as it did Ruby's.
A whirring noise came from above, a lone black bullhead hovering high above the battlegrounds. The beast scoffed arrogantly as it recognized the presence of that treacherous harlot and her useless posse. Once it's done having its fun with those four and that would-be assassin, its mistress will know of her betrayal. it will make sure of it personally.
A disgusting warmth caressed its broken torso, seizing its black heart with both hands and filling it with serenity.
The beast suddenly stood back unto its hind legs, shrieking in revulsion. Ruby scrambled away to her Crescent Rose as her friends glared at the beast in confusion.
"W-what's happening?" Weiss bumbled.
"I don't know but it looks really mad now." Blake pointed out worriedly.
The beast looked around, desperate to find the source of that awful, serene warmth. It whipped itself around as a mechanical click reverberated around the empty ruins of the tower. Its lone eye shrunk as a deathly figure clad in blue stood defiant.
And it lost its other eye the same way it lost the first.
The beast fell on its back, howling in pain and distress as what remained of its vision disappeared. All, both on the ground and in the air, looked to where the shot originated. Kneeling, Hope used his stump to stabilize his wrong-handed grip as an invisible helping hand lent him a steady aim. Hope's aim dropped, having lost the last of his strength. Morrigan fell limply, its barrel sticking into the ground as He called Hope clutched it for support.
Cinder cackled deliriously from the bullhead.
"He won... He won!" she panted. "Even maimed and dying, he won!"
Emerald smiled gladly, a soft sigh accidentally leaving her mouth. The bastard actually worried her there for a minute... Mercury just gapped in shock. He actually took it down?
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" he exclaimed. "HOW!?"
Incredulous smiles crossed Team RWBY's faces as victory landed in their lap suddenly.
"That fucking Anon..." Yang endearingly exclaimed. "Never stops surprising me."
But before any real celebrating could begin, the blinded Jabberwock gurgled ominously. It's transcendent spite and fury towards this... this thing. This unbelievable, irksome maggot that maimed it not ONCE but TWICE. This little insect that had the gall to not only refuse to die when it willed it but that also made it BLEED. So much bile, so much vitriol...
So much earth-rending HATRED.
Black smoke erupted from its every orifice, followed by white, bone-like slime. RWBY backed away in terror as the wyvern squealed and moaned in pain as all of its bones shattered, liquified and re-calcified in new, horrific shapes. Its vacant eyeholes oozed with the bone-slime like puss from an infected gash before calcifying into horrifically jagged horns. Its shoulder blades snapped off, tearing themselves out of their sockets before relocating further up its back. From its bleeding wounds, bone erupted in the shape of arms that were then covered in dense, cord-like muscles. From its featureless hands emerged wicked red talons that bled red. A massive serpentine tail erupted from its back, ending in a flail-like spine. the beast's flesh cried and bled white until its entire body save for its now glowing red heart and shadow-black underbody became encased in bone scales. The Wyvern was no more, Anon Hope had killed it at last. But in its place stood something far worse. In its place stood...
A Dragon.
The reborn Jabberwock stood tall on its four legs, stretching its even larger wings wide. it bellowed, its tone now far deeper and far more gruesome. RWBY fell unto their backs, trembling like leaves in the wind with various expressions of hopeless dread. The beast approached, its walk strangely smooth and graceful. its eyeless mask approached Ruby.
And opened its mouth, and spoke.
"Silver Eyed one," it spoke, its cavernous voice echoed like a choir of a hundred torture voices. "We remember one like you. Older, more beautiful than any flower this world ever birthed."
Ruby's breathing accelerated in a panic. This was a nightmare, it had to be...
"She ran away like a coward, even when faced with my imperfect, half-dormant self." It continued. "But this time, I won't let you get away like I did her."
A mechanical depression reverbed again.
The beast lazily lifted its tail, catching the bullet meant for its head. Hope laid on his belly, his aim somehow still true despite aiming through his blind eye. The beast shook its head contemptuously as Hope emptied the rest of his magazine into the impenetrable defence of the Grimm Dragon. The Jabberwock craned its neck out, its snout next to Ruby's ear.
"But first... a necessary detour on the road to your destruction."
Its tail creaked and groaned before extending, turning an armoured, nimble appendage into a wicked, blade-covered whip that doubled in length. It reeled back its tail before twirling it around like a bullwhip. With a quick, sudden flick, its tail barreled through the air toward Hope. He weakly lifted Morrigan in front of him to protect himself from the terrible impact. The flail at the end of its tail crushed Morrigan in twain, shattering it completely and sending its remains absolutely everywhere. The flail crashed into Hope's chest, sending him flying into the air as it caved in his ribcage. Hope cratered soundlessly on the floor only a few metres away from Team RWBY, his vacant eyes staring at them as blood poured from his nose and mouth. The Dragon chuckled cruelly as its tail scrunched back together with a disgusting squelch. It lifted its talon over a devastated Ruby.
"Goodbye, Silver-Eyed one."
Tears of light fell from Ruby's eyes as the beast's hand descended on her.
"No..." she whimpered.
...
Above, the mood completely reversed inside the bullhead. Emerald looked away from the grizzly scene, turning around so as to not see what remained of Hope. Cinder blinked twice, waiting for Hope to rise again.
Again she blinked, and Hope remained motionless.
"No..."
The bullhead moved away, not intent on remaining any longer despite her order.
"TURN BACK AROUND!" she demanded.
"No can do." The pilot replied neutrally. "Sky's getting turbulent. We leave now or not at all."
Cinder fell off her seat, forcing her deadened limbs towards the window to the outside. She reached for Hope as the scene shrunk.
"No! No! NO!" she cried out. "You're mine! You are meant to be MINE!"
