The bullhead ride back to Beacon was quiet and unnerving. It was late into the night, so much so that they had technically moved into the next day.
Inside of the ship, lights were low letting the moonlight flood through the windows adorning the walls. The only other source of illumination was the pilot's console casting the cockpit blue.
The emerald forest flew by and the cloudy sky began to part into ribbons of gray.
Jaune and Blake were one of the few passengers on the ship, the rest were other Beacon students who tried to keep in sleepy yawns from a night out in the city.
He and Blake had taken some small corner seats at the back of the ship.
No one else was near them nor did anyone in the front pay any attention to them.
Blake stared out into the star full sky. The moonlight swept over a stony expression.
In the glass, in her reflection her eyes were hard and her frown elicited deep thought.
She didn't look up at him when his eyes overplayed her own on the windows.
Her ears were stiff like nails and didn't sway like they usually did.
He tried to say something to her but he couldn't think of anything. But he knew that if he did have something to say the words would get stuck in his throat.
Suddenly his hand started to shake and the image of Neo's lifeless body flashed into his head. His breath picked up and he felt bile rise in his throat. Concentrating, he pushed the bile back down.
The adrenaline from the fight had washed away leaving him in a cold clarified state. He now realized that he had killed someone, he knew he had crossed a line that there was no coming back from.
He clamped his shuddering hands down on the seat's armrests and willed them to calm down. A mirage of blood seeped between the joints of his gold gauntlets and onto his lap.
It quickly vanished but there was a faint line of red flowing through his hands.
Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine his happiest memories. His mind flowed through images of his team's fight against the Deathstalker, casual happy moments between them in their dorm, and overall happy moments with his team and team RWBY.
That calmed him down a little bit and caused his hands to stop shaking. He slumped back into the soft plush of the seat. He took quiet but big heaving breaths.
He and Blake were just supposed to make sure that Neo or Penny didn't interfere in the fight; they never had any intention of killing one of them.
But he did kill her. Neo, with both of her feet in the grave, tried to lunge out at Blake and commit one more act against the living but he shot her.
He didn't know how he drew his pistol quick enough to shoot her. He had been practicing with it, ever since Ruby gave it to him when they upgraded his weapons together, but his marksman levels were nowhere near the level that would have given him the ability to make that shot.
Some primal instinct deeply embedded in his brain took over and did the shooting and thinking for him. He didn't even realize she had been shot until her body hit the floor and he felt the cold hard steel weight of the gun in his hand.
Even if he wasn't in control of his body he still killed her. Some rational part of his brain knew that he had to come to terms with that but another part simply wanted to just curl into a shell and forget the events of the past few hours.
That part won out and inane non-important things started to fill his head. One thought that sprang up was how since he had watched the videos his motion-sickness had all but disappeared.
His mind delved deeper into other topics to distract himself. But it did not get rid of the storm of emotions that had formed from killing Neo.
It simply pushed them to the side. They swirled and condensed into a towering deep monster that stood at the edge of the shore of his unconscious. This beast stood there in the rolling waves and watched the shoreline.
The bullhead landed with a thud and he meekly looked outside of the windows.
Beacon was quite late at night although it was well lit. No one roamed in the cool night.
His mind couldn't distract him anymore and he felt the crushing feeling of guilt crash into him like a tsunami.
His head threw mages from the fight and Neo's body at him at a nauseating pace but he managed to shakily get out of his seat.
The lights inside of the cabin flashed green. The other Beacon students in the front trudged off the ship in their sleep-deprived state. Soon, he and Blake were the only passengers left.
She still looked outside of the window in deep concentration. Right as he opened his mouth she got up.
She briefly made eye contact but whipped her head around and shimmied past him and onto the aisle. At a brisk pace, she walked out of the ship.
He took a deep breath and followed her out. His mind tried to squarely focus on her.
On the way out the pilot gave him a strange look.
The chilly autumn air hit him. In a week or so winter would begin and a few weeks into that team RWBY would fight the paladin. If the video's future followed through that is, and didn't doubt it wouldn't.
Blake had walked a considerable distance towards the dorms considering her pace.
She struck a wide berth from the other returning students.
He started to jog towards her.
He pulled his arms around himself as jogged. The cold wind stung him through his Pumpkin Pete sweater. The sweater was more form than functionally, and let the cold air travel through its thin material.
Getting some new under armor that would be better suited for combat and harsher environments sounded nice. The sweater didn't bring him much sentimentality anymore.
