Stage II

"Raven! Raven, we found Jaune!" Valentine had run in the door from storage, bouncing on her heels. She was shorter than Clover by a few inches and lifted her helmet to reveal fluffy pink hair cut just to her shoulders. Behind her was another girl in a dark purple suit, practically dragging along a much taller figure in a yellow suit. Valentine came and sat down on the other side of Raven, patting the bench beside her as Lavender helped Jaune take their helmet off. As they sat down, Clover noticed that their legs were too long to quite fit under the table, so they propped one up on their knee. Nodding away the brown hair that had grown into their eyes, they greeted Raven politely.

"Are you alright?" They asked.

Raven nodded. "Silvius is on their way back from Medbay, and hopefully Rouge will be up soon. Then we can get started. What about you?"

"A little dizzy, but I'll be fine. I was in comms during the crash, so it was pretty sheltered. The wiring is a mess, though. Are you sure Silvius has got it under control?"

"That sounds like you're doubting me," Someone called from the other side of the cafeteria. Smiling, Jaune moved closer to Lavender, freeing up space for Silvius to sit down.

Clover leaned over to Raven. "Should we just start without Rouge? I don't think it's worth-"

"No, we should wait," Raven disagreed. "If needed, we can get him to Medbay first, I just want everybody here,"

"Where is he now?" Silvius asked. "I can find him and make sure he gets here soon,"

"He's knocked out in the hall between Nav and oxygen. I'd appreciate it if you got him up."

"Hold on, why do you care so much? Rouge hasn't done anything for you," Clover frowned. He was sure that everyone on board didn't like him.

"I know he's obnoxious sometimes, but he's a good crewmate. Just be patient, alright?" Silvius responded, getting up from the table again and striding over to the other side of the cafeteria. They returned a few minutes later with Rouge beside them, arms folded as he sat down next to Silvius at the table.

"What's the deal?" He asked, deciding not to acknowledge the fact that he was the last to arrive.

Valentine leaned across to look at him, her eyes wide. "We crashed into an asteroid!"

"I know that. What I meant was, shouldn't we be fixing the ship or something?"

"That can wait," Raven said. Their voice was lower than usual, making everyone (even Rouge) fall silent as they continued. "You may notice that only seven of our eight members are here,"

Silvius was staring down at their lap, avoiding the concerned glances across the table. Of course. Clover thought. Raven trusted their sibling more than anyone, so it made sense they would tell each other the news first.

"Before the crash, Sky was keeping the reactor from melting down. On impact, we can only assume that one of the parts came loose, and..." Raven's voice suddenly cracked. They inhaled again before continuing. "Killed her. I wanted to let you all know of this before we continue our journey. All I ask of you is that you stay safe and please, remember her." Raven stood up from the table. "Silvius has assigned you all tasks around the ship. It may take days to complete them but try your best. We will make it out of here, alright? Thanks, everyone. I'll be in Nav if you need me,"

Raven sighed and walked out of the cafeteria. Clover had never seen them look so broken. Silvius had already started telling the others their tasks, handing Valentine a slip of paper so she would remember.

"Clover?" They asked.

"Yes,"

"Raven wants you to align the engines, prime the shields, and if you have time, clean the oxygen filter. Got it?"

He nodded and got up, headed to the upper engine room. He saw Valentine immediately grab Lavender's arm and run off to electrical, Silvius still talking quietly with Rouge at the table. Rouge nodded and walked back towards navigation, and Silvius ran across the cafeteria to Clover.

"Hey! I'll walk with you, I need to get to Medbay anyway,"

"Sure,"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just that something weird happened earlier..." Silvius had put their helmet back on and was matching their footsteps with Clover. "You know how I was in shields when the asteroid hit?"

"I think so. I saw you going that way but didn't have time to follow you. Why?"

"God, this sounds dumb." He muttered. "When I woke up, I was in the lower engine room, and I don't know how I got there. As I said, it's weird,"

Silvius nodded. "Strange. I mean, maybe you just don't remember it. I'm completely blanking on how we even got on this ship, but if it's really bothering you, just go and talk to Raven. I'm sure they'll understand,"

"Yeah... and there's still the whole thing with Sky. I feel so terrible about it,"

Silvius just nodded solemnly. Then they smiled, pointing a thumb over their shoulder. "I gotta stop here. See you later!" They ducked into Medbay, and Clover watched them leaning over the samples, adjusting knobs on the machine. He blinked. Right, the engines. He kept walking down the hall and into the upper engine room. Wrench in hand, he began to adjust the various pneumatics.

