RWBY||Defender of Remnant

Chapter 64: When All is Lost: Part 1

3rd Person POV

Vale Safe Zone

Sitting in silence, Sincline faced the wall of his room as Accalia rested her head on his lap. It had been nine hours since he had joined the rest of the refugees at the hidden bunker outside Vale, located in the shadows of a large mountain. Nine hours since he had returned Pyrrha to her team. Nine hours... since he had lost Ruby.

His fists clenched, tears forming at the edges of his eyes. For all his power, all his speed... he hadn't been fast enough to save her. He had run every scenario possible through his head, every way he could have saved her... but nothing. That was the worst part: knowing that there was nothing he could have done to save her. He still remembered the minute he had returned to the base... when he had to tell them what had happened.

Flying shakily through the air, Sincline tore through the skies of Vale, his ship ripping through the clouds as he blurred to where the safe zone had been established.

As he flew overhead, an unconscious Pyrrha strapped in the chair behind him, Sincline fought back the agony ripping through his chest. While he had managed to heal his physical wounds using his Quintessence... it couldn't heal his failure.

As Summer helped Qrow unload more supplies from a Bullhead, a shout rang out from Jaune. "Look!"

Everyone turned and saw a familiar ship streaking through the skies, shaky in its movements.

"It's Sincline," Summer whispered with a relieved smile as Yang joined her.

After arriving at the base (she had woken several hours ago), Yang had gone to help Mercury and Accalia tend to the injured, despite Summer's and Raven's attempts to make her stay in her tent.

As Sincline's ship drew closer, Ren's eyes narrowed. "Something's wrong," he said, taking note of the unsteady movement of Sincline's vessel.

"What do you mean?" Nora asked.

"Look at the way he's flying," Ren pointed out as Sincline's ship arced toward the landing strip where a crowd was forming, and the two rushed to join it. "He's never flown like that before. Ever."

A low hum, and the ship landed, a gust of wind following the movement. A hiss, and the hatch opened. Sincline emerged and was met with multiple gasps of shock and surprise as he held Pyrrha in his arms.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted, pushing through the crowd and rushing to Sincline. "What happened to her?" he demanded.

"Arrows," Sincline replied, his voice trembling as he struggled to retain his composure. "One to the ankle... the other to the heart."

"No," Jaune whispered, stepping back as horror filled his eyes. "Pyrrha..."

"She won't die," Sincline assured, passing Pyrrha to Jaune, who gently cradled her in his arms. "I healed her wounds with Quintessence... she'll be okay."

As Jaune rushed Pyrrha to the infirmary, Sincline felt another surge of pain tear at his heart, and he staggered, putting a hand on the side of his ship to steady himself.

"Sincline!"

Turning, the mech-turned-human saw Yang, Summer, Raven, Qrow, and Mercury dashing toward him.

"I'm so glad you're alright," Yang said, embracing him before pulling back and looking around. "Where's Ruby?"

Sincline looked down, his body shaking.