Ch. 9 First Night Troubles

As Alabast struggles to fall asleep Nora and Pyrrha change and get ready for some well earned sleep.

Alabast turns up his music and eventually falls asleep. He lays on his left side, facing the wall, with his tail almost falling off the bed.

It doesn't take long before Alabast finds himself back into his land of nightmares, yet the nightmares are different this time. Somehow, someway, the nightmares are worse tonight.

——————

At first it started with the usual:

A woman with white hair getting murdered.

Followed by Alabast finding himself at the mercy of Dixon and co. as he's reminded of the pain he went through when he received his scars.

Now this is when it changes… when things get worse…

The scene shifts but he's still pinned down on the ground.

Now he's forced to watch as a kid Blake goes through what he went through. The little kitten gets her ear clipped and gets her skin carved up.

After that he sees Ruby holding her eyes, crying tears of blood. And when she falls to her knees she looks up at him and takes her hands from her face. She reveals her hollow and bloody eye sockets that stare into his very sole.

Before he can recover from that he is shown Pyrrha kneeling on the ground, sitting back in her heels, as she clutches her chest. Her emerald green, gem-like, eyes are wide. And her mouth opens and closes as she tries to draw in a breath that evades her. She clutched her chest where an arrow, blacker than the void surrounding her, is embedded.

He then watches as Nora is eaten alive by an Ursa. Not far away, he sees Ren pinned beneath the crushing weight of an Ursa as he is forced to watch Nora be feasted upon.

And it doesn't end there. He watches as Yang loses limb after limb. And Weiss gets beaten and pummeled by a group of vengeful Faunus who do horrible things to her with the excuse of Freedom and Vengeance. Alabast may not like Weiss, but he knows she doesn't deserve what has happened to her in this nightmare.

None of them deserve this…

——————

Back in the dorm room:

Alabast is making a bit of noise in the dead of the night.

The lights were already turned off by Pyrrha and Nora was blissfully, quietly, snoring away.

It doesn't take much for Pyrrha to be woken up from her sleep. At first she thought she just imagined something. But she then hear some shuffling from Alabast and saw him practically shaking above his covers.

As she gets out of bed and stands up she is able to see Alabast a little better across the very dark room.

She walks a few steps closer to Alabast and reaches his desk. The sounds of his incoherent muttering reaches her ears and his shaking is much clearer to her at this distance. She can also tell that he is sweating a little.

"Should we wake him?"

Pyrrha nearly jumps back and gets ready to fight upon the sudden appearance of Nora beside her. She was so focused on Alabast that she hadn't noticed that Nora and Ren had woken up with Nora walking over to her.

"I heard that you are only supposed to wake them up if it is severe and the situation calls for it" Pyrrha comments.

"Is this not a severe situation?" Ren points towards Alabast's face.

It's clear that Alabast is going through a terrible nightmare. And it's even more evident this is serious when Alabast's black aura flickers to life only to flicker away just as fast.

"This is not good for him" Pyrrha says and looks around for something to wake him up with.

Unfortunately, Nora just goes to shake him awake before Ren has the chance to stop her.

Nora shakes Alabast ever so slightly, but that's all it takes for him to grab her by the throat with his left hand. He instantly rolls over and pulls Nora down, bringing his right hand over his body with Bestia Fang's claws extended.

Pyrrha's eyes widen as she extends her hand, activating her semblance. She controls the polarity of Bestia Fang and moves it away from Nora's throat.

She was quick, but not quick enough to fully stop Alabast. The claws were successfully moved away from Nora's throat, but they graze her cheek. The only reason they don't leave a deep gouge is due to Nora's aura protecting her.

The weapon doesn't move past her cheek as Alabast comes to his senses and Pyrrha stops using her semblance.

Alabast looks at his arms and follows them towards Nora's horrified expression. He quickly lets Nora go and Ren grabs her, letting her fall back onto the ground.

As Nora tries to choke back her tears Alabast retracts the claws that extended from his nails and Bestia Fang. He moves back on the bed until he bumps into the corner.

Looking out at his teammates he can see them clear as day through the darkness thanks to his night vision. He quickly rips Bestia Fang off his wrists and casts them across the room.

Pyrrha takes a step towards him with her hand out towards him. "Ala-"

Alabast then jumps up from the bed and uses the wall as a spring board. He jumps from the wall and lands next to the door leading to the hall and quickly opens it. He takes off through the door, closing it hard behind him, and runs down the hall at his top speed.

Pyrrha tries to follow him but when she opens the door she doesn't see even the tip of his tail. It's like he disappeared into thin air.