He caught up with Blake who didn't even acknowledge him. They walked quietly as he tried to keep the images of Neo's body at bay.
Walking up the stairs to their dorms, he suddenly felt a rush of deja vu of them doing this already. Except it was all in a much better light.
Blake was in front of him like last time but instead of coming back from the library, they had come back from foiling a terrorist plot and killing an assassin.
He pulled out his scroll which didn't have any messages from his team or team RWBY. They probably assumed that his late-night outings were a regular thing now and that if he returned home safe every time there was nothing to worry about.
When did staying out so late become a habit?
They reached their dorm rooms and right before he was about to turn the knob on his door, he turned around.
He made to say at least a goodbye to Blake but he was met with the impassable mountain of her back.
She quickly entered her dorm room and closed it without looking back.
His head hung low and dejected.
He turned back around and entered his dorm room stealthily. Dropping his armor near his bed, he went into the bathroom and refreshed himself.
He came out in his nightwear and hit the bed.
Dreams took him and into the domain of nightmares.
Four days passed and Jaune felt sick to the bone. Not the physical, stay in your bed all day, type of sickness but the type that made him feel like there was a deep dark monster growing inside of him.
He was an imposter in his own skin.
He was dejected in both his academic work and huntsman work. He tried to put on a facade of normalness but that didn't hide the effects.
His grades were lowering and he was winning fewer and fewer combat spars.
Whenever he was roped into a conversation he would try to participate but he didn't say anything of value.
He had stopped going to the library and instead tried to lose himself in the interwebs of his scroll. Any and all plethora of mind-numbing content. He would find a quiet spot in Beacon or just stay under the covers of his bed trying to shut out the real world.
Losing hours of sleep, these jaunts would make him miss valuable school work or team bonding.
His mind was a haze and he wasn't really living but simply watching his life flash by in frames like a movie. The images of Neo's dead body and the blood splattered on the concrete walls didn't surface although they would sometimes phase into the edge of his vision.
His shaking hands were replaced with sluggish ones.
The things he used to like didn't give him any joy and even his body's most primal happiness inducers, like eating or sleeping, didn't give him much in the way of emotion.
He wanted to dumb his mind down until he couldn't even think about what he had done.
The rest of his team, ever since he had gotten back, were not blind to his sudden shift. Pyrrha had immediately noticed and had shown concern since the morning after the dock fight.
She asked him if he was alright but he gave a standard lie that rolled off his tongue. In the following days, this mounted to Nora and Ren also questioning his state of being.
Pyrrha had also started to commentate on his outward changes and tried to coax him out of his depression. Nothing worked so far because he denied anything being wrong.
The questions of concern had turned into mild admonishment from her, Ren had started to even shake his head at his behavior, and if Nora's looks were any indicator, he would need to make some changes soon or she would burst into an emotional speech.
Deep inside the fog surrounding his mind, he knew that he didn't want to let his friends down and wanted to go back to his old self for them.
But they didn't deserve a killer as their leader. He clung to this maligned piece of logic.
During lunch with team RWBY, who may or may not have noticed his state, he didn't bother to check, his team eagerly conversed with them
Out of the corner of his eye, as he picked and prodded a small breakfast, Blake looked at him intently.
Her amber eyes had a flicker of sudden realization. He quickly looked back down at his food. He didn't want to meet her eyes.
he was disappointed in him and probably saw him as some sort of monster. Something that went against everything she was trying to not be.
He didn't want her to feel guilty that she worked with someone like him, that was the main reason why he had stopped going to the library and why he couldn't pick up a book or even a comic.
After lunch and classes, he half-heartedly held a training session with his team.
They were now fully immersed in the all-out strategy he had devised when he first watched the videos. They were much stronger and were neck to neck with team RWBY for the spot as the strongest first-year team.
Although he, personally, still had leaps and bounds to improve and become stronger.
But his current state was not helping him.
He barely dodged a strike from Pyrrha. She used her semblance and ripped his sword out of his hand. He didn't try to resist the force and let her sweep his legs.
He fell onto his back with a small grunt and heard his sword clattering next to him.
Staring up, the blinding white lights of the arena filled his vision. He wasn't as sweaty or pumped up as he usually was when he trained. Granted he hadn't pushed his body the entire time they had been sparring.
He lay there and tried to lose himself in the slightly soft padding of the arena floor but a sound pierced his head.
"Jaune, Jaune!" Pyrrha asked with deep worry.
