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Voiders Chapter-Things

Part 1

  Ruby landed hard against the sand, her eyes slamming shut in shock. It was dark, and the sound of waves and birds was surrounding her. Certainly whatever had pushed her had left, right? She, unfortunately, was wrong.

  She blinked open her eyes, surprised to find the sight she beheld. Neopolitan was standing above her. Ruby gasped as her eyes went wide. Despite the fact a stick was being pointed right at her face, she managed to calm down.

  "I don't know what you think you're doing, but it won't solve anything," Ruby told the angry mute, calm as possible. The situation itself was rather frightening, so she wasn't sure why acting calm would help her any. Neo pulled the stick back, which allowed Ruby to sit up. The silver-eyed girl watched as the mute drew a bowler hat in the sand. "Are you asking if I…" She didn't finish the sentence, since it was obvious. So, she furrowed her eyebrows and made her voice as firm as she could possibly make it. "I didn't kill Roman."

  Neo tapped the drawing with the stick, contorting her face further.

  "I already told you, I didn't kill Roman. A Griffon ate him after you fell off. You can't blame me for that." Neo crossed her arms, clearly not entirely convinced. "Look, you don't have to believe me. But we're both stuck here, and we're both here because of Cinder. That means we have something in common, we have to make a truce. Once this is over, we can deal with whatever happens." Neo thought it over for a second or two, then her face relaxed into a smile. She nodded. So, they shook on it, to make the deal official. "Good. Now let's find the others." She had to mumble the rest. "If they made it."

  They walked the coast of the island in silence, trying to find Ruby's fallen teammates. Part of her wanted to worry that none but her made it, yet she had to hope. Little did they know, one had already found them.

  "Ruby?" Yang's voice blurted, sounding shocked. Neo and Ruby spun around to look at the blonde. "What are you doing here?" As the elder Huntress spotted their former enemy, she tensed. "And with her?"

  "No! Yang, I can explain!" Ruby jumped, waving her arms wildly. Then her face fell as she recalled something, she repeated the final word in a mumble. She shook her head, forcing herself to continue. "She won't hurt us." Yang hesitated, but seemed to relax a bit after a moment or two had passed. They stood there, silently, for a second. "Have you found anyone yet?"

  "No, but I'm sure they're all somewhere. It's not a big island." So, they continued on their way. What had originally been one and two was now three.

Part 2

  A red blob in the distance caught Ruby's attention. She knew that black and silver trim anywhere. Although, she was kind of surprised to see it there. How long had it been sitting there without her?

  "My scythe!" Ruby bubbled, excitement flooding her entire body. "It's here!" She ran to the weapon, touching the handle as if might shatter into a million pieces at any moment. After making sure it was really there, she folded it back up and tucked it in its holder behind her back. Everything felt right.

  "There's your proof that they're somewhere," Yang said, trying to put an optimistic spin on the event. "If your scythe's here, then so is our friends." So, they continued looking. And they didn't have to look very long. Blake, who'd fallen the same time as Ruby, was further down the beach.

  "Ruby? Yang?" poor Blake clarified, hesitating before running toward the two. They had a long group hug, feeling very overwhelmed with relief. Awkwardly standing to the side, Neo watched their happy embrace. That was, at least, until the sand nearby began to shuffle. Like the sound of feet. "Did you.. hear that?"

  "Blake?" Weiss's voice wondered. "Was that you?" Finally, the owner of that voice came into focus. She appeared shocked and a little ruffled up, just like the rest of them. Shouting her name, the team resumed the embrace with Weiss. They had reunited with their first teammates, and it felt really good. Then came the questions.

  "Is everyone okay?" Ruby began, throwing her questions at a rapid-fire pace. "Did they all get out in time? How did you get here?" Weiss didn't get time to answer those, since another set ran by at the same speed.

  "How do we get back?" Yang continued, being a bit less emotional than her sister. "Can we get back? Do you know what happened?" Seeing that none of them were going anywhere, and they had plenty of time, Weiss put up a hand. It told them to calm down, and that she was still thinking about how to answer.

  "I don't know," Weiss replied, sounding a little forlorn. "I was fighting Cinder, then, the next thing I know, I'm falling. I woke up here, like all of you. I even found my weapon." As if it would help explain, she gestured to the rapier. It was then that the newer two noticed that Neo was standing nearby. They appeared startled at first, but then they seemed to kind of realize that Neo seemed just as upset as them. Maybe even a little relieved that the team had reunited.

  "I see that you made a new friend," Blake commented blankly, clearly feeling the events of the past few minutes. Maybe it was a little strange, but it was a necessary evil for the time being.

  "Not exactly," Ruby explained nervously. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling her emotions bubble up. "It's more of a truce." The others didn't get to hear the particulars of this new truce then, as something caught their attention. It seemed nearly impossible, but there it was.

  "Hello?" Jaune's voice called out from further away. The sound of the beach washed out his voice. "Is anyone there?" All of them looked at each other in shock. What happened to their team?

