The Love, the Hurt, the Wacky (1)

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." – Marilyn Monroe

You know, I think we really need to make contingencies wherever we go. I'm not superstitious, but I'm starting to believe you've been cursed in incurring in dangerous situations.

I mean, this… this isn't the worst that has ever happened to me, isn't it? Didn't I risk losing my arm with Raven?

[Looking back at how things were before you wounded up in Remnant, I would say that the situations where you find yourself suffering mortal injuries have increased exponentially. I would also say that just because you had 'worse', that doesn't mean you're free to rush to get new scars.]

How was I supposed to know that your other self was able of deflecting that stuff back!?

Magic is unpredictable. Especially the one deriving from the Gods' meddling. The Queen's power is… not only tainted. It's augmented by the corruption, by the sin, by the negativity within humans' souls.

[Rules of Nature don't limit her abilities. Ozma knows this well considering his first attempts at trying to take her down.]

Which is why trying a direct assault proved to be a stupid mistake to do early on. I lost some 'lives' before realizing how foolish that endeavor was. Truly frustrating, but oddly educative.

I grunted at this comment, leaning back on my pillow. With my eyes fixed at the gray ceiling of my room in this military hospital, I had yet to see anyone else visiting. No doctor, no nurse- Heck, I would've liked to see even some patient wandering around but I was confined in that boring place.

The sheets of the bed were incredibly rigid, very sturdy. Which was a distinct contrast to the soft pillows and the mattress. I hadn't much to complain about, and my early issues weren't about the 'questionable' state of the room and bed.

The first thing that I saw was the thick cast that had been applied on my right arm. The thing was quite heavy, forcing me to rest the damaged limb on the mattress, and forcing me against trying to lift it up.

I was surprised by the sight, but then again the explosion that ignited right as I dodged that unexpected counter from Salem had easily broken through my armor. I had some bandaids on my face, but the worst aching came from the part of my body that had been closest to that blast.

The pain wasn't that terrible, and I slowly started to realize that thanks to it I knew that my limb was still there and working. Just incredibly hurt and in a bad shape.

My fingers were still there, but moving those also caused my poor nerves to flare in sudden pain. I was 'mostly' fine, which was good and dandy for me as I really didn't want to lose a limb because of Mami Salami deciding to return my 'kindness' back to me.

Maybe I should've shot her a sneaky blast instead of trying with a lucky shot.

Still, it was pretty silly to whine over past things. What's done is done and… I was really having some trouble in getting a clear understanding how much time had passed since I had collapsed. There was no sign of the armor I had been wearing, plus I was pretty sure that Dark Salem had been pushed back considering that this had to be Atlas.

Way too many cool-looking devices with the Kingdom's insigna plastered on the surfaces. I sighed, quickly engaging in a conversation with Ozpin and Sally about the overall situation.

While the blonde was more worried about my wounds, my attention was legitimately stolen by the former headmaster's comments over the last sight I was bestowed before falling unconscious.

Silver eyes. In Atlas.

…

How?

The show had never mentioned someone else other than Ruby and Summer. Heck, I would've expected Ironwood to make use of such valuable asset for the Vytal Festival, but then again Ozpin himself was confused about this sudden situation.

That young woman, the one that had the hair color that many members of the Rose family were known for… she wasn't Summer.

I was certain of this by the very fact that the mysterious lady's hair style was… punkier than Summer's. While the white-caped huntress had a soft, mellow style with her curly hair, this individual had a spiky complex that just threw me off completely.

The more I thought about that sight, the more I found myself inclined to bash my head at the lack of lore-related stuff I could connect to this individual.

I knew that Ozma was genuinely stomped at this discovery. The sudden desire to discover the identity of a possible new ally against his 'wife' was more than enough for me to accept it as a truthful reaction.

Sally's own words on the matter over her companion's interest merely confirmed what I had just realized on that very situation.

Still, I had nothing to truly establish even theories. I would need more clues, but that would also mean talking with Ironwood. I really wanted to have Jimmy around so I could get some proper answers about this strange situation, but the General had yet to make an appearance and I was stuck in that hideous limbo of gray, soreness and dreadful loneliness.

I was really desperate to have someone to talk to.

We're still here-

And no, 'voices' in my head weren't going to cut out considering how one-sided that would get in the real world.

[He has a point.]

Humming quietly, and trying to get distracted by staring at some minuscule text on the side of the lamp by the bedside, I soon found my prayers answered in the form of a recently-acquainted individual entering the room.

Misfit-03 looked… incredibly bright. Her armor was reflecting a lot of the light coming from the main illumination source which was the large-sized light panel shining over the bed. The worst bit was the helmet as its visor was reflecting whiteness back onto my face.

