Sup guys? Welcome to another chapter of Whatever the Cost. If you guys haven't noticed, we have a new profile picture for the story. I want to thank MashupMan2100 for making the pic. Thanks again my guy. Anywho, let's answer the reviews.

MashupMan2100: That's what I was going for. The prequels did something good for once. And as much as I really want to include memes into the story, it would break the serious and sad atmosphere. But, my next project will include a lot of that. So, stay tuned for that.

Chrome94: Glad to see you review again. Maybe he'll get Pyrrha back, maybe he won't. We'll see. The Red haired woman, in my opinion at least, was just a figment of Jaune's imagination. It was there in order for Jaune to get over his grief. If it's something else, Roosterteeth will probably talk about it at a later date.

Stratos263: Patience young lad. All in due time…

Patriot-112: Who said the Red haired woman was Pyrrha? I will say that she's going to play more of a role in this story than the way Roosterteeth used her. Essentially, she'll appear more than once.

March2Dis: Nope. Not Pyrrha's ghost. A figment of Jaune's imagination. And yes, it's quite heartbreaking, isn't it. But, that's the charm of the story.

343: That he is. That he is…

Twoheadedsnake: I'm not going to pretend like I know who Obito Uchiha is, but if I need a bit of inspiration, then I'll look him up.

Ouroborosdragon: To be fair, Jaune isn't the type of person that requires thanks. Just like a knight, he doesn't require thanks when he saves someone. He's just thankful that he's saving the day. But, this ain't the Jaune from the series. This is a Jaune that's closing his breaking point and is going to make a decision that will further ruin him. Everything else you mentioned, I already established in the first chapter.

Engineer1869: Good to see that you're enjoying the story thus far. An appropriate reaction to learning that everything you did amounted to nothing. Jaune and Hazel will have a really pleasant conversation, which is all I'm going to say. Villains always were more honest with heroes in stories. Salem is no exception. Of course, she could twist the truth, but in the end they are honest and blunt. Jinn can't predict future Knowledge, but she could show him the truth, whatever it may be. The Red haired woman is just Jaune's imagination. But, she will be something more in this story. All in good time.

Travisck: Who says he'll kill anyone? Injure someone, yes. Kill someone, maybe. Depends on the situation. But it won't be one of his friends. His descent has already started. Just a matter of time.

Well, that's all the reviews from the previous chapter. On to this one.

Chapter 6: Forgiveness.

Ruby sighed as she and her team walked back to Saphron's house, all extremely exhausted. After Jaune's departure, Ren and Nora said that they wanted some time to themselves in order to comprehend the recent news about Ozpin. That was short lived as Oscar also decided to up and leave. Team RWBY with Ren and Nora went out to look for both, but weren't at all successful. Terra and Saphron joined them as they were returning, with Adrian asleep in Terra's arms.

They stopped in front of the front door of the house, noticing a man laid down on the steps. They saw in was Qrow, passed out and drunk. His flask was in his right hand, heavy breaths leaving his opened mouth.

"I'm sure this looks great to the neighbors." Terra said sarcastically.

Ruby and Yang looked at each other with frowns.

"It's never gotten this bad before." Yang said.

Ruby sighed.

"Come on. Let's get him up." She said as she and Yang stepped in and sat him up, causing him to wake up and let out a groan.

"Wh-Why am I on the stairs?" He slurred as he rubbed his eyes.

"Probably because no one's HOME, Uncle Qrow. We've been out looking for Oscar and Jaune." Ruby emphasized, her hands on her waist.

"Oscar…?" Qrow asked, still rubbing his face.

Ruby sighed.

"C'mon, let's get you inside." Ruby said, taking one of his hands and putting it over her shoulder.

The door suddenly opened, giving everyone present their attention.

"Oh, there you guys are. I was wondering when you'd get back." Oscar said, stepping a few feet out the house.

