~ Welcome back, CaptainRyano here. Welcome to my new story, made in celebration of my first fanfic, The Dreaded, surpassing 100 follows. Whether you're here from my original story, or a brand new reader, I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1, Mid Volume 4

The shattered moon's light shimmered across the length of Jaune's blade, carving a silvery line through the air as he struck. Steel tore through muscle and bone with ease, spraying the ground in an explosion of gore as the monster was cleaved in two. He drew his sword back with a huff, admiring his handiwork; seven Beowolves had surrounded him, already dissolving into various states of nothingness.

Not bad for a night's work...

He made the move to sheathe his sword, but paused as he noticed the state of his equipment.

His clothes were torn and bloodied, though the blood wasn't his own. Claw marks marred the once pristine metal plating that he wore.

"Shit…" Why hadn't he been more careful?

He considered sneaking back for a change of clothes, but decided against it.

Going back to camp looking like this… They'd be too many questions.

Questions he didn't want to answer.

He stood there for a moment to catch his breath, studying his boots against the damp grass, when the answer suddenly came to him. Earlier, when they'd been scouting out a campsite, Ren had mentioned that there was a stream nearby…

"Maybe I could use that," He thought to himself, sparing a momentary glance to his surroundings. But indecision still plagued him. He scratched the back of his neck idly.

Something warm seeped between his hand, and he jerked it back. Was he injured?!

His fingers came away a dark purple.

The stream it is… He decided, wiping the muck against his shirt.

It took a few moments to orient himself in the dark, the clusters of trees made the whole area feel somewhat... indistinct. But with a little bit of trial and error, he was back on the path that his team had travelled through just hours before.

It was surprising that they'd chosen to stop in this area entirely. But months of constant travelling had certainly taken their toll on the group, both physically and mentally. Even Nora's brand of cheer wasn't immune to exhaustion; the once bubbly girl getting grumpier and grumpier as the days wore on, though she'd only taken her annoyance out on Ren. He'd looked positively haggard by the time Ruby had tentatively asked to stop for the night, and the way his normally impassive teammate stared at him, with such hope and desperation… it had forced his hand. They'd opted to take a chance to recharge for a few days, and continue when conditions were more favourable.

Despite wanting to push forward, he'd chosen not to comment.

His legs burned as he moved through the brush, but he liked the strain the exercise gave him. It kept his mind anchored in the present. Though his muscles protested against it, he continued walking for several more minutes until he reached the stream.

It was rocky, and half choked with reeds, but the water was clear enough that he could see the smoothness of the rocks underneath.

He dipped his hand through the near crystal clear water, finding it pleasantly warm to the touch. Unsurprising, really, seeing as it was the middle of summer- the nights were definitely humid enough, but it was certainly an added bonus. He removed his boots and entered.

It's depth was deceptive, he realised, mostly because of how clear the water was. A few steps in and he was already knee deep, the water gently tugging at his clothes. He wanted to stand there for a while, but he was already pushed for time, and this area wasn't deep enough to suit his purposes.

He continued to wade upstream for a while longer, scattering the water in his path, until he found a small overhang, the area thick with vegetation.

The water was deeper here, darker in the shadows but still pale in the moonlight. If he used his imagination, he could almost picture the spot as a spa. The rocks and vegetation even added a semblance of privacy to the scene. Something he could be grateful for. He felt the tips of his ears heat up at the thought. Even if he was relatively alone here, that didnt mean he wasn't self conscious.

One of nature's luxuries, he supposed.

Taking off his armour, then his hoodie, jeans and boots, he washed them all through the water, most blotches of Grimm blood vanishing at first contact. Once his clothes were spotless, he laid them onto a pair of nearby boulders, which had absorbed the heat from the sun, making them relatively hot.

"These'll dry in no time," Jaune said to himself, before lying down into the warm pool of water, his weapon still within reach.

He sighed in pleasure as the water rose to his neck, the temperature doing wonders for his aching bones and joints. The blonde remained still in it, his neck brought back, eyes closed, time beginning to whisk away. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to what was quite possibly hours. The whole time, his thoughts drifted through various things.