My eyes widened through that unpleasant light-show, and with serious reasons. Ironwood had been quite adamant that none of the members of this 'only mission' was supposed to learn about each other identities. I was more than happy to respect that decision considering the can of worms that learning of new characters implied, but it would seem like the promise had busted if the young woman was here and staring at my unmasked self.

"John," She curtly greeted, nodding towards me before walking up to the only chair present near to my bed. She sat down and then sighed. "I see that… your conditions are stable."

"I've a small itch on my upper back, but I've this big cast limiting my chances of comfiness. But could be worse," I muttered with a small smile. "But hello to you too… 03."

The helmeted woman nodded. "I suppose it's quite awkward to be exposed like this. With your identity revealed and-"

"I've dealt with worse," I half-shrugged, interrupting her in that pseudo-apology. "Still, I bet Ironwood offered you a chance to talk to me if you're here."

…

"Right?"

Her visor shifted away from staring at me and I frowned.

"I… I wished to be here on the presumption that we could've a proper discussion. One beyond the line of work we had just entertained this once."

My frown deepened as this little addition hardly offered an answer to my growing confusion.

"What?"

She sighed again, but instead of talking once more with her hyper-formal and elegant words, 03 slowly reached for her helmet and… lifted it off from herself.

I blinked, my entire frame freezing up at the sight of a familiar face… with pretty blue eyes and long white hair.

"John, I… I suppose this is really awkward," Willow Schnee commented quietly.

"It kind of is. But… I guess I should've expected this from the familiar fighting style."

A fascinated glint shone from her eyes. "You know about my… style?"

"Regal, very strict over specific steps, and focused mostly on rapiers and sabers," I said while tilting my head to the side. "Raven."

The lie seemed to gain a nod out of Willow, and I knew that mentioning her past friend's name as the reason behind my knowledge was a sure-win for me. No distrust in this moment of weakness!

"I can see her… remembering me from that," She muttered with a small, but tired smile. "It sounds like she's truly trying to settle down with her family."

"With occasional visits to her… workplace," I bit my lips at the chance of blurting out about her tribe. Not now that the situation was fairly fragile.

...Oh? You wish to know why I was restraining my mindless need to drop truth bombs after truth bombs?

It took me a while since Willow unmasked herself to realize that she was still coping with what was happening with her family. It wasn't like she was shocked by Jacques' betrayal… but she was still facing some troublesome ramifications with what was happening.

Starting from the fact that her children were surely confused, terrified, and probably angry at the fact that their father had been taken away. I could see little Weiss whining about seeing her Papa, while Winter would restrain herself out of the fact that she was slightly aware of the man's unpleasant personality. The only one that was hopefully spared by this separation was possibly little Whitley. Truly ironic.

Still, the weight of the horrible ordeal wasn't just the cheating- but the fact that Jacques had been implied over his commitment with the men responsible for the assassination attempt. Not only a sore loser, but also a traitor to the Kingdom.

That was surely going to damage the SDC, no matter who is the current leader now. Even Nicholas was going to have a hard time stabilizing the situation as of now.

I blinked. "You know, I could call her now."

The woman tensed up at the offer, her eyes narrowing at me with a mix of interest and nervousness.

"Wouldn't that be too… sudden? What if she's busy with something else?"

"I mean, I can see your point but..." I half-shrugged. "Portals. Those are truly fancy things, you know?"

She seemed confused at first, ready to inquire more about it but… then her eyes widened in remembrance.

"Her Semblance." A groan, and I felt highly-amused at seeing the 'Ice Queen' facepalming at her own forgetfulness. "Of course she could open a portal here and…"

I reached to my phone with my undamaged hand, kind of surprised that the device hadn't been taken away from Ironwood for further studies. It wasn't a Scroll, and that should've been enough to interest the General in further studying the little thing.

Then again, I had the odd sensation that Jimmy was a little more trusting on me for multiple reasons. Especially for my polite approach in addressing Atlas' problems without ridiculing too much the current state of things in the kingdom.

The number was still saved in there and I called the woman. The wait was short as the other side quickly responded to the call.

"Bukharin."

Simple, direct, and slightly annoyed. I had now some worries that I might have called in the worst of times.

"Hello, I'm calling in a busy moment or-"

"No, you're disturbing at the best of times actually," Raven interjected with a sigh. "By the way, ravens or crows?"

She's having a debate with Qrow.

[I understand that siblings can be quite competitive with one another but… are they really headbutting over their respective forms?]

