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Chapter Text

Ruby ran up the CCT, thanks to Weiss glyphs, where Pyrrha was fighting Cinder at the top. She couldn’t use her semblance as she needed to connect her feet with the glyph in order to keep moving, so she ran like her life depended on it, worried for her friend. Pyrrha may have been one of the strongest fighters she knew, but even she would have trouble if one of her opponents was a giant Grimm dragon.

Thankfully she managed to reach the top without interference. She looked at the destroyed room… just as Cinder shoots an arrow through Pyrrha’s chest.

Ruby couldn’t move due to shock, but luckily, Cinder didn’t notice her.

She slowly approached Pyrrha, and placed her hand on her head.

Ruby watched in horror as Pyrrha's entire body incinerated, turning to ash in a matter of seconds, scattering to the wind, the only thing left of her being her shield, sword and a few pieces of armor.

Suddenly, Ruby felt her head throb, before a searing pain surged in her eyes.

“PYRRHA!!!” She shouted as white energy flowed from her eyes. She heard Cinder and the dragon scream before everything went white.

Everything was ringing in the blank, white expanse. There was nothing, just… nothing.

But then there was something. A voice. 

“It’s alright, Ruby… I got ya.”

Uncle Qrow?

But then it was the ringing again. Then, finally, more sounds.

Radio static. A sigh. 

“Nothing.” 

Ruby’s dad – Taiyang.

“Turn it off – no point with the CCT out.” 

Uncle Qrow again.

The static stopped. 

“Communication is down across the entire kingdom… we can’t get word out.”

“Not alone there – no one else can either. Complete global communications blackout.”

Another sigh. “And Ozpin’s still missing. Have you found any sign of him?”

“Found his cane… nothin’ else yet. Look, Tai, with the state the tower is in, well… maybe he got out, but I don’t have high hopes.”

A pause. A long one. “This is bad, Qrow.”

“Yeah… this is bad.”

Suddenly, Ruby was staring at a ceiling, wearing gray pajamas. Birds are tweeting and sunlight is streaming onto the wall behind the bed's headboard. After a few seconds, she looks over to see her father asleep in a chair. She sits up and sighs quietly, causing Taiyang to stir awake.

“Ruby!” He yells as he gets up and runs to kneel by her bed. “You're awake!”

“Ugh... what happened?” She said, groaning in pain. Her head hurt. Taiyang was silent for a bit, only staring at her. "Dad?"

Taiyang seemed to snap out of his shock as he blinked.“Oh, your uncle Qrow found you, unconscious.” Taiyang explained. “He got you out of there, though, and brought you home safe.”

Ruby looks down in thought for a split second, then looks at Taiyang. “Wait! Yang! Is she alright!?” She asked in a panic.

“Relax. She’s in the guest room so she can have… privacy. Uh... She's uh... she's gonna be alright. I think she's just... I think it's just gonna take some time for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let this stop her.” He covers his eyes for a moment, sniffling, then looks up, smiling. “I'm just glad to have my girls back at home.”

She gasped. “What happened to the school?! And Vale?! Were they able to clear out the Grimm?” She asked.

“Things at Vale are under control, but the school... It's... it's not that simple. That thing, whatever it is, doesn't seem to be dead. Don't get me wrong, you did a number on it. But it's not disappearing. It's... kind of... frozen. I know that doesn't sound too bad, but it keeps attracting more Grimm to the school.” Taiyang explained, confusing her.

Ruby tilts her head. “I did... what?” She asked.

“Hmm?”

“You said I did a number on it. What do you mean?” She asked again.

“I…” Taiyang sighed. “Look, that's not important right now. We can talk about it later. Things are just... kind of a mess.”

“It's always a mess.”

Ruby and Taiyang look to see Qrow suddenly standing in the room, near the door. “Mind if we have a minute?”

“Qrow, don't you dare...” Taiyang started.

“Tai.” Qrow said with a stern tone. “Please.”

Taiyang stands up, sighs, and then leans in to kiss Ruby on the forehead.

“I'm glad you're alright. I'll go make us some tea.” He said, before walking away, glaring at Qrow on the way out, but the latter doesn't appear to care. As Qrow approaches Ruby's bed, he grabs the chair and drags it with him. He then spins it around to face the bed and sits in it with a significant slouch, crossing one leg over the other.

“So, how you feeling?”  He asked.

“Um... I kind of hurt... all over.” She said before groaning. “Especially my head.”

Qrow chuckled. “That makes sense, after what you did.” He said, crossing his arms

“You guys keep saying that!” Ruby snapped. “That I did something! What are you talking about?!”

Qrow uncrosses his arms and legs, leaning forward in the chair. “What's the last thing you remember?”

“I ran up the side of the tower, and when I got to the top, I…” She gasps, sadness in her eyes as she remembers what happened. “Pyrrha! Is she...?”

Qrow looks down. “She's gone.” He said, a bit too blunt, but it’s better than just dancing around it.

Ruby feels tears forming in her eyes. “I... I got to the top.. and I saw Pyrrha...and Cinder…” She grips her blanket, tears falling onto it ”...and then everything went white!”

“Anything else?” Qrow asked.

“I remember…” Ruby said, wiping the tears from her eyes “...my head hurting.”

“Hmmm. Does anything seem odd to you?” Qrow asked.

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked, once again confused.

“Do you feel anything different? Does anything seem… weird to you?” Qrow asked.

Ruby looked around the room. “Now that you mention it, everything looks kind of… grey?” She asked. “Not literally, but some things seem to lose colour, if that makes sense? And my eyes keep burning a bit…” She wiped them a bit, as if to ease the pain.

Qrow sighed, before reaching for a handheld mirror on the nightstand and showing her reflection. “This might help.”

“What are you-” Ruby stopped as she looked at her face. Or more specifically, her eyes.

They were still silver, but they seemed to have lost their glow. She couldn't even see anything reflected on them. Around her pupil was a singular, black circular line and around that line was a singular comma. "What is this?"

Qrow was silent for a while. “The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?”

Ruby was confused and panicking. “I... I don't know. I think it was something about…”

“Silver eyes.” Qrow finished for her.

“What does that have to do with anything!?” Ruby asked. “What is going!? What happened to my eyes!? Is this permanent?!”

Qrow placed his hand on her shoulder. “Ruby, breathe with me.” He said and Ruby took a few calming breaths. “Now, close your eyes and imagine you’re turning off your semblance, only instead of the entire body, only focus on your eyes.”

Ruby did as he was told and as she opened them again, she was relieved to see her eyes were back to normal. “Uncle Qrow, what was that?”

