A Third Rose

Chapter 12

Tragic News

A/N: So I had more than a few people PM me and ask whether or not Qrow gave aura to Nix, I'm going to just put this here so there are no further misunderstandings. He didn't do that, he just turned on the guy's Aura in an effort to help keep him alive, I just skipped the little speech because I'm not sure whether or not it's actually required, or whether it's some kind of tradition.

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-Vale, Hospital-

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The hospital emergency room was abuzz with activity. Doctors were shouting orders for nurses and other orderlies to carry out while attempted to save the kid's life. One could hear almost everything that was going on over the din of hospital staff working almost everywhere around them.

Emerald and Mercury were in a separate area of the ER, with a handful of nurses treating them for some cuts and bruises on the two of them. There were of course a few doctors fretting over Mercury's cybernetic legs. Checking on a few things regarding them but Mercury hadn't been paying too much in the way of attention to whatever it was they were saying. Instead he was sitting down fussing while one of the nurses gave him a look over.

"I told you all I'm fine," he all but hissed at them while they tried to look over his legs "I've had these for almost a year at this point! I'm used to the pains and aches!"

Emerald looked over at her traveling companion with shock on her face 'What does he mean by 'pains and aches?'' She wondered in concern. Unfortunately she didn't have so much as a chance to ask as other nurse came in front of her and was holding a small flashlight. "I'm going to need to check your eyes real quick and I'm going to shine a light into each of them can you please keep them open?" she asked nicely.

The mint green haired girl did as she was told and kept her eyes open and the nurse shined a light into both of her eyes before putting the device away and turned towards the others "No signs of a concussion." She said before the other doctors and nurses began to look over her cuts and bruises.

They did this for a few minutes, all the while Emerald could hear Mercury continue to complain about the attention he was getting from the doctors which if Emerald was being honest wasn't all that bad. "Just hold still, kid, we've got to check you for any other injuries."

"For the fifth fucking time, I. AM. FINE!" He shouted batting away a nurse's hand who was trying to examine a bruise on his cheek, before he looked over at the doctors and nurses "I got worse than this on an average day with that dead bastard. Why aren't any of you telling us anything about Nix?! When are you going to let us see him?!" He demanded angrily.

There was a tense silence for several long tense moments as the nurses and doctors that were going over them looked to the one who seemed to be the one in charge of the group said "Your friend is currently stable, but he's also unconscious. You can see him, however we first need to check you over for any injuries and treat them."

Mercury still ground his teeth but at least he nodded and let the doctors and nurses look over him more but he still asked questions regarding his friend and after a few seconds so did Emerald. For quite some time, Emerald and Mercury were both silent but their questions were starting to burn more and more at the back of their minds.

"I-is Nix going to live?" she asked, still not reassured. One of the orderlies that was tending to her nodded "He's alive, and will continue to live, but there are going to be some changes for him."

"Because he got his arms chopped off right?" Mercury stated bitterly, his hands clenched into fists. More and more he wished that he had slit that bastard's throat while he was passed out the day he met Nix. At least then his best friend wouldn't have nearly died!

There was yet another awkward silence before one of the doctors said "Yes, that is correct, he's likely going to have some difficulties going forwards, even with cybernetics."

Mercury didn't really get that, after all he'd had Cybernetics for a while now and they never really bothered him. Sure there were some weird pains coming from where his legs used to be but it wasn't any worse than what Marcus had put him through on a daily basis. Wouldn't it just be the same for him? Mercury wasn't stupid, it was painful for the first few weeks after getting his new legs but Nix was tough, tougher than him or Emerald or any of these doctors. He'd make it look easy.

The green haired girl looked over at Mercury with an expression of worry. He wasn't sure what she wanted from him, it wasn't like he could really do anything. Eventually decided he'd just say his own thoughts on what the docs were going on about "He'll be fine, you'll see."

Apparently it seemed to work as Emerald began to relax somewhat while the doctors and nurses continued to go over them.

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In another wing of the hospital, Cinder sitting was on her own cot, the doctors and nurses having already gone over her and her sisters. She was completely silent and had brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs in the fetal position. Her amber eyes firmly on her sisters still out cold on the cots just a few feet away. The doctors had told her that they were both alright, just unconscious. They weren't sure what had caused Ruby to pass out but apparently Yang had hit her head when she was tackled to the ground by Cinder when she heard Qrow order them to get down.

