#don't judge too harshly please this was written back when next to nothing was known about the place

[kyraxyrespace]

A Story That’ll Never Be Finished (early-Vol 9 fanfic)

Back in May of 2021 I just felt myself shrivel at this reminder I began to speculate what Vol 9 would be about based only on the brief after-credits scene we had at the end of Vol 8. I started on it, but never had the time to finish it despite the lengthy hiatus we as a FNDM went through. Now with Vol 9 out and finished, I don’t have any plans on continuing the story. However, I wanted to share the brief start of what was thought of but never to come.

Please enjoy.

The repetitive, gentle sound of waves lapping against the shoreline lulled Jaune out of his unconscious state. His mind worked slowly, and only dimly registered the feeling of soft sand beneath his person. Then, as he got to his knees and gave his surroundings a look around, his mind snapped into place like a rubber band. He glanced around more frantically, his hand reaching down to his waist, feeling a degree of relief that his Crocea Mors still occupied his body. It did not alleviate the consternation he felt while taking in the unfamiliar environment.

He pulled himself up to his full height, his right hand touching his weapon. Narrowed blue eyes roamed the horizon, taking in the lush, tropical island. He kept quiet, listening for any sound that would give away another soul in the area, and was equal parts relieved and torn that he heard nothing at all. The water continued to lap behind him, and the wind rustled the leaves, but there was no sound - human, faunus, or animal - to be heard. The enormous tree situated up on the hilltop caught Jaune’s attention; considering its size, it wasn’t that hard to miss.

Although he was apprehensive of where this new land was, he did at least know one thing: he got here by falling from the walkway. And if he was here after falling into the void, then there was reason to believe that Team RWBY was here, too. He needed to link back up with them and find a way off the island; there were loved ones waiting for them in Vacuo. The notion that his friends were alive - not lost to the void like he had thought - spurred him into action.

He didn’t have any clue which way to go, so he picked to go to the right. He took two steps forward in his intended direction but stopped as his ears picked up on a noise coming from behind him. He placed his hand on the hilt of his broken sword, listening to the noise to differentiate if it was friend or foe. It was too faint to actually understand, but it was high pitched enough that he didn’t think it was a Grimm. He spun around on his heel, his eyes narrowing as he tried to pinpoint the cause of the sound. There was something coming his way, and he was able to determine it was in the shape of a person. He blinked, and his heart skipped a beat as he was able to pick out the person’s distinctive white hair and knew instantly who it was.

“Jaune!” Weiss shouted, her voice easier to recognize the closer she came to him.

“Weiss,” Jaune breathed. Then, louder, “Weiss!”

He jogged toward her, closing the gap so she wouldn’t have to run so far. When he determined he was halfway toward her (he was taller, his legs longer, so he traversed the distance in a shorter amount of time), he came to a stop, expecting Weiss to do the same. He was shocked when she didn’t slow down at all; she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Jaune released a breath of surprise, and his left foot readjusted itself to keep him from tumbling backward. His arms, on instinct, wrapped around Weiss to keep her steady.

His surprise over her jumping onto him turned to relief that he could hold her. When Winter had returned to the pathway empty handed, Jaune’s heart had dropped. He hadn’t seen what had happened to Ruby, Blake, and Yang, but he had guessed. Knowing that he had been steps away from getting Weiss somewhere safe, just to lose her, turned his insides cold. He couldn’t mourn her loss immediately; the void had been compromised, and he and Winter had to get to Vacuo. Even the logical knowledge that the team had to have survived if he had didn’t provide the amount of relief he felt holding her in his arms. He had to will away the tears threatening to form in his eyes.

Jaune, believing they’d held each other long enough, began to withdraw his arms, expecting Weiss to do the same. It was probably the first time since Beacon’s initiation that they held each other; it was certainly the first one Weiss initiated. To his surprise, she moved reluctantly. She tightened her hold briefly, before unlinking her arms, moving them down until they rested on the boy’s elbows.

“What happened? How did you get here?” she asked, her voice raised in concern.

“The pathway collapsed,” Jaune answered. “I made a jump for the portal, but missed it.”

“And my sister?” Weiss asked, her face twisting up at the memory of the last time she’d seen Winter.

“She made it through to Vacuo,” Jaune replied.

Weiss’ shoulders dipped as she released a breath, exhaling the tension she’d probably been feeling since she arrived on the island.

“Have you come across anything?” Jaune questioned, giving their area a look around.

Although he had only spotted Weiss, he was hoping it was because he had only put focus on her, and that her teammates were actually somewhere close by. His heart plummeted a bit when he saw Weiss shake her head, her braided hair flowing back and forth with the motion. She removed her hands from his elbows, relocating them to sit comfortably on her hips.

“You’re the first person I’ve come across,” she answered. “You’re the only thing I’ve come across.”

“That’s unfortunately true for me, too,” Jaune admitted, sighing a bit at the end.