What felt like hours passed, his gloves growing stained with patches of grease and machine oil. He was so hyper-focused on finishing that he almost forgot about what had happened to Sky. On the mission, they thought they would all end up dead, but to see that they still weren't going to return unscathed stung. Sky had been a mentor to both Valentine and Lavender, showing them the ropes on the way there and keeping them occupied. She was usually laid back but knew the ship like the back of her hand. Clover didn't want to forget her. He blinked, focusing back on the engines. Jaune was just down the hall trying to start up the reactor, so he leaned through the doorway and called out to them.

"Jaune? Do you know what time it is?"

He heard his crewmate set down their pen. "Almost 8 UCT. Why?" They responded.

"Once we're done for the day, I wanted to check in with Silvius again."

"We've still got five minutes, so they're probably still in Medbay," Jaune fell silent again, humming to themselves over the tapping of a keypad.

Clover got up and wiped the leftover grease on his suit, glancing back at the engines. They would hold up for a little longer, but he'd need time to finish them after getting some rest. For now, he headed over to Medbay, fiddling with his gloves. Silvius was rearranging the covers on one of the hospital beds and looked up as Clover walked in.

"Hey, Clover!" They grinned.

Clover lifted his hand to greet them but suddenly stopped. Something felt weird- like one of the wires between his mind and his arm had frayed. He was commanding his hand to lift, but the signal wasn't going anywhere. He tried to step forward, but the same thing happened, the energy he was putting into movement just drifted out of him. He was stuck. W-what is this? He thought, trying to speak, but found his jaw shut. What was wrong with him?

"I was just wrapping up, then I'm gonna grab some dinner. Are you-" They tilted their head slightly at his blank expression. "Are you okay?"

Then something even more terrifying happened. He nodded. But... that wasn't what he wanted to do- he wanted to ask for help, to be able to move freely again. Silvius shrugged.

"Cool! Let me just finish this, and I'll catch up with you outside." They leaned back over the sample, jotting down notes on their clipboard. Clover tried to squeeze their eyes shut, or just something, but only ended up feeling even more disoriented. Now, he wasn't even in the same place. His sight was dragging a few seconds behind his movements, making him feel like he was watching somebody else. Maybe he was. As his vision caught up again, he noticed his foot was moving forward, walking down between the hospital beds towards Silvius. Then, he was reaching up to his other hand, pulling off one of his dirty gloves and using the bare palm to reach into the pocket of his suit.

Clover had already tried screaming. It hadn't worked. Despite this, he still tried to yell for help, abandoning his dignity as he tried to fight back against whatever had taken control of him, struggling to push back against the hand that flicked open his Swiss Army knife and strode silently over to Silvius.

There was nothing left he could do but watch as the knife sank into the back of his crewmate's neck, choking down a wave of nausea as his arm cruelly twisted the blade deeper into the flesh. He could feel it too, now. The scraping on bone, Silvius' desperate gasp for air as blood filled their windpipe and they crumpled into a heap on the floor, their helmet falling astray.

Choking on their own throat, Silvius clutched the back of their neck weakly as they tried to speak, staring up at the shape above them. "Why..." they gurgled, blood dripping out of the side of their mouth as they lay there. "I'm..." they took in another sharp, shivering breath, only to cough out another cascade of blood onto the tiled floor. "...sorry..." Their ragged breathing suddenly hitched before ceasing. Their eyes grew unfocused and glassed over as their arms fell limp over their shoulder. Clover saw himself walk over to the air vent on the ground near the samples. Digging his fingers under the grate, he threw it open and chucked the Swiss Army knife in. Then, he walked back to the doorway to Medbay, pulled his glove back on, and let his hands fall to his sides.

Clover suddenly regained control. All the panic that had built up hit him all at once, the dizziness overwhelming him so much that he had to grab his chest and keel over to keep himself from vomiting. His other arm fell against the door frame, half supporting him as his eyes stung. Taking in a shuddering breath, he squinted to focus on the hall outside before yelling, "Jaune! Raven! Someone! Help, please! Something-" he heard footsteps growing faster from the upper engine room, Jaune's tall figure emerging from the shadows.

"What happened?" They stopped dead at the entrance to Medbay, a hand clamping over their mouth. They glanced at Clover, who still couldn't register what had happened. He felt so disgustingly helpless. Jaune's hand slid back to their side. "Raven! We need you at Medbay, now!"

Raven's footsteps came even quicker than Jaune's had, nearly sprinting through the cafeteria and catching themselves in front of the two. Jaune turned to see Val and Lav arrive behind him. They suddenly reached out to the two, holding Lavender by the shoulder and covering Valentine's eyes before guiding them back towards the engine room.

