Yo! Another chapter of Familiar!

This story will be ending with the next chapter! I've really liked writing it so far. It's been a lot of fun. For now, though, let's get into it!

Start Chapter 5

It was odd, for Ruby, to watch everyone around her grow more and more comfortable by the day, while she only continued to fester.

She knew that she should probably have gotten over her issues by this point. After all, the others were dealing with their own demons, their own burdens, and yet they had somehow conquered them. It was just… after everything they'd gone though, after everything and everyone that they'd lost… how could they still smile?

It irked her in a way she wasn't quite comfortable to confront.

It was leaving her feeling nasty, and irritable; quick to snap at the others. They knew something was up, and they tried to approach her multiple times, but Ruby – despite knowing she should've talked to them – blew them off each time they approached.

She just… it sounded dumb, but she just wanted to ferment in her crappy feelings.

Of course, Familiar wasn't about to allow that.

"Ruby?"

She blew out a breath as she stopped walking, and turned back to see Familiar gazing up at her with both curiosity and concern.

"I'm fine, Familiar. Really."

"I didn't say anything about you not being fine."

Oh. That… he technically hadn't, had he? Ruby felt like an idiot, her face growing somewhat hot as she looked away. Here she was trying to pretend she was doing well, and doing everything in her power to prove otherwise.

"It… you just sounded like you were going to say something about me. I'm fine."

"Oh. Well… you don't seem fine."

"Well, I am."

"The others don't seem to think you're fine."

"They don't know what they're talking about."

"They're your friends, Ruby. They love you."

Ruby bit down on her bottom lip. The temptation to scream at Familiar was there, but she held back. That was perhaps the quickest path towards having the entire band stopped so that they could confront Ruby. She'd managed to reign in her emotions enough that the others hadn't yet sought to call her on her bullshit, but that could change at any time.

And she didn't want to provide them with an excuse.

"I'm just worried about getting home, same as everyone else." Ruby lied, and she thought she did a decent job of it. "We've yet to come up with any actual plan to reach the tree. Blake thinks the cat's just leading us in circles."

"Oh, he's definitely leading us in circles." Familiar said like it was nothing worth mentioning. "But that's because there's no tried-and-true method for getting to the tree. If it wants you to find it, it will allow you to. The best thing you can do is just… try to get an invitation."

Ruby scowled. "And how do we do that, exactly?"

"By walking around, hoping to find the tree."

Ruby couldn't help but sigh. "Couldn't the tree be… a little easier to find?"

"It usually is." Familiar admitted, frowning somewhat. "We've been walking for a day and a half now. Normally… normally the tree would've found us by now."

"What reason would there be for it to not have found us?"

"If it didn't want us to find it… or if someone among our number didn't want to find it."

Ruby…

She didn't really know what to make of that.

It seemed obvious to her that perhaps the tree was picking up on her own doubts and fears; her own indecisiveness. Her own anger at her team, and Familiar, and the Ever After, and the world in general.

But…

She didn't want them to be trapped here.

Did she?

She was certain she didn't. The others… they seemed assured of themselves, confident in what they wanted. Weiss was cheerier, not quite herself, but getting there. Blake and Yang had been almost insufferable in how all over each other they'd become over the past few days.

And Familiar–

It was then, and only then, that a thought occurred to Ruby. A traitorous, treacherous thought.

One that just might've explained what she was feeling.

"…Familiar?"

"What is it?"

"Can…" She hesitated, almost not wanting to know. "The door to leave the Ever After's at the tree, correct?"

"Apparently. I've never been."

"But that's what they say, right?"

"Mhm."

"Then… can Afteran's leave the Ever After?"

It was clearly not a thought that Familiar had considered, for his face scrunched up a moment.

"I don't know. I never thought of it, but… Alyx left. Lewis… I never figured out what happened to Lewis. I thought he'd… I thought maybe the cat had…"

Ruby was confused. She didn't quite know what Familiar was talking about. She knew of Alyx, of course; the girl who fell through the world was a famous figure even to her. But… "…Lewis?"

Jaune's eyes widened, and he reached up and let out a grunt of pain, nearly falling to his knees. Ruby was there a moment later; her apathy falling away in the face of someone who needed help.

"Are you alright?"