“You're special, Ruby.” Qrow answered. “And not in the ‘Daddy loves his special angel’ kind of way. You're special the same way your mom was. Remnant's full of legends and stories, some of them true, some made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms, it was said that those born with Silver-Eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior.”

“Mom also went through this?” Ruby asked.

Qrow chuckled, reminiscing of old times. “Yep. One glance from her and a horde of Grimm just turned to ash. Saved my asses a bunch of times.” He said.

“Then... you think that I might be…”

Qrow chuckled. “Well, a giant monster is currently frozen on top of Beacon Tower. And you're here, safe in bed.”

He gets to his feet and walks over to a window, leaning on the sill and staring outside.

Ruby realized something. “Wait a minute, how did you know what Ozpin said to me... the night we met?”

“Because he told me. All those missions I go on... all the times I'm away in some far-off place... it's been for Ozpin. But he's missing now. Something's been set in motion. With Oz gone, I'll have to pick up where he left off.”

Ruby clenched her fists. “Then what can I do? If I'm so special, then I can help, right? Maybe you can even train so I can use my eyes-”

“NO!!”

Ruby was startled by Qrow's sudden shout. Qrow never once shouted at her. She had also never seen her uncle looking like that. Looking so… scared.

Realizing what he did, Qrow sighed. “Sorry kid, I didn’t mean to shout like that. Yes, those eyes are very powerful, but it can just as easily be a… curse.” He explained. “I don’t want you to rely on them and get cocky because that could easily get you killed.

"But..." Ruby was still persisting.

Promise me you will only use them as a last resort.” Qrow said.

“I… promise, Uncle Qrow.” She said, a bit sad.

Qrow nodded. “Besides, you really wanna help? Get some rest. You're in no condition to go anywhere right now.” He says as he heads towards the door. “Besides, our enemy's trail leads all the way to Haven. That'd be quite a trip for a pipsqueak like you. Catch ya later, kiddo.” He winked at her before leaving.

Ruby sits alone for a while. She looks at the window that Qrow looked out of, then stares at herself in a mirror hanging on the wall across from her bed.

“I should check on Yang…”

Qrow walked downstairs to the living room, seeing Taiyang crouching on the couch, a cup of what he hopes is tea. “What’s the status?” He asked.

Qrow took out his flask and took a small sip. “Well, she has only awakened one tomoe, so we shouldn’t be too worried about her changing anytime soon.” He explained

Taiyang sighed. “Why her, Qrow?” He asked. “I can’t go through this again…”

Qrow pointed his flask at Taiyang, eyes narrowed. “Hey, I have been warning you since the day she was born that this was going to happen, especially after Summer died. But it went one ear and out the other with you.”

“I thought she just inherited the colour, not her power!” Taiyang interrupted. “In 15 years, Ruby didn’t show a single sign of the Silver-Eyes! Even when Yang decided to be reckless and look for Raven she didn’t awaken the Silver-Eyes.”

“That’s because I swooped in at the last second and you should count yourself lucky I did because you would have lost at least one daughter that day, one way or the other.” Qrow answered.

“Now what do we do?” Taiyang asked, running his hand through his hair.

“I have to pick up Oz’s slack, so I have to go soon. You need to keep a close eye on your daughters, considering Yang is in a very fragile state at the moment. I warned Ruby to only use her eyes as a last resort and I want you to make sure she doesn’t train them in the meantime. With luck, we don’t get to the second tomoe.”

“I would be happy if she didn’t use them in the first place…” Taiyang muttered. 

“We lost that luxury after Oz’s death.” Qrow commented.

“Do you think…” Taiyang started. “...she will turn out like Summer did?”

Qrow was quiet, memories surfacing.

Memories of a girl in a white cloak with an axe, both covered in blood, looking at him with a smile on her face and blood dripping from her eyes, her eyes in an odd pattern. “Gods, I hope not.” He said.

Half a year has passed since the Fall of Beacon.

There was no point for Ruby to return to Signal, given the fact that she had enough experience to graduate, but she did say goodbye to old friends from her old class who went to other schools in other kingdoms. 

Yang spent most of the months healing and getting used to one arm. She mostly stays in bed and doesn’t leave the room, only for meals and the bathroom. It’s not like she’s isolating herself from them since she talks with Ruby and their dad when they are the ones starting the conversation, but she mostly shuts herself off from the world. It’s obvious it would take a while before Yang could go back to the way she was, if that was even possible in the first place.

Ruby, in the meantime, got to work. During the whole time, she practiced with Crescent Rose under the observation of Taiyang, who was also training her in hand-to-hand combat, something she realized she desperately needed. She also got some upgrades in the form of Dust Bullets, having a magazine for each element.

Her Dad also got a bit…overprotective, which she can’t blame him given recent events, but it seemed like he was focusing more on her rather than the two of them.

Ruby wasn’t stupid. It was because of her Silver-Eyes. She activated them once, going against Uncle Qrow wishes and nearly gave her dad a heart attack once he saw them.

Why was it so wrong to use something that she was born with? Not to mention, it may be one of the few connections left she has with her mom? She didn’t understand and her dad was tight-lipped about it anytime she asked.

She also got info on what happened to the rest of the teams.

Team CRDL went dark, disbanding after the attack on Beacon being a wake up call for them. While Ruby didn’t like them because they were the textbook definition of bullies and racists, she still felt bad for what they had to experience.

Team CFVY went to Shade Academy in Vacuo. Atlas wasn’t their style and given Mistral treatment of Faunus, they didn’t go to Haven, so Shade was the only option they had left.

She couldn’t find any info on Team SSSN, which worried her a bit.

Team JNPR stayed at Jaune’s place, which luckily was also in Vale, only far away from Beacon. Ren and Nora didn’t have a place to stay and Jaune’s family was more than happy to welcome them. It’s obvious the last thing the team wanted was to be separated.

And a team is exactly what Ruby needed as she contacted them about her plans.

Again, Ruby wasn’t stupid. She knew Uncle Qrow slipped that info about Haven because he knew she would try and find Cinder’s group on her own.

…And maybe some deep part of her wanted revenge. It was a new feeling as she never felt vindictive towards someone, and in stories, going after someone so revenge was considered wrong. And yet, it feels right. She won’t lie to herself since there have been a few times she imagined separating Cinder's head from the rest of her body or blowing her brains out for what she did. But she kept her thoughts to herself. The last thing she needs is her family and friends thinking she is going crazy.

Speaking of friends…

“Hey.”

Ruby turns around after silently closing the door, sneaking out. “Hey, Jaune. Haven's a long way to go.” She greeted him

“I know. It's the only way we have.” He said. It was the first time they have seen each other in half a year. He looks the same, but you can definitely tell he is still mourning Pyrrha.