Part 3

  Cautious, they went up to Jaune. The blond was sitting on his knees and feet, with shards of what looked like his sword's blade in the sand and in both this hands. Ruby seemed more shocked than all of them combined, excluding Jaune.

  "What happened to your sword?" she blurted, watching as the sunlight perfectly hit the shards. Jaune looked away for a brief moment, looking a bit distracted. What was he going to say? Finally, after only a second, he returned his gaze to them with a faintly blank look on his face.

  "I'm not sure I should talk about it," he replied, almost as cryptic as the others had been. They exchanged looks, all of them questioning what was so bad about what happened to his sword. "I'm sorry, I just don't want to add more damage than there already is." Was he kidding?

  "Your sword is shattered," Weiss said, nearly deadpan.

  "I think the damage is already done," Yang continued, just as blankly deadpan. Jaune looked back down at the pieces, his eyes filled with emotions. Ruby was the first to notice this strange falter.

  "There's nothing wrong with keeping it to yourself," Ruby reassured him, giving him a kind look. Jaune looked back up at her. "It's okay." A slight smile crept onto his face, as if that's what he'd been waiting to hear since he'd woken up in their strange new surroundings. As if a million different things had been put into place.

  "Thank you," he said, obviously meaning every word. There was clearly something on Jaune's mind, but none of them tried to ask about it. Maybe it was for the best, as he seemed a bit off.

  "When did you get here?" Yang wondered, asking a slightly easier question. Although, maybe it wasn't easier? Jaune now seemed even more off than before.

  "Maybe a minute ago, I think? I'm not sure." How was he not sure? They'd all had a vague sense of time when they woke up, so he shouldn't have been any different on that matter. And yet, he was. Was there something different about his circumstances than there's? It was unusual, to say the least.

  "What happened?" Weiss asked, knowing something was off. Jaune went silent again, not answering any questions. This time, they all noticed the irregularity. It was definitely unusual.

  "We're all together, that's what matters," Blake said, trying to sway him back to talking. But, it seemed that Jaune had something else on his mind now. Even though his vague smile returned from the comforting phrase, he automatically turned to Weiss to say something.

  "Weiss?" he said, waiting until he had gotten her attention before continuing. Weiss made an acknowledging noise. It was meant to signal him that she was paying attention. Luckily, he'd understood the signal. "You should know, Winter did make it out of the portal." Weiss seemed comforted by that.

  "Do you know if we can get back?" Yang wondered, seemingly worried. They'd been wondering that question for quite a while now, and they might finally get an answer from Jaune. But, first, Jaune frowned.

  "No, Cinder made sure of it." That was very, very bad news.

Part 4

  The sky, which was covered by the midday sun, was light with warmth. The beach was mostly quiet. Ruby, Jaune, and Neo were the only ones there, as the rest of team RWBY was off exploring the rest of the island. They would be back soon.

  "I'm worried," Jaune admitted, almost at randomly. Ruby was genuinely startled by this statement, and immediately turned to look at him. There was no indication of anything more than a bit of stress.

  "What?" she blurted, confused. Then she thought more on it, coming up with a genuine worry. "You don't think Emerald will-" Before the question could be finished, the blond gave her a firm answer. There was no hesitation.

  "No, I'm not worried about her." Then he paused for a good two seconds. "I'm more worried about Oscar." It was now her turn to pause in thought. Why would he be worried? There was no indications that they needed to worry. So why was he?

  "What do you mean?" To Jaune, this was merely a show of his friend's mind being somewhere else entirely. Possibly still on the thought of them being separated from the rest of their team.

  "Without you, I'm not sure he'll be much help," Jaune explained truthfully, feeling that what he was saying might be the harshest words that he'd said against the young man. It was silly to think that, of course, but it felt like a betrayal. Ruby gave him a confused look. "Without you, Oscar will most likely crumble to pieces. Most likely, he will blame Cinder for what happened to you." Then he made a unconcerned face. "It's reasonable, actually," he added, almost chirpily.

  "I still don't get it," Ruby admitted. Seeing he was getting nowhere, Jaune sighed heavily with light annoyance. This would take more thought than he wanted to express.

  "Let me explain it differently then." As if it would help, he looked down at the sand. "When they get everyone settled in, our team will fall into their different purposes. Emerald will go looking for Mercury, probably to convince him to help. Ren and Nora will continue to help the Atlesians that made it." In a split second, his face softened into sadness. "But Oscar lost his purpose. You gave him his purpose."

  "Jaune, you're not making any sense." Perhaps he wasn't. But this was too important to stop now.

  "You've always been the one he's closest to," Jaune continued plainly, seeing as something finally clicked. "When all of us were mad at Ozpin and taking it out on him, you only saw Oscar for who he is. You've always seen him as his own person." It was then that he decided to break the family-like code of secrecy that Oscar had bound JNR to. "Ruby, Oscar feels the same way about you that Pyrrha felt about me. That Ren and Nora feel about each other." Ruby's eyes went wide as it finally all came together. The girl understood now.

