Regrets

"Do you believe in destiny?"

"Yes."

This was the end.

Her aura was gone. Milo was in pieces. Akoúo was farther than Pyrrha could reach, not that the glowing, fiery eyes that burned as they stared at her were going to let her ever have that chance.

Even as Pyrrha watched the weapon forming that would end her , she did not feel regrets. That was a slight lie, Pyrrha sincerely regretted not being able to win against the woman before her. Actually, there were more than just that.

I never got to tell Jaune how I feel.

The cute, dorky blonde who she had a crush on since they first met was left with just a kiss; no big reveal of her feelings, no declaration of love, just a simple, single kiss. Pyrrha's first… and last kiss.

If it didn't hurt so much, Pyrrha might have tried to move, to dodge at that thought. That couldn't be her last kiss. Yet the arrow sticking out of her heel made it pretty much impossible to even attempt so much as a basic dodge.

The sound of rapid footsteps broke through her thoughts, as emerald eyes slowly panned towards the edge of the tower. A blur of red landed. Ruby. Another regret floated through the dusky recesses of her mind.

I killed someone.

The salt from the tears was not quite a distant memory yet. In fact, Pyrrha could still faintly taste them. Not just anyone, I killed Ruby's friend. Penny. I'm a murderer.

If Pyrrha hadn't been about to die, the flash of the jovial girl's body in pieces would have brought back the taste of salt. It didn't matter if Penny had been human or a robot... all that did matter was that Pyrrha had snuffed out her brief spark of life. Not even in a humane way, but in a grating, agonizing method of being ripped to shreds from her own weapons. No, not just her weapons, those were attached to her. Pyrrha had made Penny rip herself apart.

Physical pain was a foreign concept for Pyrrha. Sure, she fought people in many tournaments, and had hunted packs of Grimm, but pain was something she rarely experienced. In tournaments, she never got hit, the moniker 'Invincible Girl' wasn't for nothing, after all. In Pyrrha's short life time, she'd never fought one of the more ancient Grimm. Nothing like the behemoth who was perched before her.

The arrow, for instance, that was lodged in her heel hurt. Oh how it hurt. It had been more than a decade since Pyrrha had been hurt without aura. I'd forgotten that's what real pain feels like. Pain that wasn't being dampened with the effects of aura.

Surprisingly, it wasn't pain that Pyrrha felt first as the arrow ripped into her chest and out her back. No, in some little part of her mind, Pyrrha knew that the shock was keeping that pain from overwhelming her. Rather, it was the difficulty breathing from where it had pierced her trachea.

Gasping for air was a slow death. Death from suffocation was not a pleasant one to say the least. The terror as she desperately, futilely struggled to pull in oxygen made her thoughts feel foggy instantly.

Then the shock wore off.

Pain. Pain unlike Pyrrha had ever experienced from a two and a half foot long arrow stuck through her like a pin cushion. Every movement, every gasp, every little struggle made her feel pain in the very center of her being, emerald eyes seeking some way to alleviate the agony before finding the forgotten spectator, whose silver eyes were brimmed with tears.

One final, pathetic regret filtered into Pyrrha's mind as she gasped her last few desperate, frantic breaths.

Ruby has to watch me die.

The awkward, innocent, almost naïve team leader was good friends with Jaune, so Pyrrha had gotten to know her well. Pyrrha would like to count herself a friend of the teen. Even after what happened to Penny, Ruby had taken up her fallen friend's weapon to defend Pyrrha.

Now, not only was she dying in front of Ruby, but the woman in front of her was going to switch to her next, and there wasn't a damn thing Pyrrha could do about it as she feebly gurgled blood, her vision fading.

The last sound Pyrrha could hear was the clinking of glass heels as inky blackness started to eat away at her sense.

Darkness.

Darkness consumed Pyrrha as thoughts became harder and harder to form.

This was truly the end. There had been no happy ending to her fairy-tale, it'd seem. For all her hopes and dreams about saving the world, Pyrrha's ultimate destiny had been to die at the hands of the newly christened fall maiden.

Right as darkness had all but consumed her senses, her thoughts no longer properly forming, Pyrrha could have sworn she heard her name.

Then darkness melded into light.

Then there was nothing.

What happens when you die?

That was a question that Pyrrha remembered asking her mother when she was little. Do you just end up in another body, born as a new person?

Do you become part of the plants and the planet? Does your soul wander the universe amongst the stars forever?

Or do you just fade into nothingness, never to see the light of the open sky again, your body just an empty husk, a pile of chemical components that slowly turn back into their base forms?

At the very least, Pyrrha now knew it wasn't the last option, as she was at least feeling something. It was an overwhelming feeling of self-disgust, the sensation she last remembered feeling before light had turned into nothing.

Regret.

Of all the things Pyrrha had expected to feel after death, regret was not what she had expected. Maybe pain, or some sense of happiness… or even just nothingness. Then again, when all you have is time, why wouldn't you be caught up in your regrets?

It made sense, in a way. People tend to focus on their failures more than their successes; failure was a thing that ate away at you, consumed your thoughts. By its very nature, regret was a kind of failure, or, barring that, a dissatisfaction with yourself. For Pyrrha, it was the regrets that she had felt before the arrow had struck that were stuck in her mind.

They swirled around her; the regret of not telling Jaune, of having to keep the truth from him. Killing Penny. Having to make Ruby watch another person die. Of failing to win against that woman – letting Ozpin go unavenged. Yet as unmeasurable time passed, new sensations emerged.

The rough fabric of sheets covering her, the oddly textured linens wrapped tightly around her chest, the chill of autumn air, the hardened plaster encompassing her ankle. A dull, aching, lingering pain all over. Pyrrha definitely felt something other than regret.

Wait, pain? Feeling pain meant something very different. An emotion that almost seemed like a fond memory welled up in Pyrrha; hope. Does that mean…? It was a herculean effort to do anything, as Pyrrha slowly opened her dulled emerald eyes, being blinded by the soft light, causing her to flinch at its intensity, and shutting themselves instinctively.

"Pyrrha?" That voice was familiar. It was the last thing Pyrrha remembered hearing… but it was more than just that; it was a voice that Pyrrha knew well.

Ruby.

Thoughts raced by the hundreds through her groggy head. Possibilities of what that meant, of what could have happened. The one that Pyrrha's mind was fixated the most on, however, was the worst possible one. That Ruby had died in the tower with Pyrrha. That it had been all Pyrrha's fault. Bracing herself for the worst, the redhead forced her eyes to crack open.

Silver.

That was the first colour she recognized. Two huge silver orbs that seemed to just draw all of Pyrrha's focus onto them. It was a colour that reminded her of the end, the light that had eaten through the darkness.

A few moments later, and Pyrrha could place where she recognized them from – Ruby's eyes. It was an involuntary thing, even though it hurt to open her mouth, the surprise made her still utter the word. "Ruby?"

The silver took on a shiny, glassy sheen as clear liquid started to drip, their sparkling quality grabbing Pyrrha's attention as gravity tugged at them. It wasn't until the droplets touched lips stretched into a huge smile did it register to Pyrrha that Ruby was actually in front of her.

"You're okay." Ruby's voice cracked as the silver eyes got closer and closer until they disappeared completely. In fact, Pyrrha's sight was blocked by a blur of red as another sense came to the forefront. Touch.

The feeling of arms wrapped around her tightly, trembling, as the short teen pulled Pyrrha into a gentle, but firm hug. The tremors from the small sobs that racked Ruby transferring to Pyrrha. Warmth from the girl pressed against her. Tears wetting Pyrrha's loose clothing as they slowly rained down onto her.

"You're okay, you're okay, you're okay…" Ruby couldn't seem to stop repeating the phrase, as her voice was heavy with emotions. "You're okay."

"What's wrong?" It was a groggy voice, but one that Pyrrha knew even in her sleep, her head bobbing up slightly to look at the source. Nora. "Ruby what are…a-are…" Teal eyes met emerald as Nora's mouth gaped open. "P-Pyrrha?"

The teen in question dumbly blinked at her own name be called out, Pyrrha's muscles moving on instinct, her right hand lamely rising up in a half-wave. "H-Hello?"

"PYRRHA!"

Everything went into motion.

Somebody stirred next to Nora, magenta eyes cracking into thin slits only to flutter open in surprise. Nora, meanwhile, was half way across the room before Ren could so much as move. "Pyrrha?" Rarely had Pyrrha ever heard surprise in his tone as he stared at her, flabbergasted.

