It was quiet, tense, and suspenseful as the two locked eyes with one another.
Apollo and Grace, long lost partners.
Apollo and Grace, long lost lovers.
Apollo and Grace... finally reunited.
Apollo's knees slightly buckled with each step Grace took to him. He couldn't decipher the emotion that was on her face, whether she was happy or upset, he couldn't tell.
Ironwood and Qrow smile and walk away from the boy, leaving him to face Grace alone. She stops a few feet before the boy, eyeing him from head to toe. He does the same, as he analyzes his partner's current outfit.
Grace wore the same uniform as the rest of her Ace Ops peers that stretched down just before her hips, allowing some of her skin to be shown around her waist. She wore red gloves on both her hands, but unlike her teammates, she wore dark blue pants, her white pistols holstered on both sides. She also wore a dark blue undershirt, similar to the rest of her peers.
But, what caught Apollo's eye was the patched-up remnants of a wound on the right side of her waist. It was no mistake, it was the same wound that Cinder had inflicted on her during the night Beacon fell. He stiffens, his breath hitching at his throat as the memories from that night flashes in his mind.
Yet, to his surprise, tints of orange and red freckles parches around the wound, directly saturating the pale color of her skin.
"So... are you gonna keep starin', or are you gonna say hello?" She says teasingly, causing the boy to snap out of his trance.
"S-S-Sorry... you just... well... look... r-really nice." He stammers, causing her to giggle.
"I'm glad you like it. I... can't say the same for you, though. You look silly." She admits, enraging the boy.
"H-Hey! I'm sorry I don't have an amazing fashion taste like you! Besides, this gig's all for functionality, NOT fashion." He says proudly, causing Grace to huff.
"I'm sure that big ol' cape of yours does wonders for your mobility." She says nonchalantly. Apollo opens his mouth to retort, but he relents, knowing full well that Grace made a good point. Truth be told, he only got this black cape to copy Ruby's, and yes, it has gotten in his way a few times during battles.
Grace giggles, clearly amused at her old partner. Then, she walks closer to him and nods.
"See you tomorrow."
And, without another word, she exits the corridor and tails her team. Apollo, who was still stunned, turns around to watch his old partner leave. She turns the corner, thus disappearing from sight.
But then, an audible groan roars from the group.
"Oh, come on! That was it!?"
He turns to find a disappointed Heath.
"No kissing, no tears, hell not even a hug!? What the hell, man!?"
This causes the rest of the group to laugh, even causing Ironwood and Qrow to snicker. Apollo rolls his eyes and walks over to the group, smacking Heath on the top of his head.
But then, his eyes moved over to Winter, who waited patiently at the other side of the corridor. So, with a nod, he motions the group to follow along as he walks over to Winter.
"Are you all finished? Then, let's proceed."
And so, the group led by Winter exits the room and heads down to the 'barracks', while Qrow and Ironwood stay behind momentarily.
Along the way, the group passes by several different rooms. You could make out some of the rooms, one of which being a cafeteria, one of them being some sort of training room, and most of them being classrooms for the students.
Eventually, Heath lets out a long yawn, which causes a domino effect as everyone else yawns along. Winter notices this and nods, motioning towards the hallway up ahead.
"We'll be arriving shortly at your barracks. These rooms can house up to four people at a time, so feel free to assign yourselves to which room."
She continues to walk ahead, leaving the group to murmur on who's staying in which room.
After some talk, the group splits off to 3 different rooms. There was Team RWBY with all the girls, then Jaune's team with Oscar, which left you, Jake, Heath, and Qrow in the final room.
As the group shared their goodbyes for the night, they all headed into their respective rooms, courtesy of Winter giving them each their room keys. Apollo watches as Ruby's team and Jaune's team enter their rooms, his exhaustion clearly visible as he unlocks the door to his room.
Upon opening the door, Heath lets out a small gasp of awe at the room's design. The floor was accented in a dark blue and white color, while the walls were a teal color. The room was equipped with four bunk beds built into the wall, a ladder in the middle for accessing the upper two beds. Beside the beds was a massive window that was embedded in the wall, showing the beautiful night sky and the campus below. To the left of that was a desk with a mirror, with several chairs underneath.
Heath: Dibs on top bunk!
With a cry, he zooms up the ladder of the bunk and flops onto the top bed, letting out a satisfied sigh, causing Apollo and Jake to roll their eyes.
Apollo: I prefer the bottom of a bunk, anyway.
Heath giggles to himself as he nestles into his bed, feeling the soft fabric under his back.
Heath: Ah... finally! Finally, we can rest! Gah, I'm beat!
He sits upright as Apollo and Jake undresses themselves to their undershirts.
Apollo: I'll throw you out the window if you start snoring, Heath.
Heath: Ah-! H-Hey, it's not like I can control my snore!
