The sky was no place to be in a storm such as this, but the skies had been clear when you all took off. There was no knowing that a storm was lurking just beyond the mountains. As soon as the small aircraft rounded the first peak, it was engulfed in clouds, flying blind through the treacherous terrain. You and the others thought nothing of it, the pilot knew what he was doing, right?

At first, you had thought an all boys mission was a bad idea, but it turned out well, or in everyone else's opinion, boring. The girls finished their mission yesterday, and you had spoken to Nora briefly before taking off. As you watch the dark clouds beyond the window, you wonder if the storm is large enough that Nora and Pyrrha were on was also stuck in it back at Beacon, but the thought flees when the small plane violently shakes, fighting to keep control in the strong gusts. The rest happens in an instant.

With the shriek of twisting metal the aircraft lurches to the right and begins a sharp descent. One of the engines had grazed an unseen mountainside and you see smoke engulfing it. Before you can brace yourself, the body of the aircraft scrapes along a steep slope and becomes a rolling deathtrap of fire and metal before coming to a stop.

Blood drizzles down your nose and, delayed by the shock of the collision, the pain made itself known. After a few tugs, you find that you're crushed from the waist down beneath a heavy twisted panel of metal. Around you, the shouts of your comrades are heard over the crackle of fire and the howl of the wind as those that were able tried to pull others to safety.

"Ren?" you hear Jaune call out. "Ren where are you?" but the pain is too great for you to find the strength to answer. A few moments later he finds you. He's panting hard, sweating, and… was that blood?

He swallows and says, "This is gonna hurt like hell, but I gotta get you out of here, ok?"

Without waiting for a response, he takes your arms and starts tugging with all his strength. In the pain you find your voice and scream when you feel something snap. Jaune doesn't stop, even when you try to pull yourself out of his grasp, and a few horrendous moments later, he finally wrenches you free.

He slings you over his shoulder and now you can see the reason for his haste. Behind where you were trapped gasoline or oil splashes out a ruptured line. The ground is soaked in it. You see something else before being carried out of the wreckage: Russel Thrush, or what's left of him, rather. The upper half of his torso lies amongst twisted schrapnel and frayed wires still connected to his lower half by a length of his gut. You realize how lucky you are. Russ was trapped as you were, but as the metal churned around him, he was ripped in half. You hope it was over quickly.

Once you're both well away from the wreck Jaune collapses to his knees and drops you in the snow. "Are you alright?" he gasps.

You're in too much pain to answer the stupid question and hope a groan would suffice.

"Jaune!" Cardin calls as he rushed over. "Is anyone else left?"

"No. The pilot, Scarlet, and Fox are dead, too. How's Yatsu?"

"Still out cold. Sun and Sage are tryin' to get him to stop bleeding. Him?" He nods towards you.

"Not good. What are we going to do?"

"We gotta get away from the plane. It's gonna blow." He looks at you. "Can you walk?"

"I don't think he can." Jaune answers as he pulls your arm over his shoulders and lifts you up. "Give me a hand."

Cardin takes your other arm and helps pull you up. As they carry you over to where the others are clustered amongst a rocky outcropping, your feet drag in the snow and you keep your jaw glued shut, doing your best to prevent any pathetic sound from escaping. Thankfully, this time you're more carefully laid down, and once back in the gentle caress of the deep snow, the cold begins to melt away a bit of the pain.

It doesn't take long for the explosion everyone was grimly awaiting. Fueled by the strong winds, the flames now reach what must have been three stories high, whipping about in the gusts much like the movement of snakes. Everyone sits in eerie silence for what seems like hours. Jaune had done his best to try and make you comfortable, though there was little he could do for your injuries aside from the deep gash on your forehead over which he kept his palm firmly pressed.

Sun is the first to break the silence, only to deliver grim news. "He stopped breathing."

No one had anything to add. Each of them wears the same empty expression. A few look up and to each other or to the gentle giant who had joined the deceased. No one goes to him, nor whispers a prayer. So much had happened, silence was the way they coped, and in silence, they mourned lost friends and teammates.

But you and Jaune were the lucky ones, you realize. Your team was still whole. Pyrrha and Nora were safe and sound, awaiting your return completely unaware of your plight, and Jaune, despite a large gash on his stomach wrapped in a bloody t-shirt, was alright. You're okay, too, in a lot of pain, and in a few more pieces than normal, but okay. Your legs are broken one, two, or three times, you don't care to count, and your hip might be broken, as well.