Wait, does that mean…? Pyrrha's mind just delved deeper and deeper into more nightmarish possibilities, did Ren and Nora die too? Not only had Pyrrha let Ruby down, but her own teammates. Regret flooded through her as the thought took hold.

Once more, it wasn't sight that drew Pyrrha's attention next. No, it was touch, as large, strong arms clung to her, a blonde mop of hair coming into view before going out of focus.

"Pyrrha, you're awake!" The owner of the voice brought a smile to Pyrrha's face, despite how thick with emotions it was. "You're alive and awake!" Out of all the voices she had heard, this was the one she knew most intimately, the one the redhead craved to hear the most.

Jaune.

The world started to blur as the doubts left Pyrrha's mind. Jaune had safely gotten to the city, hadn't he? Numbly, she felt two more sets of arms wrap around her – not that she was completely sure how, given four people were hugging her at this point. Yet doubt still persisted.

But I died! Even as the truth set in, it was hard for Pyrrha to comprehend what happened. Th-that woman shot me with an arrow through the chest! Pyrrha glanced down to the spot. The tightly wrapped linen suddenly made a lot more sense, as huge bandages were wrapped against her torso.

Then there was pain. Despite the clear amounts of care that her friends were putting into not aggravating the wound, it still ached. The intensity with which it ached took a moment for it to fully set into Pyrrha's groggy mind.

Pain meant she was alive, and that her friends were not dead. That her teammates were still amongst the living, and hadn't died after her. And that Pyrrha was among them…

Pyrrha was truly, unequivocally, without a doubt, left with one conclusion.

"I'm alive?"

It must have been ten minutes before Pyrrha's friends finally let go of her – except for Jaune, his hand gently clasped with her own, tensing every few seconds - and she could finally get her bearings.

Somehow, Pyrrha was on the island of Patch, more specifically Ruby and Yang's house – where is Yang, though? Pyrrha would have expected to see the social blonde with them, or, for that matter, the rest of Ruby's team. When she asked, all eyes went to Ruby. Not in the questioning manner that Pyrrha felt, but in a very concerned way. Almost like pity. So Pyrrha changed topics.

Yet, as the day progressed, another thing became abundantly clear to Pyrrha – no one wanted to talk about how she had survived.

While Ruby looked as curious about that as Pyrrha felt, the others didn't share their sentiment - they all had their different ways of avoiding; Ren would just become silent, Nora would suddenly find parts of the wall to be very interesting conversation topics, and Jaune… Jaune would start to tear up. Ruby, meanwhile, just looked as curious as Pyrrha was. Another topic for Pyrrha to stop asking about.

It wasn't until after the sun had started to set that another voice entered the jumble, although the smell was the first indication to Pyrrha of his presence. "Mind if we have a minute? I promise it won't take too long." Pyrrha's teammates filed out, Ruby following them until Qrow shook his head. "It might be best if you stay here for this too, pipsqueak."

Ruby gave a curious look that Pyrrha must have been mirroring as the younger teen walked back and plopped down on an adjacent bed. "What's up, uncle Qrow?"

"Qrow is your uncle?" Pyrrha blinked in surprise before refocusing on the man as he stumbled into a chair.

"Yeah… wait how do you know uncle Qrow?" Inquisitive silver eyes blinked back at her. Can I even tell her? Pyrrha knew Ozpin had asked her to keep quiet about their group, but was that still a promise to keep? Emerald eyes stared imploringly at the black haired man.

"It's complicated." Qrow stated impassively before taking a swig from his flask, the stench causing Pyrrha's nose to wrinkle. "So, how ya feeling? Both of you, that is."

"My chest hurts, and I don't think I can feel my right foot very well." Pyrrha thought for a moment. "But mostly surprise, to be honest. I… I didn't think I was going to survive."

"We didn't think you would either." Qrow's eyes lingered for a moment on the heavy bandages before landing on Ruby. "How about you?"

"I, uh, kinda of hurt, all over?" Ruby sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Were you hurt in the fighting?" Pyrrha didn't see any wounds on the younger teen. That didn't mean there weren't any, which just made Pyrrha more curious.

"I… uh… I don't know?" Ruby seemed to be as confused about it as Pyrrha was. "I ran up the side of the tower, and I saw Pyrrha and Cinder, and then everything went white." Pyrrha felt two silver eyes focus intently on her, as if Ruby wasn't quite sure what she was seeing. "I -I thought I saw you ...die."

"…I thought I died too." The tall redhead uttered after a few moments. "I remember being shot here." Pyrrha lightly touched the heavy bandaging on her chest before continuing, "and everything just sort of fades from there." Emerald eyes settled on crimson ones, the unspoken question heavy in the air.

What happened?

"…I suppose I should start with how we found you two." Qrow finally muttered after a long sigh. "Ruby was unconsciousness next to the edge of the tower, while you," his head tilted towards Pyrrha, "were alive by the smallest thread, two arrows sticking out of you." His head shook in clear disbelief. "Honestly, we didn't think you were going to survive. Or why you were even fighting her." The way Qrow stressed the word made it abundantly clear who he was referring to.

Pyrrha couldn't help but shudder at the burning amber eyes that had stared unflinching at her when the arrow had hit – they held an inferno that would consume all they saw. "I thought you were a smart one- what were you even thinking?" Hardened red eyes stared through Pyrrha.

"I-… I was trying to do the right thing." It was the only defense that Pyrrha could think of, the only reason why she had gone after the woman. "There was no way we could reach you, or Professor Goodwitch, or General Ironwood in time, so I decided to try and hold her off."

"I take back what I said – you definitely aren't a smart one. Perhaps a brave one, but definitely not a smart one." Qrow snorted loudly. "Never pinned Oz for picking a brave idiot for the power."

"Um… what power?" Pyrrha had honestly forgotten Ruby was there until she spoke up, her focus going back and forth from the tall redhead to the surprisingly sober man across the room. "You keep talking like you know each other, but... Pyrrha's never mentioned you before, and she didn't even go to Signal, and I still don't get how Pyrrha ended up fighting Cinder on Beacon Tower…"

A pause. Pyrrha could feel the tension mount before Qrow let out a long sigh and ran his hand through his hair. "Probably shouldn't tell you, but since Oz is gone…"

Crimson eyes settled on Ruby. "What's your favourite fairy tale?"

The silence felt deafening to Pyrrha.

Qrow had left, leaving Pyrrha and Ruby by themselves after quite a large bombshell.

After all that had been said, Pyrrha had fully expected Ruby to be excitedly asking her questions, perhaps not excitedly, but full of questions nonetheless. Yet the younger girl was uncharacteristically quiet as she stared at the mirror on the wall. Ruby must be shaken up badly.

That wasn't to say Pyrrha was completely calm. True, Pyrrha had known about The Four Maidens, which had been a shocker to Ruby. No, what had left Pyrrha shaken was the fact it had been weeks since the battle of Beacon, as it was now called. Vale was marginally more secure, but the school had fallen, Grimm constantly being attracted to the site of the frozen dragon. Or the other fairy tale Qrow had told them – the one about silver eyed warriors. The fact that Ruby had been the one to save her.

Fighting against that woman, Cinder – Pyrrha dimly recalling what Ruby had called her, had been like fighting against nature itself. To think that Ruby's silver eyes had ended it so quickly… That wasn't the only thing: Ruby was the reason that Pyrrha had survived at all.

How do I even tell her 'thank you'? Thanks for saving me, sorry about killing your friend. That was another thing that was weighing heavily on Pyrrha's mind; the regrets that seemed to follow her like an angry swarm of locust, plaguing her mind. At the very least, I didn't make Ruby watch another one of her friends die that day.

"Ruby." It was Pyrrha who finally broke the silence, the younger girl's attention finally drawn away from the mirror. "I…I don't know how I could ever repa-"

"You didn't know, right?" That wasn't what Pyrrha expected for the girl to ask. Then again, it was one of the many proverbial purple elephants in the room. "You wouldn't have fought someone with fairy tale powers, right?" The words were harsh, yet the tone was anything but accusatory, rather, pleading.

"…I was supposed to be the next Fall maiden."

Ruby's eyes widened into saucers as her mouth attempted to move, while Pyrrha looked away, focusing on her hand, kneading the end of a blanket. "Cinder, she interrupted the transfer."

"Waaait, didn't uncle Qrow say that the only way the next person could become a maiden was when one, um… died?" When Pyrrha finally looked back at Ruby, her head was tilted as she was clearly trying to work something out. "What do you mean 'transfer'?"

