AN: Hey everyone! This is my new fic, Grieve in Silence. A silent Knight fic if it wasn't obvious enough, with a lot of angst if that your thing and a lot of fluff if it isn't! I've been really excited to write this fic for a bit now. The current plan is to update this every Monday at 2pm EST, i might change the date however if it a better convenience for me.
Enjoy Grieve in Silence.
Neo Politan believed herself to be a simple-minded girl. Every day she would do whatever it is that she wanted, usually a mixture of find the most divine ice cream flavors and force Roman to buy them for her, she knew that Roman would do whatever it is she wanted, even if he didn't know it yet.
It's okay Roman, you'll find out soon enough. Or maybe he won't. Which in Neo case will be a whole lot more fun for her!
However today is not a "Eat an entire tub of ice cream and evade the police after stealing an old woman necklace" day, nope! Today was a "Oh my god I just got shot out of an airship because of my stupid umbrella and that stupid Red girl!"
Well, the umbrella wasn't stupid, but that stupid bitch of a huntress was. Neo still can't believe that stupid girl was like "Yep let me just press all the buttons on your umbrella."
Stupid Beacon. Stupid Huntresses.
Neo skipped through the ruins of Vale, ignoring the pleas of civilians who wanted her to "help find my son!" and "Please help my grandma to a shelter!"
Please, why would she ever do those things, when she had the 'ice cream and vent to Roman hour' coming up. Speaking of Roman…
Neo knew the city of Vale as much as the back of her hand, due to the constant fear of Grimm, all back allies connected to one another, so during an attack like this one, Humans can run through and be safe from any of the large, lumbering Grimm.
When that fire bitch ordered Roman and Neo to partake in her task in destroying vale, her and Roman planned an escape route, it was remarkably simple.
Step 1: Get into the back allies.
Step 2: Find each other if separated.
Step 3: Get the hell out of town.
Neo smiled and giggled at the memory. To Neo, Roman made life worth living. She questioned if she was in love with him, perhaps when she was younger, she might have a small crush on him.
Well the small crush turn to them sharing a kiss when they were younger, but Roman nor her really followed up with that, but the more distinctive act of late that she remembered was giving him a bowl of her ice cream one day, It was the gourmet Neapolitan too!
Such an act never done before, nor ever will be done after. But now, Roman to her was clearer by the day. He was everything that she wanted to the beginning of her new life as his badass partner in crime.
If he wanted to take over Vale, she would gladly help him. He saved her life, all those long years ago, and now she will do anything in her power to save him.
Now all she needed to do was find him, and together, they could spend an eternity being the badass thief duo that would plague remnant and steal every worth of lien imaginable. Them together, running from the cops and huntsman across the world, eating the most delicious of food and partaking in a cacophony of thrills.
To Neo nothing sounded better.
Jaune Arc was a failure of a leader. A failure of a friend, and more importantly he was a failure of a man.
There were no others ways to describe what he was, after everything that happened. He wanted to scream. Scream and shout and punch something if he could, but he just felt silent and empty.
The past month of his life was nothing more then a blur. Everything was going so smoothly, he remembered being in those stands, Nora and Ren right next to him, cheering on Pyrrha as she battled that Penny girl from Atlas.
Then it happened, those wires wrapped around her like Penny was a puppet on strings and cut right through her. To Jaune it was like a light switch just flipped in his head.
As those wires wrapped around her the only thought that plague his mind was Oh my gods. Pyrrha just killed someone. Small flashes of what would happened played out in his brain. Pyrrha getting arrested, having to say goodbye to her. It made him sick.
However Jaune, like everyone, was shocked when they saw the wires protruding out of Penny arms and legs. Some thick green fluid circling through Penny limbs as she stared lifelessly into the audience. However before Jaune could even begin to process what he just saw the Grimm attacked immediately.
He heard the voices of Sun and Coco, and saw the giant nevermore attack the dome.