She moved and stood in front of his face, blocking the light from above.
Her face was set in a frown and her eyes looked at him either with sympathy or pity, he didn't care.
He let out a sigh and slowly got up like an old man.
Like a robot, he grabbed his sword and got up. Pyrrha helped him up quickly, making him lose balance for a moment.
He looked at her and gave her a gruff nod before he twisted his neck side to side. The bone popped and creaked.
Pyrrha stood tall and proud with a flush full of life that indicated an intense workout.
She was a sharp contrast to his own slouched and pale-skinned form. Her bright vine colored eyes scanned his red-rimmed ones.
At the other side of the arena, Ren and Nora who were battling now stopped and looked over at him.
Both of them had looks of concern on their faces.
He said in a practical whisper, "Everything alright Pyr?"
She put a hand to her chest and said, "Jaune when you fell onto the floor and didn't get up I thought something happened to you. I went over and you looked like you were in another world!"
"I was just bested by the better fighter."
"It's not that, Jaune! You barely even put up a fight! It's been like this for the last few days, you don't even try at anything anymore!" she half shouted/scolded with moist eyes.
He looked away from her and to the ground. He didn't want to face his team right now.
She let out a small croak before, in a small whisper, she continued, "Jaune I've asked this question so many times in the last few days, but… are you really alright?"
Looking up at her, she had tears in her eyes.
He felt a bolt of sympathy and guilt for abandoning his teammates shoot through him, but that quickly got subdued by the thick clouds of the suffocating haze.
He gruffly said, "Look it's something I have to go through on my own and it's nothing to worry about. It's just a small rut and I'll be out of it in no time."
Without waiting for a response he turned around and started to head out of the ring.
Suddenly a firm grip coiled around his wrist and stopped him dead in his tracks.
Pyrrha said in a small sob, "Do you not trust your teammates Jaune? Don't you trust me, your Partner? We're here to help one another and I'm not going to let you wallow in this state!"
Jaune did not respond to her and simply broke out of her grip with his aura, which looked like vomit yellow compared to its brave golden from before.
She sobbed behind him but he didn't look back.
In a loud but unemotional voice, he said "I'm gonna go. By now you guys know our regime by heart. You can do it without me."
With that said he turned around and almost ran out of the room and into the hallways of Beacon.
He didn't want them to be near the monster he had become.
He stalked down the hallways with no clear destination in mind.
He trudged past empty classrooms and lively common rooms like a zombie.
Beacon students passed by him and gave him the same berth of an actual zombie.
A tingling sensation suddenly formed at his neck. He ignored the sensation of being watched. It was an annoyance but it was most likely from the gaze of Beacon students he passed.
He passed by an empty classroom but was grabbed by an aura-infused arm and pulled into the said classroom.
The door slammed shut behind him. The darkness of the room made him stumble onto a desk.
He turned around to his mystery kidnapper.
Amber filled his vision as Blake's soft glowing eyes met his. The room's darkness only intensified their color and made them look like two warm lanterns at the end of a pier.
He stepped back startled. Even though her eyes were set in a soft expression they seemed to pierce through his mind's haze and straight to his core.
His mouth opened to say something but nothing came out. He and Blake hadn't spoken since the bullhead ride back to Beacon after he killed Neo.
In a hoarse voice, he let out the words, "Bla-"
He was cut off when Blake suddenly grabbed his arms and dragged him out of the classroom.
She moved as fast as Ruby and they found themselves outside of the school and in Beacon's lush courtyard.
She moved further in until they were in a secluded part, deep within the gardens.
Moving over to a green bench, she sat down making him sit down by proxy.
He was about to speak when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug.
His face became buried in her neck and something snapped like a twig deep inside his head.
The miasma that had filled his head was instantly banished by a strong breeze.
It was replaced by the floodgates opening. He started to weep into her neck.
The crying was nothing like the movies made it out to be. It was ugly and there was a lot of snot involved.
As he let out the cascade of emotions inside of him in the medium of tears, her arms awkwardly rubbed his back and brushed his hair. But a moment later they became confident in their comfort.
He enjoyed the warmth.
He cried for both a few minutes and an eternity. Heaving up and down, his tears started to lessen. Her warmness pressed against him and some of her black locks brushed his face.
The faint perfume she wore wafted into his nose. It smelled surprisingly like vanilla.
His eyes dried out and put his head up. Blake's eyes were soft and comforting.
She took out a pad of tissues from her pocket and opened it up.