Pyrrha's head hung low. "They were going to transfer the previous maiden's, Amber I believe was her name, aura to me."

"But that's-"

"-wrong. Very wrong." The redhead could clearly remember voicing the same sentiments when she had been told.

"Your team, no, Jaune thought it was a good idea?!" The disbelief in Ruby's voice was thick. "But, J-Jaune would neve-"

"Jaune, Nora, and Ren don't know." Hard emerald eyes were burning holes at Ruby, the younger girl taken aback by them. The few days of contemplating giving up everything to save the world, giving up her very personality, her friends, her family, Jaune… The conversation the two had flew back into her mind, the one where Jaune had told Pyrrha to embrace her destiny as tears started to well in the corners of her eyes. "No one knew! Especially not Jaune!"

Ruby was silent as Pyrrha stared down at the bed sheets, tear spots slowly appearing on them. "I couldn't tell anyone. Not you, or your team, or even my team."

"Do you know what it's like, to give up your individuality, to have the person you love the most tell you to do it, knowing that you are giving them up?" Pyrrha glanced at Ruby for a moment – the short girl clearly not knowing how to respond as Pyrrha rambled. "If I had just said yes right away, then none of this would have happened – I could have beaten Cinder, Beacon would be saved, Penny would still be alive, Vale wouldn't be wrecke-"

"Stop blaming yourself!" Ruby's voice cut through Pyrrha's quiet sobs. "You're acting like it's your fault somehow, but it wasn't!" The redhead chose not to respond, just glumly staring at the bedsheets. "Pyrrha, please, none of this was your fault."

You know she is wrong, right? It really is all your fault. No one else, just you. You are the reason everything fell apart, why people died, why Beacon has fallen. Why Penny and Ozpin are dead. Just you, and you alone.

"No, it is my fault." Pyrrha's voice was barely above a whisper. "I-if I had just accepted the powers on the spot, instead of asking for more time, then none of this would have happened! Ozpin would be alive, Penny would be here, and Beacon would still exist!"

"…I don't think so, and I don't think anyone else would agree with that." Ruby simply stated. "You do know Jaune called us in tears, begging for us to get to the tower to save you, right? I don't think he blames you."

Long red hair swished as Pyrrha numbly shook her head, the doubt, the regrets refusing to leave her head, eliciting an exasperated sigh from Ruby.

"If you really think that, then maybe you should see what Jaune thinks."

It wasn't until a few days later that Pyrrha got the chance.

The doctors had finally given the okay for Pyrrha to leave her bed, not that she could exactly walk. An arrow through the heel was an arrow through the heel – aura could only do so much.

Which led to Pyrrha being pushed in a wheelchair out of the confines of the room she was now sharing with Ruby for first time since she had arrived. She'd quietly asked for Jaune to give her a tour of the grounds alone, Nora getting the picture very quickly and leading Ren off to the kitchen to help Taiyang make lunch.

Pyrrha had never been to Patch before. She knew that it was a sparsely populated island, but the sheer untouched wilderness that greeted them outside of the house had been a surprise all the same. Unspoiled nature reduced the redhead to quiet awe of the idyllic surroundings as Jaune slowly pushed Pyrrha around the dwelling.

While Jaune was careful to make sure that Pyrrha was okay, asking every few seconds if he was going too fast or too slow, or agonizing over every bump in the ground, the blonde boy was keeping away from the question hanging in the air; why Pyrrha had asked to be alone with him.

How to bring it up? That was the question that dominated Pyrrha's mind as Jaune gently carted her through a small path. How much can I even tell him anyway? Ruby knowing made sense, she had been there, and had seen Cinder …then again, so did Jaune; he was in the Vault for the failed transfer.

That was another unanswered question hanging in the air: What had happened during the battle of Beacon? Pyrrha's teammates had stayed quiet about it, or veered away from the topic to literally anything else. They have to be curious. Yet, there had been no barrage of questions since Pyrrha had woken up, aside from Qrow and Ruby. In fact, it was actually rather odd.

They were half way around the house when Pyrrha spotted a swinging bench hanging from one of the many trees that littered the area. It seemed as good a place as any to have their conversation. "Jaune, would you mind if we stopped for a moment?" Before gesturing with a nod towards the bench.

"Alright, just don't push yourself… here, let me help you." In short order, Pyrrha had been resituated on the bench as Jaune nervously shifted his feet, his eyes worriedly darting over her.

It took more than a little control for Pyrrha to not roll her eyes. "I'm fine, Jaune, I promise. I just thought it'd be nice to sit here." The redhead shyly patted the wooden bench with a small smile. "With you."

"Oh." The dorky teen's face flared up in red before he awkwardly sat down next to her. "Uh, sure."

They sat in relative silence for a moment before one finally spoke up. "I'm… I'm sorry." The words seemed woefully inadequate as they tumbled out of Pyrrha's mouth.

"I-it's okay." Jaune rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I kinda figured this was gonna happen… I mean you're you, and I'm me."

"Wait, what?" This was not how Pyrrha had expected the conversation to go. "W-what do you mean…?"

"Um, well, the kiss?" Emerald eyes blinked in surprise as Pyrrha realized that this was the first time she was alone with Jaune since their kiss, the taste faintly remembered on her lips. "We were kinda under a lot of stress, so tha-"

"That's not it." Pyrrha's right hand took a hold of his left as the redhead felt heat rise to her cheeks, small smile widening. "I meant that."

"O-okay." Jaune looked both happy and confused – not that Pyrrha could blame him, she wasn't being very straightforward about the whole affair. "So, w-what did you want to talk about?" The smile faded from Pyrrha's lips, head turning from the twin blue orbs she'd been staring at to anywhere but that… eventually, a stray orange leaf fluttering in the breeze. "Pyrrha?"

She took a deep breath in before slowly letting it out, Jaune's hand still entwined with her own providing only a small comfort. "It's… it's about that woman… and the Vault."

"I, uh, if you don't want to talk abou-"

"Her name was Amber. The one in the pod. The one who died." The stray leaf had settled on the ground, caught on some fallen twigs. "She is, no, was, the Fall Maiden." Pyrrha would have rather had her voice take on any other tone then the pathetically child-like one she could hear.

"Is that what the Vault was supposed to protect?" Pyrrha nodded before glancing back at him. Jaune's face full of confusion – his mouth attempting to form half-thought out questions. "What does that have to do with you? How come you got in the pod?"

"I was supposed to be the next Fall Maiden."

"What's a Fall Maiden? You keep saying Fall Maiden, is that some kind of position or something…?"

"Not quite, Jaune." Pyrrha's focus returned to the wayward leaf only for the wind to carry it off, eliciting a long sigh from her. "Have you ever heard of the Four Maiden fairy tale?"

Jaune's brow furrowed. "You mean like the Fall Maiden from the story?" Pyrrha could practically hear the gears turning in his head. Pyrrha felt the warmth enveloping her hand fade as Jaune stood up in front of her. "But those are just fairy tales, right?"

"Sometimes, fairy tales have a grain of truth… they have to come from somewhere." She could hear him take a step away from her. Then another. "That's what was happening down there."

The silence between the two became so thick that Pyrrha could have sworn it was palpable, the tension so heavy that she felt like the air was hard to breathe.

"…so that's what you meant by destiny?" The conversation the two had before the match against Penny floated back into Pyrrha's head. That had been when Pyrrha had finally made up her mind to accept the role when Jaune had told her to not run away from her destiny.

"Yes. Ozpin wanted to give me time to think it over before accepting any decision." He's taking this surprisingly well.

"That makes sense, I guess?" Jaune took a step before sitting back down, his hand slipping around Pyrrha's in a way that made her feel far happier inside then she should have felt. "Is that why the woman with the bow started to glow and hover?" Pyrrha gave a small nod. "Was that, uh, it? Well, look on the bright side."

The bright side? The phrase was laughable to Pyrrha, what bright side was there? Regardless, Jaune continued. "You survived fighting with that hover-y woman. You're alive! You should be happy."

The small smile spreading across Jaune's face made Pyrrha's stomach twist. "No, you're wrong. It's all my fault."

"Pyrrha?"

"If I had been stronger, I could have done the transfer when they told me about the powers, instead of waiting!" The self-hatred started to mix in with frustration flowing thick in her voice. "Then she'd be dead, Ozpin wouldn't have died, Beacon would exist, and Penny…"

It's not like you can change it now, what's done is done. You may not have murdered Ozpin, but you certainly murdered someone. Except, it's far worse than that, isn't it? Your inaction caused a kingdom to fall, didn't it?

