The site has been acting really weird lately, with it not showing updated chapters, now sometimes not even working. And the worst part of all is now I don't even receive notifications from the site, so now I have to check everything manually.
Well, the RWBY x JL Part 2 released this week. Going have to wait a while to see it though. Even if it's bad, I will still take my time and enjoy it, seeing as this might be the last RWBY content we get for a good while now. Though this crossover makes me wonder on how a story would go if the actual DC characters existed in Remnant, like if Wayne Industries existed in Atlas and whatnot.
In the meantime, I have another movie and Spiderman 2 to keep me company, while you guys have this newest chapter! Hopefully you enjoy it.
Ruby was in the hallway of the stadium, Mercury in front of her.
But…Why? Why was Mercury here?
Last she saw him, he was being escorted on a stretcher in pain, and now he was here, walking without a single issue.
Something was wrong.
Emerald being here confused her, but Mercury walking around with a smirk on his face just worsened that feeling. She needed to get to Penny.
He goes forward, blocking Ruby's path with his arms outstretched, restraining her movements no matter where she moves. Panicked, she grimaces and spins forward, becoming a blur of red and petals rocketing toward Mercury, only for the villain to kick her twice mid-dash and knock her to the ground, surprising her. The only other person to stop her while she's using her semblance was her Uncle Qrow, but he didn't nearly make her throw up her lunch!
He advances on her just as she gets out her Scroll, about to push the button to call for help when a bullet sends the device flying out of her hand.
Mercury, lowering his leg from its kick, taunts her. "Let's just keep this between us friends."
They began fighting, or more like Ruby was dodging Mercury since she sucks at hand-to-hand combat and she couldn't call Crescent Rose.
Ruby attempts to block a kick from Mercury with her arms, but gets a face-full of boot. Next he fires a shot but she manages to duck then barely misses being hit by his downward kick and leaps over his leg, spiraling past him, this time getting much farther down the corridor. She kicks off of the wall and falls to the ground, pumping her arms as she runs for the exit.
She opened the door and… in front of her, was Penny's body, completely torn apart. She fell to her knees. "Penny…" She said as tears fell from her eyes.
She barely registered Mercury walking in to see the chaos, smirk, and then leave.
Ruby should have realized something was wrong as by this point, Cinder's announcement would have run and she would not have any more time to mourn, but all she was focusing on was her friend's corpse.
"Friend Ruby…"
She widened her eyes as she heard her friend's voice.
"Penny!" She shouted with a smile on her face. That smile quickly vanished as she noticed she was now in the arena, in front of Penny lifeless limbs.
Suddenly, her limbs began to float, Penny's face still looking lifeless but somehow looking angry at her at the same time. A quick glance upwards and she sees her swords, pointing upwards, the wires connecting to the scattered limbs.
"Why… didn't you do anything?" She asked, her voice cracking, as if her normal voice was mixed with something artificial.
"I wanted to! I-"
"You knew what Pyrrha Nikos Semblance was and my true nature. In fact, you were the only individual that was aware of both of these facts." Penny interrupted her as she began to float towards her. "Did you not realize what her Semblance could do to my body, or are you too stupid to use the grey matter inside your head you call a brain?"
Penny would never have insulted her like that. Ruby knew that, but it still stung.
"You knew. I trusted you with my most important secret and how did you repay me? You let your friend slice me apart like I was nothing."
"...I'm…" She tried to apologize, but Penny interrupted her again.
"Though I am not surprised. Seeing how you deal with others you call friends, it would be logical I be treated with the same action." As Penny said this, she saw hundreds of shadows up on the stands take the form of her friends. Though she could not see their faces, she could see their disapproving glares.
They began chanting.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Ruby got up, immediately feeling something rising from her stomach. Quickly using her Semblance, she went behind a tree a bit away from camp and emptied her stomach. After that and a few moments of wiping her chin and her eyes due to the tears, she began to breathe slowly, to calm her rapidly beating heart.
Any nightmare involving Yang or Penny affected her the most, her body actually reacting to it, though it's slowly getting better.
The first time it happened, she had a panic attack and it took forever for her dad to calm her down. Her heart clenched at the reminder that Yang did nothing but watch.
She shook her head. Yang was still healing so she couldn't worry about her…
Back to nightmares, she slowly got used to them and no longer had an attack when it happened, but her body still reacted like this sometimes. It took a while to figure out why sometimes Penny's death affected her like this. Yang was obvious because she was her sister, but Penny was just a friend… At least that's what she thought at the time.
She loved Penny.
As in, an actual crush.
