There were very few times in your life that you considered yourself to be truly lucky. The two most important ones that came to mind were when you survived your foolish attempt to kill a Grimm years ago, the other was when Yang came into your life. Now there was third one you could add to that list; not being killed by the debris of the shop and your house collapsing on you.
Although calling it lucky might not be entirely true. You may have survived but now the debris had you pinned down, leaving you exposed and with no way to escape if any Grimm were to pass by and notice you.
Just about every part of your body was trapped in the rubble, with just around the top quarter, both arms included, being free. Instinctively you tried to move your legs. There was very little room to move them in any direction and one spot had a sharp piece of debris that jabbed into your leg, causing you to scream in pain. Fortunately it didn't feel like it pierced your skin and at least it let you know that both your legs were still working.
Using both hands you attempted to pull yourself out; no luck. The debris blocked any chance you had of crawling out from it.
"No. No."
You tried pushing yourself up, hoping that whatever debris had you trapped wasn't too much and just needed an extra push. Every bit of strength you had was mustered up and fought against the rubble that had you pinned down. Again you had no luck. It was just too much for one person to move on their own. From what it felt like, it was one large piece that was holding you down, although there was more than likely smaller pieces on top. This led you try get your hands underneath it to aid in pushing you up but to no avail.
"Hel-help!" you shouted. "Anyone please!"
It was pointless. Anyone nearby that could possibly hear you were more than likely gone.
"No." you said tearfully before trying, and failing, to push the debris off you. "Come on! Come on!"
You gave up with an exasperated sigh.
"Damnit." you said distraught, your voice quivering while you punched the ground in frustration.
A whimpering Zwei approached you.
"Doesn't look like I'm getting out of here." you said to him.
The small dog turned around from you and began crying loudly for attention. He remained at the one spot for several seconds before he ran off.
"Zwei!"
He didn't respond to your call, instead he kept running away, his barking getting quieter and quieter until you could no longer hear it. Now you were all alone.
You hung your head briefly before your eyes wandered over to Beacon. The massive Grimm you saw earlier now seemed to be circling Beacon tower. Immediately your thoughts were on your friends and the person you loved. How were they faring against everything? Were they okay? Did things so bad that they were forced to leave?
Whatever their fate was, you had a feeling you weren't going to be around to see them. You had already given up that you were going to make it through the night. You were expecting a lone Grimm to come by any second and pick you off. Or maybe there was more debris about to fall on top of you. Or if you did manage to survive the night you would go unnoticed by any potential rescuers and slowly die from hunger and thirst.
Sure, you might be overreacting in your panicking state, but you couldn't help it. Maybe after all the good things that had happened in your life since you met Yang and she became your girlfriend now had to be balanced out with something bad.
You remained fixated on Beacon while resigning yourself to your supposed end. The dragon Grimm was now perched on top of Beacon tower, making you wonder what exactly it was doing there. From what you saw it didn't attack anyone and just seemed to be flying around. You feared the worst had happened when the thought occurred to you that in the time you weren't looking towards Beacon it had already wiped out most of the people there, everyone you cared about included.
Then an incredible white light erupted from the tower. It was as if the sky had blown the heavens into stars. Despite how far away you were the brightness was so strong your eyes hurt from it, forcing you to look down and cover them.
Several minutes passed and you convinced yourself to crack open an eye. There was no illumination from the light, encouraging you to open your other eye. When your gaze returned to Beacon the dragon was still fixed on the same spot. You stared at if for a while, looking for any sign of movement from it; there wasn't.
"What happened?"
The ensuing silence quickly became unbearable. Not knowing when your end would come, the confusion following that burst of light, how helpless you were in this situation. All of it was hitting you at full force.
For fleeting moment, you forgot about the debris on top of you and attempted to get up.
"Move damnit!" you shouted aggressively.
After that brief outburst a familiar sound slowly getting louder; a dog barking.
"Zwei?" you muttered.