Pyrrha trailed off as she felt Jaune's probing eyes. "I-I just couldn't do it. It's all my fault, everything!" Her vision took on a glassy tone as wet spots started to form. In the time span it had taken for Jaune to wrap her up in a hug, the tears had turned into soft sobs as Pyrrha leaned against her partner.

It was comforting, on some level, to be held by him – to finally have his arms wrapped around her, the object of her crush being there for her. Now, it only provided a small comfort as she cried. "I just couldn't give all of you up…"

Though her voice uttered it as a barely audible whisper, Jaune clearly heard it. "Give us up?"

Sniffling, Pyrrha finally turned back to Jaune. "The transfer… it wasn't just the p-powers. It was Amber's aura…"

"What does that have to do with you giving us up?" It took Pyrrha a moment to remember that Jaune wasn't very knowledgeable about aura, what with him not going to a proper hunting school before Beacon.

"Well… your aura is what makes you unique, right?" A nod. "It's your soul, in essence-"

"They were going to stick another soul in you?!" What had been a gentle grip was a now a painful one. His expression had gone from perplexed to pure disbelief. "But…but that'd mean…"

Pyrrha was finding it to be particularly hard to keep eye contact, emerald eyes seeking something out that was far easier to face, like the soft billows of smoke coming from the house's chimney. "I wouldn't be the same, I... don't know what would have happened – none of us did, her personality could have overwritten mine, or our souls could have fused into something new…"

"At the cost of who you are…" Blue eyes widened in horror. "W-when we talked before the match, that's what you meant?" Jaune's voice was shaking as the pieces in his head were clearly starting to click. "Pyrrha, I... I never meant that you shou-"

"No. You were right. You were right, and I shouldn't have even needed that push." Pyrrha found herself pulling away from the slackened embrace. "If I had just done the transfer when they told me, none of this would have happened - no one would have died…"

Pyrrha's hands clenched into a fist. "If I'd just given up on happiness, then none of this could have happened, but I couldn't… I couldn't just abandon our friends, our teammates… you." This was just making Pyrrha feel even more pathetic instead of helping, like Ruby thought it might. "Then maybe I wouldn't hate myself."

"Pyrrha…" A hand rested lightly on her shoulder. It should be a comforting gesture, but the action held none for her. "I would never want you to change like that, nothing would be wor-"

"Stop." It felt like their last talk all over again, the only difference was that there were no more secrets between them, only regrets. "It would have saved everyone, and it's not like you wouldn't have found another one. After all, you're quite the ladies m-"

"No, you stop it." The almost timid tone was gone, rather Jaune's voice had an uncharacteristically commanding force to it. "Do you know what it was like to watch your fight?"

Confused emerald eyes sought out almost-angry blue ones. "But how did yo-"

"I could read your aura levels from my scroll the entire time." Suddenly, Pyrrha was regretting looking at him, her focus wandering anywhere else.

"Pyrrha." The bench creaked as Jaune got up, his hand still entwined with hers. "I was stuck miles away from you with just your aura bar. Watching it dip down and down until you hit zero. I-I thought I had lost you." Now it was Jaune's turn to cry from the memory. "When Ruby's uncle pulled you from the wreckage, I just… I would have never put you though that, to tell you to meet your destiny, if it meant any of this."

That didn't change a single thing for her. To Pyrrha, it was still her fault. "But that doesn't change the fact that it's still-"

"Stop it, please." A gentle tug on her hand pulled Pyrrha's sight back to Jaune, the teen kneeling in front of her, almost reverently holding her hand. "Don't blame yourself, please. You were put into an impossible situation, and... I would have done anything to get you back. I don't blame you at all, not even for putting me in that locker."

"You should blame me!" Pyrrha pulled her hand away from him as frustration poured out of her. "I did what you hated, I made you into the idiot stuck in the tree while his friends saved him, I-"

"I could never blame you, I love you, Pyrrha."

"-I screwed u- wait... w-what?"

Jaune gave a small chuckle, probably because of the confusion that had to be on Pyrrha's face before repeating himself. "I love you."

"Buh-wha?" Pyrrha's voice was having a distinct trouble in figuring out words, as the confusion melded into a massive blush whose colour was a deeper red than her own hair.

"It's funny the kind of realizations you have at the darkest moments." Another small, almost painful chuckle escaped from Jaune as he stared up at the sky. "You really don't appreciate the things you take for granted until they are gone. I, uh, know that might be a weird time to say it, but, um, I needed to get that off my chest, sorry if I put yo- mmph!"

This kiss was nothing like Pyrrha's first one. There was no urgency in it, no desperate need inherent in it. Rather, it was a far gentler one – well, as gentle as pulling someone into it could be. The taste, the warmth that was starting to swell in her, the sensation of Jaune lightly threading his hands through her hair - Pyrrha tried to commit every feeling to memory as they slowly pulled away from their lingering kiss.

Perhaps the biggest difference was the faint taste of salt – from whose tears, Pyrrha really couldn't tell. They didn't taste like the tears of regret, but rather of happiness.

"I love you too."

Jaune dumbly grinned back for a few moments before taking a spot on the bench again, only this time, with Pyrrha curled up against him, wrapped in his arms. It was a comfortable silence that settled over the two as Pyrrha's head nestled against his chest.

"I've been trying to say that for a long time. Longer than just the tournament." Pyrrha quietly murmured. "It feels really good to finally say it."

"I wish I could say the same, but, um… I guess I just didn't realize how much you meant to me until you were gone?" The teen gave a snort. "Uh, I'm just glad I could tell you that… before it was too late."

The giddiness that Pyrrha had been feeling started to fade as the topic veered back to what it had been before, bringing with it the swirl of regrets back into her head – albeit with one less. "I'm sorry, Jaune." Pyrrha felt herself give a long sigh as her thoughts started to eat at her brief happiness. "If I had done it sooner, you'd never have to have that epiphany like that…"

Pyrrha could see his face crinkle for a moment into a decidedly less than happy expression. "Then I never would have been able to tell you that I love you." Jaune pulled away enough so he could look her in the eyes. "You said if you had done the aura transfer thingy, then you'd never be the same again, right? I would never be able to tell you then… you'd never be able to tell me either."

The redhead stared at him, trying to think of some kind of retort, but none were forthcoming. Pyrrha instead opted to lay her head back onto his chest. "You aren't wrong." Minutes passed, the warmth from her partner slowly lulled Pyrrha into a less panicked state, as she found herself listening to the teen's heartbeat.

"You don't have to shoulder the responsibility for everything, Pyrrha." Jaune's voice filtered through the tranquil calm. "You tried your best against that hover-y woman, and Ozpin put you in a really tough spot. I mean, giving up your soul? If you'd said yes right away, that would have been weird. To give up what makes you unique in an instant is something I don't know anyone could do." Arms pulled Pyrrha against him just a bit more tightly. "You did everything you could, right?"

Pyrrha went over it for a few moments. There wasn't a single time when Pyrrha had not tried her hardest to do what had been placed in front of her – when the choice had come up during the battle of Beacon, she'd done it without hesitation. In fact, it wasn't until she had woken up that Pyrrha had even started to regret not taking the power sooner – it had never even occurred to her to take the powers immediately.

"I suppose I did." Every conceivable option that had been there at the time, Pyrrha had taken. Truly, she had done everything she could. Yet the self-blame still stuck like a festering wound in her thoughts, the what-ifs flying around her.

"I don't blame you, and I never will. I don't think anyone could, Pyrrha, except for you. Ren and Nora don't, and would never blame you, nor would Ruby." The last word was punctuated with a finger booping the tip of her nose. "The only one blaming you is yourself."

The only one blaming me is myself? That thought was a new one to Pyrrha. It's only natural, though, I was the person the plan hinged on the most, and therefore, I am the one the blame should be cast on. That made sense to her.

…then again, no one has blamed me so far. Ruby knows the truth, and she hasn't said anything. Jaune doesn't blame me, and Qrow… he would know who to blame, wouldn't he? In their conversation, he had never cast fault on Pyrrha – though, admittedly, Pyrrha was quite out of it when they had talked.

Am I really the only person blaming me?

Days slowly melted into weeks.

The aching pain in Pyrrha's chest was mostly gone – although if that was from damaged nerves, or aura, no one fully knew.