The only thing that was going through her head at the moment was just how glad she was that they were all still alive. Then came the fear of what could have happened again when she remembered that they wouldn't even have been in that situation if she had just stayed with them and made sure Yang and Ruby didn't try leaving the house. Tears started to prick at the corners of her eyes as she remembered her screw up. Sure the doctors said that they seemed to be all right but still they could have died out there, not just to that damn Grimm but to that psychopath that showed up as well.

Cinder was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she barely heard the door leading into the room fully open. With no small amount of trepidation Cinder turned and saw her uncle Qrow walking in, for once his mouth not upturned into that small yet caring smile he usually had on him when he saw her or her sisters. Instead it was one of someone who was desperately trying to keep their own emotions in check, to keep themselves looking strong when they really just wanted to break down. It was a similar look that Cinder had seen whenever she had looked in the mirror the last few weeks.

"Heya kid." He said as he walked over to her and asked "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Drunkle Qrow." She stated hollowly. Some days earlier Qrow might have made a comment about that damn nickname but now he silently just shook his head and sat down next to her.

There was a moment or two before her uncle spoke and when he did it wasn't in the same jovial/snarky tone he usually had whenever he came to visit, instead it was one of pained understanding. "No, no you're not kiddo. You just went through another round of hell and only this time your sisters were dragged right on in alongside you."

Cinder didn't say anything for a moment before she spoke again "If you knew I wasn't fine then why ask?" Her voice was somewhat terse and her eyebrow cocked upwards. Qrow shrugged "I guess it's just concern or manners, or both."

Her uncle was clearly trying to lift her spirits but it wasn't working as well as either of them would have liked. There was another awkward silence between the two of them "Cinder look, what happened out there-"

Qrow wasn't even able to finish his sentence as the Cinder looked up at him, her face desperate "It was my fault! All of it, it was all my idea." She declared desperately. Qrow stared straight at her and shook his head "Kiddo, I'm not stupid, neither is Taiyang. Neither of us would buy that for a second. Everyone knows you would never even think of putting Yang or Ruby in any danger and we're not angry at any of you, we just want to make sure you're all okay."

Cinder had the decency to look a little sheepish at that before turning her attention back over to the two sleeping girls in their hospital beds "Don't worry; the docs say they'll be all right and they should be up and about here pretty soon."

She found herself slightly less worried now but there was still another question that was nagging at the back of her mind "Qrow, when that psycho was trying to kill us, I saw a bright light coming from Ruby's eyes, and it blinded everyone for a few seconds before she passed out!" Cinder stated as quietly as she could, recounting the strangest event that led up to their rescue.

Qrow frowned at what she said even as she continued "Did mom or dad unlock her aura? I mean I know she's always wanted to be a Huntress…" Cinder trailed off when Qrow shook his head.

Cinder's confusion only grew "But I thought that you had to have your aura unlocked before you could find out what your semblance was."

Once again Qrow looked unsure "Ruby's…different in that regard. There's a rare group of people and I mean rare, that have…well I guess you can call it a secondary semblance that doesn't require you to have your aura unlocked for it to work. The only way you can tell that someone has one of these is if they have silver eyes."

"So, her secondary semblance is to make bright flashing lights from her eyes?" Cinder asked and Qrow almost laughed, "Not exactly, it's more of an anti-Grimm weapon, there were people with silver eyes that could kill Grimm with nothin' but a look."

At that Cinder's eyes widened considerably "C-could mom do that?" she asked to which Qrow nodded and he then continued "Look, right now we aren't going to tell Ruby about this, and before you ask why, it's because she's already dealing with a lot on her plate, we don't need to add more to it. Your parents already planned on telling her when she hits seventeen, and we plan on keeping it that way for right now."

Cinder frowned, not liking this at all. "And what if she asks me about what happened? I'm not going to lie to her."

Qrow gave a look of understanding "Then just let me and Tai talk to her about it." There was another awkward pause before Qrow spoke again "Hey, I know it sucks but the fact is that she's not ready to hear about this yet, especially with everything else going on. I promise that we'll tell her when she's old enough."

The eldest of the three sisters looked conflicted to say the least, and even a little bit angry but eventually she gave a nod "Fine, but I don't like it, and if you don't tell her the second she hits seventeen, then I will."