"I… I don't…" Jaune's memories, it seemed, were again coming through to Familiar. He had started to react far more violently whenever they surfaced, as if the very act of remembering was causing him agony. "I don't know. I don't know what happened. But… The cat… the Curious Cat… he wouldn't be here if he could've left. That was all he wanted; the reason he was coming along with us."

"Then…"

"He couldn't leave." Familiar spoke quietly, almost as if putting the pieces together himself. "He couldn't leave on his own, or he wouldn't be here now. Which means… he must need someone else to help him. That explains why he's bothering with us in the first place."

"You don't seem to like him very much."

"He did… something." Familiar gritted his teeth. "I can't remember… or… no, I shouldn't be remembering at all! I… Jaune Arc ascended! But…"

It was in that very moment that Ruby felt a chill down her spine. It was… similar, but not quite the same as that which she'd felt when facing down a Grimm. She almost recognized the sensation, felt she might've experienced it before, here within the Ever After–

A shadow appeared over Ruby and Familiar's forms.

Where she failed to react, Familiar did not. He tackled her backwards as a creature landed where they'd been just moments prior.

Familiar stepped in, drawing the broken blade of Crocea Mors from off of his hip, and trying to stab out with its neutered length. The creature, dark but not as black as a Grimm, dodged back away, before trying to swipe as Familiar, who deftly evaded the hit.

It was then that Ruby placed the creature.

It was the thing that had attacked Yang; the Jabberwalker. Yang had managed to beat it by herself, but perhaps far more notably, it had also run off at the first sign of an actual fight.

Why was it suddenly acting so aggressive? Willing to stand its ground?

That question was answered a moment later as Weiss' Arma Gigas' summoned blade rammed through the things' back, jutting out its stomach before burying itself into the earth, and pinning the Jabberwalker to the ground. It let out a howl, but quickly disappeared into a set of fractal shapes in pinks, browns, and silvers.

Ruby's eyes widened.

Neo.

No sooner had she had that thought than had more Jabberwalkers – what she could only assume were Neo's illusions – appeared. She'd never known Neo's semblance to have a physical form beyond shattering on first touch, but…

She supposed semblances could evolve. It was just a shame that such a thing was happening for one of their fiercest enemies.

"Group up, everyone!" She heard Yang shout. "Don't get separated!"

It was a good plan. Ruby was glad that someone else was coming up with them. She was positive that if it was her… if she had to come up with something, then–

"Ruby!"

She snapped out of her own self-flagellation to see another Jabberwalker coming right for her. She drew Crescent Rose almost on instinct, and fired a shot straight through its head.

It was the first time she'd drawn her weapon in… it had to have been a few weeks, perhaps more, and she hadn't even meant to. The creature went down hard, without aura or any armor plating to protect it. It became as nothing soon after.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Familiar asked her, and it was a mirror of just five minutes ago.

This time, it was harder to lie. "I'm… I'm fine."

Familiar didn't believe her. It was almost funny. Despite the fact that he himself had always been so terrible at telling lies, Jaune had also always been pretty good at spotting them.

This wasn't Jaune.

She knew that. Recognized that.

But…

All at once, a dozen Jabberwalkers descended from the trees above, and before Ruby could fully process that, their formation was being pulled apart. What the Jabberwalkers lacked in vitality they made up for in mobility, ferocity, and sheer numbers.

She and Familiar were separated from the others, and though the Jabberwalkers did their best to isolate her and Familiar next, Familiar would not allow that to happen. He virtually attached himself to Ruby's side, and refused to be parted from her as he swung out with Crocea Mors' broken blade, and blocked with its rusted shield.

It looked so effortless to him; as if he had the instincts to use it, despite it being too large for his frame.

"Ruby! Focus."

He was right. She was floundering enough without being caught in her own head. That singular shot earlier had been the only one she'd fired in weeks. She halfheartedly swung her weapon at an oncoming Jabberwalker, but the blow was easily batted aside.

She wasn't scared, but she was weak. Feeble, and pathetic.

It was her fault.

Atlas had been her fault. Penny's death had been her fault. Jaune's death had been her fault.

And now… if anything happened here, then all of this was going to be her fault, too.

Because she'd been too scared to go to the tree.

Because she'd not been able to accept leaving anyone behind.