That being said, the tall redhead was still wheelchair bound. Crutches were out of the question, given the strain it put on her chest; Pyrrha was still recovering from an arrow that'd gone through, after all. For the most part, she was more than happy to let others wheel her around – Jaune always taking it upon himself to do it, much to her amusement.

"You don't have to push me everywhere." Pyrrha felt a rather fake pout spreading across her lips as she twisted around in the chair to look at the scraggly teen behind her. "I'm injured, Jaune, not crippled."

"But you are injured, and as your partner, team leader, and might I add, boyfriend," Pyrrha could see a faint blush spread across his face from the last part, "I feel like I should be the one to push you around… right, P-Money?"

Pyrrha didn't have a snowflake's chance in hell to suppress the peals of laughter, much to Jaune's chagrin. I really shouldn't be laughing this hard, but wow. "P-Money?" She was finally able to ask between subsiding giggles.

"Y'know, 'cause P, like your name, and money, because you are gold to me?" The eruption of more laughter only caused his face to redden with embarrassment. "That bad, huh?"

"No-no-no, it's fine." Even with her hands hiding the ridiculously wide grin, Pyrrha knew Jaune was not buying it for one second. "I like it… honey buns."

"Now you are just mocking me." Jaune started to pout, arms crossed. "If you really don't like it, you can just say so instead o- eep!"

One of the many nice things about her boyfriend wearing metal armour, was that Pyrrha could quite easily pull him down for a quick kiss with her semblance whenever the desire arose. Like now – the redness in Jaune's cheeks when they finally pulled away was no longer embarrassment. "I'll be your P-Money... only if you can be my honey buns."

Jaune stroked an imaginary beard as if he was in deep thought, "Hmmm, I think I can grow to like that name." The beard stroking stopped as a very serious look crossed Jaune's face. "But seriously, did the name not fit?"

"It's fine, Jaune." Pyrrha laid a reassuring hand on his arm, accompanied by a warm smile. "I'll be happy with whatever you use, just as long as I know you are talking to me." Pyrrha's nose wrinkled. "As long as it isn't Pyrrha-kins."

"That's almost a Yang-worthy pun." Jaune stated with a snort.

A thought occurred to Pyrrha; I haven't seen Yang since the battle. "Actually, where is she? If it wouldn't be too much trouble, it'd be nice to see her again."

The happy air between them dissipated as Jaune took on an almost pitying look. "Perhaps another time."

"Another time?" Pyrrha parroted back as worry creased her brow. She had her own pet theories as to why when she'd been stuck in the bed, namely that something had happened during the battle. "I know she's probably been injured, but it can't be that bad, right?"

Blue eyes refused to meet her own emerald ones, instead darting up and away from Pyrrha's gaze. "It's not really my place to say." Jaune's voice had a false confidence to it as he started to push the wheelchair again. "Come on, I think it's almost time fo-"

Pyrrha didn't need to see why they'd stopped – after all, she'd used her power to stop the wheels from moving any further. "Jaune, is Yang okay?"

"N-no, she isn't…" Blue eyes finally met her own. "She's pretty much locked in her room… she barely eats, and every time Ruby goes to talk to her, she comes out sadder then the last time…"

"Oh." Pyrrha deflated; what happened? That doesn't sound like the Yang I know at all. "Have you seen her?"

Jaune shook his head. "Not since the evacuation from Vale." The blonde gave a long sigh. "It's pretty bad."

"Do you think it'd be okay to see her?" It didn't sound like there was much of chance, but Pyrrha had to at least give it a shot.

Jaune shrugged hopelessly. "You can try."

"Yang?"

Pyrrha knocked rather gently on the door, alone. "I have dinner."

Ruby and Mr. Xiao Long had been more than happy to have someone else talk to the secluded teen – although they'd asked that maybe keeping it to one person would be for the best.

It was weird not having her ever-present partner - no, boyfriend – pushing her around. Not that Pyrrha needed anyone to push her wheelchair around; her semblance was also a good way to propel the chair.

She's not answering. Pyrrha frowned after a full minute, I half expected her to answer in a sing-song voice or a pun. Ruby did say that if she doesn't say anything to just open the door… Finding that the door was, indeed, unlocked, Pyrrha opened it before wheeling herself in, careful not to drop the tray of food that was balanced on her lap.

The first sight that greeted her was the unmistakable mane of unruly blonde hair that definitely belonged to Yang. The girl in question was staring out a window in the rather sparse room. It's kind of bare for someone's room, Pyrrha idly thought as she looked around, then again, the bed in Ruby's room has yellow sheets, so maybe this isn't her room?

"What do you want?" The voice that pulled the redhead from her musings sounded infinitely harsher then anytime Pyrrha had heard it before.

"Um, I was just bringing you your dinner."

The words had an immediate effect as the blonde flinched and turned around. "Pyrrha?" Yang was most certainly not expecting her.

"Uh, hello again." Pyrrha gave a weak wave, as she slipped into her unconscious greeting before lifting up the tray. "I brought you food if you're hungry-" Pyrrha's breath hitched as it became abundantly clear what had happened to Yang now that she'd turned around to face the redhead.

Yang's right arm was missing.

"Your arm…" Pyrrha didn't realize she'd said it out loud until Yang's face scrunched up, the tall girl covering her mouth in horror.

If Pyrrha had thought she'd get a reaction from Yang, then she was sorely disappointed with the lack of one. Well, confused to be more precise, as Yang wordlessly reached over with her only arm to grab the tray and pull it into her lap. "You can go now."

Perhaps what was more shocking then the lack of arm to Pyrrha, was the monotone voice that Yang spoke with now. Where there had been so much energy, an easy tone to everything… now there was nothing. No, it's not nothing, it's someone who has given up.

The fork wavered slightly in Yang's hand as it speared into chunks of diced meat. They weren't hearty, large portions like the blonde used to eat – the sheer number of hamburgers Pyrrha had seen Yang down in a sitting made the redhead feel queasy. This was so opposite of the Yang that Pyrrha knew that she almost wasn't sure it was the same person.

The almost robotic consumption of food ended as dulled lilac eyes stared at her, right, she said I could go, didn't she? "I-I'll stay to take the tray when you are done." The mane of blonde hair gave an almost in-perceivable nod before Yang returned to her mechanical consumption of food.

What do I even say? Pyrrha didn't have the faintest idea. I didn't expect her to be so… defeated. Even during the finals she wasn't like this… then again, losing an arm will do things to you. I should have had an actual plan.

In truth, Pyrrha didn't know exactly why she'd decided to do this. While she did want to see her friend, and was worried about her, it felt like there was very little she could actually say at this point. I should have talked to Ruby mo-

"I'm done… you can leave now." Pyrrha looked back at the tray. Only a few bites worth of food were gone.

Pyrrha's brow furrowed. "Is that all you are going to eat? Surely you are still hung-"

"Why?"

"I'm sorry?" Pyrrha blinked in surprise. "I suppose because you haven't touched more than a lit-

"No." The monotone voice was really starting to creep Pyrrha out as it came from the usually vibrant blonde's mouth; it felt like a bad dubbing for some sort of anime, where the voices didn't match the character at all. "Why do you care?"

Emerald eyes darted around, confused. "E-excuse me?"

"Why do you care about me, about this?" Lilac eyes stared steadily at her. "I'm not on your team, I'm not your family, why do you even care?"

Pyrrha couldn't help it, as a frown quirked her lips. "Because you are my friend."

The painful laugh that Yang forced out was unnerving. "Because we're friends? Then I guess Blake wasn't a friend, then."

Again, Pyrrha couldn't help but stare in surprise. "Blake?"

Yang's face finally broke from its neutral expression as her lip quivered. "If friends mattered, then Blake would be here." Her lips curved downwards in a snarl. "If your best friend- no, your partner doesn't care, then what should it matter to you?"

Her voice changed from monotone to a contemptuous tilt. "Your partner and teammates didn't abandon you, so why should you care? Well?" Pyrrha had an explanation – one that preyed on the self-loathing that still smoldered in her, despite Jaune and Ruby's best efforts.

"Surely there is an explanation-" Pyrrha was stammering to find one other then most obvious, when lilac eyes burned into crimson ones, the redhead cutting herself off.

"No there doesn't!" Like that, the crimson faded back into dull lilac. "Sometimes bad things just happen."

"Then blame me."

"Really?" Yang gave a snort. "So were you the one who cut off my arm?"

Long red hair swayed as Pyrrha shook her head. "No-"

"Then it doesn't matter."

"-but I could have stopped Cinder from killing Ozpin... and maybe even save Penny."