"Deal." Qrow stated. As if on cue, the door swung open and Cinder had to resist the urge to jump up in surprise while Qrow seemed utterly blasé at the sudden interruption. On the other side of the door, eyes wide and more than a little haggard was Taiyang Xiao-Long. The instant he spotted Cinder he all but engulfed her in a tight hug "My baby girl," he let out at he embraced her.

Cinder did nothing as she embraced her father for several minutes. Qrow meanwhile just took a step back and kept watch. Krim had already told him that he'd give the report to Ozpin on what happened so that he could go and see his nieces. He owed that guy more than a few beers on this one.

For a while the pair simply embraced one another while Qrow watched. Then just a few minutes later, as if on cue, the younger girls in the room began to stir.

The first one to fully wake up was Yang who all but shot upwards and looked around, tears dripping from her eyes as she did. She looked over at her family who looked like they were about ready to sprint over to go and see her, and she them. Within seconds Taiyang had embraced his daughter, all while Yang kept weeping into his chest.

The tearful embrace didn't last long as less than five seconds later a doctor and several nurses entered. The equipment that had been set up to monitor the girl having shown that she was now awake. They waited a few minutes for the family to have their moment before they started to look Yang over and ask her questions. Things like what the last thing she remembered was, were –while important- would likely reopen trauma for her.

There was a small mercy at least in that the last thing that Yang remembered was when the 'scary man with the axe' showed up. Everything that happened after that was little more than a blur.

Still though Cinder was more than a little worried about that and so was dad if the question he asked was any indication "Should we be worried about that?" he asked and one of the doctors explained "Some memory loss is pretty common in someone who was rendered unconscious she'll be all right."

Cinder wasn't sure if she should be happy or worried about that. On one hand at least Yang wouldn't remember the psychopath that tried to kill them on top of almost being eaten by Grimm; but on the other, did the head wound do any other damage?

"She and her sister will need to stay here for a couple of days, just to make sure they're okay." The doctor assured as he and the other nurses asked the young girl a few questions and had her perform some things like tracking a light with her head and eyes. The instant that they were done, there was literally nothing left that kept father and daughter from embracing, once again all the while Yang kept apologizing, even as her father kept saying he forgave her.

It didn't take Cinder long to embrace her younger sibling as well. For several long minutes they did but eventually Yang spoke up again "Daddy, there was a boy there. He had mommy's sword."

Cinder hadn't forgotten about that. Not even once. The way the boy's two friends had tried to encourage him, the way he looked at Ruby like he was looking at a ghost; all of it pointed to one thing. One terrible thing that Cinder had been desperately trying to bury deep down and instead focus entirely on the wellbeing of her sisters, even after they were safe.

"W-what do you mean?" Taiyang asked, his face starting to get paler as his daughter continued to speak "Before the man with the axe came, there were two boys and a girl, they helped save us from the Grimm. He used mommy's sword."

Taiyang and Cinder looked over at Qrow both hoping he had some kind of an answer, and one that wasn't what they were fearing it was. Qrow sighed, "While Krim and I were in Vacuo some kid was seen carrying around Sundered Rose while trying to sneak on an airship. He escaped before the cops could catch him and when he started hopping trains, we figured out pretty quick that he was trying to get to Vale."

There was an uncomfortable silence that reigned once again as the implications started to set in. Qrow knowing where this was heading stated "Look we don't know for sure what's going on. When the kid wakes up we'll get some answers, so let's not think the worst. Okay?" It was clear that while Qrow was trying to help, even he seemed to know that he was grasping at straws.

Qrow had heard that the other two kids weren't talking about what was going on with the whole sword thing. No matter how much the cops, Oz or Glynda had tried. Whenever someone tried to ask them about Sundered Rose, they always said "Nix will tell you when he woke up." Though the one by the name of Mercury seemed to give some pretty creative cursing every time someone asked, so much so that Glynda seemed to be doing everything in her power to keep herself from reprimanding the boy.

It was extremely frustrating, that they were so close to the answers they needed but weren't getting them because those two kids kept insisting that Nix needed to be the one to tell them. Qrow didn't know if it was some kind of pride or what but he, Tai and the kids deserved some damned answers.