Mercury shook his head at his pathetic boss. As he looked back out of the window, a realization hit him.
Now he understood what Anon Hope had meant that day, as a dot of blinding silver light shone like a star.
...
"No..."
Ruby felt her eyes burn as her heart broke. her brain burst into flame inside her skull as tears of light cascaded from her eyes. She whimpered pathetically as her eyes glued to her dead love's broken frame. Her awed team looked on as their leader became wreathed in silver.
"What's... happening?" Weiss questioned.
"So bright..." Blake winced as she looked away from the dazzling light.
"Ruby?" Yang called quietly.
"No..." Ruby repeated in devastation.
Her eyes glowed harder, surrounding her in a bubble of silver light. The dragon's talon crashed against the ward of light, earning a cry of pain from the Jabberwock.
"W-what?!" it decried in confusion. "No! Not now! You cannot awaken right as I am to triumph!"
The deadly limb's bony protection slowly turned into a strange, silvery crystal. The beast recoiled back, standing on its hind legs as it held its petrified hand.
"NO!" It cried out. "IT CANNOT BE!"
Ruby's eyes erupted with silver light. The light hit the dragon's frame, the crystal overtaking its bony scales. It held its hands out defensively, fruitlessly trying to protect itself from that accursed light.
"NO! NO!"
A heartbreaking cry left Ruby's throat.
"ANOOOOOON!"
All went white as the whole of Beacon drowned in silver light.
Thump... Thump... Thump...
The slowing beat of a dying heart, resting within a ruined, shattered cage of bone. Nestled between burned, collapsed lungs.
Yang's legs burned despite being covered by Weiss's speed glyphs. Even her Aura was so burned out that it couldn't protect her fully from the friction of air resistance. On her back was her sister and best friend, both out for the count and one in desperate need of aid. As the only one with the upper body strength required to haul both at once, Yang had been chosen by her other two teammates to rescue their leader and their best friend. With help from Weiss's glyphs, she dashed across ruined roads in the blink of an eye. The burning pain in her tired legs was atrocious, as were the black bruises that she sustained on the assault against the Jabberwock but the fear of losing Hope was worse than any pain she had felt in her life. But with the pain, came a loss of control.
And a mere pebble was enough to send her to the floor like a ragdoll.
The blonde brawler crawled to her family, both blood and found, with tears in her eyes. Her legs completely failed her and did not move despite her desperate command.
"Help..." she cried out quietly. "Anybody... Help..."
A high-intensity light shined on her, and a familiar voice welcomed her.
"Yang!"
She looked up to see a most welcomed sight, that of their friends and siblings-in-arms. JNPR jumped down from their perch with reassuring smiles. Jaune knelt next to her, gently taking her arm to support her.
"Yang!" he exclaimed. "It's ok, we got you!"
She grabbed his collar bruskly with maddened eyes full of desperation.
"Forget me!" she yelled. "Anon! He... He's..."
A gasp escaped Pyrrha's mouth as she discovered the fate of her team's wingman. JNPR's mood did a complete one-eighty as the same fear that gripped RWBY now took hold of them. Silently, the team entered a state of hyper-focus. Pyrrha took hold of Hope and immediately ran towards the nearest evacuation site, followed closely by the rest of her team and a supported Yang.
...
"It's hopeless!" an assistant exclaimed dourly. "His entire chest cavity has collapsed. you're wasting precious time that could be used to save others!"
A woman with pure white hair scowled furiously behind her tinted glasses as her hands moved too fast to see.
"Be quiet, faithless heathen!" she muttered. "You wouldn't understand..."
A rogue lock of immaculate white fell down beside her head.
"Lord Raphael, Lady Zadkiel, heed my prayer!" She begged with focused eyes. "Please, let me not fail this faithful crusader! Let not his True Faith be in vain!"
Machines beeped and whirred robotically inside of the tent, a scene all too familiar for Team RWBY as Blake and Weiss rejoined their comrades, dragging themselves to them. Ruby layed unconscious in a bed next to Hope, her sister bouncing her leg nervously on a nearby chair. Yang glared at the bastard who basically said to let her precious family die, her eyes turning a violent red. Weiss sat down opposite of Yang, looking completely defeated. Blake, meanwhile, sat on the floor by Yang, balled up and holding her legs. JNPR sat around, just as anxious and dour as their sister Team.
Save for Jaune.
Despite being a volunteer, the future paladin had an odd knack for first aid. He even managed to somewhat keep up with the alabaster medic, giving her the tools she required when she asked for them. At the current, he was assisting her in trying to keep Anon on this side of the mortal coil. So far, the good doctor had somehow managed to reconstruct his ribcage and un-collapse his lungs. To say that Assistant Jaune was impressed and baffled would be something of an understatement. but despite this display of skill, a bloody-handed Jaune watched helplessly as the situation's grimness hit him all at once.
Hope was not going to make it, no matter how hard they tried.
Nothing short of a miracle was going to save him from his beyond-broken body. His heart rate was slow, too slow. Heck, Jaune saw it firsthand when she opened him up to fix his lungs and ribs. The poor organ, stained with soot and bleeding from a burned gash, looked him in the eyes as it pumped once every other second.
"No, no, no..." Jaune repeated quietly.
The entire tent went cold at the page's growing panic. But just as the room's nervousness peaked...
Flatline.
The long, dreadful tone put the whole tent in shock. The white-haired doctor dropped her tools, falling to her knees as her glasses fell off. Her white eyes wept golden, her breast heaving spastically with hiccups.
"I... Failed..."