Not again.

Not–

"RUBY!"

It happened far too quickly.

One moment there was a Jabberwalker with its claws poised to strike at Ruby's face, and neck, and body… and in the next, she was being shoved aside.

She hit the ground hard, the wind being knocked out of her.

And when she looked up…

Her breath caught.

Her heart stopped.

Blood coated the ground around her. A little bit of it had ended up in her hair, some on her outfit.

A few drops of it were on her hands, and didn't that feel appropriate?

Familiar looked pale as he stared down at the blood coating his outfit, seeping out from the wound on his chest. It was clear to Ruby that he would fall in but a moment's time. He could not support himself under his own power.

It was Ruby's fault.

Again.

But…

For once, it wasn't too late.

She blitzed forward, her semblance covering her as she reached out, took up Familiar, and tore away with him in a flurry of petals. Ruby pushed herself as hard as she could to put distance between them and the Jabberwalkers. She had no faith at all that they'd be letting them go. No. Neo had been after her, even in Atlas.

Idly, some part of her mind pointed out that this was exactly what she'd want; to separate her from the others.

Less idly, another part of her pointed out that such a thing didn't matter, because Jaune was in danger.

Familiar. Not Jaune. Familiar. Not Jaune.

It didn't matter. Jaune was the only person she could see in her arms as she allowed her semblance to fade. She swallowed and looked down, and this time she allowed herself to see the gash in detail.

From a purely clinical perspective, it was not a terrible wound. It looked bad, and it was bleeding rather heavily, but Jau– Familiar would not be dying from it. It caused a relief so palpable that Ruby took a breath that was almost more a gasp for air.

"Familiar!" She cried out far too loudly to the boy she was holding in her arms. "Are you okay!?"

"I…" He seemed dazed; loopy. Blood loss would do that. "I think I'm… not okay, but… alive?"

Ruby would take it.

"I'm sorry!" She practically whimpered as she pulled him along, glad that he was ostensibly a ten-year-old boy, for he was easy enough for even someone like Ruby to haul along. "I'm so sorry, Familiar."

"It's okay." He muttered out, his words slurring somewhat. "I know you're… that you're going through a lot."

"You got hurt! That's my fault, and–"

"Don't blame yourself." Familiar interrupted her. "That… accomplishes nothing. I would know."

Jaune would know. Jaune had known.

Yet he wasn't here now, was he? He had blamed himself for what had happened to Penny, and…

And it had proven too much for him, in the end. He'd allowed himself to be taken by the tree.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream, and shout, and rage against the world. It wasn't like her at all, but in that moment, it was the only thing she could bring herself to feel.

Of course, in the next, a figure entered into her peripheral vision, and Ruby had just enough time to fling Familiar to the side, and to raise her own aura, before a thin blade slammed into her chest.

It didn't break her aura, but it hit with enough force to launch her backwards, where she landed in a heap upon the ground. She was lucky that the ground in the Origami Acre was made of paper mâché, which had enough give that Ruby didn't feel anything snap despite landing hard on her left arm.

She managed to get Crescent Rose up in time to block the finishing blow that Neo had tried to hit her with, the haft of Crescent Rose catching Neo's wrists, the tip of Hush an inch from Ruby's nose.

They briefly wrestled for control. Ruby had been so weak just minutes before, unable to bring up her weapon to attack the Jabberwalkers, and yet now…

She looked across to where Jaune – Familiar – was laid out on the ground. There was blood trickling from his wound into the paper below, and yet even despite that, he was doing his best to push himself up, to help Ruby.

She…

She couldn't let him enter into this fight. Neo was a cold, unfeeling killer; she'd run him through without a second thought just to hurt Ruby.

And she… she was already hurt enough.

She wouldn't let anything happen to him.

Not again. Not this time.

With all the strength that still laid within Ruby's breast, she flung Neo off of her. She used her semblance to right herself, disappearing in a cloud of rose petals and reappearing a few meters away.

She wanted to draw Neo away from Familiar.

Luckily, the woman was far too tunnel-visioned on her, and so she chased after Ruby without giving Jau– Familiar a second thought.

Neo practically threw herself at Ruby, thrusting her weapon at her face. Ruby spun Crescent Rose, and the motion came, albeit somewhat stunted. She deflected the blow clumsily, and continued to back up.