But he wasn't alone. You heard what sounded like someone following after the small dog and calling out to him. As the voice became clearer you realised that it belonged to someone you knew.
"Jaune!" you shouted once he came into your field of view.
He jumped slightly from both you shouting out his name and seeing you almost buried beneath the remains of your house.
"What're you doing here? Weren't you at Beacon?" you asked.
"Hang on." He replied, ignoring your question. "I'll get you out."
He made a brief attempt to pull up the large piece pinning you down, only to stop and clear off whatever debris he could before trying again.
"Give me a sec." he requested after his attempt was unsuccessful.
"You never answered my question." you claimed as he attempted again to lift the rubble off you.
"Zwei." he grunted in response, stopping once more and coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't be able to lift it up. "I was in the city and I heard him barking. I didn't know it was him at first but when he saw me he ran over and started pulling at my leg before running off."
"He wanted you to follow him." you realised, turning your attention to the corgi.
"I guess so."
"Good boy." you complimented, stretching out your hand to pet him; you couldn't reach far enough to get the top of his head and had to settle for scratching him beneath the chin, though he didn't seem to mind.
"Why are you here?" Jaune began. "I thought you'd be evacuated with everyone else."
"I know." you said abashed. "I was worried about my parents and convinced Yang I needed to be here."
"So this is your home?"
You nodded.
"What's left of it."
"How did you get into the city?" he questioned.
"Yang put me in a locker. She also gave me Zwei to look after; although now I guess he seems to be looking after me."
Zwei barked in agreement.
"Why are you here and not fighting at Beacon?"
"Pyrrha." he responded dejected, to your confusion. He didn't follow it up with anything and seemed to intentionally be avoiding the subject altogether.
"How..."
"She put me in a locker."
You let out a quiet half laugh.
"Great minds huh?" you cracked.
"Yeah." he replied dispirited.
You could tell from his voice that something definitely troubling him and you were unsure whether or not you'd be any help with whatever it was. Having to worry also wasn't going to do him any good.
"Take Zwei and get out of here." you instructed. Jaune's reaction was to look at you with irritated disapproval. "I'm not getting out of here."
"Are you really just giving up like that?"
"What am I supposed to do? Neither of us can lift it off, there's nobody around to help, there could be a load of Grimm closing in, I'm not moving from this spot anytime soon."
"Then neither am I." he responded, plonking himself down on the ground.
"Now that's just childish." you claimed, frustrated.
"I'm not gonna leave you here alone. We can wait for someone to help us."
"Or a bunch of Grimm passing by notice us. Just get yourself to safety."
"What is wrong with you?" he chided.
"My house is after collapsing on me and I can't move. I'm done for."
"You're gonna get out of here."
"How?"
"I don't know... but you're just giving up, on your parents, on your friends, on Yang. How can you do that when our friends are risking their own lives..."
He clenched up.
"... don't you want to see any of them again?"
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Just hang on. Someone will be around and they'll help me."
"I wish I could be that positive about it."
"Just you wait."
"That's gonna be the worst part."
Jaune sunk back slightly to make himself more comfortable.
"Shame we don't have any beers to pass the time." you joked.
"Don't remind me of that night." Jaune groaned. "The day after was a nightmare."
"First hangover, always a joy."
"First and last. I'm never drinking again, especially if it's with Owen and Ivan."
"Can't say I blame you." you chuckled. "But let's be honest, both of us would take the worst hangover ever over this right now."
"No arguments h..." Jaune perked up before he could finish talking. "I think I hear something coming."
While you listened, Jaune stood up slightly to see what was approaching.
"Hey! Over here we need help!" Jaune shouted. "They're coming."
"(Y/n)!"
"Mom? Dad? Why are you both here?"
Jaune was practically pushed to the ground when your mother rushed over to you, your dad following in suit.
"Hold on (y/n) we're gonna get you out." she said frantically while trying to comfort you.
"I thought you both got out of the city."
