"So that's how it is." Roman kicked a little chunk of debris across the splintered pavement. "Sheesh. Kid's either in Cindy's paws, or dead in the subway."
Had it been the latter, Cinder would have certainly badgered them, and they both knew it - accentuated by Roman's crusty half-smirk. But according to him, Cinder was more interested in laying low for a while. Neo pondered the thought of trying to find Jay, ask about him, or any other matter of seeking info on what they should do next. If Cinder caught them, though, there might be a bit of trouble.
"You think Blanco might know a thing or two? He has to have some grasp on Jay, right?"
Neo shook her head, shooting down any hope before it spread. Blanco and Beige had been running through deals in a few of Raspberry's business locations around Vale - if anything he said could be considered accurate. Shockingly though, said woman hadn't known the full extent of it, only aware of a select few. Nearly all of his chat with Tulip centered around the extent of setting up their deals, purchasing stock, and dismantling the sellers through various "accidents" and "breakouts."
Neo dipped out when Josh showed up, mostly because they called it quits to give him the rundown. She'd check in with them later, see if they'd come across a solid lead over what exactly Jay had been up to during his little anarchist spat.
"Yeah, point taken. I doubt he even knows who Cinder is, and if the kid's in her hands, he won't be getting out soon." Roman rolled through a short routine of smaller stretches, releasing deeper breaths after each. "By now, she's probably tortured his quirk out of him."
That had to be a given. Being able to disable dust... Neo could picture all the different uses someone like Cinder might find for that. But on the flipside, that drew most of her attention off of them. The best course of action for now would be to take the offered break, give Vale some time to rest and recuperate, and see how Cinder responds.
Her coming choices would tell them how worried they should be.
.
.
"Hey..." Miltia pulled out a stool before sliding up beside her silent friend. "Would you like some company?"
Josh's reply came first in a worn little chuckle.
"Can't say I mind. I don't really need it, but I'm open for company."
Company who hadn't quite thought through anything specific to say. But nothing said could mitigate the situation regardless, and so she settled on simple reassurance.
"We'll find him, I promise. He's too interesting to... a lot of people, apparently." She'd never seen anyone rack up so much estranged attention; well, besides maybe Team RWBY themselves, but they were huntresses in training with a knack for trouble. "Either the White Fang have him, or he's run off on his own. We'll strangle a few of them soon; that usually does the trick."
"It's okay." Josh rolled his shoulders a bit, letting go of the counter to stretch and say, "I'm not all that worried for his safety. He's doing just fine, or, as fine as he can be."
It sounded like a bluff, but he seemed so sincere. And that look on his face: bland and a little angled, worried, but lacking that twitch and rattle. He believed in every word he just said. Melanie would call his optimism stupid, but his smooth voice carried weight.
The ice in his glass of water clinked as he pushed it to the side, playing with it.
"You really believe in him, don't you?" She'd seen a few like him, always willing to hold out no matter the circumstances.
"Yeah. I do. But... I just, I know he's okay; alive, at least. He..." Josh fumbled with some squeaky noises, seemingly locked on whether he wanted to keep going or not.
"You... don't need to justify it." Miltia could guess he knew a little something about his friend, but if it was riddled with enough holes to tongue-tie him, they were probably better off waiting for him to work it out.
In the small instance where he settled down, she tapped the bar twice with her index finger, calling over a small shot for herself.
"I don't need to know every detail. If you say he's good, then I'll believe it."
A lower grumble left his lips, directed more so at himself if she had to guess.
"It's not anything super mushy or sentimental. I'm just struggling to think of a way to put it where it makes any sort of sense." Soon enough his chin plopped into crossed arms. "And then, a part of me thinks you won't be able to believe it anyways."
"It wouldn't hurt to try." He side-eyed her, and she rolled her wrist for added effect to wave off his concerns. "I've heard more than my fair share of crazy things." A quick flick threw the shot down her throat. The glass clacked against the counter, somehow audible against the concerned citizens scattered all over the club and awaiting news updates. "Up until now, I didn't think it was possible for anyone's aura to deny activation. The thought never crossed my mind. Low and behold, you come by and prove me wrong." She gave him a playful smile; the kind that really ruffled Melanie's feathers, but seemed to excite Coco. "Going to be hard to top that."
