Author's Notes:
-To Guest; I think I see your point, but think about it like this- No one within Beacon knew about Emerald's semblance, and the heroes didn't realize it until it was all too late. That's why their plan to frame Yang, and to a much greater extent Pyrrha, worked all too well. If people didn't like Yang for her supposedly 'breaking' Mercury's legs, how do you think people saw Pyrrha after she was framed for/tricked into destroying/killing Penny? Probably not well. It's also implied that the school believed Emerald hadn't discovered her semblance yet (when in reality, she had already been using it for months, if not years.) Either that, and/or illusion semblances could be considered uncommon, if not rare, in the world of RWBY by the characters in the show.
Furthermore, people can get scared very easily in times of crisis. Much like our own world, lies can spread very easily. And the Trojan Alliance, whether misguided, malevolent or somewhere in between, is hell-bent on bringing her down and her friends in tow. I don't know if you read the beginning of these chapters to check for author's notes, but if you are and haven't fully caught up on the story, I'll try to refrain from spoiling volume 4, but you'll see the dangers of mob mentality, the consequences of lies, corruption, and sooner or later, the ultimate goal of the Trojan Alliance.
As for ch. 84, bear this in mind; Pyrrha was not the one to start the fight against Tyrian. She's just the one that finished it. Tyrian had already been weakened by Ren, Orville and Nora. You could argue that Nora did most of the heavy lifting due to Ren trying to defend Orville (only to fail), and Orville sacrificing his life to save Nora from being poisoned. And even if Pyrrha is a cut above the other former Beacon students, she still had a hard time fighting him. Granted, some of this was due to her fragile emotional/mental state, but I'd say that my point still stands. Had it not been for Penny's swords, Pyrrha would have been done for then and there.
-Phew. That was a lot to type. This may be the longest author's note ever. (If you don't count the post-chapter Omake at the end of ch. 109.) Explanations aside, to all who celebrated it, I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving! And Happy Winter Holidays to all, I know some of them must be starting soon… (Or by this point, may have even started already…) Hopefully, the next chapter will be out right in time for Christmas.
-I wanted to get this chapter out sooner, but between personal troubles, Christmas gift shopping and work burnout… I had some difficulty finding the motivation to write.
-Anyway, we got another chapter here. Looks like the site is slowly pulling itself back together, as we seem to be getting notifications back.
(Here's hoping anyway…)
Now then. (with a megaphone) Everlasting Light, Chapter 150, Scenes 1-3, take 37 and action!
Later that morning, as the sun began to reach its peak, Ren and Nora were shown outdoors at a Mistralian breakfast cafe. Ren was shown drinking a cup of green tea while Nora held a mug of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream.
"Ah, this is wonderful." Nora happily remarked.
"I will admit, for a randomly chosen breakfast restaurant, this seems to be a good place." Ren nodded in agreement. "They certainly know how to brew tea properly."
As Nora put her mug down, Ren noticed a small chocolate milk mustache forming on her face. The Valkyrie gave him a confused look as he softly chuckled. "What?"
"You have something on your face."
She soon realized what he had meant and laughed. Her eyes scanned the table, there were no other napkins besides the ones in their respective laps, so she improvised; Using her tongue, she licked her lips and face clean.
Ren chuckled. "Oh Nora. Such a fun, free spirit."
Nora smiled at this.
"It's kind of a shame Jaune and Pyrrha didn't join us."
"Give them time, it's been a rough last few weeks." Ren advised her. "No, wait, last several months arguably."
She set the mug down. "You're not entirely wrong. Glad that we were able to sneak away for a bit."
"I don't think Mr. Branwen or Ozpin's successor would have minded us getting a nice meal out or seeing the city."
If there was a real emergency, we'd be notified immediately. The lotus warrior thought.
"You sure? His successor hasn't even left the campus grounds once."
Ren drank a sip of tea as his girlfriend responded, "He has a name you know and he has his reasons."
"But how exactly do you address someone that's been reincarnated? Oscar-Ozpin? Ozpin-Oscar? Truth be told, I'm still trying to understand all this. All this magic and everything else…"
Ren soon noticed a nearby waiter holding a water pitcher, slightly tipping over and spilling onto the pavement as he overheard their conversation. Nora stammered, unable to justify what they had just been talking about.
