Gamer4 in. Writing without reviews is lonely work. Fortunately, I've got my beloved catto Nia with me, sound asleep next to the fire. Probably trying to smoke out some of the fleas that are sucking her dry, poor thing. Did I start this opening with a point? I don't remember. Let's get back to business.
Episode IX
The Last Contact
The Storm
"Actually, before we keep going, maybe we should wake them up," Pyrrha giggled, glancing over to see Nora and Ren still looking... remarkably out of it.
"S-s-s-son... b-b-b-baby..." Nora was staring into space, red-faced. Ren wasn't saying anything, but he was still even by his standards, like a statue.
Jaune leaned in, waving his hand in front of Ren's face and snapping a couple times. "Nope, he's gone."
"Just a sec, I'll bring 'em back!" Yang grinned. She cuddled up to Ren as close as she could. "Say, big boy, how about you and me-"
"BACK OFF, MILK JUGS, HE'S MINE!" Nora yelled, suddenly coming to life. She almost threw Yang out of the window before Blake and Ruby intervened.
"Whoo, good hustle, you two!" Yang whistled. "You were ready!"
"It almost felt like that happened before," Blake grunted.
"Nora, stop trying to throw our friends out of the window," Ren sighed wearily, snapping out of his own momentary torpor.
"Eheh... sorry," Nora blushed, scratching at the back of her neck.
"You need an update?" Jaune offered.
"No, no, I think I'm caught up," Ren shook his head. "I believe I recall the music box."
"Yeah, it was real pretty!" Nora grinned.
"Good, then let's get back to brass tacks," Vanessa decided.
Jaune left Ren's garage and headed towards the house. He had hardly opened the door before he was tackled by a ballistic pink missile. "JAUNE-JAUNE!"
"OOF! He-hello, Nora..."
"Yes, that makes sense," Pyrrha giggled. "Nice to see Nora's no different in this world than usual."
"Try not to break his back again," Ren sighed.
"That was only once!"
"Once was all I needed," Jaune groaned.
Nora was hardly known for being the most reserved person in Ansel- it shouldn't have been too surprising that she'd greet him in such a way.
"Shinji! Jaune's here!"
Not far behind her was a slender young man with short black hair and turquoise eyes matching his mother's. He didn't speak- he rarely did- but offered Jaune a small smile that he reserved only for his parents and close family friends.
"Is... is that..." Nora's eyes widened.
"...!" Ren's did as well.
"Yes," Vanessa nodded. "Yes it is."
"Oh, he's so beautiful!" Nora leapt to her feet. "He's the most amazing little boy in history, and I won't let anyone say otherwise!"
Sensing the danger, nobody else dared say anything she might interpret as an objection.
"Now, now, Nora, give the poor man some time to breath," Ren chuckled as he walked in behind them. "If you'll excuse me, I'll get to cooking. What would you like tonight, Shinji?"
"...Ramen."
"I swear, that's all he ever wants to eat!" Nora rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"It reminds me of a certain young woman's fixation on pancakes," Ren smirked as he came to his son's defense- Nora flushed a little and became very interested in a bird on the nearby windowsill.
"One mustn't throw stones in a glass house, Nora," Ren chastised lightly.
"Hey, if I break a house like that, it's their fault for making it out of glass in the first place!" Nora protested.
"Nora, that's not- oh, nevermind," Blake sighed.
"Besides, it's relatively light, and I'm sure there will be food at the reception as well."
"A sunset wedding," Nora smiled. "It's going to be so beautiful!"
"I'd like to have a wedding like that one day," Pyrrha sighed happily.
"Yeah," Ruby agreed dreamily.
"Perhaps, one day... if I ever find a decent man," Weiss muttered.
"There may be plenty around, Weiss, if you're willing to give them a chance," Blake suggested sneakily.
Yang chopped her on the back of her neck. ("HEY!") "Stop trying to start love triangles, Kitkat."
"Indeed. Now, if you would allow me some time..." Ren headed into the kitchen, donning his traditional PLEASE DO NOTHING TO THE COOK apron.
"You know, I've been wondering, is there a story behind that thing?" Yang asked.
"Nothing I'm willing to discuss," Ren stated firmly.
