A Hero's Dilemma

Chapter 7

If you'd like to then go check out this story on both Fanfiction.net or Archive of our own as well as here. Exact same story name and similar author name (Except without the zeroes in it)

Enjoy the chapter.

Cover art by: Notgustiarp

Chapter 7

He'd had nightmares for a while now. Before, they were typical monsters in the closet or going to school and forgetting your pants type of nightmares. But lately?

He stood in an empty room devoid of any color, seemingly stretching on for eternity.

"Hello! Can anybody hear me?!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

He'd had this one for the past week or two, and each time it'd seem to drag longer and longer. Endlessly he'd call out for help and get no reply, but he kept trying anyway. Only this time, he wasn't alone.

"Jaune?"

Whipping around, he scanned the distance for that voice. But nothing was there but endless darkness.

"Jaune...wake..."

The black shadows began swirling at his feet as he began thrashing around. Only once black tendrils started reaching out and clawing at his legs did he begin to truly panic. His heart was thumping loudly, and his breathing became erratic.

"Jaune...up..."

The tendrils kept coming and coming, wrapping tighter around his body, dragging him deeper into its inky blackness. Those same tendrils wrapped themselves around his throat, stopping his panicked screams.

Pawing at the darkness didn't help his breathing, and thus black spots grew in intensity. Reaching out for help was all he could do.

"Jaune..."

He reached for the voice.

"...up...up..."

For help.

"...Wake up..."

For comfort.

/-/

"Wake up!"

"Ahhh—agh!" He screamed only to wince part way.

Instinctively he threw out his arms to defend himself and, in doing so, recoiled as the sheer pain overwhelmed his terror. Going full panic mode, his eyes slammed open, and he tried to fight through the pain but just couldn't.

Curling inwards was more instinctual but cradling his left arm was very much conscious.

Oh gods, Is it broken!?

Yep, it definitely seemed that way. While every part of his body hurt, his arm and head were particularly agonizing.

"Oh good, you're awake. I was beginning to worry."

Blinking away the tears, he stared at the voice for a second. And promptly collapsed back in relief.

"Oh man, I thought you were some monster."

Instead, it was just that Summer lady, but man, is she looking at him weirdly. More importantly, she didn't look that much different from how he imagined himself to look.

Dressed in a primarily black outfit, she had a few accents of red, all seemingly caked in a thick layer of dust and debris. What took the brunt of the dusty mess was definitely her face.