Answers to an Age-old Question (Updated)
AN: Now to continue on from our last cliffhanger.
I would like to give a GREAT thanks to both my Beta-Readers/Partners in story writing, Nightengale4698 and Breakawayfan!
(UPDATE: This is a more updated version of this chapter. Normaly I would ignore such criticism, but Guest Guy had a fair point that I should go on.
Guest Guy, if you have criticism that you want to share, don't use a guest address, tell me yourself, and if you don't like how I'm doing the story, then don't read it.)
Now, on to the story!
After the party at Vale, Qrow felt like stay home for the next week. After hearing Ruby got Thorn, he wanted to help teach her how to use the knife properly.
He often enjoyed watching the news; even though half of what they said was BS, he liked to laugh at he knew wasn't true. He could hear his niece walking in from her room. Just then he took in a sip from his flask when he felt that the alcohol was wearing off.
When Ruby walked in, he looked to Ruby with a smile while his mouth was still around the flask's opening. His smile vanished when he looked at the chain and saw what was at the end of it. The moment Qrow's eyes met with the ring, he saw flashes of images. Some were of a flaming eye, while others were of a smiling pale-faced woman. The moment the images went away, Qrow then spat out his whiskey out of complete shock.
"Ruby, where did you get that ring?" Qrow asked as he coughed and wiped his mouth off. Ruby shrugged her shoulders in response.
"I found it in a secret compartment when I accidentally dropped Mom's jewelry box," Ruby answered. Suddenly Qrow stood up and put the lid back on his flask, not taking his eyes off the ring hanging from his niece's neck.
Where the hell could she have gotten something like that? Qrow thought as he put his flask in his coat.
"When did you find it?" he asked.
"The other day when I dropped the box," Ruby explained, "I was going to try it on, but then thought it wouldn't look good on me."
At least she thought before acting this time, Qrow mused, knowing full well of Ruby's tendency to think with her heart instead of her brain, "Has anyone else seen it yet?"
"No, just you," was Ruby's answer. Qrow then walked over to the window and closed the blinds, slightly darkening the living room.
"Ruby, I know this sounds strange, but I need you to keep that ring hidden away," the Old Crow told Ruby before walking toward his weapon, which was leaning by the front door. Ruby, however, was completely confused by her uncle's surprisingly cryptic words.
"Wait, what do you mean, and where are you going?" the Crimson Reaper asked.
"Something's come up, and I need to look into it," Qrow replied.
"Where? I don't understand what's going on," Ruby said. Qrow stopped just as he was about grab the doorknob.
"I don't know what's going on either, Ruby, but I need you to promise me that you'll keep that ring out of sight," Qrow instructed as he saw the confusion and slight fear in his niece's eyes, "Your mother kept it hidden for a reason, kiddo. Until I know more, you need to do the same, okay?" Ruby blinked twice before nodding her head.
"Okay, I'll do it," she said, "Good luck." Qrow smirked.
"You too, kid," he replied, "Remember, keep it perfectly hidden." With that, Qrow stepped out the door and brought out his scroll. Opening his list of contacts, he ran through the numbers until he found who he was looking for.
"Glynda, it's Qrow," he said, "I need you to book a ticket for the next airship heading to Atlas."
"Qrow, why do you need…?" Glynda started to say before Qrow cut her off.
"Don't ask why, just do it!" he snapped, "It's important." Glynda seemed to sense the urgency in his voice, because her voice sounded shakier than it was a few seconds ago.
"Alright, just be careful," the psychic Huntress said. With that, Qrow ended the call and saw that an itinerary had been sent to his scroll. With that, Qrow hopped onto his motorcycle and sped off to Patch's airport.
Ironwood adjusted his tie as he leaned back slightly in his chair. Ever since the attack on Minas Ithil, he had been writing condolence letters to the families of the soldiers who lost their lives in the attack. He had just finished writing another letter to add to the countless numbers when he suddenly heard the door to his office slam open. Looking up, the general of Atlas saw Qrow Branwen himself marching right toward him, with an unusually focused look on his face.
"What do you want, Qrow?" Ironwood asked, "I'm busy enough as it is, and I can't afford any distractions right now." What came next caught him by surprise.
"I need access to your archives," Qrow replied in a rather demanding tone, "Old stuff, from the Great War to now." James raised an eyebrow at the Huntsman's request.
"That area is restricted, Qrow," the general said.
"I know it's restricted, James!" Qrow snapped, "That's why I'm asking you personally!" Ironwood looked into Qrow's eyes and saw something that he never saw before: anxiety.
"Qrow, what's going on?" Ironwood asked. Qrow took a deep breath before responding.