Jaune was the first to shake off his shock, his first instinct to give Hope CPR only to be met with the awful reality that doing so would only crush his damaged heart. He held his friend's face, the man whom he looked up to like an older brother. The man who finally brought his two teammates together and brought Jaune himself and his partner closer.
Anon Hope's eyes were vacant, empty of life.
Tears fell from the page's face.
"No, no! Anon!" he decried tearfully. "It wasn't supposed to be like this! Please!"
He closed his eyes, his hands held against his face and neck. Nora chuckled incredulously, unable to understand what was happening.
"W-what? You're kidding right?" she denied. "Anon can't die... He's... He's been through worse! This..."
Her incredulous laughter devolved into a panting sob.
"This... isn't true..."
Pyrrha hid her tearful eyes behind her hand as a half-stoic, half-devastated Ren held and consoled his love. Jaune felt his heart break in half, his tears falling on his lost friend's chest.
"Please... It can't... End like this..." he cried with a broken voice.
His hands began to glow an effervescent sunlight yellow, drowning the tent in soothing light. RWBY's battered bodies glowed their respective Aura colour, their wounds vanishing with a hiss of steam. While Ruby remained unconscious, the other three felt like she could take on an army, or fight that dragon all over again. Everyone's energy rebounded into the stratosphere despite this long, atrocious day. But despite everyone's renewed health... the one to whom it would matter most, still remained motionless.
Hope was lost.
Emerging from the tent was an inconsolable Blake, her face a tear-ravaged mess. Last she felt this heartbroken was when her grandmother passed, not even the realization of Adam's change had hurt her so much. Why? Why did this happen? The answer was as obvious as it was familiar, to her at least.
Cinder and the White Fang.
Were it not for Sienna selling her soul and the Fang's, Hope would still be alive. Were it not for Cinder, none of anything since the beginning of this entire mess would have happened in the first place. The latter dashed and was nowhere to be seen nor did Blake had any idea where she could have been.
With the former, however, she had much more of an idea of where to start.
Sorrow and heartbreak turned to drive and determination. Although her heart was in pieces, she knew that he wouldn't want her to dwell on it for too long. To mourn his passing, yes, that was just a healthy thing to do, but to obsess over it and let it rot her soul like it did him, would hurt him more than her.
Blake kept walking, then her steps quickly turned into a sprint. She ran as hard as her reinvigorated legs would take her before mantling buildings and traversing the Vale cityscape. Her heart hurt, but like he had, she would go on and continue her mission.
Their mission. Hers and Hopes.
A plan quickly formulated in her head. If she wanted to take the Fang down and ensure that nothing like Vale's Fall would happen ever again, she would need to defang the terrorist organisation. To do that, she would need fellow dissenters. She would need to behead their leadership.
Adam Taurus would be the key.
Hope had implied that they could become friends. Not only that, but when they had come to face each other, Adam was unable to strike down Hope. He had shown her that the Adam she once knew wasn't completely gone. Anon had lit a spark in both of their hearts, one of love and one of self-reflection. He had risked everything to bring that spark out...
She would be the one to finish his work, and light that fire once more.
Blake stopped running, overlooking the ruins of Vale from a roof.
"Anon..." she muttered, wiping away her tears. "I'll finish what we started. I swear it."
To start off, she'd need to go back home to Menagerie, where the Fang was founded. She knew her parents would help. She wouldn't be able to bring her Team but she knew that they'd be looking for Cinder. Blake trusted them to make good on any lead they find and make her pay but the Fang would have to be her burden to deal with. At the very least, she'll send them some regular reports on her progress. She may be alone for now, but she won't abandon them. They will reunite again later, once this open wound has been cauterized and healed.
Blake looked back at Beacon's ruin in the distance, her home for the last three months. She won't be able to forget the pain of losing it all, not yet anyhow. But she'll endure.
Like he had before.
Never in her life did Weiss Schnee ever curse her father. Resented him, yes, but never cursed. As her heart was torn apart, in her greatest moment of personal failure and loss...
He just had to sink his nails into her. Personally.
Jacques Gele-Schnee, 7th CEO of the Schnee Dust Corporation and successor of Nicolas Zimno-Schnee, had come to Vale to take his daughter back home. Accompanying the man himself was his personal squad of Frost Guard, a private security group founded generations ago by the first CEO, Jack Frost-Schnee. Weiss turned around with gritted teeth, herself having fled the tent where her brother had painfully passed.
"Father..." she strained out as she whipped her tears away tiredly.
Jacques blinked impassively, his stoney face unmoved by his own daughter's obvious anguish and lament.
"Weiss," he replied coldly.
"Why are you here?" she asked back, just as cold as he had been. "This isn't a place for a prim and proper businessman like you."
The older man sighed, his coldness only matched by his shocking patience.
"Although true, I have come to return you back home, to Atlas."
"Why? It's only been a day since the Fall of Vale. How could you have known this would happen for you to come snatch me up?"
"I didn't. I originally came here to do some dealings with local Dust mining unions." he sighed sadly. "But that opportunity has clearly fallen apart what with this... Tragedy."
Weiss snarled. The detached, almost callous way he called the atrocity unfolding before him made her sick to her stomach. It didn't even register that he didn't come to see her and her team fight in the tournament, although she couldn't have cared less even if he did.
He would only see it as another 'Opportunity' for him to market the family name.
The Frost Guards approached, their faces hidden behind bulletproof faceplates, erasing their individuality. One of them bowed his head respectfully, his pure white uniform almost shining in the Red Sun's light. A golden patch breaking up the purity of his white uniform denoted him as the captain of the squad.
"Lady Schnee," he spoke, his natural tone like a loud whisper. "Tis' not a safe place to be anymore."
The snow princess glared at the Guard.
"I'm a Huntswoman."