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-Vale, Hospital, sometime later-

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When Nix finally came to, he thought he was dead for a few moments. He thought he had died and gone to whatever afterlife had awaited him, at least until he started feeling more than just a little pain throughout most of his body even though it felt like it should have been worse, so to speak. Nix did his best to ignore the pain that was shooting through most of his body. In an effort to try and distract himself from the pain he started to look around the room he had found himself in.

It was a rather plain looking white room without much in the way of amenities and looking to the left he saw the sun coming in through the blinds of a window. While looking in that direction he saw a couple of chairs and sitting on them, fast asleep and doubtlessly going to be uncomfortable upon waking up were Emerald and Mercury. The latter had his head back and was snoring while the former's head was lolled more forwards and was a little quieter.

Nix found it in him to smile a little at the sight. At least those two were okay, though he didn't doubt for a single second that their necks weren't going to be sore as all hell when they woke up.

The young boy was brought out of his thoughts as someone came into the room. She was wearing an outfit that one might expect to see of someone who worked in a hospital. She took one look at him, her eyes widened slightly before they went back to normal and she said "One, moment I'll be right back."

The woman didn't even give Nix the chance to respond then rushed out of the room and for a second he wondered just what the hell was going on. Though he didn't really have long to ponder that question as less than ten seconds later the woman came back less and this time she wasn't alone. She came back with someone who looked every inch the stereotypical image of a doctor. A white coat, glasses and balding hair with some stubble on his face.

The man looked at him with a kind expression on his face and said "Hello, I'm Doctor Meadows, you're currently safe in a hospital in Vale, and so are your friends as you can no doubt see."

Nix gave a nod at that and then something pierced the fog of his mind. He remembered the others that were in that forest besides Emerald and Mercury and his mind began racing as he remembered the Grimm and Marcus.

He spoke up, his voice hoarse, like he hadn't had anything to drink for days but it still conveyed fear and urgency in every spoken word "Wait, there were three girls there, in the woods! Are they okay? What happened to them?!"

His heartrate started to increase as was soon shown by a rapid beeping on the monitor and his friends were now starting to stir from their sleep if the way they were moving was any indication from his words. Doctor Meadows put up his hands in a placating way and said "They're all okay, they only had some cuts and bruises but they're all fine now. What is the last thing you remember?"

Despite his head pounding Nix remembered all right "We, the six of us, were at this shack in the middle of the woods. There was a dead Grimm and then that psycho showed up, I think I tried to fight him."

The woman looked over at Meadows and seemed to be more than a little bit concerned spoke again, "Well you won't have to worry about him, he won't be able to hurt you or any of your friends again." If Nix was more awake and aware, he would have asked what the hell the doctor meant by 'again' as he just stated that Emerald, Mercury and those three girls were fine.

The questioning look must have shown up on his face as the doctor spoke again, "Now during the fight the one who was most injured out of all of your friends was you, and we treated your wounds so you should make a good recovery here. Now, how do you feel? Are in any pain right now?"

Nix gave a nod "Everything hurts, and I mean everything." There was a pause before the doctor spoke again "is there anywhere in particular that you feel pain?" He asked.

The boy wasn't sure where the doctor was even going with this "Well, my arms definitely hurt the most. Why do you…"

As he spoke, Nix sluggishly moved his arms up from underneath the covers. When they came into view he saw that his arms no longer existed just below the elbows.

In a fraction of a second his eyes widened in horror and he started to breathe in and out far more rapidly. Nix could just barely notice how his breathing was getting faster and faster even as the doctor tried to say something but for the life of him, Nix couldn't make out so much as a single word. It was like everything around him had been rendered completely and utterly silent save for the beating of his heart which was even now starting to claw its way into his throat!

A flood of emotions, fear, dread, and horror chief amongst them went from his mind and spread themselves throughout his body as he let out a hoarse scream at what was no longer there!

Emerald and Mercury both woke up at the sound, their eyes wide as well as they quickly moved to try and help their friend who just was unable to stop screaming at what was now lost.

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Several hours had passed since then and while the boy had since woken and was calmed into it, he reacted in one of the most common ways that the doctors had seen before when they found out that they had just lost a limb. It wasn't just something that anyone let alone a kid could shrug off, and it had gotten so bad that the doctors found no other option than to sedate the poor boy.