Jaune's mouth started to water within minutes of Ren commencing his cooking, and he was more than happy to tuck in when Ren brought four large bowls to the table. "Bon appetit," he smiled as he took his own seat across the table from Nora.
"See?!" Vanessa threw her hands up in the air. "THAT'S how you say it, Jack! THAT'S how you say it!"
"Do I look Japanese to you?" Jack chuckled, sending Vanessa into an aneurysm.
"Chow down!" Nora beamed, immediately commencing to digging in. Shinji had clearly picked his table manners up from his father, who was calmly eating one bite at a time.
"Oh, thank God, I don't think I could've handled two of them," Ren released a breath he'd been holding.
"So, Jaune, have you been doing those breathing exercises I taught you?" Ren asked casually.
"Every night," Jaune nodded. "You were right, I'm pretty sure they're helping with the nightmares."
"Oh, nightmares?" Pyrrha fretted.
"So the one with the ship isn't an isolated incident," Blake surmised.
"You think all the nightmares are about the ship?" Ruby asked nervously.
"I... don't think so," Jaune shook his head. "The way he- I- man, this is confusing- the way my other reacted to the painting makes me think it's the first time he's seen such a thing."
"Of course, the best nights are the ones after some training with aura," Jaune grinned.
"Aura? So aura exists in this world?" Weiss quickly caught on to what seemed an important detail.
"It does, though only certain people are capable of using it," Vanessa explained. "Ren and Nora, and he unlocked Jaune's. They're the only three in Ansel that have it."
"A unique thing, huh?" Jaune pondered.
"More or less," Vanessa nodded.
"Well, I doubt we'll get to any of that tonight," Ren chuckled. "But if you get up early tomorrow, I suppose we could have one tomorrow." He paused, taking a drink of tea. "Have you done any painting lately?"
"Oh- yeah, I did one this morning," Jaune recalled. "I had a dream, and I tried painting it to remember what happened,"
"Ooohhh, I love your dreams!" Nora beamed. "Was this one about the Golden City? Or was it the one where we were going to school to learn to hunt grimm?"
"Wait! Full stop!" Yang raised her hands in a T-shape. "He once had a dream about... going to school to hunt grimm?"
"As in, he had a dream about our world?" Weiss agreed, wide-eyed.
"Is it possible... that he dreams about worlds other than his own?" Pyrrha asked.
"I'm not certain- I'm not the big expert on this world- but things like that have and do happen," Vanessa responded thoughtfully.
"A very vivid dreamer, it seems, whether they're nightmares or not," Blake commented.
"I mean, I have the occasional lucid dream, but nothing like they're describing," Jaune admitted.
"No, this was a... this was a new one," Jaune laughed- Nora usually did take an uncanny interest in his dreams.
"Well, come on, tell us! Renny's a doctor, he can tell you what it means!"
"A doctor of archaeology," Jaune countered. "And medicine- not dreams."
"Oh, don't underestimate the significance of dreams when applied to archaeology," Ren smiled gently over his hands. "After all, dreams are older than brooding Tyre, or the contemplative Sphinx, or garden-girdled Babylon."
"Ohhh, I love it when Ren gets philosophical!" Nora squealed.
Nora squealed along with her other.
"I didn't realize you were such a poet, Ren!" Blake blinked.
"I don't exactly write poetry," Ren shook his head. "I just... say what feels right in the moment."
"If that's what you have to say when you talk, I wouldn't mind you piping up more!" Yang grinned.
"We'll see if Nora ever lets me get a word in edgewise," Ren shrugged.
Jaune chuckled, and thought back. "I was... on some sort of metal structure. Like a ship, but... it was going through the stars."
"Hmmm... a ship that can travel through the ether above... I believe I've heard there are some kingdoms working on such a thing," Ren pondered. "Of course, with the war going on between Atlas and Vale, there's little hope of true progress in that direction..."
"I wonder if we'll ever be able to go to space?"Ruby asked through sparkling eyes.
"It's a very difficult venture," Weiss pointed out. "It's not likely while we have to fight off the grimm..."
"All the more reason to wipe them out faster!" Ruby cut her off with a dangerous gleam in her eye.