She'd not fought anything in a month, and it was affecting her. Not to mention that Neo, in a one-on-one, was a better fighter than she was. She might not have done much fighting, either, but then, Ruby imagined she wasn't dealing with the mental baggage that Ruby was.

This was a losing battle. That she knew.

But that was fine. She… Ruby Rose didn't matter. Not really. She'd already caused so much hurt for other people.

If she could save Familiar, and her friends, by pulling Neo and the Jabberwalkers away from them… then that was fine.

She wouldn't hesitate to do it.

Neo didn't hesitate to chase after her, either. The look on her face was akin to that of a rabid dog. Like she needed to catch Ruby. Ruby herself didn't really understand that. She'd been present at Roman's death, and yes, she'd blown Neo away from Ironwood's carrier, but that Gryphon had come at Roman fast, and swallowed him whole.

Thinking that Neo could've done anything at all, even if she'd been there, was foolish.

But then, Ruby herself knew what that felt like, didn't she? She'd been sitting here in the Ever After thinking about could've, should've, would've, instead of focusing on the present.

So, how could she blame Neo for doing the same?

She was distracted again, and so she missed the cane coming right for her face out of the corner of her eye. It struck her hard, flinging her to the side. The only recompense Ruby had was that she'd had her aura up, but aura didn't exactly prevent concussions.

She looked up, and saw Roman Torchwick standing just in front of her. He was smiling widely, and it was just how she'd seen him look so very many times.

When she thought of it… Roman had been her own personal villain, in a way. During her time in Beacon, she'd run into him… three times? Four?

And now here he was again, at the end of the road.

She supposed that made sense in a poetic sort of way.

Neo caught up soon after. She didn't rush any longer; didn't seem to see the need. She was confident that she'd won. Didn't doubt it for a moment.

Ruby didn't either, to be fair.

"Well, well, well." Roman chuckled below his breath, but it was with a far more sinister tone than the gentleman thief had ever spoken with. "End of the line, Red." His voice – or maybe Neo's thoughts? She wasn't entirely sure – echoed out.

She was pretty sure he'd said that, too, during one of their encounters. Maybe… on the roof of the building near that dust shop? When Ms. Goodwitch had showed up to save her.

Hah… that felt like a lifetime ago. She knew it had only been two or so years, but…

It felt like longer. Far longer.

Maybe that was how Jaune felt; trapped here for such a long time. He'd… he'd supposedly been much older than when they'd known him. The people of the Ever After had said he had a beard, with long hair that had started to gray.

How old must he have been? Forty? Fifty?

All alone. He'd sat and waited all alone.

And they'd not come. They'd never come.

"What's the matter, Red?" Roman asked, using the end of Melodic Cudgel to turn up her chin, so that she was looking up at Roman from the ground. "You don't look too hot. Cat got your tongue?"

"If you want me to beg for mercy, or something, then you're going to be disappointed." Ruby spat out.

"Ohoh! Ya' got some fire in you. But no, I don't quite want you to beg for mercy, girl. I want you to give up. I want you to see all of your failures, I want you to see all of your sins, and then I want you to consciously surrender yourself. What is it they call it here in the Ever After? Ah," Roman raised a single finger, before turning back to her. "Ascension. Right."

So that was Neo's play? It was… oddly pointed. To make Ruby, what… end her own life, essentially?

Maybe her own actions here could be counted as such; getting Neo to chase her away from her comrades in what even she'd acknowledged was a hopeless scenario, but…

It didn't feel the same, at least to her.

For the first time in a long time, she wasn't going to let anyone else take the fall for her.

She'd face it by herself.

Wasn't that what Neo was saying as well, in a roundabout way?

"I'm not going to do that." Ruby muttered, thinking of her friends, and Familiar, and… and so many others.

She had bought them time, at least.

"If I die buying them time, then it's worth it! They're the ones that matter!"

Ruby's eyes widened in that moment.

Because…

Those were Jaune's words, back during the battle at Haven. Back when Cinder had stood over him with a sword poised to end his life. When they'd all realized that in a way, Jaune had begun to hate himself.

And he had almost struggled to believe them when they'd told him that they didn't think that way at all. That they valued him; loved him as a treasured friend.