What every one noticed first, was that the former farm hand was now wearing a new outfit. He's now wearing an olive coat with shoulder pads and a belt, both being a dark red. Underneath, he's wearing a white collared shirt, with bandages being wrapped around his neck. His gloves are a slight open U-shape with black X-pattern wrist straps. He also wears black trousers and red boots, changing to orange once they reached his toes.

"Oscar!" Everyone shouted in relief once they saw the boy, still well and not a runaway. He looked at everyone, confused as to why they reacted the way they did. His expression soon turns to panic as he noticed both teams jumping towards him and tackling him to the ground in a group hug.

Once everyone got off him, Ruby picked the boy up, and immediately being bombarded with questions.

"I was worried sick!" Weiss said.

"Are you okay?" Ruby this time asked, her fists on each side of her face and a pouty expression to boot.

"What are you wearing?" Nora asked with a smirk and a hand on her chin.

"Is… something cooking?" Terra asked as the rest entered the house.

"Oh, I thought you'd all like a hot meal, after… spending all day looking for me apparently." Oscar said with an awkward smile and shrug.

"Yea, I could go for something warm and meaty right now. Thanks Oscar." Yang said with a smirk.

"No thanks needed. These past few days, I've been scared about what's going to happen. I don't know how much time I got before I stop being… well, me. But, in the time I was away, I did some thinking. And I know that I want to do everything I can to help you guys with the little time I have left." Oscar said with a smile.

A beeping noise was then heard, causing Oscar's smile to drop.

"The Casserole!" Oscar shouted with his hands on his head.

"We got it chef." Saphron said as she and Terra walked into the kitchen.

Ruby sent Oscar another smile and walked towards him.

"That new outfit looks good on you."

Oscar smiled back at her and nodded in thanks.

Ruby turned her head to the right and noticed her uncle walking up the stairs. She fully walked to the base of the stairs.

"Where are you going now?" Ruby asked with an edge in her voice.

"I don't wanna get in the way of you celebration."

"You've been gone all day, just sit with us."

"Look Ruby, I'm glad you kids were able to work out all uhh… whatever all that was. But the fact is we're not a single step closer Atlas." Qrow said with a sigh, turning to regard the teens.

They all fell into silence as their minds tried to come up with anything that could get them to Atlas.

"Then it's time we take that first step."

Everyone turned towards the door and saw Jaune enter the house, closing the door behind him.

"Jaune!" Nora shouted as she jumped towards her leader to give him a bone crushing hug, causing him to wince and let out shallow gasps as he struggled to breathe.

"Nora… slowly… suffocating…" Jaune wheezed out, making Nora let go of him with a smirk.

"Welcome back Fearless Leader!" She said as she gave him another hug, not as life threatening as the one before.

Jaune hugged her back, allowing a small smile to cross his lips.

Nora let go of him and took a step back as Ren walked forward and hugged him as well.

"Go to see you back brother."

"I never left for good. Just needed time to clear my head."

"Where were you? We spent all day looking for you." Ruby asked him this time, glaring at her best friend, but it wasn't having an affect due to the fact of how relieved she was to see him.

Jaune let go of Ren and walked towards Ruby.

"I was at a memorial site." Jaune said with a sad smile.

"The one with Pyrrha Nikos?" Terra asked from the kitchen.

The room once again fell into silence as the teams regarded Jaune with sad looks. They all knew how heavily the Invincible Girl's death weighed on Jaune. They saw how he changed. He wasn't the boy that was awkward and clumsy in Beacon. He wasn't the boy that made jokes and flirted none-stop with Weiss. He was someone else entirely, a stranger.

They all wished that wasn't the case. They wanted to see Jaune smile and laugh more, like he did before. They wanted to see the bubbling and awkward boy make his long-awaited return.

Jaune's smile fell as he looked at the ground, an unpleasant look crossing his face. His hands shook as his lips tightened. His eyes were closed tightly as he clenched his fists in order to stop the shakes. He finally let out a breath, somewhat calming him down.