  "Why didn't he tell me?" Ruby blurted, now very distressed. "I've felt the same way for…" She broke off, starting to cry. It wasn't like it would help, but the stress was getting to her. "I can't believe I did that! I left him all alone!"

  "Ruby, he's not alone. Maybe a little lost, but not alone." Jaune gave her a look. "Ren and Nora will help him get back on his feet. Besides, it's not your fault we're trapped here." The blond paused. "You'll have time to tell him when we get back."

  "If we get back." The words were morose in nature, and nearly made Jaune snap. But he remained merely firm.

  "No, Ruby. When we get back."

Part 5 (3/4/2022 part uploaded early)

  A little awkward, and clearly worried for her own safety, Neo walked up to Ruby and Jaune. She held out her scroll to Ruby, which was open to the notepad. It said, "I'm sorry that I attacked you".

  "Don't worry about that," Ruby reassured, just a little sad. "I was only startled." Jaune gave her a confused look. "I don't want to talk about it right now." Jaune gave her another look, this one being a bit more frustrated. "I said I don't want to talk about it!" the girl exclaimed, a bit grumpily.

  "Talk about what?" Yang asked, returning with the others. Ruby, frustrated, sighed in annoyance. Jaune shook his head as a warning, but it didn't seem to stop Yang whatsoever. "No, I want to know what happened. What do you not want to talk about?" Ruby felt like she could explode at any moment.

  "I panicked." It came out in a rush of fear, as if she was blurting it instead. All but Neo gave her a confused look. "Neo attacked me before we woke up here. But, while she tried to fight with me, she kept changing who she looked like. One of them was… one of the transformations she used was Oscar. Unlike any other person, seeing him so angry and ready to attack terrified me. So I tried to run away." Yang's eyes began to glow red.

  "She did what?!"

  "Yang, cut it out," Weiss warned, trying to cool the situation down. "There's a reason Ruby didn't want to talk about it, and now we know why." Jaune agreed by saying that Neo had just apologized. That seemed to cause a bit of confusion on the blonde's side of things though. But the red eyes had disappeared.

  "For attacking her with Oscar's face?" Yang blurted, eyebrow raised curiously. They all turned to Neo, who nodded. It was very confusing for all involved. "Well, okay then."

  It went very silent for several seconds. It was as if no one knew what to do or what to say. What hadn't been said couldn't be said, and what could be said didn't want to be said. After that several seconds passed, it seemed that something had come into the forefront of what could be said. Although, it was mainly to alleviate some confusion.

  "There's still something I don't get," Jaune said, with a frustrated look resting on his face. Yang, still mildly peeved from the previous conversation, asked what he didn't understand now. Jaune automatically turned to Ruby. "I can't believe you didn't notice," he added, the not understanding flooding his voice.

   "What do you mean?" Ruby wondered, her voice as innocent as a doe. That seemed to only add to Jaune's anger, which was already pretty high on the scale at that moment. So many unanswered questions.

  "You flirted with him all the time, I though you knew how Oscar felt." Ruby scoffed, almost sputtering as she put up a defensive wall. Her face turned a light pink as she processed the statement in a split second.

  "I did not flirt." Deadpan, Yang confirmed that she did. Ruby's tone switched, becoming very sheepish. "Was it that obvious?" They all agreed that it was. "This is so embarrassing." She curled into a ball as everyone else laughed.

Part 6

  "What's that?" Yang asked, seeing something on the waterline. Everyone turned to look at it, without thinking of what she could possibly be looking at. Ruby felt a wave of intrigue as she turned. What could it possibly-

  "Is that…" Weiss said, as if she couldn't believe her eyes either. It was an oval in the sky, white like before. Ruby's heart lifted in her chest, feeling joy rush through her. She could barely contain her excitement as she realized what this meant to them. It was exciting beyond all of their comprehensions.

  "It's our way home!" Ruby cheered, smiling brighter than she thought possible at this point. It was a portal. It was a portal back to Remnant, of all things! It was a way to get back, and it was going to save a lot more time than anything they were going to do. If they had thought of anything, of course. Ruby ran into the portal without another thought.

  There was a bright flash of light. Colors swirled around her like before, which she found a little comforting this time. It was just like the one that took them to the pocket dimension. She stumbled through the portal, nearly blinded by Vacuo's sun. It felt so good, even as she rubbed her eyes. Quickly, the dots covering her vision faded.

  "Guys! You're okay!" Nora exclaimed, beaming as bright as Ruby was. The orange-haired girl went to hug Jaune first, then Ruby. But Ruby wasn't sure who else got one, as she then went up to Qrow.

  "Hey, kiddo," he greeted, faintly smiling. They shared a warm hug. It felt really good to be reunited with everyone.

  "It's so good to see all of you," Ruby said, still feeling the excitement in her bones. She then got the thought that now was the perfect time. She knew how he felt, of course. And she felt the same. This was the perfect time, in her mind. But, she had to mentally prepare herself anyway. It was a little scary.