“Are you sure you want to come along?” Ruby asked, worried. “It could lead to a dead end.”

“The journey will be perilous…” Ren said next to Jaune. “...and whether we'll find answers at the end is entirely uncertain.”

“But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it.” Nora added, feeling pumped up.

“Then let's get started.” Ruby nodded before they walked the path, towards their new journey.

The question is… Will this journey lead to light? Or darkness?

Chapter Text

On the ground there is a pool of black slime. A large paw emerges from within the slime and a Beowolf gradually crawls out, slime sliding off of it and onto the ground.

This is a common occurrence in the Grimmlands where, if the name wasn't obvious, the Grimm come from.

It is a mostly dark and desolate land made up of red ground, purple crystals, and a red and black clouded sky. There is no human life here, except for in a single location.

In a castle made of the same purple crystals, Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai watch from inside a high building. Emerald has her hand to her mouth while Mercury seems slightly disgusted. Someone behind them snaps its fingers.

They are in a large windowed room, at the center of which is a long purple, crystal table. Four people sit at the table with seven chairs. One of them is Cinder Fall, looking different, with her hair cut short, her left side completely covered, though you can still see some of the scars.

Sitting across from Cinder is a man named Arthur Watts, looking at his Scroll.

Next is the man to Cinder's right, Tyrian Callows. He sits in a crouch casually on his chair, resting his arms on his knees.

Across from Tyrian is Hazel Rainart. His arms are crossed, and he looks asleep.

Cinder sits quietly, while Mercury and Emerald move to her side. Emerald nudges Mercury out of her way so that she can be directly next to Cinder.

"Yes, yes, please keep your posse in check." Watts said tiredly.

Mercury grunts and makes a move toward Watts, but Emerald holds him back.

"You hear that? Silence." Watts continued to mock. "I've half a mind to thank the little girl that bested you."

"If I were you, I'd hunt her down." Tyrian added, snickering as if what he said was hilarious. "Find her and… well, she took your eye, didn't she?"

Cinder only stares at Tyrian while he cackles at her. Cinder tries to speak but only manages to make quiet exhaling noises. Emerald leans in to hear her.

Watts rolls his eyes. "Pathetic. Why did you even—"

Watts is interrupted by the sound of a heavy metal door being unlatched. The doors open and everyone stands just before as Salem enters. She glides alongside the table with soft footsteps before reaching the head of it, jewels jangling from her hair. Salem stops, facing away from them and toward a candle and crystal display. "Watts." She spoke, calmly.

Watts straightens, looking toward her.

Salem turns to look at him. "Do you find such malignance necessary?" She asks as she gestures for all to sit down.

"I apologize, ma'am. I'm not particularly fond of failure." Watts defended himself.

"Then I see no reason for your cruelty towards young Cinder. She's become our Fall Maiden, destroyed Beacon Tower, and most importantly, killed dear Ozpin. So I'm curious, to what failures are you referring?"

"Well, the girl with the Silver-Eyes." Watts answered.

"Yes. We've dealt with their kind before." Hazel answered. "How is it that a novice was able to slip through our grasp and best one of us?"

"My thoughts exactly. Even without her new power, it should have been effortless." Watts added.

"It is because of the Maiden's power." Salem answered. "Make no mistake, Cinder, you hold the key to our victory. But your newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness. Which is why you will remain by my side as we continue your treatment."

Cinder is unhappy about this and lowers her head. Emerald looks at her in sympathy.

Mercury suddenly raised his hand. "Uh, excuse me? I have two questions, if you don't mind." He asked politely, which is something that Mercury would never do, but every part of his body tells him to not be rude to Salem.

"Yes, Mercury?" Salem gestured him to continue.

"First of all, what is a Silver-Eyes?" Mercury asked.

"A Silver-Eyes is one of the few things in this world that can truly harm the Grimm. A single glance can be fatal, and that is only one one of its basic functions. So you do not have to worry about being harmed by them, Mercury." Salem explained. "If untrained, it can be a nuisance, only triggered by sudden spike in emotions. However, if trained, it can even rival a Maiden's power, or if you are an expert, surpass it."

"Woah, how do you get something like that?" Mercury asked, his curiosity overcoming his fear for a brief moment.

"It's not something that can be obtained." Watts now answered. "The Silver-Eyes are locked to their wielder and any attempt at transplanting them has ended in failure."

"Quite, but I have been looking at ways too… change that." Salem said.

"Besides, I would rather crawl back to Atlas and beg than have a power with side effects like those." Watts waved him off.

"Side effects? Like what?" Mercury asked.

"The Silver-Eyes are powers of similar nature to the Maiden's. The difference is that Maiden's powers spread throughout your entire body and soul, whereas the Silver-Eyes are mostly located in the eyes." Watts said. "Now I think this is easy for someone of your intelligence. What do you think happens when you have such power in such a fragile body part so close to the brain?"

Mercury decided to let that little comment slide in exchange for more info. "It... changes them?"

This time, Hazel continued. "They first awaken this power with a sudden spike of negative emotion. To use this power, they have to tap into that emotion repeatedly. Naturally, you will start to change."

"Are you satisfied, Mercury?" Salem asked, to which Mercury nodded. "What was your next question?"

"You said that Cinder was injured because of the Maiden's power. How so?" He asked.

"Come on boy, isn't it obvious? You were there when it happened." Watts rolled his eyes.

"Watts." Salem silenced the man with a single tone, before looking at Mercury. "To answer your question, Mercury, it is not the power itself, but rather how it was obtained. You remember the glove I gave Cinder, correct?"

Mercury nodded.

"Well, as you know, that glove contained a Grimm I had created to steal a Maiden's power. Once stolen, the grimm would bond with the wearer, acting as a… chalice for its power, so to speak. So, genetically speaking, Cinder has Grimm DNA within her. Which will help in her recovery. Are you satisfied?"

Mercury nodded once more and backed away, not wanting to be in Salem's eyesight.

"Dr. Watts, you are to take Cinder's place and meet with our informant in Mistral." Salem informed him.

"Very good." Watts answered.

"Tyrian, I want you to continue your hunt for the Spring Maiden." Salem said to the madman.

Tyrian laughed as a response. "Gladly." He said.

"And Hazel, I'm sending you to the leader of the White Fang. Adam Taurus has arranged the meeting. The boy continues to prove loyal. Ensure that Sienna Khan feels the same."

"As you wish." Hazel said.

Cinder raises a finger and Emerald leans in to hear her. Cinder rasps into her ear. Emerald straightens.