"We turned around after you got cut off on your scroll." your dad answered. "We had to leave the car when the streets were too crowded to drive in."
Both your parents grabbed you by the arms and tried to pull you out. Their combined strength wasn't enough and only served to hurt you as debris jabbed into you from all sides.
"Stop! Stop!" you shouted.
"We're gonna have to lift it off him." Jaune stated.
"Oh yeah mom, dad, this is Jaune." you introduced. "He's a friend from Beacon, and the dog is Zwei."
When your dad looked down and saw Zwei he was met with a friendly bark from the small dog.
Your mother ignored everything and began her attempt to lift the debris from you.
"It's no good." you claimed. "Even if all three of you are lifting."
"Word of advice (y/n)..." your dad began, joining in. "Never underestimate a mother when her baby's in trouble."
"Did you have to say it like that?"
"Get over here now and help." your mother barked at Jaune.
"Right away." he complied.
You could feel it. You could have sworn you felt it move just the slightest when all three began lifting. It gave you just the slightest glimmer of hope that you were going to get out. But that slight movement was all you felt. It didn't seem like it was going to budge anymore.
"It's not gonna move anymore."
"Then we're not giving it all we got." your mom claimed. "Both of you, put your backs into it."
"There's not point y..."
"Don't you give me that..." you mom scolded. "... or your grounded."
"Grounded? Really?"
"As long as you're under our roof."
"Then maybe I need to get my own place."
"Not gonna be able to do that unless you get out of here." your father added. "You want to get out of here don't you?"
"Of course I do."
You felt the debris moving again. Like before it was only slight, except this time it wasn't stopping. Were they really going to get you out?
"If they had one more person maybe they could... No. I am that fourth person."
Without a second thought you joined in. For one last attempt you tried to push yourself up, using your shoulders to take the weight.
"That's it." your dad encouraged.
"You've carried heavy stuff while you were working right?" Jaune asked.
"Yes." you grunted.
"Then surely you've got some bit of strength in you."
"Listen to your friend." your dad instructed.
It was already starting to hurt, and badly. Even without the rubble jabbing into you, the strain hurt just as much, probably even more. But once you felt the debris budge it was enough to encourage you to put up with it.
"You know what?" Jaune began. "We could go drinking again. You, me, Ivan, Owen and Ren. Another guys night. What do think? It'd be great to have another one. Think about it."
"I am." you responded.
"And we'll all be looking back on this night like it was a bad dream.
"What! You were drinking?" your mom shouted.
"Yeah." you mumbled.
"You are definitely grounded once we've gotten you out." she joked.
It was still moving, maybe not enough to get out, but enough for you to put your hands underneath it to help you out. Even Zwei seemed to join in.
"And don't forget about Yang." she reminded. "Every little moment you two will be together after this, it will be all the better. Imagine the future you two are going to have with each other."
"It's gonna be great."
"It better be." your mom added. "I'm expecting you to make her my daughter in law."
"No pressure." Your dad remarked.
The weight was becoming unbearable, every muscle was aching, even with the rush of adrenaline you were feeling at that moment. But it was moving, enough that you had to let your legs slide forward and get into a kneeling stance if you wanted to keep it up.
"Must hold on."
It was working. The debris was at a point where you could slowly get up on your feet, but for how long you didn't know. Even with all four of you it could only be lifted so much and that limit came just as you were able to get on your feet. You weren't standing fully and looked more like you crouching.
"I can't go anymore." you cried, feeling as if you were going to black out from the pain. "It's too much."
"It's fine. It's fine." your dad assured as he slid under slightly to grab your arm. "Take his other hand." he instructed Jaune who copied him.
"I got it."
"It's just a little bit more (y/n) okay? On three!"
"One."
"Two."
"Three!"