His hometown, where he grew up, full of many fond memories.

His loving family of ten, whom he longed to see again.

Beacon, the place where he thought his dreams would become reality.

The friends he had made, and the experiences of a lifetime that they witnessed together.

His team, all of whom put their trust and faith into him…but above all else, they had believed in him.

His partner, the one who trained him so he could become the man who he had dreamed of becoming.

The Vital Festival, the tournament made to prove who was the best of the best. The primary event that Pyrrha had trained him for.

The...Fall. The catastrophe that ruined everything. The disaster that brought down Beacon, slaying hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent people. The day where everything had gone to hell.

The day that Pyrrha had-!

No, now was not the time for negative thoughts. This was a private time to relax.

Relax.

Relax…

His eyes drifted shut, remaining perfectly still.

…

"...Jaune?"

Jaune's blood went cold at the sound of the voice, already rising to his feet. He frantically looked around his surroundings, for any indication of somebody else.

Maybe he was just hearing things. He turned back, intent on laying back down.

"...Is that you, Jaune?"

He spun around in a flash, breaking into a full in sprint, finding absolutely no mistake in the voice a second time…

...it was Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha?! Where are you?!" He all but screamed. He couldn't help it, his mind racing, full of hope. "Pyrrha, please! Where are you?!"

"Over here."

He did a 180, coming face to face with the source of the voice.

There she lay, sitting on a small knee-high rock, smiling at him.

...But something wasn't right.

Her normally tanned skin was pale, almost deathly so. Her sparkling red hair was a mess, and faded from its usual colour, and her outfit was damaged and scorched, blotched with dry blood.

And to top it all off she had an arrow, pierced right through her heart.

He found himself back peddling a bit. Pyrrha simply tilted her head quizzically. "May I ask something, Jaune?" She asked, rising onto her feet.

He shook his head frantically, taking step after step away from this… this monster. He tripped on something, falling hard onto his back.

"Why did you let me die?"

Jaune suddenly paused, frantic movement stopped. His gaze met the ground in shame, and he felt tears begin to well up.

"I… I… I d-didn't want you to die, Pyrrha. You were my partner! I loved you, more than anything! I tried to fight, but-"

His eyes met with a pair of ghostly white legs, and he looked up. There she stood, blood weeping out of her wound, looking displeased.

"But, you failed."

He fought back a sob, his tears softly hitting the ground.

"...Yes."

"You failed, because you're weak. You're pathetic." He looked at her in shock.

"P-Pyrrha, I tried my best, I really did! But the Grimm…"

"You're the reason that I died, Jaune," She hissed. "Not the Grimm, not Ozpin, but you. I'm dead, and it's all your fault."

His gaze met with the ground once more, his breath hitching, and uneven. He took several lengthy breaths before responding.

"It is. It's my fault that you died. I'm so sorry."

"You're sorry? You're the reason that I died, and you're sorry?" Pyrrha replied with an agitated growl, reaching behind her back, and drawing her ruined spear and shield.

Knowing well what she planned to do, he searched for something, anything that he could use to defend himself. Alas, nothing but damp grass surrounded him.

She readied her spear, pointed edge mere millimeters away from his face.

Then, she took a deep breath and exhaled. The furrows around her eyes smoothed out and she smiled slightly.

He found that far scarier than her previous rage.

"For what it's worth, Jaune… I'm sorry as well."

The spear exploded through his chest, creating a disgusting hole of bloodied gore.

He slumped backwards, his mind fading. He tried to cry out, but all that escaped him was a wet gurgle. His throat and mind burned.

Pyrrha…

...

...Then he realised he was drowning.

Jaune's head jolted upwards through the water like an explosion, with a sudden burst of adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"Did I fall asleep in the water?" He thought, gasping for breath and hacking the water out of his lungs.

After a solid minute or two of regaining his breath, he glanced to the right, where his grip had somehow found his weapon, his knuckles turned white around the grip.