"So what?" Yang lamely waved her hand. "That's Ozpin and Penny, I don't hear anything about stopping Blake from running away, or saving my arm."

Yang's casual dismissal of Penny and Ozpin was disturbing, it's like she doesn't care. Still, Pyrrha was no less determined to take on the blame – despite Ruby and Jaune trying to convince her otherwise for weeks now. "But if I ha-"

"Will you just shut up already?" The crimson eyes returned for a split second. "It doesn't matter, these are just what-ifs. What's done is done."

The blonde turned away from the wheelchair bound redhead to look back out the window. "Everything always works out in the end for you, Pyrrha, doesn't it? You can't even walk, yet no one abandons you. Hell, from what I hear, Jaune even finally got a clue." The knuckles on Yang's hand were white from how much she was clenching them at this point. "So don't you fucking dare lecture me, miss perfect ending!"

Something snapped within Pyrrha.

Bound to a wheelchair, knowing that her indecision had caused countless people to die, for Beacon to fall… that was a perfect ending?

"Perfect ending?!" Whatever remnants of self-doubt or regrets that had been fluttering through Pyrrha's mind morphed into a cloud of red, explosive anger. "You think this is perfect?! You think I'm happy?!"

That got Yang's attention. "I tried to give up everything to save everyone!" Pyrrha found her lips curled back into a snarl. "I gave up my soul, and it didn't save anyone! Now, every time I think back, all I can think about is if I had done it just a bit sooner, Ozpin would be alive! Or Beacon would still exist! But no, instead I decided to think it over, because I was scared of losing the only people who've ever treated me like a person!"

Pyrrha took a deep breath before letting it out. Then another, as the red cloud started to fade and she felt more in control. "Just because my teammates are here doesn't mean I'm happy." Grabbing the forgotten tray, Pyrrha started to wheel herself out of the room as lilac eyes tracked her with an expression that bordered on incredulity.

"If this was a perfect ending, then maybe I wouldn't hate myself."

"It's not your fault, Pyrrha."

The redhead accepted the words with a bowed head. "Yang's been… different. She barely speaks to me anymore, it's like she isn't there." Silver eyes glanced towards a framed picture of the sisters. "I miss my big sister."

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha found herself apologizing again to Ruby. "I probably made it even worse." It wasn't as if yelling at each other was something you could easily hide in a house that didn't have the thickest of walls.

"But you tried, and that's the important part." Ruby groaned before flopping back on her bed. "At least Yang was talking, even if it was yelling!"

"I suppose so, Ruby." Pyrrha gave a small smile at the attempt of optimism. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Ruby merely gave a thumbs up instead of moving from her sprawled out spot. "It's about your team."

"Um, sure?" The short teen propped herself up with her elbows before giving Pyrrha a curious look. "What about them?"

Pyrrha nodded towards the blonde's room. "Yang said Blake left… and I haven't seen Weiss around. Did something happen?"

"Weiss' dad picked her up after the battle, Yang said that he thinks it's safer in Atlas, and Blake…" Silence was one of those things that was rather uncharacteristic of Ruby; it always made Pyrrha feel like she had screwed up when these breaks in conversation ensued. "I don't know what happened to Blake."

The relief that Pyrrha felt for Ruby finally saying something turned into confusion, didn't Yang say something about Blake leaving? "Sun saw her leave, that's what Yang told me, but, I don't think that's it." Ruby's eyes glanced to the window. "Blake cares about us, cares about Yang. She wouldn't leave without a reason. She wouldn't just run without a reason."

Pyrrha frowned. Blake always seemed close with her teammates, too. "Have you been able to talk to Weiss at all since the battle?"

"Nope." The younger girl shook her head. "Mercury broke my scroll during our fight."

I didn't realize they'd fought, or that he'd been at Beacon; wasn't he supposed to be headed home after his fight with Yang? "You could use my scroll." Pyrrha instinctively reached towards her back pouch, only to remember she wasn't wearing her combat outfit. "It should be around here, somewhere."

"And the whole communication network went down, remember?" Ruby flopped back onto the bed. "We can't talk to anyone outside of Patch anymore. I just hope Weiss is okay."

Finally finding the scroll in the wheelchair's back bag where it'd been gathering dust, Pyrrha vaguely recalled Ren mentioning something to that effect after she'd tried to call her mother. "At the very least, Weiss is probably safe in Atlas. Even if General Ironwood's army was nearly routed, they still have a sizeable force."

"You're probably right, Pyrrha." Ruby gave out a sad sigh. "It just kinda sucks, y'know?" With a start, Ruby jump to her feet. "Do you think Ren is still making pancakes?"

"Knowing Nora's predilection for them, probably." Pyrrha felt the corners of her lips arc upwards. "She tends to eat a lot."

"Think there will be any le- Yang?!"

Pyrrha bolted around her wheelchair, her head craning around to see if Yang had, in fact, left her room.

"Yang!" Rose petals fluttered in the air, Ruby already latched on in a hug before Pyrrha could turn her head. "You're up! Di-"

The blonde gave a long sigh before prying the younger teen off her – albeit with some difficulty given her current condition. "Can I speak to Pyrrha, alone?"

"Me?" Why would she want to talk to me? I would think she'd turn to Ruby before anyone, heck, we even ended up yelling at each other!

"Um." Silver eyes darted from Yang to Pyrrha to back to Yang as Ruby slowly walked out of the room. "Sure, I'll just be, uh, here, in another room, um, if you need anything, yeah!"

When the door closed, Yang slowly walked over to Ruby's now empty bed before sitting down, her eyes staring intently at the floorboards.

Should I say something? Pyrrha slowly wheeled the chair around to face the static blonde. No, she said she wanted to talk to me, so it'd be better to just wait. Minutes ticked by in silence. Perhaps I should be the one to start?

It doesn't matter, she hates you. Yang hates you because you ruined her life; you made her partner run away, and took her arm. She's only here to tell you how much she hates you.

Pyrrha was immensely grateful when Yang finally made the choice for her.

"…Why did you want to become a huntress?"

"Well, I've always felt my destiny was to protect the world; being a huntress just seemed to be the best way to accomplish it."

"Like getting an arrow through your chest?"

"Be that as it may, that's why I chose to become a huntress."

"You sound like Rubes – she just wants to help people. Always has, always will." The blonde gave a derisive snort. "Did you know that we are half-sisters?"

Pyrrha slowly shook her head. "No, I did not."

"Heh, me neither, until Ruby's mom died." Her remaining hand tightly clenched into a fist. "Unlike Summer, my mom didn't die some hero… she just left after I was born."

The fist unclenched as Yang let out a breath, some of the tension easing. "When I found out, all I did was try and find her. I even nearly got me and Ruby killed … all because I wanted to find my mom."

Silence again, one that made Pyrrha feel more than a little uncomfortable. "Is that why you wanted to become a huntress?"

"It's part of the reason." Yang glanced towards the window before returning to her study of the floorboards. "I wanted a life of adventure, where I don't know what the next day will bring… and maybe a partner to enjoy it with. Being a huntress just happened to line up with that."

As Pyrrha listened, she noticed something drip from Yang's face, are those tears? "And now I can't. I can't go on an adventure, hell, I can't even fight, let alone become a huntress. The person I cared the most for ju-just left me to rot!"

Crimson eyes, brimmed with tears, stared back at Pyrrha as Yang finally looked up. "So you tell me, where is the silver lining in all of this!? What am I supposed to do now!? Why should I even ca-"

"Why do you think I'd know?" Pyrrha interjected, "What makes you even think that I have an answer?"

"Because you have Jaune." Yang gave Pyrrha a look that made it clear to her, that the blonde thought the answer was obvious. "You still have the person you care about the most, so you must be happy, right? That means you are happy?"

Pyrrha had an epiphany as Yang turned back to staring at floor boards; it's not the arm that's hurting Yang the most, it's Blake. That made finding an answer all the easier for Pyrrha.

"You should go find Blake."

When Yang looked up again, it wasn't crimson eyes that greeted emerald ones, but rather, lilac. "I can't even fight, let alone find someone who I don't have the faintest idea where she is. Hell, why should I try?"

"All you keep mentioning is Blake, and how much it hurts to not have her around." Pyrrha leaned forward, elbows propped up against her knees. "I think that's what would make you the happiest."

Yang shook her head before getting to her feet. "Thanks a lot, Pyrrha. The last two times I tried to find someone, I nearly got Ruby killed, and then I lost an arm. I think I'll pass on this."