"I... I'd like to go to space..." Shinji whispered.
"Tell you what, Shinji- the second we can, we will!" Nora quickly declared. "Right, Ren?"
"...Indeed," Ren nodded after a moment.
"I'm quite surprised Nora hasn't spoiled him completely rotten," Ren said with a small smile.
"I'm sure you've been tempering her doting," Pyrrha giggled. "I've always thought you'd be a wonderful father."
"You wouldn't want to go on this ship," Jaune interjected quickly. "It crashed. That's what the picture was of."
"Hmmm... that does sound like it would put a damper on such a trip," Ren nodded, helping himself to some more soup.
"Understating things a little," Yang growled, remembering the devestation of the Eldridge.
The camera cut back to central Ansel, where Saphron was smiling as she oversaw the erection of the pavilion upon which she would soon be declared Terra's wife.
"It seems they're sparing no expense," Weiss nodded approvingly.
"Yeah, she wouldn't," Jaune laughed.
A small band had formed from a few of the townsfolk, currently practicing the song they'd be playing- an upbeat tune called Barrowland Ballroom:
"Oh, the lights outside,
They're as bright as a sun,
Much brighter than any-one!
Oh, the girls in the queue,
They are waiting for you,
Yes, they're waiting for the song to be sung!
And when the night turns to day,
And all the people go away,
It's not the same-
Tell me, who's to blame?
And when the stars shine so bright
On this cold December night,
I wish that I
Was on the stage.
Oh, won't you take a ride with me
Through the barrowlands of history
And I'll
Sing you a song or two!
People, they may stop and stare,
But baby, I just don't care-
It's only me and you!
And drinking, dancing, don't you know
It's all part of the show we go to
Maybe I should tell you
That people they may stop and stare,
But baby I just don't care
Tonight
It's just
Me and you!"
"I like this song!" Ruby smiled, bobbing her head to the peppy dance tune.
"Wonder if I can get it on DustTube?" Yang wondered.
Sapphron smiled, tapping her foot along with the rhythm, looking to the mountains as the sun set, cradled between the Twin Peaks area of Blue Pine and Baldpate mountains. She frowned as she made something else out- a few small specks rising up over the mountains even as the sun sank. She narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the distant figures' true form- for some reason, it was making her heart sink.
"That... is definitely not good," Blake observed.
"I'm suddenly getting flashbacks... not good ones..." Ruby shuddered.
"You don't think...?" Yang asked hesitantly.
As they finished their meal up, Ren turned to Jaune, clapping his hands. "Now, about that paint- let me take you back out to the garage, and you can show me what you need. Then we can go on down."
"C'mon, Shinji, let's go get dressed!" Nora grinned, leading her son upstairs.
Jaune followed Ren back out to the garage, his eyes raking over the music box before Ren opened a closet with a shelf of paint along the bottom. "Alright, let me grab a dipstick, and-"
His voice trailed off as a loud rumbling overtook the small chamber. Jaune and Ren both looked up. Ren looked rather worried. "What is that?" Jaune asked.
"Trouble," Ren speculated slowly, stepping out of the garage to find Nora and Shinji already leaving their house.
"He can tell, too," Weiss nodded, biting her lip.
"Oh, no... I see where this is going!" Jaune paled.
"Ren!" Nora called, that same worried look spread across her face.
"I know. Take Shinji down to Emerald Forest- we have to evacuate the town!"
"Ren, what's going-" Jaune started, only for his words to be cut off as a colossal roar met his ears- he looked up to see what seemed like an army of metal men soaring through the sky, bullets the size of Ren's garage flying between them. His jaw dropped, and adrenaline began its course.
"Gears!"
"THOSE are gears?" Ruby's eyes started to light up.
"And they're attacking," Blake reminded her.
"AND THEY'RE ATTACKING!" Ruby panicked.
The town quickly descended into chaos as the people realized what was happening- people rushed into their homes to gather a few scant belongings before running back out into the square and hurrying towards the trees of the Emerald Forest.
"Terra!" Saphron called, making her way towards Terra's house. She found Terra in her room, fighting her way out of her wedding dress.
