Guardian
The world lost its color.
Yet again, the world turned back to a mixture of black and white.
Everything seemed too dull, so empty.
She missed Roman, he colored the world, his existence made this lifeless painting breathe with life. And now he is gone.
She stood at the top of his body, not moving, his white coat turned to ashes, and his orange hair was black. She couldn't believe it.
She knew working for someone was a bad idea, but she was strong, stronger than even Neo.
So they had to follow her order, which resulted in this. It was her fault, hers and RED.
But Who cares now? The world had no meaning. She looked at the shard of glass to the side, it sat perfectly to reflect Neo's state.
She spent a full two days looking for him, nonstop, only to find what was left of him.
Neo heard the sound of footsteps behind her, but she didn't care anymore. She looked back only to see a man in a cloak, said cloak was gray, while his armor was a shade of white.
His sword was pointed at her, and his expression. It was the same as her.
It was fitting, dying next to her mentor, by the same expression that she wore. She surrounded herself, ready to leave this colorless world, until.
He kneeled down on one knee, his hand reaching to his back, being a very familiar object.
It was that hat she had gifted to Roman all those years ago, it was torn, but it was still the same. Strange liquid flew off her eyes, as her heart itched with pain.
She tried to scream, tried so hard, but the only thing that came out was a shrieking sound.
She suddenly felt warmth wrapped around her upper body, as she was pushed into the man's chest. She knew who he was, she knew he should hate her, but he held her tight.
She looked at his face, tear marks on his cheeks, he wore a sorrowful expression, yet he still held her.
Suddenly, his hair color changed, it felt like her world was rebuilding. It was the only thing that changed, after a while, she could only see things that were in yellow.
The man with the yellow hair sat beside her in the ship, she didn't know what to do exactly, so she just leaned on his shoulder.
His head fell atop of hers, as sleep finally reclaimed her after so long.
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Glynda Goodwitch needed to hold on.
She couldn't just let her tiredness show, everyone was counting on her in this crisis. Everyone looked up to her for answers and guidance, and she didn't know if she was ready for it all.
The headmistress of Beacon Academy, or what's left of it, stood tall as she pushed back the Grimm from entering the city. Her weapon in hand, she commanded her students to charge and exterminate the Grimm.
She was proud of every single one of them, just yesterday they were immature children playing around, but now they all stood strong and fought together.
She hated to admit it, but Beacon was beyond rescuing. The Grimm dragon may have stopped, but it still attracted Grimm around it, and they needed enough force to break through all the Grimm to reach it.
She needed Ozpin.
Everyone believed the man was dead, But she knew better, she was in his inner circle after all. She knew about his secrets, she knew he'd be back.
And soon, he would help her and get rid of the dragon once and for all.
Meanwhile, her concern revolved around a few individuals.
Ruby Rose, the young girl, was the reason the Grimm dragon was contained, but it also put her in a coma. Glynda managed to contain the rumors about a new Atlas weapon that could turn Grimm to stone, but if the girl didn't wake up soon, she feared the worst.
Blake belladonna, the girl who worried Glynda the most, after the white fang attack, and her old ties with them, it would be natural to assume they took their revenge on her, especially that no one seemed able to find her anywhere.
Yang Xiao-Long, she pitied the poor girl, she was at the top of the world, second-best fighter in her year, top student, and was in the finals of the festival.
Yet those agents of Salem destroyed everything she loved, they ruined her reputation, and they made sure she will never forget what happened that day.
The last member of Team rwby may have suffered the least, but what she lost was her second family, now dragged back to Atlas high society, leaving her friends to suffer alone.
And their sister team wasn't any better.
The passing of Pyrrha Nikos hit them the hardest. The two orphans yet again have to deal with the loss of a loved one.
And then there was Jaune Arc, who lost his partner and by what Qrow told her, was down in the basement with Ozpin and witnessed everyone.
He never questioned her, she felt a little relieved because she had enough on her plate already, but Qrow never heard the end of it.