The force of which you were yanked out from both your dad and Jaune was so fast that it take you a moment to realise you were on the ground and that all three of them had let go and let the rubble crash to the ground. The feeling of all the aching and strain on your body was suddenly joined by your mother wrapping you in a constricting hug that slowly loosened up once she realised she might be hurting you. Your still pumping heart from the rush you felt was beginning to return to it's normal rate. And while you were calming down you watched your dad approach Jaune and thank him for everything.
"Let's get out of here."
####################################################################
Morning finally came after a sleepless night. Vale was now free of any Grimm; you had heard they were all congregating at Beacon from a soldier you spoke to. From that same soldier you also learned where those who were fighting at Beacon were taken to. With that information in hand, you left your parents at the shelter and made your way to that location with Jaune and Zwei the moment the sun rose.
You both arrived at a makeshift hospital set up in the spot where the Grimm had entered from Mountain Glenn months ago. Several medical tents were set up around the place, with medical professionals continually going in an out. You went over to where any students that were unharmed had spent the night. It was almost completely quiet, with the only sound that was noticeable at first being that of those weeping quietly while friends and fellow students consoled them. What made it worse was not being able to spot anyone you knew among the crowd. No sign of Yang, Ivan or any of their respective teammates. Immediately your mind went to the worst possible situation.
"Can you spot anyone?" you asked Jaune. He shook his head. "They're fine. I'm sure of it."
You looked around again. There you spotted two people you recognised, although they weren't who you specifically were looking for.
"Jaune..." you said tapping him on the shoulder. "... over there, Ren and Nora."
"Where's Pyrrha?" he asked, crestfallen.
"Maybe she's in one of the medical tents." you tried to reassure him.
"Y-yeah." he replied weakly. "You're probably right. I better go over to them."
"Yeah. I need to find Yang, or Ivan."
"Maybe Ren and Nora know where they are."
"It's fine. I'll find them. Just go over to them. I'm sure they'll be relieved to see you."
"Then I guess I'll see you later."
"Yeah."
You both parted ways, only for you to stop before you could take a step.
"Hey Jaune..." you began, making him stop. "... thanks. For last night. If you ever need anything you can always ask me."
No more words passed between you both. You walked away quietly and allowed him to re-join his teammates. You took one quick glance back, seeing the exact moment Ren and Nora finally noticed him. Before you went back to your own search you swore you could see Nora crying, assuming it was just tears of joy that their friend was okay.
You decided to begin looking into each individual tent for any familiar face. Once you glanced inside you saw exactly that. In the corner of the tent sitting on a bed alone was Nima, the only occupant apart from two nurses, one of which she was under the scrutiny of. Her head was buried completely in her hands, leaving her unable to notice you approaching.
You asked yourself why her teammates weren't there by her side, with your immediate answer to your question being that the worst had happened.
"Nima?" you asked gently, tapping her in the shoulder. She looked up at you with eyes bloodshot and swollen from what you could safely assume to be unending hours of crying. You didn't notice it at first, but once you got in closer you saw that she was shaking. Seeing her like this left you unable to say anything.
"She's barely spoken all night." the nurse supervising her stated while Nima stared at you silent and despondent. "We were just barely able to get her parents contact information from her. Are you a friend?"
"Yeah." you nodded. "I am. Of her and her teammates. Do you know where they are?"
Nima reacted to your words as if you had just put a knife through her heart. Although she said nothing, her reaction was enough to tell you that the worst had happened. The nurse escorted you away several feet, most likely not to upset Nima any further.
"None of her other teammates made it. The soldier that brought her in said that they found her in the fairgrounds with one of her teammates but as they were flying off a Grimm attacked them and he fell out."
You barely heard the last thing she said. You did everything in your power to stop yourself from breaking down. Your breathing fluctuated from heavy, rapid, sporadic, to a forced calm and relaxed. Tears were attempting to break through, although you managed to hold them back for a short while before they slowly began to trickle down your eyes.
"I'm so sorry." the nurse stated while placing a consoling hand on your shoulder.