That's when everything started a haze, Getting Pyrrha out of her daze, standing together with his friends and even some he would consider family tore down that Nevermore with ease.
A small part of Jaune believed perhaps everything will be okay, perhaps everyone will live and this will just be an unfortunate event.
Then it happened.
Everything that was crazy rushed directly at Jaune at once.
Secret bunkers under a school he had known and loved for months.
Pyrrha who was tasked with an impossible choice that she couldn't fully tell him.
That woman in the tube, with scars striking her face as she drifted endlessly.
Then her. Then Cinder.
The one who started the worst day of Jaune life stood right in front of him.
Jaune never knew the Haven transfer, only speaking to Emerald or mercury, her teammates only once or twice. But even then, he was shocked as the arrow whizzed by his head and struck the woman in the tube.
The screams, oh the screams. He can still hear them in her head, Pyrrha screams as whatever the procedure Ozpin wanted. Then it all stop and he saw her.
Jaune wasn't even a obstacle to her, immediately throwing him away like trash. Ozpin orders rushed through his mind as he dragged Pyrrha out of there. Jaune felt confident in Ozpin.
He knew the headmaster will be completely fine. All he had to do was call Glynda and get out of there.
Then Ozpin fell, Jaune heard the rush of flames escaping the bunker and everything begin to get even worse.
His partner and best friend wanted to fight her. Jaune couldn't believe it. Didn't she see how powerful she is?!
She managed to kill Ozpin!
Jaune admittedly didn't know much about Huntsman culture, but he assume that that the headmaster of the most prestigious school was probably one of the strongest out there.
And she crushed him in mere minutes, Ozpin only gave them enough time to escape the School building. He wanted to tell Pyrrha that she was stubborn! She was being completely foolish!
Then everything came back in focus for one solid moment when she kissed her.
The kiss was… softer then he thought it could've ever been, everything in his mind starting to make sense for a brief moment.
A small flicker of hope mixed with despair played with his heartstrings as he remembered the past year of his life. The weird looks Nora and Ren would give him, the same with Team RWBY, The talk Him and Pyrrha had during the dance.
Was he just this blind?
He didn't want to let go. He never wanted to let go of Pyrrha ever again.
But she did, and before he knew it, he was in a one-way ticket into vale.
And it was a one-way ticket to never seeing his best friend again. Jaune scream and scream. Begging her to not do this. There has to be another way.
But that was the last time he ever saw his friend Pyrrha Nikos.
She wasn't the only lost out of their friends.. Blake was gone, ran away like a coward, Sun went after her, he wished him the best of luck, but he knew that trying to convince Blake of anything would be a lost cause.
Weiss was immediately taken by her father, and transferred to the city of Atlas, she didn't even get to say goodbye to her friends but Team JNPR watch as the famous billionaire stormed into beacon for his daughter and left posthaste.
He knew him and Weiss never had the best of relations, but he was still sad to let her go so easily.
Yang lost her arm. He saw the cut; it was red and furious and Jaune didn't even want to begin to know who could have done that to Yang. He wasn't there when she woke up, wasn't there when she probably screamed out in confusion and fear that her arm was gone.
Perhaps if he was a better man he could've been. Yang deserved better.
Finally, Ruby was deep in a coma, According to a letter that he got from her uncle she alive, but it would be another couple of days before she wakes up, he offered for the rest of Team JNPR to hold them up in patch for a couple days whenever she wakes up.
Jaune didn't know if he should agree, he knew that Ruby would probably be happy to see him, Nora and Ren.
But he didn't think he was strong enough to tell her what happened to her team.
And what happened to Pyrrha.
He was weak.
Nothing more then a failure of a leader, and a failure of a friend.
It has been too many days, and now Neo was beginning to be stricken by fear. Roman was many things, and many of those things can probably be ended by a long string of curses that would make even the most masculine sailor blush. Roman was never late. If Roman said that the gang will rob dust shops from eight till midnight, then by the gods they'll carry out robberies to the exact minute.