It was understandable, he lost his partner to something he didn't understand, and he has been running himself ragged to avoid the grief, to avoid facing the reality of this cruel world.
Said man was coming towards her, she could distinctly see he was carrying someone on his back. She sighed in relief as she rushed to help him.
She was worried when the rain started, but seeing him well enough to carry someone made her realize how silly she was.
"I'm glad to see you ok, Jaune." She slowed her pace when she reached him, her hand on her chest. She took a long inhale of air before looking at the civilian on her student's back.
She froze when she saw the criminal, Roman torchwick associate on his back. The girl looked pale, her eyes were a mix of pink and black, yet, both were broken, lifeless husks as she stared into them.
Her body was full of cuts and bruises. She was thin, Glynda realized, her skin was stuck to her bones, but it was covered by Vale huntsmen cloak.
"Miss Goodwitch, I got what you asked for." Her student greeted her, like the person on his back wasn't even there.
She was shocked momentarily, which Jaune used to transfer the data to her scroll. The scroll pinged, which snapped her out of her bewilderment.
"Have you lost your mind Mr Arc? She's a criminal, why isn't she in cuffs?" Her weapon came out in a swift motion, she knew the girl was no threat, but letting her free like this meant she could kill anyone she wanted in a second.
Her eyes widened when her student glared at her, his stand shifting to allow him a quick escape or to fight head-on.
"No." He said in defiance, she could feel the heat from his glare.
"Mr Arc?" She asked, confusion written on her face.
"Roman torchwick is dead, she has nothing. Just like me." And suddenly, it all made sense in her mind. Her heart ached with pain, she could understand by just the look on his face.
"What are you planning to do with her?" She asked instead, knowing to rebuke him meant making this situation turn into a hostile one.
"I'm not sure, when I saw her there, so broken, I felt like I saw myself in a mirror. I can't leave her alone, not now, not like this." If the girl didn't like the way she was portrayed, she didn't protest. Her hand wrapped around his neck for support and warmth.
"She's a wanted criminal, the police will arrest her." She pointed out, and when she saw the defiance in his eyes, she sighed.
"Neapolitan, You can change your looks, right? Change to something else and stick with him, don't raise suspension." She instructed, and for the first time since meeting the girl, she nodded.
"Thank you." He said it in a whisper.
"No, I'm sorry. I know how you must've been feeling, and I know you wanted answers, I'll give you some now." His eyes suddenly shot up to meet hers, for a brief moment, she saw his eyes shining with Hope.
"Sit down, this will take a while."
She knew she shouldn't do it, but he deserved it, after all, he will be one of the future protectors of Remnant.
And she needed to talk to someone other than Qrow about it.
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Jaune and Neo listened intently as Miss Goodwitch told them about the Maidens and why everyone wanted them, about why Cinder wanted that power, and how she was about to kill Ozpin.
About how Ozpin has this ability to reincarnate each time he dies.
Jaune stood there, dumbstruck, while Neo hugged him from the side, eating her food.
"So what? You decide a schoolgirl is the perfect fit for this power, instead of all the huntresses in the world?" Jaune quickly turned to anger.
His partner's life was taken away from her, all because they chose her.
"Miss Nikos was the best candidate we had at the time, we didn't even know that this would happen." she explained calmly.
"Did you tell her parents that when they came to pick what's left of her?" she shouted. His word froze the professor in her place, her shock quickly turned into anger.
"We always had the students' best interests at heart, we never wanted it to be like this." she stood up, shouting back.
"I believe you miss Goodwitch, you always had our best interests at heart, but I don't believe Ozpin's. You're telling me he decided to build schools on top of Relics that can destroy the world? I won't blame you, but sure as hell going to blame him." He said it a little calmly, his teacher took in the point and didn't argue it.
"We are currently looking for where Cinder has went to, but we barely have any information between me and Qrow, and Atlas is closing its borders, so we have no intel from them." She sat back down with a sigh.
