Tears of the Mind (Redux) Chapter 07 (Early Preview) (Patreon)

"So, what should we do now?" Pyrrha asked the others, who all looked distraught. Ren said nothing, while Pyrrha noticed Nora's somewhat calm expression. Before either Ren or Pyrrha could say anything, the bomber walked past the champion.

"Someone has to be with him when he's out in Vale, right?" Nora said as she kept walking. "I'll find him. You two head back to Beacon." Pyrrha was about to say something but felt a hand on her shoulder. She saw that it was Ren, and he gave her a reassuring smile, knowing that Nora would handle it. Pyrrha reluctantly nodded and turned the other way with her teammate, hoping Nora could find Jaune.

It took about a while to track her leader down, but Nora was able to manage by asking friendly strangers if they'd seen a man who dressed like someone about twice his age. Nora got a solid lead as an old store owner told her he saw a man with a red sash around his neck enter Junior's nightclub. Nora saw that the sun was setting now and felt foreboding about Jaune's whereabouts. With a sigh, she arrived at the club and opened the doors. She was surprised that hardly anyone was there except for the security and the DJ despite the loud music booming from the stereo and the flashing strobes of the lights. The security eyed her for a moment but didn't think too much of it due to the lack of weapons on her person. Nora shrugged this off as she eyed the establishment until she saw who she was looking for. She didn't sigh or roll her eyes when she saw Jaune leaning against the bar while talking to the bartender. Instead, she approached him and sat on a bar stool beside her leader.

Jaune looked over to her, and he let out a frustrated sigh as he sat on his stool. Not sure what to say. The blonde knight didn't understand that Nora wasn't saying anything. He was expecting her to go off on him or something of the sort, but she was just there before him. "If you're wondering, it's just soda," Jaune said while lifting his drink. "Ozpin notified Junior this morning about my rules," Jaune said as he air-quoted his last word.

"I never asked," Nora said as she spun a bit on her stool. Jaune quirked an eyebrow at her response but shook it off. He propped his elbow on the bar and rested his cheek in his palm while taking a few sips from his drink. At this point, Jaune had no idea why his teammate was there and was a little scared to find out why. After about five minutes of only the music being their company, Jaune was about to say something, but Nora beat him to the punch.

"I'm sorry." Jaune was confused but couldn't say anything because Nora was continuing. "We didn't just realize that we didn't ask how you felt, and we didn't apologize for acting how we acted." Nora waved to Junior and asked for water. "So, I'm saying I'm sorry. I don't know about the others, but we should have known that things would change. Maybe it was because we missed you. I don't know myself. But with the scars and the drinking, I don't know. I was worried that we lost our friend."

Jaune sat there, taking in his teammate's words, and honestly didn't know what to say. She was right that they didn't apologize, but the way Nora was acting at the moment made it feel as if she truly wanted to know his opinion and valued him as more than a leader. He would be lying if he said he didn't miss that feeling.

They heard a commotion from the entrance before either of them could say anything else. Jaune and Nora turned around to see two security guards barricading the door. The effort was mute, however, as an explosion erupted, and the door flew off its hinges. Jaune winced as he saw the guards fly a few feet back while Nora chuckled. As the smoke cleared, Jaune's face paled as he saw the blonde brawler from Team RWBY emerge. He looked at Nora for a second, but she gave him a reassuring thumbs-up with a wink.

"Guess who's back?" Yang said cheerfully as she shrugged her shoulders. Jaune was surprised to see the numerous guns aimed at her, but she shrugged it off like it was nothing. He shuddered to think what would happen to all those guards if it was him that they were aiming at.

"You okay?" Nora asked him, and he nodded while shaking the possibility out of his system. He saw Junior go up to Yang, and they were discussing some things. Jaune then saw her drag the bartender back to the bar where he sat. It was too late for him to hide, and Jaune saw Yang's eyes widen when she saw him. She let go of Junior and headed straight towards him with a somewhat angry expression on his face, and before she could say anything, Nora stood in between the two blondes.

"I dragged him along." Nora simply said as she put her hands on her hips. "That and Ozpin already told Junior not to serve him any booze." In an instant, the anger coming from Yang subsided, and Jaune let out a sigh of relief.

"Good to hear that," Yang said while smiling. "So, what brings you two here?" Nora waved Yang's question off and laughed a bit.