"Yeah, I heard- damn, of all the days for something like this to happen!" Terra cursed as she continued to struggle.
"They say it's bad luck to see the bride's dress before the wedding," Weiss was nibbling on her nails. "I truly hope that doesn't hold true here..."
"Here- let me help!" Saphron grunted, going in and helping to rip it off. "We can get it fixed later!"
"Tragic, but pragmatic," Pyrrha agreed. "Please, you two... be safe."
Jaune, Ren, Nora and Shinji exited the mountain path into the village to find it transformed into a battleground- gears of two different factions were fighting to kill with no regard to the people and buildings they trampled beneath their feet. Port's house- Jaune's house- had caught fire, as the man himself stood outside, shouting at the monsters of steel above. "Stop! Cease and desist! I must insist that you-"
"Get moving, you old coot, you wanna die here?" Old Man Sakura grumbled, seizing Port and dragging him towards the forest as fast as he could.
"I can absolutely see Port trying to yell at those metal monsters to stand down," Weiss sighed.
"Of course, if it was our Port, they actually would have backed off!" Nora declared, proudly and confidently.
"Why?" Jaune asked, aghast. "Why would they- we shouldn't have anything they want?"
Ren looked at him with those piercing eyes of his, though they seemed more guarded now than piercing. "I... I don't know," he admitted. "For now, let's focus on the evacuation. Make sure the children get out."
"Right!"
"Does he... know something?" Blake asked, immediately noticing the look.
"Oh, boy... is this gonna be another Ren I'm gonna have to beat up?" Yang growled.
"Don't you dare!" Nora interjected immediately. "Even if he is hiding something, I'm sure he's got a good reason for it! And he will have told me! We always tell each other everything, right, Renny?"
"...Quite," Ren agreed.
Nora grabbed Shinji and carried him piggyback towards the woods, while Ren and Jaune took off into the village itself.
"Saphron! Terra!" Jaune called.
A second later, they encountered the two in the square. "Jaune! Ren! What are they doing, starting a battle here?!" Saphron asked rhetorically, eyes raking over all the destruction.
"Never mind the whys for now," Ren shook his head. "Are you okay?"
"Once I got myself out of my dress, I was fine," Terra nodded. "Come on, let's focus on the evacuation!"
Ren raised a hand. "Leave that to Jaune and I. Both of you should make your way to the woods."
"Yes, do that!" Weiss nodded fiercely. "Get out while you still can!"
"I'd normally call foul, but... with everything else going on..." Yang finally conceded.
"Doc-"
"I understand your feelings, but I can't allow the brides-to-be to put themselves in danger. Jaune and I are quite capable of handling the rest of the evacuation ourselves."
"He's right," Jaune agreed. "You two are about to be married- isn't it your responsibility to protect each other?"
The two women blinked and exchanged a bemused glance. "Alright... but you two had better get back safe, too, alright?" Saphron finally conceded.
"That... actually surprises me," Jaune admitted. "I don't think my Saphron would have agreed so quickly."
"Perhaps she agreed with your logic," Pyrrha suggested.
They turned and hurried away. Ren turned to Jaune. "Alright, we should go through the houses to ensure-"
He was interrupted as the ground quaked beneath them, a crash louder than anything Jaune had ever heard rending the air. Jaune turned to see that one of the gears had fallen, hitting the ground in a crouching position. He knew only the bare basics of gears and how they worked- he couldn't tell if the pilot had been killed, or if, perhaps, there had been no pilot to begin with.
It had the shape of an enormous human wearing black armor, with crimson eyes. Upon its back was a structure as if that human were carrying two cylindrical packs. And the chest- there was a cavity in the chest that Jaune realized must be the cockpit.
"It looks so cool..." Ruby drooled.
"It doesn't look like anyone's piloting it," Weiss observed.
"No... no, there is someone in there!" Pyrrha realized. "But... oh, my!"
Within the cockpit, he thought he could see a boy, of all things- a small boy with long, wild red hair- the vision made the scars on the back of his arm tingle.
"A child soldier?" Blake gasped. "That's the first we've heard of anything like that, outside of the world with-"
Slowly, he approached the gear- the vision of the boy disappeared in an instant.
