Remnant's Calling

2x2: Familiar Face

The sun-painted city of Vale, a vibrant place, now delegated to a giant game of hide and seek.

"Rubes, we can't search through the whole city for her. We have to tell the school," Yang suggested. Her concerned  tone tugging at her heartstrings.

"I know, but we can't. They could think she's just a spy. We can't take that risk," Ruby denoted.

Despite the absolute outlandishness of the thought, fear trounced any sense of rationality.

"We should get a bite to eat!" Jacket proposed, the recorder slightly spooking the both of them.

Ruby tried to disagree and say she wasn't hungry, but the well timed grumble of her stomach said otherwise.

"There's a Donny's closeby. We can get some breakfast there," Yang stated, pulling ahead of them.

"Lead the way," replied the loud, feminine voice of his recorder.

While they walked the streets of Vale, Jacket, though lost in his own thoughts, noticed Ruby's saddened and near-ashamed appearance. He leans toward her and nudges her with his elbow.

She jumped slightly then turned to him. "What is it?" She asked.

"Okay?" Chimed his recorder.

"I... just wish Weiss was here. Then, maybe, when we find Blake she can apologize to her," She explained with little hope. "But you said you talked with her, right?"

He paused for a moment. His breathing hitched while the silence droned on until he nodded slowly. Jacket keeps his eyes forward, but he could feel Ruby staring at him like she was searching for some kind of answer. 

She turns back, eventually, and sighs, "well, I hope whatever you said to her changed her mind." 

His silence held as he grunted in agreement. 

They rounded a corner—the dimly colored neon sign snagging Jacket's eyes and lighting a spark of nostalgia for him. Not long after, the trio entered the half-filled diner, and head for an empty booth not too far from the doors. Jacket on one side and Yang and Ruby on the other.

"Almost like home," Jacket thought, glancing around.

"Welcome to Donny's, what drinks can I get ya?"

They all turned to the voice, not expecting someone to greet them so fast. The waitress had bright blonde hair with burning blue eyes, and she looked just like her.

"Sarah?" Jacket murmured.

"I'm sorry, sir, what did you say?" She asked, looking up from her notepad.

"No, I'm sorry. It was nothing," he said. "I'll have a coffee."

The waitress nodded and scribbled it down, then turned to the other two. 

"Pink Lemonade."

"Lemonade."

"Alright. I'll be back in a bit with your drinks," said the waitress with a beaming smile. It brings him a cold reminder of his girlfriend.

She walks away, leaving the group to themselves. Although as expected, Ruby and Yang turn to him, ready to prod, but Jacket stops them.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said, firm and concise. 

"But-"

"No."

They both pouted in response. Although they were sorely eager to know more about their enigmatic friend, his decline to do so was understood. Shortly after, the waitress came back with their drinks, handing them out. 

"Thank you, ma'am," Jacket said respectively. 

"Oh, no need for that. Just call me Mary!" She said with the same smile as earlier. 

"Then, thank you, Mary," he reiterated. 

She giggled, her smile being all teeth. "No problem, mister...?"

"Fritz. Just Fritz."

"Well no problem, 'just Fritz'!"

Ruby cringed at the terrible joke while Yang and Jacket both chuckled.

"Alright, I'll be back shortly with your menus," she tells them, turning on her heels and walking away to another booth. 

Fritz watches her leave but laments seeing her go.

"Helllooo. Remnant to Jacket!" Ruby called, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Hm?" He responded, snapping out of his stupor.

"Are you okay?" She asked with semi-concerned.

Jacket nodded and gave a thumbs-up.

"I don't know. You were staring pretty hard," Yang chimed teasingly. "Heh, but that wasn't the only that's hard."

The sly comment got the stoic Jacket to choke and cough on his coffee. Yang giggles while Ruby sat in extreme confusion.

"Not funny," he barely managed to say through his coughing fit.

"I thought it was," Yang shot back with a snide smile.

Jacket gave a halfhearted glare before getting up and heading to the bathroom. His hands were partially stained with dried coffee.

"Ugh, just another reason not to drink coffee," he thought, stepping to the sink and letting the water run.

While the warm water ran over his hands, a memory resurfaced.

It was just after a mission. He pulled up outside his apartment building and stepped out of his Delorean. His jacket still faintly stained with small droplets of crimson. Fritz went inside and headed up the stairs. Then, he saw his room door kicked open and the corpse of his Girlfriend in front of him. Three bullet holes in her torso. Slowly, he stepped toward her, his hands trembling. He kneeled down and cradled her body, and cried for a long while. When he finally snapped out of it, some whistled tune came from the living room. White-hot rage burned in his veins as he stood up and rushed in.

"Ah, there you are," said the rat-masked man. "I was wondering when you'd get here. Well, let's just get this over with."

The haunting sound of the suppressed uzi firing woke him from his nightmare. When Fritz came to reality, he was on his knees with his head resting against the edge of the sink. The foreign feeling of drying tears on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he murmured to her. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."