"Speak, child." Salem gestured to Emerald.

Emerald gulped, also afraid of Salem. "She wants to know… What about the girl?"

Watts scoffs "What about her? Seems to me that this is Cinder's problem, not ours."

Cinder slams her fist onto the table and glares at Watts, who grins at her.

Salem raised her hand, silencing any arguments. "That's enough. The Silver-Eyes are a threat to me as well. Tyrian?"

"Yes, my lady?" Tyrian said, giddy with excitement.

"Spring can wait. Find the girl that did this to Cinder…"

Tyrian giggles elatedly and claps.

"And bring her to me. Alive." Salem finished

Tyrian freezes and groans disappointedly.

"If you would like, you can test her to see how much she has improved her Silver-Eyes." Salem added.

Tyrian's good mood returns quickly.

Salem then looked at the rest of her faction. "Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen. And Haven will be next."

Everyone rises and begins to leave the room. On the way out, Tyrian snickers at Cinder and points to his left eye. "Eye for an eye." He says as he goes into an uncontrollable fit of manic laughter, while Cinder grits her teeth as the door closes behind them.

In the silence, Salem began pondering. "Ruby Rose…" She repeated the name, before smiling. "I guess your daughter is following in your footsteps, Summer. Too bad she doesn't know where it will lead her."

Chapter Text

"I'm just sayin' there's more members of JNPR in this team than RWBY. It just makes sense to go with that one." Nora said.

"But 'junior' isn't a color. Or at the very least doesn't imply one" Ren retorted.

They were currently in the woods, waiting for something.

Nora groans. "How can I be more clear?" Nora pulls out a paper and pencil from… somewhere, and writes on it. She showed it to Ren, the words JNRR on it. She points to the first three. "One, two, three." She then points to the R. "That's more than one."

"But we're helping Ruby with her objective." Ren said, grabbing the paper writing the letters RNJR. Ren points to the first R. "Wouldn't that make her the leader?"

"Guys!"

Ren and Nora turn their heads toward Jaune, who is crouched and watching something. "We need to focus…. Also, JNRR is way cooler."

"Exactly!" Nora cheered.

Ren goes to speak, but instead just groans.

Suddenly, there's a rumble.

"It's here." Jaune said.

"Be the bait, they said. You're faster than all of us, they said." Ruby said, jumping from tree to tree using her semblance. "Next time, Ruby, think twice about being bait when YOU'RE RUNNING AWAY FROM A GIANT GRIMM!"

Behind her, A collection of floating boulders with a Grimm mask moves the trees aside, clearly chasing her. She jumped off the trees and turned around, using Crescent Rose to fire at it, not making a lot of damage.

But then, Ruby realized she just jumped off a cliff. "Oh, crap baskeeeeeee…" She yells as she falls, crashing against tree limbs along the way.

Ruby lands on her feet on a big tree branch strong enough to hold her weight. "Guess I know why we need a landing strategy…" She mutters before she uses her Semblance to fly past the Grimm, who destroyed the tree she landed.

"Let's get that thing off her." Jaune said as he ran towards the fight. Ren jumps up into the trees.

"Don't forget me!" Nora says as she pulls out Magnhild and shoots it at the ground, propelling herself into the air with excited whooping. She lands right beside Ren in his branch.

"We need to draw its attention away from Ruby!"

"Please do!" Ruby said, flying past them as a stream of rose petals.

Nora began shooting the Grimm in the back as Ren hops around on branches, shooting it as well. The Grimm tries to hit Ren, but uses this to run up its rock arm, flies into the air, and comes down upon the Grimm, striking at it with the blades from StormFlower.

"Gotta get in closer!" Jaune says, trying to find a way to attack.

Ren lands beside Jaune. "My blades don't hurt him!" He stated.

The Grimm turns to the two of them. "Crap!" Nora shouted

"How about this?!" Ruby yelled as she loaded a magazine with an image of a lightning bolt on its side into Crescent Rose. She uses her semblance to run in front of Grimm and fire at its arm. Electric bolts encase one of the Grimm's arms, but it does nothing.

Ruby forgot that Electric is weak to Rock.

The red lines on the arm glow brighter, and the Grimm slams it into the ground. All are sent flying backwards, but Ren, Nora, and Ruby manage to land on their feet. Jaune tumbles along the ground painfully until he hits a boulder between his legs and falls forward.

"You'll be fine without a weapon, he said. You're the strategist, he said." He groaned in pain. "Last time I take advice from a blacksmith…"

"That's it!" Nora shouts as she runs forward, tossing Magnhild into the air and transforming it into hammer mode. She jumps into the air and hits it, breaking its arm apart, but it manages to grab a large piece and throw it straight toward Nora. Luckily, Ruby gets between them and knocks it away. The Grimm uses its other arm to strike at the two girls.

Jaune straightens and stretches and soon has to dodge a barrage of rocks.

"Hey! Be careful!"

A rock the size of his head hits him in the face and sends him into a tree. Jaune lands in a crouch and shakes his head to clear the pain. "Why do I feel like comedy relief right now…"

The Grimm continually tries and fails to hit an evasive Nora.

Jaune stands up, leaning on a nearby tree, and looks up at the Grimm as its armless shoulder gains a glowing red circle with a symbol of an eye in the middle. The circle spins, and then a black, elongated arm with clawed fingers emerges from it. The arm rears back.

"Uh-oh…"

The Grimm shoves its new arm into the tree Jaune was leaning against and lifts it from the ground.

Jaune begins running "His arm is a tree! His arm is a tree!"

"Big mistake!" Ruby shouts as she spins Crescent Rose and loads another magazine into it - this one with imagery of fire on its side. She fires, and the flaming projectile swings around to the tree arm. Jaune fist pumps, believing it to be destroyed. However, the Grimm reveals the arm to be on fire

"Big mistake!" Jaune shouted back.

The Grimm chases Jaune, swinging the flaming arm at him. It misses twice, but then Jaune falls. One of StormFlower spins through the air and makes a cut across the Grimm's mask, making it fall.

Ren lands beside Jaune and catches his gun. Ruby and Nora come up behind their teammates.

"Okay, how do we do this?" Jaune asked, realizing they had time to take a breath and strategize.

"His body is too thick to break through." Ren added

"It doesn't care about its body…"

"Plus it can keep grabbing new limbs!" Nora said.

"But it keeps protecting its face…"

"We can't break it!" Ruby screamed.

"Ugh, if we just knocked all of its limbs off at once and went for the…" Jaune said before his eyes lit up with an idea and he turned to face his team. Behind him, the Grimm gets up.