Silence remains until the bitter storm at last clears. The night sky in all its brilliance seems an arm's reach away from where you are. The moon lights up the landscape, her rays illuminating the distant thunderhead crawling away. Even from way up here, there is no sign of civilization, only other lonely mountain clusters. A glow on the horizon seems to indicate a city lay just beyond, but that must be at least one hundred miles away.

You can't take the cold anymore. Pushing Jaune's hand off your forehead, you look around and carefully push yourself up, propping yourself up on a cold-numbed arm as you scan this way and that, not entirely sure what it is you're looking for. All you see that is near aside from acres of snow and rock is the fuselage, still smoldering. Some of the others look curiously at you, cued by your sudden motion.

"What's wrong?" Jaune quietly asks you. "You should be resting. What's the matter?"

Realizing everyone's attention is had, you clear your throat and speak your first words since boarding the plane. "We need shelter, lest we all freeze to death by morning."

For a moment, no one stirred, until, when you thought no one was going to act, Sun stood. "We've got two choices. Either we stay here, or. . " his voice pauses as he points to the wreckage. "It's not much, but-"

"No fucking way." Lark spits. "Our buddies died in there! Are you sick? It's a grave site."

"I doubt they'll mind considering the circumstances." Sun turns to his remaining teammates who seem to pick up his cue, get up, and follow him to the wreckage where they begin trying to put out what was left of the flames.

"What the fuck is wrong with them?" Lark complains and storms off.

Dove gets up and takes off after Lark, leaving their team leader behind with Jaune and you.

Cardin takes a deep breath and lets it out in a hiss. "Fucking idiots." After a moment's hesitation, he looks toward where his teammates left before stomping through the snow towards the fuselage to pitch in.

"Ren, you're in real bad shape. You shouldn't be moving." Jaune says as he kneels down beside you and helps you lay back down. You can't help the small whimper as you feel something inside you shift, but at least only Jaune is around to hear it. "I don't want you trying to do anything yourself. If you need something, you tell me, alright?"

You nod, knowing that to deny him was foolish with the pain written all over your face.

"Don't move. I'm going to go help. I'll come get you once we have a decent shelter made up."

As you watch him leave to assist the others, you curse the cold. At first it was a welcome relief to the brutal pain, but now it's a torture all its own. Doing your best to ignore it, you try to relax as much as you can, and before long, despite your trembling you feel the heaviness in your eyelids, and everything vanishes.

You wake to the world being shaken about, and it hurts. You clamor for a handhold to make it stop and are released from the sensation, falling back into the snow. After a moment passes, you see that your idiot leader thought it was appropriate to shake you awake.

"Oh thank dust," he says, "I thought you'd never wake up."

Looking around, you see Cardin and Neptune hovering over you. Perhaps waking you had been no easy task.

"We did the best we could." Jaune continues, "We'll still probably freeze to death, but at least we have a better chance. You ready?"

"Do I have a choice?" You mutter, still annoyed at the brutal awakening.

The three of them help you up, managing to get you on Jaune's back at the cost of a great deal of pain. As you're carried to the fuselage, you hang your head over his shoulder and grit your teeth harder with every step he takes. By the time you reach the fuselage a few long moments later, the pain has become dizzying, and you want nothing more than to be put down carefully and left alone.

Sun is tinkering with some debris, attempting to make a door to block out the cold wind from the small area they had cleared while Sage tends a small makeshift lamp made of an active fire dust crystal and a scrap of metal to hold it. In the flickering glow, you now notice Sage's left hand is wrapped in a bloody bandage, and everyone else is decorated in blotchy bruises and minor to moderate cuts and scrapes.

Jaune sets you down against the wall, and as you sit with your back against it, you can feel the residual warmth from the fire. Carefully, you lie down against the wall, doing your best to make yourself comfortable, as it seems this will be your resting place for the remainder of the night. You look around, glancing over the soot on the ground, wondering what the ashes in the corners once belonged to… or to whom. There are no visible remains, at least from what you can see.

"That should do it." Sun says as he stands back, inspecting his handiwork. "Now what?"