"Nora! Are you ok?!" Ren asks and checks her neck and face.

Nora is still frozen for a few more seconds.

Pyrrha crouches down, grabbing Nora's hand. "Are you alright?"

Nora was just blankly staring at nothing for a few moments until she snaps out of it. She nods but tears start selling up in her eyes. After a second she hugs Ren and begins crying into his shoulder.

Ren nods to Pyrrha and motions to the door with his head. He wants Pyrrha to know that he has Nora and that she should go after Alabast.

Nora doesn't move away from Ren, but she looks at Pyrrha's back as she exits the room. "I-It's not….his fault. I-I should have….I should have been more careful"

"Shhhhh… It's not your fault. You're safe…" Ren holds the back of Nora's head close to himself.

They've been through some close calls, and each time he has to watch Nora have a close call he's reminded of his own short comings. He couldn't pull Nora away fast enough…

"He didn't mean it…" Nora muffles out into Ren's shoulder.

She saw the horrified look on Alabast's face as he realized what he had nearly done. And the weapons that were thrown across the room are a testament that Alabast greatly regrets what happened.

Ren doesn't say anything else, mostly because there isn't much else for him to say. Sitting on the ground with Nora crying on his shoulder reminds him of their first few years together. Nora suddenly waking up from a nightmare and him consoling her until she inevitably passed out in his arms. He relied on her too, but it was mostly just having her there that helped him through those times… after the destruction of their hometown.

——————

Pyrrha quickly slips on her pair of shoes and runs after Alabast, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. She runs out of the room while Ren consoles Nora.

She runs around the dorms but doesn't catch so much as a glimpse of his gray-tipped hair or tail. There is a moment when she considers asking team RWBY to help search for Alabast, but she elects not to disturb them.

Pyrrha calms herself down as she exits the dorm. There are millions of places for Alabast to run to if he wants to hide, which makes finding him an almost impossible task. But she has a feeling he hasn't and won't flee from Beacon.

When Pyrrha considers the 76th place Alabast might be she finds herself on the cliff they were launched from for initiation.

The view was absolutely beautiful and stunning. Below the cliff is the vast Emerald Forest, eliminated by a shattered moon. And a dark night sky, speckled with hundreds upon hundreds of dazzling stars. The shattered moon sitting high up in the sky looks almost ethereal.

Before Pyrrha realizes it she's standing at the edge of the cliff. She turns to her left and her eyes widen.

Far along the cliffside is a large slumped figure kneeling. The silhouette is obviously that of Alabast with the ears and tail being the dead giveaways.

She quickly begins to walk as she observes him. Alabast is on his knees, his arms wrapped around himself as he tries to scratch at something on his back.

Pyrrha doesn't run to his side immediately, knowing that Alabast likely needs to calm down a little on his own first. So she restrains herself from running to his side and slowly walks towards him.

——————

Alabast remembers running out of the dorm room and wanting to be anywhere but there. The next thing he knows he finds himself out here on the cliffside overlooking the Emerald Forest.

The view meaning nothing to him as he collapses to his knees and looks down at his hands with wide and shaky eyes.

He didn't mean to harm Nora. He didn't even know what had happened until it was too late. Ever since he woke up in this world 11 years ago he had to be careful, even while he slept. His reflexes were trained to protect himself even if he was sleeping, and it saved his life on more than one occasion. If a threat got as close as Nora did and he didn't react… it would be too late if he hesitated.

The scene replays in his mind. He remembers grabbing Nora by the throat and barely missing her neck with Bestia Fang. He might not have been in control at that moment but he can still remember it clearly.

If it wasn't for that mysterious force… he doesn't even want to think what would have happened to Nora. Even if she had Aura, his attack would have still done some damage and he may not have stopped until her Aura had broken and something truly unfortunate happened.

As Alabast clenches his fists he feels the claws from under his nails begin to dig into his palms. He wonders if he accidentally dig them into Nora's neck and it only causes him to drive the nails deeper into his skin.

The fact he still remembers his new hellish nightmare doesn't help his mental state either.

He remembers the feeling he had when his Semblance activated on its own as he ran down the hall. It dragging him out to this place. It responded to his desperation to get away from his team… to not hurt them.

As his mind races he begins to feels his body heat up. He relaxes his hands but that doesn't stop his body temperature from rising. He wraps his arms around himself as the scars around his body begin to burn and itch.

He starts scratching at his back to try and do something to stop whatever is happening as his mind begins to get foggy and hazy. His breath also becomes harder and harder to catch as he slumps forward.

It didn't take long until his claws shred his compression shirt. In hopes of helping his situation he rips the shirt off his torso, which it doesn't.