  She looked around, still smiling. Ruby searched the entire area for Oscar, even spotting Blake and Sun sharing an embrace during her glance. But there was something wrong. Her face slowly fell as she realized who wasn't there.

  "Where's Oscar?" Ruby inquired slowly, feeling and looking very concerned. Wearing uncertain faces, Ren and Nora looked at each other. There was a moment where it seemed they were talking without words. Then they turned back to her, looking nervous. What was wrong? Why did they look like that?

  "Um, about that," Nora began, her voice getting shadowed by the anxiousness in her voice. Ruby furrowed her eyebrows, feeling just as worried. But for a different reason. "We're so sorry, but…" Nora gave Ren another glance, as if begging him not to let her say it. But Ren just nodded firmly. This had to be said. "Oscar's gone."

  Silenced filled the area as everything began to close in. Everything went black.

Part 7

  Ruby woke up with tears rolling down her face, dried water plastered to her face. Her heart thundered in her chest, she stared at the endless sandy beach with an ill longing. Someone else stirred nearby, though she didn't know who yet.

  "Ruby, is everything okay?" Jaune asked, standing up from where he'd fallen asleep and sitting down next to her. For just a brief moment, she thought about lying to him. About saying that she wasn't crying. To make sure it was clear, she dried her eyes of all evidence from her weeping.

  "It's nothing," Ruby lied, taking her own initiative. "It was just a bad dream." Jaune frowned, clearly saddened by her near confession that she was upset.

  "What happened?" She looked back at him blankly, then placed her gaze at the sand with what almost appeared to be loneliness in her silver eyes. It was clear that this was greatly affecting her. Ruby admitted that her dream had been a nightmare. "Go on." Ruby nodded silently, agreeing that she would.

  "We arrived in Vacuo, and everyone was there to greet us. Except…" Trying not to cry, she dried more tears. Talking about it hurt worse than the dream itself. She hesitated, beginning to scrunch her face up in anger. "It sounds dumb!"

  "Just keep going," Jaune told her honestly. "I want to know what happened." If there was any chance of helping her off of the cliff she'd created, he would have to have the whole story.

  "I looked around for Oscar, I was going to tell him how I felt," Ruby continued. "But then Ren and Nora came up to me and said…" Ruby paused, her lungs hiccupping for air as she burst further into wild tears. "They said that he was gone." Jaune looked surprised, but didn't think to ask which kind of gone she meant. It would only make it worse. "I know it was just a nightmare, but I'm so scared that it will actually happen! It's like you said, he's going to crumble. All he has is Ren, Nora, and Qrow. I'm not there, you're not there, none of us are." She continued on ranting, delving further into her fears than her friend had ever seen before. "Oscar must be so scared and upset, and I know it would all go away if I'd just gone through the portal with Penny. If we all had just gone through the portal." That's when he stopped her.

  "You can't think about that anymore," Jaune said seriously, knowing that he had to end this now. "We can't change what happened there." Gently, he reached for her arm. It was meant to be comforting, but his tone gave it a different edge than he'd meant it to have. "We both know he wouldn't do that. Oscar cares too much about you, about his team, to do that. Promise me you won't worry about him while we're all separated from each other. Oscar is strong, he can look out for himself. And, if he really is having trouble, the rest of our team will do everything they can to help him get better. Promise me that this won't have to happen again." Ruby inhaled deeply, quickly dried her tears, then exhaled.

  "Okay."

Part 8

  Ruby remained quiet for quite some time after that, not wanting to talk. Even though she didn't speak, she still shed tears occasionally during those hours. Jaune decided to stay nearby, as if to make sure she was okay. Of course, she wasn't okay right then. She was petrified and no part of her knew what to do.

  "Just take a breath, okay?" Jaune told her, as calm as if she hadn't had a meltdown not too long before that. "It was a nightmare, not reality." She continued to stay quiet, not knowing what else to do. "Oscar won't do that to himself. When we get back, he will be there and he will be okay." She wasn't certain of that.

  "But what if that's wrong?" Ruby asked, her voice slightly breaking. She was still very stressed. "What if he really does break?" Jaune sighed, clearly not happy with that answer. "What if they're not able to help him? What if-"

  "Ruby, we talked about this." Ruby curled up in a tight ball, nearly crying as she cooed nervously. The stress was still getting to her head. "Take a deep breath, and try not to think about it." As if that was possible. Ruby was petrified. There wasn't much else she could focus on, as they were stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere.

  "What's going on?" Yang inquired drowsily, having just woken up. Ruby wished that her sister hadn't woken up right then, as that would make things so much easier. Jaune lied, saying that everything was fine. Ruby knew that it wasn't. "Your voice says you're lying. Why are you lying to me?"