Before she could get a tissue out he gently took the box from her hand. He didn't look up at her and wiped the tears and snot from her neck and shoulder. After that, tissues drenched his face as he cleaned himself up.
Once he was done, he went over to a local trashcan and threw the used tissues away.
He returned to the seat and leaned against Blake. She stiffened for a moment before she did the same.
His heartbeat slowly slowed down from its hammering pace. Something sinister had broken and a new man emerged.
He looked around at the garden, the setting sun, and everything else living and nonliving. The entire world looked like it had sprouted new colors. Everything was more focused like someone had adjusted his eyes like a camera.
The blooming flowers in the gardens around them looked like multi-colored stars floating in a green space.
The air even tasted better and his perception of the world had gotten back to its regular state.
His inner haze and that black sludge that had been coalescing in his heart had seeped out of him. He could breathe and form coherent thoughts again.
Blake's hand squeezed his own and he was pulled out of his thoughts. Now that he could focus on the world, he took a good look at her.
Her cat ears gently moved with the wind. Her black bow was tied above her elbow and flowed with the gentle breeze. She wore a black long sleeve sweater that hugged her body. On it was a graphic of a white butterfly. She wore white pants with black polka dots on them which ended with bright white sneakers.
He spoke in his regular powerful voice, a sharp contrast to his bare whispers ever since the dockfight, and said, "Thanks, I needed that."
She nodded before she quietly said, "Jaune I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what Blake?" he asked with genuine concern.
She paused before looking away from him and to the setting sun. The sky was streaked with pink and gold as the sun slowly set.
She took a deep breath and her entire face relaxed.
Turning to him, she said, "I'm sorry for not being there for you. I let you wallow in that guilt when I was the only person who would have understood what you've been going through. I'm sorry."
"How'd you know I was feeling guilty?" He asked.
"I went through the same thing when I helped Adam take my first life."
His eyes almost popped out of his head in shock. From the videos, Blake didn't seem like she hadn't explicitly helped kill anyone. But now that she mentioned it, she would have helped kill at least some people in her time in the White Fang.
She took a large sigh before continuing, "After you killed Neo I got reminded of Adam. He was a murderer who killed for the sake of killing. When Neo died and I looked over at you I saw you wearing his bone mask for a millisecond. I was so scared that I just shut you out right then and there instead of being there for you. Even though I knew how horrific that gnawing feeling in your chest is after you take your first life. I didn't listen to that advice you gave so long ago, I ran away. I'm sorry."
She looked down to the floor dejected. He sat there completely shocked at her revelations.
He was miserable when Blake gave him the cold shoulder, after killing Neo, but he had forgotten about that in the haze that became his mind. It was also frightening to know that she compared him to Adam at one point but it must have been warranted given that he murdered Neo. He was, after all, still a monster.
But now that she brought it up, those feelings reared their ugly heads but were quickly squashed by a warmer feeling erupting in his heart like a volcano towards the raven-haired girl.
He put a hand on her shoulder and softly squeezed, "It's alright Blake. I don't deserve your comfort anyways. I'm a monster, I killed someone. The guilt I feel right now is mine to bear."
Crying had helped his mind become clear of its haze but now the guilt and sting of killing Neo washed into him like poison. Instead of trying to block it though, he let it flow through him.
"No." Blake suddenly said with pure conviction lining her words.
He opened his eyes, which he hadn't realized he had closed, and looked over at her.
Her face was set in stone and the previous warm glow in her eyes was replaced by a sparkling fire.
"No, what?" he asked, removing his arm from her shoulder and trying to brace through the thoughts of Neo's lifeless body flashing through his head.
"Jaune, you are not a monster."
"But I-"
"No. You. Aren't. I've seen real monsters, Jaune, I was taught by one. Don't you dare think of yourself as a monster! Yes, you did kill someone but you aren't evil because of that. You didn't fundamentally change when you pulled that trigger. She was going to kill me and you saved me. I am eternally grateful for that but I won't be if you don't get it through your thick skull that you aren't a monster! You killed her in self-defense and saved another life to boot!"
She finished her rant with a huff and looked away from him. Her body sagged and she leaned back into the bench.
He sat there with his mouth agape in pure shock. All the pieces clicked into place at once and he was bulldozed by understanding.
He, Jaune Arc, had killed someone a few days ago. He did do it and there was no point in denying what he had done. But he wasn't evil or a murderer. As Blake said, he had killed Neo in self-defense and if he hadn't drawn his gun Blake would have died. He would rather have his closest confidant alive than preserve his moral purity.