"In training." The captain added.
"A pointless distinction!"
He tilted his head forward apologetically.
"But one that has to be made."
The guards surrounded her.
"We must bring you back home, my lady. Matriarch's order."
Weiss flinched.
"M-mother as well?!"
One of the other guards took out an old tape recorder, holding it next to Weiss.
"Yes." the captain continued.
He pressed the play button, playing a white noise-filled recording of her mother's voice.
"Lady Willow," a female voice greeted respectfully. "How may I be of service?"
There was a sound of clinking glass.
"Another bottle." An old, tired voice full of bitterness and ethanol commanded.
"...At once." the woman accepted reluctantly.
"And while you're at it..." Willow Schnee interrupted. "Send a message to the guard."
The voice sighed semi-impatiently.
"Nightly duties again, my lady?"
Weiss recoiled in disgust, knowing exactly what that term meant. Her father seemed utterly unfazed by the revelation. If anything, he seemed completely ambivalent to it.
"No, It's about my younger daughter. Bring her back to the Snow White estate."
"If I may ask, my lady, why do you require her?"
"Her eighteenth birthday is a few months away, we'll need to officialize her status as heiress of the company."
"But her studies abroad-"
"I've already prepared the paperwork for her to be transferred to Atlas Academy by year's end at the very latest. all I have to do is send it to one of our connections at the academy and she'll be in no muss nor fuss. Worst case scenario, we'll have to fly her back a week or two before the ceremony and send her back a week later for her to finish the year at Beacon."
Weiss gnashed her teeth and balled her fists. The captain of the Frost Guard shook his head in disappointment. The recording continued.
"My lady, why must she transfer? From her letters, she seemed to quite enjoy being at Beacon."
There was a long, uncomfortable pause as the sound of liquid being swallowed was heard all the while.
"Does she now?" The woman scoffed. "I didn't get a choice in marriage, let alone my own studies. Why should she choose her school when I didn't?"
Weiss's fists quaked, her nails digging into her sparking Aura.
"My lady, you're drunk." the female voice noted, a quiet anger in her voice.
"I know, I'm fucking with you." she dismissed. "Weiss is going to need to socialize with the Atlan bigwigs and their stupid kids. You know, build bridges and all that... Horseshit. The sooner she starts acquiring connections, the better she's going to do in the future as a CEO."
The drunken lady scoffed.
"Until some asshole man comes in and steals her place, like usual."
The woman sighed at her mistress.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll warn Lord Jacques' escort to make a detour to warn her of the situation."
"Good." there was another liquid pause. "And Chanterelle?"
The woman sighed quietly.
"Yes, my lady?"
"Tell Jacques to go fuck his mother while you're at it."
The recording screeched to silence. The older man rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed by his wife's debauchery and insults.
"Never heard that one before." he dismissed sarcastically.
He returned his gaze to his daughter, who was shaking with barely restrained anger.
"Although I find her unpleasantness appalling, I find her initiative and forethought refreshing," he admitted. "I believe that this is for the best. Not only will you get a top-notch education, but your objective to become a huntswoman will-"
"BOTH OF YOU CAN GO TO HELL!" Weiss screamed in rage.
The businessman didn't even flinch.
"I do not know what this 'Hell' place is, but it is all for the better."
"Better my ass!" She dismissed angrily. "Neither of you gives a single damn about what I want!"
"Your future is important, Weiss. You're the heiress, the entire company will become yours once your training is complete. What you want and what you need to do are incompatible."
Weiss approached her father, her angry stride ringing alarm bells in the Frost Guards's heads. She struck her finger into her father's chest, the frail man recoiling slightly in pain and discomfort.
"I don't give a singular FUCK about what you or that drunken CUNT have to say about my future!" she declared crassly. "I get to decide that!"
Jacques' expression changed from neutral to wrathful, his face growing red. His hand flew across Weiss's face, sending her to the ground with a large red handprint on her face. Weiss held her face as she glared tearfully at her genitor.
"It seems your mother was right, for once, to pull you out of that place," he said, his calm voice strained with anger. "You've learned quite a few new, awful words that you shouldn't have."
Jacques snapped his fingers and the Frost Guard closed in on the pair.
"Take her to the bullhead, this place has nothing left to offer anyone."
The guards nodded reluctantly before taking hold of Weiss's arms in a matter that stopped her from going for her Myrthnaster. The snow princess struggled with all her might but although her body had been rejuvenated, her mental fatigue and grief had reached a breaking point. At first, it was denial.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Then it was anger.
"LET ME GO, YOU SHITWITS!" she demanded shrilly.
Then it was bargaining.
"Please! I can't leave! I..."
Tears began to flow and the Guard flinched, her efforts stopping. Weiss began to cry.
"I... I can't leave him yet... I... Please..."
The captain felt his heart squeeze painfully.
"...What?" he ended up asking. "Who is he?"
Weiss ignored his question, the shock of Anon's death giving way to a tidal wave of grief.
"He's dead... Please..." she sobbed. "I'll come just... Please let me bury him... That's all I ask..."
The Guards looked to their charge, as if waiting for him to answer.
A cold, impatient glare met them.
With a sad sigh, the captain waved his compatriots to comply with the original order. Solemn and dour, the Frost Guard escorted Weiss to the bullhead as she begged them to let her go.
"NO! NO! I DON'T WANT TO GO!" She blubered, any ounce of grace and nobility replaced by ugly grief. "PLEASE, I CAN'T LEAVE HIM!"
She reached out to the distant tent where her teammates, and the corpse of her found-brother, were.
"ANOOOOOON!"