  "Look, I'm dealing with it," Jaune replied, firm while vaguely annoyed. Ruby looked down at the sand, even more stressed than she was before. She hadn't liked things like that before, but she really didn't like them now. "Okay, Yang? I got this covered." Ruby dried her tears, then scrambled to her feet.

  "I'm sorry I troubled you," she said, nervous and almost upset. She started to go away from Yang and Jaune. She didn't want to deal with it. "I'll just go walk around the island." Jaune's face changed, transforming into worry and shock.

  "No, wait!" Jaune rushed to his feet, as if he knew something was wrong. "It's okay, I'm not mad." Ruby did her best to not look at her friends, as that would reveal her overwhelming stress. She mumbled that she was fine, and just needed some time alone. "Okay, just let me know if you need someone to talk to."

  "Of course."

  As Ruby walked away, Jaune sighed and covered his eyes with his hand. That could've gone so much better. If only Yang hadn't woken up, then so much could have maybe been fixed right then. It was going to be a long time before Ruby was even close to better. But, if they could just find a way back, then everything would be okay.

  "We need to find a way back soon," Jaune said, mostly to himself. Yang agreed, but asked why he was bringing it up now rather than yesterday. "Because yesterday, I wasn't keeping Ruby from shattering into a million pieces. Today, as of this morning, I have one more thing on my plate to deal with."

  "But why? Isn't she almost an adult?" Yang blurted, clearly not understanding the reasons for the conversation. "If she's almost an adult, she needs to deal with her emotions on her own." Jaune sighed again, as he was getting nowhere.

  "She's not an adult yet, and she's just been through a traumatic situation. Give her some time to recover, Yang." The blonde nodded, even though she obviously didn't agree.

Part 9

    Ruby walked around the island alone, with her arms wrapped around herself. She was trying really hard not to cry over her nightmare again. She wasn't supposed to cry. She felt stupid, as she was supposed to be forgetting the dream entirely. It was getting extremely hard to forget.

  "How am I supposed to forget it?" Ruby said to herself, frustrated. It wasn't unreasonable, after all. "I know what will happen to him if I'm not there!" She wiped away her forming tears, trying to take a deep breath to help. "Okay, Ruby. Calm down. Crying won't do you any good, so there's no point in stressing."

  There was a heavy crunch of sound from behind her. Ruby's heart pounded in fright. She jumped, stopping immediately in her tracks. Startled, she turned around to see who it was. She wasn't sure why she was so scared, as the only people on it were her group and a bunch of animals. When she turned around, she discovered it was Neo. Ruby sighed in quiet relief.

  "Sorry, I didn't hear you." Ruby giggled weakly, feeling a bit embarrassed. That wasn't meant to be rude, I promise." In a reassuring turn of events, the newcomer nodded in understanding. Needless to say, Ruby was fairly relieved.

  Neo gestured in a vague way. It took only a few milliseconds for Ruby to realize that the young woman was trying to ask what was on her mind. They really needed to come up with a better way of communicating. Ruby glanced at the sand for a second, grabbing her own arm awkwardly. Did she want to tell the truth?

  "It's nothing," Ruby admitted, not telling the truth or lying. It wasn't the truth, as she was stressing over it hours later. "It was just a nightmare." Neo raised an eyebrow. Ruby looked down, her face falling. "Um… I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it yet," she added awkwardly. The eyebrow dropped. "Do you, uh, want to walk with me?"

  Neo nodded politely. Ruby smiled faintly, feeling glad to have someone near.

  They walked in silence for what felt like a long time. It felt really awkward though. Then Ruby started talking, spilling her thoughts out whether Neo wanted to hear it or not. Chances were that she didn't, but there wasn't anything said about it. It was only reasonable that she needed or wanted to talk.

  "I mean, it's not like I don't like him. I just don't want things to go too quick, you know?" Neo nodded faintly, Ruby wasn't sure if she was paying attention. "I mean, I've only known him for a few months!" She laughed awkwardly, realizing that the things coming out of her mouth were a bit odd. "I sound crazy, don't I?" Ruby looked to Neo, who merely shrugged. "Well, I guess that's comforting. At least you don't think I'm crazy."

  Neo smiled politely in return.

  "You won't reveal anything I just said about Oscar to the others, will you?" Ruby asked nervously, feeling that she might as well make her intentions clear. "I mean, Jaune's okay. But, don't tell Yang or anyone other than Jaune." Neo raised an eyebrow, then pointed to her mouth. "I know, but there's still the whole thing with the scroll." Neo faintly nodded, clearly remembering now.

Part 10

  Jaune and the others were still at the campsite, with everyone beginning to wake up. Weiss and Blake were moderately panicked to discover that Ruby was missing. That was, at least, until the two aware of the situation admitted what had happened. Now, Jaune was sitting where he had been since Ruby left. The blond appeared frustrated, but it wasn't clear if it was with himself or with another person. Yang was sitting down as well, looking in the direction that Ruby had stopped off in. She looked as if she was thinking that it was all her fault. It wasn't.