Neptune shrugs. "We wait, I guess. They'll probably send a search party to find us once they realize we've vanished. They are going to send a search party. . . right, guys?" When no one gives a certain answer, the blue-haired boy claims a seat against the wall opposite where you lay, and his teammates join him. Cardin makes for the panel acting as the door to their shelter, presumably to find Dove and Lark.

"Hey," Jaune calls to him as he begins to follow, "You want a hand?"

Pausing for a moment to look over his shoulder to Jaune, casting a quick glance to you, Cardin says, "You worry about your team and I'll worry about… what's left of mine." With that he leaves.

Jaune sighs and sits next to you, leaning back and looking towards the sooty ceiling with a frown as he rests his hand on your shoulder. You think it admirable that, even after being the target for Cardin's harsh amusement for some time, he remains forgiving and willing to act toward the greater good.

You begin to feel the temperature drop, slowly at first, and decide it's a good idea to fall asleep before the cold becomes unbearable. Hopefully rescue will come by morning.

"Let him sleep. He needs the rest." but whoever's well-intentioned statement that was is too late, for you're already awake. Groaning, your eyes open in small slits, and thankfully there is no bright light to invade upon your peace. Over the course of the night, you'd curled up tight in your sleep to stave off the bitter cold, but now that you're awake any attempt to move brings shooting pain through your swollen lower body. You opt to remain still.

Hugging himself with his hands tucked away under his arms, Jaune is still sitting beside you, looking down to find you had rejoined the realm of the living. You don't like the look on his face. It's more than the lack of color and his blue tinged lips. Something is wrong. Not quite ready for words, you raise an eyebrow at him, questioning.

You see his throat bob once and he bites his lip as his eyes stray.

"Jaune, what is it?" you murmur, frustrated that he dodged the unspoken question.

He takes a deep breath and whispers, "After you fell asleep last night, we had a little problem. Lark refused to come in; not even Dove could talk him into it."

During the brief pause, you understand what must have happened, and your expression softens.

"Dove was first to get up- I honestly don't think he slept at all. He went outside and found Lark frozen solid over by where Yatsu was." He shakes his head and takes another deep breath.

You close your eyes in a moment of silent remembrance. Another loss was the last thing the group needed, especially poor Dove. When you first heard that the two were dating, you were concerned, considering Cardin's malicious reputation, but they had been well accepted by the others in their team and most of their class. You begin to wonder how empty you'd feel if you'd lost Nora… not that you and Nora are-

"Are you feeling any better?" You open your eyes again when Jaune interrupts your thoughts, trying to change the subject, you assume.

You give a subtle shake of the head. Complaining would do no one any good, but neither would lying, so you keep your answer simple and straightforward.

"Think maybe it'll help if we splint you?"

"With what?"

"Uhh," he looks around for a moment before answering, "Wire and shrapnel?"

You are unamused and give your leader a blank look before rolling your eyes with a subdued sigh.

"I take it that's a no, huh?"

Seeing no reason to continue the conversation, you remain silent. It's safe to assume there had been no sign of a search and rescue party, and there's nothing else you wish to converse.

Throughout the following hours you watch the others work to make the shelter more airtight and insulated in preparation for the possibility of spending yet another night out here. You wish you were able to lend a hand, but you're in too much pain to move, and there's enough of the others that there isn't anything important going unattended. It's busy work, and it helps to keep everyone's minds off of the trauma from last night. Still, the group is silent and somber, and as the day turns to night once again, morale is so low you can feel the uncomfortable energy weighing down on you.

It is much colder tonight, so you and Jaune lay beside each other, caring more about conserving body heat than the emasculating situation of having to lie so close to another man. Sleep doesn't come easy tonight. You're hungry, thirsty, cold, worried, and still in much pain. You can't relax your mind, and even once you fall asleep your dreams are full tumultuous thoughts.

You startle awake as an argument between two of your coinhabitants escalates.

"Help isn't coming!" Cardin shouts to your leader. "We don't have a choice!"

"One more day, that's all I'm asking."

"That's what you said yesterday!"

Sage coughs to interrupt the two and gives a subtle nod in your direction. Following his gesture, the others glance at you, realizing they've woken you.

Cardin sighs and grumbles. "Whatever. I gotta take a leak." He exits the shelter, allowing eddies of powder to intrude upon the fuselage with a bitter, whistling howl.