Now he could move on and make sure the futures in those videos could never happen.
The lingering's of guilt filtered out of his head. He was now not the same as he once was but he wasn't worse. Just something different.
Blake still had that yearning in her eyes but a frown breaching her brow. He grabbed her hand and squeezed reassuringly.
In a confident voice, he said, "I understand Blake. I know who I am, I think I was trying to escape the consequences of killing Neo. But I think I've faced some of it. But now I'm ready to face the music and go back to our work.
Blake's face glowed at his words and a big smile graced her lips.
The air swept by them as they sat in comfortable silence. She leaned against him and put her head on his shoulder.
He was mildly surprised for a few seconds before he put his head on her's. They sat there until the sun faded into the horizon and the sky darkened.
She got up from the bench and he instantly missed her presence. She looked up at the darkening sky.
"We should head out into Vale," she exclaimed suddenly, now looking over at Beacon's airship docks.
"Isn't it a bit late?" he asked, also getting up.
"No, anyways I think It'll be fun. We should celebrate being partners in crime again and it would be a nice treat before we get back to business."
"That sounds nice actually."
"Yea, I think you deserve some fun after going through all of that without any support. And I've missed hanging out with you," she said, stretching.
"Let's go then."
Blake nodded and started to walk forward when he stopped.
"Wait, I don't want to go out looking like this," he said looking over his plain hoodie and ripped jeans.
"I'll wait by the airship docks and you can change," she said looking back before she kept on walking.
She sauntered down the cobble path. He watched her hips sway rhythmically as she got further and further away.
She disappeared behind a flower bed, and he blinked out of his trance.
He quickly went back to the dorm building. Climbing the stairs almost two at a time, he reached his dorm room and entered.
It was empty so his team was still out practicing. He quickly went over to the dorm's closest.
He pulled out a yellow shirt and a jean jacket. He changed his pants for some non-ripped ones and headed out.
He quickly jogged over to the airship docks and spotted Blake leaning against a railing.
Going up to her, she got off the railing and looked him up and down.
"You look pretty good," she mused looking him in the eyes.
Smirking, he pointed at her and said, "You look pretty good yourself."
She rolled her eyes playfully before saying, "If you keep those compliments up I might just consider this a date."
At that exact moment, a bullhead arrived and they got on.
They found a seat in the back and quietly talked. He mostly talked about how he was going to salvage the last few days. More importantly, how he was going to repair his relationship with his team.
His best plan was telling them what he had been going through but not telling them the real reason why; he had already come up with some excuses.
The bullhead, to him, went by in an instant as he talked with her and before he knew it they were in Vale.
Walking through the bustling city streets, they laughed and had an all-around merry time.
He or Blake led one another to many places around the city. They visited an arcade where they tried an array of fun machines. Although Blake utterly beat him on a dance machine with similar levels to Ren.
The skill must come with being a ninja.
They visited some cafes and hole-in-the-wall food carts and took samples of Vale's wide variety of cuisine.
While eating very juicy kebabs, Blake suddenly spoke up, "You know, I wonder why we didn't see Penny at the docks."
He swallowed in a mouthful of food and replied, "Probably because she already knew about the bust and was told not to interfere with it. Someone in Atlas probably has ties to Vale Police and thought if Penny swooped in and saved the day people would get suspicious of her."
She nodded and slurped down the rest of her food.
In one of the cafes they visited he saw a tv droning in a corner. He went a bit closer to it and heard a small story being run.
Vales CCT management has announced an unusually long maintenance period. They cite that this new maintenance will introduce a new upgrade that will strengthen connections around Vale. Although, signal will be down for the following days…
A smile bloomed on his face. It looks like the articles Terra made that he circulated had done their magic. Although this could just be routine maintenance he had never heard of an unusually long one.
He had a feeling these were the security upgrades Terra talked about. It looked like they were going to have a major card in their hand now against Cinder.
Now he and Blake were inside one of the many bookstores she frequented. Speaking of Blake, she sat right next to him flicking through a stack of books. He leaned against the sofa they were sitting on.
The rustic feel and warm lighting of the bookstore made him tired, the amount of food they had sampled didn't help the matter.
He asked Blake, "Do you see anything that you like?"
She responded with her nose buried in a book, "Not really. I think we should head back to Beacon. I'm pretty tired."
To iterate her point she let out a cute but deep yawn. He got up from the sofa and helped her put the books back.