"Just got to get away from the possessive partners and all. It's healthy for us rapscallions to get into trouble." The bomber wrapped an arm around Jaune's shoulder and gave Yang a toothy grin. On the other hand, Jaune was a little startled to realize that he and Nora could relate to each other.

"I hear that. That's why I brought bluenette with me," Yang said as she gestured to the blue-haired transfer student in the entranceway. "We're getting info on a few… unsavory individuals." Jaune's eyes narrowed slightly at this, but Yang shrugged it off. "So, with that being said, I need a little time for my good friend, Junior." Nora nodded at this, and Yang went to where the bartender was. Nora and Jaune took this time to finish their drinks and head outside the club. On their way out, they saw Neptune give them a wave, which they reciprocated in kind. As they made it out of the club, Jaune released a huge breath that he didn't know he was holding in, and Nora laughed in response.

"Words cannot describe my gratitude towards you right now," he told Nora.

Nora let out another laugh and looked back at her leader. "Friends stick together. I wouldn't be a friend if I only acknowledged the positives, not the negatives." Jaune looked at her for a moment. She chuckled a bit at this and soon smiled, knowing that this was what he had been missing since Columbia: a friend who would look out for him.

Their tender moment was cut short, though, as Neptune and Yang burst out of the club. Yang had her scroll in her hands, and Jaune could hear a guy on the other end of the line.

"Where are you guys?!" Yang exclaimed as she put her helmet on and revved up Bumblebee. Neptune got on as well. Jaune and Nora still looked as confused as ever and were about to say something until they saw Blake and a blonde monkey, Faunus, chased by a giant mech at the end of the street.

"I think that was them," Neptune stated the obvious.

"Yeah... I got it." Yang replied as she and Neptune took off down the street, leaving Jaune and Nora to wonder what the hell was that.

"So..." Jaune said as the two were silent momentarily. Nora eyed her leader, and he smiled back. "Wanna see what that was all about?"

Nora grinned and pressed a command on her scroll. A few seconds later, her rocket locker crashed a few feet away, revealing Magnhild. "Honestly, I thought you would rather head back to Beacon," Nora stated while Jaune pulled out his hand cannon and checked the chamber to see if it was loaded. He grinned when he saw it was fully loaded and gave the chamber a spin.

"Rapscallions looking for trouble, remember?" he said, and her grin widened. That said, they chased and headed toward the path of destruction caused by the giant robot. During their chase, Nora was impressed with how well Jaune kept up with her. She assumed he was channeling his aura in his legs and decided to press on.

#

After about ten minutes of running, Jaune looked to his right and saw a couple of cars driving onto an onramp that led to a bridge. Said bridge was about to intercept the robot's path, and Jaune smirked. He then gestured to Nora and the cars, and she grew a devilish grin. The two sprinted and leaped onto the roof of the two cars heading up the bridge. Nora saw the wreckage that the robot was causing and looked worried when she realized how high they were. The two were now at the bridge's peak, and Nora looked over to Jaune.

"You sure your oka-!" Nora was about to say this until she saw that Jaune leaped off the bridge without a hint of hesitation. Nora's eyes widened, and she followed suit with her hammer at the ready. As she dove off after her fearless leader, she noticed that he had his gun drawn and saw that he had landed right on top of the robot's hull. In those moments, he looked up and grinned at the bomber before unloading six deafening shots at point-blank range. He then leaped off the robot that waved its right arm to shake him off, and the blonde knight landed on a nearby car roof. Nora seized this opportunity to land a solid hit on the robot's arm, and she saw the arm recoil back at the sheer force she inflicted on it. Nora decided that was enough for close range and leaped to another speeding car next to Jaune's.

"Armor's thicker than it looks!" Jaune shouted over the hectic noises of battle as he reloaded his revolver.

"That caught me off guard, fearless leader!" she shouted back, and Jaune chuckled at this. He then noticed that Yang was tailing via motorcycle behind the rampaging robot without Neptune. Jaune chalked this up to being thrown off the highway. He then noticed the look of shock on Yang's face and waved at her with his gun in his hand. However, he didn't notice Blake witnessing Jaune and Nora's stunt.

