Destiny No More

Chapter 97

The last thirty-six hours hadn't helped to calm Pyrrha's nerves. If anything, the time had, predictably, only made them worse. She had known that the attack had previously been forced to go ahead before it was ready because of team RWBY, meaning that without interference the attack would likely come later, but knowing that fact hadn't helped.

It raised the question of whether everything she had done was going to make everything better or worse. They had fought the White Fang at every turn, hunting down the Paladins, their recruitment centers, and their contacts in the criminal underworld. With the aid of Atlas they had even gone after strongholds in other Kingdoms. All of those had seemed like good actions to take for the most part, even if at the time they had been difficult or near disasters. Now, it was hard to say if it had been the right decision.

The White Fang had adapted, and now all of that future knowledge Pyrrha had relied on to fight them was useless. Predicting their actions was all but impossible, at least for her. Ozpin and the General seemed to have ideas, though even those were less about preventing the attack and more aimed toward minimizing its damage. It was something she hadn't considered when sneaking off to hunt the White Fang with Team CFVY all those months ago. Ozpin had warned her, but she had thought striking at them early was worth the trade, now, she wasn't so sure. Only time would tell, and it was time that was giving her the biggest headache. If she hadn't gone off, she had listened to the Headmaster, they would have known more about the coming attacks.

Everybody else assured her it was a good trade off, that they had weakened their opponent a great deal long before they were ever ready to strike. They were certain, or at least as far as one could be, and she wished she could share in their confidence. She was a fighter at her heart, not a leader. She had been willing to follow Jaune for more reasons than just fear of her fame or her eventual attraction to him. She hadn't wanted to lead, to be someone that others who follow and put their faith into, to make decisions on their behalf.

She had tried to run from that, and yet here she was in that exact situation.

Give her a single opponent and she could make a plan to beat them, give her an obstacle and she would find a way to overcome it... but this? Planning for battles and trying to act like a leader, she didn't know how to deal with all of that. People often looked up to her, at least when she was still known as the Invincible Girl, and they expected great things from her. She had done her best to live up to that, and she had failed, dying in the process. That had been okay though, because it was only her life on the line. The idea that she could get someone else killed was horrifying.

Whatever force influenced their lives, be it the Brother Gods, the Being that brought her back, or just some idea of Fate, it seemed to have a sense of humor.

"You know, the main gardens are a lot better than this place." Coco's voice echoed off the walls of Beacon as she stepped off the paved path and onto the grass.

"I know." Pyrrha answered easily, it was true after all. The main gardens of Beacon had once been tended by the royal family of Vale, and the current generation hadn't slacked off either. It was amazing what something could look like after decades of being tended by someone who really knew their stuff, give someone like Ozpin a few centuries though? It could be breathtaking.

And yet... she still felt drawn to the isolated garden. There was something calming about it.

"If you want to be alone, I can leave."

Pyrrha shook her head. "You can stay, but I'm afraid I might not be good company at the moment."

Coco moved over to sit behind Pyrrha, leaning her back against Pyrrha's for support. She leaned back in turn, the two bracing on each other to stay sitting.