But now, Roman was late. He said that he'll find Neo in a day or two if they ever get separated. It's now been nearly a week, and she has caught no sight of him. No abstract plans of action to grab her attention, no ruckus or robberies during this immense period of chaos. There was nothing. He was silent, just like her.
She didn't want him to be silent, she needed him to be the loud and boisterous criminal that he was. With his, sorry Roman, absolutely atrocious fashion wear, his bowler hat you could spot literally miles away, and his famous cane, he was everything that Neo couldn't be, and she felt it in her heart, that he did all those extravagant things for her.
She loved him for that, she truly did.
That's why she had to grow stronger, be better to the rest. She couldn't let him die.
But what if he already did? Her mind played it's standard tricks on her. Roman? Dead? Preposterous. Roman Torchwick doesn't die. He's too important, neigh too smart to simple fall over and kneel over. Besides they already had plans for his death, a 24/7 ice cream party between him and her. He better not break his promise to her.
Neo walked the streets of vale in a daze. The Grimm were gone, now focus on Beacon and whatever laid in it's ruins. Such things didn't matter to Neo anymore, she had one goal, Find Roman, smack him upside the head for making her worry, force him to buy her all the ice cream in the world, then skip town to a happy life together.
Every corner passed, every street walked, and Neo felt even more worried. Even a small portion of her soul felt terrified.
No. She has to be strong. That was her promise to herself. Be strong for Torchwick. Do whatever you can for Torchwick, don't let the flame die out.
Then she saw it.
It was funny how it was just hidden in sight, under a tree in the central hub of Vale, like it was just being out of sight and out of mind. But she notice it, how could she not? Under the tree was Roman pride and joy; his Bowler hat, completely untouched with no Roman in sight.
Neo immediately made a dash for the hat, inspecting it all over and seeing it was completely fine. Such a sight should have made her happy. If his hat was here, whats not to say that roman himself wasn't just around the corner.
But Neo knew what this meant. Roman loved his hat, perhaps loved it more then anything else. It was his pride and joy, his mark in the world filled with boring criminals and huntsmen. It was a sign that everything could just use a little extra to make it sparkle.
Oh, how much she loved to see him talk, to see him bask in the glory of himself. Sure he had a bit of an ego, but Neo know it was warranted after everything she did for him. She wanted him to rise up to the stars!
But he was gone…
He's truly gone.
Neo clutched the hat, nearly destroying the feather clung to it as she shake her head in denial. He can't be gone. Not like this. He had so many plans, so many things they wanted to do together.
I'm all alone. Neo thought to herself as she rested against the tree, the bowler hat rested on her lap, her eyes stared forwards in the distance. Completely unfocused, lost in her grief. Everything made no sense anymore, all logic and words in her mind was nothing more then a bunch of jumbled mess. What was she now? Roman was there at the beginning of Neo's life, he help her grow into the badass lady that she was, But now? He's gone. Dead, with nothing to remember him by besides his hat.
Who is Neo Politan without Roman Torchwick?
Nothing. She was just a nobody. Another victim of an attack that she help caused. Vale was in nearly ruins, Beacon was gone, but most important.
She lost the person who mattered the most to her.
Neo didn't know when she started to cry. But it didn't matter anymore. Nothing really mattered anymore.
Expect to find the son of a bitch who did this to Roman.
And Neo knew who did it to him. Little Red, that damned girl was the only one up there with him after she fell. She didn't see that girl as the murdering type. But it doesn't matter. Neo herself will make sure that Ruby Rose will pay for her crimes. She will find that girl and watch as she chocked the life from her, bit by bit.
It will be glorious. It will be everything Roman deserves. It will be her final task for him. After all of that? Who knows, maybe she'll joined Roman to wherever he is, and they can go back to being partners in crime for eternity.
Patch was a quiet, peaceful island. It was tuck away just far enough inland from Vale that the Grimm wasn't as much of a deal as the other towns or villages away from the epicenter of vale. Of course, Grimm was common place anywhere, to think not so was a foolish dream, however Patch was the type of island to teach their dogs how to headbutt a beowolf and not die, so Jaune figured that the island was doing pretty well for themselves.