She couldn't search properly with everything On her plate, and Qrow was too focused on his family.
"She's going to Haven." Jaune said with a strange look.
"What?"
"Haven, she's from there right? Scarlet didn't find her on Mistral ship, and Atlas is closed, and she won't go to Vacuo, fearing her identity will be known at that time. So our best bet is on Haven." Jaune explained, which left his teacher dumbfounded.
"What? You know I have a knack for strategies, and it's a simple one, she probably took off on the ground, if we leave now, we may reach Her before reaching there." Glynda knew where this was going.
"No, I won't allow my students to go on a suicide mission to hunt a maiden, she killed Ozpin, she won't have any trouble with you." She noticed the sudden stillness from Neo, but her focus was on Jaune.
"So what? We just let her do Whatever she wants. I'm going to Mistral and hunt her down, I don't care if you allow me or not." He stood up, ushering Neo to follow him.
"How about this? Wait till Miss Rose is awake and can fight, take her with you, then I won't have a problem with it." He turned to his teacher, suspicious in his eyes.
"What's the catch? You're just letting us go without any resistance." He asked.
"No such thing, I just feel like this will help you and miss Neopolitan, you will be moving from village to village until you reach Mistral, so it would help you two." They shared a confused look, but nodded.
"Good, now, you've been missing for the last two days or so thanks to the rain, I'm sure your team is worried sick, be with them, they need you." She gave him a rare smile he had never seen on her face.
He returned it as he and Neo made their way out. Glynda sighed and slumped back on her chair. She needed to inform Qrow, the kid was smarter than she gave him credit for.
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Jaune didn't plan on hiding Neo's identity, and he told her as much. So it wasn't a surprise that his team's first reaction was to draw weapons on her.
To her credit, she didn't react, to be honest, she didn't react too much. She just accepted that he took her with him without any fight, it felt like picking up a stray cat that had a home once.
"What is she doing here?" Nora held her hammer, her tone was dead serious.
"She's with me, she lost someone she cared about because of Cinder, so she wants to help us." His words stopped Nora in her tracks, she looked at him with wide eyes and back to Neo.
"How did you know that? She doesn't talk." Nora raised a good point. She may have not said it, but he knew it. Because he wanted the same.
"I just know. Besides, we know where Cinder is." His words gained him the attention of everyone, even Ren, who was watching without joining the conversation.
"I know Miss Goodwitch and Qrow have been trying to figure out her next move, but I have a pretty good idea where she is going, so." He looked between his two teammates, they all had the same idea, and if they acted fast, they could stop Cinder.
"Did You tell Qrow?" Ren asked, after sharing a look with Nora.
"I told Miss Goodwitch, and she agreed with Me. We just need to wait for Ruby to wake up, we'll see if she's willing to join us, then we'll move." He already made the plans, he will avenge his partner no matter what.
"If that's the case, we have good news for you." Nora looked back at him with a smile.
"You've been gone for two days now, so a certain someone has woken up." Jaune's eyes grew with anticipation, as he raced up the stairs.
"Ruby?" The door slammed open, revealing Ruby on her bed with her uncle sitting next to her.
"Jaune." Ruby yelled with equal excitement, he quickly made his way to her and got her in his embrace. His first friend, finally awake.
"We were in the middle of something." Qrow tried to argue, but gave up when no one paid him any attention.
"I have something important to tell you Ruby." Jaune pulled off the embrace and looked at her silver eyes, they were besties, he didn't want to hide anything from her.
So he told her.
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"Dammit Glynda, it was supposed to be a secret." Qrow groaned as Jaune told Ruby everything.
From what happened at the fall, to what was in the basement, to what happened to her team, to how he found Neo, and then his plan moving forward.
Ruby did not like the fact Neo was there, but she trusted his judgment, alongside two huntsmen keeping an eye on her at all times.
Her reaction to her team however, was more muted. She didn't know how to react to the fact Blake never showed up, and she was angry at Weiss's father and didn't hold it against Weiss.