"I don't know," he said, "I think I could find out in your archives, but I won't if you keep me out. You know that I wouldn't be here asking you of all people if it wasn't important." Ironwood rested his chin on his hands as he looked at his desk, a contemplative look etched on his face. After a moment of thought, Ironwood looked back up at Qrow.
"I'll give you the access you need, but on one condition," the general said, "I want you to explain everything you learn to me once you've finished."
"Deal," Qrow replied, "I'm also going to need a translator. My Old Atlesian isn't as sharp as it used to be."
"I'm sure Winter can find someone who can help with that," Ironwood said.
"Just tell her to send whoever she chooses to meet me directly in the archives," Qrow added, "I'll see if I can find anything on my own in the meantime." Ironwood nodded.
"If that's all, I need to get back to work," Ironwood said, "The condolence letters aren't going to write themselves."
"Thanks again, James," Qrow said before turning around and walking out of the office.
Qrow took a sip of his whiskey and looked down at the files he was reading. It had been several hours and the most he could translate were just old accounts of various Sky Knights. As he put his flask down, Qrow heard the door opening. Looking over his shoulder, the Huntsman saw a surprisingly familiar face standing in the entrance.
"Weiss Schnee," he said, "When Ironwood said Winter would help find someone trustworthy, I should've guessed it would be you." Weiss suppressed a scoff as she walked over to him.
"You wanted someone who could translate Old Atlesian and was completely trustworthy, so here I am," the Heiress stated matter-of-factly as she took a seat next to him. Qrow handed her a small stack of files.
"Start with these," he instructed.
"What are we even looking for?" Weiss asked as she peeked into one of the files.
"Isildur's Bane, along with any information we have on it," Qrow answered. Weiss felt her stomach turn to lead. Her mother had told her the story of Isildur's Bane many times when she was a little girl, but she didn't think it was actually real.
"Why are we looking up an old myth?" she asked.
"I'll let you know when you tell me the details about it," Qrow said. With that, the two set to work, Weiss reading the files aloud and translating them while Qrow wrote them in a notepad that he purchased before heading to the archives. After several hours of research, it felt like the two were hitting a dead end, when Weiss suddenly found something.
"I think I found it," she said before opening the file and beginning to read, "The following describes the account of Isildur Numenor, Star Knight of Mantle, and the finding of the Ring of Darkness. 'The ring of Salem has come to me, and I will make it an heirloom of my Kingdom. No one in my bloodline will ever harm the Ring, for it is precious to me, though it comes at the cost of great pain.'" Suddenly Weiss' scroll began to vibrate. Looking at the screen, the heiress saw that there was a specific time on the clock, and then something clicked inside of her head.
"Oh crap! The concert is about to start, and I'm a part of it!" she panicked. Qrow put his pen down and stretched his arms.
"Go on," he said, "I can wait until you get back." Weiss shot up from her chair and practically sprinted to the door.
"Thanks. I'll try not to be too long!" she called on her way out. Once she was gone, Qrow opened his flask and took a long sip as he began thinking over everything they had learned.
Jaune and Pyrrha were in the 'Commander's quarters' of Jaune's shuttle. While Jaune was putting on his jacket, Pyrrha had already finished putting on her dress.
Her dress a solid red with gold markings along the edges and a bit of a gold sparkle down skirt's length. She had her usual tiara headpiece on, and had her hair in her usual ponytail.
She looked over to Jaune and see that he was having a hard time with his bowtie. "Having a little trouble there?" She asked as she walked over to him.
Jaune fidgeted and then gave up, "I hate these things!" Without asking for it, Pyrrha helped him tie it.
Jaune looked down at Pyrrha and smiled, "When did you learn to tie a bow?"
"There were times my mother would help my father with them whenever they would go to black tie events. She taught me as a precaution, saying 'it's best to know incase they don't'." She finished tying the bow and then kissed him on the cheek.
Jaune smiled at her kiss and then hugged her lightly, not wanting to endure her wrath by making wrinkles in her dress. Once he let go, he walked over and picked up his side arm, "You think they'll mind if I take this too?"
Pyrrha looked and gave him a slight nod to the side, "I doubt they'd hassle you over a side arm. Half the people who are coming are military."
Jaune smiled at her and then placed the pistol in the holster under the jacket. He then looked at his date and smiled, "We should do this more often…"
Pyrrha smirked; she then walked up to him and pulled him down to whisper in his ear, "Save it for later." She then kissed him on the cheek again and then walked toward the door.
Jaune smirked back and followed. Once they exited the room, they walked over to the exit ramp of the shuttle. The pilot and copilot of the shuttle stood at attention on the ramp, "Enjoy the concert, Commander."
"I will, you two can have the night off, have fun." Jaune said with a smile.
The copilot smiled, "Will do, thank you, sir."