"So... there was no boy?" Nora asked, confused. "But why would Jaune-Jaune see something like that?"
"Wait, listen," Ren raised a hand. "Do you hear that?"
The boy was replaced by an image in his mind's eye- a silver cross swinging like a pendulum. He could almost hear strains of music, and a nonsense verse- Rabbit or habit? Habit or rabbit?
"Brr... I don't like that song," Ruby whispered.
"It's sending a chill up my spine," Pyrrha agreed.
"There's something... wrong about it," Weiss admitted her own agreement.
Ren was calling something out to him, but he didn't hear- his feet were carrying him towards the beast, his arms raising over his head to pull him into the cockpit. His limbs weren't under his control- he was acting by some unspoken directive that had overridden conscious thought.
"Ooohhh, it's just like when I picked up Crescent Rose!" Ruby realized. "He's gonna beat off the invasion by himself!"
"Or... don't you remember what happened after you picked up Crescent Rose?" Weiss reminded her. Ruby gulped.
"What was Renny saying?" Nora listened closely.
"No, Jaune, you mustn't pilot that here!" Ren cried to no avail- the cockpit had already closed, sealing Jaune inside.
"Uh-oh, that's not good," Nora gulped.
"Don't you trust your fearless leader?" Weiss couldn't help wheedling.
"Of course, but if Renny's worried, that always means something's wrong!" Nora squirmed.
Almost immediately, the gear rose to its feet, and rushed towards another of the gears. In one fluid motion, it had seized a gun the size of several of Ansel's houses, and bludgeoned the gear into the ground with the butt before turning and emptying the remaining ammunition into another.
"Wow!" Ruby's eyes glowed. "Seems to be going pretty well so far!"
"Things went well at first in your world, too!" Blake reminded her pessimistically.
Ren watched, his chest filled with a mix of awe and horror as another gear snuck up behind Jaune's and made to grab it- before it could, Jaune's had spun around, seizing its hand and twisting it off before kicking the opponent to the ground.
"Wow- Jaune's looking pretty awesome!"
Ren started, looking to his side to spy Dove Bronzewing, a mass of cloth in his arms. "Dove, what are you doing here?!"
"ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED, YOU DOLT?!" Weiss screeched.
"Huh- didn't think you'd be so concerned over a member of CRDL," Yang chuckled.
"Well... it's not like I ever wanted them to die..." Weiss mumbled.
"I came back to get Terra's dress!" Dove exclaimed. "I... I couldn't leave it..."
"Never expected a member of CRDL to be that selfless, either," Yang admitted.
"But it looks like Jaune's got everything under control anyways, doesn't he?"
Ren bit his lip. "My concern isn't that he can't handle himself... rather..."
Before he could find words to explain himself, there was another shout from behind. "Dove! What are you doing here? We're supposed to have left by now!"
Jaune's eyes widened. "Oh, crap!"
Dove turned to see Saphron sprinting across the field towards him. "Terra may not have agreed to marry you, but she at least cares enough to want to make sure you get out alive!" Saphron yelled. "Now come on-"
It happened in an instant. Another gear was rising up from the edge of the village, taking aim at Jaune in his gear. Like the others, it had no regard for any collateral damage- it didn't care for the bullets that riddled Saphron's form in its effort to attack Jaune.
Blood spurted from Saphron in too many places to count- her eyes grew wide as she registered what had happened. It was difficult to say if she even felt any pain as her form slowly tumbled down behind the hill she'd just ascended.
"NO!" Ruby and Yang cried at the same time.
"THOSE BASTARDS!" NORA YELLED.
"S...Sis...?" Jaune stammered.
Ren and Dove saw, their mouths opening in futile screams.
Terra saw, as she hadn't been far behind- had she been much further up the hill, her life would likely have been extinguished at the exact same time as her fiancee.
Worst of all, as he turned to face the gear that had opened fire on him, Jaune saw.
"Oh, Jaune..." Pyrrha
*Chime!*
He could see the cross in his mind's eye again, each swing of its arc punctuated by that piercing chime.
RABBIT OR HABIT OR HABIT OR RABBIT
"Urgh, that song!" Ruby covered her ears.