Before the blonde could take three steps from the bed, Pyrrha tugged on the back of her shirt. "You won't be alone, I'll help you."

Yang stopped, letting out a heavy sigh. "Seriously, why do you even care?"

"Because, despite what you may think, I understand you better than anyone else even understands me. More than Ruby or Jaune."

"Oh really?" Yang yanked her shirt out of Pyrrha's grip before turning around. "And, pray tell, why do you understand me?"

"We both want a happy ending." Pyrrha wheeled herself back a few feet. "We may have different circumstances, but what we are feeling is the same. Regrets. T-they won't leave me, despite everyone's support. Nor are they leaving you." The redhead stared unflinchingly up at the towering blonde. "Maybe, just maybe, if I can help you get through yours', then someday, I can get through my own."

Pyrrha felt Yang study her, before reaching up with her remaining hand and rubbing the back of her neck while glancing at the ceiling. Finally Yang let out a sigh. "Hope you don't plan to have your boyfriend push you up and down Vale. That'll really slow me down."

"Why can't I walk?!"

Weeks had turned into months following the battle of Beacon.

Yang had become less reclusive, much to everyone's joy – however, the blonde was nowhere near back to one hundred percent. Pyrrha had thought she was going to die when Taiyang had pulled the redhead into a bone crushing hug for helping 'his little girl'.

Yang is holding up her end of the promise… but I'm not holding up mine. While the blonde had even started the process of getting fitted for a prosthetic – courtesy of some of the lien Pyrrha had stashed away from sponsors, the redhead was still stuck in a wheelchair, much to the confusion of everyone.

Pyrrha's heel had healed completely a few weeks ago from her aura, yet her legs just wouldn't quite work. At first, they'd thought the arrow that'd gone through her chest had perhaps hit her spine, but it'd missed it by mere millimeters. Physically, Pyrrha was fine; there was no reason she shouldn't be able to walk. Yet every time she tried to get up, the former-champion ended up falling flat on her face, the odd times that Jaune wasn't there.

There was, of course, another possibility. Not all damage was physical, Pyrrha knew that well. The leading theory the doctors had, was that the issue was psychological. 'Is there anything troubling you that could be causing this?' It took all the self-control Pyrrha had to not laugh in their faces. Still, she pressed on.

It was frustrating, even Yang had started to at least progress, yet here Pyrrha was, stuck – by her own body, no less. Her teammates were supportive, trying their hardest to encourage Pyrrha's efforts to get out of the chair. That just made the continued failure all the more painful.

That was why, in moments alone, like this, Pyrrha's face adopted the uncertainty that ran rampant in her mind. This was when the doubts plagued her the most. That was when the Voice spoke the most to her.

You don't deserve to walk.

The Voice was a slinking, inky mirror of her own thoughts, one that manifested Pyrrha's worst fears, the nagging ones that hung around her like locusts. What hurt most about The Voice, was the fact that it was always right.

I need to! I promised Yang I'd help her find Blake! But that wasn't the only reason. As long as Pyrrha was stuck in a wheelchair, Jaune, Nora and Ren were going nowhere. They were going to stick together as a team until Pyrrha got back to full strength. My teammates can't move on until I can get out of this chair!

If you wanted it badly enough, then you could just get up… maybe you don't want them to go, and maybe you are just being selfish now that Jaune finally is noticing you. The Voice answered back. The logic was hard to argue against; the fact that Jaune was finally spending time with Pyrrha made the redhead happier then she'd ever felt before, in truth. Or perhaps, if you ever got up again, you'd just hurt your friends again. Sure, you can help Yang get on her feet, or even finally tell Jaune how you feel… but you can never bring back those you killed.

Idly, Pyrrha thought back to the conversation she'd had with team RWBY before JNPR's first match. But I didn't murder anyone! I didn't go out there and kill anyone! I could have tried to take the powers sooner, but Ozpin told me to wait, it's not my fault! The words her friends had drilled into Pyrrha came naturally, IT'S. NOT. MY. FAULT!

Oh really? The Voice gave a sickly giggle, its weird distortion of Pyrrha's own voice making her stomach lurch. So you are saying you didn't kill Penny? That she just happened to die because destiny dictated it, and not a few wired swords controlled by yours truly?

Pyrrha had nothing to retort with, after all, the Voice was always right. The Invincible Girl had finally lost control, and killed an innocent girl on a world-wide broadcast.

You murdered Ruby's friend. You are a murderer. The Voice was smugger then it ever was, as the world started to blur from tears, murderers don't get to have perfect endings.

The Voice stopped as its intent was done; Pyrrha's regrets were consuming her. No matter what she fixed, they still won out in the end.

"I'm sorry P-Penny." Pyrrha muttered before the tears turned into sobs. "I'm so s-sorry."

"That is okay, I forgive you."

Scratch that, the Voice was being crueler than usual, adopting the cheery voice of the fallen huntress in question. It sounded so real, too, that for a moment, Pyrrha had believed it was genuine. "You're right, okay? You win. J-just leave me alone."

"What did I win?" The voice sounded so much like the friendly, but very dead android, eliciting more tears from the redhead. "I cannot comply with that request, seeing as I am only on a scroll which sadly lacks propulsion. It also sounds like you are crying." The energetic quality dropped. "I believe Ruby told me it is bad to leave someone crying alone, as well."

Wait, in a scroll? Pyrrha's tears were forgotten as her head raced through possibilities by the thousands. Perhaps, just perhaps... With a very shaky hand, Pyrrha slowly reached behind the wheel chair, the cold sweat covering her making it difficult to get a grasp of her dusty, almost forgotten device.

Nothing. The screen was blank. It only took a few moments for tears to return to Pyrrha's eyes as she gave a sad sigh. "I'm losing my grip, it was just a figme-"

The screen lit up as a familiar face was plastered across it.

"Salutations!"

"P-Penny?" The smiling ginger's face that graced the screen didn't seem to be a hallucination. "Y-you're alive?"

"That is correct!" The image nodded.

"B-but how?!"

"When my central power core started to fail, I jumped into the closest electronic device, namely, your scroll." Penny answered in a matter-of-factly tone. "I was hoping to stay at Beacon, but it seems to be in disrepa-"

"You're alive!" Pyrrha hugged the scroll tightly to her chest, muffling out whatever Penny had been saying. "I'm sorry, I'm s-so s-s-sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!" Pyrrha suddenly felt cold from the lack of Penny's voice, oh no, oh no, oh no! Fear that she may have crushed the scroll shot through her as she slowly pulled it away from her chest. "Penny?"

"It is okay, I forgive you." Penny's avatar stated with another large smile. "It is not as if you meant to ruin that unit." Pyrrha shook her head, words failing her. "Sensational!"

One question bubbled to the surface of Pyrrha's head, however. "How, no, why didn't you speak up until now?"

A frown creased the smile finally. "Unfortunately, the transfer may have fractured my, I believe you would called it a 'conscious', and it took a while to reconstruct it into this form. But fear not! I could still use the scroll's microphone to collect data."

Penny hadn't gotten off completely free from death, I still made her cease to exist for almost two months. "I'm truly sorry that happened, Penny. If there is anything I could do, please tell me."

"Hmm." The avatar tapped her chin in thought. "There is one thing. Could you be my friend?" Pleading green eyes stared up at shocked emerald ones. "I would greatly enjoy having another one."

Unbidden tears returned as a smile stretched across Pyrrha's face. "I-I would be honoured to be your friend, Penny."

"Sensational!" Penny clapped her hands together as a mirthful smile returned to her. "Would it be okay to see Ruby now?" The smile faded slightly. "I miss talking with her."

There was no question in Pyrrha's mind about saying no as she went to the door. "Of course!"

"Your conversion disorder has righted itself, I believe." Penny piped up before she could make it there. "This is great news!"

Pyrrha stopped at the door knob, looking down at the scroll in her hand. "My wha…" Clear through the scroll's transparent screen, was not Pyrrha's wheelchair.

The redhead was standing on her own two feet.

Autumn finally froze over into winter.

Pyrrha was finally starting to feel like she was back to fighting form, not surprising, given the amount of training she'd done over the past two months.

Admittedly, some of that was just learning how to walk again… Having been stuck in a wheelchair for more than a month had caused Pyrrha's legs to atrophy slightly. Still, the redhead had come a long way from waking up all those months ago.

She even had a new weapon, courtesy of the Sanctum workshop, Iremía. Pyrrha's friends had all helped in some small way to make it happen, even Penny. I still don't know how Ruby convinced me to add a chain-whip function to it.