As Jaune and Pyrrha walked off the ramp, Pyrrha put her arm under Jaune's right arm. She smiled at him as they walked away from the ship. "You're being very generous."
"It only seamed right. I can't be the only one having fun tonight… speaking of which." Jaune said with slight surprise.
Pyrrha looked to see what he was talking about and was surprised to find a man in a tuxedo holding a sign that said "Arc + Nikos", standing in front of a black limo outside the airfield. Jaune knew immediately whom it belonged to when he saw the Schnee symbol on the door.
Jaune waved off the driver and let him know they were coming. As they walked up to the driver he opened the door for them both, "Mr. Arc, Ms. Nikos, welcome to Atlas. Miss Schnee thanks you for coming. She would have come herself, but unfortunately she had been called away before the concert. She wanted me to inform you that she will meet you there after the concert and take you to the Atlas Fundraiser."
"On to the concert then." Jaune said with a smile. Pyrrha sat in the limo first, and then Jaune climbed in.
"Right away, sir." The driver said as he closed the door behind him.
Jaune and Pyrrha sat at one of the high-rises to the left of the stage. Once everyone was seated and the band below tuned their instruments, the curtain dropped and the lights went dim.
A single spot light shined at the curtain, then it went up to reveal Weiss in a dress.
Weiss then began to sing with all her heart and passion. Jaune had heard her songs before, but this was the first time he saw it live. He could feel a bit of that joy he used to get when he'd listen to Weiss sing. It reminded him of how things used to be.
Even some of the early academy years came to mind, their first fight with a Death Stalker and Nevermore, meeting all the members of RWBY and his own team and taking his first stand against someone who stood over him. These days he and Cardin are friends, but his stand against Cardin always stood out as the first time he put his team before himself.
Pyrrha remembered the time when Jaune mentioned her singing. She could see the happiness in his eyes. Little by little, she could see him improving and getting better. Often people wondered why SHE wasn't a nervous wreck or had PTSD, but every time she was asked, she had no answer. To the best of her knowledge, every time she tries to think of a reason why, Jaune would come to mind.
As the song came close to a close, Weiss ended it out on a high note.
"I am not your pet,
Not another thing you own.
I was not born guilty of your crimes,
Your riches and your influence can't hold me anymore.
I won't be possessed,
Burdened by your royal test.
I will not surrender, this life is mine."
And with the last lyric sang and the last of the music resonating throughout the theater, the audience applauded. Jaune couldn't help but stand and applaud his friend for a good song.
Pyrrha did the same, she then tapped Jaune's shoulder, "You were right, her songs are amazing!" she had to yell over the applause in order for him to hear her. He smiled back at her in agreement.
(About an hour later)
Weiss brought Jaune and Pyrrha to Schnee manor, where the fundraiser was being held. Walking in, Jaune admired the sight of all the paintings.
Jaune looked around and saw all the people, the wealthy and the highest ranked of Atlas, all in one room together. Jaune had never felt more like an outsider than ever, at least Pyrrha was there to help share that felling.
"Guys, come see this one, it was made yesterday." Weiss said as she led the two to a large mural that detailed Beacon Academy during the battle.
Jaune looked at the plaque in front, it said "The Battle of the Five Armies".
"The guy who made it said it was a way of honoring the soldiers who fought there and of the unity between Vale and Atlas that day." Weiss said with slight joy in her voice.
"He certainly did a good job, don't you agree, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, she looked to him and saw that he was staring at it.
To Jaune, he was looking at that mural as if he was there right now: the clashes of metal blades and armor, explosions of gunfire, and the screams of the soldiers fighting for their lives. He was then shook back to reality and looked down to Pyrrha, "Huh, what?"
"I said the painting is a good way to honor the soldiers that day, right?" Pyrrha tried to help.
Jaune nodded, "Yes, it is a good way to honor them."
"You know Jaune, I appreciate you saying yes to coming to this." Weiss said with a smile.
"Well, I always liked your music, thanks for giving me a chance to see it live." Jaune smiled at her.
Before Weiss could say anything else, her father walked up to the trio. "Enjoying yourself, Commander?"
Jaune looked to him with a slight smile, "Yes. I enjoyed Weiss' concert thoroughly."
Jacque smiled, as best he can with that bushy mustache. "I'm glad to hear it. I wanted your visit to be spectacular. So, how do you like the Fundraiser?"
Jaune looked around, "So far I like it, and seeing as how all these paintings look, I'm sure there's one for somebody here. And I also appreciate that you would be donating the money for this to Vale's reconstruction."
"Anything to help our allies." Jacque said with a prideful smile. "You know Commander, I would be willing to help with the rebuilding of the Sky Knights, providing a good deal on Dust prices."