"Mind giving them a little cover?!" Jaune hollered to Nora, and she nodded while shifting Magnhild into its grenade launcher. Numerous shots were hurled across the highway, and Jaune could see bits of the robot's armor being knocked off. However, the machine noticed Nora's resistance and slammed a hand down in front of the car that she was riding on. With quick thinking, Nora leaped to the same car Jaune was riding in, and he grabbed her by the wrist, ensuring she was safe. Jaune and Nora watched as the robot rampaged some more, but Jaune noticed a familiar white-themed girl drop off an upcoming bridge. He grinned when he saw the road coated in ice. Jaune knew that this was their stop. He gestured to Nora, indicating it was time to leap off the bridge. What he didn't expect was the worry in her eyes.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, and Jaune chuckled.

"The first rule I learned in Columbia was to never really think." He grabbed his teammate's wrist. "Just act." In those moments, right before the pile-up of cars, Jaune and Nora leaped off the car and onto the pavement below the bridge. The two tumbled a bit but soon recovered. Nora took a few breaths to recollect her thoughts and looked up to see that Jaune was already on his feet and checking the bullets in his gun.

"How are you not fazed by that?" she asked while Jaune smirked at her and closed the chamber of his revolver.

"Aren't you the girl that rode to the forest temple on an Ursa?" Jaune retorted, and Nora rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean," Nora said, putting her hands on her hips. Jaune twirled the gun around his index finger and turned so he could face the robot that landed a couple dozen feet away from them.

"Your fear of heights diminishes when you fight for your life in a city that flies," Jaune replied, seeing Nora's eyes widen slightly. "I'll explain later. Now we have friends to help out." Nora turned to the area the robot was in and noticed team RWBY was there, ready to fight. As the two jogged over to their sister team, Nora couldn't help but wonder what Jaune meant by a flying city.

"Need help?" Jaune asked as he ran up to Ruby, who looked shocked when she saw her fellow leader. Jaune and Nora smiled in return.

"Aren't you only to be in Vale if Pyrrha's with you?" Weiss said with a hint of dread in her voice, and Jaune chuckled.

"All those rich people classes on manners, and you forgot to not look a gift horse in the mouth." Jaune retorted, noticing the annoyance on the heiress's face. "Besides, I have one of my teammates with me." Nora waved, and Weiss gave him a look that said, "Really?"

"Isn't that the opposite of supervision?" Weiss said, and Jaune noticed that Nora deflated a little.

"You'd be surprised," Jaune said while giving Nora a reassuring smile. The bomber seemed to be in her chipper spirits again, and Jaune chuckled at this. "So, what is this thing anyway?" Jaune asked, and Blake eyed him, noticing he seemed not scared.

"Roman is piloting it," Ruby responded, and Jaune mouthed an 'oh' as they all looked back to the robot that was getting up and preparing for battle.

"Well, what are your orders, fearless leader?" Nora asked, and Jaune noticed the irritation growing on Weiss's face. Jaune ignored it and faced his teammate.

"You and I will draw his fire from a distance, circling him. Ruby and her team will act on her command." Jaune said as he looked at his fellow leader. "Sound good?" Jaune asked, and Ruby loaded a clip of dust rounds into Crescent Rose.

"Sounds good. Freezerburn!" Ruby shouted, and the students scattered while Weiss and Yang created a smokescreen. Jaune and Nora sprinted around the robot, trying to get into position. Jaune noticed the laser sensors were triggered, and the mech began stalling around the misty battlefield. Jaune also noticed that Team RWBY was darting around and attempting to confuse it. Once Jaune and Nora reached around and met up with one another behind the mech, the two smiled and opened fire. As planned, the mech turned around so Ruby and her team could close in on the kill. Jaune and Nora jumped to the side as Roman fired a few blasts of energy their way. Once they recovered, they repeated the process. Dodging oncoming attacks while attacking at a range. Though Nora didn't know this, Jaune was grateful he had a heavy hitter like Nora in this fight. Ren and Pyrrha were known for their skill but not so much in raw power. That's where their bomber came in handy.

While the mech was being distracted by a combo from Blake and Weiss, Nora and Jaune ceased this moment and charged forward while Nora built momentum in Magnhild, which was now in its hammer form. Jaune followed suit with a knife he kept on his person. Jaune grabbed a few exposed wires, sliced them open, and soon grinned as he saw his teammate slam her hammer right into one of the joints of Roman's mech. In an attempt to deal with the two of them, the mech slammed one of its hands into the concrete where Nora and Jaune were. The bomber jumped up with her leader in tow and used the arm to climb onto the machine's hull, soon noticing that Yang was accompanying them and firing into it.