You can't help the feeling that something seems off and internally you curse yourself for being such a heavy sleeper. It's been almost a week since the plane crashed, and with each passing day, everyone's emotions become more and more unruly, though this is the first argument that escalated to yelling. You had managed to avoid most of the drama, keeping to yourself and your little notebook that was tucked away in your pocket when the plane crashed.

Jaune lets out a sigh of relief and approaches you. "Sorry. We didn't mean to wake you."

"What was that about?" You ask.

"He's just… being an idiot." he walks over and takes his seat beside you. "Do you want to try getting up? It's not good for you to sit in one place this long."

Is he crazy? No painkillers, nothing to eat, poor sleep, and the bitter cold all add up to moving being a bad idea. You're reluctant to try, and you shake your head.

He sighs, sounding agitated, but he was in the midst of an argument only a moment ago, after all. "Come on, Ren, just give it a shot. You might feel better. Maybe it's not as bad as we all think."

"No." You say, and that should have been all you had to do, but Jaune reaches for your arms.

"Please just try. You can do it, I know you can." He stands up and tries to pull you up with him.

As he forces you up, you feel an unnatural movement in your right hip as the joint locks up and a part of your pelvis begins to rotate outward and down to accommodate the weight of your leg. The pain increases tenfold, and you shout, "Stop! Put me down!"

"Jaune, that's enough." Sun yelled as the faunus ran to your aid. "What's wrong with you?"

Jaune relents and lets Sun help you down. His shoulders slump and he frowns at you. "Are you sure it's that bad?"

You don't answer. Digging your fingernails into the ground, you try to find a position that doesn't seem to make the pain worse. When no such relief comes, you do your best to hold still, only allowing yourself to flex your fingers to try and distract yourself from the throbbing pain. Sun is beside you, doing what he can to help you relax. He looks to Neptune and nods to Jaune.

Neptune pulls Jaune away. "Dude, maybe you need some fresh air or something."

"Uh," Jaune says as he scratches the back of his head. "I guess maybe you're right."

As Neptune follows him out of the fuselage, you see that behind where they stood Cardin was watching. You didn't notice when he had come back in. At this point you're sick of the attention, but you make no effort to speak up. Instead, you bemoan in your thoughts, 'Why can't everyone leave me alone?'

You get your wish, and for the rest of the day, everyone keeps to themselves. Here and there you catch snippets of whispered conversations, but you're in too much pain to focus on deciphering what is being said. You do, however, wonder what must be whispered among friends.

After night falls, and the others are fast asleep, you make out Jaune's figure in the dim light of the fading dust lamp, approaching you with his head held low. He's been avoiding you for most of the day, which is something you hadn't minded. You take a deep breath, exhaling slowly as you prepare for what he'll say.

"Listen," he says quietly so as not to disturb the others from their much needed rest as he reclaims his usual spot next to you. "I'm sorry. I know I'm a jerk. I just… I was worried. I still am worried. I just want to know you're going to be okay."

"Promise me you'll never do that again, and I promise I'll be alright."

"I won't, I swear, but," he pauses, "I don't know if I believe you."

"You don't have to believe me. Just don't be an idiot." Despite your harsh words, you understand. In lieu of all the bad things that keep happening, he needed something good to happen. You suppose everyone needs that; something to go right for a change, or at least to improve.

"It's hard to not be something I am." he half smirks at you, but his solemn expression still dominates.

You offer your hand. "Help me sit up."

"Ren, I-"

"Go slow and it'll be fine."

He swallows and takes your hand. "Are you sure?"

Even though you're not, you nod and brace yourself for whatever might go wrong. As he pulls you up, you push the ground away with your free hand, but almost immediately you feel your bones grinding and your sinews tugging in uncanny ways. You fight off the grimace as best as you can, but Jaune senses something is wrong.

"Are you ok?" he asks as he helps you sit back against the wall.

"Listen to me." you say once you had given yourself a moment to recover, "Don't give up just because things look bad. They're going to find us."

"Ren, they should have already found us by now."

"You know they're looking and they will find us. In the mean time, haste and desperation will only do us harm. We will survive, and we'll make it home… all of us."

He takes a deep breath and produces a smile, "I guess you're right."