  "I'm sorry I got mad, Jaune," Yang admitted, still not looking. Jaune stared down at the sand, not speaking. Not answering the reveal. So, she turned at looked at him. "Did you hear me? I said I'm sorry." Jaune shushed her. It was rather a rare and strange occurrence. "What's that for?" Yet, he had method to this madness.

  "She's still not back, is she?" he wondered. The others looked at the sand, all looking upset. It was understandable that it would be on all of their minds now. "At least Neo can't tell her to shut up." It was meant to be a joke, but it was all too true nowadays. But they all silently agreed on it. "Should someone go check on them?"

  "No," Weiss decided, knowing it was for the best. "Ruby needs her space." That was true. "Like you said earlier, she got pretty startled. Just let her calm down." Jaune sighed, feeling worried. Then he said that Ruby had been "calming down" for nearly seven minutes. They couldn't argue with that number, and it was concerning.

  "It's a big island, Jaune," Yang reminded him, trying to ease the tension. It was kind of admirable, even though it wasn't a big help. "Give her a break." As they could all tell, Jaune was really trying.

  They sat around for a while longer, then Ruby returned. She appeared calmer, and Neo looked like she regretted all that she had ever done to them. Which was a lot. There was also the possibility that she had a headache from all of Ruby's chatting. Either way, it was improvement in the way Neo was going to fit in.

  "Are you feeling better?" Jaune asked, noticing the way that Ruby was keeping her gaze away from them. She awkwardly shifted, but nodded in agreement. There was no way she was actually feeling okay, but he pushed that to the back of his mind.

  "Yeah, I'm okay now," Ruby admitted, rubbing her hands against her arms as if she was cold. It wasn't abnormal. "Just got a little scared." Jaune knew she was lying, and it was very clear now. "I promise that I'll be fine."

  "I know." Of course he knew. But that didn't mean that he didn't know she'd be panicking for the rest of their stay.

  "We don't need to talk about this right now." Jaune reassured her that it was okay, and that he understood. The topic was dropped again, with Jaune still paying close attention to Ruby's seemingly waning mental status. Soon, there would be no doubt that the nightmare would return. This time, in more force that before. It was clear to him, and becoming clear to the others, that there was something very wrong.

Part 11

  Ruby and Jaune were sitting next to each other on the beach, not talking. It was midday now, not morning. Ruby looked tired, just as much as Jaune looked concerned. The topic of the nightmare hadn't been discussed, even though it was very clearly on their minds. Quietly, Ruby curled further into a ball. She appeared to be distracted by the sand, but Jaune knew better. There was nothing on her mind but the bad dream, even hours later.

  "If you're tired, you can rest for a bit," Jaune told her, looking over at the silent girl. "I promise to make sure that the others don't disturb you." Ruby thanked him, but didn’t leave the beach to sleep. That was the final straw. "Ruby, we need to talk about this. The longer you hold it in, the more it's going to consume you."

  "I'm fine, it was just a nightmare," Ruby countered, sounding almost apathetic. Almost a cross between sad and tired. It was like she was saying more to herself than him. "If I only stop thinking about it, then it will all go away." Jaune's face grew sad, as that was something he knew was wrong.

  "No it won't. That's what I've been trying to tell it, it won't go away. It'll just keep coming, and coming, and coming until there's nothing left but your tortured shell. Even then, it won't be enough." It was all harsh, but all kind. "So, please, don't let your fear consume you. If there's anyone on this island that is less deserving of that fate, it's you."

  "Thanks for the compliment." It almost seemed like a hollow statement. "I think I'll take that nap now." She stood up, then headed over to the shade of the trees.

  Jaune sat on his own for a few minutes before going on a walk. While walking, all he could think of to contemplate was how things could've gone so terrible. How the nightmare could've taken over Ruby so badly. When he returned, thankfully, Ruby was still sleeping. It had been a while since he'd left. Sadly, it wasn't long before she woke up again. She jerked up into a sitting position, startled. Jaune couldn't help but run to her aid.

  "Ruby!" he exclaimed, very worried for her. "What's wrong? What happened?" There was no answer. She started to cry, her hands shaking in fright. "Was it the nightmare again? Did you have the bad dream again? Just tell me what happened." There was no way it wasn't a dream. Ruby took a deep breath, then dried her tears. It didn't work.

  "It was the same dream as last time," she admitted, quiet and clearly still upset. Jaune sighed, feeling defeat set in.

  "Don't worry, I'm here for you. We just need to keep pressing forward." There was only one thing left he could say, even though she was probably tired of him reminding her of it. But it was needed, especially now. "Oscar won't take that turn."

Part 12

  The beach was calm, all except for the ocean waving and everyone chatting. Ruby had long been gone from the group, having went off to explore the jungle. No one had seen her for what they could only guess was an hour or so. It was seemingly calm, as if the mess that came after Ruby's nightmare had completely disappeared. It was almost comfortable.