Jake: You can by suffocating yourself.
Heath: J-Jake!
Jake snickers as he lays down on the bottom bed, while Apollo lays down on the other bottom bed. He looks out the window, staring into the pitch-black sky.
Jake: All this traveling and fighting, just to continue to do more tomorrow, huh? No rest for us 'heroes', it seems.
Heath: Ugh, tell me about it... I could go for a day off, man. Is this what huntsmen have to go through on a daily basis? Jeez... maybe I don't wanna be a huntsman, after all.
Jake: Heh, or what? You're gonna work as a bartender? Please.
Heath: I was joking, Jake.
Jake lets out a snort. A brief silence ensues, but Heath lets out a sigh.
Heath: Say, Jake?
Jake: What?
Heath glances at the window.
Heath: You've never told us about... y'know...
Jake: My family?
Heash: Y-Yeah.
Apollo keeps his mouth shut as the only person in the group to know about Jake's past.
Heath: I... I'm sorry to hear that. I can't imagine losing all of my family members in an accident.
Jake scoffs and shakes his head.
Jake: Why are you sorry? It's not like you didn't cause the crash. If you did, I would've killed you ages ago.
Heath: Well, yeah but... I-I don't know, I just wanted to say sorry.
He stares at the ceiling.
Heath: I'm... very fortunate to have such a loving, caring family. My older brothers taught me basically everything I know. They're the ones who told my parents to take a backseat and just enjoy life; they're the ones in charge of the family now. Without them... gods, I wouldn't know what I'd be like today.
Apollo: That sounds... really nice.
Heath: Yeah... again, I'm very fortunate. But... knowing that you, or most of us in this team have suffered so much, whether it be the loss of family members, or the loss of their homes... it really pains me that I can't just... relate, y'know?
Apollo hums, but Jake chuffs.
Jake: What are you trying to get at? Do you WANT to lose a family member?
Heath shakes his head.
Heath: No! No, not at all! I'm very happy with my life, thank you very much!
Jake: I was joking, Heath.
Heath pouts and huffs.
Heath: Well, it wasn't a good one.
But, he quickly turns serious once again.
Heath: But yeah... I just... can't imagine how rough you've two had it. Especially you, Y/N.
Apollo: Hm? W-Well...
Jake: Don't deny it. You've had it worst out of all of us, Apollo.
Heath: You don't remember your real parents, you basically lost memories of your childhood, your foster parents were killed, your school was destroyed, the list goes on!
Apollo shakes his head, a sad look in his eyes as he remembers his foster family.
Apollo: That's... not something to be proud of, though. I don't think anyone should be proud of losing their loved ones, or things they care about.
Jake: Well, of course.
Heath: But it's what makes you so admirable, Y/N.
Apollo: Huh?
Apollo glances to the top of his bunk to see Heath leaning over to him.
Heath: All that, yet you still have the strength to keep fighting is crazy to me. Admittedly, I don't know how you're still standing on two feet! It's... why I look up to you so much, man.
Apollo rubs the bridge of his nose and glances away from Heath.
Apollo: R-Really...? I... don't think I'm anything special, dude.
Jake: Says the Ignatius.
Apollo: Okay, but that's just it! Other than my origin, my powers, and all the stuff that's happened to me, I'm... just a normal guy, y'know?
Heath: Dude, all of us can't be considered normal. We're kids, traveling around Remnant to save the world from evil! What's normal about that!?
Apollo opens his mouth, but Heath had brought up a really good point. He lets out a sigh, causing Heath to chuckle.
Heath: See what I mean?
Apollo: I... I guess, yeah.
Heath proudly muses to himself as Jake rolls his eyes. He then lets out a sigh.
Jake: We should all go to sleep. The more we talk, the more tired we'll be in the morning.
Apollo: I second that. We have a big day ahead of us. Right, Heath?
To his surprise, the pyromaniac doesn't provide an answer through words. Rather, he answers via his snores, causing Jake to laugh.
Jake: Of course.
Apollo lets out a sigh.
Apollo: If only I had the foresight to bring my earplugs...
Jake rolls his eyes as he closes his eyes. But, he soon remembers something and sits back up.
Jake: Where's that old drunk, by the way? I've not seen him since the office.
Apollo: He's... probably catching up with the General. I wouldn't worry about him, I doubt he'd go off drinking after the day we've had.
Jake: I hope you're right. I wouldn't be able to handle sleeping next to a drunk. Good night.
Without another word, Jake rolls over on his side and closes his eyes, leaving Apollo as the last person awake.
However, instead of falling asleep, he scoots back and leans on the wall, letting out a sigh.
"Grace..."
Then, the conversation between himself and Ironwood replays in his mind.
---------------
"What... have you done to Grace?"
...
Momentarily, a look of confusion dons on Ironwood's face. Apollo notices this and walks towards him.