But even in the dim light, you know a fake smile when you see one, and his tone doesn't reflect any sort of enthusiasm. You find yourself a bit insulted that your effort to cheer him up was a waste. As if to prove you right, his smile fades as soon as your conversation is over and he hangs his head. You feel like knocking some sense into him, but you decide that risking a fight would be a stupid idea, given that you already know who would lose. You know that pain puts you in a bad mood, so you shrug off the anger and once again give your leader the benefit of the doubt. You can always ask Nora to beat him up for you when… if you make it home.

A snicker from your leader distracts you from your thoughts. "What's so funny?"

"I don't think you've ever said so much at one time. I wish I had a recorder, because the girls won't believe me."

Despite your ill mood a moment ago, you can't fight off the creeping grin, and you give Jaune a playful jab on the shoulder. "Go to sleep, Jaune."

"Do you need anything before I do?"

You start counting off your fingers, "Painkillers, a pillow, some popcorn-"

"Oh, real funny."

You wake to the chilly morning air and curl up a little tighter, not quite ready to commit to being awake, but something seems amiss. Your tired eyes protesting, telling you to ignore it so they can continue their rest, you force them open and lift your head to look around.

The fuselage is empty. Where is everybody? Your heart rate picks up, but you think the moment of panic foolish. It seems to be a fair day, they're probably all outside.

"Jaune?" You call, but after several moments, there is still no answer.

"Jaune, where are you? Anyone?"

You can't take the uncertainty anymore, and despite knowing better, you try to force yourself up. The moment you twist only a bit, the pain rips through you and you relent to it and lay back down. "Jaune? Are you there? Can you hear me? This isn't funny!"

The silence grows deafening, and makes you feel claustrophobic. Just when you're about to try again, this time to drag yourself to the opening in the fuselage, you feel something protruding from your pocket. You pause a moment, dread manifesting in your stomach, but you yield, and reach for the object. It's a letter.

Ren,

I want you to know that I'm never going to be able to forgive myself for what I'm about to do. You were like a brother to me, the brother I always wished I had. The others and I have been talking, I'm sure you're already aware. Help isn't coming, and if it is, it won't be in time.

This is our only chance, one I wish I could have shared with you, but you're too weak. I tried to make them believe you were still strong enough. I wanted to bring you with us, to stay together, but the others are right, as much as I hate to admit it. You can't walk, we'd have to carry you, and we're all weak from hunger as it is, not to mention it would have caused you a lot more pain than I'm ready to put you through. Even without the burden of bringing you along, the odds are against us. Even so, this was no easy decision, and I should add that not a single one of us wanted to do this.

I so desperately want to believe you can make it, that I'll make it home to find you already there waiting for us, but by leaving you behind I know I'm damning whatever chance you might have had. We had the idea to put you out of your misery as you slept last night. It would have been quick, painless, you wouldn't have even known it was coming, but I thought you deserved better than that, or at the very least an explanation and as much of a choice as I could give you, especially after you tried so hard to cheer me up last night.

We took everything. We had to. All we left you, and I had to argue to no end for this, was one of your weapons. There's one bullet. We have the other and the rest of the ammo, and when we get back, I promise to let your family have it. I have no right to keep it. And I promise I'll come back for you, I'll bring you back home where you deserve to rest, if I make it, that is. If I don't, then I guess I can start trying to make this up to you once we meet in the Void.

I don't know how I'm going to face the girls when I return without you. Nora will probably try to kill me. I don't think I'll stay at Beacon. What kind of hunter will I ever be after having done this? I understand if you hate me, and if by some miracle you do survive, I won't blame you if you never speak to me again. . . not that you ever spoke much anyway. I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to save you. I'm sorry that I failed you. I'm sorry for everything.

Your failure of a leader,

Jaune Arc

Author Notes: First, thank you for your time in reading this. This started as a short drabble that I ended up tinkering into what you've just read. The ending is deliberately open-ended, leaving the possibility of continuing the story down the road. For now, the outcome is up to the reader. Constructive criticism is always welcome and much appreciated. If you like what you see, then keep an eye out for more RWBY fics. I don't own RWBY. Check out RoosterTeeth for some awesome goodness if you haven't already. If you liked this, I recommend the novel Alive by Piers Paul Read, upon which I drew much of the inspiration behind this story.

And, no, I'm not sorry.