Vale
7:57 AM
Y/n Pov
The ride on the Bullhead was quiet. That was mostly due to it being empty. No one was going where I was headed. When the Bullhead did land, I was quick to get off and on the move. I had a lot of ground I wanted to cover quickly, especially since word was bound to have spread that I was loose again. Even with the CCT down, I was sure that there were some emergency communications relay up or something. It wouldn't make sense for them not to get one up given the state of things.
I doubt that with things as they are, I'll have to worry about the law coming for me. Should probably keep my head down for the time being just in case. My hope here was that everyone would be gathered here, or at least close by. I wanted to know that everyone was alright and accounted for. That and I really wanted to know that Weiss was alright.
Looking around as I walked, Patch was fine, albeit, very subdued. More so than usual anyway. I didn't wait around and immediately left the village. Right now, the only thing I was concerned about was getting to my family.
Walking through the forest was quiet, in the good way. The local wildlife was lively meaning that I was safe for the moment. I made it through the forest quickly. Every step bringing back memories, both good and bad. I wondered what the house looked like now. Was it exactly the same or were there some changes?
As I approached the house, I saw Ren, Nora and Jaune sitting on the porch. All of them talking amongst themselves. Well, Jaune was more listening but when he saw me, he perked up. The look on Jaunes' face said it all. He stood up and marched over to me and before I even got a word out, he laid me out.
Nora: Jaune!
Jaune: PYRRHA IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!!! IF YOU HADN'T BROUGHT HER TO THAT FUCKING TOWER, SHE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!!!
Ren: That's enough, Jaune!
Ren and Nora had to pull him off of me. I didn't fight back. He was right. I should have stood my ground and went it alone. Because of that, Pyrrha was dead. The fault laid solely with me. I stood up and wiped my nose clean of the blood now dripping out. Jaune was fighting tooth and nail to have another go at me, and honestly, I couldn't blame him.
Y/n: ....I'm sorry, Jaune....
Ruby: What is going on out here!?
She had barely stepped outside when she saw me. Without a second thought, she rushed at me and nearly tackled me back to the ground. I thought she was going to squeeze the life out of me with how tightly she was hugging me. I hugged back, just relieved that she was ok. After what happened on the tower, I was worried that she had been hurt somehow.
Ruby: I'm so glad your ok!
Y/n: I'm glad your good too.
Ruby broke away and I realized that she was armed and dressed to leave. I looked back at Ren, Nora and Jaune. They were all armed and ready to go. I put two and two together and knew what she had in mind. She saw that I caught on and was already trying to justify it.
Ruby: We can't let what happened in Vale happen anywhere else. Cinder needs to be stopped.
Y/n: And I agree, but going out on your own isn't-
Ruby: I'm not alone. I have Ren, Nora and Jaune.
Y/n: Even still.... Do you even know where your going?
Ruby: Qrow said that the trail leads to Haven.
Y/n: Ruby-
Ruby: Your not stopping me.
I looked Ruby in the eyes and saw a reflection of myself staring back at me. I knew that there was nothing I could do to convince her otherwise. I sighed and looked past her at the house. It was both sickening and nostalgic being back here. I closed my eyes and pushed it from my mind. I had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment.
Y/n: Where's Yang?
Ruby: She's in her room.... She.... Lost her arm, Y/n.
Y/n: ....What about Weiss? Or Blake.
Ruby: Weiss' father got her before that night even ended. She's been in Atlas since then, and Blake.... She just disappeared....
Y/n: *Sigh* ....At least their alive.
Ruby looked back at our friends before looking back at me.
Y/n: You said I can't stop you....
Ruby: You wont.
Y/n: Well.... Someone's got to stay with Yang until she's well enough to get back in the fight, and there's still work left to be done in Vale. Go on.
Ruby: Really!?
Y/n: Yeah. We'll catch up. Just be safe.
Ruby hugged me again and I returned the gesture.
Ruby: I love you, big brother.
Y/n: Love you too, Rubes. Now get going. You got a hell of a walk ahead of you.
Ruby broke away and ran to her group. Jaune and I made eye contact for a moment and I wondered if it was even possible to salvage our friendship. He turned away and started walking with the group, leaving me alone. I looked down before I turned around and walked into the house. It was exactly the same as when I was a kid.