"She... she shouldn't be standing on two feet, not after what had happened to her. You did something to her, didn't you?"
Ironwood's eyes widen as he understands what Apollo meant. But, much to the boy's surprise, the General shakes his head.
"I didn't do anything to her."
Confused, Apollo tilts his head.
"I find that hard to believe. Isn't Atlas well renowned for its prosthetics? Did you not implant them onto Grace...?"
And, to his shock, Ironwood nods. The General then turns to face the boy.
"We were just as surprised when we heard news of Grace's recovery. She was healing from her injuries faster than any doctor could've anticipated. We had expected her to be out of commission for years, yet she was free to leave the hospital in 2 months."
Apollo was stunned. His mouth was open, yet he couldn't speak.
"I assure you, we've not used any prosthetic gear on Grace."
"Then... how did she recover so fast without any prosthesis?"
Ironwood raises his brow at the boy.
"How odd you ask that Y/N, considering that I believe the answer is because of you."
Surprised, Apollo takes a step back.
"W-What do you mean, 'because of you'?"
Ironwood muses to himself and stands up.
"I suppose you've not seen it for yourself. Whenever possible, check the wound around Grace's waist. Perhaps you'll get your answer there."
---------------
Snapping back to reality, Apollo's eyes widen as he remembers the orange-red freckles around Grace's wound.
"Was... was that because of...?"
A memory soon replays in his mind.
It was himself, Grace, Ruby, and Cinder standing atop Beacon Academy. Grace was slumped down in his arms as Ruby fought Cinder by herself.
He remembers Xevel snapping him out of his hopeless trance. His power enveloped him; It was the strongest he had ever felt in terms of his power. He placed a hand on Grace's wound, then turned to face off against Cinder.
...
"C-Could that be what had happened...? Was it really because of me...?"
...
...
...
A smile soon crawls up on his lips. Tears welled up in his eyes as he slumps down the wall.
If he was truly the reason why Grace had made a full recovery...
Then... all of his worries, doubts, and fears about her were now all resolved.
Without the need for prosthetics, she was safe. She was alright, and she was in good shape.
...
Of course, he still had questions lingering in the back of his mind about his partner.
But, a yawn soon escaped his lips. He'll have to ponder upon those thoughts at another time.
So, with a smile on his lips, he rests his head on the bed and closes his eyes...
With nothing but excitement for the next day that was soon to come.
Thus starts... a new age.
---------------
Unbeknownst to the eyes of the Kingdom of Atlas, a tall slim man with a thick mustache covered in a dark purple and pink coat walks through the roads of Mantle. He held an umbrella in his left hand, and a briefcase in the other. He walks over a puddle formed on the floor, indicated by the occurring downpour happening over Mantle.
As he walks, Ironwood and Winter's broadcast continues to echo from the screens around the city. Something lobed inside his ear then pitches.
"For the last time, a singular hideout makes us susceptible to discovery."
With a click on one of four rings around his wrists, the traffic post across the street suddenly switches to allow pedestrians to cross. A husky voice soon echoes back from his earpiece.
"But what if we're seen? What if we're recognized?"
"We stay mobile."
Sounds of stabbing and slashing could be heard over his communication device.
"We're walking around a city with a thousand eyes."
The man lets out a sigh as he clicks on another ring, changing another traffic post's signal to allow pedestrians to cross. This sudden change in signal causes multiple vehicles to screech to a halt around the man. However, he seemed unfazed, his expression almost showing signs of boredom.
"While cybersecurity has been stepped up in Atlas, as usual, none of the code was updated in Mantle."
He walks across another street, and with a click, a blockade of posts rises from the ground beside him, causing a car to crash. As civilians around him run to help the crashed driver, a sinister laugh echoes from his communication device.
"That certainly sounds useful."
"It should be. I helped write that code, after all."
With another click, all nearby security cameras around the man powers off. Continuing to walk down alleys, turning around corners, a smile crosses his lips at the sounds of muffled screaming through his communication device.
"Well, I suppose we all have our talents. I'll certainly utilize mine to... slay off a few threats later!"
The man lets out a sigh.
"We'll get our chances as long as we do our parts. Unlike a certain disgrace we share a seat with, I trust you understand what that means, yes?"
And to that, the person across his communication device chuckles darkly.
"Of course."
---------------
Next time on The Ashes of The Chosen:
Out With The Old, In With The New (Volume 7 Chapter 3)
A/N:
Expect to see a well overdue change to Apollo next chapter. :)
Also, might change this publishing schedule to occasionally post 2 chapters a week. Keyword occasionally, as I probably won't be able to actually do 2 chapters a week, but on the off-chance I can write a chapter fast enough, I'll always publish them on Wednesdays, 11 AM AEDT.
That'll be all, I'll see you guys next chapter! Carter Out!