Tears of the Mind

The Wayward Knight's Return

"Where did you get that sword, boy?" the man asked the blonde knight while two policemen restrained him. It was a pity because the mustache prick would have eaten an aura-infused fastball if he had been a few seconds faster.

"Don't you know that makes you the back-stabbing snake in the grass, False Shepherd?" the man told him as the crowd around the raffle began to gasp and murmur. And we ain't letting no false shepherd into our flock!" the crowd cheered, and the blonde noticed instantly how the crowd's attitude changed from cheerful to bloodthirsty. Slow dread soon seeped in as the dozens of people all around the restrained boy became murderous.

"SHOW HIM WHAT WE GOT PLANNED, BOYS!" That was the last thing the blonde could hear as he looked in sudden horror at the rapidly rotating blades of the sky hook inching towards him. The sounds of the small gears rotating seemed to slow down until the hooks were only millimeters away.

"GAAAHH!" Jaune shot up from his bed and pulled out the pistol that he kept under his pillow, only to be aimed at the wall at the other end of the small motel room he was in. he let out a few more gasps of breath before realizing that it was just another dream. His wide eyes soon relaxed as he got up and sat off the side of the bed. He set the unusual-looking pistol on the nightstand and sighed before running his hands over his face and hair.

It had been a month since he got back. A month since he discovered some things that figuratively fried his mind and a month since he was left alone. His hands squeezed tight into fists as he remembered her for a split moment and instinctively went to the bottle of whiskey on the dresser. After pouring himself a glass and downing the drink, he looked back at the gun. It was another reminder of the place he had been, the hardships he endured, and the lives he had taken.

"What the hell am I doing?" Jaune muttered to himself as he got up from his bed and headed over to the window, looking out to see the broken moon illuminating the world of Remnant. "It's been a week since I came back to Vale. Why am I still in this damn motel room?" He looked back to the dresser and let out a sigh. He knew that answer but hated to admit it,

admitting that he was afraid.

He could hardly believe it was only a month since he was abducted by two twins who had a thing for finishing each other's sentences. Before he knew it, said twins somehow warped him to a world that made him vomit from not just the flying city but the sick ideals and twisted minds that inhabited it. During his time there, he fought, he killed, and in a way, he died. But even after pushing through and surviving, after defying the laws of space and time by returning to his world, why did he wait to return to the ones he cared about? The ones that were probably in hysterics about him disappearing.

He went to his folded clothes at the foot of the bed and pulled a photo of him and his team from his black slacks—a photo they had taken just a few days before his disappearance. His heart clenched a bit. He saw their smiles and then immediately clamped his eyes shut.

"You honestly think things would return to normal after worrying them for so long?" Jaune growled, expressing the annoyance in his head.

"No. Things have changed too much."

"You can barely look at yourself in the mirror. Will your friends and family see you the same after they realize what you've done?" Jaune remained silent when the festering voice pointed this out. "I mean, SHE just flat out left you. You really think that the others-"

"I KNOW, DAMMIT!" Jaune shouted while he grasped his head. "Can we just move on from that?!" Silence was the only response to the blonde as he sat back down on the bed with the photo still in hand. He didn't need the photo to see their smiles. He knew he didn't. He also knew deep down that what the voice said was wrong. He knew they would be happy to see him. After all, they were his friends. He would keep his sins buried.