Rally

The world began to lose color and her focus narrowed. This was the end.

The stadium was alight with panic. All around the arena, the clambering crowds could been seen making a break for the exits, while Remnants Hunters and Huntresses-in training briefly considered the idea of the onscreen message being a hoax before preparing for a war. Emergency sirens blared, alerting the public to the encroaching presence of the Grimm, a calamity that ensured greater casualties than had been suffered during the Breach. The only thing louder than the sirens were the wails of the distressed citizens who could see the enemies of legend approach their walls with ravenous speed, ensuring the swift destruction of all they ever knew.

The cacophony of noise was, at once, both deafening and demoralizing, yet through it all Pyrrha heard none of it. Pyrrha hadn't heard the message that had come before the panic nor had she acknowledged the beginning of the sirens call for evacuation after the message ended. She was focused solely on the torn wires and machinations in front of her that had once composed the body of Penny Polendina.

Where did it all go wrong?

Pyrrha remembered the match in its finest detail, a habit formed from necessity after various post-match interviews had led to her all too public embarrassment. The Champion remembered the well wishes from her team, her introduction, every strike and every block from the match. Unfortunately, this meant that Pyrrha remembered the moment it all went wrong, when she cut Penny in half with her own blades and her body fell lifelessly to the floor as the crowd gasped in shock. The one image that had came back to Pyrrha again and again over the past three minutes was the way Penny's eyes died in front of her, as she lay scattered across the arena floor. Pyrrha remembered the fear, both Penny's, and her own.

Pyrrha tried to rationalize her actions: her perceptions had been altered, it was only an accident, Penny's aura should have protected her from her own attacks and anything else she could possibly think of to make this alright. But none of her rationalizations changed the end result.

Now with the world literally crumbling around her Pyrrha allowed fear to enter her heart for the first time since the Breach last semester. She thought of the consequences. Ozpin's disappointment, Ironwood's rage, Ruby's tears, Nora's stunned silence, Yang's anger and Jaune. She thought about Jaune the most and what he would think about his Invincible girl now.

"Pyrrha, you're going to need to get up." Those words brought the world back into focus and suddenly the sirens blared all too loudly even as the encroaching footfalls grew louder signaling Jaune's arrival. Pyrrha couldn't even remember when she had fallen to her knees but there she was in front of Penny's body, hair disheveled and looking like a maniac she was sure. Turning around Pyrrha's gaze confirmed that was approaching the center of the ring as the force field surrounding the inner ring had only just collapsed.

Pyrrha turned back and look at Penny, "I killed her Jaune . . . she wasn't really real. She was a robot and I have no doubt her creation was less than saintly, but she still laughed with Ruby, and was kind to me, and I killed her." Pyrrha was only barely able to choke these words out between the sobs that racked her body, but nevertheless she knew Jaune heard her. At this, Jaune paused, and Pyrrha knew he was trying to find the right words just like he did outside of the cafeteria. In her heart though, she knew nothing he could say would make this right.

"You're right, Penny is gone and you played a part in that. I'm sure it wasn't your fault and I know you well enough to know the kind, compassionate girl who caught me at initiation wouldn't do this, but you are still a part of what happened here." Pyrrha's heart sank as her worst fears were confirmed. Jaune sucked at making her feel better.

"That being said, you aren't the only one responsible, and every second you sit there more Grimm are coming into the city, more people are getting hurt, and the people truly responsible for what happened here are winning. And the worst part is, you are letting them." Jaune's impassioned voice grated on her ears and she suddenly turned around to tell him off when her gaze met his.

Jaune's eyes were the bluest blue she had ever seen and she had known since she had met him in initiation that she could be lost in them forever if she let herself. She could see the truth of who Jaune was through his eyes and knew that in this moment there was a fire in his heart. She could see his desire to protect, not only the civilians who were currently fleeing the Grimm invading the city at this very moment, but also his need to protect her from what may come. His gaze was warm and she felt safe even as her stomach turned in knots and threatened to tear her apart from the inside out.

"I don't know how to make it right." Pyrrha allowed a frown to break through the mask she had precariously placed upon her face for the tournament and broke eye contact with Jaune before she placed her head on his chest.

"I'm not sure if you can," Pyrrha sank further into the ground and allowed her tears to flow freely, before Jaune grabbed her shoulders and angled her chin to look at him, "then again I'm not sure you'll have to. Penny is a machine, meaning it is possible she has a backup somewhere in case something like this happened. Even if that's not the case, it's not like we can't fix her." A smile decorated his face.

"In the meantime we need to rally, live up to our destinies, and save Vale from the Grimm. Then we will keep moving forward, and find the people who were responsible for hurting Penny. Together." She couldn't help but smile after he finished speaking even as he placed Milo back into her hand.

Pyrrha looked at Jaune once more and she slowly began to feel better. Pyrrha realized Jaune was right. Ever since she was young, she had feared that others would use her because of her strength. Even after she arrived at Beacon her conversation with Weiss had seemed to confirm the idea that she would forever be on a pedestal, forever someone else's pawn. Penny's destruction had been a confirmation of that fear.

As Pyrrha looked at Jaune she saw the love in his eyes, maybe not the kind or romantic love she had for him but a love that said that she was, without a doubt, someone who Jaune simply could not do without in his life. Pyrrha felt safe in that gaze and as she hugged Jaune, she looked past him to the other two members of her new family waiting at the edge of the arena for her so they could face the darkness as one.

Pyrrha mentally berated herself for forgetting the most important thing she had learned since she left Mistral and began her tenure at Beacon.

She wasn't alone anymore.

As she stood a smile spread across her face like a crack spreads through glass until the mask she had become accustomed to, broke and she was standing there laughing.

Of course, Jaune simply stayed where he was, rooted to the ground as he tried to comprehend his partners sudden mirth, which only caused her to laugh harder at the confusion etched upon his face. As her laughter subsided, she saw Jaune physically relax as he stood before she exclaimed, "You know that was really corny, right?"

Jaune was taken aback and (rightfully) hung his head in shame as the two partners shared another laugh at his expense.

"Yeah, maybe so, but I figured, I can't get it wrong if it's the truth." Jaune flashed a nervous smile at her as a dumb smirk spread across his adorkable face.

That's my line.

"You ready, Pyr?" In response she grabbed Akou with her semblance and strapped it to her back before flashing Jaune a smile. "Can't let team RWBY have all the fun."

As the Champion and her Knight ran towards the exit, Pyrrha spared Penny one final glance and silently promised she would make it up to her by punishing the people who had set these events into motion. Pyrrha smiled once more as she imagined that somewhere across the battlefield, a Grimm learned fear.