Project: RWBY

Ch 42) One Last Project

One late evening on the edge of a cliff before the sea where the sun's orange hue reflects on the crashing waves, a man in a black t-shirt stands before a wooden cross, a grave marker only he knows about.

After many moments of silence and reflection, he takes a deep breath.

"Hey...it's been a while." He says, his hands fidgeting in his pockets. "I've come to talk...again." He chuckles briefly.

Passing winds whistle as they pass, filling in the silent gap she leaves.

"I uh...finally finalized my plans. Got it all laid out...in my head. And...I've done a lot of thinking on my so called destiny."

A ridiculous notion if he were the same man from the past, and he knows she would have agreed. He leaves room for a slight giggle in response, not that there is one, and a small laugh of his own escapes from his lips.

"You know, the first time I had even thought about the concept of destiny was seeing you again after I had disappeared from your life entirely. It was a fleeting thought at first, and then I realized everything that happened with you afterward only existed because of the singular moment of weakness that struck me when I first laid my eyes on you."

His thoughts drift away into the past for a brief second.

"I thought about what could have been if I had never met you beforehand, and the first thing that came to mind was the fact my life would be so much more peaceful." His smile fades. "I wouldn't have been hurt either, but it's not as though I ever planned on falling for you, quite the opposite really."

In the midst of the silence that follows the waves crash together and the wind whistles overhead, creating a natural symphony he could never listen to in his past life. Oh how he wishes he could listen to it now with her.

"I always hated the concept of destiny, the thought that, all things are predetermined. It always felt like some cruel joke when I think about getting picked up by those suits, being forced to fight in a war that had nothing to do with me, losing the first squadmates I had bonded with, failing to protect you..." The last few words are hoarse and almost sound forced out.

He quickly clears his throat.

"And I understand now, that no matter what I do, I'll never be able to stop the things that will be. No one including myself will ever be able to stop destiny. But that's alright, because that is the key to it all."

The look in his eyes becomes resolute and his voice steady.

"There's no avoiding destiny, whatever is going to happen is going to happen because that is what the world decided. So rather than fight to avoid it, I'll fight to create a destiny of my own so I can be happy with how things end for once in my life."

He stares down at the grave marker as if listening to their response. He chuckles briefly after a few moments of silence.

"I know, it's silly right? After all, Destiny is determined before the path to it even begins. So the concept should be impossible. But coming to this world in the first place should have been impossible too."

He thinks back to the past with a melancholic smile before the grave marker in front of him reminds him of the harsh reality.

"Those girls...none of their paths look simple and many variables are at play here. One wrong move and it could spell the end for them, and there's only so much I can do." He pauses again. "...Honestly? I'm kinda scared." His voice is soft, so that only she could hear him. "I'm scared of failing again, and breaking my promises to them like I did with you." He shudders momentarily. "I- I don't want to go through that pain again, the pain of losing someone I..."

Again he pauses, as though someone had interrupted him.

He takes a deep breath to calm himself as a sardonic half smile appears on his face. "Unfortunately, it'll be inevitable, failure I mean. All part of the plan I suppose."

The smile is wiped away as a solemn, almost manic, expression takes its place.

"In the end though, it'll all be worth it. It has to."

He clenches his fists and glances upwards. "This will, hopefully, be my final project before I can 'retire.'" He says with air quotation marks. "But...I suppose you can call this my two week notice." He quips with a chuckle.

A horizontal door appears above him and a white piece of garment falls into his hand. He stares at his trusty partner that's been with him for decades, prepared to let go once more.

"It can get quite cold out here, especially in the winter, so I'll leave this here to keep you warm alright?"

The man softly steps forward, wrapping his precious lab coat around the wooden cross.

"Don't worry, I've already removed the nanobot capsules and reprogrammed them for my new jacket." He chuckles. "It won't ever be as versatile as my lab coat, but it's special in its own way. You would be happy to know a close friend gave it to me, and jealous now that I think about it."

He retraces his steps and stands a few meters away from the grave marker, looking at it fondly.

"Speaking of which, she's probably still waiting for me. So I've got to go now."

He pauses, staring at the wooden cross now wrapped up by his coat.

"This...might be the last time I visit for a while...so..." His voice trails off, as though stalling for nonexistent time.

He lets out a sigh, then smiles. "I'll see you later, Pyrrha. And please, give me strength while I'm away."

As he lingers for a few moments, part of him knows that she's smiling at him too, somewhere far, far away.

He lets out another brief chuckle. "If I'm thinking that the afterlife exists, then I really have changed." He mumbles. "I hope you're proud of me, Neir."

He finally spins around and opens a door, walking into it a new man who now goes by L.C.

"Things will be different now." He thinks to himself, steeling his nerves before walking forward into the bright white light that emits from the door.

This was the beginning of his final project.

Project: desTiny

And in this place isolated from the world sits a wooden cross with a lab coat wrapped around it, a message etched into it for his eyes only, a promise to himself and her.

'On the day we meet again, we'll have our redo, and I'll love you in the way I couldn't before for the rest of our eternity. I promise.'

~End of prologue~

I had half the mind to just create a new book and call it, well, Project: desTiny, but then I thought it would just be better for me to compile it all in one book and name this part after my best girl, Pyrrha Nikos. She will continue to live on in my heart and L.C's forever. Now, when I first started this book I had never even heard of RWBY except for the occasional fanfic here and there, but I have to say the show has really grown on me. Especially the music, I really like the music and one song actually inspired me to write 'Dream Come True' which is actually the title of Pyrrha's sorta theme? I think. Anyways, I've grown very attached to all the characters, including my very own L.C/Neir and will continue all of their story to the very end! I think I've said this before actually... Anyway, hope you've enjoyed so far, and I'll see you next chapter!