To his left was the remnant of his team. Nora and Ren peered into the endless ocean as they made their way into Patch. For the first time since the Fall of beacon, they were happy. Well, perhaps happiness was a bit of a stretch, they we're somewhat content.
Ruby Rose, the energetic leader of team RWBY has finally awoke, and on her bequest, Team JNPR was going to met her at her home in patch.
Jaune was nervous… It's been roughly a couple of days since the Fall happened. Jaune spent those days in a furious rage. Never at his friends, no. But to himself for being a failure of a friend to them.
When ruby sees him, while she berate him from not saving Pyrrha? He didn't recall them being all that close but he saw even Weiss and Blake shed tears before one of them was stolen, and the other decided to be a coward.
Jaune thoughts turn to Yang, and he became nervous on what she will think when they see them. Jaune wonder if she still expected Blake to show up and apologize for running away, if it was before the Fall, before her arm was lost, Jaune could see Yang poking fun at Blake expense, but automatically forgiving her.
Now, he wasn't so sure.
Damn… We're all so broken, huh?
Besides himself, he notice that both Nora and Ren wasn't doing all that hot either. They never grief in front of him, never even brought her up in front of them. Jaune wishes for them too, he wanted to talk about her so badly, but he himself was too scared to bring her up as well.
Nora, blessed her soul, was basically going into overtime to kept them up in spirits. In fact, for the entire trip up to Patch he was in a very intense game of I Spy.
"Alright fearless leader! I spy something… Blue!"
Jaune looked around. The sea was vast and endless, the sky was the same as well. The entire ship side was painted in a deep navy blue. Jaune simply rolled the dice.
"Uh… The ocean?"
"EHH Wrong!" Nora smiled, Jaune obviously rolled wrong, she grabbed his face and pointed to the railing they were leaning on, just a couple of inches to the right was a small blue dragonfly.
Jaune would have never found it in a million of years.
"Wow… You really take your I spy seriously, huh?"
"Of course! It was the only game Ren took seriously when we moved around together, he was like "Nora I spy something… green." And we would be in the freakin' middle of the woods!" Nora grumbled angrily, but was soon replaced by a devilish grin.
"Took me years of years, but I learned his patters! I am the queen of I spy! There was this one time where Ren said to find something brown and I found the exact tree, then the exact branch, and then the exact molecule he was looking at!"
Jaune just stared at his friend, a bit impressed by Nora dedication but also…
"Nora… Did I ever tell you that you scare me more by the day?"
"Heh. Then my work here is done!"
That should have probably scared him a lot more then It did, but Jaune let it go. Despite wielding an actual war hammer and threaten to break the legs of nearly every and all bullies, he knew that Nora was a softie at heart, especially when it concerned…
"You're harassing our leader, Nora?" Ren appeared with two mugs, handing one to Jaune who took it graciously. Ah… sweet, sweet coffee.
"Jaune and I we're playing I spy!"
"That what I meant by harassment Nora."
Ren sighed and gave Jaune one of his famous 'I'm so sorry for the way she acts' looks.
It never failed to make Jaune smile.
Ren took the space at Jaune's left while Nora claimed the spot at his right. How much he loved the pair that shouldn't have never worked out in a million years, but somehow always did. They never failed to make Jaune a bit happier day by day, especially ,with their ridiculous banter.
"Hey where's my coffee!" Nora pouted, placing her hands on her hips and began to eye Jaune mug suspiciously. Jaune immediately move it out of reach from Nora grabby hands.
"The last time I made you coffee, is the day I want to sign my own death warrant. Never again…" Ren actually shuddered, while Nora went on a long tangent about how she could totally handle caffeine.
Family… That's who they are to him, he was so glad to have them. It would have been a nightmare if he had to spend the past weak all by himself, alone and scared of what his anger would do. Every day was a mixture of fury, grief, and feeling like he was the worst man to exist on the planet. Now? He was just filled with longing to have her back with them.