Even with the heart-wrenching scene, none interrupted the Frost Guard's march to the bullhead. Because to trifle with the Frost Guard, was to trifle with death itself. The large bullhead emblazoned with the Schnee Dust Corporation waited at the evacuation site alongside many other refugees. The Frost Guards pushed people away as they made way, a limp, demoralized, devastated Weiss sobbed as she was dragged inside. As the bullhead closed and prepared for lift-off, Weiss was released. She fell on her knees and rear, burying her face in her hands as she wept. The captain let his featureless mask fall into his hand, revealing a scarred man wearing a soft frown of pity. He fell to a knee, holding his master's daughter gently.
"My condolences, my lady," he whispered.
"I want my big brother..." she sobbed, not registering her surroundings anymore.
Her father sat across her, near the front of the craft. At the utterance of big brother, he cocked the same confused brow as the captain.
"Don't you mean big sister, my lady?" The captain asked.
She didn't answer, her grief clogging her throat. He silently helped her to a seat, one where she immediately balled up. He remained at her side for the whole of the trip as the young woman mourned her lost family. Although he had heeded her father's command, she appreciated the gesture. It took hours of consoling before another word left her mouth.
"Big brother..."
The captain and Jacques looked up at the glassy-eyed girl. After thinking about it for a moment, the latter of them put two and two together.
"Your... deceased friend?" he asked. "Anon, was it?"
She nodded quietly.
"The best friend I ever had... Like the big brother I never knew I wanted..."
He nodded sadly.
"I'm sorry for your loss, my lady."
She closed her eyes, hugging her legs on her seat.
"So am I."
Ruby's eyes flickered open as the sound of chirping birds woke her up. She groaned as the sun peered through the curtains and hit her eyes with its pale morning light. She tried to move, but her entire body revolted at the idea, too sore to want to do anything but rest. She looked at the ceiling, recognizing the rarely used guest room of her childhood home. She heard soft music coming from the window sill, instinctively knowing that it was coming from her late mother's old radio. Accompanying the soft, jazzy song, was snoring. She craned her aching neck to see the man who raised and coached her. Taiyang Xiao-Long, super-dad extraordinaire, snoozed peacefully next to the Red Reaper in a rocking chair. Ruby groaned as she forced herself to sit up, an action that churned her stomach as a wave of vertigo hit her. As she did, she saw the medical stand that held the bags of clear liquid that was being fed to her through her arm.
The groan alerted the fatherly man, waking him from his power nap.
The man looked at the child he raised, his eyes wetting with gladness as he lunged in to hug her.
"RUBY!" He exclaimed, his voice breaking with gladness. "You're awake!"
The hugged in question let out a pained groan as her sore torso was being squeezed a bit too hard.
"Dad... Please..." she begged quietly. "I can't breathe..."
The older man immediately let go of his aching child, a look of worry on his face.
"Good grief, you look..."
"Awful?" she asked, unaware of the pale green tint her skin had.
Tai's lips thinned.
"To be polite."
She took a deep few breaths, feeling her stomach reach her lips.
"I'm gonna hurl..."
After letting her stomach settle, the young girl looked to her father figure with a pained look of curiosity.
"Wha... What happened?"
"Qrow got you and Yang back home after your fight with the Jabberwock."
Ruby's heart squeezed painfully and her mind replayed the final events of that awful day, the image of the Grimm Dragon haunting her mind. A grim thought crossed her mind and fear gripped her heart like a vice.
"Y-Yang! Is she ok?!" she asked in a panic, about to bolt out of bed. "What about the rest of my team?!"
A firm but gentle hand held her in place. She looked up to see her uncle holding her down as his other hand held a tray of steaming cups. It looked like one had already been taken, leaving four cups on the tray.
"Ease up, pipsqueak." the gruff man softly said. "You're gonna faint if you keep this up."
Despite her initial panic, Ruby headed the older men's worries and remained in bed. Qrow sat down on an old chair after setting down the tray on the nearby night stand. The aroma of coffee and hot chocolate made her upset stomach churn despite her favourably towards the latter.
Qrow's hot chocolate was, simply put, divine.
But right now, the sweet treat was not doing Ruby's nausea any favours, along with her worries.
"My team?" she asked worriedly. "What about Yang?"
Qrow sighed.
"She's fine, just down in the dumps. What with half of Vale being in ruin and that crap with the Jabberwock. As for the others..."
Qrow initial worry turned sour, an expression of contempt curled his lips into a sneer.
"They're fine, but I wouldn't call being stuck with Jacques Schnee fine by any stretch."
Ruby winced, recognizing the name.
"Weiss's dad?"
"Yeah, bastard came in the evacuation camp and dragged his own daughter kicking and screaming back home," he explained indignantly. "He didn't even flinch when she started begging and crying."
Ruby's own face contorted in impotent anger as her hands gripped the comforter covering her.
"Damnit..." she mumbled pathetically. "What about Blake?"
"She came over one day and explained that she had to get back to Menagerie to deal with some problems," Taiyang explained.
He scratched the back of his head.
"I proposed to her that she stayed for a bit but she told me that she had her own family to back to."
He pulled out a paper letter, something that even for the slightly old-fashioned ex-huntsman was quite antiquated.
"She asked me to give you this once you woke up."
Ruby took the letter and opened the waxed seal, revealing a handwritten letter of apology. It explained her absence and why she left, saying that she wished she could be with everyone and bring them along but that Menagery wasn't a good place for her human friends to be. The letter promised future updates on her crusade against the Fang and that she'd try her best to be careful.
Ruby rested the letter, a bitter smile on her face. Her team was alive and well, but now they were divided and apart.
Ruby looked to the ceiling thoughtfully, the final events of that terrible day replaying in her head. She looked at her dad, worry hiding dread.