Raven stood in the doorway a minute, staring at the scene, his expression unreadable. Then, he strode over to the body, muttering something under his breath. Clover could feel Rouge behind him but didn't acknowledge it. He just walked up behind Raven, searching for a way to tell him what had happened.

"Clover, please leave," Raven said softly. That stunned Clover. It was very much unlike Raven to do anything in an emergency but look for the facts, interrogate people, and keep everyone under control.

"I- I-" Clover tried to reply, but he couldn't explain it. He didn't have the strength to describe to Raven that he saw every second of the murder, but still had no clue who did it.

"Clover." Raven's voice was suddenly stern and angry. "I am commanding you to leave."

Clover swallowed and nodded. Two words were branded in his mind, gleaming in front of his face as he turned away from Medbay:

It's you.

~~~

The whole ship was silent. No one really wanted to make jokes or have fun conversations without Silvius around. They just always made it easier. Even Rouge concealed tears when they all met with Raven to clean up the scene of their death and mourn. Raven had kept the white bandana they always had on, even when their helmet was on. Then Lav went with Jaune to admins, Raven went by themself to navigation, Rouge scattered in some direction, Val walked alone towards reactor, and Clover... he slumped on a bench on the tables, a heaviness weighing on his shoulders. Finally, he couldn't stand looking through the windows at open space.

Clover strode into medbay, raking a hand in his hair, then noticed Valentine was sitting on the medical bed, dangling her legs and pouting.

"Oh... hey, Val. Are you okay...?" he asked tentatively, sitting next to her. She leaned on his shoulder with a sigh.

"I miss Silv," she said, fiddling with the sheet on the bed, twirling her finger, making a rupture on the folded cloth.

Clover held her hand, trying to be brotherly, but he was preoccupied with his own thoughts.

"Don't kill her. She's a child and a friend," he told himself. He had no idea what was going on, but panic was already swimming under his skin. He didn't know anything except that he couldn't kill Val. He assumed he would have to fight it more than when he fought it with Silvius. He couldn't be responsible for more deaths.

"Yea, me too," he said, trying to portray sadness rather than guilt.

The two sat there in silence for a moment, enjoying each other's presence.

"They always helped me. From what I remember of that place,"

Clover shuddered at the mention of the facility. He didn't remember much, only the blinding pain. So much pain.

"They helped all of us, kid. I... I think they're gonna be okay. They'll be happy, at least," he said, holding her close and rhythmically swaying back and forth. He searched his memory for comforting words. Something that felt like Silvius. Starting shyly, he hummed a small lullaby he coined over the years.

When you listen, you can hear the birds sing,

When you look up, the stars will twinkle,

Don't be scared of the unknown,

For your loved ones, who've departed, will guide you

The two hummed the soft melody, it echoing across the room.

Clover was still holding Valentine protectively, not wanting her to feel alone. He couldn't remember much about the facility. The doctors were some form of cruel that he couldn't explain. Beyond human, so far from empathy that he wondered if they were even seeing the same world he was. They convinced all of them that this was for the best. That they deserved it all. Valentine was young. She didn't deserve any of this.

"Clo...?" Val asked, causing him to stop dwelling in his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I think that when people die, a part of them turns into a small star," she said, gesturing with her hands as if she was making a presentation. "There are lots of stars, right?"

"Yeah..."

"They're all people. Good people. Good stars filling the universe,"

He smiled. "I bet Silvius' will shine bright. Just like them,"

Val nodded, again leaning on his shoulder. For this reason, was why Clover liked hanging out with Valentine. They didn't have to talk about deep things, or make small talk, or discuss drama or anything. They could just sit in silence without it being awkward. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Curfew was soon, and Lav probably wanted to check in with them.

Low and behold, a few minutes later, Lav and Jaune entered medbay.

"Oh thank goodness!" Lavender said, skipping over and sitting on the bed next to Val, making it so that the little girl was in between Clover and her.

"Hi Lavvy," said Valentine, grinning, and sitting up.

The two started talking and giggling, pushing over each other.

"That's my cue to leave," Clover said with a chuckle. Before he could leave the room entirely, Jaune rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Clover, I just... you're cool," Jaune said sheepishly. Even though he was dating Lav, and Val was like a kid to him, the way they always third wheeled whenever the three of them hung out was unreal. They didn't want Clover to feel left out or anything. Plus, they felt the kid needed the validation.

Clover smiled, patting Jaune's hand on his shoulder twice.

"Erm.. thanks, Jaune," he said, before nodding acknowledgingly before leaving the room. That couldn't have been more awkward. After he had left, the three kids went together over in the hallways.