Unlike the others, she was never really… interested in the whole dating thing. She wasn't against it and if anything, she would be happy if her teammates and friends found a significant other. But she always focused on being a huntress, a better friend/leader, that she never considered dating anyone. It didn't help that sometimes people used her just so they could get closer to Yang, who was more attractive and outgoing than her…
Penny true nature didn't change a single thing she felt about her. Well, she did think she was even cooler than before. Come on, firing a BEAM from a bunch of SWORDS!? How amazing is that!? While her time spent was short, she loved every second of it.
She chuckled bitterly. First person I fall in love with and they died. Guess anyone I care about will just get hurt, no matter what I do, huh? She thought bitterly as she stared at the pond of vomit next to her, before beginning to cover it up, not wanting anyone to discover it. She wondered if she should eat less, but she can't risk fighting on an empty stomach. That and worrying her friends if she suddenly stopped eating.
A leader isn't supposed to worry others. Teammates are supposed to come to her with their problems. She thought, but… she isn't exactly the leader, right?
Despite the naming convention, Ruby wasn't the leader of the team. She didn't give out orders or anything. They merely worked in unison.
If anyone could be considered the leader, it was Jaune. He was the one who came up with strategies and they always worked. Despite his claims of not being as strong as the rest, he was clearly a good leader.
Unlike me… Maybe I should talk with him?
"Jaune…"
Her eyes widened as she was snapped out of her thoughts by a voice. A voice she has only heard in her nightmares as of late. "Pyrrha?"
She begins to look around. There were little will-o-the-wisps floating around. The campfire is still burning but has died down. Ren and Nora are asleep while their weapons are at their sides should they be attacked. Jaune's sleeping bag, however, is empty.
Through the trees beyond that sleeping bag, she could hear Pyrrha's voice, though a bit muffled.
"Follow…"
Ruby gets up and walks toward the voice. She takes a moment to play with one of the wisps as she looks around, uncertain.
How was Pyrrha here? Did she somehow survive? Did Cinder not burn her, but rather than teleport her somehow?
Moving forward, she spots something and Ruby moves next to a tree and watches from there.
A slight distance in front of her and facing away, Jaune draws his sword. He poses with it and the shield, before dropping his shoulders and turning to his right. As Ruby looked to the side, she saw a Scroll on a stump, Pyrrha's face on it. Her eyes widened as she realized that the voice she heard was from a video.
"Alright, Jaune, just like we practiced. Follow these instructions. Shield up."
Jaune lifts his shield so that only his eyes are not protected.
"Keep your grip tight."
Jaune tightens his hand on Crocea Mors.
"Don't forget to keep your front foot forward."
Jaune didn't seem to forget and as he doesn't move.
"Ready? Go."
Jaune steps forward with the sword, cutting at the air and making a fighting cry and proceeds to do the same movement.
Meanwhile, Ruby felt like an idiot. Of course Pyrrha wasn't back! If she was truly back, she would have let the rest of her team know while blaming her out for being so incompetent and trying to replace her!
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…" She said with a slight giggle and Gods did Ruby miss her laughter. "...we can take a break."
Jaune stands upright and lets his head fall forward a bit, closing his eyes before turning towards his Scroll
"I know this can be frustrating 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 training. And I know this is just the beginning."
Pyrrha turns her head in the video as if struggling with her thoughts for a moment. Ruby squinted a bit and she could see Beacon Tower still intact, another reminder of her failure.
"Jaune, I-I… 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 Crocea Mors, his head bowed.
"Alright, Jaune, just like we practiced. Follow these instructions. Shield up…"
Jaune sighs in pain before re-following the instructions. Ruby widened her eyes as she realized what Jaune's been doing.
He was coping in his own way. It was no secret amongst the two teams that Pyrrha was training him, so training by himself while listening to her recording is his own way of grieving, possibly feeling like he was too weak to help Pyrrha.
Why would he? It's not like he's the one who just stood there and watched as she died.
"Keep your grip tight. Don't forget to keep your front foot forward. Ready? Go."
Jaune resumes the exercise. Ruby watches with pained eyes before turning away.
"Again. And again."
Jaune makes one extra fighting cry and slash as Ruby silently walks back to the camp
No, it's better to keep the nightmares to myself. It's my own fault he's in pain. I don't have any right to share mine.
I apologize if you are getting a bit sick of the nightmares, but it's there to show Ruby how she blames herself for everything that happened at Beacon, even things that were out of her control. If it's any consolation, we will only have one or two nightmares left, one of whom I teased in this chapter.
Also, when I was rewatching the show, I noticed how little Ruby and Penny interacted. I was under the impression they hung out a lot, but they interacted only once in each volume.
Funny thing that happened is that I discussed with a friend who watches both of these shows and he stated that if Neo recruited Ruby and they met Raven, it would be like when Sasuke left the village for Orochimaru. I'll admit, I almost wanted to rewrite the story there, but I'm going to stick with my original plans.