"Yea… the very same." He said, his voice breaking slightly.

Ruby stepped closer to Jaune and took his hands in hers, stopping the shakes and breaking him from his depressed state somewhat momentarily. He looked his best friend in the eyes, noticing the heavy concern in them.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked him softly.

Jaune smiled.

It was a smile that shouldn't be associated with him.

"I told you back in Mistral, didn't I? I'll never be alright. I tried about a hundred times and failed. I gave up on trying to be alright."

Ruby circled her arms around the blonde's waist and put her forehead on his chest. Jaune looked down in surprise at the act. Before he could comprehend the situation, he felt another pair of hands going around his neck. He turned his head to the left and saw Weiss, whose head was buried in the crook of his neck.

Yang joined as well, going to his right and doing the same as Weiss. Blake put her hands on his shoulder blades and rested her head on his upper back. Nora grabbed his right hand and intertwined her fingers with his, her head on his shoulder. Ren grabbed his remaining free hand and put his own over Jaune's, tightening his hold on it. He looked Jaune in the eyes and gave a comforting smile.

Jaune looked at everyone around him with a shocked expression as his eyes slowly welled up. His vision became blurry as he tried to not cry in front of his friends.

"You're not alone, Jaune." Ruby said.

"From now on, you tell us when it's troubling you, you dunce. We're a family. You should be telling us these things."

"Don't make me change your name from Vomit Boy to Moody Boy. That's more of Blake's shtick."

"Yang, stop trying to ruin the moment. But, she's right. Don't go becoming me, or I'll sue you for copyright infringement."

"We love you Jauney, just like we loved Pyrrha."

"We don't want to lose you too."

Well, since they kept saying these things, how would he be able to hold back? A sob wrecked his body as his tears finally managed to break through. He would have fallen to his knees if not for his friends there to support him. He felt an extra pair of hands going around him. Through his blurry vision, he saw that he was buried in his sister's shoulder. She pulled him away, so both sibling would stare into each other's eyes, both crying. Saphron gave her brother a kiss on the forehead and pulled him back to her shoulder, squeezing him with all her strength.

"I love you Jaune. Don't you ever forget that. I love you." Saphron whispered in his ear.

Jaune wanted to say it back, but he couldn't. His wailing prevented him. He's bottled it up for a long time, so no one blamed him for being so emotional.

After some time, he managed to calm down somewhat.

"Thank you, all of you. My vision is a bit blurry and I have no clue who you people are, but thank you." Jaune said with a small smile and a joke, trying to bring the mood back up.

His friends chuckled a bit at his joke as one by one let go of him. They all wiped their eyes. Once they were clear, they looked at him with smiles on their faces, smiles that assured everything was going to be okay.

"Before we continue, I'd like to say something." Jaune said, turning his attention towards Oscar, who was standing awkwardly after the whole exchange. He froze once Jaune's eyes turned to him.

"I'm not gonna apologize about what I said to Ozpin, cause I feel that was justified on my part. But… I will say sorry to you Oscar. What I did was out of line and you didn't even deserve it. I was… paranoid. Angry. I'm really sorry, Oscar." Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head in his typical fashion.

Oscar relaxed once he realized that Jaune wasn't going to attack him again. He smiled at Jaune.

"It's all good. I would be doing the same thing if someone was lying to my face this whole time, and causing one of my best friend's death."

"So… we're good?"

"We're good."

Jaune shook his hand with Oscar. He smiled and turned towards Qrow, who was waiting patiently on the stairs.

"So, what I've thought off…"

And done. Pretty emotional chapter if I do say so myself. Happy with how it came out. So, until next time, don't go changing.

Fun fact: Wrote this chapter on one of the Military PC's. If I got caught writing this, I would have been severely fucked. But, getting discharged finally, so I don't give a flying fuck no more. See ya.