"Guys, I got it! We hit it harder!"

"...That's it?" Ruby asked, confused. Why does it feel like something Sun would say?

"No, seriously. It's trying to keep us from its face. If we kill the limbs, we'll have a shot to kill the whole thing!" He explained clearly now.

"Alright! Come on, team, let's do this." Ruby said, with both Nora and Ren nodding.

Jaune began directing positions. "Ren, left. Ruby, right. Nora, ready to try out the new upgrade?" Nora nods and runs. "Right. And I will—"

Jaune nearly got hit in the back by the Grimm, so he decides to do what he's been doing and runs.

Ruby attacks the right side while Ren attacks the left.

Meanwhile Nora activates a mechanism that generates a current of electricity across the hammerhead of Magnhild. Jaune runs around to make himself a target, waving at the Grimm.

The Grimm goes after Jaune but switches targets as Ruby and Ren continue to attack it.

Nora charges Magnhild even more and braces her feet.

"Ready!" She shouts to the group.

Ruby lands next to Jaune after another wave of attack.

"Use everything you've got!" Jaune yells out.

Ruby uses her Semblance to fly at the Grimm, taking Nora with her, and the red and pink swirls go right for the tree arm. Ruby slices the tree in half, opening the way for Nora to hit the mask with Magnhild. The rock body shatters, only the one with the main body remaining and the Grimm rises out of it and flies off.

Ruby raised her scythe and shot it, destroying the Grimm.

Jaune breathes heavily before posing with his hands on hips. "Another victory for Team JNRR!"

Silence fills the forest. Even the wind decided to be quiet, only rolling a tumbleweed.

"Yeah, okay. Ren, I think you're onto something. I-it's just not sounding great anymore." Jaune said. "Anyway, let's go back. Hopefully next time I will actually have my SWORD AND SHIELD!"

That fight would have been over with my Silver-Eyes.

That was the thought that plagued Ruby's mind every time they finished a Grimm. She kept wondering how much faster the fight would have been if she used her new power. How much easier if she just activated them.

But she doesn't, because of her promise to Qrow. She almost broke it once and regretted it. Yes she is curious about it and her connection with her mom, Summer, and how much more powerful she can get. But she also doesn't need them since she has Jaune, Ren and Nora with her and so far everything is going fine.

But she can feel it. The urge to activate the Silver-Eyes. She feels something in her eyes, something wanting to get out, like an itch she can't scratch. She ignores that dark part of her that is waiting for something more powerful than her friends to come along so she can use them. Instead she focused on her task which was shaking hands with the town Mayor.

"We truly can't thank you enough." He said.

"Just doing our job, sir." Ruby waved him off.

"That Geist had been plaguing our village for weeks. We were beginning to wonder if we'd have to relocate." He said.

"Well, we are on our way to Mistral. You could always come along with us if you don't feel safe." Ruby offered, looking around the town.

People buying fresh produce from a cart, stand and chat on open balconies overlooking the roads, tend to their horses and generally go about their daily lives peacefully. The village has plentiful trees and green spaces and cobbled roads.

Mayor, amused, chuckled. "Ha. I take it you're not from these parts. Anima is a large continent. I'm afraid our people would never survive the long trek to Mistral. It may be safer in the Kingdoms, but we prefer our way of life. I just wish we could pay you more."

"Our previous arrangement is more than sufficient." Ren said as the now dubbed Team RNJR bows respectfully before making their way to a blacksmith shop.

A burly man with horns, most likely a faunus, slams down a set of armor.

"There you go, son. It's going to be heavier than what you're used to, but you'll thank me the next time you go up against a set of claws."

"Wow. That… I don't know what to say." Jaune said, at a loss for words.

"Don't gotta say anything! Just put it on! I'll go get the rest." The Faunus blacksmith said before he turned around and went out back.

"So, what are you waiting for?" Nora asked.

"Oh, uh, right!" Jaune says as he takes off his old chestplate. "Guess I was going to grow out of it eventually."

"A sign of progress." Ren said.

"Progress…" Jaune muttered as he turns around.

Suddenly Ruby gasps then covers her mouth and tries not to giggle.

"What is it?" Jaune asked, confused.

Ruby pointed to his chest "What is that!?" She asked.

Jaune looked down, seeing the face of a bunny on it. "What, my hoodie? I've always had this."

Ruby kept snorting "It's got a cute little bunny rabbit!" She shouted as she began to laugh.

"It's Pumpkin Pete! You know, from the cereal?" Jaune defended himself.

"What did you do?! Send in a box top for a prize?" Ruby said, holding her sides.

"Yeah! Fifty!"

"Oh, I can't breathe!" Ruby continues to laugh hysterically before she falls onto the floor.

Ruby chortles from the floor, feet in the air. The blacksmith returns from out back.

"Can't have a Huntsman without his weapon." He stated as a wide sword sheath is stuck into the countertop. Ruby managed to stop laughing and got up to inspect the sword.

"Made all the modifications you asked for." He said as the blade expanded into a shield.

"You can thank Ruby for that." Nora said. "She was the one who came up with that."

"Along with other things…" Jaune added.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me if I wanted to try and make the sword"

"Ruby, not everything has to be a gun."

"LIES! BLASPHEMY! TRAITOR!" Ruby proclaimed, pointing dramatically at Jaune.

Blacksmith laughed at their antics. "That was some fine metal you brought me. Accents the white nicely. Where'd you get it from?

Jaune stared at the gold accents on the shield. "From a friend."

Ruby stared at the shield, specifically the bottom part.

Ruby watched in horror as Pyrrha's entire body incinerated, turning to ash in a matter of seconds, scattering to the wind, the only thing left of her being her shield, sword and a few pieces of armor.

Her arm and lips began to tremble, but she quickly grabbed it with her other arm and bit hard enough on her lip she could taste blood. Don't. She thought. I don't have any right to mourn her…

They all decided to give Jaune some privacy, so they all waited outside the shop for him. He comes out wearing the armor. He pulls out the sword and expands the shield.

"He cleans up alright, don't you think?" The Blacksmith complimented.

"He certainly does." Ren added.

"Nothing's gonna stop Team RNJR now!" Ruby shouted.

"Team JNRR!" Nora shouted the other team name

"Still not a color."

"It doesn't matter what we're called." Jaune said. "As long as we're together."

"You kids sure you won't stick around?" The Blacksmith asked. "You've been real good to this town."

"Sorry, but we've got another mission." Ruby rejected the offer.

"Make it to Haven Academy, no matter what." Nora explaiend

"We've heard the next village over has a working Airship." Ren said.