It was almost uncanny. It didn't help that I could vividly replay the events of that night everywhere I looked. I pushed it from my mind again and focused. I wanted to see how Yang was doing now that Ruby was gone. I walked up the stairs and straight to Yangs room. I knocked on the door and waited.
Yang: ....Come in....
I gently opened the door and saw Yang just sitting in bed, staring out the window. Her remaining gauntlet sitting on her nightstand. She was visibly depressed and the reason why was obvious. Losing a limb had to have been a special kind of hell.
Y/n: ....Yang....
Yang turned to look at me, brightening a little at seeing me, but only for a moment. I walked into her room and kneeled beside her bed.
Y/n: I'm glad to see your ok.
Yang: ....I'm not....
I gently hugged Yang and she buried her head in my chest.
Yang: ....Everything is gone.... The school.... Penny.... Pyrrha....A-and....
Y/n: Hey now. It's alright.
Yang: No its not! Rubys' left, Weiss is in Atlas and Blake.... She just ran away!
Y/n: Blake had to have had a reason to-
Yang: NO!
Yang pushed away from me. She had tears in her eyes nd it only hurt me to see her try and use her missing arm to wipe them away. When she realized what she was trying to do, she only started to cry more. I wanted to get her mind off of all this, but I had no idea how too.
Y/n: *Sigh* So what are we going to do now?
Yang: You can do whatever you want. *Scoff* Your probably going to run off again.
Y/n: Not this time....
Yang: What?
Y/n: I'm staying.
Yang: ....Yeah.... I'm sure you are....Your just going to keep going out at night playing the hero....
Y/n: Your right, I'm going to keep going out. The fights not over. But I'm not going to leave you alone....
Yang: Well, you know where to find me then. Can you please leave.... I want to be alone.
Y/n: Alright.... Love you, sis....
Yang looked away from me and back out the window, not saying a word. I flinched a little with how far down she was. I sighed and stood up before moving to the door. I wish there was some way to make her feel better but that would only happen if none of this had ever happened to begin with. I gently closed the door and moved away. Looking down the hallway, I found my eyes drawn to my room, my old room.
I walked over to it and opened the door. It was almost a perfect one to one recreation of my room from way back when. I stepped in and looked around, astonished at how perfect they had gotten it. It was nostalgic to see my childhood like this again. It only just dawning on me that I really had a thing for heroes when I was younger. The amount of hero comics and toys I had was staggering. I didn't remember that bit, but that was quite some time ago.
My eyes drifted to my desk and I saw the only thing that was out of place. My pistols were laid out side by side, with the rest of my equipment in a box underneath. I was glad to see that it survived and I still had it. I looked at my pistols and they looked like they had seen better days. They needed a good cleaning, that was for sure.
I pulled out the chair and sat down at the desk. I didn't know how to feel about all this. This whole thing was a clusterfuck. Ruby was on her way to Haven. Blake was missing. Yang was in bed, depressed. And Weiss was safe. I wanted to see Weiss so badly. To let her know that I was alright. To see that she was alright. But that wasn't possible.
I closed my eyes and let myself replay the last few months. I couldn't help but feel like this whole thing was my fault. Seeing things that I could have or should have done differently. It didn't take long before tears started to fall. This was all on me....
Pyrrha and Penny were dead because of me.... I made bad decisions that cost them their lives, just like Junior and Melania. Just like Roy.... I let it out. All the grief that I bottled up. There was no way I could fix what happened but there was a way for me to fix what can happen. I looked at the engraving on the grips of my pistols.
The Rose family crest etched into the pistols. Mom wouldn't give up. Ruby didn't give up. Neither did Pyrrha and I seriously doubt that any of my predecessors gave up either. I wasn't about to the first. I owed it to them to keep going, regardless of how much I wanted to quit. I closed my eyes and focused before I opened them.
Red Hood: It's time to get to work.
WE FUCKING DID IT!!!
Book 1 is now complete. I have to say, I'm so happy that I managed to get this done. I've been writing since I was a kid but this is the first full work that I ever published and completed. Thank you all for reading, especially all of you who've been here since the beginning. I love that you all enjoyed the story up to this point and I will make sure that I keep she story interesting going forward. I'm going to start on book 2 immediately but I wont publish for a while. I need a break that's longer than just two or three days at a time. It wont be long before book 2 is out, so I hope to see you all there. Until then, Stay awesome, my dudes!!!