Jaune felt a bit peeved that this was brought up again, "Apologies, Mr. Schnee, but I was under the impression that I, and my girlfriend, were invited here to have fun. Not to talk about work." Jaune gave him a look that indicated that he was done talking about this.
"Of course…" Jacque said with a bit of a chill run down his spine, "We can speak about it another time."
"Much appreciated." Jaune said with a more relaxed face.
Jacque then walked away with a bit of fear in his step. He even ran into one of the people carrying food and made him drop his tray.
Weiss, Pyrrha and Jaune all snickered at the accident. Weiss then looked to Jaune, "How did you do that? I've never seen him get scared away like that."
"A little something my sister taught me when it came to pushy business men who didn't get the idea. Never thought I'd need it." Jaune said with a smirk.
The next person to come up to them appeared to look exactly like Weiss and her father. He was a young boy; he looked to be round about the same age as Ruby. Jaune remembered Weiss mentioning him before.
"Whitley right? You're Weiss' little brother." Jaune asked with a smile.
Whitley stood with a straight posture and held out his hand to Jaune, "Whitley Schnee." He and Jaune shook hands, "A pleasure to meet the 'Hero of Vale' in person."
Jaune smiled at the name, "'Hero of Vale'… That's a new one. Normally it's just Star Knight."
"Well, without your timely intervention, Vale would've been destroyed and Atlas severely weakened." Whitley then pointed to the mural as he finished, "You unknowingly saved both kingdoms in the battle."
Jaune looked to at the part of the painting that showed the rest of 'The Company', and then looked to Whitley, "Indeed, but I shouldn't have all the credit."
Whitley nodded, "Of course. My dear sister deserves her share of the take as well."
"And Pyrrha." Weiss said, "Without her, we never would have been able to take the Spire."
Whitley looked to Pyrrha with a rather disappointed look on his face. "If what I heard about the battle was true, she was being held hostage throughout most of it."
Jaune started to feel a bit agitated, "But she still helped in the end." Pyrrha rested her hand on Jaune's shoulder, "Jaune, it's ok."
Whitley wasn't dumb; he knew when he was no longer welcome, "Well, in any case, it was a honor to meet you. Now if you will excuse me, Father needs to speak with me about something." Whitley then walked towards his father in the crowd.
Pyrrha looked to Jaune, "Are you ok?"
Jaune nodded his response. Weiss walked up to them both, "I'm sorry about my brother. He's always been a jerk."
As the voices of the crowd began to grow, could hear them talk about business, problems that so trivial that shouldn't be brought up at all. Then when he heard a voice say his name, and then heard what followed.
"I mean, just look at him. He's a lost cause," A woman said.
"He's a Star Knight. He saved our troops at Beacon," Another person said to the woman.
"And he's the one who started the fight between us and Vale in the first place…" The woman spat.
Both Pyrrha and Weiss turned to the woman who was speaking. She was speaking to other rich people and high-ranking officials. Pyrrha had seen her kind before; she normally called them "trophy wives".
"…Over something so juvenile as 'young love'." She continued. "And the fact of the matter, he got hundreds of our soldiers killed. If you ask me, he never should have lived after that battle, let alone get knighted as a reward."
"SHUT UP!" Weiss and Pyrrha practically shouted in unison.
The chatter in the room died in an instant. "You have no idea what he had been through, what we ALL went through!" Pyrrha said with pure rage in her voice.
"Excuse me?!" the woman asked in an arrogant tone.
"You're all just standing around talking about nothing! All you can think about is your hair, your money, your stupid problems that have nothing to do with the rest of the world!" Weiss shouted. Her anger about this was more than just about her disrespecting Jaune, she was fed up with all the crap rich people couldn't keep their mouths shut about.
Weiss' father walked up to her and grabbed her arm. "Weiss, that's enough."
"Let go of me!" Weiss said as she jerked her arm in an attempt to get him to let go.
"You're embarrassing the family." Jacque said with a hiss.
"I said LET GO!" She pulled again and got out of his grasp, then tripped on her dress and fell over.
Pyrrha tried to catch her but missed, and when Weiss' hands hit the floor, a glyph appeared on the ground. Her summoning glyph appeared in front of them. Jaune turned around to see a pure white Boarbatusk standing in front of him. The beast had its eyes set on the woman and charged at her.
The woman screamed in terror as the beast leaped up at her. Before it landed, it was then flung above her by a bullet and landed on the opposite side of the room. Everyone then looked to see where the bullet came from and found the Star Knight in the room with his gun drawn and smoke coming out of the barrel.
The woman then looked to the soldiers around her and pointed at Jaune, "ARREST HIM! HE ALMOST KILLED ME! THEY BOTH DID!"