You should've been here with us… Jaune thought, looking down into his mug. A plethora of thoughts race through his mind. Everything felt wrong without her here with them. Jaune mind suddenly went blank, his doubts and hatred that was festering simply went away as as hand was place on his shoulder.
Looking over he saw Nora excited face pointing towards a small speck in the ocean. If Jaune could squint really hard he could see some greenery.
"Patch." Ren confirmed for all of them, drinking/defending his mug from Nora. Jaune laugh at his friends before setting is sights on the island.
Time to check up on some friends.
"Well well, you kids finally made it, took ya all damn morning..."
When Team JNPR landed on patch they we're immediately met by a man who in jaune opinion probably needed to lay of the drink because he reeked of it. His blacked hair and shiny red cape swayed in Patch's gentle breeze.
"You're Qrow, correct?" Ren asked.
"Indeed." The man said, reaching into himself and procuring a flask. It's only nine am… Jaune thought miserably.
As Qrow finished his drink, the group began to take a simple stroll, with Qrow himself in the lead. "Alright brats shouldn't be that far of a walk. Ruby is pretty excited to see all of you up and kicking."
"How is she?" Nora asked the drunk man.
"Well… That's a bit more complicated then I can answer right now. Just now that shes alive, and she's happy you're coming to visit. Hell, if you brats wanna talk a extended vacation in patch, I don't think Tai would mind at all. Probably build you all a shack or somethin"
Jaune thought about it for a moment. He remember when Ironwood left to go back to Atlas, he made the offer that any and all students of Beacon who wish to continue their studies, will find it in the other academies. Him and his team hadn't really discussed what their plan are for the future. Do they just ignore everything that happened and continue their education. That felt… wrong. So very wrong.
Perhaps staying at patch for a couple of months might change his mind.
Eventually Qrow led him and his team to a simple cabin in the middle of the woods. It was a lot more modern then he expected it to be if Jaune had to be honest. With a clear trail, and a very simple design, the place looked damn well pleasant to live in. Before they all entered the cabin, Qrow turned around and looked at all of them.
"Alright brats, I'm gonna lay a couple of ground rules. Touch anything you die. Alright that's all the ground rules. Let's go see if Ruby is up!"
Jaune let out a nervous chuckle, which his team copied as they all entered the house. The First thing that Jaune notice is the very fluffy, very cute dog that was laying in the middle of the living carpet, napping. The moment the door shut, Zwei head picked up, noticing them and decided that they will be the next victims of his cuteness attack.
Well, Jaune wouldn't exactly say no to a cute dog jumping on his legs.
"Hey brat! Get down here!" Qrow yelled at the bottom of the stairs before walking up them. Jaune only had to wait a single second before he heard the rapid sound of footsteps above and before she knew it Ruby rose made her grand entrance.
By almost falling down the stairs.
"Eeep!" Ruby yelped as she almost tripped and landed face first on the floor. "I'm okay! I'm okaaayy!" Ruby groaned, chuckling awkwardly before she saw the three of them standing there. Her eyes immediately sparkled with happiness and before Jaune knew it, he was immediately tackled into a hug. "Guys! I'm so glad you're here!" she squeaked out, before running over and hugging both Nora and Ren.
"It's nice to see you too Ruby." Jaune smiled as the group claimed the couches. "So, how have you been?"
"Um…" Ruby started; her eyes shifted back to upstairs before they met Jaune's again. The once happy sparkle was a bit more muted. "It's been tough… It's not everyday you wake up from a coma, heh."
"I bet you were Hungry, huh?" Nora joked, trying to light up the mood a bit.
"Oh you bet! Jeez! It was like my body never eat food before; I drank so much milk you couldn't believe!"
That was the shift that lead Team JNPR and Ruby to talk for nearly a full hour, laughing at old tales and memories, sharing some hopes about the futures, which eventually lead them to talking about what they all planned to do next.