He forced himself to relax, opting to slow his breathing, and dropping his sword back to the side. He had been trying to ignore the past, keeping ahead of it with a dogged schedule of training and strategizing. Occupying his thoughts with a determination bordering on pigheadedness. But the nightmare had brought it all back to the surface. His mood souring, he reached for the pouch on his belt nearby, fishing out his scroll.

The device unlocked at the sight of his face, and he opened his photos folder, scrolling through the contents until he found a specific file.

He clicked on it, and it began to play.

"-id I click the right button? I'm pretty sure that I- Oh! The light's blinking red, so it must be working. *Ahem* Uhm… h-hey, Jaune! It's Pyhrra. B-but you probably knew that. Obviously. Aheh… A-anyways, how's Beacon been? It must be so different during the holidays, with not having any classes. And, well, pretty much all of the students and teachers."

Jaune felt the pressure building in his head, but he forced his breathing to remain even.

"Uhm… so again, I wanted to say sorry again for not being able to stay. Believe me when I say that I'd love to stay with you at Beacon but… sadly, my sponsors had a different point of view. I know you said it was fine, and that I shouldn't dwell on it, but, well, I can't really help it. But hey, keep your chin up! It's only for two weeks, plus Ren and Nora might return from their camping trip early."

Jaune felt his grip on the scroll shake, his focus on breathing becoming all the more difficult.

"...Uhm, there was…there was another reason that I wanted to make this video, Jaune. Something that I… need to tell you."

He felt his breathing hitch.

"I…I just… I wanted to let you know that…"

She hesitated a moment further on the screen, before dropping her head in defeat. With a sigh, her eyes met back with the camera again.

"...I...miss you, Jaune. I really do miss you. And I just wanted to say that, uhm… that I'm looking forward to being with you again, back at Beacon. Goodnight, Jaune. I'll see you-"

With a ragged cry, he hurled his scroll away. It sailed high, the last words of the message lost deeper into the forest. He stood there, panting, hands clenched into fists.

He'd tried, Gods he'd tried. To avoid thinking about Pyrrha. To forget. Because if he didn't then everything came rushing back to him. The pain, but worse still, the guilt.

He was naive for thinking that he could get stronger. He'd trained until his body was battered and bloodied. Until his sword was dull and his aura was spent. But what did it accomplish? As soon as he dared to hope…

There were so many that he couldn't save.

If his friends were in danger, his team. Could he really do anything to help them? What could he achieve?

Constant plans and scenarios whirled around inside his head, keeping him from sleep night after night. But he always came to the same conclusion. A laugh escaped him, but he felt his eyes burn and took a deep, shuddering breath.

Nothing.

That was the worst thought of them all.

His hands hurt and he looked down, surprised. His fingernails had pierced his skin, leaving a series of curved marks across his palms. The pain cleared his head somewhat, and he tried consciously to relax his fingers. He traced the cuts gingerly with his thumbs, his aura flaring.

A howl echoed off to his right. A second accompanied it, suddenly closer. But it wasn't enough to register danger. Another accompanied it. Closer, as if zeroing in on his position.

He had to calm down, clear his head. With a long sigh, he left the embrace of the pool, his skin crawling in the sharp night air. He felt exposed. Frustration and bitterness warred within him.

He was probably a beacon of negativity.

Deciding that now was the best time to leave, he collected his belt and sword, attaching it to his hip, before moving back to where his clothes were drying. He found them to still be slightly damp. Uncomfortable, yet manageable.

His only flaw, however, was that he was still dripping wet, with nothing to dry himself with.

His choices were either sneak back to the camp and find something like a towel, and run the risk of his friends seeing him half naked in the middle of the night, or wait.

He chose the latter, opting to prefer the less risky outcome. And so he sat beside the boulder on the ground, arms crossed.

The thoughts of Pyrrha still lingered in his mind. He knew if he had another outburst like before, the Grimm would likely come searching for him, if they hadn't already. His best option was to suppress any thoughts at all, and have a clear head.

Jaune drew in a deep breath, before breathing out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Inhale, exhale.

...Clear mind.