Jaune holstered his pistol and helped Weiss stand up.
The woman looked around to see that none of the officers or soldiers even made a move. "Why are you just standing around?! He's insane! They both are!"
"He just saved your life. Be thankful that you aren't under arrest for showing your mouth off." The trio turned to see that Winter was there, in a dress similar to Weiss'.
Jaune looked to her and nodded a 'thank you'. Winter did the same.
Pyrrha may have been surprised that Weiss could create a boar, but she wasn't that surprised that Jaune could shoot that well. Once Weiss was standing, Jaune took both her hands and looked her in the eye. "I appreciate you inviting us, I really enjoyed the concert."
Weiss nodded with a sad smile. She then gave him a hug, "I'm sorry this happened."
Once they broke the hug, Jaune looked to Jacque, "Mr. Schnee, we will have to speak about our business transaction another time."
Jaune didn't even wait for a response and simply looked to Pyrrha and held out her hand, once she took it he whispered, "Lets go."
Pyrrha nodded and took his hand. They then proceeded to walk towards the exit and were met by two guards at the door. The guards stood aside and held their rifles at attention, in respect to them both. They either had a friend or family member in the Battle or were there themselves. After they passed the soldiers, they exited the building without another word.
Jaune and Pyrrha reached the ship and walked inside. The pilots were already inside waiting for them. Once onboard, Jaune ordered them to take off and fly back to Vale.
After the plane took off, they flew on a steady cruising course straight to Vale's boarders. Jaune sat at his desk, his head being held by his arms as his elbows were on the desk. Pyrrha walked towards him, she picked up his tux jacket off the floor and folded it in her hands. "Jaune, do you… want to talk about it?"
She got no response from him; he remained quiet. She hadn't seen him like this in a long while, not since before she decided to move in with him.
"What is there to say?" Jaune asks.
Pyrrha walked over to him and rested her hand on his left shoulder, "Whatever would help."
She could see his hands tense up as he gripped his own hair and then sit up, "Ok… She was right. I have no right to be a Star Knight."
Pyrrha then gave Jaune a hard look, "Jaune."
Jaune would give her one right back, "I almost started a war between Vale and Atlas, Pyrrha! That's not something a Star Knight does. It goes against everything they are meant for." He then stood up form his chair and tried to walk away.
She stopped him by grabbing his shoulder again, "That wasn't YOU! That was the stone! And you destroyed it." She then walked around him to look him in the eye, "You went into that fight and turned it on it's head. You saved those soldiers, and those townspeople from slaughter. You are a good man." She said as she placed a hand on his cheek.
Jaune put his hand over hers, "You wouldn't say that if you knew how far I fell, even without the stone." He tried to turn his head away.
Pyrrha used the hand that was on his cheek to pull him back, "Then tell me… I know there's something that's been eating at you for a long while now… I've been patient… I've waited until you decided to tell me… but you need to say I now or you never will."
Jaune opened his eyes and nodded to her, "Ok…" Jaune then walked to the bed and sat down at the edge. Pyrrha remained where she was standing; she placed his jacket on the table next to her and stood patiently until he started.
"It was about… I think maybe 4 to 5 months after you were reported dead…" She could see him tense up at the mention of her supposed 'death'. Jaune continued, "I had already started the training with Carol at that point. By that time I was getting stronger… but I wasn't getting any better…"
"At what?" Pyrrha asked.
"Anything…" Jaune said bluntly, "My swordsmanship didn't improve, my stamina wasn't any better… and my Star Knight abilities weren't anywhere close to be properly controlled." Jaune then looked to the window, "It was like that for more than 2 months… I felt that I failing… And then I started thinking, 'I don't belong here,' 'I'm not meant for stuff like this,' and 'I don't deserve these powers.'" Jaune looked back to her, "Then came a day when I thought, 'It doesn't have to be ME.' My great grandmother was a Star Knight, so could Carol… but that would only work if there were no male members left in the family…"
Pyrrha could see where he was leading on with this, "So this is what she meant…"
(Pyrrha's Flashback)
Pyrrha's aura clone looked to her, "There came a day when he thought about taking his own life…"
(End of flashback)
Pyrrha remained silent; she couldn't interrupt him. If she did, it wouldn't help.
Jaune took her silence as her way of saying she understood, so he continued. "After that… I wrote a note, explaining to her that it wasn't her fault and that she was a better option than me."
He then pulled out his pistol from the holster that laid flat on the bed. "I walked out to the firing range, I didn't talk to anybody, I didn't look at anyone… I just looked at that range and walked straight… When I got there, there was already a gun waiting." Jaune then held up his pistol, "It was this one… and RIGHT when my hand touched that grip… I heard her, for the first time."