"I think it might be smart if we accept the general offer." Ren stated, looking calm as he ignored the agitated squawk from Nora, who wish to go back to exploring the world. "We're still are huntsman in training, and that still hasn't change. It might benefit us all to either relocate to Atlas or Mistral."
"Ooh! If we go to Atlas, we might see Weiss cream again!" Nora pointed out.
"Perhaps, however we have no idea if her father will allow her to continue training in Atlas academy."
"Ha! Schnee mansion is no match for the almighty power of Magnhild!" Nora boasted confidently, doing her famous evil queen laugh.
"You'll admitted get arrested Nora." Ren sighed, which caused Ruby to let out a giggle. Eventually all attention focused on the young girl, which caused her to freeze up a bit in shock.
"W-Well. I might have another idea…" Ruby murmured, her feet shuffling as she looked nervous. Ruby was many things, nervous he learned was not exactly one of them.
Well, she was shy, but the point still stands.
"Yeah? What do you have in mind?" Jaune asked.
Ruby took a deep breath. Before her Silver eyes locked with his, filled with determination as she spoke. "I want to go to Haven academy, When I woke up Qrow heard rumors that those who caused the fall are going to head for Haven next, I dunno what they want with Haven, but I can't let what happened to Beacon happen to them as well, I can't accept it! I want to go there to stop them. To stop Cinder."
The sounds of heals clicking towards Junior henchmen shouldn't alerted them faster, however due to the overwhelming difference between simple thugs and Neo, both of the guards for The club was laid dead on the ground immediately.
As Neo walked through the club he had one simple goal in mind. Junior will squeal. He will squeal like the fat pig she know he is, every criminal, no matter the vice they dealt with or the type of people they have under them, all follow one rule. "Stay alive."
And well, If junior wants to stay alive, then he better sing like the fat lady.
As Neo opened the doors to the, totally not a front, bar, Neo smirked and strode with purpose. Her eyes gleamed at the Malachite twins, they knew better then to get in front of Neo path and hastily left the moment they could. Good, killing people gets really tiring for the muscles after a while.
"Roman's psycho bitch." Junior growled, he was the only left in nigh abandoned nightclub. "The hell you want."
Neo smirked at Junior very affectionate nickname. As she strode forward her entire figure changed. Gone was the "Psycho Bitch." That junior called her and in her place was an esteem copy of Ruby Rose.
"You came to me for a beacon brat?" Junior chuckle darkly. His eyes darting left and right for an obvious escape. Silly junior, still thinking he has a chance to get out of this alive that didn't involve her.
"Well I don't know what you want from me you bitch. Go get Roman to help or something-" Junior let out a grunt of shock as he was immediately knocked over, his eyes was filled with fear as the sharp pin of Shush press directly into his skin. Neo eyes will filled with fury. He won't let some two time crook spill ill of his name.
"So the rumor are true, huh?" Junior in some delirious state let out a laugh. "Roman is dead, isn't he?"
Neo just responded by pressing shush deeper into his skin, she felt Junior Aura shield against it, but she shall break it in time. Time is all she has nowadays.
"Fine. Thanks to you're damned boss, may he rest in piss, that he wanted me to gather info on the crazed teenager that attack him during a robbery. The bastard back off for some reason, guess you're not one to do so, huh?"
Neo turned back to herself, sheathing shush back into her umbrella as Junior hastily got up and went into a backroom. In just mere minutes. Junior returned with a envelope. Immediately she grab it, ignoring Junior as he let out a string of curses and flipped through it with haste. She found exactly what she was looking for.
It was simple file detailing the information that she craved for the most
Ruby Rose
Age: 15
State of Address: The island of Patch.
Neo didn't even bother reading the rest, it wasn't needed. She turned back to Junior, giving the man baby a thumbs up before walking out the bar. A bit more confident. A bit more like she used to be.
Killing Ruby Rose is going to fix all of her problems.