She burst out of the door at the mention of what happened to Yang.
"I'll go tell her." Nora followed her. Yang wasn't in her home, she was at the hospital, helping her work through the phantom pain and how to adapt to her new lifestyle.
Yet another thing Cinder needed to pay for, and he will make sure she will pay for it.
"Hey kid." Qrow called to him, the two alone in the room. Jaune didn't like the look he gave him, he looked down on him.
"Pretty smart figuring out where Cinder is headed, wanna share how you found out?" He asked nonchalantly, but there was an edge to it, a suspicion.
"It's simple, I'm a student, I hangout with them, I knew about them. They were from Haven, and with what the festival showed, only us and a handful of people knew that Cinder was behind it."
"It was just a matter of tracking down the fleeing ships from Vale, only two went to Mistral, and they had the rest of Team Sun, so it was out, and Cinder won't risk going to Atlas or Vacou, taking a detour will only help us more than her."
Jaune explained his line of thinking, he may have been stuck with grief, but his mind was full of hatred, vengeance against Cinder and what she did.
"One more thing." He looked to Qrow, who stared him dead in the eyes.
"Don't Go and kill yourself against her." Qrow stood up and left the room, leaving Jaune to stare daggers at his back.
"I won't let her kill me." He whispered.
"Not until I kill her." He looked down at the photo next to Ruby's bed, it was a picture of team RWBY and JNPR together.
At the door, Neo watched Jaune with her pink and brown eyes.
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Jaune showed Neo where she would be sleeping for the time being. Taiyang was generous enough to give them rooms, although he kept his body tense, ready for any attack that may come.
Yang was still in the hospital, so Nora and Ruby slept in that room, while Ren and Jaune took the living room.
Neo had her own little room, Which was farthest away from Ruby's. Jaune knew it was intentional, but didn't comment on it.
That night, sleep didn't come easily. Ever since the fall, his mind was filled with nightmares, so he made it a habit to wander around the forest at night.
It had few Grimm, which also benefited him as a workout.
When he felt it was far enough, he took out his scroll and started the video.
It was an old recording from Pyrrha, she made it so he kept his training during the vacation, and now, it was the last video he had of her.
And he cursed himself.
How could he be so blind? In the video She gave him months ago, it was clear she had feelings for him, yet he was oblivious.
He swung his sword to the video instruction until he was beyond exhaustion. He fell to the ground, panting for hair.
He barely had a chance to take a breather until a Grimm showed up. Its sudden arrival took him off guard, he couldn't activate his aura fast enough, and the claw made a mark on his cheeks.
He tried to back away, but his muscles were too tired to respond. He closed his eyes, ready for his pathetic Death, until an umbrella stabbed the Grimm, killing it immediately.
Neo looked at him with a confused expression, he could guess she was asking why he didn't kill it himself.
She glanced at his Scroll and back at him, her eyes full of understanding.
"I- I just wanted to be strong, if I was, she would have been still Here." He looked at her, his eyes full of tears.
It finally broke, the dam that held his emotions, he didn't dare show it to his friends, but to her? She will understand.
She was the same as him.
The next moment Neo was on him, hugging him tightly, he could only return it, as he whimpered.
Neo stared at his cheek, the blood was gray yet, it slowly took color again, the vibrant color finally regaining its strength.
She looked a little farther, to the scroll on the rock. She could only see the fiery red hair of the girl that was so important to him, she held him close and nodded to the screen.
She will look after him.
Note: Thanks for everyone's support for the first chapter, I didn't expect to see a lot of positive reviews. I hope this lives up to the expectations.
This story will take place around V4 and V5. I probably Won't take it farther.
Hopefully either next chapter or after it, the group will start the journey, which will be different on a couple of Angles.
The story will focus on Jaune and Neo, which probably means I'm going to skip that one Grimm fight (I ain't saying his name), but other characters will take stage from time to time.
Anyway thank you all for watching.
Free Palestine.
And goodbye.