(Jaune's Flashback)
His hand touched the grip, and he heard a familiar voice to his right. "I think it's about time you broadened you arsenal."
Jaune turned to find his partner standing there. Wearing the exact same armor she always wore in combat. And in that instant, all the fear, sadness and guilt he felt moments ago vanished.
(End of flashback)
"Even then I knew it wasn't you… But… seeing your face again, was enough…" Jaune said with a bit of sadness choking at his throat. "Strangely enough, it was that same day I learned I was a great marksman with this pistol. I hit every target dead center on that range."
"And now you use it… Why did you keep it? And repair it?" Pyrrha asked.
"To remind me of my deepest shame… that I almost took the easy way out…" Jaune said with anger.
"I don't think it was your deepest shame… I think that was one of your best moments… You DIDN'T follow through with it, Jaune. You could have still done it when she appeared, but you didn't." She started to speak more aggressively, "The fact that you're here now proves that I'm right!"
She then walked up to him and took his head in her arms and rested it against her chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist. She could feel tears dripping through her dress, "We both went through our own form of hell in that time, and we came back stronger…"
Jaune pulled his head out of her grasp; he looked up at her with a bit of confusion. "How do you do it? How do you hide your pain?" Pyrrha gave a sad look as he continued, "I know that you're as scarred as I am from… that 'hell'…"
Pyrrha sat down next to him, resting her hand on his lap, "To be honest… I've had years of practice on hiding it…"
Jaune looked at her with a bit of confusion, "How?"
"Well… ever since I went to Signal Academy, and became known as the 'Invincible Girl', everyone started looking at me with inspiration." Pyrrha looked away, thinking back her early days of her school carrier. " 'To be a Nikos is to be strong, fast and fearless.' That's what my father used to say. So that meant I would have to put on a brave face whenever people looked at me. It became so often that I would have to hide my true fear or worry that it became natural."
"Are you doing it now?" Jaune asked.
Pyrrha turned to him, smirked a bit when she saw him smile. She then 'love-tapped' his shoulder, "No… I don't have to do it with you…"
Jaune's smile vanished as he looked to her, "So… you are scared from all of it…"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Pyrrha said with a bit of a contempt face. "They tried to torture me. Repeatedly. With blades, needles, they even made Emerald try to mess with my head."
"Tried?" Jaune asked with a bit of confusion. He never asked her what her experience was like when she was held prisoner at the Spire, thinking that she wouldn't want to talk about it.
"Well… Remember that kiss we had, back at the tower?" Pyrrha asked.
Jaune could never forget that night… it was the night his whole world turned upside down, in more than one-way.
"Well… we exchanged aura in some way… maybe has something to do with your Star Knight aura. And while mine that was in you created my 'clone'… yours kept me safe from being tortured." Pyrrha said with a bit of a smile. "They cut, it healed. They injected drugs, nothing happened."
"What happened when Emerald tried to mess with your head?" Jaune was a bit surprised to hear that his aura was so resilient.
"You gave her a headache." She chuckled a bit, and he did the same. She then put both her hands on his right hand, "My point is, you saved me, in more ways than one, Jaune… Just as much as I, and my clone, did. And while I missed two years of my life, you helped me get it back for the past two years…"
Jaune then hugged her, he felt a bit more relaxed than earlier. "And I'd do it again, if it meant you stay with me."
Pyrrha couldn't help but smile as she held him tight. They held on for about two minutes until she let go and stood up from the bed. She then leaned in and kissed his forehead, she then said, "I'm going to take a shower."
He nodded in understanding; she'll need on after he almost soaked her with his tears. She walked away and stopped right at the door, she quickly turned around and gave him a seductive smile and said, "And you're going to join me."
Jaune smiled back, "Well, it is later, after all…"
About two hours into the night, Jaune and Pyrrha were sleeping in the bed together. Jaune was on the right side, while Pyrrha was on the left.
Pyrrha's eyes began to tighten, she started to hear the echos of gunfire, metal crashing, and people screaming.
In her dream she was back at the Spire, being forced to watch the battle as it played out. Hundreds of Atlas and Vale soldiers fighting for their lives. The City of Vale on fire with thousands of people screaming and fighting.
Tears began to wellup in her eyes, she started to shift hard in her sleep.
In her shifting, she kicked Jaune in the shin. The sudden kick and quick pain woke him up. He sat up and looked to find Pyrrha moving around sharply. He moved over to take her arm.
In her dream she tried to look away, but that black armored mercinary, Locus, forced her to look. She started to cry and scream at the chaos before her. She was then suddenly snapped out of that harsh dream and found herself looking up at two blue eyes.
Jaune managed to wake her up by lifting her up and shaking her shoulders. Once her eyes opened he knew that it was over. She began to cry as she wraped her arms around him, as best she could in that position, and hold him tight.