"I'm helping her write a book." Ren quickly explained.
The waiter nodded in understanding, cracked a nervous smile as he realized his mistakes and left.
"Phew. That was close."
Nora smiled, feeling relieved. "Thank you."
"It's no trouble."
The two gazed into each other's eyes. Nora's eyes seemed to reflect a sparkle in them for a moment.
Soon enough, a different waiter came up to them, holding a tray of items including food and beverages and began distribution.
"Fluffy Japanese-style pancakes?"
Nora nodded eagerly. He set the plate before her, showing some thick, fluffy souffle pancakes stacked in a pyramid-like form, garnished with fresh fruit; several different berries and halved strawberries towards the edges. "Oh that looks wonderful."
He soon handed to her a glass bottle labeled; Pure Maple Syrup, Grade A Amber Color (Rich), Cool Oak Farms as he said, "Here's your maple syrup."
Nora eyed the bottle as he set it down. "Oh…"
The waiter chuckled as he grabbed the other plate, this one showing a rolled omelet chopped into bite size pieces over a bed of rice and some daikon radish. "And the Tamagoyaki?"
The server placed the tamagoyaki before Ren. "That's me. Thank you very much."
"And your drinks."
He handed them another cup of tea and another mug of hot chocolate, much to Nora's delight and Ren's confusion. "I don't remember requesting refills."
"These are on the house," he clarified.
Ren was surprised by the sudden act of kindness. "Oh, um, thank you."
The waiter soon left to deliver other food and beverages.
Ren took his fork and got one of the pieces of tamagoyaki. He gave a semi-soft "Mhm," and smiled as he started his breakfast. Nora cut off a bite of her pancakes and took it. Her eyebrows widened and her mouth spread into a wide grin.
"Oh wow…" she began, her mouth still full. She soon swallowed, clearing her mouth. "These may be the best pancakes I've ever eaten!"
She soon opened the bottle of syrup and poured a modest amount on top of her pancakes.
"I'm surprised you're not pouring the entire thing on your plate."
"Are you kidding me? With how good this syrup is, I'm saving some of it for later!"
She took another bite.
Ren gave a nervous glance. "Is that even allowed?"
"Don't worry, we got plenty more in the back." the water waiter from earlier told them. "I can tell she's a sugar fiend. Besides, if she doesn't keep it, it'll likely get pitched anyway…"
Ren chuckled. "You should have seen her at the Vytal Festival dessert booths. There was one vendor that was offering samples of gourmet popcorn with a lot of sweet flavors. She was trying to get so many samples that she held up the line."
Nora blushed, partially embarrassed at that little incident. Pyrrha had to take me away to a nearby cookie vendor…
Ren took another bite of his tamagoyaki.
"And how's the tamagoyazi?" Nora scratched her head. "Am I saying that right?"
"Close. It's tamagoyaki." he gently corrected after swallowing his piece.
"Oh." She smiled sheepishly. "I tried."
"You did. And to answer your question, it's amazing. The nori they rolled in is a nice touch."
Twenty minutes later, their plates were empty. On Nora's side of the table, half of the syrup remained in the bottle.
"Is there anything else you require?" the serving waiter asked him.
"Just the check please," Ren requested. "And a bag for the remaining syrup in the bottle."
"Certainly. Will this be on one check?"
"One check and it goes to me."
"I'll get those to you momentarily."
The server left.
Nora was a little confused. "Aw, you didn't have to do that. I was willing to pitch in for my sweet tooth."
"Nonsense. I prepared for this."
Wow, romantic Ren is such a gentleman… Is he doing this just to impress me? Or is it… for a different reason?
She soon dismissed the thought, not wanting her joy to fade as the waiter brought the bill. With his right hand, he balanced a tray with water glasses and handed Ren the checkbook and a plastic bag with his opposite hand.
"Here you are," he responded.
"Thank you."
The server left, presumably to deliver the drinks. Nora bagged her maple syrup bottle as Ren examined the bill;
Last Leaf Teahouse and Cafe
Total; 29.89 Lien
"Not too bad."
He got out some cash and put in three 10-Liens into the checkbook.
Sometime later, Ren was shown receiving the book back with some small change. He pocketed the change, put a five Lien cash tip into the checkbook, and said to his girlfriend, "Shall we continue our first date?"