"Need a hand?" Nora asked, and Yang smirked. The three proceeded to slam on the machine until Roman ceased an opening and activated the thrusters on the mech so that it would ram into a nearby pillar. Jaune saw that Yang would be caught on the receiving end, and in an instant, the blonde knight grabbed Yang by the shirt.

"What are y-?!" Yang was about to protest until Jaune threw the brawler off the charging machine, and the two teammates braced for impact. Once Roman's mech made contact, the two were hurled off the machine, leaving Jaune in a daze due to some of the debris from the pillar hitting him in the temple. Jaune could barely hear the muffled cries calling his name in the background, and before he could get up, he felt the earth tremble. Jaune looked up, and his eyes widened with unadulterated fear.

He was no longer underneath a massive overpass in downtown Vale. Nora and team RWBY weren't with him as he now found himself in a damaged building resembling a grand hall. What stood before him wasn't a mech being controlled by an infamous arms dealer. No, what stood before him now was a hulking winged beast that let out a squealed howl of triumph. The beast leaned forward to get a better look at Jaune, and his blood ran cold when he saw the light in its eye turn red. The monster's fist equipped with barbed claws was reeled back, and Jaune put his hand in front of himself so he could brace for the attack. In those last moments, when the monster's fist was a few feet away, he saw the back of a woman get in the monster's way. Her short brunette hair was all he could see as the blue and white-themed woman blocked him from the attack.

"NO!" Jaune heard her say in those final moments. What confused and terrified Jaune was that it wasn't her voice. It was a familiar voice that he knew very well, but it wasn't HERS.

Jaune blinked, and he was back in Vale. He was on the pavement, looking up at the mech that Roman was piloting, delivering a massive punch to his teammate, Nora Valkyrie, who got in the way of the mech and Jaune. Time slowed as he saw that the machine aimed its punch right in her chest, and he could see, in those quick moments, the look of agony that formed on Nora's face.

Time seemed to resume as normal as the bomber was launched across the lot, tumbling violently until she skidded to a halt, face down and not moving. Jaune's senses came back to him, and his eyes widened. He shot to his feet and proceeded to sprint to his still friend.

"NORA!" he screamed as he headed in her direction, only to be stopped by the hulking arm of the mech. He turned towards Roman with a look of unadulterated fury and drew his revolver, unloading shot after shot in the hull. Jaune aimed for the weak spots and saw his bullets penetrate the armor. The cries coming from Roman were proof of that. "Ruby!" he called out, seeing that her team had gone still since Nora's action to protect Jaune. The blonde knight saw Ruby snap out of whatever funk she was in and looked at him. "Distract it while I get Nora!" he shouted and dove out of the way when Roman forced the mech's arm to swipe at Jaune. Ruby and her team did so as they laid waste to the robot with an onslaught of projectiles. Jaune took these moments to reach his teammate.

"No, no, no, no!" Jaune said as he slid to Nora's side. He slowly turned her over on her back, and he gasped a bit. She was bruised and scratched to hell, and he noticed a few broken bones. "Don't die on me," he said as he put his two fingers to her neck to check for a pulse. He knew that Nora was powerful, but Ren told him that her aura was weaker than most and could easily shatter. Jaune prayed to whatever being was out there that she would make it through this.

His eyes widened, and his heart shattered when he didn't find a pulse.

"Nora. No. NO!" Jaune screamed. The punch must have shattered her aura and stopped her heart upon impact. Jaune's mind raced as he began to do compressions on his teammate. He could hear the sounds of battle occurring in the distance, but he kept on trying to save his teammate.

"Now, this is a sight to behold," Jaune growled as he heard the familiar voice.

"FUCK OFF! Twenty-six, twenty-seven." Jaune shouted and soon returned to counting compressions.

"You know I was right this whole time," the voice said, ignoring Jaune's outburst. "The minute you came back, shit started hitting the fan for everyone. Your father hates you. Even more, your team and your friends don't trust you, and now, the one person who not only saw her mistakes and made amends but also valued your friendship. The one that could relate to being undermined and not level-headed is dead because you decided to chase that robot. How do you think your team is going to react to this?" Jaune was beyond furious at this point. So much so that he forgot how many compressions he gave Nora. He checked her pulse, and still nothing. But he couldn't help but feel that the voice was right. He looked up to see the fight still raging on and noticed that Ruby and Blake could take an arm off the mech. "You couldn't even compete with Ruby when it comes to leadership. At least her team survives after a fight." Jaune's fists tightened, and instead of turning red, their color grew a bit purple.

"Shut up," Jaune growled.