Eventually, his team had gotten through to him, and that had served as the chink in the armor the rest of them had needed to do the same.

And Ruby…

She…

"Ruby, please. We're not blaming you. No one is blaming you."

"No one in the entirety of Remnant is perfect. No one out there can say they've made nothing but correct decisions. Maybe you made a bad call. But you know what? None of us tried to correct you. None of us had anything better. So, I'm not going to sit here and pretend like this is all your fault. Because it isn't."

"Yang's right. We chose to follow you."

"They're your friends, Ruby. They love you."

Here Ruby was, doing the exact same thing; making the exact same mistakes.

Even if she'd screwed up, and ruined everything back in Atlas, and even if it was her fault, no matter how much the others said it wasn't…

Weiss, Blake, Yang, Familiar and so many others still loved her.

Gods, she…

She was such an idiot.

"Oooh." Roman suddenly chimed in again. "Look at that; some life in your eyes all of a sudden. I'll look forward to snuffing that out."

How foolish she'd been. If the others were here… if the others were here, then they could handle this situation. If Neo had thought she could take all five of them – six, technically, but the cat didn't really count – then she'd have just fought them back in the forests of the Origami Acre.

That she hadn't, and had instead separated Ruby, spoke to her needing to.

And now, that was what Ruby was banking on.

She inched herself away from Roman, trying to see if he'd stop her. He held his cane up, the look in his eye pointed. Ruby decided not to test whether or not the flare gun within was still functional as an illusion.

"I don't know, Neo." Roman said, and Ruby's eyes widened. Was she… talking to herself through Roman? Or had the Ever After somehow evolved her semblance even further than Ruby had first thought. "I think we just kill the girl and be done with it. Don't waste your chance trying to make the moment perfect, or something."

Neo seemed to be considering that, which was the exact opposite thing that Ruby now wanted. She needed to drag this out, and let the others come to her rescue. Alone, she couldn't do a thing to Neo and Roman combined, but together with the others, she knew they could win.

And then, once they won…

They could leave this place. They could leave the Ever After.

And Ruby's eyes widened.

She knew what she needed to do.

Because if they couldn't make it to the tree…

Then she would just have to make the tree come to them.

She looked inside of herself, to where she'd known ever since talking with Familiar before laid the reason as to why the tree hadn't been taking them.

Because she'd not wanted it to. Not really. Because a part of her had been scared about what would happen when they passed through…

And Familiar couldn't.

He was, after all, a denizen of the Ever After. He had once been a human, but now…

Now, she wasn't sure what would happen if he tried to go through.

If they made it to the tree, and the door, and he was stuck, then…

Ruby had been unwilling to chance that before.

But now…

Well, she didn't have many other options.

They needed to get back. They… they had a world to save.

Jaune wouldn't want them to stay. He wouldn't want Ruby to stay; no matter how difficult it was to admit it.

He'd…

He'd want them all to move on. He'd want them to save the world, and the people he loved.

And how could she spit in his face by denying that?

In that instant, behind her, a crack formed in the paper mâché earth. The ground split open, and Neo and Roman both lost their balance for a moment.

Within that crack, Ruby saw roots, and vines.

The tree.

She pushed herself up with all her strength, and tried to get to the chasm. If she could make it there, then she could get to the tree, and more importantly, she could escape from Neo.

Whether or not Neo could follow her… well…

She'd just have to hope she couldn't.

Yet as Ruby made to break for the gap in the ground, she felt a harsh pain against the back of her skull, one which sent her to the ground once more. It had to have been Roman's cane. She activated her semblance this time, phasing forward as quickly as she could…

Only for Neo to tackle her from her right side, and slam her into the ground just a meter or so from the chasm.

Ruby reached towards it, hoping that perhaps a branch would emerge from out of it to grasp onto her arm, but nothing like that happened. She turned herself around, and tried to swing at Neo.

The woman dodged her attempt, and then she pounced on Ruby, straddling her hips and placing both of her hands around Ruby's throat.

Ruby reached for the hands around her neck, fighting against Neo's hold. But it was hard; so very hard. It only grew more so as the breath was sucked out of her; as the oxygen in her blood became less and less. Her strength was fading. Her vision was darkening. Black spots danced within her eyes.