Nora chuckled. "I thought you'd never ask. The day's still young and so are we!"
Following breakfast, the two were shown out in the city. Several vendors were shown in a central plaza. Mistral's capital city had a thriving, bustling marketplace.
Amidst the many people buying and selling were a few vendors clamoring over each other for attention;
"Fresh fish, get your fresh fish here!"
"Baguettes, buy one get one free!"
"Newest and greatest book of all time, buy now and get an autograph free of charge!"
"Ice cream, real cheap! Ice cream!"
"Silks here! Finest silk in all of Mistral!"
Nora took a look at the crowd, some of which didn't seem interested but others were being lured in. "Oh wow… They must be desperate."
"I wouldn't say desperate, but perhaps trying to sway the masses." He turned to Nora. "Shall we?"
Ren took Nora's hand as they went along. The couple took a few paces to the right and their first stop appeared to be an antique store. The owner was a woman in her mid-thirties.
"Hello there! Anything catch your eye?" she asked them.
Nora hummed to herself, "Hmmm…"
"Just looking around." Ren spoke.
The owner widened her eyes. "Oh, are you staying in Mistral?"
"Well… for a while." Ren hesitantly answered.
She soon smiled, giving them a warm welcome. "Well welcome to the city. I hope you enjoy your time here. Oh, and you should try Last Leaf Teahouse and Cafe while you're here. They have the best pancakes ever!"
"Actually, we were just there!" Nora told them, holding what looked like a pink music box. "And you are so right!"
"What have you found there?"
"Looks like a box of some kind."
The two examined the book in close detail. The box was about the size of Nora's hand, mostly white with a few pink designs in the forms of embroidered detail, raised swirls and tiny golden stars. The top of the box had a slightly raised white top and a small pink price label sticker; Ⱡ8
Off to the left side was a small golden knob.
"This looks pretty… but what is it?" Nora asked.
"It's a music box."
"I've never seen one before." Nora opened the box, seeing a ballerina figure upon a small circle pop up. "Is it broken? I don't hear anything."
The vendor blinked. "Huh. You've never seen one? That's rather surprising. And it shouldn't be. Try turning the knob on the side."
She followed her instructions and soon a soft melody began to play. The ballerina figure spun around as the melody continued.
Nora blinked, almost crying in both joy and sorrow. "Oh it's beautiful."
Ren smiled. "Hmm… How much for the music box?"
"It's actually on sale- only 8 Lien."
Ren opened his wallet, getting out the amount of Lien specified. "That's pretty reasonable."
He handed the vendor the cash. She pressed a button and put the money into a nearby cash register.
The vendor handed them a big reusable bag and Nora gently put the music box inside.
"Thanks for stopping by!" the vendor cheered. "Enjoy Mistral!"
A montage began of the two looking at different stands; the two looking at a bakery stand with a large variety of breads (including kitten loaves), Ren and Nora turning away from a very long line for the ice cream vendor, Ren trying a free sample of tea, Nora covering her nose as they got a whiff of a very pungent fish (while Ren hardly seemed to be affected), Nora spraying perfume from a test sampler bottle onto her wrists, much to the worry of Ren, only for the vendor to reassure him she wasn't stealing anything and Ren getting an autograph from the author after buying their book.
The montage ended as Nora was shown trying on a hat before putting it back on the rack.
Not too far from them, another booth was set up, this one showing off hand-made carpets in many different colors and designs.
"Ah, it's been a long time since I've been here." Maria remarked.
"Glad you decided to accompany me to the market," Wendy remarked.
"It's good seeing all the people here. That, and perhaps the fresh air will do me some good."
Soon Ren and Nora approached the stand, the sound of tea bag boxes, a book and a music box emitting a faint note faintly heard from the bag the Valkyrie held in her hand.
"Hello!" Wendy greeted.
Ren greeted her. "Hello. I see you're a carpet vendor."
Wendy smiled. "All made with tender loving care."
"I see. It must be a pretty long job." He turned to the elderly lady. "At least you have some assistance."
Maria looked at him, surprised. "Me? Oh, I'm just a friend." she confessed. "And occasional retriever. I bring food, water, blankets and fans depending on the weather, just common fetch quests."
Nora chuckled.