"The dragon... is it..."
Qrow shook his head.
"That thing won't be hurting anyone soon, you made sure of it."
Ruby blinked incredulously, pointing at herself.
"I did?"
Qrow nodded.
"Turned the thing into a lawn ornament. Good job, by the way."
Ruby shot up her bed, waving her hands around in pure confusion.
"Wha?! How?!" Ruby exclaimed. "I mean, What?! How did I do that?! I-I blanked out after-"
Tai held her down in her bed gently, shushing her.
"It's ok, calm down. No need to rush."
Ruby looked back at the ceiling in pure shock and confusion. Qrow continued.
"Take a moment to think. What did you feel, physically speaking?"
"I-I remember my heart hurting..." she said. "My eyes starting heating up and burning and then... and then... Everything went white."
Qrow leaned back and stretched.
"Checks out."
"What do you mean?!"
Qrow looked down sadly. Yang's voice resonated down the stairs outside of the room.
"Dad?" she called out. "Can you come down for a sec?"
Yang sounded so dejected and demoralized that Ruby's heart squeezed painfully. Tai didn't wait a moment to answer back.
"I'll be there right away, sunshine!"
Tai gave Ruby a loving hug, one she didn't return immediately.
"Gotta go, dear. If you need anything-"
Ruby nodded in the crook of his neck as she finally returned the hug.
"I know, I'll give you a shout."
Before leaving the room, Tai took one of the four remaining cups, leaving behind a cup of hot chocolate and two coffees. Once Tai was away, Qrow moved from the uncomfortable stool he was sitting on to Tai's padded rocking chair, bringing it closer to the bed as he went. Ruby looked at her uncle with pleading eyes.
"What did you mean, Uncle Qrow? What happened, what's going on?"
"Let's take it back from the top, How are you feeling right now."
"Everything's sore... Stomach feels like it's been thrown in the washing machine... Head feels like it does when Yang takes training too seriously..."
"Yup." Qrow quipped. "Just like when Summer did it."
"Did what?"
"What was the last thing you saw when your eyes started burning."
Ruby blinked, tears falling down her face.
"I... I saw..."
The sight of Hope's crushed chest, burnt into her mind, surfaced like acid reflux. She bit down on the urge to cry with difficulty.
"I... I saw A-Anon..." Her voice broke when uttering his name. "And then... then... that dragon tried to attack me and-and then my eyes started to burn and there was like a whitish veil around me and-"
"Your eyes started glowing and everything went up in a flash of silver light." Qrow completed.
A demoralized, clueless Ruby looked to her Uncle for answers.
"What am I? What's happening?"
Ruby's uncle rubbed his head pensively.
"Ever heard of the Silver-Eyed Warriors?"
Ruby blinked, baffled.
"That old fairy tale?"
Qrow scoffed in amusement.
"Less a fairy tale, more an exaggerated historical record."
His mirth was shortlived, his deathly serious retuning.
"Something I've learned in my time is that a lot of old stories typically have a morsel of truth in them. Usually, it's a lesson to teach kids about the realities of life but sometimes, it's straight-up facts about the world."
Qrow's eyes became dark.
"Dragons were just legends, so were Wyverns... but you saw them first hand."
He groaned, annoyed that yet another old, horrifying story turned out to be a reality. He looked at his niece sadly, the mental image of his deceased Team leader now looked identical to the pained girl in front of him.
"You're a Silver-Eyed Warrior, Ruby." He explained. "Just like your mother before you, and her father before her."
Ruby gripped her comforter almost to the point of ripping, her pleading gaze turning into a dark, angry glare full of grief.
"WHY?!" she demanded to know. "Why was I never told this?! Why was I never trained?! If I had known then maybe..."
Her angry rant turned into ugly sobbing.
"Maybe... Maybe Anon wouldn't have..."
Qrow grimaced uncomfortably, unused to seeing Ruby this devastated. That Hope guy must mean a lot to her... He only continued once Ruby had calmed down enough that she wasn't hiccuping anymore.
"Sorry, Ruby. Summer wanted to be the one to tell you everything." He snorted nostalgically. "'A talk that needed to happen, Silver-Eyed to Silver-Eyed.' She said."
He lowered his head in shame.
"It never came back up after she passed. I'm sorry."
Ruby held her hand to her puffy eyes.
"How... How can I use them?"
Qrow shrugged defeatedly.
"Dunno. If I may be blunt, Summer was a terrible teacher. She couldn't teach a toddler potty training and ABCs, let alone explain to a grown adult how to use ancient magic powers from an age of legends long past."
Ruby stared at the old crow in confusion.
"Wait, magic? Not Aura or Semblance?"
"Nope. It's neither a kind of sub-semblance nor does it use Aura. The only way I could describe it is that it's magic."
He scoffed, an old memory exasperating him.
"Acts like it too. One moment, we're fighting for our lives and we're about to get wiped out then suddenly, poof, no more problems and all the explanations she can give is 'Teehee, I just remembered I could do that!'..."
Qrow took one of the two cups of coffee left on the tray, his extended monologue making him thirsty. The black coffee was nice, bitter and herbal, like that one alcohol an old friend of his introduced him to. Ruby was at a loss for words.
"Then, what am I supposed to do? How am I meant to learn how to use that power?" A thought crossed her mind. "What if they are others?"
Again, Qrow came up short of her hopes.
"Sorry to say, but I can't help you there either. There are so many rumours and stories that it's difficult to say who's just riffing off the old stories for clout and who's the real deal. The last time I heard anything about Silver Eyes was a rumour that Maria Calavera was one."
Ruby shot to attention, recognizing the name.
"The Grimm Reaper was a Silver-Eyed Warrior?!"