  "We need to find a way back," Jaune reminded them, shattering the illusion that everything was okay. It wasn't okay. They were on an island in the middle of nowhere without any ability to rescue themselves. "Or we need to figure out a way to let the others know we're okay." It was all reasonable options, but no one was thinking about them.

  "That's really optimistic," Yang claimed, staring up at the perfect blue sky. Jaune couldn't look at it without getting mad. All he wanted was for the endless nice days to stop, for it to rain. Anything to giving him an emotion that meant something on the stupid island. "Who's to say there's even a way back?"

  "For Ruby's sake, there needs to be a way back. Really." No one seemed to notice that he sounded tense. Maybe that was a good thing? After all, it wasn't like no one else was frustrated. Frustration happened to be normal.

  "They'll figure it out eventually," Weiss decided, her voice apathetic. Jaune sighed, annoyed. Where were they getting this from? It was as if they had no emotions, no thoughts that were they're own. It was kind of concerning. At least, until Blake sat up with a mildly confused face. At least he wasn't the only one unsure.

  "I think there's a reason he wants a way back, for Ruby's sake," Blake said, sounding perfectly normal. Jaune almost felt relieved. Then there was a moment of silence as thoughts were gathered. "If there was someone that needed to leave this place, it would be her. For Oscar." That was it. That was the entire reason. And no one was seeing it.

  "Yeah, but Oscar's going to blame himself for the rest of his life over things like this," Yang calmly replied, her voice sounding significantly apathetic. The same as Weiss. "Like with the lamp and Ironwood, probably even the evacuations themselves." Realization then hit, causing a visible change. Yang seemed to deflate under her own idea. "Which is why Ruby needs to be there to support him through it." Jaune nodded in agreement.

  "This was never really our fight, but it was always theirs," he agreed, seemingly shaking them away from their apathy.

Part 13

  Pacing with his hand to his chin, Jaune thought over how they could possibly get back to their friends. It was a long shot, but there was no way he was staying on the island for the rest of his life. Even though they were safe from the war, every fiber of his being told him it was wrong. They needed to get back.

  "Is there a chance that Weiss's glyphs would get us back?" he offered, realizing it was a possibility. Weiss replied that it was possible, but very unlikely. "Anything is a good option, so let's keep that on the table. Especially if I amplify your Aura." It was an option, even if it wouldn't work.

  "Okay, let's calm down a little," Yang said, gesturing with her hands. Jaune didn't want to calm. "We've barely been here a few days, who's to say they think we're gone?" That was a stupid question. Weiss gave Yang a look. "What?" Unable to stay still one more second, Jaune started pacing again. Maybe it would help him think?

  "It's likely that Atlas fell." They all knew that it had, since it had been inevitable. "And the portal was collapsing." Jaune didn't want to say the next part, but he felt it was necessary to explain. "I know because that's how I fell." Silence seemed to rest upon the group like a think fog, but it didn't last long.

  "So we either figure out how to use my glyphs, or we figure out another way," Weiss said, repeating the two options laid out before them. There was really no fighting with this.

  "Exactly," Yang agreed. It seemed that was settled.

Part 14

  "How long do you think this is going to take?" Yang asked, thinking through the past few days. "Days? Weeks? Months?" Jaune gave her a look. Something was clearly wrong with her question, but she wasn't sure what it was. "What? I'm just being reasonable here. If we're gone long enough, they might have won the war before we get there."

  "Or Vacuo is taken over and our friends are gone," Jaune countered, his eyebrows furrowed. Yang didn't react, but it was clear by the look in her eyes that she felt there was a possibility there. "As you said, we need to be reasonable here. Ruby's basically our not-so-secret secret weapon. She can take down dozens of Grimm in seconds."

  "I think we can all agree that this is a bad situation," Blake offered up, trying to be the mediator between the two. While it was working, there was something else going on. Weiss started looking off toward the hills, confused and mildly worried. It definitely certain that was something on her mind, but no one knew what.

  "Does anyone know where Ruby was going?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed. After a moment of thought, they all agreed that they had no clue. It was probably true as well. Ruby hadn't said it before she left. "Should we go check on her?" They looked around at each other, as if trying to make a decision.

  "Go," Jaune told them. It was clear to him that he wasn't supposed to go, regardless of what the others would say. "I'll stay here with Neo." Yang nodded in agreement, then they all got up. They headed toward the direction that Ruby left in, going to search for her. "She probably got lost on the way back. They'll find her easily enough."

  Neo approached Jaune, placing her scroll in front of his face. It was asking a question about how much he knew about Ruby's feelings for someone named "Oscar". Jaune chuckled, amused by the question itself, then admitted that he knew a lot about it. And it was all definitely true.

  "Let me guess, you have a few questions?" he asked calmly, his stress from the previous conversation had entirely gone away. Neo didn't appear entirely confident about how she was going about her questions, but she still nodded to his clear question. "Well, I'd be happy to answer them for you." They quickly began a conversation of sorts over the topic.

  But the sun soon began to set, and team RWBY had not returned.