His focus was interrupted by the sound of a nearby shrub shifting slightly. He watched it intently for a moment, seeing no further movement. He closed his eyes again.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Inhale, exha-

Snap, went a nearby branch. This time he was onto his feet, hand ready on the hilt of his sword.

Grimm wouldn't watch prey like this, especially when they had the opportunity to attack a target with their guard down. No, this was something else.

Or rather someone else.

"Who's there?" Jaune demanded, his gaze scanning the treetops and surrounding shrubbery, in case there was more than one threat. No response replied.

"I said, who's there? I know you're out there!" He shouted, unsheathing his sword and deploying his shield.

There was a pregnant moment of silence, only the occasional sound of crickets chirping making a sound. Jaune guessed that they were remaining silent to pretend that they hadn't been caught, but he wasn't buying it. He kept his guard raised, eyes weary.

"...Jaune?"

His guard dropped in an instant, weapon and shield falling to his side.

"Ruby?"

"Y-yeah, it's me," she replied, as she unceremoniously walked through the bush she was hiding behind. Once she set eyes on him, she froze, her face turning as red as her cloak before looking away. "Sorry! I didn't realise that you were… not… wearing clothes."

"Hm?" He asked, before looking down at himself, realising that he was only wearing a small pair of damp, grey boxers. His face also turned red, as he leapt behind the boulder, poking his head out.

"Uh, aheh… sorry. I'm still wet from the water. D-do you think you can find a towel or something back at camp? I sorta… forgot to bring one."

"Yep! No problem!" She replied, giving him a blind salute before dashing back towards the camp, rose petals in tow.

She returned almost as quick as she had left, arriving with her back turned away from him, and her arm extending a towel in his direction.

"Here you go." He took it and whispered his thanks, before quickly drying himself.

A moment later, he finished putting on the last of his clothes, securing his jeans with a zip. "Okay, all good. You can look now."

She turned around, and smiled. "Ah, much better."

An awkward silence fell between the two, both unsure as to what to say next. Their gazes met, before shying away instantly.

"Uhm, so-"

"So I just-"

Both paused again, seemingly caught in an endless loop. "You go first," Jaune finally encouraged. "I insist."

"Ok. Um, I was kind of watching you. B-but only because I got worried at camp! You were missing, and I figured that something bad might've happened so I went looking for you...and…here we are."

Her story made sense. If he found Ruby missing, he'd want to go looking for her as well. But that begged a question, however…

"How much did you see?" He asked, voice not sounding agitated, although curious. Ruby found herself hesitant despite this, struggling to find the proper words. She eventually let out a heavy sigh.

"...All of it. I-I'm sorry, I know I should've left you, or done something. I'll try not to-"

"It's fine."

Ruby's guilty expression dropped in an instant, replaced with confusion as she looked back to Jaune, now in front of her. "Huh?" He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I said it's fine. I know that you mean well, Ruby, so don't worry. I'm not mad, not at all."

Her face softened, before she shook her head, a small smile on her face. She wrapped her arms around him, head on his chest. "Sometimes it's unfair how good of a friend you are."

That got a smile from Jaune, who returned the embrace. "That's only because I have such an awesome leader."

Their hug lasted a moment longer, the pair basking in one another's warmth, before separating.

Ruby pulled out something from her pocket, offering it to Jaune. A scroll. "You… threw this." He found himself surprised that he forgot about it, before taking it. "Thanks, Ruby," He said, holding back a curse when he noticed a corner had been dented. He sighed, and pocketed the device.

"If I can ask, what woke you, Jaune? Grimm?"

"Hm? Oh. It was a… nightmare. Kind of pathetic I know, but I felt that I should walk it off."

That got a surprise look from Ruby. "...Really? You have them too?"

"Almost every night," He replied, her honesty surprising him as well. "About… Beacon?" She nodded, head downcast. He hummed, eyes also set to the ground.

"...Well, hey, at least we can suffer together, right?" Jaune asked in an amused tone. Ruby giggled. "Sure."