"Are you sure?"
"Hit me."
He took a deep breath.
"I can time travel... a little bit."
A little bit.
At first she hummed, only to then take a second and really run through what he said. "Huh..." Choking out a tiny giggle, she forced out a sigh. "Can you run that by me again?"
Her fabricated composure appeared to relax him
"Every time he dies, I can jump back a few moments before it happened."
Jump back a few moments. He said that, a little somber like she'd expected, but not... It didn't sound like a lie. No, that itself was a lie. It came off like a total fib, a fabrication, but he said it in a manner both serious, and direct. He lacked the second-guessing and overly specific glue a liar would use. But one aspect lured out a stiffness within her stomach
Every time he dies: every time Jay dies.
"Every time?"
"Yeah." She barely noticed him rub the back of his head. "Whenever-"
"Are you saying he died once already?"
Being told by a close friend that he could time travel should have made her laugh. Such a ridiculous idea couldn't have been possible or it would have been used prominently. But if true, then an ordinary response would be to experience shock. The best Miltia could do was fall into stunned confusion, but being notified of Jay's death kicked some gears back in place. So the worry for their missing friend outclassed impossible circumstances temporarily. Idiotic sounding? Sure, but she could deal with picking up the smashed puzzle pieces of her brain when she'd processed the situation well enough to reasonably gawk like a fish.
Josh flinched.
"Yes..."
"You hesitated there. Why?"
His hand settled on her side, and only then did she realize the angle her seat took. Balancing on two legs, Miltia laid her arm flat on the bar and let the stool's other two fall back down. Ordinarily, she'd be a little upset at anyone touching her, but adding in their friendship and seeing as he'd presumably kept her from tipping over, she would let it slide.
"It wasn't just once."
That sucked the air from her lungs so hard it may as well have used a vacuum. The wrong face came to mind and blinked into Jay's less than a second later.
Swallowing dryly, Miltia made sure to get her breathing in order before she dared open her mouth again.
"How many times?"
A sharp hiss told her too much, and her reaction may have been worse off had her sister not stepped into view by leaning right beside him.
"Spill. What has a pipe bomb up your ass?"
"Josh is a time traveler." She probably shouldn't have blurted that out.
"Excuse me, what?"
"Jay died." That either.
"Excuse me, what?!"
.
.
Groaning into her hands, Ruby peered out their bedroom window. Just about every sip of energy she had while down in Vale ran dry the moment she got back on Beacon soil. Running around for the whole night drained nearly everything she had, which to be honest felt more like a day with so much chaos and activity; nothing like the country life, albeit that may have been a bit unfair with an invasion sweeping the streets.
For the following four hours, she never got a wink of sleep, and instead kept updated on her scroll until the battle came to a close. She'd been happy to learn the combination of student hunters, pros, Atlesian soldiers, and Vale's own police force had somehow scraped out a win. However it came across as a hollow victory, and images of tattered corners and streets robbed her of any genuine relief.
Too much too quickly left her exhausted, and she wasn't even there for the clean up.
With this in mind, Yang's sluggish trod in through the door accompanied by a weighty yawn didn't shock her one bit. Ruby watched her worn out sister meander over and flop squarely atop Blake's bed; face first in blankets that weren't hers. Blake paid no mind to her sister's drop zone, and simply strolled around to slide in under the covers while barely nudging Yang.
Without classes, they could sleep the day away. Ruby wished she could do that.
"How are you feeling?" Weiss's voice matched that of a choked up wheeze. The dark rings around her eyes lost their grip on her cheeks, creating hills of crusty sleep just waiting to pile up if her eyes could stay shut for more than a few minutes.
"Okay." Ruby wasn't sure her partner could stand being awake for more than a few minutes more. Seems Beacon's relaxed atmosphere injected itself into her team far worse. "You can go to bed. I'll be fine."
"I'll do that in a little while."
Morning's chill just barely creeped in; the heaters kicked back as much cold as they could, more or less warming the outside air instead. Against the windowsill, she let her head and arms flop out to catch some of the cold breeze which weaved between her fingers. It wouldn't numb them, but at least the frosty air kept her awake.