~~~

Rouge leaned back in his office chair, pressing his head against the wall of O2. Silvius was gone. The only person on the entire ship who could carry a conversation with him without telling him to shut up and go away. He was still shocked by what happened to Sky, but now he just felt numb. He didn't want to know what happened to Silvius, he didn't want to think about it, but all of his thoughts eventually drifted back, drawn in like a magnet by the pulsing anticipation of misery. He wondered where everyone else was. He had never seen Clover so terrified before. His crewmate's entire body was shaking and he could barely stand up, his face pale and stretched with horror. Even Raven managed to console themselves before demanding that everyone left. I guess it just shows how good a leader they are. Rouge didn't care too much about Raven. While he thought Valentine was bratty and Clover was an arrogant prick, Raven seemed to have decent intentions. Maybe it was just because they were the only one who even implied an objection when Lavender and Jaune announced that they were dating. Sure, it was about keeping relationships stable until they got home and staying on track, but Rouge just didn't like either of them. God, I hate a lot of people. He told himself. But not Silvius. They always seemed to care about him and only showed up when he needed help with something. Even when he didn't want to admit it. Maybe if I find something else I need help with, Silvius will come back, even just for a minute... Dammit, that sounds like something Valentine would say. He thought, his lips pulling into a pained smile at the ground. But still. He wanted one more chance to talk to them, just to say thank you for everything, remind them of all the time they spent together.

The Skeld, Route to Facility SDSB

Rouge sprinted out of the hall from comms, his feet clanging against the metal threshold as he weaved between the cafeteria tables and over to Medbay, his argument with Lavender still ringing in his ears. Of course he had to lose his temper and say the nastiest thing he could think of. Sure, he didn't like Lav that much, but he had gone too far. They didn't even know where they were going, they only knew that they were going to some kind of facility from the records Jaune found. How were they going to survive if he treated everyone on the ship like garbage? He flopped down on one of the beds, staring at the lattice ceiling, imagining shapes in the fissured panels. He lay there for a minute or two, his usual playlist of regret going on repeat in his mind. Nobody's ever going to like you. He sighed, trying to ignore the voice, but it wouldn't leave him alone. He squeezed his eyes shut, frustrated to feel hot tears seep down his face. How stupid. You're sitting here alone, and crying over what you said instead of actually apologizing. You're such a child. Just as Rouge tried to muffle another sob, he heard a voice in the doorway.

"Rouge? Are you okay?"

He recognized the voice but didn't move. "Hi, Silvius," he replied with a shaking breath. "What, come to tell me that Lav hates me and that I shouldn't have insulted her?"

"No," Silvius replied simply. Rouge sat up. A familiar white suit was peeking around the corner to Medbay, stepping through the doorway and sitting down next to him on the bed.

"I get it, you 'just want to talk to me'?" he said mockingly.

"If you want to talk, that's okay, I'll listen. But we can just sit here if you feel like it,"

Rouge leaned forward with his palm on his cheek, sighing. Silvius just sat there next to him, swinging their feet idly on the edge of the bed while staring off into the hall. Rouge would never admit it, but it was comforting. He finally spoke up. "I wish it was easier to be nice to people. How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Silvius tilted their head.

"Just... be such a good person, you know? I said some really disgusting things to Lav, probably stuff that would make everyone stay away from me forever, but you're just- here...?"

Silvius shrugged. "Lav didn't care too much. Plus, she's got Jaune to talk about it with for as long as she wants. I wanted to come keep you company,"

"So you pity me,"

"No," Silvius said again. "I don't think you need to be pitied. I think you could handle it on your own just fine, but at least for me, being alone with my thoughts sucks. I guess I wanted someone to talk to as well."

Rouge wiped a tear off his cheek. "Well, I'm not sure I'll be any help. When I'm not a complete mess, I'm just mean,"

"But that shows that you don't like being mean," Silvius reasoned. "So that's still admirable. If you enjoyed insulting people, then you wouldn't be a very good person. But you don't, and feel bad about it, even if you don't get any other punishment."

"What, and that makes me a good person?" Rouge half-laughed.

"Yeah,"

"I don't know. I'll just- keep trying, I guess,"

Silvius nodded.

"Thanks,"

I think you could handle it on your own just fine. Rouge recalled. I guess that was a lie. He tried to shake the thought. He hadn't given up yet, but he hated the voice so much. If only he could get it to shut up, just for once-

Rouge stopped. A soft sound was rippling through the hallway from Navigation. He glanced over his shoulder. "Hello?" He figured it might have been Valentine fiddling with something in the hall, so they didn't expect a gentle reply.