"I know," Blake agreed, her ears flat against her head.
*Chime!*
His mouth extended in a scream of pain, fury, grief- all expressed in an inhuman screech.
"Er... Fearless Leader?" Nora asked uncertainly.
*Chime!*
His skull felt as though it were being split open- he screamed as the world around him seemed to be absorbed into a blinding white light.
And then, he knew no more.
"There... is no conceivable way that that's good," Weiss fretted.
"Maybe... maybe he'll wake up, and this will be a nightmare, too?" Ruby suggested hopefully.
"I... don't think we're gonna get that lucky a second time," Jaune shook his head hopelessly.
The next time Jaune awoke, the first thing he was conscious of was lying on the ground.
Slowly, other details came to his mind. Light was leaking through his lids- the sun had risen. All around him was quiet and still- the attack had ended.
Slowly, his eyes creaked open- he was laying beneath a tree. A steely grey sky loomed overhead, perfectly explaining the surrounding chill.
Moving gently, he turned over and pushed himself to his feet. "What... what happened?"
He turned to see Ren hurrying over to him- he had previously been attending to various villagers' injuries. "Ah, Jaune... you're awake. Good... that's good."
"Ohhh..." Ruby pouted. "I guess you were right..."
"You don't... do you think... anyone else..." Pyrrha couldn't bring herself to say it, but everyone knew what she meant.
There was an uncertainty in Ren's voice that Jaune didn't like at all.
"Ren... where's Port? Terra? Dove? Saph-"
Before he could finish Saphron's name, an image flashed in his mind- an image of his sister's final moments.
Ren's downcast gaze seemed to confirm that it hadn't been a hallucination. "She... she's dead... isn't she?"
"Yes... and I'm afraid that isn't all-"
"Murderer!"
Jaune jumped as Dove came sprinting out of the crowd, a look of pure fury across his face.
"Don't make me regret worrying for you," Weiss growled, her eyes narrowing.
"What does he even mean?" Nora asked. "Fearless Leader didn't kill anyone!"
"Dove!" Ren interjected reproachfully.
"Dove... what do you mean?" Jaune asked. A pit was forming in his stomach- looking to the crowd, it seemed that Dove was acting as the mouthpiece for a significant portion of the townsfolk, who were gazing at him with distrust ranging to open hostility. Very few seemed at all sympathetic- chief among these was Nora, holding Shinji close to her, looking heartbroken as she watched Dove's fury run its course.
"Well, whatever crawled up everyones' asses, at least he's still got Ren and Nora with him," Yang tried to put some hope into the situation.
"You... you joined up with that monster... that light... you destroyed the whole village! You killed Terra, Port, and... and... you killed everyone with that monster!"
Everyone stared, mouths open in horror. "He... he killed..." Pyrrha stammered out.
"Terra, too?" Jaune's breathing grew shallow.
"And Port, and who knows who else?" Weiss's voice was rising in pitch.
"No! He didn't! He wouldn't! He couldn't!" Nora denied rapid-fire.
"Not intentionally, no," Blake shook her head. "But... we have no idea what happened while he was blacked out. Perhaps the machine went onto autopilot, or... I don't know."
"THEN IT'S THE MACHINE'S FAULT, NOT HIS!" Nora stood firm.
Dove was trembling, memories of a monstrous explosion running rampant through his mind- Terra's eyes widening as those flames approached her...
"An explosion?" Ruby asked, her own eyes wide and watery.
"N-Nora's right," Pyrrha spoke up shakily. "There's no way Jaune was aware that gear even had such a function, let alone activated it intentionally!"
"Somehow," Blake muttered, her eyes narrowing, "I don't think the others will see it that way."
Jaune was barely able to keep standing. "I... I..."
He looked around, spying the gear he'd boarded standing amonst the trees- silent, inert. The words of the villagers who shared Dove's sentiments rang in his ears.
"Why did they have to fight in the village?"
"How do you even know to operate that thing?!"
"We never knew where he came from- they were probably here for him in the first place!"
"Mommy- where's Mommy?!"
"You're probably right- and I said so, didn't I? I said it was a bad idea to let in someone we knew nothing about!"
"It hurts... it hurts!"