That's the beauty of sibling rivalry. It's dumb, sometimes the resolution is stupidly easy to find, but it's also quite frustrating to deal with when you're one of the siblings.

"I'm not a bird-lover, but I reckon that eagles sounds amazing," I replied with faux-innocence, getting a snort in return.

"Prick. What do you want?"

I sighed. "I was talking with someone that knows you and-"

"I owe nothing to anyone. If they told you otherwise then they're lying."

Now, that was quite the… quick answer to a question I hadn't asked.

"I'm quite sure you don't have any debt with this individual in particular," I muttered calmly, glancing at Willow with a questioning look. She looked at me with a confused frown, which I quickly saw as a lack of knowledge over this matter.

"Oh, then… what's the problem?"

"Well, I wanted to know if you and Summer could pass by. It would be nice if-"

I didn't have time to pause that I saw a portal open right in front of the door and… Raven's head poking through it.

Red eyes glanced around the room, stopping only to see the white-haired woman there. Surprise swelled for both, with Raven taking a couple of steps in as she looked shocked at the unexpected reunion.

"R-Raven-"

"You're Willow," The Branwen bluntly commented. "I remember you when you visited Beacon."

The Schnee's face displayed a small blush at the quick remembrance, and she nodded at the statement.

"That's… correct. And you don't seem to have changed much from..."

"She is still the dense woman that acts first and regrets later."

The bandit leader snorted. "It works."

I frowned and she sighed at my stare.

"Most of the time."

I sighed, shaking my head out from that silly argument and back to the main topic of the situation.

"Is Summer free or-"

"I-It's not necessary," Willow quipped nervously, before looking nervous at her own outburst. "I-I mean, I don't wish to sound imposing or-"

"Call her," I said with a tired tone, nodding at Raven before I turned my attention back at Willow. "And you really need someone trustworthy to talk to. Don't think I can't notice signs of distress."

She almost flinched at the calm chiding, but I guess the reason why my words were being fairly effective was correlated to the topic and the suddenness of the recent developments.

Raven disappeared back through the portal and some moments of silence passed as we waited for her return. Much to my surprise, the Branwen returned with a huff leaving her lips and… a confused Summer stepping through the portal while wearing a cooking apron over her usual clothes.

She blinked in surprise as her silver eyes took a quick look around the room and she noticed two distinct situations unfolding.

"Willow?"

The Schnee matriarch offered an awkward wave of hand, but soon the white-haired woman found herself glomped by a giddy-looking Summer. "It's been so many years. How are you doing? Is everything alright here in Atlas or-"

"It's… it's mostly alright."

Liar. But then again, that unexpected hug had to have fried some brain cells and… I wasn't spared of the Rose Fun Train as the brunette graced me with a quick greeting.

"John, good to see you and-" Summer froze, her eyes going wide in confusion as she noticed that I was in a bed and… I had a cast over my right arm. "Nice… Cast?"

The comment wasn't missed by Raven, and the red-eyed woman moved closer to the right-side of the bed to study the thick construct. "How-"

"I tripped down a staircase or two- Mhm!"

I flinched in pain as she tried to lift the cast up, swiftly letting go at the first note of my distress.

"That sounds a little more than 'a staircase or two'," Summer commented with a hint of curiosity in her tone. "By the way, where's Sienna?"

I tensed up at the avalanche of questions I couldn't answer via simple responses. Raven looked even more confused, and frustrated, but mostly confused.

Just as I tried to deflect the attention elsewhere and away from me, the only door of the room opened again and this time… the situation was just turning more and more intense.

Ironwood was the first one to enter inside, pushing the wheelchair that was being currently used by…

I blinked, and I found myself mesmerized by a pair of worried but oddly calm amber eyes.

There was silence, and I felt the world shattering like glass as two sole elements existed within that moment.

I gulped nervously, having some trouble keeping up with that quiet stare aiming at my own eyes. Seriously, why did she look so fierce despite her weakened state? How did she manage to look quite strong even though she looked to be recovering from the poison?

"Sienna."

Her animal ears twitched at my voice, but her eyes continued to look at me while she kept quiet.

I thought it being just a moment of surprise at the reunion, but then… I saw her offering a confused frown back.

"W-Who are you?"

…

No.

John-

NononononononoNONONONONONO! WHY!? WHY THE FUCK- WHY-

My brain went blank at the horrid situation hitting me in my core. My thoughts erased in that very moment as I felt squashed by one of the worst sensations I could've imagined.

A hollow victory. I won, but I failed. I succeeded, but it wasn't what I had thought of it for.