"Nghhhhh-AHHHH!!" He tried muffling his shout but it's no use.

Suddenly his Semblance activates and surrounds him in darkness. It's like it's trying to help make the situation better but it doesn't help at all.

As his situation begins to worsen he brings his forehead down to the ground

Just as he's sure he's about to pass out, he senses someone approaching him. Looking to his right he sees a swirling void encompassing his vision.

Suddenly through the Darkness he sees two hands reaching out towards him followed by two bright green orbs.

He wants to recoil and avoid the arms about to embrace him but his body doesn't listen to him. Unable to do anything else he looks back to the green eyes looking at his own red eyes, his left eye being slightly less covered than usual.

The unwanted embrace he expected never came, but he felt a hand on each shoulder. Looking up at the figure that begins to become more visible as the darkness fades away he realizes that it's Pyrrha. He looks at her face and sees her mouth moving but he doesn't hear anything.

——————

As soon as Pyrrha heard Alabast's groan and shout she decides to take the risk. But as she gets to his side she sees him get consumed by a ball of darkness. She doesn't hesitate as she reaches into the ball, hoping to find Alabast. And it doesn't take long before the darkness begins to fade and she finds his shoulders.

"Alabast" She slowly calls out. "What's going on? Are you alright? How can I help?"

She sees Alabast's expression change slightly but she comes to the conclusion that he can't hear her after she doesn't get a response.

After a few moments she gets ready to ask another questions. But as soon as she opens her mouth she's surprised when Alabast wraps his arms around her back and puts his forehead on her right shoulder.

This sudden hug causes Pyrrha's brain to crash and as it reboots she returns the hug. Putting her hands on his back she can feel the various scars covering it. Looking down at Alabast's back she gets a dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach as she sees the numerous scars.

As she imagines how painful they must have been she sees that a majority of them are older and deeper. And they look like they were done with the same weapon and are only in non-lethal locations. She knew Alabast would have a few scars across his body based on his face and forearms but this is ridiculous.

"Is… Is Nora ok? I didn't mean to hurt her…"

Pyrrha is brought back from her thoughts by Alabast's weak and strained voice. Moving her hand across his back she responds in a gentle tone. "Ren, Nora, and I know that. Nora is a little shaken up but physically ok. She didn't want you to suffer through that nightmare you were having…"

As soon as Pyrrha mentions the nightmare she feels Alabast's arms tighten around her and feels him grab onto her long sleeve pajama shirt.

A few seconds later Alabast moves his head more into the crook of Pyrrha's neck. The warmth he feels from her calms him down and helps his body relax, but his mind remains foggy and hazy

Pyrrha can feel Alabast's body temperature and wonders why it would be so high. It's like he was about to burst into flames at any moment, luckily it was beginning to cool down otherwise she would have had to find a way to cool him off.

Every now and then she would feel Alabast tremble, and after that he would try and get closer to her. If it wasn't for Pyrrha's strength she would have been crushed by Alabast and his weight due to their awkward position.

She can feel Alabast's tail try and wrap around her and his right wolf ear rest against the side of her face. She finds it hard to believe that somebody as strong as Alabast can be so vulnerable yet be able to hide it so well.

"Every night for the past 11 years…" Alabast quietly says without moving away from Pyrrha.

His breath tickles her neck but she doesn't stop him.

"… I see things that… I wish I can forget. Yet, I just forget the things I want to remember the most…" Alabast explains. He still has that hazy and foggy feeling.

He feels lost, and that he can drown in his own despair. Blake doesn't even acknowledge him as a person. He was made a leader when he doesn't have the first clue in how to lead. And within hours of becoming leader he nearly kills one of his teammates with his own hands, even if he didn't mean to. And what's he even doing? What has he done for the past 11 years? And what will he do moving forward? He feels lost beneath the crashing waves of despair.

"What have I been doing all this time? Is there even a point?" Even as his eyes burn and wish to shed tears, he doesn't cry. Not because he doesn't want to, it's just that he isn't able to.

Pyrrha thinks for a moment of what to say. Her hand moving over Alabast's muscular back to try and provide some sense of comfort.

"Ever since I was little, my parents expected me to be perfect" She starts out, deciding that maybe Alabast just needs to listen to calm down.

"I couldn't play with friends because I had to train or study for the future. For my future" Pyrrha closes her eyes and rests her head against Alabast's.

"My parents told me that I had to be strong, and that I needed to be even stronger because I was a woman" Pyrrha remembers her mother explaining this to her when she started her training.