"Hold your horses, I said it was just a rumour. No one's ever seen her face, let alone her eyes. And even if she was, she's been MIA for decades. Same with a lot of others who were claimed to be Silver-Eyed."
He left his seat with an old man's groan before finishing his cup in one gulp.
"Although there were others like her, Summer was special. And so are you, and not in the 'daddy and mommy's special little darling' kind of way, either. More in the 'great warriors from ancient legends' kind of way."
Qrow took out his scroll, flicking his finger across the screen multiple times. Ruby's scroll vibrated multiple times on the nightstand shortly after. Ruby took a look at the screen and a bunch of new collection recommendations appeared in her library.
"I checked a few old tomes and storybooks for what I could find on Silver-Eyed Warriors," Qrow explained. "Those were the only things I could think of that might give you a clue or two."
He gave her a hug, one far less boisterous and far more gentle than Qrow usually gave.
"I wish I could give you more, but that's all I've got."
"It's fine, Uncle Qrow..." She strained out a smile. "Thank you for everything..."
He smiled back, though far more genuine.
"Anytime, pipsqueak."
He let a deep sigh of discontent ruin the mood further.
"Now back to dealing with the mess Ozpin left behind."
"What do you mean?"
"With Oz gone and our little circle in shambles, it's up to me to pick up the track left behind by the ones behind the Fall." He groaned. "Worst of all, it looks like that specific track leads to Haven... I really have my work cut out for me."
A scoff came from the other side of the room, one that made Ruby freeze in place. There was someone else?! Then it clicked, there was one more cup than there should have been and one of them was definitely coffee, which she did not like. The familiar voice continued, his voice hoarse and full of bitterness and disdain.
"You really do." he blithered. "Good luck, Qrow. You'll need it."
Ruby slowly sat up in her bed with eyes as wide as dinner plates. Her heart rate skyrocketed as she turned her head towards the opposite side of the room.
Hope, Alive.
He was sat in the second bed by the window, looking out of it towards the forest behind the house. Ruby tore the needle that connected her to the medical stand and leaped out of her bed. Her legs, unused for days and numb beyond compare, could not keep up with her demands and she stumbled next to his bed, hitting her nose on the floor. A thin trickle of blood came out of her reddened nose but she didn't care. She rapidly crawled up Hope's bed, holding onto him for dear life.
"ANON!" she blubbered. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"
Ruby cried into his chest, her ear to his heart, listening to the slow but steady beat. It took minutes on end before Ruby had calmed down enough to notice that Hope had not moved an inch since she jumped him.
She looked up and what she saw terrified her.
Before her was a mass of surgical scars and past battle damage, wrapped in loose bandages. His right arm was missing at the elbow while his left was a massive burn that somehow still stunk of charred meat and ash. The burn ran all the way from the back of his hand and fingers to the side of his face, covering his entire arm, shoulder, half of his neck, part of his cheek and his entire eye. The eye itself was an ugly mess of broken blood vessels that tainted his sclera with an awful red tint. His damaged eye was obviously blind, it's beautiful sapphire blue now a shattered, sightless grey-white. The spot of hair near his burns had even turned an ashy grey in response to being burned.
The man she loved looked like a corpse, returned to minimum functionality by pure miracle.
Hope looked down at her silently, his mind obviously elsewhere.
"I am," he said matter-of-factly.
Ruby's trembling hand hovered over the burned side of his face, her tears coming back like a tidal wave.
"Oh my god... I'm... I'm so..."
Hope held his charred member over her lips and shook his head slowly.
"Not your fault," he said. "Don't start blaming yourself. I'm not in the mood for a guilt trip."
A beaten dog would look less pitiful and sad than Ruby was at the moment. Hope just looked so... Detached. Normally, he'd hug her back or at the very least pat her head lovingly. He just refused to show any warmth or affection. A knock at the door came.
"Anon?" Yang's voice filtered through the door. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah."
The door creaked open, revealing Yang, holding a tray of food. If Ruby looked like a beaten dog, Yang looked like a dog's dinner. Her impeccable hair was a mess and she wore old clothes that the usual Yang would not have been caught dead wearing. Dark circles underlined her tired lilac eyes as she walked in. A smile, something that had become so rare for her these days, came across her lips.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Rubes."
Ruby sat up in Hope's bed as Yang rested the tray on his nightstand.
"Today's sage and thyme boar sausage with roasted potatoes and stewed cabbage." She strained out a fake smirk. "Homemade, of course."
Hope glanced at his lunch emptily, then at Yang, whose expression crumbled.
"Thanks," he said neutrally. "Tell Tai I appreciate it."
She looked away, rubbing her arm awkwardly.
"I will..."
Hope's dead stare returned to Ruby, who flinched.
"You should leave." His recommendation sounds more like a command than a request. "Some fresh air would do you good, instead of being stuck in a room for days on end."
The bitterness was not lost on a still-shocked Ruby.
"Then... Then let's go together." she spluttered.
A Yang winced violently at Ruby's request.
"No... Ruby..." she muttered, hiding her face in her hand.
Hope's dead stare turned dark.
"Sure..." he drolled. "Let's go on a walk in the woods with my torn tendon and severed cartilage. We'll have a race there even, I'll just have to be careful not to use that useless lump of meat and bones I call a foot!"
He waved his nub angrily.
"Want us to go rock climbing too?! I would love nothing ffffffffFUCKING more!"
Ruby recoiled back at Hope's aggression. Her hurt expression bordering tears made him realize that he may have gone too far. Hope looked away, an impotent, sour frown on his face.
"A-Anon." Ruby hesitated.
The red reaper reached for her crush, who looked outside of the window, shutting down completely.