"We'll find him."
They already had.
"Yeah."
"Are you upset?"
Fingers clenched into fists. Nails bit into her palms. But through all of that, Ruby merely hummed.
"A little bit."
"A little bit?"
"A little bit."
Shuffled blankets drew closer, and Ruby wasn't sure how she'd react if Weiss touched her.
"You can yell if you need to; say anything you want to me, just to get it off your chest."
"What?" She slowly picked herself up from the ledge to spot Weiss with her back turned. Her partner stared at the door. Calm, somber... but too condensed; her arms wrapped around and pulled her legs in, making Weiss look smaller than even Ruby herself.
"We would have had him, but I was too concerned about you."
Concerned because Ruby herself never put up her aura; didn't use her semblance; didn't fight back; didn't do anything sensible. Instead of doing anything reasonable, anything a leader and huntress should do, she sat there stuck on Jay's eyes, on how they didn't look right. Everyone feared for her when they shouldn't have needed to. Of course they wanted to get her out: she didn't give them a choice.
"I'm not mad at you."
"You should be." Weiss's fingers clenched around her forearms, buckled and pale from the pressure applied by buckled fingertips. "Instead of just restraining him or knocking him out, I decided to scream at him like a child. I acted so idiotic and I couldn't… I… Why is he allowed to hurt you? Why does he get away with these revolting acts?"
"He wasn't-"
"In his right mind? Yes, I'm aware." Weiss cut her off - thankfully. That reaction had been automated in a way that had her head fried. Despite how weird it might sound to most, Ruby never felt right judging people for things they couldn't control. "I noticed as well; we all did, I believe. I understand he couldn't help it. It's awful how he appears to lose control of himself in the worst of moments, but I still hate it, okay!"
Weiss hated how she, their leader, could let him get away with his actions. Weiss hated how he wasn't to blame. But just as much, Weiss spoke of how she hated that Ruby sat at the center of it. Whispered shouts detailed how, despite not having control, Jay seemingly did next to nothing in terms of finding a way to control himself or mitigate the damage. Ruby would have pointed out how little they knew him, but Weiss conveyed that point too, stating how she loathed their lack of familiarity and understanding in a way that helps anybody.
Weiss confided in her those emotions, which hurt because Ruby couldn't find just cause to deny them, but worst of all, the closing statement slashed deep into her chest.
"He needs to take responsibility on his own, and he needs to realize we can't keep letting him get away with it, even if it isn't his fault. The attacks on Vale, on you, they can't be allowed to carry on."
The huffing and puffing subsided, and a harsh silence lingered for a while, until Weiss rolled over and pulled up the covers; not bothering to undress.
"Good night."
"Good night."
Ruby said nothing more, and just climbed up into bed. Her own covers, ordinarily warm, couldn't push away the bitter cold which took small bites at her skin; no matter how much her body sweated in rebellion.
Her partner had a point, and she wasn't wrong to be upset. She'd let Jay get off with so many questionable actions. He wasn't in his right mind, but that itself didn't make it okay to leave the problem of those cuts in his sanity unchecked. Whatever was going on, he surely knew about it, and with it consistently sprouting up in their lives, did that really mean he wasn't doing anything to counter it?
Ruby didn't know, but she also didn't think he was running away from it either.
He didn't like what he'd done, and it seemed he wasn't sure of when those moments would crop up either. But despite this, Ruby wouldn't back off. Not again. Jay needed their help, and even if it hurt her, put her in danger, she wanted to be that help. She'd do the same for anyone else, be it Josh, Miltia, Coco, or even Neo - maybe Roman, but being an infamous criminal he tended to do things on his own.
That being said, a new weight made it harder to let sleep take control, that being Weiss herself.
It's not your fault.
She couldn't say it now that Weiss was asleep, but she hoped to find ample time tomorrow to try and reassure her partner.
Author's note
...
Back again
Not happy with this one either, but it is what it is. We get a small segment with Roman and Neo - nothing substantial. Josh appears ready to finally open up about his odd skill. And RWBY are recovering from the battles in Vale.
Nothing else to add.
Until next time.