"Honestly, I'm not sure we have any need for carpets, but I can see all the fine detail you put into them."
"Well take a look all you want! And, if you really want to help, you can take a business card or two for later."
Ren took one of those said cards. "Thank you."
The two lovebirds gave a chuckle.
"Have a great rest of your day!" Wendy exclaimed.
"Good luck out there!" Maria called.
As the morning faded into early afternoon, the two were shown in park, overlooking a flowing waterfall and the city down below. Nora held the bag with their purchases on her left arm.
She leaned into Ren, surprised at first but still wanting to be close to her. "Thanks for everything."
"You're welcome. I may not be able to give you the world, but I believe we've both had a wonderful day that we'll remember for a long time."
"I hope we'll remember it forever."
The two stared into each other's eyes.
Ren kissed Nora, a surprised moan escaping her captured lips. Closing her eyes to match his, she responded back with passion, wrapping her free arm around him.
"I love you."
"I love you too. It's hard to remember when I started falling in love with you. I have a feeling it may have started a few days before my thirteenth birthday, when we were in Aquarian for the first time. Truth be told… I didn't know how to say it for years. So I always said 'Boop!'"
"Like this?" He bopped her on the nose. "Boop."
Nora smiled, laughter and happiness heard as the camera panned up to the afternoon sun.
Sometime later, Jaune and Pyrrha were shown cuddling in bed. Blue sheets covered them, their heads against soft, white pillows.
As the two continued to sleep, a look into their shared room was seen. The muted green walls surrounded each part of the room save for two wooden doors, the walls themselves mostly bare. The first wooden door was to the right of the bed past a small nightstand with a lamp. Left of the bed was another door, presumably for a closet or storage area. Right of the bed far from the closet were some drawers covered with a long red cloth. Directly in front of them was a desk completely bare save for a wireless lantern shaped lamp. Above their heads were the edges of window frames, the glass covered by red curtains blocking out most of the sun, leaving the room in a contrast of illuminated darkness.
Along the drawers were multiple items, including their Scrolls, wallets, weapons, an alarm clock and crumbled slips of paper with words on them.
The two continued sleeping for a while until Jaune gradually came to his senses. Opening his eyes, he saw his arms wrapped around his love.
She seems more at peace… I want to get up, but I don't want to wake her.
He leaned in closer to her, the faint scent of strawberry in her hair.
"Mhm?" Pyrrha asked as she woke up.
"Good morning, my sweet."
He kissed her on the forehead as Pyrrha asked in surprise, "Is it morning already?"
Jaune scooched back and looked at the alarm clock, reading; 12:03pm
"Uh, strike that, it's… past morning."
"Past morning?!" she softly shouted.
She looked at the clock in disbelief. Pyrrha was always a morning person. She was falling behind, surprised at how much of the day had been missed. With her hair loose and not truly brushed in days, it seemed the Mistralian champion was unraveling.
Ren and Nora must be back from their date by now…
Jaune quickly noticed his girlfriend's discomfort. "Are you alright?"
"Truth be told, I'm not sure I'm ready to interact with the world… or even just face the day."
"Would you like some help with your hair?"
"It would be nice."
Jaune looked at one of the nightstands and soon found a red hairbrush. Pyrrha sat down at the desk chair, its back placed to the side. He gently took her hair and started brushing from the top left. However, he soon came across a big knot in the left center of her flowing locks. He tried separating it, only to be met with resistance and a yelp of pain from Pyrrha.
"Oh, sorry!" Jaune looked around in apprehension and slight desperation. "I don't suppose you have any detangling spray, do you?"
Pyrrha meekly nodded. "Sadly, no."
Jaune softly sighed, but continued brushing nonetheless. He went slower, trying to be gentle.
The champion chuckled to herself. "I haven't had this problem since I was a kid…"
Jaune faintly smiled. "At least we've been sleeping better." His smile faded to a serious demeanor, briefly stopping his brushstrokes. "Hey, um, Pyrrha. Can I ask you something?"
"What's that?"
"What do you think will happen to the remaining members of the Trojan Alliance once they hear that Kiaran and Alva were the ones responsible for creating the cult, and that they're both dead?"