This wasn't the first time she had a nightmare, but this was the first time it was so intense. Jaune held her close as he felt her cry into his shirt. All he could do was hold her, just as she did for him not long ago… and for her, it was enough
The next morning came fast for Qrow. He spent the hours trying to read some of the writing. Although he couldn't read the words properly, he was able to find a drawing of the Ring and see the similarities to the one he saw on Ruby.
But he did remember reading old articles that told of a time when some fame-grabbers who tied to sell false rings. There were dozens of them; most were destroyed while others were lost to the public eye.
If what Ruby had was real, Qrow had to be sure.
Qrow looked up to find Weiss coming down the spiral stairs of the archives. "Hey, how was the concert?"
She looked at him as she was going down the stairs, "It was good… but what came after was a disaster…"
She reached the bottom of the stares and walked up to the table Qrow was sitting at. She found it odd that he was drinking coffee. For as long as she's known him, he never drank coffee.
"What happened?" Qrow asked after taking a sip.
"I don't want to talk about it… Did you find anything since last night?" Weiss asked as she looked over his notes.
"No… Still can't make heads or tails of this writing. I saved the spot you were in last night, could you finish the scripture?" Qrow asked as he handed her the book with the bookmark.
Weiss opened the book and opened it at the bookmark. There she trailed her finger down the writing until she found where she left off. "Lets see… ah, here we are, '…for it is precious to me, though it comes at the cost of great pain. Not long after I took it, the markings started to fade away, taking their secret with them. A secret that only accessible through flames.' What does that even mean?"
Qrow stood up, "It means that they can only be revealed if flames touch the ring." Qrow then finished the coffee in his much and then picked up his weapon off the table behind him. "Thanks Weiss, I have what I need."
"Wait, whoa! That's it?" Weiss tried to make sense of what was going on, "What was the point of this? Are you telling me you found something like this?"
Qrow stopped right before he reached the stares, he then turned back to Weiss, "To be honest, I am not sure… For now, keep all this to yourself, don't even tell your sister. Ok?"
She could see the fear and desperation in his eyes as he asked her, she agreed by nodding to him. Qrow then ran as fast as he could up the stairs.
Qrow walked into Ironwood's office, the General was in the middle of a meeting with Faramir and Winter Schnee.
"Guys. Winter if you don't mind I need to speak to the generals alone." Qrow said with an out of breath voice.
"Whatever you have to say to us, you can say to the Colonel." Faramir said with pride.
Qrow rolled his eyes, "Alright… I think I found Salem's Ring."
Silence took the room. Ironwood, Faramir, even Winter were dead silent. Faramir was the first to speak, "How do you know it's real?"
"I don't... but I have a feeling I know where it is." Qrow said as he took out his flask and started drinking.
"Where is it?" Winter asked.
"I can't tell you." Qrow said as he put his flask away.
"What? WHY?!" Winter asked with an agitated voice. It came no surprise Qrow would talk to her like this, but this was important.
"Because the moment it gets out to even the military, then SHE will know." Qrow said with a bit of anger in his voice. "Just be glad I told you at all…"
Ironwood and Faramir saw the logic in his plan; as much as they hated it, he was right.
Qrow turned around and walked away, "Where are you going?" Ironwood asked.
"There's someone else who knows where it is… Hopefully I'll find him before she does." Qrow says as he exits the room.
Once the door closed, Ironwood turned on his scroll and made a call. "This is General Ironwood. Qrow Branwen needs an immediate flight to Vale; he will be at the airfield soon. Thank you."
Faramir turned to Ironwood, "Now it makes sense… The only reason she would make a move now, is because she feels it's out there again."
"What do we do?" Winter asked.
"Prepare for war…" Ironwood said with a very serious voice.
A few days had passed since Qrow arrived in Vale. He was thankful that Ironwood was nice enough to let him use one of his planes.
Qrow had been searching up and down the mountain region, looking for Gollum's cave. Summer had told him a long time ago, where she found him. He was the last known being to have the Ring, and if Summer took it from him, then he might know where she came from.
Qrow then found a cave leading into the roots of the mountain. He looked down to find blood on the ground. Qrow ran inside to find a dark cave full of fish skeletons and pools of water.
He looked around to find scratch marks along the walls, and several stalagmites cut in half or broken. Then he found some pools of purple liquid. He put his finger in one and sniffed it. "Poison…"
Whoever did this was fast and had some kind of poisonous weapon.
Qrow then ran back outside and followed the rail of blood that led him inside earlier. The trail led to a dirt path with tier marks. Whoever did this did it days ago, and was long gone by now.
Qrow's scroll began vibrating. He pulled it out to see that the number was blocked. "Hello?"