Part 15

  "Should we go look for them?" Jaune asked, a bit nervous. Thoughts ran through his mind, all questioning how easily it was to get lost in such a dense jungle like the one next to the camp. Neo shrugged. "It's getting really dark though." Jaune looked into the jungle, his face awash with concern. "Maybe they'll be back soon."

  The stars began to come into the sky, glowing down on the island just like they had the previous night. None of the four missing teens had returned either. Jaune was starting to pace, fearing that it was too dark to try to find them. But what else could they do? Just sit around! Soon, the sky was entirely dark.

  "It'll be okay, they have Blake with them." Jaune's voice trembled, showing his worry. "Blake can see in the dark, everything's fine." No, it wasn't fine. Not one bit. Neo silently raised an eyebrow at him, only to be ignored by his clearly overwhelming worry. Although, he had a right to be startled.

  Neo approached him calmly, holding out her scroll. There was a message on it. The message reminded him that it was too dark too search, and that he would need his sleep to help Weiss find a way back. The worry began to soften, replaced by his resolve. It would be fine. They would return soon. Right.

  "Right," he mumbled. "Right, sleep." It was clear that he was a little frazzled. But who could blame him. "I’m sorry, it's been a long week. You know, with the attack and ending up here." Neo nodded, though it wasn't seen. But it wasn't needed to be seen. It was extremely dark anyway, Jaune could probably only seen what the moonlight reflected.

  But, there was a problem still. When the sun began to rise the next morning, team RWBY still wasn't there.

Part 16

  Jaune waited for a few hours after sunrise, giving his teammates time to return. But to his surprise, they didn't. Getting nervous, he got up and began to pace across a section of the beach. Jaune accidentally dug a line into the sand with every step, but it was worth it. After a while, Neo came up to him with her scroll. On it was a message asking what he was doing.

  "Pacing," he replied simply, still trying to clear his head. It wasn't going as well as he'd hoped. "Oscar sometimes paces to calm down, so I thought that it might help." Neo pulled back the scroll, typing for a moment before holding it out again. Was it helping? Jaune stopped, sighing heavily. "Not really.

  Meanwhile, the missing Huntresses were trekking through the jungle surrounding the center. Little was curled up in Ruby's hood again, napping while they walked. While they knew that the sun was back in the sky, none of them were trying to acknowledge it. It was better to not think of how much time had-

  "Maybe we should've went back and told Jaune we were exploring," Yang offered, looking around. They all agreed they should have, but didn't suggest going back. Everything was probably fine anyway. "I feel a little bad about it, really." They all agreed again. No one tried to convince them to turned around though.

  "Everything will be fine," Weiss told them, carefully avoiding a tangle of vines as she walked. "Besides, we've already made it this far." That was unavoidably true. If they wanted to know what was going on, they couldn't just stop now. So they pressed onward, ignoring the fact that their friend was, most likely, anxiously waiting for them.

  By the time that they finally turned around and went back, it was dark. More than likely, it was really late. Far too late to go over what they had discovered. Although, Ruby had left Little in the jungle. It was probably the safest place for right then anyway. When they arrived, Jaune and Neo were sitting. Waiting for them.

  "Next time you want to go on an adventure, let us know first," Jaune politely asked of them. Team RWBY, embarrassed that they'd worried him so much, agreed.

Part 17

  Ruby's face twisted in thought, almost as if she was focusing on individual grains of sand. The others were chatting or just sitting, thinking about who knew what. Jaune was just standing by the ocean, staring out into the horizon as if it held all of their answers. After a long time, Ruby finally decided that it was time to say something.

  "What do you think we should say to the others when we get back?" she wondered, curious. "How should we explain all of… this." She gestured briefly to Neo, who looked unaffected by her comment. There was silence as they though. "Maybe it's still too early to think this over. They probably don't even know we're alive."

  "That's ridiculous!" Yang blurted, sounding shocked that she'd even suggest it. Maybe it was shocking. "Of course they know!" Jaune awkwardly scratched the back of his head, clearly disagreeing. Or he had an itch. It could've been that. "What?" For a another moment, silence continued.

  "It's, uh, not so easy," Jaune admitted, sounding a bit morose. "After all, we fell through the void. They probably think that we were vaporized immediately on impact or something." Everyone's faces fell, then Jaune turned around. "Now, I’m not saying that it isn't possible. Maybe they do know. It's just a guess. I mean, I didn't know that any of you were alive before you found me."

  "Fair enough." Yang seemed defeated, and Ruby couldn't help but feel it too. Who were they to say that they would get out of the mess in one piece? No one knew where they were, no one knew they were there to look for. Things looked pretty hopeless, and it was only Jaune who could see it. And yet, there was still hope.

  "Well, we can't give up," Weiss said, seemingly breaking the line of pain in the sand. "Maybe they'll figure it out." Once again, silence took over everyone as the statement settled in. While hope was still perfectly alive, despair was just as strong as crushing it back down. But there was always light, even in darkness. Hope would be their light.