"They cared for me, they did their best, and they loved me. But they didn't know me, not truly. They only knew the me they were trying to mold me into. That's the person they did all those things for…" Pyrrha unconsciously begins tracing some of Alabast's scars.

"It was terrible for me… Especially after I won my first regional tournament. People would say that the guys took it easy on me or I did something to rig it. I was only 12 years old at that time, yet nobody seemed to care. And it just got worse after the second win. It was after my fourth win that they finally stopped, but at that point it was already too late. I was already 'The Invincible Girl' that nobody could hold a candle to. People only wanted to get to know me because of my title and achievements or my connections with some people in power. I had lots of fake friends. But in reality they were barely acquaintances. People either wanted to use me or they tried to stay away from me" Pyrrha exhales exasperatedly.

"I was scared coming to Beacon, not because of the pressure. No, I was scared that the other students wouldn't see me. The TRUE me. I feared that they would see my title and not look beyond it to see the REAL me. Like Weiss when she tried to 'educate' you about me and my achievements. You were the first person to see me. You said you didn't care about my achievements. To most that would be disrespectful, but to me that was like a saving grace. It gave me hope that I had made the correct choice in coming here. YOU gave me hope whether you meant to or not. I don't know you very well or know about your past, but I know your future will be here at Beacon with team RWBY and your team. It may not be the best, but it's up to you to make the best of it. We will accept you, you just have to give us time and talk with us. Me, Ren, Nora and you are a team for the next four years and even beyond graduation. We won't betray you because we trust that you won't betray us. You may not think you'll be a good leader, but Nora and I think you will. And I'm sure Ren thinks that as well..." Pyrrha pauses and a small smile spreads on her face. "I really have no idea what I'm saying anymore... Are you calmed down now?"

Pyrrha can see that Alabast's tail is moving slowly compared to when it wasn't moving. His breath continues to tickle her neck, it hits her neck steadier and over a longer period of time as he has gotten his breathing under control.

"Are you asleep?" Pyrrha quietly asks.

She doesn't get a response and doesn't know what to do. Because of her aura she won't feel cold and she doesn't mind the hug. But she does need to let Nora and Ren know that she found Alabast. And they should return back to the dorm room at some point.

"That tickles" Alabast suddenly says in his normal tone.

Hearing him talk causes Pyrrha to jump a little. And she holds her hands in the air like she has been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She finally realized that she had been tracing Alabast's back for the past while.

"I didn't say you had to stop" Alabast said in an exceptionally quiet tone that Pyrrha almost couldn't hear. He moves his head closer to her neck.

Pyrrha was blushing, but now she was blushing even more. "If… If you say it like that…"

Pyrrha wasn't naive. She had been on several dates, however, the guys all sucked. They were either snobby or entitled. They all just wanted her as a trophy, to date 'The Invincible Girl'. She can tell that Alabast is not like the boys she had met before. Her heartbeat quickened as she slowly brought her hands back down to his back.

She put her hands on his back and restarted her tracing of the muscles and scars. This time she was much more conscious of her actions and it was very embarrassing, but she didn't stop.

Pyrrha feels Alabast's left hand move from her back to the back of her head. This slow and careful action sends shivers through her body.

Alabast presses her face into his shoulder as his right arm holds her tighter, like he's afraid that she would pull away and leave him. He sits up and pulls her into his embrace.

After a moment of her brain being fried, she moves her right hand to Alabast's head and begins to move her fingers through his hair.

They don't say anything as time begins to trickle away. Both being lost in the other's embrace.

——————

Neither knew how much time has passed. It could have been minutes, or a few hours. But now the sun had started to poke over the horizon.

"Alright Ashy, I think it's time to we get back. We have classes today" Pyrrha patted his back to try and get him to let go but he doesn't.

Pyrrha watched as Alabast and herself began to sink into their shadow.

Alabast had activated his semblance and controlled the darkness beneath them.

Her vision gets cut off and she sees nothing but a void. When she blinks she realizes they are now in the middle of their dorm room.

In an instant they had traveled back to the dorms.

*Flash* *Click*

Pyrrha turns around and sees Nora with her scroll in her hand as she is laying on Ren's lap while he is asleep.

Nora gives Pyrrha a smug expression with a thumbs up

Pyrrha hides her face from Nora in embarrassment, getting a face full of Alabast's hair.

After a few moments she feels Alabast slowly loosen his hold on her. He lets her go and stands up. Without saying a word he goes over to his bed and lays down facing the wall

Pyrrha tried to stand but her legs are asleep.

Without turning to face her, Alabast moves his left arm towards her and uses his Semblance to move Pyrrha over to her bed. Gently laying her down on it.

Nothing else was said that night/morning.