They exited the store and into the chilly night. He stepped a bit closer to her and she did the same.
On their way back to the airship docks they chatted and laughed. He was happier than he could remember in a long time. He felt like there was sweet honey being pumped through his system as they talked.
He was grinning ear to ear and his heart beat a little faster whenever their arms brushed one another or when she let out a laugh to one of his jokes. Her laugh was loud and rich.
He hadn't expected such a laugh from her.
They continued to animatedly talk back to the air-docks and all the way back to Beacon. Their conversation seemingly had no end.
At Beacon they quickly entered the dorm building.
He was, surprisingly, returning to the dorms at a reasonable time.
In front of their dorm rooms they stood facing each other. He had a great time with her and judging but how bright her eyes were she must have as well.
"That was really fun!" he exclaimed.
"It really was. I feel so much better than usual," she remarked.
"I feel the same way. But ever since you let me cry my heart out to you I've been feeling better. That outing just made me feel even better. I really enjoyed spending time with you."
Suddenly she stepped forward and before he could even react, his lips were met by her soft ones.
It was chaste, a far cry from the furiousness in the joke she told at lunch, but, to him, it was amazing.
A second or two passed and she pulled away.
He stood there mouth agape in complete shock. That came out of left-field.
She let out a quiet laugh before saying, "Don't read into it too much Jaune, sweet dreams."
With that she entered her dorm room and closed it; she gave a small wave as the door closed..
He turned around, mostly by instinct than actual thought, and came face to face with Pyrrha's emerald eyes.
She stood in the entrance of the dorm with a similar expression of shock to his own. Her cheeks lit up like suns when she registered he had noticed her.
She let out a sputtering cough and turned around into the dorm room.
He put his hand forward trying to stop her "Wait, Pyr!"
She didn't turn back and simply went to her desk and immersed herself in some already completed homework. He looked at her and let out a small sigh.
He went into the bathroom and took a change of clothes with him.
What just happened?
He came out of the bathroom looking like a new but vexed man.
Thinking about what he was going to say to his teammates to explain his previous state, a voice suddenly piped up from the front of the door.
"Ummm Jaune, what happened to Pyrrha," Nora said, who was in front of the red-haired girl poking her cheek.
Pyrrha had moved from her desk and now sat on her bed, still like stone.
He looked up from his thoughts at Nora and Ren entering the dorm room. It looked like Pyrrha finished her training earlier than the rest of them.
He put his clothes back into the closet and closed it.
He walked over to his team who were gathered around Pyrrha. Ren and Nora were already in their regular wear so they must have washed off in the lockers.
They turned around and looked up at him. Their faces morphed into shock,
Nora's mouth flew open while Ren's brow raised higher than he had ever seen (not that high considering someone else), and they seemed to completely forget about the comatose Pyrrha.
He waved his hand and in a very Ruby-like way said, "Hey guys."
He looked down too ashamed to meet their eyes directly.
Suddenly the unmistakable weight of Nora crashed into him. She bear-hugged him and toppled him onto the floor.
He let out a loud laugh at seeing Nora so cheerful and energetic again. He missed this.
She started to babble incoherently and mushed his face like a touchy aunt. She was pulled off of him by Ren who carried her up like a kitten.
He put his hands towards him and he grasped tightly.
Ren pulled him up and Jaune gave him a tight one armed bro-hug. Ren gave him a stoic nod that Jaune knew somehow conveyed a thousand words.
He simply nodded back and turned towards an eager Nora.
She said, in a very bubbly voice, "Jaune what happened to you! You look like a new person. Did someone replace you?."
Ren added, "Yes, you did not look your best in the last few days. I thought you were in some sort of depression. Nora was going to drag you into the Nurse's office for a psych evaluation if you didn't change in a few days."
"Hey!" Nora pouted.
Ren simply shrugged and Jaune smiled at his team's antics. He had forgotten how much he truly missed them. He never wanted to isolate himself from them ever again.
He sat down on his bed and Nora sat next to him while Ren stood near the wall.
"Well to tell you the truth, I was in some sort of depression. But now I'm out of it. I don't think I'll ever be the same as before but I won't spiral into that again," he said looking down at his clenched hands.
He didn't see Neo's blood dripping down them but he knew they once were.
Nora responded, "What were you so sad about? if you don't mind telling us that is."
He quickly racked his brain for the excuse he had planned to give them. Every fiber in his heart wanted to tell them about his killing of Neo and the future videos but deep down he knew it wasn't the time.