Pyrrha wasn't the only one who had been recovering; Yang had finally got fitted with a prosthetic arm, and was slowly coming back to her old self. Yang even makes the occasional pun now. There were still days when the blonde was silent, or just stayed in her room, but those days were becoming fewer and far between as it approached the day.

Today, however, was the day. The day that they left Yang and Ruby's house. Qrow had mentioned to them that the people who had caused the battle of Beacon had something to do with Pyrrha's own kingdom of Mistral, so that was where they were headed.

Well, that was where Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren were headed, anyways. Pyrrha still had a promise to keep to Yang, after all.

While the rest of the redhead's team was going to Mistral, Pyrrha and Yang would search for the blonde's errant partner, Blake. With Penny's help of course; the AI had promised Ruby to look out for her big sister.

Their preparations were done in secret; Ruby and Yang's dad wouldn't have let them go, especially after what had happened to Yang following the attack on Vale. Which is why when the heavy stench of alcohol filtered into the room right after the redhead woke up, Pyrrha couldn't help but feel panicked when Qrow motioned her to follow him.

The unsteady man led Pyrrha outside, where the sun had only barely started to glimmer in the horizon. "Everyone is leaving today." Qrow stated flatly before taking a swig of a vile smelling concoction. "Ruby and your team are going to Mistral, and you and Yang are going to find that emo kid, right?"

"You aren't going to stop us, are you?" Pyrrha asked after a moment. "Even if you try, we are still going. I promised Yang we'd find Bla-"

"I'm not gonna stop you." The redhead felt crimson eyes' focus fall onto her, pulling her away from the sunrise. "I just have… a favour, if you will, to ask." Qrow shrugged. "I guess, more of a personal request."

"O-oh." Emerald eyes blinked in surprise, I wasn't expecting that. "What is it?"

"Keep an eye on Yang."

Pyrrha's brow furrowed, why wouldn't I? "Of course I will."

Qrow shook his head. "I really mean it. No one else will." He gave a sad little sigh. "Not even Raven… the kid needs someone to stick with her, and her emo friend definitely didn't do that."

"I promise you that I will." Pyrrha stared back at his scrutinizing stare unflinchingly.

A small grin broke the frown that had seemed to be permanently etched into his face. "Good, well that settles that, I s'pose I'll see ya in Mistral, then."

With that, the hunched over man started to walk away as a question bubbled to the forefront of Pyrrha's mind. "Wait, I-I have something I need to ask before you go." Qrow half turned back to her. "Everything that happened in the tower …was that all my fault?

"…it's been eating at you, hasn't it, kid?" Qrow turned back towards where he'd been walking, but made no effort to go further. "I don't think any one person is to blame. We could throw blame out all day; I could have gotten to Amber before the enemy had stolen any of the maiden power. We could have found a replacement before the tournament. You could have accepted the powers on the spot."

Qrow shook his head. "The problem with that, is we are just throwing what-ifs around without knowing if it would have really worked out. If you really want an answer… even Ozpin couldn't win, and yet you still tried. You did your best."

"So no, I don't blame you." Satisfied with an answer, he gave a small backwards wave and walked off, leaving Pyrrha to ponder over his response.

Perhaps Jaune and Ruby really are right; am I the only one blaming me?

"Are you sure I can't come with you?"

Imploring blue eyes stared at Pyrrha, almost causing her to crack. Almost. "I'm sorry, Jaune, but you know your mission is more time sensitive than ours. Ruby, Ren, and Nora need you more than we do."

Jaune huffed. "I know, it's just… I really don't want to leave you by yourself again."

"Hey! What am I, chopped liver?" The rather indignant blonde standing beside Pyrrha asked.

"Scanning." Penny's voice spewed out of the scroll. "Scan complete. Your liver has not been chopped up yet, Miss Xiao Long."

"That… was an idiom, Penny." Yang said before glaring towards the scroll. "And what do you mean by yet?"

"There is a possibility it could still happen."

"I… whatever." The distinct of sound of a metal palm hitting a face echoed. "Ow, wrong hand."

Tuning out Penny and Yang, Pyrrha turned back to Jaune. "I'll be fine. I promise I'll be back. This won't be the last time, okay?"

"I'll hold you to it." Jaune closed the distance between them, before kissing her. They may have been parting, but that was the only similarity to their first kiss, this parting was not going to be a final one. Yet they lingered on it, neither of them quite ready to end it until they finally pulled away for air, and settled into a tight hug. "I love you."

"I love you too, Jaune, I always will." The redhead stayed in his embrace, refusing to be the one to pull away this time. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too." The blonde was the one to pull away after minutes had passed – all too fast for Pyrrha's taste. "You'll find us as soon as you guys find Blake, right?"

"Yeah. As soon as we find her." Pyrrha gave a soft chortle. "You can even meet my family."

"I'll be looking forward to it… bye Pyrrha."

"Bye Jaune."

Pyrrha watched her friends walk off towards their mission until they were no more than specks in the horizon, and then not even that. A metal hand lightly nudged the redhead's shoulder. "C'mon, we got our own mission to do. Sooner we find Blake, the sooner you can see lover boy again."

With a nod, Yang and Pyrrha – with Penny safely on the scroll – headed off towards the last place Blake had been: Vale. The trail might be months cold, but they had to start somewhere.

"Do you think we could stop by my father's after we find your Faunus friend? It'd be nice to have a body again."

"Sure, we can even say hi to Weiss when we're there."

"That sounds grand."

Do you think this is going to do anything? The Voice asked, its slinking voice drawing Pyrrha's attention. Fixing other people's problems isn't going to fix your own. It's still your fault when you get down to it. Do you think you are ever going to be rid of me?

Pyrrha smirked at the poorly concealed waver in its tone. Perhaps it was. Perhaps it wasn't. But one day, yes. One day, you won't be here anymore, tormenting me. It was slowly becoming inevitable; the Voice's grip on her was weakening every day since Penny came back. What had been a roar overpowering everything in her head was slowly dwindling down to a whisper. Every time you waver, every time you sound feebler, it just means that I'm fixing what I've done. That I'm one day closer to when I won't hate myself. That's when I'll have a happy ending.

Ha. Haha. HahahaHAHAhaha! You think that's the end? That once you've gotten rid of all of your failings from the battle of Beacon, I'll be gone? The smugness in its voice would have been alarming if Pyrrha didn't know better. I'll always be here, so that when you screw up again, when more regrets start to plague your mind, I'll be the voice of them.

Well then, I guess I'll just have to strive to avoid creating anymore regrets, now won't I? The voice didn't have a response as the trio trekked on. A smile started to stretch across Pyrrha's face.

A life without regrets sounds wonderful.

Editor/BETA: Super Saiyan Cyndaquil
Editor/BETA: MartunaMajor
BETA: MapleLeafLink

March 2016's Monthly Contest

Theme: Happy Ending

Character: Pyrrha Nikos

AU: IT'S FINALLY DONE!

I've spent every day for two weeks working on this thing, and now it's finally complete!

This is the first time I'm putting an entry into the MonCon for the RWBY subreddit, so I'm understandably quite excited when my favourite character came up, I had to do it!

I'm going to try and keep this from getting too ramble-y, but in essence I'm very proud of this as my completed product! I also took it to meaning more than just one happy ending, hence why Yang and Penny show up.

A big thanks to Super Saiyan Cyndaquil, MapleLeafLink and MartunaMajor's help with editing this. Cynd outlined significant portions of this, it helped more then you could believe! MartunaMajor's editing is why this thing isn't riddled with errors. MapleLeafLink also did his part, and was perhaps the fastest responder to problems – the dude can read like, crazy fast!

Someday, perhaps in the future, I'll do a second part or sequel story to his about finding Blake, but that's not on the table any time soon. I was originally going to hold off till tomorrow to post, but I really want to get it into for Fanfiction Friday, so HA!

A special thanks to Jo3mm for letting me use his art. On a related note, his own entry for the competition, will be related to this as well! :D
Edit; HIS THING HAS NOW BEEN RELEASE, GO LOOK AT IT! :P

I've never written Penny before either, or Yang outside her role as Ruby's big sister, so I have no idea how that came across. I've also never written anything more than 6,000 words before LET ALONE 13,000+!

I'd love to know what everyone thinks of this, so yeah, if you could leave a review it'd be wonderful!

Most importantly, don't forget to vote for Regrets for the contest on the RWBY subreddit!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day! :D