A Hero's Dilemma

Chapter 9

Enjoy the chapter.

Cover art by: Notgustiarp

Chapter 9

She'd done it again.

She'd lied. This time about Jaune's involvement, and in doing so guaranteed he could choose his own future. So why was she so exhausted after it was all said and done?

Stumbling her way out of the elevator, she immediately found the nearest bench outside Ozpin's tower.

She'd made her decision, and now there was no way to go back. Now it was just about living with her actions again, but when did consequences ever stop her?

Taking one last look around, she took in the same sight she'd once loved to laze back and admire. Long stretches of perfectly trimmed grass dotted with rows of perfectly manicured trees only broken up by pillars of marble stone. Even in the darkness, she could easily make out every square inch of the place. Beacon Academy...

She didn't remember it being this colorless.

She wondered if Oz had changed anything. Looking around at everything, it dawned on her that nothing had actually changed with the school itself.

What had changed was her. Even just sitting here in the dark, the air felt tense, like she'd be attacked at any moment. Her hand, now always resting on her weapon, trembled with barely held back energy.

She'd hit up the training hall when Tsune was done with her.

Pushing herself up while keeping a grip on Crimson Blossom, it became a vice as she took to walking the long dark path to the medical wing of the school. The constant glances over her shoulders only increased as she barely held back from rushing forward lest she injure herself more. Why was she acting like this?

Because she hated it here.

No...I love Beacon. It's my home. I just...

No, she loved Beacon. It was once her home. Now it was nothing but a prison.

It's not a prison...I live here because—

Because she can't go home. Her real home.

Her pace was much too fast and yet showed no sign of slowing. Even as her body protested, her mind was lost elsewhere.

Patch isn't safe. We can't go back!

She was full blown sprinting past buildings and dorms that filled her with memories of a time long gone. They were so hard to make out now.

Patch isn't home.

She came to an abrupt halt. Gasping out, she clutched her head and squeezed her eyes so tight they felt like they would pop.

Home is out there!

Her squinted eyes trailed off into the distant skies over Vale—No past even that. To a place she didn't know of and could never reach.

Home is lost. Home was taken from her.

It was between labored gasps and muscle spasms that her mind finally began to clear as the chilly wind nipped at her exposed skin.

Her home is out there crying and begging to be rescued. Yet...

"Yet here I am...."

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When she arrived at the only room still lit at this late time—Tsune's office, she was drenched with sweat and had to resort to using Crimson as a faux cane again.