My chest tightened, and I felt my face growing pale at the nauseating notion that the one before me, the one person that I had went through hell and back… was now mostly gone.

…

Or so I thought.

Her confusion melted in an awkward look. "I mean, with those bandages, that cast-"

"It's a nice one to that," 04 chirped while leaning to the side, still behind James. "Hello, partner~."

…

I was silent, my eyes still wide open as my brain wasn't just allowing that stupid prank to be real. It was… so stupid. So needless… so fucking infantile.

"I was kidding, John."

My lips twitched, my stare lowering to the sheets as I felt something darker bubble from within my chest.

"A cruel trick at that," Willow commented. "Why did you do that, Ms. Khan?"

The Tiger Faunus flinched at the question. "I was just… General Ironwood told me what he did and… I'm…. I don't know how-"

I sighed, staring at James with an impassive look. I felt a storm by my throat, but I managed to throw out the words I wanted to offer in that dreadful development.

"I… I want to be left alone."

"John-"

"I'm tired. I think I will go back to rest soon," I interrupted the General without hesitation. "I think I've the right to decide whatever I should've visitors or not."

"You can't just-" Sienna paused, her tone dying out as I glanced at her with a terribly calm look.

"I can't?" I inquired back with some irritation. "I don't think you understand that you came so close to die because you had to cover my back."

My words drew a tense and strained undertone to the silence.

"You almost died," I continued with a frail tone. "You were there, unresponsive in your bed, and the more I stared, the more I had to see the results of my own weakness, the more I felt guilty of this all."

"It wasn't-"

"I could have pushed you away. I could've stopped Tyrian when I first saw hints that… that you were coming so close to be hurt," I rebuked without hesitation. "I could've tanked that hit, I could-"

Sienna was shaking in her wheelchair. I was too distracted in my own self-disappointment to see if it was panic or anger. "Stop-"

"I-I can't stop!" I almost yelled, my lungs burning a little at that stress. The world descended in a quieter silence. A paradoxical oddity that just… felt absurd. "I can't just pretend that nothing serious had happened. I can't just stop thinking that you were coming to die and..."

I stopped there, my strength faltering as I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. Sienna had somehow lifted herself from the chair and… thrown herself onto the bed. The result was that her face slammed determinedly on my chest as she started to rise up to reach my face.

The situation was awkward, and the audience made things incredibly… embarrassing.

Raven seemed to notice, giving a quick nod at me as she stared at Ironwood. "Can we move outside? I don't think we should be there to see this."

The General looked skeptical at first, but soon his reluctance deflated at the sight of the other women moving towards the sole entrance. James sighed, offering us a single nod before leaving the room to just me and Sienna.

The Tiger Faunus was trembling as she climbed up my chest, her hands taking a tight grasp at my medical garb by the shoulders-side.

"Why?" I muttered softly and the tanned woman looked up at me.

I froze for a moment at the sight of the woman now sporting tears trailing down her eyes.

"Stupid," She muttered. "I-It was stupid. I'm- I didn't mean to- I- I'm trying to."

It was a mess of words. Apologies intermixing in that strange conglomerate of a sentence.

"Why?"

She tensed, her chin resting on my chest and close to my own face.

"I- Ironwood said that… that you hurt yourself again. I thought that… that it was my fault. Again,"

…

"Why?"

A sob, then her eyes burned because of the crying.

"I'm sorry."

I stared at her, sticking with that sole word question as I tried to make sense out of that immense confusion before me.

"Why?"

"I'm… I don't want you to hurt yourself for me," Sienna muttered. "You- You're my ward. You're the silly, weak human that should be protected. Not the other way around."

…

"No."

She blinked, staring up at me with confusion.

"I was that. And you were my warden," I agreed quietly. "But now? Do you… do you really think so little about yourself?"

I leaned my forehead into hers. "You're Sienna Khan and… I can't help but worry when you get hurt too," I continued, a sad smile finally appearing on my face. "It wasn't just the failure that scared me. It wasn't actually the failure that truly frightened me into acting."

"Then… what was it?" She sounded quite desperate at that point and… I couldn't fault her for that. I guess it was long overdue.

[YES!]

Shut it.

"What I feared the most… was that I was going to lose one of the most important people in this world," I confessed without hesitation. "The one… I love."

…

"You mean that-"

"Yep," I interrupted her. "You heard me right."

…

"That's… quite ironic," She muttered with a small smile. "Do you want why?"

I frowned. "Why-Mhhf!?"

Before I could finish that sentence, I found my lips stolen in what could be considered a powerful kiss. It wasn't the classic 'firework' kind of smooch. No, it was… uplifting.