"Hey, Rouge." It was Raven's voice. It was more high pitched than usual and the tiniest bit unsteady. Like Raven was trying to hide how much it was trembling.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Rouge cursed himself at the leader's reply. What a stupid question. Of course Raven wasn't okay, their sibling had just died. He felt worse now. Why did he get to cry about losing Silvius when other people were hurting far more? He wasn't allowed to be that selfish.

"I'm sorry,"

"You don't have to be sorry about anything, you didn't do anything. I'm the one who should be sorry,"

"What, why?" Rouge was a little taken aback.

"I'm the leader here, I'm supposed to be tough and keep it together so my crewmates can follow. You're not supposed to see me like this, you're supposed to see the part of me that knows how to handle everything. The useful part..."

Rouge didn't know how to reply. Hearing Raven talk like that stung, how the collected, assertive leader felt like... they were worth nothing. "Raven, I never knew that you felt that way."

"Of course you didn't. I spent my whole life hiding it,"

"Well, you don't have to. Having emotions doesn't make you weaker. Look at me,"

"I can't, the door's shut," Raven replied. Rouge could have sworn he heard them muffle a laugh with another sob.

"I meant metaphorically," Rouge continued. "Look at me, I act like I'm tough and that I don't care about how literally everyone on this ship hates me. I do care. Silvius kinda... was the only person nice to me,"

"I guess I wasn't very nice to you, either," Raven said softly. "Maybe I just convinced myself I hated you cause you don't do tasks,"

"But, the thing is..." Rouge paused, deciding whether to continue or not. No, Raven had the right to know. He was a little offended that Raven never opened up, but what opportunity had he given them? "You all kind of have a right to hate me. I'm not... a very good person. I'm not tough, I'm not cool, I'm just selfish and overbearing. I don't even know why I'm like this, the only thing I can think of is that I'm... scared...?" He didn't know how to end the sentence, so he just left it hanging, suspended in the silence between them. "God, I'm gonna regret telling you this," he muttered. Raven snickered again.

"We all have things we regret. It's such an awful feeling, like anger and disgust and embarrassment all mixed together, except there's nothing you can do about it."

"I'm sorry for being a bad friend," he stopped. "Are we friends? I don't know,"

"We tolerate each other," Raven replied.

Rouge nodded to himself, running his tongue along his teeth. "Tolerate," he repeated. "I like that," he took a deep breath. "Thanks, Raven,"

"Thank you," He heard the door to Navigation open again. "I'm going to admin to monitor everyone." Rouge stood up from his chair again, stepping into the hall to meet the leader. They met his gaze with watery eyes, half grinning. Rouge stepped forward, pulling them into an embrace. He felt Raven's shoulders relax, gently returning the gesture before letting him go.

"You're a good leader," Rouge said.

"You're a good crewmate," Raven replied before nodding farewell.

~~~

Valentine found herself awake in the dark, the soft hum from the computers vibrating in the air. She slowly got up, hoping the rustling from her suit didn't wake up Jaune, who was asleep on the other side of the small room. Climbing to her feet, she heard footsteps outside, so she stepped carefully out into the hall.

"Lav?" She whispered. She felt a warm hand grasp her own.

"Val, what are you doing up?" Came Lavender's voice, also kept low as she set a hand on Valentine's shoulder.

"I didn't want to sleep," She replied.

Lavender sighed. "I would tell you that it's really late and you should be asleep, but..."

"No, no, that's Jaune's job." Valentine cut her off.

"Hold on, let me get a flashlight. Stay here." Lavender returned a moment later with a flashlight in hand, lighting up the halls in a bright while glow that bloomed across the walls. "Okay. I can't sleep either. I'm gonna walk around for a little bit, do you want to come with me?"

Valentine nodded, and the two set off to walk around storage, muffling giggles at the others' jokes. When they passed the cafeteria, Lavender even managed to steal a granola bar that they split between them as they headed back around to communications.

"Lav?" Valentine asked, throwing away the wrapper and jogging to catch up with her outside comms.

"Yeah?"

"What happened to Silvius?"

Lav fell silent in the dark, clicking off the flashlight and leaning against the wall. "Did you already ask Jaune that?"

"Yeah. They say that Silvius just got hurt. But I think they were lying. I don't think he was trying to be mean, but I don't like it when people lie."

Lav sighed. "I'm telling you this because I care about you. It's... hard to think about, and I understand why Jaune told you that, but... Silvius died."

Valentine looked down at her hands. She didn't know what she was expecting, but it nodded solemnly. "Okay. Um- thanks for telling me, Lav. You- I'll be okay, right? We're gonna make it out of here?"

Lavender guided Valentine back into comms, and smiled as she lay down again. "We're gonna win."