His eyes widened when the caller answered, "Oh, hi! Jimmy sent you what I found, eh?"
He started to walk back and forth, "Yes, I understand. And I know where it is. But Gollum was taken. How bad? My god… Then they know it's there… Well I'm not entirely sure it's the Ring… but if it is, I'll get it to Rivendell. Ok, I will. Oum be with us all, my lady."
Qrow closed the scroll; he turned west and ran as fast as he could. He then quickly turned into a crow and flew as fast as his wings could carry him. As he flapped his wings, he prayed to high heaven that he was wrong.
Meanwhile, in the land of Morodor, the dark tower of Barad Dur was echoing with the screams of a creature.
"AAAGH! AAAAH!" the screams were almost blood curtling, "PATCH! AAAAH! ROSE!"
Right then, the newely rebuilt and refurbished fortress of Minas Morgul opened it's gates, and three horseback riders road out. The three maidens, wearing cloak of their own colors rode out to the south. Jadis had eyes of pure malevolence as she rode ahead of the others.
Ruby and Yang had the house to themselves for the week. Taiyang was so busy with work at the Combat school that they needed him till the end of the week.
Yang had the fire going and prepared some marshmallows. She and Ruby were getting things together to make s'mores for dessert.
"Fire's almost done… where's the chocolate, Ruby? Ruby?" Yang turned around to see ruby eating the chocolate out of the wrapper. "RUBY! Come on!"
"Hey, it's your fault that you gave me this task." She says as she continues to eat the chocolate.
Yang got up and started fighting with Ruby over the chocolates. "Give them to me!"
"NO!" Ruby started to sound like a child that didn't want to let go of her favorite toy.
They kept fighting until they heard a knock at the door. Given the chance, Yang snatched the chocolates out of Ruby's hand and pushed her away, "I'll get us started, go see who's at the door."
Ruby walked away after sticking her tong out at Yang. Once she reached the door she found Qrow standing there, hands on his knees, he was panting hard. "Ruby… The Ring… where is it?"
Ruby led Qrow in and sat him down at the couch. To yang's surprise she helped him sit. "Qrow, what's going on?"
"Ruby. The ring. Now."
Ruby nodded and walked away. Yang looked to Qrow with confusion, "What ring? What's going on?"
"We're about to find out." Qrow said as Ruby walked in with the ring in her hand. "Throw it in the fireplace."
Ruby looked at him funny, "Uncle Qrow, how much whiskey have you had lately?"
"Just do it." He said as he pointed to the fireplace.
She did as she was told and dropped the ring into the fireplace. Qrow then stood up from the couch and grabbed a set of metal tongs. He picked the ring up out of the fire, "Open your hand Ruby."
"Are you crazy?" Yang asked with shock.
"It's ok, it's cool." He said as he held it over Ruby's hand.
"Let me hold it." Yang suggested as she put her hand over Ruby's, but Qrow quickly moved the tongs away from Yang's hand.
"NO! It has to be Ruby!" Qrow sounded scared, and if he was scared, they should be too.
Ruby put her hand over Yang's and opened it. Qrow dropped the ring on her palm and backed away. Qrow was right; the ring didn't burn at all. It was a bit warm, but it didn't hurt.
"Look into it, do you see anything?" Qrow asked as he turned away.
Yang walked over to look at the ring with Ruby, "I don't see anything."
"Me neither." Ruby said.
Qrow then let out a sigh of relief. "Wait."
"There are markings showing up on the ring…" Ruby said with a bit of confusion in her voice.
"I've never seen letters like those before… They almost look like old Faunus writing." Yang said. Ruby looked at her with a bit of confusion, "Blake and Grun showed me some old Faunus books the last time I was in Menagerie." Yang looked back down at the ring, "But like I said, I've never seen this kind of stuff before, I can't read it…"
"There are few who can… and fewer who can even speak the words." Qrow said with a very serious voice. He then turned around to face Ruby and Yang, "The language is that of Mordor… and I won't say it here."
"Mordor?" Yang asked, "The land of ash and fire?"
Qrow nodded. Ruby looked at it more, "What does it say?"
"In the common tongue it reads: 'One Ring to conquer all, One Ring to shroud all, and in the darkness rule all'."
AN: And THIS is where I end the chapter, out of one cliffhanger and into another.
Sorry you guys, but it had to be done.
Now you guys know more about how bad things got for Jaune when he thought Pyrrha was gone, and why she is not so broken after all she went through.
And with the ring discovered, the Nazgul are now on the hunt.
(Update: I'm sorry guys, due to College finals coming up, I haven't even started on the next chapter. I will as soon as I can, I promise.)
Wish me luck on the next chapter.
And as always, ARKOS!