Ozpin and Glynda were both looking into the room where the boy had since woken up again. He was speaking to both of his friends who were clearly trying to cheer him up a little. Unfortunately though it was clear that they were only having limited success in that regard though there wasn't any surprise there. When he woke up for the second time and finally managed to calm down the pair had decided to let the boy get at least a little bit of time before they started to ask him some questions about why he was carrying around Summer's weapon.

Of course the boy had also made it abundantly clear that he needed to speak to someone from Summer's family too, and he needed to get that sword back so that he could return it to her family. In fact he had almost been panicking when he told them that if they were being honest and only calmed down when he was assured that the sword was already back with the owner's family.

It took a little while before they could get Taiyang away from the girls but the promise of at least some answers as to what had happened to Summer, and that Qrow would keep an eye on the girls. He promised the girls he'd be back soon and so he went to see the boy.

When Taiyang arrived at the wing the boy was at he found that Ozpin and Glynda were already there waiting for him. They both looked at the man with a mixture of concern and compassion. The second he was close enough Ozpin said "Are you sure you want to do this Tai? Qrow can-"

Taiyang cut him off, "I have to know Oz, and from what Qrow told me, this kid risked everything to come here just to deliver the news and helped save my girls in the process. I owe him this much at least."

Ozpin nodded in understanding "All right then, let's go see the young man."

With that, the trio then walked into room where the boy was waiting for them.

The instant that Taiyang walked through the door and saw the kid he was almost taken aback. He had heard about the kid's injuries but it hadn't really hit him just how bad it was until he saw it for himself. Then again, how could anyone really prepare themselves to see a kid who had just lost both of his arms? The kid looked as though he'd hadn't had a bath in quite some time. However it was the look on his face though, that really sold it.

The kid looked almost, hollow, for lack of better words. There was very little life in it, like he had been put through so much –and given what Taiyang had been told, he had- and if Tai was any guess, the kid has probably been pushed well beyond his limit. Several years back Taiyang remembered having the exact same expression on his face whenever he looked into the mirror.

"Hello mister Nix. I'd like you to meet someone who is an old acquaintance of mine." Said Ozpin before he looked over at Tai and said "This is Taiyang Xiao-Long, he's the husband of Summer Rose."

The boy looked conflicted for a moment or two even as Emerald and Mercury gave him words of encouragement. From what Taiyang had heard, Nix had helped save their lives from that maniac so it made sense that they would care about each other. "Hi," Nix said simply and his voice sounded just as broken as he appeared.

Tai tried to give the kid a reassuring smile as he said "Hey Nix, I understand that you've come a long way to tell me and the rest of my family something important?"

Nix gave a hesitant nod and then took several deep breaths before he began to recount exactly what had happened.

He spoke of how he had tried to pick his wife's pocket but she had tracked him to the hovel where he lived. Then instead of just taking her money back and turning him over to the police or doing something worse for taking her money, she talked to him; encouraged him and showed him more compassion than most others ever had. Then three men arrived and attacked, before they used him as a hostage long enough to kill her by pinning her down

"…by the time I woke up they had taken her body, I don't know why but they did. The only thing left was her sword and the clasp for her cloak. I had to return it and, and tell you I'm sorry…that I'm the reason she's dead, that it was my fault." There were tears streaming down his face now.

By the end of the story, Ozpin had an expression that was a mixture of resignation and sadness at it all; Glynda had an expression that none of them had ever seen expressed on the normally taciturn woman. It was a strange mix of horror, sadness, and sympathy. The one that looked the most devastated however was Taiyang himself. He looked as though all life had been leached from him, his eyes were dull and for several long seconds he found it impossible to say so much as a word.

For several long seconds nobody said a word to the man but eventually Tai simply stated in a voice that was as broken as it was hoarse "I-I need to go check on the girls. Thank you, for telling me." He then left the room without another word.

After he left Nix tried to wipe away the tears on his face but he only found that he could bat his bandaged stumps against the side of his face uselessly. Realizing this, the young boy looked down at his stumps he once again cursed himself for being the one who had lived.

To be continued.

A/N: Looks like the message finally got delivered, now we just need to see how this will change things. Also before anyone gets the wrong idea, Nix is going to give more detailed descriptions of Summer's killers to Oz and Glynda it's just at the heat of the moment, Nix was more focused on how Summer died part of the story rather than the ones carrying out the deed.