The pair made their way back to the camp, where they found Ren and Nora still asleep; Ren could've been mistaken for a statue had his calm breathing not given him away. Nora, however, was the polar opposite, her snoring loud enough to challenge any threat within a mile of their camp, Grimm included.

Despite the difference between the pair, they both slept directly side by side, seemingly without any problems.

"They look peaceful...in their own way," Jaune whispered, earning another giggle from Ruby. The girl in red spared a look at her and the blonde's sleeping bags; A couple feet apart, and the furthest from the fire in the middle of the camp. An idea sprung into her head, dashing towards Jaune's bag, scooping it up.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" He whispered, confused. She ignored him, grabbing her own bag as well, before dropping them closer to the fire, now side by side. She got in her bag and patted Jaune's, gesturing for him to join her.

Mouthing an "Ah", he took off his armour and weapon belt, before slipping into his own bag. Ruby inched closer to him, the two practically shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Put your arm out." Jaune's head spun to face Ruby in a flash, eyes narrowed. She rolled her eyes. "You're going to be my pillow."

Suspicion now gone, he complied with her request, and she in turn rested her head on his arm, their faces mere inches away.

"Hey," Jaune whispered with a smile. "Hi," Ruby whispered back, finding his smile infectious. The two looked at each other for a moment longer, before bursting into a fit of giggles. Once it subsided, Ruby nuzzled closer to him with a soft, pleasant sigh.

"Did you want to talk about it?"

Jaune looked to her, eyebrow raised. "About what happened back there. Did you want to talk about it?"

Jaune found himself feeling conflicted. Was it wise to keep his emotions welled up like he had been, or vent, and risk being seen as unfit for his mission? That was the last thing he wanted.

...But this was Ruby, one of his closest colleagues, and the first friend he had made at Beacon. Surely she'd understand his problems… right?

"Uh, hello? Remnant to Jaune, you still there?" She asked, giving his arm a nudge.

"Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a second. Um… sure. I guess we can talk about it."

"Okay then," She replied softly, turning her head slightly to face him better. "So… I heard a bit of a racket back near the stream. Grimm?" He shook his head.

"No, it wasn't Grimm. I got… distracted by some heavy thoughts I guess you could say. As stupid as it sounds, I think I almost drowned. But I'm fine." He said, rushing to add in the last part for Ruby's sake. "After that I… looked at a video on my scroll. A video of Pyrrha."

Ruby's face dropped in an instant at the name, her eyes parting away momentarily.

"...And why's that?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Jaune hesitated to answer, but knew better than to lie. Ruby was his friend. His first friend that he made at Beacon. She trusted him. He trusted her.

"So I… so I could better myself." He finally answered, which earned a quizzical look from Ruby. "One of her old training videos?" He shook his head.

"No. Videos of her just being… herself. Clips of greeting during holiday breaks, ones where she just called to see if I was going alright… I watch them so I can remember what I lost. Who I lost. I need to remember, force it into my soul, that I wasn't good enough. Not good enough to save her. Save Pyrrha…"

He hadn't realised he had begun to cry until Ruby cupped his face. She too looked to be on the verge of tears.

"...We all lost someone that night. Someone we loved. But the harsh reality is, they're gone." Her face met his. "Where you blame yourself for Pyrrha, I blame myself for Penny. Everyday, I think back to that horrid night, thinking about how I could have been better, or how I could have prevented it… but it doesn't matter. In the end, what's done is done, the past has passed, and now can only focus on the future. If you keep weighing yourself down by the past, how will you ever be able to move forward?"

Her fierce gaze subsided after blinking a couple of times, where she awkwardly chuckled. "S-sorry, I kind of got carried away there…"

"Don't be," Jaune replied, offering her a smile. "You're absolutely right. About everything. Thank you Ruby, you've given me a lot to think about."

She returned the smile, and brought herself closer to him, wrapping her arms around him. He returned the embrace with his free arm, and the two savoured the moment. Ruby was the first to yawn, followed by Jaune shortly after, before both falling asleep in each other's arms moments later.

In their sleep, both wore a small smile on their faces, for there were no more nightmares that night. Only sweet, wonderful dreams.