Instead, he opted to tell them the feelings he went through but through a fake excuse. It wasn't a lie per say but not the full truth either.
"A close family member died. I was devastated when I heard the news. I just didn't know how to deal with it and just shut down," he said, feeling a twinge of guilt bubble up in his heart for telling them a lie.
Nora simply nodded and patted his back. He looked at Ren who also nodded his understanding.
It looked like they had bought it. He was getting really good at this lying thing.
Jaune continued, "I'm sorry for shutting you guys out and not seeking some help. I probably should have, instead of becoming a walking husk. I shut you guys out and left you without a leader. I plan to make up the last few days with lots of team bonding."
"You don't have to be sorry for anything Jaune. We're a team and we're supposed to help one another even if one member doesn't want help. You were the one who was going through all of that negativity while we just gawked. We should have pried harder and tried to help."
A smile broke through his face and he instinctively hugged Nora. The girl hugged back and she shifted her body and pulled Ren towards their hug.
They all pulled away and Nora asked, "So how'd you get out of it?"
He simply shrugged and said, "Someone helped me see something about myself and that pulled me out of the brink."
Nora and Ren both looked at him with curious eyes seemingly waiting for him to get into specifics. When he didn't, they simply nodded.
Ren got up and went over to his desk. Nora got up as well and, as if a lightbulb had just turned on above her head, she turned around and exclaimed, "What about Pyrrha!"
He looked up with a befuddled frown before it instantly hit him that someone was not included in their conversation.
He faced Pyrrha's bed. She sat on it looking at the opposite wall with a thousand yard stare.
Her mouth still hung wide open from seeing Blake make out with him. Her eyes were blank and in another plane of existence.
Nora crouched in front of her and started to poke her face once more. Jaune got up and stood next to Nora.
Ren also came back and stood on the other side. Nora kept on poking Pyrrha eliciting no response.
It was like she was a fly trying to bother a stone statue.
"Nora stop that," Ren scolded.
She didn't stop and simply muttered under her breath, "Remnant to Pyrrha? Remnant to Pyrrha?"
Jaune interjected, "Pyr you okay?"
The red-haired warrior woman suddenly shot up completely straight. Her emerald eyes regained all of their color.
She looked around dazed as if she had just been born. She stopped still as a board when her eyes met his.
Her face went red as her hair and she sprang up out of the bed. Nora stumbled backwards a bit but was caught by Ren.
She quickly turned to Jaune, with her eyes glued to the floor, and said, "Jaune I heard everything. I'm sorry I didn't do as much as I could to get you out of that horrible place. But it looks like you found someon- I mean someway to get out of it. I really can't wait for all of us to be one whole team again."
She quickly got up and darted to the dorm room.
He reached out a hand and said, "Wait, Pyr I have to talk to you ab-"
He was cut off by Pyrrha, " I gotta go guys. I have to hang out with some friends. Bye!"
She rushed out the door, as fast as Ruby, and closed it behind her with a bang. Her thundering feet echoed from the halls.
Nora cupped her chin in deep thought and said, "But we're her only friends."
Ren let out an exasperated sigh.
Jaune simply closed his eyes in frustration. That was an entire other thing he had to deal with.
But for now, he was going to get some rest.
Sunlight streamed onto his face and he woke up with a small smile.
Yesterday had not been a dream. He truly did feel better.
He got out of bed and got ready for the school day. Pyrrha had returned and slept soundly on her bed.
He had a nice cheery breakfast with his team although he and Pyrrha were still a bit cold. He planned on fixing that rift between them soon.
His team had their usual classes which he managed to focus on again. Although he did have to ask Ren for help on the lessons he hadn't paid attention to while in his depression.
The last class of the day was Combat Class. He managed to defeat all of his opponents, letting him climb the ranks back up to his usual spot.
Which was considerably higher than the beginning of the year.
He changed back into his school uniform and was about to leave the class with his team when Glynda told him to stay behind.
Nora gave him a smirk and told him not to get in trouble. He simply shrugged sheepishly and went into the witch's office.
There was only one desk and two leather chairs. On the walls hung an assortment of huntsman weapons of varying styles and ages.
On the center of the wall, behind the chair that Glynda walked over and sat in, was a framed photo of a young Glynda smiling on top of the corpse of a disintegrating Grimm.
Glynda pierced him with her emerald eyes. She indicated the chair in front of her desk.