No… no! She didn't want to die, she couldn't! Uncle Qrow had lost too much! Yang had lost too much! She'd almost made the mistake of leaving them, just like Raven had, just like mom had!

She couldn't do that to them!

It was as she was thinking that, as she was trying her best – and failing – to resist Neo's hold, that a figure slammed into Neo's right side, tackling her off of Ruby.

She gasped, and then took a great, greedy breath of air. Her faculties returned to her slowly – far slower than they needed to. She had to help whoever had saved her. She couldn't just lie there, entirely out for the count!

With every fiber of her being, Ruby pushed herself up. She looked over at where Neo and the new figure were fighting, and–

And it felt like she was being strangled all over again.

Because it was Familiar; sweet, innocent Familiar, who'd come to protect her. He who'd saved her.

It felt like he always was.

"Familiar!" She cried out. "What are you doing here!?"

"I wasn't…" He panted, obviously in pain from the wound that was still bleeding down his chest, even as he struggled against Neo. "I wasn't just going to leave you here!

She drew Crescent Rose from off of the ground, still hacking, and tried to aim for Neo. Roman's weapon swatted her own out of her shaky hands.

"Not letting you get away this time, Red!"

She gritted her teeth as Roman's cane connected with her left arm, then her stomach. Her aura had to be tanking right about now; she didn't have her scroll to check, but she could tell it was less than twenty percent.

If she took another serious hit, that was it.

Roman lunged, and she used the last bits of her aura to get around him with her semblance. She looked over to Neo and Familiar. The former was still caught off guard, where the latter was clinging to her back, and pulling at her hair.

Far from an elegant fighting style, but if it worked, Ruby wasn't going to complain.

Still, she had to help him.

Neo was skirting dangerously close to the edge of the chasm that had opened up before. She was less than half a meter from it.

Ruby wondered if it was Familiar's plan to lure Neo there, and then throw her in to get her away from them. From the sound of things, it wasn't so easy to get in and out of the tree, so that was a good plan.

She rushed towards the two, even as, off to her left, a band of figures broke out of the origami trees just beyond their little clearing. It was the rest of her team, alongside the cat.

"Ruby!" She heard Yang's relieved voice shout out. "Hang on, we're coming!"

She couldn't help but smile, but also want to cry. She'd… how could she have…

No. Now wasn't the time for that. Familiar needed her.

She rushed forwards, even as Familiar engaged what seemed to be his final gambit. He wrenched himself to one of Neo's sides, throwing her somewhat off balance, and then angled her towards the chasm just behind them as he did his best to push her towards it.

Ruby thought he'd be able to do it, too. She felt a breath of hope.

And then Neo's blade jutted out of Familiar's back.

It was such a sudden thing. All sound around them seemed to fall away. Ruby, once more, ceased to breathe.

Familiar's eyes were wide, and he looked down at the sword that had been buried in his gut with a sort of absent expression.

His lips parted, but no sound came out. A moment later, Neo ripped the blade from out of his stomach, spraying blood on the paper ground beneath them. It began to soak in immediately, absorbed by the material.

"JAUNE!" Ruby screamed as she dashed towards him, uncaring of the fact that Neo was in the way.

Fami– Jaune was already falling backwards, however. The chasm, directly behind him, seemed to almost grow to be able to take him in. Ruby took a blow from Neo as she tried to catch him, but didn't quite make it in time.

He plummeted into the abyss in the next moment.

For an instant, Ruby stood at the edge, shellshocked, staring into the fissure.

And then, in the next, she leapt in after him.

She heard her teammates screaming her name; could feel Neo's eyes practically staring a hole into her back.

She ignored them. She pushed her semblance harder than she ever had, until her aura had been entirely spent. She caught up to Jaune's falling body, however, and cradled it against her.

Familiar. Some part of her said. His name is–

It didn't matter. Not to her. Not truly.

She wasn't going to lose him.

Not again.

That was her final thought before the seemingly endless pit gave way to a swarm of vines and roots, which rose up to catch them.

And then all Ruby knew was darkness.

End Chapter 5

Alright, that was Chapter 5! Sorry for the cliffhanger.

The last chapter of Familiar will release in two weeks time! so the... twenty-sixth? I think? Look forward to it!

Not a ton to say. See you all next time!

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