"Just leave me alone," he commanded. "You've got better things to do than waste your time here."
Ruby's lower lip trembled but before she could burst into tears, Yang pulled out of Hope's bed, clearly having gone through something similar in the week or so Ruby's been unconscious.
"Sorry, Rubes, but he's right."
Ruby looked at her older sibling in harrowed shock.
"Yang?"
The blonde brawler shook her head, her stare telling the younger sibling that she already tried what Ruby had and failed just as miserably. Ruby deflated in defeat.
"Let's just give him some space." Yang pulled her sister close. "You have a lot of things to catch up on since your big nap."
The older sister held out a hand, one that the younger of the two siblings looked at sadly. Ruby nodded slowly, taking Yang's and ambling towards the door. Her numb legs slowly regained feelings as they neared the door but before she reached the doorway, she turned around to look at her crush. His reflection in the window stared at the two. He looked...
Miserable.
"Anon... I-"
"I know." Hope interrupted quietly, still looking out of the window.
Ruby flinched, a flash of shock on her face. Hope's expression fell, looking utterly pathetic.
"And I can't accept your feelings."
Ruby's shock made way for sadness at the immediate rejection.
"I'm sorry, Ruby." Hope apologized hoarsely, his voice breaking halfway through. "But I'll just end up hurting you, and that's the last thing I want."
Ruby, defeated, left the room with a sniff, followed closely by a cringing Yang. The door closed behind the sisters, a sob still audible until they reached the staircase.
...
Now bathed in silence, Hope fell back into his bed with a deep sigh. He looked out of the window listlessly, his head and heart in deep turmoil.
"What am I doing..." he criticized himself. "I didn't need to fucking say all that shit..."
Deep in his heart, he wanted to apologize but the pain clouded his judgement and the fact that he had to live with his failures yet more didn't help. He gripped his stump, still feeling his arm being cut off and the excruciating phantom pains it incurred. His foot was now completly useless and putting any kind of pressure on it was utter agony. The less said about the burns, the better.
He may have saved many in the main and secondary character casts but there was no two ways about it, The Fall of Vale was a fiasco. his vision narrowed and one man became the object of his hatred.
Ozpin.
Were it not for him wasting time and not heeding the seer he had tricked into his service in the first place, none of this mess would have happened. If he had let him remove Cinder from the Game, then both Mercury and Emerald would have disappeared. Neo only cared about Roman and the latter would have ended up either in jail or he would have layed low. The Fang could be dealt with at pace, but not Salem and her agents.
"Nooooo." Hope drolled. "You don't want to assassinate them, you don't want to do the awful necessities needed to keep the world safe because you're a backwards idiot, you know better because you've been alive for so long... You've been chosen by the gods to fix everything so everything must be done your way when you say so. Fucking retard..."
His impotent raging led to nothing in the end. Hope was stuck in this bed for at least a few more weeks and then he'd need a wheelchair again, one that he won't be able to leave unlike last time. With some luck, he'll be able to undergo reconstructive surgery on his foot and get a new prosthetic arm but that was a long way off.
Time that he simply didn't have.
Cinder was still alive, and that weird talking Grimm was also alive and probably up to no good. Salem was probably setting up her next play, with Headmaster Lionheart at the helm. Hope sighed, now all too aware that the events of Canon were even looser guidelines than they already were. He couldn't trust the show nor the transcripts any more than really he wanted to.
But he was used to winging shit, so he'll manage.
He couldn't stop the fall but luckily, RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, Beacon's staff and Ironwood's circle were all still alive and good to go. It's going to be a pain, but he'll find a way to keep this disaster campaign rolling, hopefully salvaging it in the process.
Hope glared at his reflection in the window.
Mutilated, Maimed, Scarred...
But alive.
Hope returned from the realm of death, the pull of Gehenna denied. Even though he refused to honour his vow, one that was years in the making, he couldn't embrace the Devil of Demise just yet.
No, He had work to do.
Hope sighed, the heart he just broke weighing heavy on his mind.
I'll have to apologize to Ruby later...
But now, he had dinner to eat. He may be a depressed ball of rage and pain, but he was still human, with human needs.
Besides, he didn't have the heart to waste Tai's incredible cooking.
He looked at the tray next to the bed, noticing that Yang had already cut it all up for him. He closed his eyes, the image of his beautiful sun dragon's smileless face hurting his heart.
I'll have to apologize to Yang too... I have a lot of people I have to apologize to...
He dug into his food, savouring each mouthful. Once upon a time, life was a drag race to the bottom. A life full of mundanity and pain that just felt duller and sadder. One in a world that Hope had no way of changing no matter what he tried. But this world was different. He HAD a chance, one that he won't hesitate to take. A black spark lit in his shattered eye.
There's still time... I can do this, I can reverse the events of Haven, I can save Atlas and Mantle.
The black spark in his eyes turned into a raging fire.
I will never let a repeat of Ozpin happen ever again. No more tip-toeing, no more trying to work with idiots and unworkable restrictions... And If anyone gets in my way...
I will sever them from this mortal coil,
And send them screaming straight to fucking Gehenna.
His life was saved yet his body is truly broken. His will may be hampered but it remains unbroken. The path before him is dark indeed, his hateful flame will light the way. For better...
Or worse.
The Fall came to pass but the sins committed shall not be ignored nor forgiven.
No... Men, and Monsters, will die for this.
BEACON DAYS - COMPLETED!
True Ending Achieved, conditions met:
Apocrypha: Iron Wrought Promise - COMPLETED
Apocrypha: Dark Dogs Days - COMPLETED
END RANK: Shattered Gold
TIMELINE TITLE: PRIME
BOOK 1 END