He dutifully sat down and stood at attention. He wondered if this conversation was going to be about that slump he had been in.
She put down her riding crop on the desk and picked out a small mug to the side.
Taking a small gulp, she said, "Would you like some water or water, ?"
He shook his head and tried to relax in his seat. Did Glynda see his depression as suspicious? Did she know about the videos?
A silent deep breath flowed out of his lips calming him. He couldn't get jumpy at any paranoia. She wouldn't suspect anything if he acted normal.
His feet, which had begun to shake subconsciously, stopped and he looked at his combat instructor.
"Well , let me tell you the reason why I called you in here. No, it is not about your combat performance, although I want to congratulate you. You have grown leaps and bounds since coming to Beacon. I am extremely proud of you."
She paused and her eyes became much softer, "The real reason I've called in here is that I've noticed that for the past few days your performance has been halting. Although you had a marked improvement today, are you alright?"
Internally, he let out a triumphant sigh. That paranoia in the back of his head was going haywire for no reason.
Here was a teacher who was just concerned for one of her students, not someone trying to pry open his secrets.
With a small smile, he said, "Oh, one of my close family members passed away. I didn't know how to deal with it so I sort of shut down. Although I recently opened up with my teammates and they helped me get through it. I feel way better now!"
Her spectacles rode up her nose with the raise of her brow. She scanned his face for a moment before closing her eyes.
Adjusting her glasses back, she asked, "Is that all?"
He nodded his head, with a smile still plastered on his face.
"Alright, sorry for taking up your time. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day."
The chair scraped behind him and he exited the office. In the hallways he found his teammates standing around.
He greeted them and they all walked back to their dorms, as happy as ever.
The all-so-familiar smell of the library wafted into his head. Doors shut behind him and he walked over to the usual spot.
It was an hour into the evening. He was in his casual clothes after finishing up all of his schoolwork and being beaten blue in a very rigorous training session with his teammates.
He spotted Blake and sat next to her. In their little alcove corner of the library there was no one around.
She was nose deep in a book but hummed at his presence.
She put down the book and looked up at him.
He smiled back and was hit by the sudden memory of her lips entangling his own. His cheeks turned deep red.
She smirked, "Cat got your tongue?"
"Not the tongue, but she was definitely close," he responded sitting down.
"Maybe, she just wasn't going for it."
They both let out a quiet laugh
Blake turned around and began to type on the holo-comp in front of her.
He suddenly leaned towards her and gently grabbed her hand, "But seriously Blake, what was that? More importantly, what are we?"
Pausing her typing, she turned to him and softly detangled his hand.
With a slight blush, she said, "I honestly don't know. And on what we are… let's talk about that after we deal with the Whie Fang and the Paladin."
He gave her a slow nod and she pulled up several files on the screen. They were all public police records on White Fang busts or news reports about White Fang activity in Vale.
"So we're trying to find where the White Fang are keeping the Paladin before they transport it to that storehouse to show it off to recruits in the videos," he mused going over the plan.
"Yes, but why can't we just wait until they transport it to that showcase? We already know where that location is from the videos," Blake asked, looking keenly at the documents.
"That does seem easier but with Roman out of the picture, we don't know how that changed their plans. Hell, we don't even know if they're going to get a Paladin. It's just better if we can track down where they have it stored now, if they have it at all."
She nodded before going back to her work. He joined her on his holo-comp and together they tried to find info on any in-use White Fang bases.
They didn't use Blake's knowledge as she only knew of the main White Fang base and some safe houses around the city being glued to Adam during her time in the Fang.
Together they concluded that the main base was too high profile for the Paladin to go in at the risk of a police bust. The safehouses were just for small supplies and didn't have the space to hide the Paladin.
After trudging through many many files and news articles he still had nothing. His finger ached from scrolling so much.
He stopped his search and massaged his hands. Blake suddenly nudged him.
On her screen she had a very old news article that had a blurry image of a few White Fang members entering a derelict factory. The report talked about the factory being a possible White Fang hideout, although there wasn't enough leeway for an investigation, just a blurry image.
"Do you think this is where we should hit up first?" He asked, looking over the article again.
She nodded, "I think so."
"Then let's go tomorrow. It'll be Saturday, but the earlier the better"
She agreed and shut down the holo-comp.
They erased any evidence of what they searched up and any trace that they were in the library. Going back to the dorms, they mentally prepared for the next day.
They had a mark and the future, once more, was going to change.
AN:
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Hope you enjoyed it! See you next time.