"Why don't they all shut up!" Yang growled angrily.
"It's like that scene from Lion King 2..." Tears were waterfalling down Ruby's face.
"They have no idea what they're talking about!" Blake agreed harshly.
"Wanna join up and break all their legs?" Nora asked.
"No... don't," Jaune shook his head sadly. "I... I don't like it, of course, but... I understand."
"Oh, Jaune..." Pyrrha reached out and pulled him into a gentle side-hug.
"I..." Jaune turned back to them, raising his hands as if in surrender. "I didn't..."
"Yikes!"
"Keep away!"
Only Dove didn't back away. "Bring Terra back, you murderer!"
"That's enough!"
The sudden shout was all the more effective because Lie Ren so seldomly raised his voice. "Cease this foolishness at once- there is no sense in putting all the blame on Jaune!"
"You tell them, Renny!" Nora cheered fiercely.
"That's right!" Nora nodded her agreement. "He didn't bring those gears here- he was up at our house eating dinner! Even the explosion- that thing went out of control- it could have happened to anyone!"
"Even so... I... I...!"
"They need someone to direct their anger at," Weiss grimaced. "It's just like-" she cut herself off, glancing at Blake uncomfortably. Blake, however, nodded slowly.
"Just like the White Fan, yes."
Jaune turned to Nora, but whatever he was going to say got lost on the way to his lips when Shinji visibly flinched beneath his gaze. It seemed reflexive- Jaune guessed the boy didn't even know he'd done it himself, and he met Jaune's gaze steadily afterwards- but that flinch above all else steeled his resolve. There was only one thing for him to do.
"Someone's going to bed without dinner tonight," Nora glared, crossing her arms.
"It's okay. You guys don't have to defend me... I'll leave."
"Jaune..." Ren said warningly.
"No, really, it's for the best," Jaune insisted. "People won't... won't be able to focus on rebuilding while I'm here. The only way they'll sleep alright tonight is if..." he forced a lump down his throat. "Is if I'm out of the picture."
"Jaune, no!" Ruby wailed.
"Jaune, no..." Nora whispered sadly.
Ren, however, seemed to see the logic in his words. "Very well... if you feel that's the best course of action, I won't stop you. However, I can't let you wander off on your own. Listen... go through the Emerald Forest- grimm activity should be at its lowest this time of year, I'm sure you'll get through alright, as long as you stay on the path. On the other end, you'll find a small town, San Miguel- go to the inn, the Prancing Pony. I'll meet you there- we can decide what to do next together."
"Always the man with the plan," Nora sniffed with a watery smile.
When Jaune didn't immediately answer, Ren laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, did you hear me?"
"San Miguel, the Prancing Pony... wait for you. Yeah... I got it."
He directed one last look at the towering behemoth- he wanted to scream and rage at it. You... if it wasn't for you!
But he knew it would do no good. He slowly turned on his heels and headed deeper into the Emerald Forest, sticking strictly to the path as Ren had instructed. Only Nora held out a hand as if to stop him as he turned away from the only life he'd known for the past three years... and into the unknown.
"Do all of these worlds open with such devestation?!" Weiss demanded.
"It is a common trend in Animanian stories for the hero's hometown to be destroyed as a way to get them out of the door," Ren admitted. "Though I believe this is the first time I've seen this particular take on the situation."
"I feel so bad for him..." Pyrrha lamented. "What can he do now?"
"I know you might not want to hear it... but let's find out, real quick," Vanessa suggested. "A little longer with this world, I think, before we move on."
"I... don't wanna leave this world until he's safe," Ruby decided.
"Well, if Rubes is in, I guess I am, too," Yang decided.
"Yeah," Nora crossed her arms. "No Fearless Leader left behind!"
Vanessa glanced quickly at Jaune, who slowly nodded. "Just do it."
XXXX
Bright and cheery, I know. Early Xeno was like that. Anyways, in addition to no reviews, only one person has voted on the poll so far- and the vote says they didn't care one way or the other, which makes me wonder why I made that a choice to begin with. I don't know, I've been very sleepy lately- I'm off to bed for now. Next time, things start looking up... a little. Until then, don't you dare go hollow- Gamer4 out!