In your current state you were unable to ask her if she knew where Yang was, choking up before you could say a word. Instead you opted to walk aside, sitting down on the bed across from Nima. You put a hand to your eyes and began to wipe away your tears, trying to gain at least some composure so you could find Yang.
"He's not dead." a weak voice you immediately recognised as Nima's claimed. "He could still be alive."
You looked at her confused.
"Ivan, he could still be alive." she stated. "He was holding on to a Griffon when he fell out. H-he might not of hit the ground... he's still alive."
You stared blankly at her. Nima shot up and went over to you, both her hands clasping on to your shoulders.
"He's still alive..."
Her voice grew louder.
"I-I know it."
She let go of your shoulders and hastily attempted to walk out, taking hold of your hand to encourage you to join; but you were unyielding. Once she felt your hand leave her grasp she turned around and stared at you, almost devastated.
"We have to go now!" she shouted, grabbing hold of your hand again, this time tugging at it furiously. "Come on."
Her actions didn't go unnoticed by the nurse you had spoken to, who approached you both.
"Is everything okay?" the nurse asked.
"I have to get to the fairgrounds now!" Nima shouted. She attempted to leave again, only this time you didn't let go, instead you were trying to get her to stay. She yanked her hand fiercely from your own and continued to walk out only to be stopped again, this time by the nurse.
"Miss, I have to ask that you stay here; your parents are on their way."
Nima slowly walked back from the nurse before turning around sharply and attempting to run away. The nurse was quick to respond and attempted to stop her.
"Get away from me!" Nima shouted. By now Nima was beginning to hyperventilate.
"Please." the nurse requested. "You're in no condition to be going out there."
Once Nima tried to run off again you managed to run over and stand in front of her, causing her to collide into you while you placed your hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her.
"Nima she's right." you claimed.
"Let go!" she barked, pushing you away.
Once she tried to run away again you attempted to restrain her back.
"Let go of me!" Nima cried, aggressively trying to get out of your grip. With each of her struggles your grip kept loosening. Even as you tried to regain it you knew she'd have no problem getting out of it. Soon her attempts to escape became more hostile, with her hitting and elbowing you.
The nurse eventually aided you in restraining her. This helped, somewhat; Nima was still defiant and put up a good resistance against you both.
"Let me go!" Nima shrieked. "He's still alive!"
"Bring her over to the bed." the nurse instructed.
"(Y/n) please." Nima begged, clearly on the verge of breaking down crying again.
"Try to hold her still." the nurse requested once you brought her over to the bed. From the corner of you eye you spotted the second nurse approaching.
"Nima listen to me. I'll go out there and find him okay? I'll find him."
She stared blankly at you for several seconds, still trembling and crying before she jolted ever so slightly from shock, the source becoming apparent immediately. The second nurse had stuck a syringe in her arm. Upon realising what was going on, you looked went back to reassuring Nima.
"I'll find him I promise."
Over the course of several minutes you repeated the same thing to her while the sedative she was injected with took effect. Slowly her breathing calmed down and the shaking stopped. Once she finally lost consciousness you slowly got off the bed and made sure she was on the bed properly so she wouldn't fall off before you sat back down on the bed across from her.
You felt like you were going to cry again. It was only when you felt Zwei pushing against your leg to get your attention that you forced it back again so you could speak to the nurse once more.
"Just one more thing. I'm also looking for my girlfriend."
You took out your scroll and showed her a picture of Yang.
"Have you seen her?"
For a second you swore you heard a quiet gasp escape her once she saw the picture, making you assume the worst had happened to her.
"Two tents up from this one." she began. "I think I saw her taken there."
The tone she spoke to you in only reaffirmed your worry, which was noticed by her.
"She's alive..."
You were somewhat relieved by this, but again her tone of voice told you that something was wrong.
"... but she's been hurt..."
"How bad?" you interrupted.
"She's going to be okay. It's nothing life threatening." she assured you. "But it's going to be a big change for her."