"Mmm, no way to know for sure. Scroll signals were weak enough out here back when Beacon Tower was still up. Haven't heard from Shion Village in a while." The Blacksmith answered, a bit concerned.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Ruby said.

With a wave, Team RNJR turns and leaves. The blacksmith waves back and grunts.

"Food?" Jaune asked

"Check!" Nora answered.

"Water?" He asked again.

"Check!" She answered again.

"How about ammo?"

"Locked and loaded! Thank you, Schnee Dust Company!"

Schnee… Ruby wonders how Weiss is doing. She hasn't been able to contact her due to the CCT Tower going down, so she knew nothing about what she was doing. Was she okay? Did she miss her-er, i mean, the team? She almost considered sending a carrier pigeon, something that made Qrow terrified for some reason. She missed everything about her, from seeing her in the morning to hearing her voice. Heck, She missed her voice so much she bought her records! She has such a lovely voice…

"Got the map?" Jaune asked, snapping Ruby out of her thoughts.

"Ren's got it." Nora said.

There was no response. Ruby turned to the black-haired boy, only to notice him staring at her.

"Ren, is there something wrong?" Ruby asked, blinking.

Ren seemed to snap out of his thoughts as he looked elsewhere. "Uh, nothing…" He said, shaking his head. "And yes, I have the map."

He quickly moved in front of the group and opened up the map, guiding them without a word. The three stared at one another, confused by the sudden action, but thought nothing of it.

Chapter Text

Ruby ran up the CCT, thanks to Weiss glyphs, where Pyrrha was fighting Cinder at the top. She couldn't use her semblance as she needed to connect her feet with the glyph in order to keep moving, so she ran like her life depended on it, worried for her friend. Pyrrha may have been one of the strongest fighters she knew, but even she would have trouble if one of her opponents was a giant Grimm dragon.

Thankfully she managed to reach the top without interference. She looked at the destroyed room… just as Cinder shoots an arrow through Pyrrha's chest.

Ruby couldn't move due to shock, but luckily, Cinder didn't notice her.

Suddenly, Pyrrha looked at her, a sickening crack echoing through the silence. "What are you doing, Ruby?" She asked in a cold tone.

"Huh?" Ruby was surprised by the sudden action.

"Why are you just standing there? If you tackled her out of the way or shot her, you could have saved me." Pyrrha said, looking at her with so much hatred in her eyes, something Ruby thought Pyrrha was incapable of.

"I…"

Pyrrha suddenly got up, walking towards her as she ignored Cinder, who didn't seem to acknowledge the situation. Cracks began to sprout from her chest and pieces of her body began falling off, turning to ash. "If you did that, I might have lived."

"I… couldn't…" Ruby tried to speak, but was interrupted.

"Jaune asked you to help me and you just stood there!?" Pyrrha yelled as more pieces of her fell, the ash beginning to cover the air, making it hard to breathe.

"Pyrrha…I…" Ruby tried to talk once again, but she began coughing, the ash entering her lungs.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DID THIS TO ME! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" She yelled as she turned to ash and completely covered Ruby.

She couldn't even scream, as she was surrounded by a tornado of ash. She felt the ash slowly filling her lungs, making it impossible to breathe as the ash slowly consumed her…

Ruby woke up with a gasp, nearly coughing out of reflex. Once she calmed down, she placed her face on her hands. "Not again…" She muttered.

She keeps having this recurring nightmare, the same theme.

Sometimes it's about Pyrrha's death. Other times it's about Penny or other people. The nightmare keeps changing, but they all come from the same event. Of Beacon falling.

An event that she should have stopped.

My teammates are scattered throughout Remnant, either stuck at home, missing, or injured. Now I'm here with another team who just lost a teammate, took over leadership with the intent to get revenge. Some leader I am. I'm too weak…

"Ruby?"

She looked up at the voice, seeing Jaune coming walking towards her. "Hey Jaune." She said quietly not to wake up the others. "What are you doing being up so early?"

"I was… looking around, making sure there aren't any Grimm around." Jaune stated. "What are you doing being up so early?"

"Bug crawled up my nose and it woke me up." Ruby lied, making a face of disgust to convince him. "It was not pleasant."

"I can bet." Jaune said, chuckling. "Let's wake up the rest and move to Shion, alright? Dibs on Ren!"

"Oh come on~~" Ruby whined. "Why does Nora even sleep with her hammer…"

Jaune chuckled at her expression, which made her smile a bit.

Yes I am weak. But not anymore. I'm getting stronger every day. And soon… She thought, slowly trying to wake up Nora, not noticing the pair of eyes staring at her.

All four members of Team RNJR walk down a sunny road. Ruby is in front, looking at a map.

"So the next town is... uh-huh... uh-huh... I'm lost..." She said, not being able to read the map.

Jaune chuckled. "The next town is Shion. My family used to visit it all the time." Jaune explained.

"Oh yeah. Don't you have, like, four sisters?" Ruby asked

"Uh, seven, actually."

Ruby giggles. "I guess your parents really wanted a boy." She said.

"You know, that actually explains a lot." Nora said, giggling as well.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Jaune asked with a raised eyebrow.

"So, what did you guys do there?" Ruby asked Jaune.

"Oh, all sorts of stuff! Over here is a great hiking trail, and over here is where we went camping all the time. I got my own tent because I was special. Also, so my sisters would stop braiding my hair." He added the last part embarrassed.

"Didn't like the look?" Ruby asked with a teasing grin

Jaune shrugged. "Yeah, they just kept doing pigtails, but personally, I think I'm more of a 'warrior's wolftail' kind of guy." He said, tossing his hair as a response

Ruby giggled. "That's just a ponytail." She said.

"I stand by what I said."

Nora stops short, raising her hands to her lips as her eyes widen. Soon after, Ren stops, visibly tense.

"Uh, guys?" Nora asked the two in front of them.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Jaune and Ruby look up from the map. Their eyes widen and jaws drop. In front of them is a desolated village. The sky is gray and two columns of smoke rise in the air. A gazebo has a broken tower and lampposts are askew from the ground. At least one dead body can be seen on the side of the road approaching the town.

All four rush forward, not knowing they dropped the map. They briskly move into the town, looking around. Ren tosses his backpack on the ground and moves ahead while the other three gather in the middle of a road.

"There could be survivors!" Ruby shouted.

"Found one! Over here!" Ren shouted

The other three rush to where Ren is leading them. On the ground, sitting propped against a broken building wall is a young man in armor. He breathes heavily and holds his hand against a bleeding wound in his abdomen. Ren drops by his side and puts his hand on his shoulder.

