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"Helloooo! You've reached Jaune Arc! If I'm not answering, it means I'm probably off somewhere fighting monsters or... doing something really awesome like saving a cat, or the president's son! You know how it is, a leader's schedule can be really hectic nowadays, ha ha! Just kidding, I'm probably in school, but I'd totally do those things if I ha-- [BEEP]"
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g...ulps...... ]
W-Well, I don't imagine we'll be sparring...
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No, not tonight.
[ Pyrrha reaches to take his hand, hoping to find him accepting. ]
I just thought -- we can probably see the whole colony from up there.
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What's left of it, you mean. [ He says jokingly, before realizing that's probably not a laughing matter at all. ] ... I like that idea.
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Starting to move, she leads him. As ever, it's only until he decides he'd rather take charge. ]
... Jaune? [ Her words are blurted out, rather abruptly. ] You never imagined anything. And - it's not just because you were at the right place at the right time.
action.
[ He's not quite convinced of it, but that's only because he doesn't know what he has to offer that nobody better than him can't. It would make sense for his next question to be along the lines of "then why?", but... if anybody needs a self-esteem boost tonight, it's Pyrrha. He doesn't strictly need to know why they're together, he's just happy that they are. ]
I'm-- glad. ...And I'm sorry. Y'know, for... not seeing it sooner. And then being afraid of messing it up somehow.
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[ In hindsight, her little stunt with the letter feels remarkably passive aggressive, and she'll be horrifically embarrassed later - but, at the time, it had been the only course her wrenching feelings would allow. Pyrrha would never demand him to prove himself, but he did anyway. Maybe, on some level, it helps. Makes her - them - stronger. ]
You never messed up anything.
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We both know that's not true.
[ Flashbacks of Amber being pierced by an arrow, in the same place where Pyrrha eventually would. Jaune failed his guard duty in that moment. ]
But I'd like to think we can all make up for our mistakes. Otherwise, what's the point...
action.
Implicitly, his words read a lot like forgiveness. Maybe she has to conclude that he was never actually angry at her, that he won't wake up one day and force her to confront shoving him in the locker.
Just when she thought she couldn't feel more for him - ]
Jaune, nothing... nothing that happened that night was your fault. [ ... ] Repeat that back to me.
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[ Not everything, obviously. He wonders if he could have been more focused has he not been kept in the dark. ]
I never even knew her name, but-- she was a person like you and me. She died alone. [ Like Pyrrha. Like Jaune could someday. ] If she were to appear here like you have, I'd be a jerk not to owe her an apology, too.
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... Her name was Amber.
[ Shaking her head, Pyrrha fights off a wince. ]
I'm sorry, Jaune. I don't like talking about her.
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[ Talking about her only humanizes the girl in the machine, right? And not talking won't change that they're both thinking about her anyway. In some ways, it doesn't sit well with Jaune to just never talk about her, like it's an irrelevant thing, even though he was just the same when he was grieving for Pyrrha. ]
I won't bring it up. [ He quickly corrects himself: ] Amber. [ Her. ]
--I'm sorry.
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Ozpin had been right. The procedure would have altered her fundamentally. Her hand trembles somewhat in Jaune's. ]
... repeat it back to me, [ she says again, simultaneously sounding more and less sure in her insistence. ] "Nothing that happened that night was my fault." Please.
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[ It's the same as saying he was useless from the start, unable to change things even if he had the chance to go back. ]
A leader doesn't shirk responsibility - I can't say what you want me to.
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I just don't want you to get torn up wondering if you could have done things differently when I'm --
[ - gone. She's trying so hard to get him to embrace his future, and he's been fighting her every step of the way. ]
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[ For him, months have passed since that night. One conversation isn't going to change how he feels about his personal shortcomings - and he knows he's not the only one either. Everyone that Pyrrha had left behind is blaming themselves for something, Ruby most of all.
Jaune lets those words sink in as they finally reach the rooftop. Since they're on the subject, the view almost looks like the way Beacon currently does, minus the Grimm.
He doesn't mention that. ]
action.
She was right about one thing. They can see almost the entire colony, lit up before them, flat as board but strangely lovely.
Bereft of further words, she's demonstrably quiet. ]