“...Do you think the others are here?” Weiss asked, looking for his opinion.

“They have to be,” he answered immediately, scanning the horizon over the empty water. “We’re the only island.”

“That we can see,” Weiss pointed out.

Jaune frowned at the truthful statement. They were only on one side of the island, so for all they knew, there were other patches of land on the opposite side. They needed to get to the other side of the island which would take time walking. Jaune blinked and looked back at Weiss, who raised an eyebrow up in questioning when she saw him staring at her.

“Weiss, can you summon a Queen Lancer?” Jaune questioned.

Weiss’ eyebrows raised upward in confusion, wondering what had spurred him to ask such a question. It was telling how far the two had come that Jaune could read the question on her face without her even having to verbalize it.

“If we can get an aerial view of the island, we could spot our friends easier.”

Weiss’ eyes widened in comprehension as she followed along. She gave a sharp nod at his earlier question and took a step back from him. She pulled out her Myrtenaster and produced a summoning glyph in the open space to the left of them. Weiss approached her Summoned Grimm, stroking the hornet’s face affectionately. The Queen Lancer was becoming a fast favorite of hers, only second to her Arma Gigas. She moved to its side, Jaune following. She hopped up first, taking her place at the front of the insect. Jaune hopped up behind her, sticking his hands in the gap between its protective plates. Seeing that her passenger was secured on the Summoned Grimm, Weiss willed her Queen Lancer to launch them into the air. The flying-insect took air, flying above the tree lines, facing the enormous tree. The two looked down on the tropical island below them, checking for any sign of movement, any familiar shape of their friends.

Jaune was looking off to his right, blue eyes scanning the sandy beaches. His eyes focused on a lump laying just inches from the lapping waves. His heart beat in excitement.

“Weiss.”

Weiss looked over her shoulder at Jaune, and then to her right. She spotted the lump as well. She directed her Queen Lancer in its direction. The hornet sped as it made its descent, and the closer it got to the lump, the easier it was to see its features. The lump was a person. Weiss’ eyes widened as she identified the person. Jaune didn’t wait for the Queen Lancer to land. Without warning, he hopped off the creature.

“Jaune!”

The boy rolled, got back on his feet, and rushed to Penny’s fallen body. He dropped to his knees beside her, blue eyes staring in anguish at her pale body. His hand hovered over the three holes created from the claws of Cinder’s Grimm arm.

[jeramewrites2]

Difficulty in doing

I'm going to be honest. I find it hard to write everyday. There has been a lot going on for me. Nothing as earth shattering as on going climate change or divorce or trying to survive an on going genocide that most of the world has turned a blind eye to. My problems are just that my problems. It is nothing that would make most people worry but for me it has been difficult.

I have been on treacherous ground at work. I work in the medical field and we have not had the number of patients that the executives believe we should. Therefore, they have been looking for someone to blame so that they can change out that person to get the numbers back up. So much so that I have been temporarily reassigned to another clinic. It's been fine. I have taken the opportunity to prove myself with another physician and worked my ass off. All during finals week. Possibly one of three last finals weeks. More on that later.

I believe that I have successful proved my worth so I don't think I am on my way out just yet. I really just need them to keep me around for about another year. Until we are done with the bankruptcy and start saving to move out of the state again. We have been talking about moving out of Texas for 12 years. That was the idea from our first date.

Then enter issues with my father. Due to needing money for the lawyer fees I had to re-connect with my family. We had not seen each other since before the pandemic and I was fine with that. We had not been close before then and I know why. There is no long story there. There isn't a big trauma point to say that is why. My parents where far too young to have children and they never matured emotionally because they didn't know that was a possibility or even that they needed to. Then again before I met my spouse I would not have known that was what I needed either so I can't judge them too harshly.

I am putting up boundaries with them now. They are testing those boundaries and I have to continue to reenforce them. That is what I need to learn right now. Not to be angry when I speak to them and hold firm in what I want and need out of the relationship. If they want to continue that relationship. This is a learning experience.

As far as the one of three last final weeks. I had a conversation with my partner about school and getting a degree or not. She has decided that she no longer wants to finish her degree and is leaving school. When we were first having the conversation I found myself getting warm in the face and defensive. I had only gone back to school two years ago and had bounced around a bit until I found a program that I thought I might like. Texas Tech Creative Writing. I have yet to take a creative writing class through Tech. That will be next semester. I think that will be the second to last semester. I am 41 right now and I do believe that I can do anything but I can't do everything. It's time to write and not study writing. I can do both without going to school and taking out more loans. I have written more today after I am done with my finals than I did all this semester I think.

That probably means that this is the way for me to go. Time to see if I can get some kind of momentum here. Or somewhere. We will see what happens. If anyone has read this and if anyone has gotten to the end AND if you know of a writing community in Dallas/Plano area please leave a comment.

That's a lot of IFs

As always, Thanks for reading.