"Okay." you replied. "I think I should just see for myself."
You thanked the nurse and picked up Zwei before making a beeline to the tent where Yang was supposedly in. Of course this meant you'd have to leave Nima alone, something you didn't want to do, knowing it would feel horrible to wake up after what had just occurred and finding yourself all alone; unless her parents arrived before she did. In any other circumstance you would have stayed, but there was someone else you had to be with.
You didn't stay outside the tent for long, knowing that there was no way you could possibly prepare yourself for whatever happened to the one you love. Even if you were to make any attempt to prepare yourself you knew deep down it would just be an excuse to put off facing the inevitable for as long as you could.
You practically charged into the tent and sure enough she was there and you were right. There was no way you could've been able to prepare yourself for what you saw. The sight of the bloody bandages covering up where her right arm used to be made your heart wrench and left a horrible feeling in your gut.
"Oh god." you whispered tearfully, approaching the side of the bed she was on.
You heard Zwei whimpering in your arms. It was only then that you took notice of the bed across from her. Ruby was lying in it, unconscious and unscathed from what you could see. In the corner you saw Weiss sleeping on a chair. From what it looked like, she had spent most of the night watching over her two teammates. You looked around for their remaining teammate, Blake, but she was nowhere to be found. Zwei began struggling in your arms, an indication that he wanted to be let down. You complied and lowered the small dog to the ground and watched him as he went back and forth between the beds of both his owners, unsure of which of them he should go to.
You looked around and spotted another chair, which you took and set it beside Yang's bed. The sight of your maimed girlfriend was hard to process.
"Who did this to you?"
You put all of your blame on the first and easiest target, yourself, as if it wouldn't have happened if you were there.
"Don't think like that." you reprimanded yourself.
Just the other day you were expecting a completely different night. You imagined that once everything was done and you would be lying in bed with Yang slowly falling asleep on your chest like she did back at the lake house, but you wouldn't. You'd stay up all night if you could. Slowly you'd caress her hair with a finger; she wouldn't mind, at least not from you of all people. Then, every so often, you'd place a loving kiss on her cheek, just a small little gesture to let her know, asleep or not, how grateful you are to be hers.
You gently you took hold of her remaining hand; at least she could wake up to your comfort, even if there was little it could do for her. Again, you felt completely helpless. There wasn't anything you could say to make her feel any better once she woke up. Nothing would change what had happened to her.
"What am I gonna say to her?"
At least you had some time before she woke up to figure that out. If she was already awake once you arrived then there was no doubt you'd choke up whenever you tried to say something. This way the initial shock of seeing her without her arm would at least wear off and you could have some time to compose yourself.
As you sat and watched over your unconscious girlfriend the restless night you had slowly began to creep up on you. Gradually your eyes began to forcefully close themselves. Resistance against it was impossible. There was no escaping the inevitable, your eyelids slowly began to descend and you couldn't find the strength to open them.
"Just five minutes. That's all."
It wasn't a deep sleep but it did feel good. After a terrible night and now an even worse aftermath, this one respite, no matter how brief, was something much needed. However it wasn't long before the silence was broken. It sounded like there was two people speaking. Despite it being quiet and muffled you were able to recognise one of the voices as Weiss; the other sounded like a much older man. But as quick as it was broken the silence returned, encouraging you to remain where you were.
Then there was more talking. Again there was one voice you didn't recognise, another male, although whoever it was sounded much younger than the previous. And the second.
"Yang."
After months of writing it's finally out. Like the last chapter there was supposed to be more to this but after months of not posting I decided to leave it for the next chapter. Without a doubt this was the hardest one for me to write, the part with Nima alone took five weeks. I kept procrastinating a lot and there were plenty of nights where spent hours getting no more than five words down. Hopefully now I can get back into my old schedule. It's been ages since I worked on a chapter for my other two stories so I'm gonna focus on getting a chapter out for both of them next. Sorry if this seems rushed and thanks for your patience.