"A Huntsman!" Ruby stated.

"What happened? Who killed all these people?" Nora asked.

The Huntsman coughed. "Bandits. The whole tribe... Then, with all the panic…" Before he could finish, he started coughing repeatedly.

"Grimm." Ren finished.

Ren stands and walks a few paces away, placing his hands atop his head. Ruby, Jaune, and Nora step away to confer, the last of the trio glancing at Ren with a worried expression.

"Alright, we can get him to the next village and try to find a doctor there!" Ruby started.

"Yeah. Ren and I can take turns carrying him there." Jaune offered.

Ren turns back and walks over to the Huntsman.

"Guys, I don't know if he'll make it." Nora said, uncharacteristically quiet.

"He will… He has to." Jaune said, either trying to convince Nora or himself.

"If we get going now, our chances will be better. I can run ahead and look for help!" Ruby added. She won't allow anyone else to die while she just watches. She can save someone this time. She can-

"Guys."

As they heard Ren's voice, the other three turn and discover that the Huntsman has already died.

They were quiet for a moment.

"...Should we bury him?" Nora offered.

Ren walks right past them without a backward glance.

"We should go. It's not safe here." He added.

"Ren..." Nora turns and follows him. Ruby puts her hand on Jaune's arm. He is looking stressed and sad.

"It'll be okay." She comforted him.

"I'm just tired of losing everything." Jaune said, dejected.

"Me too…" Ruby said as well, both of them staring at the corpse of the Hunstman.

Ren stops and looks at something on the ground, his eyes widening. A cloven hoof print is impressed into the ground. Nora comes up to his side. She sees the same mark and her eyes also widen in recognition. The two of them silently make eye contact. "Ren, if it was here, we would have noticed it." Nora said.

"I know, but I don't want to risk it." He said. "We'll move quickly and I'll activate my semblance just in case-"

Ruby suddenly gasped, taking a step back, gaining the attention of the rest. "Ruby, what's wrong!?" Jaune asked, concerned at the sudden action.

"Nothing! It's…" She gulped, swallowing whatever bile was about to rise. For a second there, she saw Penny's corpse, all destroyed and staring at her with a vacant look. "...nothing."

Nora looked at Ren, who was staring at Ruby with a hardened expression. "Ren, what do you see in Ruby?" She asked quietly.

Out of context, that question would sound like he was interested in Ruby romantically, but you could not be more wrong.

Ren's semblance, Tranquility, allows him to mask negative emotions, making him undetected to the Grimm. He can also extend this effect to other people, though he doesn't know how many because he only used it with Nora, but he's sure he can affect more. The rest of Team JNPR obviously knew about his semblance, but they didn't know its full extent.

See, Ren can see emotions, or more specifically, the emotional state of other people. Every single person was unique and he suspects it has to do with their semblance.

Nora looks like a lightning rod, covered from head to toe in lightning, Jaune literally glows and...Pyrrha was covered in a black fog, with small pieces of metal floating around her.

Depending on their emotional state, these forms can change, showcasing different effects. For example, Jaune's glow has dimmed significantly, no doubt still mourning over Pyrrha's death.

Nora is the only one to know of the full extent of his semblance. He never revealed it to the rest of his team or others due to fear of them behaving differently around him. He can't blame anyone since it makes sense.

How can you be around someone that can read you like an open book? No matter how much you trust someone, you always want some sense of privacy. Nora was the exception, but that's because they spent years glued at the hip. Even without his semblance, they know what the other is thinking.

So of course Ren couldn't hide this from her. He sighed and began explaining. "Ruby was always a tornado of rose petals. Most likely the storm was a symbolism for her hyper activity, similar to yours, while the rose petals were so bright that they were referring to her purity and kindness. Now, the storm is a mild breeze, the petals are now dark red with something dripping, as if they were drenched in something."

"Can you blame her?" Nora asked. "Her sister lost a limb and two of her teammates are scattered around the world. If she didn't change, I would be surprised."

"You're right and I don't. But that's not everything." Ren said, taking a breath. "Ever since we set off on this journey, I've been seeing this white glow around her. It started out small, almost unrecognizable, with sometimes glowing a bit too brightly before returning to normal, but i have noticed that it's slowly getting brighter and violent, like something wanting to get out. When we look at each other, her eyes seem to glow an unnatural light that stares deep into my soul. S-Sometimes I see a faint of a sinister smile forming and have to l-look away immediately because if I don't, I-I…"

Nora looked at Ren, seeing him trembling and refusing to look at Ruby now.

"Ren…are…" Nora started, surprised that she would ever phrase this question. "Are you… scared of Ruby?"

Ren was silent for a moment, before answering with a simple "Yes."

Chapter Text

Ruby was in the hallway of the stadium, Mercury in front of her.

But…Why? Why was Mercury here?

Last she saw him, he was being escorted on a stretcher in pain, and now he was here, walking without a single issue.

Something was wrong.

Emerald being here confused her, but Mercury walking around with a smirk on his face just worsened that feeling. She needed to get to Penny.

He goes forward, blocking Ruby's path with his arms outstretched, restraining her movements no matter where she moves. Panicked, she grimaces and spins forward, becoming a blur of red and petals rocketing toward Mercury, only for the villain to kick her twice mid-dash and knock her to the ground, surprising her. The only other person to stop her while she's using her semblance was her Uncle Qrow, but he didn't nearly make her throw up her lunch!

He advances on her just as she gets out her Scroll, about to push the button to call for help when a bullet sends the device flying out of her hand.

Mercury, lowering his leg from its kick, taunts her. "Let's just keep this between us friends."

They began fighting, or more like Ruby was dodging Mercury since she sucks at hand-to-hand combat and she couldn't call Crescent Rose.

Ruby attempts to block a kick from Mercury with her arms, but gets a face-full of boot. Next he fires a shot but she manages to duck then barely misses being hit by his downward kick and leaps over his leg, spiraling past him, this time getting much farther down the corridor. She kicks off of the wall and falls to the ground, pumping her arms as she runs for the exit.

She opened the door and… in front of her, was Penny's body, completely torn apart. She fell to her knees. "Penny…" She said as tears fell from her eyes.

She barely registered Mercury walking in to see the chaos, smirk, and then leave.

Ruby should have realized something was wrong as by this point, Cinder's announcement would have run and she would not have any more time to mourn, but all she was focusing on was her friend's corpse.

"Friend Ruby…"

She widened her eyes as she heard her friend's voice.

"Penny!" She shouted with a smile on her face. That smile quickly vanished as she noticed she was now in the arena, in front of Penny lifeless limbs.