Pyrrha paused for a moment as Jaune resumed. "My best guess? Many of them will be appalled at their actions, leave the Trojan Alliance and try to turn a new leaf. The rest will probably continue to be criminals." Pyrrha soon noticed Jaune was working on the right side of her hair. "There's a reason or two we decided to go as anonymous heroes for the defeat of Kiaran and Alva."
Many would assume it was an act of revenge… but isn't that a little bit true?
But you had to defend yourself. And your love…
The Mistralian champion tried not to falter in her words. "Can we ever admit what we had done… to anyone else?"
"Maybe we'll come clean, but that day is certainly not today." Jaune remarked, before quickly adding, "And probably not tomorrow."
"It's not a matter of when, but if. If we ever tell anyone else aside from Qrow and our teammates that were there."
What would Ash think if he knew? What would my parents think if they were still alive? What would grandma think? What would the entire world think if they knew? Or the last few members of the Trojan Alliance, waiting for orders that will never come and falling apart after the deaths of their leaders?
Soon Jaune was done with his girlfriend's hair, running his fingers through it.
The two stood in silence, wondering what else to do or say.
"Thank you," Pyrrha told him. "For being here."
The two warriors held each other close, neither one wanting to let go.
Elsewhere, Ruby was shown at a small table, eating her lunch. On her plate was a cold cut sandwich of turkey and cheese, along with a bunch of strawberries. Oscar was a few seats away, nearly finishing a cream cheese bagel.
Don't you think you should be talking to her? Ozpin asked. Try to befriend some of the people you'll be working with?
What would I even say? Oscar asked.
Just whatever comes to mind. You could start with a question. The old headmaster advised.
"So, um, Ruby… how long have you been training to be a huntress?" Oscar asked as an ice-breaker.
"Quite a while. I was at Signal for two years before my first and so far only year at Beacon. Before that, I had been training… four years with my dad and my uncle? That's… seven or so? Not quite as long as some of the other students at Beacon, but still capable of taking on threats."
She glanced a way a little, a flash of one of her low points coming to mind; fighting Tyrian alone before getting captured.
"Most of the time anyway…" After an awkward moment of silence, she asked, "And how about yourself? What were you doing before… you came here?"
"Well… long story short, I was living on a farm… with my aunt. Vegetable farm to be specific. We grew all sorts of crops and sold them, both to individuals and major distributors. It wasn't the easiest life, but it was decent living." He scratched his right arm around the elbow. "Apologies if I sound so awkward. Before coming here… It's been… years since I've seen anyone in person. Well, other than my aunt… I haven't seen my old friends face to face in a long time. And with the fall of the CCT system… I haven't been able to talk to them in so long…"
Ruby held a strawberry by the stem. "Have you considered writing to them?"
Oscar stopped for a moment as she ate the fruit in her hand. "I haven't actually thought of it. But with Grimm terrorizing messengers, would it even be reliable?"
She finished chewing and swallowing before answering, "I write to my sister and my dad. I have no idea if the letters ever made it to them, but if nothing else, it can be a way to release emotions."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Thanks for the advice, you're a real friend." He looked around awkwardly before scratching his neck. "We're friends, right?"
Ruby smiled. "Of course! Why wouldn't we be?"
"I just… wasn't sure if you saw me as a shell of your old headmaster."
She let out a brief chuckle. "Okay, I'm still wrapping my head around this whole reincarnation thing, but when you're here, you're here. And when Ozpin's speaking, he's here."
Oscar smiled warmly. He had a friend, who saw him as he truly was.
"You have any plans for this afternoon?" he asked. "I've heard there's a skating rink not far from the academy."
"Actually, I was planning on baking."
He titled his head. "Baking?"
"Yeah. I'm making chocolate chip cookies."
She started looking for ingredients in the pantry. As she pulled out a big bag of chocolate chips, Oscar asked, "They're your favorite, aren't they?"
"Did Ozpin tell you that?"
"No. Yes. Well, kinda?" She put other ingredients onto a table as Oscar continued his explanation. "A memory just popped into my head; you eating those kinds of cookies after encountering a criminal named… Roman Torchwick?"
"That sounds right." She turned away from him. "Man, I can't believe how much has changed…"
Her smile briefly faded. For better and for worse… she dared not to say out loud.
She turned back to him, smiling once more as she got the measuring cups and spoons.
"So, where do we start?" Oscar asked.