I felt any soreness vanish in that moment and I felt only one thing.

Good warmth, the warmth of someone I trusted a lot and that was opening her own heart to me. What a strange thought. One that seemed so freeing and so correct to enjoy.

The kiss lasted for a full minute and I felt my breath taken away as we ended that connection. It was a minor reprieve.

A second, then a third kiss ensued. By the fifth time, I was starting to gain an 'understanding' of what kind of desperation was hidden in her previous question. But I wasn't complaining. Not at all.

In fact, the giddy smile matching hers just made it clear that the kissing was just becoming quite the entertaining thing to do.

"T-This is-"

"Incredibly amusing?" She guessed with a happy tone. I nodded and she rested on my chest as we both recovered from that brief make out session.

[While this is quite tame compared to how Ozma and I would've spent our evenings, I suppose it's just right that you start from very little.]

Some more context to the words!

[What's wrong with bringing up memories about kisses, dear? Are you perhaps flustered?]

As if kisses ever bothered me that much-

[If you want, I can bring up some old memories of how you would turn after a single kiss. All tense, all shy… so innocent~.]

Weren't you the one stuck in a tower in the middle of nowhere?

[You shouldn't underestimate the power of books… and experimenting. I really liked to play around with Ozma when we were younger-]

Stop. It.

[Fine~.]

As we both enjoyed that very moment of rest, I couldn't help but ponder over something I had noticed during the kisses.

"Did you have breakfast already?" I inquired calmly, getting a soft snort from the young woman.

"I might have been offered some cookies," Sienna admitted, licking her lips. "Delicious cookies at that."

I frowned. "I thought the hospital didn't offer that kind of treatment. Who did you bribe~?"

She playfully swatted at my good arm, sighing as she thought back about this circumstance.

"Nobody. And the thing is… I'm still unsure how that girl, Ironwood called her '04' or something like that, managed to bring in so many cookies without a bag with her..."

"Yeah, she was one of the members of the team sent to recover Tyrian," I muttered calmly, getting a little distracted at the strangely fascinating detail. "Quite quirky, I assume she didn't do anything too odd."

"Only some childish statements. Like… she was complaining about Ironwood chiding her for preferring milk over coffee," The Tiger Faunus advanced this curious example. "She brought up the fact that 'milk helped with growth'… which is quite ironic since she's quite short and… you're distracted."

I would've flinched at the deadpanned bit at the end of that retelling, but my mind had completely derailed away from that very explanation and right onto some past occurrences over the mysterious silver-eyed young woman.

"A High-Velocity Electromagnetic Sniper that literally makes any other sniper pale in comparison! More than twelve shots in the chamber, its explosive rounds are devastating enough to shatter through buildings and-"

No!

"Don't call me- a brat!"

Fucking!

"I don't people to grow up- I drink milk!"

WAY!

It's Ruby. It's Ruby 'Fricking' Rose!

This shouldn't be possible.

Yet it is! Look at the proof. She loves gun, Ironwood trusts her enough to not talk Ozpin 2 about her, and… she is a brat!

[But how?]

I really don't know. But considering my current situation, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this dimension is wackier than I thought it to be early on.

It would be absurd for- for this to even happen. Think about it for a moment: you're asking me to believe to the fact that a Ruby Rose from the future managed to get sent in the past… right in this era. It's impossible for me to-

What about me? Think for a moment what you're trying to deny. I am an anomaly too.

But your presence could be seen as something dictated by the Gods. We're still unsure who is the one behind your presence, and the situation which sees me and 'her' stuck in your mind.

['Her' has a name and- I'm not sure who I should support right now. While it sounds the easy answer, I don't think we can be 100% sure that she is indeed Ruby Rose.]

Which means…

I will have to adopt an aggressive approach to determine if she's or not Ruby Ro-OW!

I felt dragged away from my mindscape as Sienna was… biting at my finger.

"S-Stop it- It's not fun-"

"Good," She remarked with a fiery grin. "I wasn't trying to be funny- especially when you decided to ignore me like that."

Soon, her face leaned back onto mine and she let out a brief giggle. "Still, I think it's time we resume our little session, dear~."

John, you know better than me that losing time here means losing opportunities to-

[Oh, be quiet! Let him have some reprieve after that maddening mission. Just like I let you enjoy the 'spoil' of rescuing me from the tower.]

S-Stop it!

Sally giggled, ready to tease some more while I happily ignored the couple's silly antics for the sake of offering attention to the needy Tiger Faunus purring on my chest.

The vibration, the kissing, the lovin'!

What else could be said? The 'distraction' was unexpected but eagerly welcomed!