Suddenly, her limbs began to float, Penny's face still looking lifeless but somehow looking angry at her at the same time. A quick glance upwards and she sees her swords, pointing upwards, the wires connecting to the scattered limbs.

"Why… didn't you do anything?" She asked, her voice cracking, as if her normal voice was mixed with something artificial.

"I wanted to! I-"

"You knew what Pyrrha Nikos Semblance was and my true nature. In fact, you were the only individual that was aware of both of these facts." Penny interrupted her as she began to float towards her. "Did you not realize what her Semblance could do to my body, or are you too stupid to use the grey matter inside your head you call a brain?"

Penny would never have insulted her like that. Ruby knew that, but it still stung.

"You knew. I trusted you with my most important secret and how did you repay me? You let your friend slice me apart like I was nothing."

"...I'm…" She tried to apologize, but Penny interrupted her again.

"Though I am not surprised. Seeing how you deal with others you call friends, it would be logical I be treated with the same action." As Penny said this, she saw hundreds of shadows up on the stands take the form of her friends. Though she could not see their faces, she could see their disapproving glares.

They began chanting.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Ruby got up, immediately feeling something rising from her stomach. Quickly using her Semblance, she went behind a tree a bit away from camp and emptied her stomach. After that and a few moments of wiping her chin and her eyes due to the tears, she began to breathe slowly, to calm her rapidly beating heart.

Any nightmare involving Yang or Penny affected her the most, her body actually reacting to it, though it's slowly getting better.

The first time it happened, she had a panic attack and it took forever for her dad to calm her down. Her heart clenched at the reminder that Yang did nothing but watch.

She shook her head. Yang was still healing so she couldn't worry about her…

Back to nightmares, she slowly got used to them and no longer had an attack when it happened, but her body still reacted like this sometimes. It took a while to figure out why sometimes Penny's death affected her like this. Yang was obvious because she was her sister, but Penny was just a friend… At least that's what she thought at the time.

She loved Penny.

As in, an actual crush.

Unlike the others, she was never really… interested in the whole dating thing. She wasn't against it and if anything, she would be happy if her teammates and friends found a significant other. But she always focused on being a huntress, a better friend/leader, that she never considered dating anyone. It didn't help that sometimes people used her just so they could get closer to Yang, who was more attractive and outgoing than her…

Penny true nature didn't change a single thing she felt about her. Well, she did think she was even cooler than before. Come on, firing a BEAM from a bunch of SWORDS!? How amazing is that!? While her time spent was short, she loved every second of it.

She chuckled bitterly. First person I fall in love with and they died. Guess anyone I care about will just get hurt, no matter what I do, huh? She thought bitterly as she stared at the pond of vomit next to her, before beginning to cover it up, not wanting anyone to discover it. She wondered if she should eat less, but she can't risk fighting on an empty stomach. That and worrying her friends if she suddenly stopped eating.

A leader isn't supposed to worry others. Teammates are supposed to come to her with their problems. She thought, but… she isn't exactly the leader, right?

Despite the naming convention, Ruby wasn't the leader of the team. She didn't give out orders or anything. They merely worked in unison.

If anyone could be considered the leader, it was Jaune. He was the one who came up with strategies and they always worked. Despite his claims of not being as strong as the rest, he was clearly a good leader.

Unlike me… Maybe I should talk with him?

"Jaune…"

Her eyes widened as she was snapped out of her thoughts by a voice. A voice she has only heard in her nightmares as of late. "Pyrrha?"

She begins to look around. There were little will-o-the-wisps floating around. The campfire is still burning but has died down. Ren and Nora are asleep while their weapons are at their sides should they be attacked. Jaune's sleeping bag, however, is empty.

Through the trees beyond that sleeping bag, she could hear Pyrrha's voice, though a bit muffled.

"Follow…"

Ruby gets up and walks toward the voice. She takes a moment to play with one of the wisps as she looks around, uncertain.

How was Pyrrha here? Did she somehow survive? Did Cinder not burn her, but rather than teleport her somehow?

Moving forward, she spots something and Ruby moves next to a tree and watches from there.

A slight distance in front of her and facing away, Jaune draws his sword. He poses with it and the shield, before dropping his shoulders and turning to his right. As Ruby looked to the side, she saw a Scroll on a stump, Pyrrha's face on it. Her eyes widened as she realized that the voice she heard was from a video.

"Alright, Jaune, just like we practiced. Follow these instructions. Shield up."

Jaune lifts his shield so that only his eyes are not protected.

"Keep your grip tight."

Jaune tightens his hand on Crocea Mors.

"Don't forget to keep your front foot forward."

Jaune didn't seem to forget and as he doesn't move.

"Ready? Go."

Jaune steps forward with the sword, cutting at the air and making a fighting cry and proceeds to do the same movement.

Meanwhile, Ruby felt like an idiot. Of course Pyrrha wasn't back! If she was truly back, she would have let the rest of her team know while blaming her out for being so incompetent and trying to replace her!

Jaune spins in a circle, putting a lot of feeling and effort into his next cry and slash. It has cost him a bit, and he pants.

"Okay. Now assuming you aren't cheating…" She said with a slight giggle and Gods did Ruby miss her laughter. "...we can take a break."

Jaune stands upright and lets his head fall forward a bit, closing his eyes before turning towards his Scroll

"I know this can be frustrating and it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've never met someone so determined to better themselves. You've grown so much since we started training. And I know this is just the beginning."

Pyrrha turns her head in the video as if struggling with her thoughts for a moment. Ruby squinted a bit and she could see Beacon Tower still intact, another reminder of her failure.

"Jaune, I-I…  I want you to know that I'm just happy to be a part of your life. I'll always be here for you, Jaune."

The Scroll rewinds the video of Pyrrha without being touched. Jaune stands before it, holding Crocea Mors, his head bowed.

"Alright, Jaune, just like we practiced. Follow these instructions. Shield up…"

Jaune sighs in pain before re-following the instructions. Ruby widened her eyes as she realized what Jaune's been doing.

He was coping in his own way. It was no secret amongst the two teams that Pyrrha was training him, so training by himself while listening to her recording is his own way of grieving, possibly feeling like he was too weak to help Pyrrha.

Why would he? It's not like he's the one who just stood there and watched as she died.

"Keep your grip tight. Don't forget to keep your front foot forward. Ready? Go."

Jaune resumes the exercise. Ruby watches with pained eyes before turning away.

"Again. And again."

Jaune makes one extra fighting cry and slash as Ruby silently walks back to the camp

No, it's better to keep the nightmares to myself. It's my own fault he's in pain. I don't have any right to share mine.