"What kind of hero leaves their friends to pick up after their messes and, in turn, gets them killed?" The purple hue in Jaune's hands deepened, and crystals formed.

"Enough," Jaune growled a bit louder as he slowly looked up to his teammate, who was still as could be. He also noticed the color draining from her face. What he didn't notice were the sparks flickering around his hands.

"You think Beacon will welcome you back after this?" the voice replied. "Ren is going to hate you with every fiber of his being, not to mention Pyrrha. I can see it now. Your partner will give you the same expression she gave you the night before she left!" Jaune had enough and let out a roar to drown out the voice in his head.

"ENOUGH!" Jaune screamed as he slammed his hands down on Nora's chest, not knowing that lightning from the shock Jockey was wrapped around his arms. As soon as Jaune made contact with Nora, the lightning surged all over Nora and was somehow absorbed into her system; in turn, a little color came back to her face. Jaune's eyes widened as he saw this, and he smacked himself for being so idiotic. He took another breath and brought forth the vigor he needed. The indigo-colored crystals appeared once more, and he brought his hands together. He heard the crackling intensify, and he prayed that this worked. This was all he could muster, and he hoped that this would bring his friend back. Without a moment to lose, Jaune put his hands slightly above Nora's chest and as close to her heart as possible. With a cry, he pressed down and flooded her system with electricity, attempting to jump-start her heart.

Nora gasped at this and took a deep breath as her eyes shot open. Jaune let out a breath of relief as he saw his teammate slowly get up.

"Jaune?" she asked, still in a daze. Jaune was about to answer when he noticed the electricity he used to surround her aura, which was now pinkish in hue. Jaune grew confused at this and looked down at his scroll to see that it was vibrating like crazy. He opened it and saw that his notification for his team's aura levels was going off. Jaune checked, and his eyes widened as he saw her aura exceed her contained bar.

"Nora!" he shouted with happiness, touching her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he was worried about what she would say as he helped her up to her feet. Nora looked to the ground next to her and saw her weapon lying there. She was about to reach for it, but the moment she held her hand out, a bolt of electricity shot out and enveloped her weapon, causing it to fly into her hand. Both were shocked, to say the least when they saw this, and Nora smiled.

"l feel… amazing." She said as her eyes widened. Jaune noticed that sparks were also flickering a bit in her irises. Last time he checked, jump-starting a person's heart doesn't do that. The two of them looked at the battle, and Nora grew a devilish grin. Before Jaune could interject, Nora bolted from her position and gained enough speed to launch herself toward the mech. Jaune could see trails of pink lightning coming off her, and with her hammer reeled back. Jaune and the others witnessed Nora slam Magnhild into the front of Roman's mech, the swing being so fast that the strike created a sonic boom. Jaune stood there in disbelief, unable to comprehend what he just witnessed. Nora had hit the robot so hard that it shattered upon impact, causing Roman to stumble out of the debris. While this occurred, Jaune ran up to the others and aimed his revolver at Torchwick, who was mumbling to himself. Before Jaune could fire a single bullet, Nora raced towards the arms dealer and swung her hammer again. This time, however, Roman shattered into tiny pieces.

The students heard a bullhead being taken off, and they looked up to see their target fleeing the scene via airship. Ruby's team opened fire but to no avail. Nora was about to pursue but was stopped by Jaune, who grabbed her shoulder. She gave him a questioning look, and he shook his head. As he did this, the lighting surrounding her aura faded, and her eyes returned to their normal teal state. Jaune let out a choked laugh as he realized that Nora was safe.

"I am so sorry," Jaune said between laughing and sobbing. He put his other hand on Nora's reciprocating shoulder, and his shoulders buckled. "I should have moved, I-!" He was now the one to be cut off as he was brought into Nora's embrace. He said nothing as he felt her give him a tight hug—not a crushing hug, but one that signified that she was more than thankful.

"You would have done the same," Nora said calmly. Before Jaune could say anything else, he felt Nora's body limp. He pulled back and saw that Nora had collapsed in his arms. Panic flooded through his body as he set her down. However, in those moments, right before he was about to check for her pulse again, he saw her smile and noticed her chest moving up and down in a steady pattern. He let out a sigh as he realized that she was drained. He then looked at Ruby and her team and noticed they were silent in those moments Nora and Jaune shared. He then smiled at them and let out a chuckle. "I could use some help," he said as he saw Weiss dialing for an ambulance.